Feminism And Gender Equality In The 1990’s

Overall, the rights and status of women have improved considerably in the last century; however, gender equality has recently been threatened within the last decade. Blatantly sexist laws and practices are slowly being eliminated while social perceptions of â€Å"women's roles† continue to stagnate and even degrade back to traditional ideals. It is these social perceptions that challenge the evolution of women as equal on all levels. In this study, I will argue that subtle and blatant sexism continues to exist throughout educational, economic, Women who carefully follow their expected roles may never ecognize sexism as an oppressive force in their life. I find many parallels between women's experiences in the nineties with Betty Friedan's, in her essay: The Way We Were – 1949. She dealt with a society that expected women to fulfill certain roles. Those roles completely disregarded the needs of educated and motivated business women and scientific women. Actually, the subtle message that society gave was that the educated woman was I remember in particular the searing effect on me, who once intended to be a psychologist, of a story in McCall's in December 1949 called â€Å"A Weekend with Daddy. A little girl who lives a lonely life with her mother, divorced, an intellectual know-it-all psychologist, goes to the country to spend a weekend with her father and his new wife, who is wholesome, happy, and a good cook and gardener. And there is love and laughter and growing flowers and hot clams and a gourmet cheese omelet and square dancing, and she doesn't want to go home. But, pitying her poor mother typing away all by herself in the lonesome apartment, she keeps her guilty secret that from now on she will be living for the moments when she can escape to that dream home n the country where they know â€Å"what life is all about. † (See I have often consulted my grandparents about their experiences, and I find their historical perspective enlightening. My grandmother was pregnant with her third child in 1949. Her work experience included: interior design and modeling women's clothes for the Sears catalog. I asked her to read the Friedan essay and let me know if she felt as moved as I was, and to share with me her experiences of sexism. Her immediate reaction was to point out that â€Å"Betty Friedan was a college educated woman and she had certain goals that never interested me. My grandmother, though growing up during a time when women had few social rights, said she didn't experience oppressive sexism in her life. However, when she describes her life accomplishments, I feel she has spent most of her life fulfilling the expected roles of women instead of pursuing goals that were mostly reserved for men. Unknowingly, her life was controlled by traditional, sexist values prevalent in her time and still prevalent in the nineties. Twenty-four years after the above article from McCall's magazine was written, the Supreme Court decided whether women should have a right to an abortion in Roe v. Wade (410 U. S. 113 (1973)). I believe the decision was made in favor of women's rights mostly because the court made a progressive decision to consider the woman as a human who may be motivated by other things in life than just being a mother. Justice Blackmun delivered the Maternity, or additional offspring, may force upon the woman a distressful life and future. Psychological harm may be imminent. Mental and physical health may be taxed by child care. There is also a distress, for all concerned, associated with the unwanted child, and there is the problem of bringing a child into a family lready unable, psychologically and otherwise, to care for it. In other cases, as in this one, the additional difficulties and continuing stigma of unwed motherhood may be involved. I feel the court decision of Roe v. Wade would not have been made in 1949. Even in 1973, it was a progressive decision. The problem of abortion has existed for the entire history of this country (and beyond), but had never been addressed because discussing these issues was not socially acceptable. A culture of not discussing issues that have a profound impact on women is a culture that encourages women to be powerless. The right of abortion became a major issue. Before 1970, about a million abortions were done every year, of which only about ten thousand were legal. Perhaps a third of the women having illegal abortions – mostly poor people – had to be hospitalized for complications. How many thousands died as a result of these illegal abortions no one really knows. But the illegalization of abortion clearly worked against the poor, for the rich could manage either to have their baby or to have their abortion under A critic of the women's movement would quickly remind us that omen have a right to decline marriage and sex, and pursue their individual interests. However, I would argue that the social pressure women must endure if they do not conform to their expected role is unfair. The problem goes beyond social conformity and crosses into government intervention (or lack thereof). The 1980's saw the pendulum swing against the women's movement. Violent acts against women who sought abortions became common and the government was unsympathetic to the victims. There are parallels between the Southern Black's civil rights movement and the women's movement: Blacks have long been ccustomed to the white government being unsympathetic to violent acts against them. During the civil rights movement, legal action seemed only to come when a white civil rights activist was killed. Women are facing similar disregard presently, and their movement is truly one for civil rights. A national campaign by the National Organization of Women began on 2 March 1984, demanding that the US Justice Department investigate anti-abortion terrorism. On 1 August federal authorities finally agreed to begin to monitor the violence. However, Federal Bureau of Investigation director, William Webster, declared that he saw no evidence of â€Å"terrorism. † Only on 3 January 1985, in a pro-forma statement, did the President criticize the series of bombings as â€Å"violent anarchist acts† but he still refused to term them â€Å"terrorism. Reagan deferred to Moral Majoritarian Jerry Falwell's subsequent campaign to have fifteen million Americans wear â€Å"armbands† on 22 January 1985, â€Å"one for every legal abortion† since 1973. Falwell's anti- abortion outburst epitomized Reaganism's orientation: â€Å"We can no longer passively and quietly wait for the Supreme Court to change their mind or for Congress to pass a law. Extremism on the right was no vice, moderation no virtue. Or, as Hitler explained in Mein Kamph, â€Å"The very first essential for success is a perpetually constant and regular employment of violence. (See This mentality continued on through 1989 during the Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (109 S. Ct. 3040 (1989)) case. â€Å"The Reagan Administration had urged the Supreme Court to use this case as the basis for overturning Roe v. Wade. † (See Endnote #5) It is disturbing that the slow gains achieved by the women's movement are so volatile and endangered when conservative dministrations gain a majority in government. To put the problem into perspective: a woman's right to have an abortion in this country did not come until 1973. Less than two decades later, the president of the United States is pushing to take that right away. It seems blatant that society is bent on putting women in From the above examples, it appears American culture prefers women as non- professional, non-intellectual, homemakers and mothers. This mentality is not easily resolved, because it is introduced at a young age. Alice Brooks experienced inequality on the basis of her race and her sex. In her autobiography, A Dream Deferred, she recalls the reaction of her father when she brought up the idea of college to him: I found a scholarship for veterans' children and asked my father to sign and furnish proof that he was a veteran. He refused and told me that I was only going to get married and have babies. I needed to stay home and help my mother with her kids. My brother needed college to support a family. Not only was I not going to get any help, I was also tagged as selfish because I wanted to go This is another example of women being labeled as selfish for wanting the same opportunities as men. Alice Brooks is a very courageous woman; seemingly able to overcome any oppression she may encounter. During her presentation to our class, she said that â€Å"women who succeed in male dominated fields are never mediocre – they are extraordinary achievers. Her insight encapsulates much of the subtle sexism that exists today. I feel that no one can truly be equal in a society when only the â€Å"extraordinary achievers† are allowed to succeed out of their This attitude of rising blatant and subtle attacks on women's civil rights is further exemplified in recent reactions to affirmative action plans. These plans have been devised to try to give women and minorities an opportunity to participate in traditionally white male dominated areas. However, we see the same trends in legal action for the use of affirmative action plans as we saw in the 1980's backlash against the Roe v. Wade decision. A few interesting points were presented in the case, Johnson v. Transportation Agency, Santa Clara (480 U. S. 616 (1987)). Mr. Paul E. Johnson filed suit against the Santa Clara County Transportation Agency when he was denied a promotion, feeling the company's affirmative action plan denied him of his ivil rights. Some interesting facts were presented in this case: Specifically, 9 of the 10 Para-Professionals and 110 of the 145 Office and Clerical Workers were women. By contrast, women were only 2 of the 28 Officials and Administrators, 5 of the 58 Professionals, 12 of the 124 Technicians, none of the Skilled Crafts Workers, and 1 – who was Joyce – of the 110 Road Maintenance Workers. (See Endnote # 7) The above statistics show women have been considerably underrepresented at the Santa Clara County Transportation Agency. These numbers are not uncommon and are found throughout business. It is interesting to note the current popular perception is that affirmative action precludes white males from finding employment with companies that implement these plans. The truth is in the numbers, however. The fact that Mr. Johnson felt he was denied his civil rights because an equally qualified woman was given a promotion, instead of him, is just a small window into the subtle sexism that exists today. Most critics of affirmative action do not consider the grossly unequal numbers of men in management and professional positions. Secondly, it never seems an issue of debate that a woman may have had no other previous life pportunities in these male dominated areas. I do not intend to argue that affirmative action is good or bad, but only wish to point out that the current backlash against these programs is heavily rooted in sexism and racism. Often blatant violence or unfair acts against a group of people will cause that group to pull together and empower themselves against their oppressors. The women's movement has made large steps to eliminate many of these blatantly sexist acts in the last century. Now the real difficulty is upon us: subtle acts of sexism and the degrading social roles of women in today's onservative culture. Alice Brooks so eloquently described her experiences with inequality, stating, â€Å"the worse pain came from those little things people said or did to me. † As these â€Å"little things† accumulate in the experience of a young woman, she increasingly finds herself powerless in her relationships, employment, economics, and society in general. The female child has as many goals as the male child, but statistically she is unable to realize these goals because of the obstacles that society sets in front of her. Society and media attempt to create an illusion that women have every right that men enjoy.

