Slavery in the 1840s Essay Example for Free

Slavery in the 1840s Essay Slavery was always a controversial issue in America. Many people saw slavery as an essential part of life in every aspect, while others saw it as immoral and an injustice to humanity. In the 1840s when Manifest Destiny started to thrive, things began to heat up. New territories meant a possibility for a new slave or free state in America. Because the new territories were allowed the right of popular sovereignty to determine whether they would have slaves or not, abolitionists and non-abolitionists were at a constant battle to gain a new state. Abolitionists wanted slavery diminished in America all together. They gave several arguments to prove their point on why slavery should be abolished. Firstly they stated that slavery was un-Christian. The book of Genesis stated that man was created in the image of God, so all men were created equal. Thus they claimed that anyone that owned slaves would go straight to hell for not adhering to the rules of God that all were equal. Another argument they came about was from a patriotic standpoint from which America was created. The Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal, but with slavery and a flee for freedom in the nation, it was easily contradicted. As such, Abolitionists called slavery un-American. Another point made by the Abolitionists was that slavery gave unlimited power to slave holders. They could treat slaves however they chose because there were no laws protecting slaves. This is turn corrupted their moral values, according to Abolitionists. In economic viewpoints, slavery was still cruel and wicked to Abolitionists. They argued that free labor would be more beneficial because it would inspire competition and foreign investments and that it would appeal to immigrants. Abolitionists also said that it interfered with free and open trade to the north, which were anti-slavery states and businesses. Another point made was that slavery was politically dangerous because there was always a likelihood that salves could rebel. A massive slave rebellion would lead to a racial war in the United States that no one wanted. While Abolitionists argued their points, Pro-slavery groups gave very good rebuttals. Economically they argued that the end to slavery would kill the economy in the south. Without slaves in the fields collecting and caring for the produce, everything would collapse. Cotton, tobacco, and rice would all fail in the economy and the south would be in economic ruin. Another point pro-slavery people argued was what would happen if slaves were to be let free. They stated that if they were freed, unemployment would rise and there would be an abundance of chaos. All of this would lead to uprisings and bloodshed. Yet another argument that the defenders of slavery used was influenced with history. They claimed that slavery had been a part of history for so long and had become a natural state of mankind. History showed that Greeks, Romans, and English (until recently) had slaves and as such it was a part of human nature. Pro-slavery groups, like Abolitionists, also used religion and the bible as an argument. According to the bible Abraham had slaves, Paul returned a run-away slave in the New Testament, and Jesus never spoke out about slavery though it was widespread. Also non-Abolitionists argued that slaves were better cared for compared to factory workers in the North and the poor people of Europe. They indicated that slave owners would protect and help their slaves when they became sick or aged, unlike others who were left helplessly to fend for themselves once they were fired or released. The slave revolt of 1831 led by Nat Turner gave pro-slavery groups a lift in their arguments. It showed that slavery should be continued to keep the slaves in check and keep a watchful eye on them, to prevent any other chaotic events, which no one sought for. As is shown, slavery was a notorious issue that couldn’t be ignored and slowly spiraled out of control. The issue really started to get out of hand in the 1840s with new territories and the revival of religion in the Second Great Awakening. Both Abolitionists and Pro-slavery groups had arguments that caused a lot of uncertainty throughout the country, and especially in the new territories which were given the choice of slaves or no slaves. All of these arguments, issues and uncertainties that were widespread in the nation were the underlying cause of severe disunity between the North and South and eventually the Civil War.

Supply chain management of Nestle

Supply chain management of Nestle Supply chain management has gaining its importance in serving business operations and being part of strategic management of the business. Its role has been shifted from being a support department to being the core department of business with strategic importance and role to play in overall operations of the business. In modern business world no organization can sustain without having a well established, effective and efficient supply chain management. The role of vendors along with vendor management with the introduction of information technology is important consideration for organizations. Now with increase of strategic importance of supply chain management the service provider is now becoming a partner to the organization, rather being just the vendor. The factor influencing competitive advantage of the organization is now having the better vendor management and vendor relations in the list. Therefore in coming years the importance of supply chain management is expected to increase with the increase in competition and globalization. To understand the strategic supply chain management, key concepts and use of information technology to maintain the vendor relationships, this report in presented on one of the leading FMCG company Nestle. Their products range is wide and the concentration of this report is on organizations Pakistan operations. Since Pakistan is the part of their global supply chain operations but for their milk products they have to rely on the local milk suppliers who are not very much educated and well equipped. Therefore managing them is a challenge for the organization and same challenge and its handling is under study in this report. There are some recommendations also given at the end so that improvements can be made in local supply chain. Assignment 2a 2ai) Current Supply Chain Strategies in Nestle In these lines I shall be looking at the supply chain management of Nestle Pakistans operation and would not be discussing the global supply chain management of the organization. The organization has remarkable production facilities in the country and they have also enjoyed the healthy market share for last few decades. One of the reasons of the success of the organization is their vendor management and the intelligent distribution system. The market in Pakistan is mostly dependent upon the distribution network and same has been managed by the organization in recent years by having excellent relationship with their channel members and logistics. Their distribution network makes sure that every product is distributed in the required areas at the required time and the demand and supply does not have any gap. Their distribution setup is synced with their production system therefore they do not have to manage the inventory of the product for the longer period of time. This strategy has saved the organization on financial side moreover they have been able to provide the product to the market at demand (Hugos, 2006). The second side of their supply chain management is their vendor management, they have applied the just in time management concept in their raw material procurement and vendors are very well synced with the procurement and procurement is synced with the production and other support departments. This just in time management has also saved the organization the inventory management cost of the raw material and they are able to maintain a very low level of the inventory. Their vendor are also required to make sure that their raw material reaches to the organization on time (Hugos, 2006). 