Copernican Theory vs Ptolemy System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Copernican Theory vs Ptolemy System - Essay Example A new anomaly-resolving paradigm is born. Copernicus’ heliocentric theory was revolutionary because it set into motions a paradigmatic shift from the Ptolemaic system of cycles and epicycles and geocentric planetary system to the present single theory of planetary motion and heliocentric system of the universe.It is vital, at this point, to know what constitutes a scientific revolution. In this regard, Thomas Kuhn whose book The Structure of Scientific Revolution has greatly influenced the history and philosophy of science should be consulted. According to him, a scientific revolution can be recognized by the following characteristics:   the presence of   anomalies in the previous paradigm and the failure of scientific recourse to resolve them; the ability of the new paradigm to provide solutions to such anomalies; the incommensurability of the old and new paradigms; the invisibility of scientific revolutions; the creation of a community shift with respect to the relevant area of science, and; finally, a change, on the part of scientists from being puzzle solvers to paradigm testers after the new paradigm takes over.Taking into consideration the above principles, it is appropriate at this juncture to scrutinize the work of Copernicus vis-à  -vis the Ptolemaic system. According to Copernicus, the then acknowledged system were incoherent because they lack a common methodical consensus in ascertaining the movements, they failed to obtain their purpose, and the mathematicians cannot define the shape and pattern of the universe. Since he cannot explain these anomalies within the existing geocentric paradigm, Copernicus read ancient writers and philosophers’ works and discovered the idea of a moving earth and declared that if â€Å"the motions of the of the rest of the planets be brought into relation with the circulation of the earth [†¦] the heavens themselves become so bound together.†   

United Nation Organization Essay Example for Free

United Nation Organization Essay United Nations Organisation was established after World War II with a motto to maintain world peace. And this in fact is known to every one of us in general. But the question is, was this really successful in doing the same i.e., maintaining the peace in every part of the world or are there any failures? Perhaps this is also one of the most important area to assess. Successes and Failures of the United Nations since its establishment, i believe is a very essential topic to be focused. Here are some of the positive roles played by UN and its failures. Successes of the United Nations The First and foremost it has prevented the occurrence of any further world wars. Instrumental in the maintenance of international balance of power. It played a Significant role in disarming the world and making it nuclear free. Various treaty negotiations like Partial Test Ban Treaty and Nuclear non-proliferation treaty have been signed under UN. Demise of colonialism and imperialism on one hand and apartheid on the other had UN sanctions behind them. UN Acted as vanguard for the protection of human rights of the people of the world, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. Despite crippled by Bretton Woods Institutions, UN has played limited but effective role on economic matters. Supported the North-South dialogue and aspired for emergence of new international economic order. Agencies of United Nations like WHO, UNICFF, UNESCO have keenly participated in the transformation of the international social sector. Peace keeping operations, peaceful resolution of disputes and refugee concerns had always been on the list of core issues. Since 1945, the UN has been credited with negotiating 172 peaceful settlements that have ended regional conflicts. The world body was also instrumental in institutionalization of international laws and world legal frame work. Passage of various conventions and declarations on child, women, climate, etc, highlights the extra-political affairs of the otherwise political world body. It has successfully controlled the situation in Serbia, Yugoslavia and Balkan areas. A number of peace missions in Africa has done reasonably well to control the situation. Failures of the United Nations: UN opinion on Hungary and Czechoslovakia were ignored by the erstwhile Soviet Union in 1950s. Israel had been taking unilateral action through decades in its geographical vicinity and nothing substantial has come out even by September 2010. No emphatic role in crisis of worst kinds like the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam crisis etc. UN was nowhere in the picture when the NATO rained bombs over former Yugoslavia. Uni-polarity and unilateralism has shaken the relevance of the world body. Unilateral action in Iraq was bereft of UN sanction. Failed to generate a universal consensus to protect the deteriorating world climate, even at Copenhagen in 2009. Number of nuclear powers in the world has kept on increasing. UN Could not control the horizontal expansion and proliferation of weapons and arms. Financial dependence on the industrialized nations has at times deviated UN from neutrality and impartiality. The world body has failed to reflect the democratic aspiration of the world. Without being democratic itself, it talks of democratization of the world. Aids is crossing regions and boundaries both in spread and intensity. Domestic situation of near anarchy in Iraq and many regions of Afghanistan, despite on active UN. The US President scheme of withdrawal has not able to bring any specific solutions in the region. In fact, the situation has been further aggravated. The UN totally exposed in the case of US invasion on Iraq in name for the search weapon of mass destruction. US has withdrawn its combat forces but the law and order and mutual distrust has worsened and at this juncture UN seems to be clueless.