Internet security Essay

Our instructor gave us an assignment and I had to look for some information from the online library. I dashed to the public library nearby and at the entrance I was greeted by a sign with the words â€Å"Internet security enforced† So the internet services offered by the library had at last been secured! In the current world the term internet is very common. As Curtin admits in his essay on Introduction to network security â€Å"This is a word that I have heard way too often in the last few years. Movies, books, newspapers, magazines, television programs, and practically every other sort of media imaginable have dealt with the internet recently. Internet is a term used to refer to a ‘network of other networks’ (Curtin, par 21-22). Internet has a history in itself. It was created mainly to improve the interactions among different researchers sponsored by the government. The internet grew rapidly in the years of 1980s in educational institutions, business organizations, government agencies and international institutions. By the years of 1990s, internet usage had phenomenally grown and the networking had increased at a very fast rate compared to any network that had ever been used before like telephone use for networking. When a look is made into the present, millions and millions of internet users are connected with majority being those in business (NIST, par 7). The internet technology works magic in this advanced society. However, one is at risk of attacks sneaking through the front door if the internet site is insecure and the computer system is not ready to handle such cases of insecurity. It is thus important to have internet security. What then is internet security? Internet Security Concept To get a better insight of the positive and the negative side of internet security as part of technology, it is important to understand the concept ‘Internet security’. Security seems to be an ambiguous term. Everyone argues differently of what this is and furthermore the acceptable risk levels. Internet security entails the protection of the network against threats. Security is an issue for not only everyone but also everything. Even the internet needs to be secured from threats such as viruses (Curtin, par 104-105). Viruses are the source of computer system insecurity. Virus is software that clings to host software. It uses the host’s ability to replicate itself. When the host program is executed, the host also executes its duty. It also attaches itself to other programs. Viruses erase programs, steal personal information or declare their presence blocking important information. They pose great dangers to computer system. Therefore computer systems need to be secured (MacForensicsLab, par 17-28). Benefits of Internet Security The benefits that accrue from a secure internet are far reaching and wide. Furthermore, it takes less to prevent than to cure. The main purpose of internet security is to give protection against viruses. Viruses are the greatest evil doers when it comes to the information technology (NIST, par7-10). Just like any other virus that cause diseases, computer viruses are on the increase all of which have their origin from the widely used internet. They can be so dangerous to a computer system and can lead to its destruction. Such infections can lead to loss of important data. Internet security programs such as antivirus ensure that all data obtained from the internet is scanned to remove all the unwanted programs and viruses. Antivirus is a strong antibiotic that strongly fights the computer viruses. This ensures that the incoming information is clean and safe for use in a computer system (Kapsersky, par 6-9). Internet security keeps one’s information confidential. The world of technology has greatly expanded. Internet technology can however be applied wrongly. For instance, if a system is not secure, other person can get access to the system via the internet. Some unwanted programs can be launched into the computer’s memory. However, the security put as a guard warns users of such dangerous processes and prevents harmful changes that may be done on the file system. Internet security also protects the computer from spyware; confidential information such as bank account numbers, passwords and details from credit cards is secured from being viewed by intruders (Kapsersky, par 13). Internet security protects a computer system from hackers. Technology have gone too far such that it is possible to scan another computer’s ports through the network. Such hackers are malicious and are done to attack the network. What the internet security does is to block any further communication with that computer that attempting to attack (Kapsersky, par 16). Furthermore, some internet security programs allow users to only access secure intranet or internet. The firewall determines the limits of the rules. More so a computer can be prevented from visibility by other computers online. Once a certain mode such as stealth mode has been switched on, the computer becomes invisible from other networks. All other network activities ceases apart from the specified. Therefore any plans to invade the systems are altered. Internet security can therefore guard the whole system from attacks by viruses such as the Trojan horse and prevents a computers data access by any unauthorized personnel (Kapsersky, par 18-19). Most of the internet security focus on the physical infrastructures; the network itself. However, there are others that provide total solution as far as internet security is concerned. That is, the network, applications as well as platforms. Examples of these include, Microsoft NT (R) as well as UNIX (R). A protection that is over all is the best for a total security of the computer from the internet ‘evils’. Internet Security provides protection services to enable various organizations in the implementation of a secure access to data as well as assets through the World Wide Web (Business Wire, par 2-3). Damages Caused By Internet If a computer system is not protected, threats may end up ruining the overall system. Computer software and other accessories are exposed to harms from the internet and hence their functioning. There is therefore need to ensure that the system is safeguarded before accessing the internet. Security is ensured by various programs such as antivirus. They detect presence of a virus into a system and repair the situation through a command. Unsecured sites are open to any intruder (NIST, par 9-12). However ‘evil’ internet security has also emerged. ‘Evil’ technology has also continued to evolve currently. There are some stronger viruses that have been made by criminals that the antivirus is unable to detect such as the Trojan Horse. Trojan Horse make defense almost impossible. It exploits the weakness in the user to find some entry into the secured system. The malware pretends to be of importance to the user. The user will be attracted and execute the malware in disguise (MacForensicsLab par 17-28). The virus in it is hidden in the payload and when in the system performs the desired function by its author. The malware can steal information as well as property from a ‘secure’ system. Personal information is stolen to assist in theft from a person’s bank account, credit card and other important areas. The same knowledge that was used to make the internet secure has made it more insecure. Stronger virus programs have also come up through technology to counter the antivirus. Through pretence to give the system security, the viruses find their way (MacForensicsLab par 17-28). Some antivirus has as a result become weak and cannot detect the strong viruses such as the Trojan horse and Autorun viruses. Just like in the Trojan data access, data will also be ruined even in the presence of antivirus (NIST, par 9-12). Conclusion Technology is advanced day in and day out to make better man’s world. Some many discoveries on technology have been made such as the internet. It has been widely adopted in all spheres of human live. Despite the interne technology benefits, it has been misused. Through technology dangerous programs have been made and they are a great threat to internet users such as viruses. More technology has come up with programs to secure the internet. In spite of this security stronger viruses find their way into the system such as the Trojan horse. Something needs to be done to fight the stronger viruses. Work Cited Business Wire. Internet Security Advantages, Inc Offers Secure Centralized Access & Control Consulting Services for Web-Based Business Applications. BNET, 1 July 1998 Web. 5 June, 2010, . Curtin, Matt. Introduction to Network Security. Kent Information Services. nd March 1997. Web. 5 June 2010 . Kapspersky. Kaspersky Internet Security. Kapserspersky. com. nd Web. 5 June, 2010, . MacForensicsLab. Malware on mac os x-virues, Trojans, and worms. MacForensicsLab. 2010. Web. 5 June 2010 . NIST. An introduction to computer security. Web. 5 June, 2010, http://www. rxn. com/services/faq/internet/ISPTG-1. html