2aii) Use of IT to Maintain Vendor Relationships The information technology is serving organization to manage their business operations in different ways; the same concept can also be applied to manage vendor relationships with Nestle Pakistans operations. The organization can design a procurement network that is integrated with the various departments of the organization. And the procurement department can have information technology based application that are also integrated with the systems of the vendors and are automated. By using this system organization have the concept of just in time management applied in full spirit and the vendors will also be aware of the production schedules of the organization and they will be able to plan their delivery and their own production planning according (Hugos, 2006). The above mentioned scenario will make it easy and convenient for the vendors to do business with the organization and they will have better relationships with the organization and will continue to do business with them. With having these relationships with the organization they will be able to be partners of the company. Assignment 2b 2bi) Assistance of IT in Supply Chain The use of information technology can assist a great deal in the management of supply chain in case of Nestle Pakistan operations. In the global supply chain nestle is making use of supply chain management tools that are support by latest technology available. These tools are able to integrate different parts of the supply chain that includes the just in time management of raw materials, automation of order generation to vendors and the logistics of raw material from vendor to warehouse and the distribution of the finished goods to the different channels (Chopra and Meindl, 2009). Previously all the above mentioned parts of the supply chain were disintegrated or in some organization these parts were partially integrated. Now information technology has made is possible and easy to manage all these parts of the supply chain from one terminal and more over these parts and integrated with more automation. Example of this integration is simple, once the inventory level reaches to the pre defined minimum for the raw material at the production facility, then the order management system which is connected to the inventory management system, automatically generated order to the pre defined vendors. The order receiving systems of vendors are connected with the procurement systems of the organization (Chopra and Meindl, 2009). After the vendor is intimated, they manage to supply the required stuff and required quantity to organizations warehouse which is already intimated for the order delivery. All this process is done via an integrated system which is called ERP. The application of these information technology tools make the organization able to save their time and management resources and make the vendor the partners of the organization above all this usage of IT bring automation in the processes which is the requirement of production oriented organizations (Chopra and Meindl, 2009). 2bii) Effectiveness of IT in Management of Supply Chain in Nestle When we talk about the effectively using the information technology in the Pakistan market with local vendors that we see that our case company has been able to improve a lot in recent years. Since the market of Pakistan is still in developing phase and the modern management and information technology practices are yet to be adapted in this market. Since Nestle for their business require a team of vendors that are able to provide the timely supplies therefore they had to work hard to induct the modern practices in their supply chain in relation the market conditions (Cohen and Roussel, 2004). Apart from the current IT tools to help the organization gain the best out of their supply chain management, there is a function in which information technology and its use can play an important part in the management of business, and which is still to be explored. This area is related to the supply chain management of their milk products. For their milk brand which is called MILK PAK they need to collect he milk from far and village areas of the market as the milk production is mostly done in the rural areas of Pakistan. Their milk collection process is done on daily basis and it is still on manual basis. There can be use of information technology by using this they can maintain the data base of their milk vendors which are small, geographically distributed and dispersed in locations. Moreover they can also use information technology to locate their collection van using global positioning systems and install trekkers in them so that they can make sure the safety of the milk and the vans . Assignment 2c 2ci) Role of Logistics in Supply Chain Logistics has an important role to play in the overall supply chain management of any organization. Logistics are the activities that are designed to keep the good or services moving from one destination to the other destination. This movement of goods or services can be related to the raw material need for production setup, and its movement would be from vendor premises to the organizational premises and this movement can also be related to movement of finished good from organizational production facility to the channel member facility. In overall management of supply chain the logistics part has its own importance. Since the production oriented business is all about timing. If the raw material is not available to the production facility then the whole production cycle will get disturbed and similarly if the finished good are not reached to the channel members then they will not be able to distribute it on time and the result will be the complete failure of the business plan (Cohen and Roussel, 2004). Consideration for any organization would be to have the logistics setup planned and implemented that is consuming less cost of operations more over which is integrated with the supply and demand channels of the organization. Ability to design such logistics setup helps the organization to achieve their supply chain objectives with putting minimum cost to it. The success of any supply chain management is dependent upon the design of logistics, the smarter the design which is able to serve maximum in minimum cost the better the performance of supply chain roles will be. Focus of our case organization is to design the global logistics channel that is able to satisfy the global business needs in minimum costs. And they have been able to handle this challenge smartly (Cohen and Roussel, 2004). 2cii) Evaluation of Procurement Practices in Nestle Procurement practices in Nestle global as well as Nestle Pakistan are streamlined and working on the smarter management concepts. It would not be wrong to say that one of the success factors for their profitability in the Pakistan is their vendor relations and smart procurement. Nestle Pakistan has to procure different good and services from different kinds of vendor for their operations; these good ranges from the raw material for their finished good as well as the supplies for the support departments like marketing. The overall philosophy of Nestle Pakistan procurement is to focus on quality as well as business efficiency (Hugos, 2006). When we talk about the milk product of the case company then we see that the procurement of the milk from different villagers that are spread across Pakistan is a challenge and the organization has been able to cater to this challenge very well. The important factor in the procurement of the raw milk is to make sure that milk is pure, hygienic and fresh. These things are made sure by designing a well established vendor network that is responsible for the procurement of fresh milk upon the above mentioned properties (Hugos, 2006). Their procurement department has select the reliable and quality vendors that includes small to medium sized diaries that provides the quality milk to the company. Their procurement department also makes sure that the milk is fresh, hygienic and above the standards defined by the organization. Their logistics have made sure that the fresh milk reaches to the production facility on daily basis. The same care and quality consciousness have been practiced in other procurement tasks, and in short we can say that procurement processes at the organization are of high standards (Hugos, 2006). 