Ebonics and Education Essay Example for Free

Ebonics and Education Essay A Persuasive Research Paper on the Why Education Should Pave Way for Ebonics All a person needs to do is turn on the television or browse the Internet to see the proof that there are very important changes in the society. Among those changes is how the use of language increased and how its forms have greatly grown. With much slang, dialects and language transformation and combinations, the number of languages all over the world and not just in the United States, have significantly grown larger and bigger. However, the question of whether this continuous dynamic change in languages is for the better remains to be seen. This is because, though languages have changed and grown, problems caused by miscommunication and misunderstandings are still rampant and present. Although language and all its combinations with other languages aimed to bridge the gap between nations and cultures, different people with different origins and speech are still unable to bridge that gap. There are still many issues concerning the cropping up and usage of new languages. Most common among those is the problem that languages which are combined or which undergo a linguistic blend tends to be disruptive of formal, correct and grammatical language. A simple example would be those music videos which feature artists that combine and contract structure of words to make the song more likeable or even more attuned to the rhythm of the song. However, this has a negative effect as people, most especially young adults and children, become familiar with such language usage to the point that they begin to emulate them. Such debate has long been the topic in educational boards and institutions of whether they should correct and put stop to such language usage or encourage such exchange of words since clearly, the young are affected. In fact, Ebonics or Black English or African American English has become such a heated topic when it was quite obvious that there is a problem among the academics of African American students because they have such low grades and low performance levels that could be attributed to the usage of Ebonics. Many people sided against and for the encouragement of Ebonics. Study after study ensued to prove that Ebonics was an important and integral part of the many pupils and students since that is the language they actually use while others also discouraged its usage. Through this paper, it can be argued that Ebonics is not a mere slang which African American students can do without and that it is not something which should be corrected just because it is seen as ungrammatical. Instead, what the educational boards and institutions should do is cater to their learners and use Ebonics to implement knowledge transfer among their pupils and students and eventually make them learn and use Standard English. Ebonics is formally known as African American English or AAE according to the Center for Applied Linguistics (n. p. ). It is a kind of sociolect or social dialect where it is often used by people who are of African American origins in particular surroundings or situations. The difference of Ebonics with American English is its structure wherein African dialects and sounds are combined, blended, mixed with American English. American English is also sometimes contracted with African dialects or sounds to be inserted within the contractions. Such example is presented by John R. Rickford in his discussion of Ebonics as presented in the Website of the Stanford University. In the example, Rickford uses a simple sentence which is grammatically correct: â€Å"I asked Alvin if he could go† (n. p. ). He then conveys the example to a student known to use Ebonics and the student gives his own version of the sentence: â€Å"I as Alvin could hecould he go† (Rickford, n. p. ). Ebonics is not the mere transformation of structure of words to ungrammatically correct versions. In fact, though not completely grammatically acceptable, Ebonics is still considered a structured and coherent dialect. As what the Center for Applied Linguistics or CAL states, â€Å"AAE (or Ebonics) is a regular, systematic language variety that contrasts with other dialects in terms of its grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary† (n. p. ). Thus, Ebonics is not wrong or incorrect, it is merely different and a contradiction with other languages, in this case, the language of American English or Standard English. The origin of Ebonics is unclear but the origins of why it became a topic of heated arguments and debate is quite known. Because nations cater to other nations, and migration and immigration (and even simple leisure travel) are inevitable, it is also natural that the language which people of different cultures use would also be transferred and assimilated by other people with other languages. According to Ladonna Lewis Rush’s argumentative paper on the Ebonics debate titled The Ebonics Debate, the origins of Ebonics can be explained by Smitherman who wrote in Talking and Testifyin: Black English and the Black Experience that: Black English contains elements of Standard English, elements of West African languages, and elements unique to African-Americans. The structure of speech in Ebonics can be analyzed and related to African language structures as well as to the black experience in America. (as cited by Rush, n. p. ) Thus, Ebonic came about because the African Americans needed the language which they could adapt to and use while in America who used American English for their communication. Like what the CAL stated, Smitherman and Rush also believe that Ebonics is not mere slang which is featured and used by African American music artists but it is considered as a distinct dialect all on its own. The concept of Ebonics must have been unknown to most people before the year 1996 but because of a certain state in America, Ebonics and everything related to the dialect and term suddenly exploded to the point that it became a topic of debate. According to Tracey L. Weldon in her write up titled Reflections on the Ebonics Controversy which appeared in American Speech, the Oakland Unified School District in California passed a resolution on the month of December year 2006 that â€Å"recognized the legitimacy of Ebonics† and it called â€Å"for teachers in the district to be better educated about the rules governing the variety (Ebonics)† with the aim that the teachers would be able to improve â€Å"the teaching of standard English to Ebonics speakers† (275). The issue sparked up debate after debate because linguists approved the resolution stating it was correct and adequate while Ebonics speakers and family members of African American origins complained that it was an obvious tactic of discrimination and identification of who were the students that does not have the ability to speak the â€Å"proper English† (Weldon 276). Ebonics and the usage of the dialect is quite obvious in the society as it can be heard from people in most social gatherings, informal meetings and even in the media. According to Rickford, many terms and structures in Ebonics are used by common people because of what they have learned from â€Å"rap, hip hop† and other means of â€Å"popular Black culture† (n. p. ). As what Rickford uses to describe this massive usage of Ebonics in popular Black culture, it becomes â€Å"an icon of youth culture itself† wherein young African Americans are immediately identified as being users of Ebonics. Since Ebonics is a mere means of communication among African Americans, then it should not be a great deal of a problem. However, unfortunately, the usage of the sociolect has become increasingly an issue most especially in educational institutions wherein grammatically correct and linguistically sound structure and vocabulary should be used and encouraged. Rush points out the case why Ebonics has become a problem among pupils and students in schools and this is because they manage to have poor academic standing and it was revealed that because of this dialect that the students have