Business communication Outline Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business communication - Outline Example They vary mainly in the decision making process, that is, in the Centralized Structure, the topmost management controls all the decision making and exercises strict control over the lower layers of the structure. In a Decentralized Structure however, everyone is involved in the decision making process A well designed Organization structure gives out the authority and responsibility to the respective individuals. If each person in the organization knows what his role is, a lot of chaos can be avoided in the organization. (organizationalstructure.net). With the help of the organizational chart, individuals can understand their roles and how to relate to one another in the organization. An organization chart gives the pattern of communication and coordination in the organization. This would also hinder the exchange of information and efficient problem solving. (taxarticles.info). Hopgood Sports Limited: Problems In spite of good business acumen of the management, there seem to be certai n problems with the running of Hopgood Sports Limited, in terms of organization, or technically, the lack thereof. Some of the problems are: 1. Staffing problems: Hopgood Sports Limited seems to be understaffed, in spite of the fact that they can afford it quite easily. 2. Inaccessibility of decision maker: The management, i.e. Mr. Hopgood, is not always easily accessible because he is always on the move from one store to another. This causes a lot of decision making to be put on hold and also may cost various opportunities for Hopgood Sports Limited. 3. Technological backwardness, with physical distances between the various stores acting as a major impediment for efficient management 4. The Organizational Structure of Hopgood Sports Limited also is not up to the mark. This has been discussed further below. Current Organization Structure of Hopgood Sports Limited: From the above illustrated current organizational structure of Hopgood Sports Limited, we can see that there is no unifo rmity in the structure, that is, in the different branches of the store. The structure of each store is different from the other in terms of number of employees and accountability. This might be fine for now but will lead to a lot of chaos and confusion in the future, when Hopgood Sports Limited is on the pathway to further expansion. A lack of uniformity in the structure also will leave the employees confused when it comes to inter store communication as they may not know with whom they must communicate what information. Also, it does not clearly explain the accountability of the employees. Recommendations for Hopgood sports limited Hopgood Sports is a good, stable business with few glitches that a well designed Organizational Structure can rectify. Here are some of the recommendations for Hopgood Sports Limited. 1. Mr. Hopgood seems to have bitten off more than he can chew. He is seriously overworked and the main reason for this is that Hopgood Sports Limited is not well staffed. He should hire more people for employment in his various stores. Since, he can afford to do that, after recruitment and apportionment, he can take a backseat and concentrate on supervising the running of the place instead of running all around the city that might make Hopgood Sports Limited more susceptible to expansion. 2. Mr. Hopgood’s inaccessibility can easily be solved with the above point. If he were to be at a particular store as head office, he could be

NetFlix company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

NetFlix company - Essay Example To overlook this essential aspect would lead to misdirection in the company’s plans for the future. This obvious neglect of the customer’s welfare in the mission statement might have been the underlying reason why in 2011 Netflix committed the mistake of increasing its subscription prices. Netflix had to pay greatly for the said oversight which resulted in a sharp decline in its subscriber base and its stock price. Due to Netflix’s CEO Reed Hasting’s huge desire to slowly abandon its DVD operations, he decided to separate the DVD business from the streaming business and to increase the price of their subscription plans (Sandoval , par 4). Clearly, there was a blunder on Hasting’s part to do such move. What led him to commit such a major slip-up? What can be said is that it all goes back to the mission statement. There is no concern for the market that they serve. Hasting’s main concern was to be aggressive and focus on streaming, before their competitors get ahead of them. It is what is stated in their vision, to be the global leader in the enter tainment distribution service, no matter what their customers feel. Given this background, it is highly recommended that Netflix restate its mission statement to take into account the people who have made them where they are today, their subscribers. It is suggested that Netflix’s mission statement and vision for the future should be: Netflix is dedicated to becoming the best global entertainment distribution service by entering into licensing agreements with television and movie producers and distributors around the world; by creating markets that are accessible to film makers and by assisting content creators around the world to find a global audience, but at all times, recognizing that our responsibility first and foremost is to offer stellar service to our subscribers, through quantity and quality