2ciii) Factors for Improvement in Logistics Procurement There are several factors that are to be considered when organizations go for reviewing and improving their logistics and procurement. The first factor that is to be taken care of is the bargaining power of the suppliers. The higher the bargaining power of supplier the higher will be the requirement for the organization to maintain and build good relationships with their suppliers. In industries where such power is with suppliers organizations have to design their procurement process which is supplier friendly and encourages the organizations to have good friendly relationships with their vendor, focusing on making them their partners in business and getting the competitive edge out of it (Chopra and Meindl, 2009). The second factor which is to be taken into consideration is the cost factor, the procurement and logistics can be costly to the organization if not designed creatively. The logistic are costly when their inbound and outbound management is not done the way to maximize the productivity. Therefore when organization design the procurement and logistics process they should keep in mind the cost of procuring the goods and service along with the distribution cost of the good should be minimum. These costs include the time and resources costs as well. Another important consideration is related to the integration of procurement and logistics with rest of the business operation. Organization when improving these processes should also make it sure that the maximum integration is possible with other departments like production. They should be working on the automation of the processes that should be managed by single hub. This way the costs of operations will be minimum and automation and integration of all the operations will save time and increase efficiency in the business processes. They should also make sure that integration also include the vendors (Chopra and Meindl, 2009). Assignment 2d 2di) Strategy for the Improvement of Supply Chain Presented below is the brief overview about the strategy that can be used to improve the supply chain management of the organization. The focus of the strategy to improve the supply chain management of Nestle Pakistans operations. While reviewing this strategy it should be kept in mind that Pakistan is developing country and their vendor management and logistics operations are being run on old school management. The mentioned below point are focusing on vendor management and to increase the use of information technology to bring overall improvement (Chopra and Meindl, 2009). First of all the organization should work on the vendor relationship management, up till now the balance of power was with the organizations in Pakistani market, but with the introduction of global economy and open market more players are entering into Pakistan and now the importance of vendors is increasing. Keeping this view in mind the Nestle should be working on increasing the organization and vendor integration and they should be made partners in business. This can be done via having automation and integration with vendor systems and simply keeping them motivated to be partners with the organization (Chopra and Meindl, 2009). The second improvement which is required is to start the use of information technology in their supply chain management processed. Up till now the organization is using the information technology internally but they have to move out and make their vendor also use this tool. One can argue that currently vendors are not that advance in using technologies but I would say that organization would have to educate their vendors and make them part of their organizational process, this way they will be able to achieve the true partnership with their suppliers and the operations of supply chain will improve a great deal (Chopra and Meindl, 2009). 2dii) Benefits of Improvement to Business Operations The improvements suggested above have different benefits to the organizational business operations, these benefits ranges from operation to strategic benefits. The first benefit that organization will have is that they will have a strategic competitive advantage by partnering with the suppliers of the raw material of their products. The business era is changing the market and now other players are also entering into the same market, now the competitive advantage will be with the organizations which have strategic partnership with their suppliers as well. The increases in competition have also made the suppliers aware of their important role and they are also feeling the shifting balance of power. So it will be advisable to make the partnership before others do (Hugos, 2006). The second improvement is related to the use of information technology in supply chain management and it has many benefits for the organization. First of all the organization will be able to achieve the integration between different departments playing their part in value chain. Once this is done it will save time and financial resources to the organization as the processes will be streamlined and efficiency will increase. The second benefit of the IT usage will be that vendors and suppliers can also be made part of the organizational processes and with that supply chain overall and procurement processes in specific will be improved. This will again help the organization to get business efficiency (Hugos, 2006). The third benefit is related to distribution part of supply chain, organization will, with the usage of information technology, have the most streamlined distribution network when they have partnered with their channel members, and this will also help in the improvement of business. 2diii) Overcoming the Barriers to Change in Improvement Strategy Whenever there is a strategic change barriers are always there. These barriers are to be removed with the creation of understanding and delegation. The first process is to make the management understand that what are the benefits of the new strategy advised for the strategic change in supply change management. More over the management will also be informed about the challenges it has to face if they do not adapt the required changes in the market. The top management in the first phase will be made part of the process and strategic importance of the change will be introduced to them. In the second phase where the top management will already be convinced about the required change, the middle management will be taken into confidence, at this stage the vendors will also be made part of the process so that they are aware of their role in the organization. This stage will also be comprising the rough drafts of the change. In this process all the vendors and relevant departs will be encouraged to give their feedback about the suggested changes moreover their suggestion will also be noted for any improvement. All this discussion and delegation will create the sense of ownership in management and their feedback will make them realize that this is something for their own benefit and they will start owing it. Once the ownership is there, the barriers to change will start reducing it and fear of unknown will be removed. With this process the implementation of the strategic change will be made successful and finally the concerned departments will also be provided with the required training. Conclusion In this report I have discusses various kinds of supply chain strategies and use of information technology to improve the supply chain. The organization selected for the analysis was Nestle Pakistan, and their supply chain strategies were discussed briefly. The organization is having impressive supply chain management however they need to concentrate on two dimensions. One solution being the concentration on making the vendors partners of the organization. Second solution being increasing the use of information technology tools to manage their vendor relationships.