such appalling results. Rush writes in her paper that â€Å"language skills are directly related to success in academics† (n. p. ). This is obviously true since language is used to communicate and interact with other people. Poor language skills or inability to produce and understand the language would make it for one’s self and for other people to have a clear conversation and communication. It is also Rush who pointed out that African American students have a high rate of being suspended (around 80%) and that the students are â€Å"lagging behind in measures of academic success† (n. p. ). There was also an article which appeared on NEA Today that interviewed Lisa Delpit who is a professor an author that focused on Ebonics. In the interview, Delpit mentioned the reason why Ebonics is important and why the resolution passed by the school district was commendable: Most of the African-American children in Oakland were performing miserably. But one school, the Prescott School, consistently performed near the top of the district. Its students were all low-income African-American children. And it adopted a program called the Standard English Proficiency, which uses the childrens home language and culture to teach them Standard English. (17). If Ebonics will be used to relate to the students and slowly pave their learning for Standard English, then there is a high possibility that African Americans’ percentage of academically challenged students would significantly decrease. The question then is how does one go on solving such problem to ensure a fool proof way of solving the issue? This of course lies with the educational board and teachers. Teachers in formal schools teach Standard English because it something which society and the rest of the English speakers use. There is no problem with using Ebonics if it is outside professional and academic grounds; it is after all part of the African American culture. However, Standard English should be the language that is encouraged by the teachers to be used by their students because it would help them in the long run. Based on different discussions on the resolution passed by the school district of Oakland, the debate on whether Ebonics should be studied by the district’s teachers and used to pave the way to teach Standard English should not even be a topic of debate. This is because the debate started because of a mere misunderstanding about the resolution, another proof that language does not only bridge gaps it also creates them, when people saw Standard English as the only form of English that linguists identified as â€Å"proper English†. Linguistically speaking, there is indeed a Standard English as what Weldon has stated but the term â€Å"proper English† is incorrect since there is no wrong or right English. If it can be remembered, Ebonics is even identified as being a dialect that is structured thus, it is very much acceptable. In conclusion, the issue that Ebonics be used to gap and slowly push the learners toward Standard English (as aimed by the resolution) is created by the definition and need of the Standard English. Standard English is not the only English nor is it the only form of the language which is encouraged to be used; instead, Standard English is something which is needed to make all forms of English languages coherent and uniform in the sense that there would be no linguistically and communicatively wrongly structured words. It is the same case of having a one school uniform designated to students of a school to identify who are the members of that school or the generally approved legal age for drinking or voting or driving. There is a common factor which envelopes the entities of a school, a state or a nation. Standard English therefore is needed by the Ebonics speakers if they are desirous of being successful in society which is also the language used by the many. Ebonics is not slang, wrong nor should it be discouraged. However, the Ebonics speakers should be able to understand that learning the Standard English is important since it would make them socially adept at communicating with other people. With all the turmoil and misunderstandings that society is currently under, it needs all the unity and harmony it can get—even if it just comes from having a language they can all understand and speak. Works Cited A New Take on Ebonics and Teaching. NEA Today 17. 2 (1998): 17. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 26 July 2010. Center for Applied Linguistics. 2010. â€Å"Dialects – African American English†. Cal. org. Web. 26 July 2010. Rickford, John R. 1996. â€Å"Ebonics Notes and Discussion†. Stanford. edu. Web. 26 July 2010. Rush, Ladonna Lewis. â€Å"The Ebonics Debate†. Princeton. edu. College of Wooster. 1997. Web. 26 July 2010. Weldon, Tracey L. â€Å"Reflections on the Ebonics Controversy†. American Speech 75. 3 ( 2000): 275-277. Project MUSE. Web. 26 July 2010.

Growth And Change Management In Hyundai

Growth And Change Management In Hyundai One of South Koreas largest conglomerates Hyundai group displayed extraordinary growth ever since it was founded in 1947. The area of growth covered car manufacturing, ship building, construction work, electronics and finance related services. The growth pattern of Hyundai was directly linked to the reconstruction programs of South Korea after World War II and the Korean War and also the state led capitalism whose effect could be seen in the polarization of the corporate culture in the country and the increase in many more conglomerates. One of the major companys of Hyundai is the Hyundai Motor Company and is the fifth largest auto maker as per the latest survey. Its headquarters are in Seoul, South Korea (Kirk, 1994, pp213).Hyundai operates the worlds largest integrated automobile manufacturing facility in Ulsan and it is capable of producing 1.6 million units annually. The number of company employees is about 75,000 persons around the world. Hyundai vehicles are sold in 193 countries through around 6,000 dealerships and showrooms all over the world. The Hyundai logo, which is a slanted and stylized H, symbolizes the company shaking hands with its customer. The word Hyundai translates from the word modernity, and is pronounced as Hyon-dae in Korean. The Hyundai Motor Company was founded by Chung Ju Yung. The company vision Our team provides value for your future The company mission To pursue excellence and deliver cars that inspire, so you can live your life In 1947 Chung Ju Yung founded the Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company. The year 1967 was the year in which the Hyundai Motor Company was established. The first model of the company was the Cortina, and it was released jointly with Ford Motor Company in 1968. In 1975, the first Korean car Pony was released. Its styling was by Giorgio Giugiaro of ItalDesign and possessed the powertrain technology provided by Japans Mitsubishi Motors. Exports started the following year to Ecuador and soon thereafter to the Benelux countries. The year 1991 saw the company succeed in developing its first proprietary gasoline engine, the four-cylinder Alpha, and transmission. This led to paving the way for technological independence.In 1983, Hyundai exported the Pony to Canada. This was not done in the United States as it didnt pass emissions standards there. The Canadian sales figures exceeded expectations completely. This was clearly seen when it was at one point the top selling car in the Canad ian market. The Pony afforded a much higher degree of quality and refinement in the lowest price auto segment when compared to the Eastern-bloc imports of the period which were available at that point of time. In 1986, Hyundai began to sell cars in the United States, and the Excel was nominated as Best Product 10à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ³ by the Fortune magazine. This was largely because of its affordability. The company began to produce models with its own technology in 1988. The beginning was with the midsize Sonata.In 1996, Hyundai Motors India Limited was started with a production plant in Irrungattukotai