IP SCHEME Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

IP SCHEME - Term Paper Example This is a critical paper that examines the way that XUMUC can efficiently network in its three branches. Technical details Expanding a network can be very challenging for any organization if proper and effective measures are not put in place. During the expansion, the organization has to decide on whether to change the whole networking structure or to continue with the previous addressing structure. Due to the networking challenges that XUMUC has and their need for change in the networking addressing to reduce the high administrative overhead and to enable the network to work efficiently, the networking structure has to be changed in this case (Plekta, 2000). To reduce high administration overhead, a client server network is necessary. This will ensure that there is only one administrator who is able to control the whole network as the other clients use the network. Since this is a wide area network, ach branch of XUMUC has to have one router which is connected to the different switc hes in the area that connects the computers in a topology that supports the client server relationship (Collins, 2003). The link of the WAN can be made by an optic fiber or a good wireless link. Since static IP addressing comes with a high administrative overhead, dynamic addressing is the best type of networking that can be effectively used in this case. In the dynamic addressing, each time a client boots, a discover message from the DHCP is automatically sent. An offer message is the answer that it receives for it to move on. In this type of IP addressing, the client automatically chooses their network without the approval of the admin. Dynamic addressing has several advantages as opposed to the static addressing. First of all, the client gets to set their own address automatically without having the administration privileges (Graham, 2001). This therefore reduces the high administration overhead that is currently present in the organization. The other major advantage is that when ever a client log in from a different location, the client is directly assigned anew IP address and can be able to access the network without any problem. However if the client returns to the previous location, then they are not able to find the previous IP address which they were using. IP addressing table Location Number of IP addresses required Address block assigned Gateway San Francisco 1290 172.16.0.0-172.16.7.255/21 157.55.27.90 Denver region 504 127.0.0.1 Denver campus 441 Remote office 1 28 Remote office 2 35 Houston region 350 157.55.27.90 Houston campus 329 Remote office 3 21 The table above represents the general IP addressing table that has been proposed for the three branches of the organization. It is however important that the network be able to accommodate changes such that whenever new users get to the system, they are able to get new IP addresses that are completely different from the ones in use. The number of IP addresses assigned in each location has to therefo re keep shifting depending on the number of users that the organization has at any given point. This ensures that the network not only functions efficiently but also be able to accommodate as many users without administration privileges. Conclusion Poor integration is a very difficult task to reverse. Due to this, XUMUC has to cover a lot of expenses so as to allow the shifting. Dynamic addressing is very convenient in this type of network since the

Media and Organizations that influence Politics Essay

Media and Organizations that influence Politics - Essay Example On both sides of political wall the United States, the web appears to be a developing field for arranging and voicing contradiction. However our political organizations are fairly altogether dug in thus long as there isnt assembly for emotional social transform theyre very impervious to the incremental requests of discontents. Historically this has regularly been generally advantageous, and the intrinsically deliberative nature of our presidential framework doesnt generally fit quick political change. Yet, as conventional associations are undermined by their own particular delay to adjust, innovative deficiency, and enactment focusing on them, the inquiry remains exactly how Americans ought to impact their lawmakers more oftentimes than with every new decision cycle. The capability to sort out individuals productively, rapidly, semi-secretly and without dependence on conventional media has absolutely altered individuals capacity to act politically, it is not so certain what amount of this capability has affected the structures of bringing on institutional change. A mass of bodies, firm requests and the influence to compel foundations to offer into those requests appears to be as discriminating as ever. The United States’ media in is manned by the private division and confronts no political control by the administration. There is a solid custom of autonomous daily papers, magazines, TV, radio, and different manifestations of media publicizing changing assessments, both basic and steady of government arrangement. The media serves no less than three vital capacities in affecting open arrangement. Initially, arrangement producers are under consistent examination by the far reaching media industry. Open authorities understand that just about whatever thing they do or utter even in secrete can show up in the media,

Reflective Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Reflective Journal - Essay Example Tutor, Mr.Schofield gave me the confidence to continue the research and he was very helpful and guided me to perform the research in a better way. Due to his support and guidance I took this research as a challenging task and completed the relevant analysis. The aim of this research was to analyze the services provided in the hospitality industry and I selected a particular organization to continue with my research. The objectives of the research were developed in order to make the task of research easier. Since defining the objectives gives an outline of the entire research it was easy to select the type of analysis. The feedback from other tutors was not as expected and it turned me down. But I managed to gain confidence and with the help of my tutor I took those comments as a challenging idea and continued my research. The negative comments helped me to achieve positive response from others. The main reason why I selected this topic is the chance of broader investigation and the opportunity to learn about the human resource field. Customer satisfaction is the ultimate aim of a hospitality industry and therefore the human resource strategy must be unique and it must suit the hospitality industry. (Nykiel, 2005). ... Then I decided to broaden my investigation so that I could find more planning strategies that would assist the company's to fulfill the customer's requirements. In the data collection stage I found out that customer satisfaction had a strong link with the loyalty. I continued my research with two hotels. This gave me an idea of how an organization implements a strategy to improve their service.(Mayor& Blackmon, 2005). I had the chance to evaluate the current strategies and to find out the flaws in the existing strategy. This paved the way to betterment of the organization by selecting a proper method to satisfy the customer's requirements. I had the opportunity to satisfy the clients with what they wanted and I decided to provide a good service to the clients. The interaction with the clients gave me a chance to improve the existing situation of the hotel. This was an advantage since I was able to get the opinion directly from the client. I enhanced myself in almost all the ways and I improved the way of expressing the ideas. Initially I used to struggle to complete my projects on time. This research eradicated this problem since I had to conduct different analysis each and every day. This research gave me a chance to improve my writing skills and my thinking ability. All these events gave a raise to my confidence and I could work efficiently. I am able to see the improvements in my research due to my hard work and an increased level of confidence in presenting the strategies and ideas. (Lancaster, 2005). In the initial stages of research I lacked the organizational skills and I felt it difficult to cope up with the organizational operations. I had to keep myself updated with the advancements in the technologies and I had to work

Global operation and risk management of Qinetiq Group plc 01303 Essay

Global operation and risk management of Qinetiq Group plc 01303 - Essay Example The company holds a business portfolio of military weapons and systems within mode of travelling including land, air and sea (QinetiQ, 2015b). In 2003, LTPA was made with the agreement of providing all means weapons and system to MOD for next five years. In 2006 company repurchased its stakes from the Carlyle group and get IPO status. Value development flow for the business till becoming an IPO entity is depicted below. Currently company is dealing globally for its business and mainly generates revenue from UK and US via generating a strong existence in US market as well. QinetiQ is considered for the assessment of performance and risk management due to its declining performance over last three years and a highly exposed to risk business model in the underlying document. After developing basic grounds of study via reviewing the business and market trends as well as financial performance indicators, an assessment of risk and performance management skills of the company will be presented with proposed recommendations. Understanding the sensitivity-level of the business category, the company operates with the strategy namely â€Å"Organic-plus† strategy with considering customers, people, innovation and productivity as core drivers (QinetiQ, 2014). Reported financial trends of key indicators in the annual report for the year 2014 (QinetiQ , 2014) depict a continuous decline in revenue generation for the company with fluctuations in other drivers as well. However, company claims to be strongly operating and increasing dividends continuously as depicted above. Dealing with two main divisions, company categorizes its revenue generation in three categories namely EMEA, US and global product. EMEA is the leading business and revenue generation unit with UK as the largest geographical and customer country of the business as depicted below. According to the Aerospace and defense industries