The company culture of Pixar Animation Studios

The company culture of Pixar Animation Studios Introduction The origin of Pixar is traced back to 1984 when John Lasseter the Chief Creative Officer of Disney and Pixar joined the computer graphics division of Lucasfilms. Two years later Steve Jobs bought this unit and renamed it Pixar that went on to produce award winning short films, commercials and documentaries. The Company expanded its creative potentials to make its first computer animated movie, Toy Story in 1995 that marked the beginning of a new era in animation film industry. Pixar re-defined the meaning of success with major triumphs in the form of The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Toy Story 2, and many others to follow. The Company was acquired by Disney in the year 2006, a strategic alliance that expanded the creative potentials of Pixar to further heights. The success of the company has been termed as dramatic and inspirational for other firms in the creative industry segment. The much talked about Pixar culture provides an interesting insight into how an organization can nurture t he creative talents of its employees across different levels. Research issue The research paper explores the different dimensions of the Pixar culture and its open door policy to understand the ways in which the organization has expanded its creative potentials to become one of the most innovative organizations in the industry. The objective of the paper is to analyse the impacts of the people management practices adopted at Pixar in promoting a creative work environment. Theoretical analysis framework Theoretical analysis provides any research work with the necessary facts and evidence that support the research findings and implications. In this section, the paper will focus on analysing the organizational culture of Pixar through two distinctive models the organizational aesthetics model and Handy (1985) or Harrison (1972) Model of culture. The study of these two theoretical dimensions enable a deeper insight and understanding of how the structural design and practices within an organization shapes its workplace environment and employee attitudes. The study and understanding of these two theoretical dimensions have been used to analyse the Pixar culture that promotes creativity through an enabling work culture. Organizational aesthetics model Aesthetics offers a new look into organizations, and a look at alternative ways of expressing and making meanings that deeply influence organizational interactions, behaviours, and understandings (Taylor Hansen, 2005). Aesthetics relate to our senses and contextual experiences that shape our knowledge and beliefs. Organizational activities and strategies are to a wide extent influenced by the social and contextual environment in which they exist. The underlying assumption of the aesthetic approach to the study of organizations is that, although an organization is indeed a social and collective construct, it is not an exclusively cognitive one but derives from the knowledge-creating faculties of all the human senses (Linstead Hopfl, 2000). According to this approach organizations are created through the re-definition and application of knowledge processing skills that are harnessed for productive gains. Since the organizational processes are widely impacted by the individual perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, opinions, values and reflections of the workforce that drive operational efficiencies. These are indicators of organizational aesthetics that bind the various elements into a more cohesive structure that helps in the production of goods and services for the larger community. Recent Trend in Organization Aesthetics The significance of such models is underlined by the increasing diversity of the workforce in present business environment and the difficulties faced in integrating the skills of individuals from varied knowledge sectors to develop a single product. Research studies have established that an understanding of the organizational aesthetics can help in improving managerial abilities to lead the team towards a more effective performance. Studies have revealed that the understanding of organizational aesthetics can help managers to identify the parameters of how to analyse and approach any issue. This particular aspect enables the organization to pursue a strategy well defined and supported by an understanding of human values and dimensions that impact work performance. Organization Aesthetics in Pixar Bill Capodagli, the author of Innovate the Pixar Way: Lessons from the Worlds most Creative Corporate Playground in an interview with the Enterpriseleadership.org (2010) stated that Pixar has a set of deeply rooted values that champion excellence, tap innovation, and encourage collaboration. Following this observation, it can be inferred that the organizational practices and strategies adopted by Pixar have been a vital factor in promoting its creative talents. The question that this observation raises is what kind of organizational design and practices Pixar has that promotes such creativity. Organizational structure plays a critical role in nurturing individual talent and providing the employees with the opportunity to deliver their true potentials Edgar Schein in 1985 observed that organizations can be broadly categorised into two types Organization A that adopts an open environment facilitated by free flow of communication and less formal atmosphere; and organization B that supports a closed door structure featured by formal work procedures and low interactivity among employees. Pixar belongs to the Organization A type that exhibits an open culture (Schein, 2004). This kind of organization supports team based work culture. The success formula of Pixar is based on team work, collaboration and free flow of communication between individuals. The high level of interaction and flow of communication within the organization is promoted by its flat organizational structure. The organization is founded on remarkable management practices that discourage hierarchical system of r eporting. The non hierarchical organizational structure promotes responsibilities and motivates the employees to put in their best at work resulting in high performing organizations. However, such work culture demands strong commitment and high level of energy from the employees. The operating principles of Pixar is based on freedom to communicate with anyone, a work environment that is safe for everyone to offer ideas, and staying close to innovations happening in the academic community (Catmull, 2008). The creative focus of the organization has been on harnessing its human resource potentials to the optimum through the application of aesthetic organizational principles (McElroy Morrow, 2010). This involves providing its employees with a work environment that is most informal with all amenities and luxuries that enable the stimulation of the creative senses of the workforce (Buzalka, 2006). The company adopts a non-hierarchical organization structure that encourages associates to actively participate in the decision making process at all stages. The organization supports employee empowerment in the form of supportive management practices that focuses on employee skills development and promoting participative leadership style. The lack of formal reporting lines and accountability of employees is compensated with mentors who assist the new comers into the organization and guide them through various stages of career progression. The ability of the organization to create and sustain in novation at work is dependent on speed, transparency and accountability (Hamilton, 2005). Organizational design is to a large extent guided by the flow of information across various levels and departments. Entrepreneurs re-engineer business processes to accommodate a flatter form of organization structure that necessitates free flow of information and knowledge to the workforce. Organizational structure plays a pivotal role in determining organizational culture and values, communication lines and the extent of employee involvement in decision making process. The levels of reporting and accountability framework