near Chennai in India.The year 1998 saw major changes happening in Hyundai as started to change its image in an attempt to establish itself as a world class brand. Chung Ju Yung transferred the reigns of Hyundai Motor to his son, Chung Mong Koo, this was in 1999. Hyundais parent company, Hyundai Motor Group, invested heavily. This investment was in quality, design, manufacturing, and future research of its vehicles. The addition of the 10-year or 100,000-mile warranty for cars sold in the United States showed an aggressive marketing related campaign.In 2004 a survey by JD Power and Associates Hy undai was ranked second in terms of initial quality. Currently, Hyundai is one of the top 100 most valuable brands worldwide. Hyundai has also been one of the official sponsors of the FIFA World Cup ever since 2002. Organization Culture and Structure The Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) was established under the leadership of Ju Young Chung backed by a unified and centralized management structure. He exercised the authoritarian style of leadership. The decision making process was carried out by the Chung family. The positive out of this was that such an ownership and structure gave Hyundai Motor Company the power to pursue the external agents and develop long term relationship with them. This was seen when Hyundai Motor Company entered into an alliance with Ford. The chairman refused to transfer his authority to Ford in any way (Russell, 2007, pp.57). The entire financial and personnel support was from HMCs mother company, the Hyundai Engineering Construction Company. This gave him the edge as it was also owned and managed by Ju Young Chung, and thus he could steer HMC in any way. An employee who worked with HMC from the year 1985 to 1996 said that not all executives are affiliated with the Chung family. He stated that they had a few talented professional managers. But the only this was that they never objected to any directions given by the chairman. To be more precise it was next to impossible to present any opinions with regard to anything different from that of Chungs. Anyone who disagreed or even said a word against Chungs decisions would and should be ready to be fired the very next day. He even went on to say that Hyundais entry to U.S. market was Chairman Chungs personal ambition leading the way. But in retrospect he also agreed that without Chungs drive, Hyundais entry into the U.S. market would have been delayed until and unless its technology was comparable to the Japanese or European automakers. Chungs mode of bulldozer leadership was effective and was clearly seen also with Hyundais success. After successfully leading Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) in order to gain entry in the North American market, Ju Young Chung handed over the reigns of the Hyundai group and Hyundai Motor Company to his younger brother, Se Young Chung. This was in the year 1987. The new leadership of HMC followed a very different organizational culture if compared to Ju Young Chungs time. The chairman made attempts to inspire HMC with the new thought process. This was harmonious human relations, autonomous management, responsibility management, and equal opportunity. Thus it drove out the previous emperor leadership concept by the delegation of responsibility as well as authority to the various professionals employed by the organization. This change led to a change in focus with regard to strategy. 1987-1988 Se Young Chung redesigned the HMC and the main aim was to improve the production efficiency which was done by shuffling or merging the various job related functions. The most noticed change in the o rganization chart was the conversion from a functional organization to a divisional organization. This aimed at providing efficient control and evaluation, developed motivation of the management, improved the ability to cope with market diversification and reduction of the cost. The democratization of Hyundai was affected by the political democratization movements in Korean society in the late 80s. This led to a series of labor versus management disputes. HMC was definitely not an exception. In 1996, Se Young Chung passed on his leadership to his son, Mong Kyu Chung. He inherited not only got the title but inherited the leadership style of his father. This allowed HMC to have a smooth transition with very little turmoil. He had a broader vision. He set up a brand new vision which was aimed at a position in the world top-10 automaker ranking in the 21st century and this was possible by occupying four percent of the world auto market. Thus, the primary strategic focus was placed on im proving of image of the brand and consumer satisfaction. This would be carried out via more intense product quality movement, value management, and market globalization. Mong Kyu Chung was also responsible for introducing the team system into the organization, along with more importance to compensation which was performance based. The 1997 East Asian crisis dealt a heavy blow to all the Korean conglomerates. In 1997 and 1998 half of the top 30 of them, including Daewoo, went into bankrupt. This crisis was faced by the Hyundai Group too. This moved the Hyundai group into restructuring its businesses. Almost 70 of the Hyundai affiliates were spun off between 1999 and 2000. The Hyundai group got a lot of public criticism because its restructuring plan was mainly focusing on dividing the property among the family members and followed no management related rationale. HMC was also the main money source of the Hyundai group and was given to MongKoo Chung who was the chairman from 1999 and was also the first living son of JuYoung Chung. This opinion was that he was the image of his father and had led HMC to a more hierarchical decision-making structure and h e also revived the bulldozer type of leadership. However, his strategic direction and organizational structure were not entirely different from the previous ones. While pursuing the global top-five position in 2010, he continued to emphasize on the improvement of product quality, management transparency, and brand value. One emerging challenge to the new leadership was how to cope with the warlike labor-management disputes. The current organization chart is shown below External and internal environment Hyundai is very dedicated towards providing great quality of service, support system and product. This is their policy be it their employees, dealers or customers. Starting from the top all members of the organization is driven by quality and also they strive for the continuous improvement process all across the board. This is mainly true in the area of cost, technological advancement, and efficient operations. Their management is very strongly into conducting business practices which are ethical and lead to creating long term partnerships be it with suppliers, customers or employees. They are the people who are the support system for achieving as well maintaining their competitive advantage, cost savingpurpose and also maintain the technological edge. All this is done while they remain sensitive and receptiveto the diverse communities they operate in. The price review of the stocks and also the brand new and old customers leads them to believe that they are doing a great job with th eir current business strategies. Their stability, efficiency, and profitabilitygoes a long way inestablishing and holding true their credibility to their shareholders and stakeholders. If they can continue to be so responsive to their customer ´s needs, innovative in their processes, services, and products they should have no foreseeable problems. Clearly, Hyundai has become a leader and innovator of quality affordable automobiles for a number of years. They have achieved this because they were nimble and flexible enough to respond to changes in their marketplace and because they have kept their eye on quality, cost, and customer service. Since Hyundai is a worldwide organization they have also had to make the most of their diverse work force, as well as, overcome many