The economic impacts of tourism on Brighton Dissertation

The economic impacts of tourism on Brighton - Dissertation Example INTRODUCTION Tourism has always been a great source of economic activities. It is one of the largest and constantly evolving industries of the world where growth and development rate is high. Many countries thrive over tourism and it is stated to provide around ten percent of the income of the world with ten percent of the world’s workforce associated with it (Stynes 1997). The social and economic impact of tourism is significant as it leads to the developments of infrastructure, creates job opportunities and brings in an inflow of foreign currency (Stynes 1997). Tourism is also instrumental in preserving the local arts and handicrafts as tourists buy various articles such as pottery, carpets, wood carvings, metal carvings and other types of handicrafts as souvenirs (Mirbabayev & Shagazatova n.d.). UK is one of the European countries that attract tourists from all over the world. UK offers diversity in tourism such as education tourism, medical tourism, urban tourism, rural to urism as well as a quiet holiday at a countryside. Brighton is a beautiful and busy tourist spot in UK that attracts eight million tourists annually (World Guides 2013). From a small fishing village in the 13th century it has emerged as one of the popular tourist destination in England. It is one of the top five popular cities of UK and also comes within the top ten overseas tourist destinations in UK (VisitBrighton n.d.). Because of its quaint combination of history and modern traditions, the place is known as â€Å"London by the Sea†. There has been extensive research on tourism however Brighton is not particularly discussed with reference to tourism. This research aims to study how tourism helps Brighton’s economy. With main aim to explore how important tourism is for Brighton and the money tourism attracts from various tourist activities, this study also evaluates the impact of tourism on local economy in Brighton and how tourism helps local businesses in Brighton. 1.1 Research Aims & Objectives The main aim of this study is to explore how important tourism is to UK economy and how much money tourist attractions and activities in Brighton attracts to UK. Along with achieving this aim, this stud also aims to explore following. To explore how tourism helps Brighton and how tourism in Brighton contributes to UK economy. To critically evaluate the impact of tourism on local economy in Brighton while studying its negative and positive aspects. To find out how tourism helps local businesses in Brighton. To explore the reasons tourists visit Brighton. 1.2 Rationale of this Study The reason for the selection of this topic is to explore this area in detail because research on tourism in general is done on vast level; however, tourism in Brighton is studied less. Besides, economy is important for every country and tourism is a business that contributes significantly to the economy. Every

Family of the Hearts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Family of the Hearts - Essay Example The family is definitely one of the most important parts of the life of any person without which a person feels very lonely and sad at times. One can create the definition of a family by many different ways but the real and authentic meaning for the family is to live with people having emotions and feelings for each other. A person living with his/her family is able to enjoy life more than a person living alone. Therefore, after completing my education if I will have to decide whether I should live alone in America or with my family, I will definitely vote to live with my family. Being the first born in a family of three, I sometimes do feel the guilt of not being around my siblings to show them the right thing to do in the absence of my parents. This is so because whenever I am with them and my parents are not around, I take the full responsibility of being a parent to them. Although being away from my family is not for a bad course, I do not get that full satisfaction I usually get when being around them. Staying away from them has made realize how important my family is and that distance plays an important role in strengthening a family as a unit. Â   My extended family plays an important role just like my nuclear family. Even though being away from them too, I cannot get enough of their calls and the precious gifts they send me often. They shower me with love that rivals that of my dad, mum, and siblings. This is a clear example of how a family should be, not even friends can rival that bond created by family members.

Religion and So-called German Christians Essay Example for Free

Religion and So-called German Christians Essay Religion continues to be one of the most influential forces in the world. It has been seen to provide great peace and harmony to believers, but it has also been the cause if not an actual reason for some of historys greatest wars. It can be used as justification from leaders of war, can it also serve as an instrument of resolution as well? Religion has come to be a much stronger force than any material incentives. It is far better at directing positive behaviour towards social betterment than any laws or physical force. For instance, Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr conducted non-violent protests based upon religious beliefs. Religion can also be used to help bring people together as they are more willing to work together. By contrast, places that reject religion, such as Revolutionary France, communist Russia and China, or Nazi Germany are often very brutally oppressive. However, it is not always the case. For example, Iran: a country where religion is so prevalent is equally as oppressive as these countries. Incidentally, religion can be very dangerous because it can and has been used to justify horrific acts. Crusaders not only killed many Muslims, they also massacred many Jews and Eastern Christians in the process of attempting to win control of the Holy Land. Adolf Hitlers followers among them the so-called German Christians were believers in their Fuhrer. The Inquisition carried out its torture in the name of God. Religion should never be involved in politics because it can then be used as an instrument of control. However, in places where religion develops freely and people have free access to places of worship, it provides people with a sense of hope, praying serves as therapy and members of a congregation feel a sense of community and friendship. Some of the greatest works of art were created in the name of God. Furthermore, Woodrow Wilson suggested that a strong affinity exists between religious commitment and patriotism. Love of country, just like the love of God certainly inspires good deeds but not always. Furthermore, religion may have led to the creation of the worlds finest art, but it has also caused its destruction. Religion can be a source of extreme nationalism. In Christianity, Islam and Judaism, God is described as mighty warrior, just king and righteous judge. He apparently punished the unjust, the unrighteous and the disobedient. The idea that a nation is the instrument of Gods will has led to war and the subjugation of people viewed as ungodly. Fundamentalism clouds everything. There is a need to be right and superior, which develops an ego and once we fall foul to it, we are lost. Conversely, biblical commandments are the basis of Western ethical and legal systems. It has seen to teach us tolerance for people with other beliefs and opinions. Usually believers are more peaceful, law-abiding and tolerant than the non-believers in the world. Some people need it psychologically and without it may step to extremism such as suicide or anarchy. However, some live in a delusion and in a constant state of intellectual dishonesty. Some people, who are so far devout in their own beliefs, use them to beat other beliefs and religious groups into submission. Religions like Islam justify holy wars against the unfaithful, meaning those of other religions. This can also be seen in the violence of the crusades launched by Christians in the medieval period and by later wars between Protestant and Catholic. Religious conviction like the extremist Hindu groups against Christians and Muslims in India has paved the way for the terrorist attacks in New York City on September eleventh 2001. Religious clashes have led to some of the most heinous human behaviour in recorded history. Western states grew as a result of religion and religious philosophy. Western European and North American societies are still based on Protestant ideals of diligence, thrift and moderation. The very existence of theocratic state, proves that governments in these states are much more stable than regimes in secular countries because leaders are viewed as appointed by God. Political stability, in turn, leads to economic welfare. Despite this, Theocratic states become totalitarian regimes because they are based upon obedience to a ruler who is seen as Gods representative rather than a democratic constitution. They may be stable but they are not essentially concerned with their peoples welfare. By prioritising religious imperatives over economic development and by their intolerance of the questionable types who drive economic process states like Iran have become corrupt, authoritarian and poor. In conclusion, I believe that religion provides many opportunities and hope for those who have nothing else to turn to, it helps bring unity and sometimes peace into communities. However, I also believe that it has become a perversion of the redemptive message of Jesus, by so-called devout humans using their beliefs to ruin and destroy the lives of many others. I myself am agnostic and am very open-minded.