of a company determine the corporate culture and work environment existing within the company. In current business context, entrepreneurs re-engineer business processes to accommodate a flatter organization structure that necessitates free flow of information and knowledge to the workforce. Knowledge and learning culture forms the key to business success in todays competitive industry. Pixar has managed to leverage existing technology tools to create competitive adv antage through enhancing its competencies and skills to adapt to new systems and innovate work processes for launching and creating new ideas. The effectiveness of such work processes is largely impacted by employee skills, competencies and access to relevant information. In the organizational context, knowledge is a tool that helps the organization to achieve strategic goals and objectives. These goals include generating a reputation for technical expertise, translating expertise into new business ideas, gaining new experience in specific areas to achieve cost advantage and optimum use of internal resources. At Pixar the open organization design facilitates interaction between employees that promotes teamwork. Such initiatives contribute to organizational productivity by providing the employees with a suitable physical environment to work in. Pixar presents a fine blending of learning and team work assisted by an open organizational design that enables the company to roll out new ideas and creative products for their target audience. Advantages of Organizational Aesthetics Workplace design and physical office environment plays a significant role in enhancing organizational productivity and performance. Research studies have concluded that improvements in office design and management are not the only consideration for organizational productivity, but they have an important role to play; offices should be considered as a potential asset rather than just a space to house employees (Charles Zweirzchowski, 2004). Organizational aesthetics take into account the need for designing workspaces to meet the work process requirements. Adequate space designing for privacy of work, open office plans to promote teamwork and interaction between co-workers support the organizational goals by providing the employees with the desired workspace. Technology has created new expectations and influenced consumer behavior to include a wide gamut of options and possibilities that can be explored by organizations to launch new trends and range of products. Such business models are supported by increased collaboration and interaction between employees across different departments. The open design office structure supported by Pixar enables the employees to communicate and discuss freely the work issues and details. Discussions and deliberations on work issues are effective in promoting work efficiency and enable the companies to come up with million dollar ideas. The right mix of design and functionality while planning office spaces can have a positive impact on organizational productivity and performance through reduced operational costs in the form of shared resources and effective teamwork. Types of office design The conventional office design and workplace layout have undergone massive transformations over the past few decades. The previous sections have elaborated on the significance of organizational aesthetics in developing creative potentials within the firm and the analysis highlights the impacts that structural design has on employee productivity and performance. Efficient workplace design can positively impact employee motivation levels and satisfaction. Theoretical frameworks in this context have emphasized the significance of workplace design and office layout plans in supporting organizational goals, work processes, innovative culture and business values. Bill Capodagli in an interview with the Credit Union Magazine recently commented that the success behind Pixar lay in its conceptualisation of a corporate playground that enabled its employees to relax and enjoy within the organization. When you go there, you may see people playing football or swimming in an Olympic sized pool. It has created an atmosphere where work is fun working hard and playing hard (Capodagli Credit Union, 2010). Pixar has adopted an open office design that enables its employees to share ideas, conceptualise new designs and initiate new practices for effective results. An analysis of the effectiveness of the office design theories put forward by Duffy (1997) reveals interesting insights into the Pixar model. Duffy (1997) in his works had proposed four distinct types of office design namely den, club, hive and cell. The matrix given below illustrates the extent to which these four office design types support interaction and autonomy in organizations The work culture at Pixar shows a high degree of team work and interaction between employees. The organization as studied in the previous sections supports a participative decision making process. The daily work of the employees is reviewed by peers and managers for assessing the effectiveness of outcomes (Capodagli, 2010). Hence the work environment at Pixar supports limited autonomy combined with high level of interactivity that is characterized by the Den office design as postulated by Duffy (1997). The effectiveness of such office design is emphasized by its contribution in motivating and inspiring employees towards creativity. Such workplace design according to Van der Voodt (2004) promotes a transparent organizational structure, enables employee empowerment, encourages team work, promotes learning, facilitates free flow of information, allows increased collaboration at work and creates a motivational environment. It can be inferred from the above discussion that organizational design and workplace layout must focus on enabling increased collaborative environment within the departments and hierarchies. Organization Culture and Workplace Environment The previous section highlighted the significance of organizational aesthetics and workplace design in shaping the Pixar work culture. However, the analysis of the success mantra of Pixar cannot be complete without an insight into its organizational culture that is reflected in its workplace environment. Organization culture defines the organizational belief, values and norms shared by the employees. An organization is shaped by the culture that predominates in work environment, employee behaviour and managerial attitude. Pixar adopts an organization culture that defies all traditional theories related to managing and running a business establishment. Conventional management practices focused on bureaucratic controls and centralised decision making system that demarcated distinctive roles for each individuals. The evolving concepts of organizational culture and practices focus more on employee welfare and development plans that inspire the workforce to display proactive behaviour at work. One of the distinctive challenges faced by all organizations today is motivating its employees to achieve higher levels of performance and build a work climate that induces positive attitude to work amongst its employees. Motivation is a key area where the organizational management needs to stand out in order to achieve a high degree of employee creativity skills in solving business problems. Opportunity oriented, reward oriented, freedom to explore and work on their own are some of the factors which contribute to a high degree of motivation which gives solidarity to the company and promotes a good organizational culture. A high degree of employe e motivation ensures that employees work freely and without reservations in achieving their desired goals. They are also given the freedom to work on their own to allow creative ideas and hence innovative practices to grow. This would not be possible in a restricting environment where the employees do not have the room to develop and grow their intrinsic creativity skills. Pixar adopted the innovative and creative approach to expand its market potentials and gain new grounds in an emerging industry. The promoters of the Company ensured that the team based work approach promoted creative talents