regulatory, socio-cultural, and environmental variables of doing business in a multicultural and multi-ethical environment. The first Step would be to outline the Porters five forces (William, 2003, pp.126)which are mentioned in the diagram below Competitive Rivalry within an industry Bargaining power of Customers Threat of new Entrants Threat of substitute Products Bargaining power of Suppliers There is a new entrant threat which exists from countries like China as well as Japan. They might work in such a manner that they grab majority share in the market. The buyers can bargain for much more. Price dissatisfaction is one of the main reasons why the shift would happen on the part of the buyers. Substitution threat is not too high as not many substitutes exist in the market. The only threat would be from modes of transport which are for public use. The level of competition is very high as many believe in growth through gaining on the competitions market share. The power of the supplier to bargain is low even though everything is not manufactured some of the parts are sourced too. The manufactures have the freedom to move to other suppliers also. The environment should be constantly studied. The environment may be internal or could be external as well. The analysis of the situation also needs to be carried out so that everything is in accordance with the policy, strategy and the goals set by the management for the organization. The same way the analysis of Hyundai is conducted which will help to understand the opportunity, strengths, threats and weaknesses which are internal and external. Technically what we are talking about is SWOT of Hyundai. The competency which the company possesses which forms the core of its operation is assessed with the help of this and the decision related to results and performance can be taken. All analysis techniques would be aimed at only one thing which is improvement of the quality of the service as well the product offered by the organization. The basic steps for the process would similar always only the application sequence would be organization sensitive. The procedure would help the organi zation come up with improvement related opportunities. The process which is followed in the present time has to be documented so that future reference is available (Goetsch, 2003, pp.422). The process related to improvement needs a vision and this helps. The improvement effort in this way is more channelized; the goals are clear and easily achieved. The leaders which would be the owners or the management need to support the process. The top to down approach should be followed. The main agenda should be that all people involved be it top management or the lowest ranks should have clarity relate to aims and objectives as it will affect all. The level of confidence as well as communication ability is critical for this process to be successful. The final outcome would also be high quality. The SWOT analysis for Hyundai Motor Company is as follows Strengths: Pricing Quality Warranties Availability/distribution channels Weaknesses: Questionable branding Depreciation/trade in value Lack of consumer information: especially on their web site Opportunities: Green alternatives and hybrid cars Technological innovations/research/development of same Better integration of web site for customer product information and company profile information Threats: Political Trade Socio-economical Other regulatory constraints: especially those linked with environmental issuesand manufacturing. Change Management Change stands at the heart of any leadership. Organizational culture is one of many situational variables that have emerged as being pivotal while understanding the success of any leaders efforts with regard to implementing any change initiatives. In this sternly shark eat shark business world, the main aim of most of the firms is to establish distinctive and unique capabilities towards gaining a competitive advantage in the marketplace while utilizing the most of their core competencies. So it is important to understand what competencies are. Competencies refer to the fundamental knowledge owned by the firm i.e., knowledge, know-how, experience, innovation and unique information, and to be specific they are not confined to functional domains only but cut across the firm and its organizational boundaries (Lowson, 2002). In todays world, being it is only the degree of dissimilarity from the beaten path that provides one with the cutting edge. If the aim is to deliver a unique mix of t he values, a gamut of activities need to adopted keeping in mind the present market situation. Thus, one gets the capability which enables him to execute specific activities, at the same instance being able to work meaningfully between the activities and therefore extending the cutting edge).The all-important exercise now, would remain the development of a unique path ahead, utilizing all resources at ones service, yet mindful of the environmental realities. It would be through the above mentioned unique capabilities that the outfit would better its chances of maintaining the competitive advantage. The concept of competition everywhere, including the domestic as well as international scenario has crossed into another realm of its own. The emphasis on performance and the quality of product has surpassed the impediments that once existed to control the price of the product. Hence, vigorous product management during the development process itself forms the backbone of the competitive e dge accrued. Organizational culture governs the degree of success that can be brought about by any attempt to effect organizational behaviour.The very Conceptual model of change as well as the inherent process models adopted for organizational change have undergone a change thereby highlighting the importance of culture in enabling entrepreneurs/ leaders in their attempts to transform the norms, attitudes, and general disposition of the employees emulating them in their outfits. Gagliardis model of 1986 (Tim, 2003, pp.53)for cultural change explains the varying effects of change which are incremental, apparent and path breaking when compared with the prevailing norms of culture. Attempts to effect change, when exercised, keeping in mind the abovementioned strategic outlook effectively extend, reinforce or even at times, weaken existing presumptions and standards caught up by the steps to initiate the change. The bulwark of methodologies and market tactics are always the cultural aspects. It is these aspects that decide if leaders are to anticipate cultural adaptation, struggle or maybe even alterations as a consequence of their authority. Gagliardis Model also brings to ones notice the overbearing importance for any leader to bear in mind, the intense cultural effects stemming out of the techniques utilized by them to bring about change initiatives thereby effecting the organizational surroundings. Hyundai Motor Company enjoys the status of the largest auto-manufacturing set up in South Korea as well as the distinction of being considered the fifth largest industry on the globe. It boasts of a capacity to manufacture 1.6 million units per annum. The strength of the Hyundai fraternity lies in their ability to lay stress at every level of its production management system, thereby catapulting them to their present day status as also enabling the coveted competitive edge that forms any mediocre companys yearning (Worldwide Hyundai, 2008). The production house has grown to spread its branches the world over, particularly Europe, Asia the US. Wecan thus safely assume that the key ingredients which enable a worldwide leader the cutting edge are as follows:- Explain, all that the company achieved which would lead to the attrition, gradual dissipation and at a later stage even complete failure of the competitive advantage that it enjoyed? Explain, all that the company needs to undertake in order to enable it to sustain role in providing it the competitive advantage? In any company, it is the management which is solely accountable for ensuring that the