School Leadership Contributes To Student Achievement Education Essay

School Leadership Contributes To Student Achievement Education Essay This makes schools and their leaders under increasing pressure to make them more effective since there is compelling evidence that the school makes a difference in determining the achievement of the students and later, in life. The effort to make schools and educators who manage the education process more effective is a worthwhile goal. For many years now, researchers in the area of educational leadership have attempted to identify links between educational leadership and school effectiveness. This phenomenon is mainly due to the perception that educational leaders, especially school principals, increase school effectiveness. The notion of leadership is continually evolving, often moving simultaneously in numerous directions (e.g., leader, manager, and administrator). Goldring and Greenfield (2002) argue that the image of the school leader has changed from a position that was once ideologically grounded in philosophy and religion in the1800s, to a highly perspective manager concerned with efficiency and focused on functional administrative tasks in the mid 1900s, to a behavioral science perspective in the mid to late twentieth century . Having reviewed the long-standing debate about the principalship . Sergiovanni (1991) concludes While distinctions between management, leadership and administration debates may be useful for theorists, the key is the recognition that the principalship involves multiple responsibilities and duties . As predicted by Laffey (1980), principals are expected to be all things to all people. They are expected to be effective managers, and currently, with the focus on student achie vement, and instructional leaders effectiveness. However, according to Scott (1983), Principals and other significant groups who work with them have expectations regarding the principals managerial role but disagree significantly with the principal as an instructional leader. Reports have noted that principals have resisted changing their role from manager to that of an instructional leader (e.g. Philadelphia School Improvement Project, Kopple, 1985). Moreover, where principals role transition has been successful, extensive training (Newburg Glatthorn, 1983) and/or long-term training efforts (Kline, 1987) were necessary. (Cited from School leadership that works, p.23) Statement of Problem In the past 20 years, much attention has been given to education leadership and its impact on students outcome. Recently, at the beginning of the 21st century, school accountability and initiatives have come to the forefront of educational practices more evidently than in the past. Schools now, more than ever, are challenged to improve to the extent that every effort is made to ensure the success of all students. In UNRWA Association where this study was conducted, the department of education has held for a number of years many reform plans for enhancing the school performance. Action by the UNRWA in this study is defined as restructuring ; a process that begins by identifying schools that are not making adequate progress as measured by a series of assessments and attendance rates. Schools under local restructuring are given additional assistance from the UNRWA and are directed to develop annual school improvement plans. Then they are monitored by the UNRWA every two years to check o n progress made in each school. Placed at high risk, as a result of these actions, is the school principal. Efforts to improve education relate directly to the quality of leadership provided in the schools. A past research has focused on the relationship between effective principals and effective schools (Edmonds 1982).In current and future research, student achievement is the key factor in defining effective principals and schools.( No child left behind Act,2001). School leaderships are progressively responsible for education quality based on the belief that students success or failures are determined by the way a school run (Fullen 2000) .These beliefs for more effective leadership skills and practices are described as a change agent ,manager ,symbolic leader ,instinctual leader, disciplinarian, decision maker and policy maker (Cotton,2003,Morzano,Wale and Mcnully ) . One impact of the reform movement of the last decade is to involve as many people as possible in local school decision making. This shared decision making reflects a less centralized approach to school leadership and requires a great deal of collaboration and trust (Midgely Wood, 1993). Collaborative decision making means many things and takes many forms, depending on the people involved; therefore the role of the principal changes as situations and circumstances change. As a principal of a school under restructuring, he or she must reconcile the demands and initiatives of the UNRWA with those of the local system to bring about school improvement (School focus development in UNRWA). Therefore, principals in these schools are under pressure to follow up the reforming revolution seeking out a better academic achievement. For that, this study was anchored in perspectives on the principal ship and on factors that shape how principals define and respond to their roles with respect to school reform, and how principals respond to some of the changes and challenges of the position. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study is first, to determine Bolman and Deal leadership and management styles of principals as perceived by themselves, and by their principals assistances and by teachers. Second, to compare the leadership and management styles of school principals at risk to the styles of school principals showed an adequate progress in official exams for Grade nine. Finally, to determine the set of leadership and management behaviors that best describe the degree of principals performance in their schools, and their effectiveness in school academic achievement. Significance of the Study As a teacher, a central question, which requires further analysis is how exactly principals leadership style influence the instructional working of their school and thereby increase students achievement. My conceptual frame work is done on a Bolman and Deals four frames of model leadership. I have been through many models, but I found that this model is one of the best models necessary for improving the leadership style of any principal, indirectly increasing the school effectiveness. They classified these tools as frames, which give leaders a clearer view of reality. These include the structural, human resources, political, and the symbolic frame. Moreover, Bolman and Deal (1997) assert that leaderseffectiveness emerge when leaders are able to respond to the needs of their organizations by viewing them through more than one frame. In this way they can reach a deeper and better understanding of organizations. As a graduate student in the field of educational administration and leader ship, the question of how to practice the educational leadership in our school and how this influence learning outcomes are applied. As I experienced the complexity and diversity of school life through my teaching experience, I realized how confusing and frustrating leadership experiences can be, especially when you lack the tools needed to face these experiences. On the other hand, my teaching experience, through which I felt the impact of Bolman and Deals leadership techniques on the effectiveness of leaders, had a stimulating effect in the selection of this model, among others, to guide and enrich my study on school leadership. In broader terms, these experiences came to support the belief that leadership is a complex (Hughes, Ginnett, Curphy, 2002) and multifaceted process (Northouse, 2004), and can be exercised in any situation that requires influencing others. Tannenbaum, Weschler, and Massarik (1961) introduced the idea that leadership is applicable to all interpersonal rela tionships in which influence attempts are involved. How to deal with the constantly increasing challenges facing organizational life, how to help organizations improve, grow, or survive, and how to understand and gain insight into leadership as a topic and/or as a process, are some of the questions that have kept researchers and practitioners of leadership engaged. A review of the enormous body of literature on this topic reveals a significant interest in understanding leadership and its leadership effectiveness. Researchers interest in leadership over the past one hundred and fifty years reveals itself in the vast number of theories, models, and practical guides that have been developed to gain deeper knowledge into this phenomenon, and to improve leadership practices. In summary, this study is significant in that, it proposes to address the need to document the extent to which leadership behaviors differ among principals in schools at risk and principals in schools that have made adequate progress. There was a need to clarify the daily behaviors and practices of the principal and to provide insight into how the principal makes leadership decisions and judgments about school improvement and how to get the job done (Bolman Deal, 1997).This study will be useful to all UNRWA organizations wishing to proficiently exploit the leadership styles practiced by the principals as designed by Bolman and Deal. It will provide these organizations with a substantial association between leadership practices and students achievements as well as it will insight to raise this association, in order to maintain a competitive edge within the other school in the reforming evolutions . Research Questions and Hypotheses To gather data for this study, questions were asked to the principal and teachers. The following questions are: To what extent the principals frame utilization (structural, human resource, political and symbolic orientations) in schools labeled at risk differ from that in schools making adequate progress? Does the leadership style designed by Bolman and Deal affect the students academic achievement? Research Objectives Examine the different definitions of leadership and styles Identify the parameters which determine principals leadership style, schools organizational culture, and classrooms learning cultures. Examine the effects of the principals leadership style on schools effectiveness. Identify of Bolman and Deals model of leadership and examine the effect of having more than one frame on the principals behavior and students achievement. List the characteristics of the effective principal activities and their influence on learning outcome. Definition of terms School Leadership: The influential behaviors applied by the school administration or principal that facilitate teachers and the wider school community working towards the achievement of the mutually agreed upon organizational goals of the school.