of its employees and nurtured the potentials of the workforce through an enabling corporate learning environment. This is a new kind of movie studio that not only invents its own technology, much like a whiz-bang Silicon Valley Company, but also comes up with new production methods and organizational innovations that bring unheard of discipline to the crazy business of making movies (Schlender, 2004). Model of culture Different models of organizational culture have been proposed by researchers and academicians. Such models provide the basis for understanding the context in which organizations operate within the existing business environment. One of the models proposed by Roger Harrison (1972) suggested that organizational culture is primarily of four types that include power, role, task/achievement and person/support (Cartwright Cooper, 2000). This model was further researched by Handy to provide four distinctive categories of organization culture. The four categories have been identified as role culture, power culture, person culture, and task culture. The role culture reflects bureaucratic organization that takes into account the procedures and position of employees to define the existing work culture. The power culture is influenced by the control of individuals at the head who run the whole show for the business. The person culture is shaped by the leader-subordinate relationship that accounts for the existing work culture. The task culture is based on impact of individual knowledge and expertise that influences the work culture and environment (Itzen Nerwman, 2005). The organizational culture displayed at Pixar focuses on increased collaboration and team work culture. The creativity at Pixar is fostered daily by an open collaborative atmosphere in which every member of the team is engaged in the process and commited to a common goal in this case, a good entertaining story (Kiedaisch, 2010). The company adopts an integrated approach towards its people development strategies based on group learning initiatives and team work focus. One of the mechanisms adopted by organizations today is the reinforcement of team work that provides the individuals with the autonomy and freedom to act according to the need of the hour. Teams at Pixar are an integral part of operational processes and the organization relies extensively on teams to perform strategic functions. The team learning process is not only innovative and inspiring to the members but it also helps the organization devise new strategies and creative ideas that can work wonders for the business. Hence it can be concluded that Pixar displays task culture where individual expertise and skills are integrated with organizational capabilities and resources to produce new ideas and product designs. The task culture brings individuals working on specific tasks together to contribute to the completion of a bigger task. The work approach focuses on completing the job at hand successfully and more emphasis is given to a collaborative approach that necessitates the coming together of differently skilled people to accomplish the goal. Hence this kind of work culture promotes an informal work environment where decision making is usually reached through discussions and consensus between the employees. This type of work culture is also characterized by increased interaction and exchange of information between members. Suggested applicable solutions In order for an organization to remain relevant and to compete in pursuit of its mission, management of organizations must pay attention to both ends of the process, generating creative ideas frequently and utilizing its innovation process to realize the potential value of those ideas (McLean, 2005). Organizations operating in a competitive business environment depend on innovation and creativity through the adoption of latest technology tools and applications to drive market advantage in their favour. Management of technology and its judicious application in work processes facilitate the firms to deliver high quality products and superior work performance that is driven by an enabling work culture. Adopting work practices that promote creativity and innovation within firms can be a challenging task since the application of such business models are impacted by the human resource strategies, managerial capabilities and resource availability (Gilmartin, 1999). Studies of such business models in creative organizations have proved the effectiveness of these strategies that promote innovation and a positive work culture within the workforce. An analysis of the competitive industry environment provides a clear picture on the existing market environment and its current trends. The driving economic forces that guide the market movements and emergent technology trends are significant to the analysis of markets and help organizations like Pixar to define appropriate strategies to retain competitive advantage. Futuristic technologies are envisioned to create better and increased utility of existing products and services for improved applications and heightened consumer satisfaction. However, the effective utilisation of such technology trends depends on the creativity of its manpower. Creativity contributes to the generation of new ideas and help companies in distinguishing their products and services from their competitors in the market. Pursuing a creative organization approach must focus on developing the human resource of the organization. Conclusion The analysis of Pixar work culture and organizational aesthetics have highlighted some significant points in context of strengthening the innovative capabilities of a company. While office workspace design and structure play a significant role in influencing a positive work environment the role of organizational culture and strategic practices involving team work, participative leadership approach and employee empowerment in promoting creativity among employees cannot be ignored. The guiding principle behind managerial strategies and focus of the organization has been nurturing relationships and building trust among employees that helps in creating an amiable and creative work environment. If we get that right, the result is a vibrant community where talented people are loyal to one another and their collective work, everyone feels that they part of something extraordinary, and their passion and accomplishments make the community a magnet for talented people coming out of schools or working at other places (Catmull, 2008).

Miranda Grey and Frederick Clegg from The Collector by John Fowles Essa

Miranda Grey and Frederick Clegg from The Collector by John Fowles Miranda Grey and Frederick Clegg are the main characters that are interpreted in the text The Collector, by John Fowles. Both characters correspond to different classes in society. John Fowles uses the concept of the implied reader, in which he 'speaks to' a specific reader in mind in an attempt to have the story interpreted in a particular way. Fowles expects us to read Miranda as an intelligent, mentally independent being part of the upper class, but at the same time, an arrogant "liberal humanist snob" (Radhakrishna Rao, www.freshlimesoda.com/reviews/thecollector.html). The use and lack of several literary techniques, point of view, allusion, and Heraclitian philosophies encourages this intended response I hold towards Miranda. Fowles' various writing techniques promoted the interpretation that Clegg is part of the lower class and as a result is a victim of the mind, unable to expand his thoughts or feelings. It is because of this that he finds it hard to see between what is morally correct, and what is not accepted. I found it difficult to respond to his character due to the fact that the protagonist in most novels is one easy to identify with, unlike the motives of Frederick Clegg. Fowles' uses several literary techniques to enhance the proposed analysis of Clegg. The first insights to Clegg's mental restrictions are revealed as early as the first page. However, "Instead of accepting everything that Clegg says at face value we must question it" (The Collector: Wizard Study Notes pg. 11), and that is exactly how Fowles intends it. Clegg portrays his information as an informal account of events, perhaps similar to a description of hi... ...n emotionally, which encouraged part of my response to be out of compassion. Fowles intends for us to question both characters and has succeeded in doing so. BIBLIOGRAPHY ============ Class handouts, The Collector: Wizard Study Notes, 1992, Wizard Book, Victoria. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Moon, Brian. 1992, Literary Terms: A Practical Glossary 2nd Edition, Chalkface Press, Perth. -------------------------------------------------------------------- "John Fowles': The Collector" 1999, Pegasos, [online] Available: www.kirjasto.sci.fi/jfowles.html "The Collector", Fresh Lime Soda Books [online]. Available: www.freshlimesoda.com/reviews/thecollector.html Radhakrishna Rao "The Collector by John Fowles", 2003, Green Man Review, [online] Available: www.greenmanreview.com/book/book_fowles_collector.html