former stays ahead of its competitors in the arena. Had it not been the competent and effective, the company would probably have lost its competitive edge advantage (the companys standing in the market environment relative to other (competitor) companies. In keeping with all other leading industries, Hyundai too enjoys a huge competitive advantage when compared to its rival auto-manufacturing companies the world over. Also, Hyundai even risks suffering the erosion or eventual loss of its competitive advantage and position if the management will not be able to adapt to the changing market and customer need, specifically in car industries. The society also needs to be looked at and their needs to be met. This would pave the road for the organization to become a market leader. The pricing factor also needs to be constantly kept in mind as the consumers are very price sensitive. This would work to their advantage as the cars would become more affordable as well as quality cars. The models related to the industrial growth in order to be consistent as well as have the advantage over the competition need to be flexible and innovative so that it can deal with the risks which the internal and the external environment would make the organization face. Hyundai as a company also needs to do that by making its set up strong internally as well as externally so that it has an edge over the competition and their growth is steady and consistent. This is also affected by the fact that Hyundai has a global presence and also needs to grow through establishment of its manufacturing facilities all over the world. The departments which nee d to look into the development of the company needs to follow tiered research and utilize innovative ways and plans so that the high as well lower management is motivated for success as well as to give Hyundai the competitive edge over the competition. The growth in the present economy and market demands products which are new and improved and the costs as well as the market price is low. The Hyundai management and mangers need to be open to change as well as need to be creative in the process so that it can be turned for the benefit of the company. Hyundai has identified the sources for gaining the edge over the competition by making their core competencies strong and cutting edge so that no one can touch them. The position which the company enjoys as being the market leader needs to be sustained and consistent so that the long term goals are achieved and profitability grows. This is so at all levels in the organization. The merger which happened between two companies Hyundai and K ia is a very clear example of this (Orcullo, 2007, pp.48). The growth in the Korean automobile industry was consistent in terms of sales up to 1996 but the next year saw a major slump in the economy which had a very negative impact on the company and its growth. They managed and tackled this slump by expanding their facilities for production. During this time Kia went bankrupt. Kia as well as Asia Motors was merged with Hyundai. This also resulted in major reshuffling happening within the top management and was in accordance with the plan made by the owners for its success. Majority of the auto companies were restructuring their units as well as letting go a lot of their employees to reduce costs and handle this down turn. Many companies which were multinationals were acquiring the manufacturers for auto parts while this was going on. This process related to the auto industry in Korea led to the market becoming very confrontational. This was the case as the parties involved were affected by all the decisions which were taken. They were the labour related unions, government and its agencies as well as the company management. The merger in question had a very synergizing effect on the performance of the business of the automobile manufacturers. The group on the whole managed to save costs as all operations were integrated which was important for success. As the auto parts which had to be used were being shared it led to synergy happening on the front of the suppliers too. The design and development as well as Research departments also showed an effect on the costs as the platforms on which each operation was being carried out was integrated as a result of the merger. The power train development and the sharing of parts helped both the companies in getting down their costs and for their profitability to go up. Alignm ent of all the business functions was required as smooth integration was very important for future smooth operations. The group which would be formed as a result of this merger would possess specializations which were coordinated and would work towards cost saving and profitability improvement. The style of management at Hyundai was aggressive and the employee involvement practice for working followed by Kia was creative. Both of these coming together resulted in an organization culture which is competitive as well as successful be it while the economic slow down had happened or even later after recovery. The upturn which happened 1999 to 2000 helped in the recovery process of the two automobile manufacturers. Kia as a result of the merger came back from the dead and its revival was drastic and dramatic. Some of Hyundais strengths helped in this recovery process for Kia. These strengths were the auto part sharing as well as the utilization of the facilities for production as well as the technology. Kia with the help from Hyundai increased their sales as well as the share in the market and started to make steady performance in terms of finance and started following Hyundais trends. All these positives from the Kia Hyundai merger released them from the clutches of the courts in 2000. Now it was time to look at the long term growth plans and policies. The labour unions in the automobile industry serve as a major threat for them. They can resist any efforts related to integration of business and specialization of techniques. It is not that the labour unions have been sitting quietly. They have been working towards greatly affecting the procedure and plans for the restructuring of the business as well as employee management. The unions of Hyundai and Kia have taken this configuration of the business very positively and have not posed any opposition on the resource sourcing, research and development which is needed to be carried out keeping the uncertain future in m ind. In this merger group the main concern is how to keep the union positive and cooperative so that they are less resistant to any change or decision which is critical for business. In 2001 the group made public their plans world towards becoming the 5th automobile group which is global. This was to be done by 210. The auto group which is Korean came into the industry late and thus it still has to work towards improving the image of the brand. In the domestic market both companies have only complimented each other and the only thing is that the growth is intense. In the mid of 1999 the market in Korea related to automobiles opened their gates to foreign makers too. This led to major competition increased and the boundaries were broken making the auto industry one. Now it was survival of the fittest. Hyundai a company in order to survive had to enhance their ability technologically with the help of their research and development department and also their process for manufacturing. T he products needed to better quality than the competition as well more reliable. There is a dire need to constantly to make the brand seem superior and this can be done only with products that appeal to majority customers an they are chosen over the competitions products. The two companies need to work towards improving the parts supplied and the finance related abilities which is at this point of time quite low as compared to other advanced countries of the world. The positioning strategy is the next agenda which should be in the mind of the companies Kia and Hyundai. There needs to some kind of plan of how all the products from both the companies would be