( NWREL 1995) Instructional Leadership: This entails the communication of the schools mission and goals, and the effective management of the instructional program of the school. This is accomplished through the provision of direction, emphasis, and support to the schools central mission of teaching for the success of all children.(NWREL1995). School Climate: The existing learning environment. This environment can either facilitate effective teaching and be conducive to student learning, or affect the quality of the teaching and be an impediment to student academic progress (NWREL 1995) Effective Schools: Settings in which students display high levels of academic achievement, satisfaction, morale, and pride in their schools (NWREL 1995)  [1]  . In this research synthesis, for most of the studies, school effectiveness is measured in terms of student academic achievements indicated by scores on various statewide tests School effectiveness is defined as student engagement in school .Blank (1987) used, in addition to student academic performance, student attendance in determining school effectiveness. Frame Utilization: a process by which leaders order their experiences and make informed decisions; framing helps filter out some things and allow others to pass through. Frames represent a lens through which principals might view their leadership behavior. (Bolman Deal, 1995). Bolman and Deal Frames: Frames represent the manner in which leaders view and process their experiences. Bolman and Deal (2003) identify four frames: structural, human resource, political and symbolic. Each frame has its own specific perspective for viewing a situation. (Bolman Deal, 1995). Leadership by Bolman and Deal Frame:Leadership is thus a subtle process of mutual influence fusing thought, feeling, and action to produce cooperative effort in the service of purposes and values of both the leader and the led. Single-frame managers are unlikely to understand and attend to the intricacies of a holistic process. (Bolman Deal, 1995). CHAPTER TWO Literature Review Introduction In the contemporary world, improvements of student achievements are recognized as the foremost objective of school reforms and restructuring efforts. With this objective in mind, many different reform problems are being implemented while key focus of the reforms is more or less the same. They focus on improving students learning and increasing their achievement (William. G. Kean; 2002). Students achievement can be viewed from two perspectives: the first perspective is to view achievement in terms of enrollment, or a number of students who pass a course, and the second perspective examines student achievement in terms of whether they mastered or attained course learning objectives. Enrollment numbers include the number of students who have passed the course, the number of non-grads, and the final average grade of the class. These enrollment numbers may be used to identify the causes for non-graduation. These numbers may also be compared over time to locate possible problems prior to class convening, such as lack of prerequisite knowledge, student concerns, or overall course concerns. (William. G. Kean ; 2002) Although the final average grade of a class is recorded to look at overall student performance, the percent of students who mastered, or attained, the individual objectives (terminal objectives and enabling objectives) are also recorded to find which units and/or lessons are the most difficult for the them. The percentages for the individual objectives can provide information about areas in the lesson where students may need extra help and may require modification or extra instruction. Student enrollment and achievement data can help educators to identify problem areas in the subject and improve it. Nowadays improvement of student achievement has always been one of the main goals of education. (William. G. Kean ; 2002) There are many factors that influence students outcome. First, student background characteristics -especially social, economic and cultural background frequently emerge as the most important source of variation in student achievement. Such student background characteristics cannot be easily influenced by educational policy in the short term. Second, school-related factors, which are more open to policy influence, explain a smaller part of the variations in student learning than student characteristics (Hallinger and Heck, 1996; Leithwood et al., 2006; OECD, 2005b). Third, among school-level variables, the factors that are closest to student learning, such as teacher quality and classroom practices, tend to have the strongest impact on student achievement (Leithwood and Riehl, 2003; OECD, 2005b). These factors are categorized as following: External factor such as the gender, race, parents education background, social state and reinforcement. Internal factors concerning motivation and self reflection Social factor includes the students ability to connect with teachers and students. Curricular factor includes all the practices done in the school to improve students outcome as matching teaching style to learning style, engaging material, engaged teachers and learners, collaborative / cooperative learning, instructional strategies, classroom management and classroom curriculum design etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Administrative factor that includes all the practices that done by the school leaders to improve students outcome. Even through all these factors which are necessary for increasing the students outcomes, school leadership has become a priority in education policy agendas across countries because it plays a key role in improving classroom practice, school policies and connections between individual schools and the outside world. It can encompass people occupying various roles and functions such as principals, deputy and assistant principals, leadership teams, school governing boards and school-level staff involved in leadership tasks. The Concept of Leadership The concept of leadership dates back to antiquity. According to Bass (1981), the study of leadership is an ancient art. Discussions of leadership appear in the works of Plato, Caesar, and Plutarch. Additionally, leadership is a robust concept that occurs universally among all people regardless of culture, whether they are isolated Indian villagers, Eurasian steppe nomads, or Polynesian fisher folk. Theories of leadership abound. They include approaches such as the great man theory, which suggests that, for example, without Moses the Jewish nation would have remained in Egypt and without Churchill the British would have acquiesced to the Germans in 1940; trait theories, which contend that leaders are endowed with superior qualities that differentiate them from followers; and environmental theories, which assert that leaders emerge as a result of time, place, and circumstance. Regardless of the theory used to explain it, leadership has been intimately linked to the effective functioning of complex organizations throughout the centuries. The traditions and beliefs about leadership in schools are no different from those regarding leadership in other institutions. Leadership is considered to be vital to the successful functioning of many aspects of a school. Concerning on school leadership, many definitions involve the process of influence. As YuKI has phrased it most definitions of leadership reflect the assumption that it involves a social influence process whereby intentional influence is exerted by one person [or group] over other people [or groups] to structure the activities and relationships in a group or organization (Yukl, 2002). The term intentional is important, as leadership is based on articulated goals or outcomes to which the process of influence is expected to lead. Leadership is a broader concept where authority to lead does not reside only in one person, but can be distributed among different people within and beyond the school. Peter.G. Northouse also defines leadership as a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal and identifies the central components of leadership: (a) Leadership is a process; (b) leadership involves influence, (c) leadership occurs within a group context, and (d) leadership involves goal attainment (Northouse, 2004, p. 3). For the purpose of this study, leadership will be defined, in Bolman and Deals terms, as a process of mutual influence fusing thought, feeling, and action to produce cooperative effort in the service of purposes and values of both the leader and the led(Bolman Deal, 1997, p. 296 ). Leadership and Management The study of leadership and management has a long history. The concept of effective leadership prompts the question: by whose standards? Historically, school leaders have been portrayed as people in charge of a school who have the sole responsibility for leading those who work for them to success. This kind of school leader has the expectation that when he/she leads, others will follow. More recent views of leadership involve persuading other people to set aside for a period of time their individual concerns and pursue a common goal that is important for the group (Hogan et al., 1999). They express that leadership is persuasion, not domination; persons who can require others to do their bidding because of their power are not leaders. Leadership only occurs when others willingly adopt, for a period of time, the goals of the group as their own. Research from the last two decades has also shown a strong link between effective leadership and effective organizations (Bolman