Lucky Jim :: essays research papers

Characters There is more than a touch of the picaresque rogue in Jim Dixon. Jim perpetrates a succession of practical jokes, tricks, and deceptions on other characters in the novel, especially those who offend his democratic sensibility. He has a talent for "pulling faces" and projecting voices gestures Amis uses to enhance Jim's social commentary. He is sometimes aided and abetted in his roguery by his fellow boarder, the salesman Bill Atkinson. On campus, in addition to Welch, Johns, and Margaret, Jim is seen interacting with certain female students to whom he is attracted and with Mr. Michie, an ardent overachiever who keeps pushing Jim to provide him with the syllabus for Jim's honors tutorial. Off campus, Jim meets Christine Callaghan and eventually steals her away from Bertrand Welch. Through Christine he meets her uncle Julius GoreUrquhart, a wealthy entrepreneur and critic who hires Jim as his personal secretary. Themes As in all good comedy, the theme of this book is the difference between appearance and truth, between illusion and reality. The theme plays itself out through the conventional concerns of romantic love. Jim is caught between the falsity of Margaret Peel and the freshness of Christine Callaghan. He is caught between one job, the future of which involves kowtowing to Welch until he becomes an historical fossil like his superior, and another job the prospect of which offers a supportive employer and interesting work. Amis projects Jim through a series of complications during the course of which the author critiques the stodginess of England's moribund social system. The obligatory happy ending is fulfilled when Jim ends up with the proper woman and the proper work. Techniques/Literary Precedents Lucky Jim is a conventional novel; its narration is third person, its development is chronological, and its style is a conventional mixture of dialogue and description. The characterizations are clearly and sharply drawn. The novel abounds in verbal wit, comic gesture, and good natured satire. One of its most distinguished qualities is the pacing and power of key descriptive passages. Amis controls and builds excruciatingly comic tension in such descriptions as Welch attempting to pass a van on a curve with a Lucky Jim :: essays research papers Characters There is more than a touch of the picaresque rogue in Jim Dixon. Jim perpetrates a succession of practical jokes, tricks, and deceptions on other characters in the novel, especially those who offend his democratic sensibility. He has a talent for "pulling faces" and projecting voices gestures Amis uses to enhance Jim's social commentary. He is sometimes aided and abetted in his roguery by his fellow boarder, the salesman Bill Atkinson. On campus, in addition to Welch, Johns, and Margaret, Jim is seen interacting with certain female students to whom he is attracted and with Mr. Michie, an ardent overachiever who keeps pushing Jim to provide him with the syllabus for Jim's honors tutorial. Off campus, Jim meets Christine Callaghan and eventually steals her away from Bertrand Welch. Through Christine he meets her uncle Julius GoreUrquhart, a wealthy entrepreneur and critic who hires Jim as his personal secretary. Themes As in all good comedy, the theme of this book is the difference between appearance and truth, between illusion and reality. The theme plays itself out through the conventional concerns of romantic love. Jim is caught between the falsity of Margaret Peel and the freshness of Christine Callaghan. He is caught between one job, the future of which involves kowtowing to Welch until he becomes an historical fossil like his superior, and another job the prospect of which offers a supportive employer and interesting work. Amis projects Jim through a series of complications during the course of which the author critiques the stodginess of England's moribund social system. The obligatory happy ending is fulfilled when Jim ends up with the proper woman and the proper work. Techniques/Literary Precedents Lucky Jim is a conventional novel; its narration is third person, its development is chronological, and its style is a conventional mixture of dialogue and description. The characterizations are clearly and sharply drawn. The novel abounds in verbal wit, comic gesture, and good natured satire. One of its most distinguished qualities is the pacing and power of key descriptive passages. Amis controls and builds excruciatingly comic tension in such descriptions as Welch attempting to pass a van on a curve with a

Ethics and Leadership in Engineering

Engineers play a significant part in the development, prosperity and safety of people around the globe. The primary role of engineers is to identify/sense and respond to a need by constructing or creating a solution with certain specific guidelines. While it is the responsibility of engineers to develop such structures, it is also their responsibility that their creation serves the function in a proper manner, take all safety precautions while making it and give the safety directions to the users after handing it over. Discussion These structures, however, do not stay safe forever. No matter how safe a construction or a creation is, it reveals its failure after sometime. Eventually these failures lead to dire consequences some time. Engineers struggle all the time to avoid failures and make their solution safer and more efficient. Sometime mere lacking of professional ethics is the reason. In UK, the seriousness of ethical issues, which arise in professional lives of engineers, has been recognized recently. However, in USA this has been recognized for some time. Their universities offer substantial guidance and support to their professionals. The Royal Academy of Engineering, in 2005, initiated the process and brought its publishing in the form of â€Å"Statement of Ethical Principles†, which outlines the specific ways in which engineers across UK are committed to upholding certain ethical values. During the same time, UK Engineering Council amended its standards for chartered and incorporated engineers, in order to increase awareness of ethical issues. It appears that this has resulted in having a profound effect as many universities have incorporated ethical perspective in their studies. Professional Engineers strive to develop solutions that improve the health and safety conditions for the welfare of society. The statement of Ethical Principles sets standards for professional Engineers (Statement of Ethical Principles. 