placed in the market as well pricing procedure needs to be clear. The strategy which they have been following is to position duplicates of each others car models. The management which is at a senior level is insistent on retaining their business related composition as on date and not have it changes courtesy the merger. This cove rs all car models. The long term agenda is not the same. The plan would be that the sectors related to various aspects of business be divided and the both the automobile manufacturers would work towards positioning their products in various demand markets. This is the way of working followed by auto giants like General Motors. Rather than working towards coming up with a new framework for business with respect to sales as well as manufacturing the managements concern shifted to the fact that how would they get over the vested interest of the senior management in the current business policies and practices of their two organizations separately rather than working as one entity. Recommendations for Growth The economy needs to be more balanced as well needs to have a direction (Gaten, 2002, pp.1). This would be true in many areas like distribution of health care products, standards which are set with regard to environment and labour as well as trade. The Global Reporting Initiative of 1997 worked towards a system for accounting which would help to calculate the level of sustenance with the data which is social, economic and environmental. This would make the measurement system one for all aspects. The risks which are taken need to be more educated ones and the importance of the same has been understood. The vision, mission as well as the plan to achieve the companies objectives needs to be in sync with the objectives which have been set up in the long term agenda of the organization. The strategy needs to be absolutely clear and values needs to be clearly defined. The values of the organization should be aligned with that of the stakeholders. The alignment would happen by integration o f the process, procedures as well as policies and with that success is inevitable. The objectives which are long term would be better achieved if they match the vision and the purpose of the individuals involved. The decision making process needs to be consistent and would also work towards achievement of personal ambitions too along with the organizations. Talks should always be there between the management and the employees of Hyundai so that every concern and want is out in the open and the learning is collaborated and systems are there so that information sharing happens. The requirement for Hyundai was to give some power to the employees in terms of the decisions that are made. The change management would be successful as the management would give the direction as well as provide the vision and also to top that have the authority to implement the change. Management would have to provide the push factor for the change process and this would also have an effect on the goals which are short term in Hyundai which would be aspects like building of teams, sharing of visions and defining the responsibilities amongst the employees. The work of Hyundai would be to stick to the objectives of the management and the leadership and would move in the right direction for a very positive future. The strategies which would be set up to achieved the goals which are long term as well as short terms would be based on the factors which have been discussed above. As per Ashkenas if there was a want on the part of the management to get improvement in the performance of the people of the organization the best way would be to make and plan the procedures for attainment of their goals which were to be achieved in less than an year i.e. short term goals. So the goals of Hyundai falling in this category are- Each employees being responsible enough to be answerable for their own actions. This would be empowering for the individuals and would also push them to work as team. The labour which they hire would be the best in the industry by being the most learned in terms of technology and specialization in their field. Fight to produce products which are the best in the market as well as made following the best procedure but the cost of production being as low as possible. The feedback which is received form the short term objectives would help the organization to come up with the objectives which are long

Does Life Have a Meaning? Essays -- Philosophy Philosophical Essays

Does Life Have a Meaning? Life, it might be argued, is the distinguishing feature of all organisms and may most usefully be thought of as involving various kinds of complex systems of organization providing individual organisms with the ability to make use of those energy sources available to them for both self maintenance and reproduction. Underlying this deceptively persuasive definition, however, lie those persistent traditional problems inherent in the search for an essential, distinctive substance characteristic of all forms of life. Additionally, as evolution theory makes clear, there is the problem of borderline instances, organisms of which it is not easy to say whether or not they may be defined as being alive. One such case is that of the virus. Viruses are the smallest, simplest living things, smaller than bacteria, and the cause of some of the deadliest diseases known to humanity. They are composed chiefly of nucleic acid wrapped in a coat of protein and are able to multiply only from within living cells. As with all other organisms, the virus depends for its ability to obtain energy and carry out the other processes necessary to sustain life, upon its stock of DNA, the hereditary material that makes up the genes, the "instructions" that determine the traits of every living organism. What is interesting about viruses, however, is that their genetic stock is very meagre indeed, so much so that reliance upon it alone cannot enable them to survive. Nonetheless, viruses do persist from one generation to the next, as if they were alive. How this is managed, as it clearly is in both plants, animals and human beings, bears importantly upon the ways in which "life", at least in the case of viruses, may legitimately b... ... our ability not only to understand our human limitations, but also to appreciate their unimportance in our situation: "If sub specie aeternitatis there is no reason to believe that anything matters, then that doesn't matter either, and we can approach our absurd lives with irony instead of heroism or despair." Bibliography: Brian, Denis Einstein: A Life John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1996 Hanfling, Oswald (ed.) Life and Meaning: A Reader Blackwell F, Open University, 1987 Mill, John Stuart Utilitarianism Dent Dutton (Everyman), 1962 Plato Gorgias trans. Hamilton, W., Penguin, 1960 Russell, Bertrand History of Western Philosophy Allen and Unwin, 1962 Works consulted following initial assessment of essay: Murdoch, Iris The Sovereignty of Good Routledge, 1991 Nagel, Thomas The Possibility of Altruism Princeton Paperback, 1978 Does Life Have a Meaning? Essays -- Philosophy Philosophical Essays Does Life Have a Meaning? Life, it might be argued, is the distinguishing feature of all organisms and may most usefully be thought of as involving various kinds of complex systems of organization providing individual organisms with the ability to make use of those energy sources available to them for both self maintenance and reproduction. Underlying this deceptively persuasive definition, however, lie those persistent traditional problems inherent in the search for an essential, distinctive substance characteristic of all forms of life. Additionally, as evolution theory makes clear, there is the problem of borderline instances, organisms of which it is not easy to say whether or not they may be defined as being alive. One such case is that of the virus. Viruses are the smallest, simplest living things, smaller than bacteria, and the cause of some of the deadliest diseases known to humanity. They are composed