2005). It presents four principles that guide engineers in their professional duties. It includes Accuracy and Rigour, Honesty and Integrity, Respect for life, Law and the Public Good, and Responsible Leadership. Accuracy and Rigour means, Engineers have the responsibility to acquire and sustain the information relevant to their practices; they should also keep their knowledge up to date. It is also the responsibility to always act with care as their profession requires a strong commitment. They should only perform their services in the field of relevant competence. Since the technical knowledge, an Engineer can understand are not easy for the others, therefore, it is the duty of engineers to not knowingly mislead others as it can have dire consequences and therefore unethical. Honesty and Integrity means; engineers should act with high standards of professional ethics. They should not accept any bribery or questionable payment from anyone. They should act in the best interest of employer, unless it is not in conflict with rights of the other party. Respect for Life, Law and the Public Good, entails that engineers should be aware of relevant laws and regulations and should work accordingly. Conservation of nature and its resources should be a priority. They should act in the best manner that does not bring bad image to their profession. Responsible Leadership involves practicing high level of standards and leadership in the management of technology. Provide awareness to the public. Listen to the concern of the society. Adhering to these principles will bring good name to the profession and will make sure that it achieves what it is meant to be, welfare of society. However, we can have numerous examples from the past, of such negligence and improper conduct in this respected profession. In past successive accidents of railway occurred in UK, which were later fully investigated. These include the accident of Clapham Junction rail crash, on 12 December 1988. 35 people killed while 100 injured, when oncoming train ran into wreckage. Another on, 19 September 1997, Southall rail crash, killed 6 people and 150 injured. It occurred because of a collision with freight train. On 5 October 1999, Ladbroke Grove rail crash happened, when train passed the signal at danger and resulted in the head on collision, killed 21 while 523 injured. Investigation reports show that these could have been prevented by timely action of professional engineers. In America, a TV Antenna Tower collapsed in 1982, killing several people. Later investigation showed that safety measures were not taken as should have been (Uff, 2012, Pp13). Conclusion Engineering is a much respected profession. This respect demands responsibility. Adhering to rules but there arise ethical responsibilities too. However, if professional engineers stick to the four principles and apply them in their activities, it will surely add more value to this profession for sure. Running Head: leadership techniques Managers do things right, while leaders do the right thing. [Name of writer] [Name of institution] Managers do things right, while leaders do the right thing Thesis Statement â€Å"Managers do things right, while leaders do the right thing†. Introduction â€Å"Leaders create and change cultures, while managers and administrators live within them.† (Edward Schein) Managers do things right, while leaders do the right thing. Leader also sounds similar to the manager to the common man. But we know there are subtle differences. It takes a totally different approach to become a leader. These subtle differences create the difference that is visible in performances of organizations. There have been many theories on leadership and management. Talking about whether a manager is born or developed, what styles are of management exist and which is appropriate. Also, what a leader does, where his/her power comes from. First of all we will differentiate between a leader and a manager. Then we will discuss some models and theories related to it. Discussion The role of a manager is to achieve goals effectively and efficiently, by planning, organizing, co-ordinating and controlling. The importance of time is immense. On the other hand, leaders create and communicate a vision, then energise their followers towards achieving that vision. Leaders create a culture of shared values, beliefs and rituals to challenge the status quo. Managers use position authority to make subordinates work towards goals. While leaders motivate and inspire their followers to achieve their goals. Today the trait theory (born leaders) is criticized more. It is argued that even leadership has different styles, which are learned with experience rather than born traits (Daft, 2003, Pp.518). Ashridge Management College did research and found four major classifications of management styles. Tells, sells, consults, join. In tell style, the manager is autocratic, making a decision and imposing it on others. In sell style, manager still makes a decision on self like basis, but try to explain the logic behind it. In consult style, manager makes decision but in consultation with his/her subordinates. The most democratic style is join style, where manager himself becomes part of the team that makes joint decisions, and also claims the responsibility of that decision afterwards. Research indicates managers are generally thought to be having told or sell style. While employees prefer consult style. Choosing which style is more appropriate, depends on several factors. Contingency approach by Charles Handy suggests that four factors need to be understood to answer this question. The environment, task or people, trust or control, liking or respect (Schermerhorn 2012, Pp.266). Each particular combination of these factors results in a different situation and, therefore, requires a different tailored approach of management towards it (Robbins & Judge, 2010, Pp.393). Michigan and Harvard identified two basic types of leaders. Task oriented and people or relation oriented leaders. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages. Ohio state research suggests that task orientation and people orientation can be achieved simultaneously; they are not mutually exclusive. Blake’s management grid proves this research by suggesting rather than asking a question that a manager should be task or people oriented; ask to what extent a manager should be task and people oriented (Daft, 2003, Pp.522). Managers and leaders differ in their approaches towards performing similar tasks. The approach of management is routine in nature. They like to work under conditions of certainty, strive to gain as much information as they gain, take relatively less risk. Leaders on the hand challenge the status quo. They talk about changing the culture and create followers with their motivation and persuasions skills. Leaders create a shared culture towards achieving the vision that followers own. Conclusion Who is best, a leader or manager is, however, a question depending on what needs to be accomplished. If it is a routine or not so dynamic environment, then decision tilts in favour towards manager. While if it involves dealing with changing and fluctuating situation with lots of risk involved then it will require the initiative approach of a leader.

Lamb to the Slaughter Essay

Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl uses the literary devices of dramatic irony, foreshadowing, and imagery to depict a dark comedy by grasping the idea of a tragedy becoming humorous. There are multiple uses and examples of irony throughout this short story that relate to the idea of a dark comedy. One key quote of dramatic irony comes from the end of the book stating, Personally, I think its right here on the premises.? Probably right under our very noses. What do you think, Jack This quote here shows us as that the detectives have no idea that they are actually eating the evidence of the murder right then and there. We, as the audience, obviously know what is going on and by Mary Maloney chuckling at that statement shows us that Dahl turned something as horrible as murder into something that she laughs at in the end referring to the idea of dark comedy. Verbal irony is also represented in this piece of literature. When she goes to the market, she talks to the grocer and states, ? No, Ive got meat, thanks. I got a nice leg of lam, from the freezer.? (pg. 20) This is verbal irony because it shows that what she is saying is basically telling the grocer what she used for the murder of her husband. The irony here is amusing, knowing the fact that killed the supposed love of her life and can so easily lie about it. So again, the verbal irony really catches the tone of the dark comedy that Dahl is trying to capture here. Both dramatic and verbal irony relate to eac h other in the sense that the audience feels the ideas of a tragedy as something funny therefore, relating back to the overall picture of the piece of literate as a dark comedy in the short story