chiefly of nucleic acid wrapped in a coat of protein and are able to multiply only from within living cells. As with all other organisms, the virus depends for its ability to obtain energy and carry out the other processes necessary to sustain life, upon its stock of DNA, the hereditary material that makes up the genes, the "instructions" that determine the traits of every living organism. What is interesting about viruses, however, is that their genetic stock is very meagre indeed, so much so that reliance upon it alone cannot enable them to survive. Nonetheless, viruses do persist from one generation to the next, as if they were alive. How this is managed, as it clearly is in both plants, animals and human beings, bears importantly upon the ways in which "life", at least in the case of viruses, may legitimately b... ... our ability not only to understand our human limitations, but also to appreciate their unimportance in our situation: "If sub specie aeternitatis there is no reason to believe that anything matters, then that doesn't matter either, and we can approach our absurd lives with irony instead of heroism or despair." Bibliography: Brian, Denis Einstein: A Life John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1996 Hanfling, Oswald (ed.) Life and Meaning: A Reader Blackwell F, Open University, 1987 Mill, John Stuart Utilitarianism Dent Dutton (Everyman), 1962 Plato Gorgias trans. Hamilton, W., Penguin, 1960 Russell, Bertrand History of Western Philosophy Allen and Unwin, 1962 Works consulted following initial assessment of essay: Murdoch, Iris The Sovereignty of Good Routledge, 1991 Nagel, Thomas The Possibility of Altruism Princeton Paperback, 1978

Anti-bullying Policies Essay -- Social Issues, Bullies

According to the work of psychologist David Smith, 57 percent of anti-bullying policies did nothing, 14 percent helped slightly, and 29 percent even made the problem worse (Smith, Schneider, Smith, and Ananiadou 547-560). Every day we see news of â€Å"innocent teasing† escalating into death threatening violence. Yet each day, year after year schools are using the same old methods, attempting to solve this very big problem with little temporary solutions. It is no secret that the bullying problem is not being handled correctly by American schools. The number one problem with America’s â€Å"anti-bullying programs† is that schools are helping the wrong person. The programs focus on helping bullies, mediating bullies, changing bullies. Bullies are not the ones who need help, bullies are not the ones getting hurt, victims are the ones who need help. Bullying will never stop, â€Å"it’s inevitable, a natural byproduct of human nature†(Morgan 1). Even if all bullies were eliminated new bullies would arise because it is all about the imbalance of power. Verbal bullying is not even against the law, in fact it is protected by the first amendment, freedom of speech. In this conundrum yet to be solved victims are the ones killing themselves. Victims are the ones bringing guns into schools and shooting people. Victims need to be taught to stand up for themselves. The only way bullying is going to stop is if we remove its power by teaching victims and leveling the playing field. The idea that American schools often fail to realize is that bullying is almost never just between two kids. There are often a pack of bullies or even more common bystanders that encourage and â€Å"add fuel to the fire.† In one study results, â€Å"showed that bystanders were involved in... ...chers have heavier workloads or have less support by their administrators they are usually less empathetic to victims. Now not only are teachers connected to bullying incidents but so are administrators. If we want to help bullying victims we must inspect every aspect of the problem. With school shootings and constant outbreaks of bullying in the media it is obvious that American schools are not approaching the bullying problem correctly. However there is hope for a brighter future. When going up against bullying we can not just concentrate on one piece of the puzzle. We have to mediate not only the bullies, but the victims, and any other factors contributing to the problem. If American schools reevaluate their programs, shift their focus towards changing old mindsets placed upon us at a young age, and look at the bigger picture, than we truly can be united as one.

Palestine Dispute Essay -- essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the control of Palestine shifted from Muslim to Western powers. Britain promised Jews and Zionists the land in Palestine in the form of the Balfour Declaration. However, at the same time, there were already Palestinians living in that land. Even today, there is no correct answer as to who should have rightfully acquired the land; however, the Palestinian Arabs should have cooperated when the Jews immigrated to the Palestine. There are plenty of facts which support both sides. The solution can only be determined through one’s opinion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Biblical sources, Arabs and Israelites first met in Palestine about 1500 to 500 B.C. This time period recognized the beginning of the tradition of the two peoples’ common patriarchs and the cousinly ties between the offspring of Isaac and the children of Ishmael, the sons of Abraham.(Cohen 1)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before Islam surfaced, the Jews and the Arabs met in the Arabian peninsula. There was actually a very large Jewish population in the Arabian peninsula before the Prophet Muhammed was known. After the Jews were kicked out of Jerusalem by the Romans following the Second Revolt, a large number of Jews went to the northern area of the Arabian peninsula. The settlements of Jews in the Valley of the Villages were important areas for the wandering and nomadic Arabic tribes. The Arabs actually settled near them under their protection, understanding their traditions, customs, and views of religious and social matters. Before Muhammed, some Arabs even accepted the Jewish doctrine of the â€Å"chosen people† and other basic elements of Judaism. (Cohen 2)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However after some time, things started to change. The prophet Muhammed began presenting Islam as a new religion. He even tried converting some Jews into Islam. But when his hopes of winning them over failed, he turned against the Jews. In 626, he attacked the Jewish tribes of Medina and completely destroyed them. This marked the beginning of conflict between the Jews and the Arabs. (Cohen 3) The relationship between the Jews and the Arabs always remained tense. The connection between the two peoples is tense even today. Even with the same enmity, there has been a great deal of change from the beginning of time. An impor... ...o solution to the Arab-Israeli problem. The wars are merely eruptions in the historical encounter that is nothing less than a prolonged war which is doomed to continue until it is resolved in a catastrophic holocaust.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However, others actually have a standpoint. Some believe that the Jews really deserved the land in Palestine because it was theirs to begin with. They were forced out of Jerusalem by the Romans. On the other hand, others say that the land is rightfully the Arab’s land. There were Palestinian Arabs who were living there before the Jews were rewarded the land by the British. Why should they give up their land? There is no solution. However, the two peoples could have lived peacefully. The two groups could have lived together if the Arabs had cooperated. If the Arabs already living in the land had not initiated the attacks on the Jews, the two peoples could have eventually learned to live together in one nation. Works Cited Barker, A. J. Arab-Israeli Wars. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1980. Cohen, Aharon. Israel and the Arab World. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1970. Levin, Meyer. The Story of Israel. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1966.