Deal, 1994; Boyan, 1988; Griffiths, 1988; Lezotte, 1997; Sergiovanni, 1995). Hogan et al. (1999) assert that a growing body of evidence supports the common sense belief that leadership matters (p.34). Fullan (2002) expresses that schools need leaders who can change what people in the organization value and how they work together to accomplish it (p.34). Fullan (2002) continues by saying the schools need leaders who can create a fundamental transformation in the learning cultures of schools and of the teaching profession itself (p.18). Beach and Reinhartz (2000) note that leadership is essential to promoting student achievement and creating a vision of success for the total educational program (p.72). A causal and definitional link exists between leadership and team performance, Hybels and Hodges (1999), who also note that leadership is about serving and starts on the inside and moves outward to serve others. Such leadership has the interest of others in mind, nurtures growth and development in others, is willing to listen, and thinks less about self while held accountable for performance. Lambert (1998) suggests that leadership involves learning together and constructing meaning and knowledge collectively and collaboratively to reflect on and make sense of work in the light of shared beliefs and create actions that grow out of these new understandings (pp.5-6). One of the most influential calls for educational leaders is to develop a vision suitable with the standard of the district .The school leader develops a vision of learning from the culture of the organization and establishes a mission for the school community. The vision is the primary and major influence on both the mission and the culture. Vision can be defined as foresight and forethought. It is the dream of where the school principal wants the school to be in the future. If it is a shared vision, it exceeds what the principal wants; it is now what the staff, students, parents and community leaders want. Every vision should be followed by a mission. Deal and Peterson (1999) wrote that the mission is the focus of what people do (p.23). The culture in a school reflects the vision and the mission of the school. In defining culture, Deal and Peterson (1999) state that it consists of the stable, underlying social meanings that shape beliefs and behavior over time (p.3). The vision is the dream; the mission is how to achieve the dream; and the culture is impacted by the realization of the vision as the mission is accomplished. Culture involves values, beliefs, mores, tools for establishing goals, and the way in which people are valued or devalued. Smith and Andrews (1989) explain that communication of vision is perhaps the most important way for principals to exert effective leadership-to leave no doubt about school priorities These principals know what to expect for the school and students and are able to infect others with that dream, a positive and beneficial contagion. Perhaps these principals can do nothing more important for their teachers and staff than to create a process for forging and reworking the vision or mission of the school. Traditionally, schools have not been places where adults can easily share the collegial relationships that are essential to leadership, as distinct from management, and teacher empowerment. An effective school principal demonstrates a strong interest in promoting collegiality and shared leadership, an interest in shifting the norms of the schools culture from the traditional to more collaborative ways of working together (Owens, 2004, p. 274). Powell (2004), in her research on the behaviors and practices of successful principals working with at risk schools, found that the school vision, mission and culture are important to the success of the school. She found that it is difficult to separate the three because one supports and affects the others. She also found other research that supports this claim. For example, it is the vision of the school that leads the way to accomplishing the goals of the school (Uchiyama Wolf, 2002). Dufour and Eaker (1998) state that the shared vision motivates the staff to work together and gives a sense of direction for what they want to accomplish in the future. The vision of the school principal influences the mission of the school. Papalewis and Fortune (2002) also cited examples of successful schools in which the goals that reflect the mission statement are displayed in every classroom. In these schools everyone knew the direction of the school and the posted goals in the halls and classrooms reflected their knowledge and commitment. In successful schools, there is a culture that shows everyone focused on teaching and learning. Connell (1999) described these schools as a place where everyone is involved in the work of the school. During Connell(1999) study about high-performing and high-poverty schools, Connell(1999) found that a staff focused on engagement in the school is an important aspect of school success. Connell ( 1999) stated: Of primary importance is the principals engagement in a school. There is no high-achieving school where the staff is not serious about their work and where they are not focused. One can sense that people in a building are moving in the same direction. Everyone knows their job and why theyre there even the lunch-room aide. In low-achieving schools, everyone is an island unto themselves. Clearly from the research, the vision of the principal is the key element of school leadership. With a vision, the leader is then able to influence the mission of the school and create a culture of learning that will promote success for all students. Hughes (2004) further explains a schools culture. He states a schools culture is a representation of what its members collectively believe themselves to be: It is their self-concept. It reflects what they value and what they express to others as being important around here'. Culture is a shared reality constructed over time; cultures may be cohesive or fragmented, strong or weak, and functional or dysfunctional depending on the degree to which the same reality is shared by organizational members (Morgan, 1986; Sergiovanni, 1990). It is clear that schooling has reached a turning point and the need for cultivating creative cultures is at hand (Hughes, 2004). The principal has emerged as the energizer and facilitator of this process. Purposeful direction depends on the leaders ability to inspire the creative contribution of all members of the organization. Leadership must become reciprocal as leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of moral consciousness and improvement of social order. Creative leaders recognize that excellence is facilitated through a bonding of purposes and values rather than through imposed structures designed to streamline, predict and quantify set objectives. Blumberg (1989) explains that the successful principal applies the craft of administration by balancing the art of leadership and the science of management to improve curriculum, instruction, and other important elements of school. He adds that by purposefully adding elements of a specific school setting into the general model, a principal can categorize and assess important site-specific school improvement actions. School leadership has become increasingly more complicated and vital to ensuring school success and soliciting substantial participation from faculty, staff and students. In responding to higher standards of increased student progress, school leaders recognize that they alone cannot be the sole instructional leaders but must coach, mentor, and empower faculty and staff in the pursuit of reform and renewal. As school leaders continue to adapt to their changing roles, effective leadership skills will be essential and the real challenge is providing the type of leadership skills necessary to assist schools in expanding their traditional boundaries (Green, 2001). Lambert (2002) notes that for decades, educators have understood that they are all responsible for student learning, but more recently administrators have come to realize that they are responsible for their own learning and the learning of their colleagues as well. School Leadership Contributes To Student Achievement Since we are focusing on the extent to how the of principals leadership and management style and behaviors affect the school academic achievements. A number of studies have been conducted to develop effective schools towards the achievement of better student outcomes as well as to identify the relationship between school effectiveness and school improvement. There are two related lines of research demonstrating the influence of school leaders on school improvement. The first line of inquiry is what is known as school effectiveness research which identified the characteristics of effective schools that influence the high-achieving schools particularly students achievement. The second line of research is what is focused primarily on the principals role in developing instructional programs which have mainly contributed to create more high-achieving schools. Now, let us focus on the first line of inquiry which primarily emphasizes the features of effective schools movement, leading to increase students achievement. The Coleman Report (1966 ) demonstrated that the school had little or no effect on student achievements, concluding that family background was the key factor influencing the student achievements. Following this report, many researchers in the 1970s and early 1980s intensively conducted similar studies and reacted sharply to the report (Edmonds, 1979, Walberg Scott, 1979; Austin, 1979). In contrast to Coleman report, Edmonds (1979) argued that school leadership behavior is critical in determining the quality of education. Further, on the basis of his research on instructionally effective schools in Detroit and a review of previous studies involving effective schools in New York, California, and Michigan, he has concluded that school factors have predominantly contributed towards the creation of instructionally effective schools. These factors are: (1) strong administrative leadership; (2) high levels of expectations in student achievements; (3) an orderly but not oppressive school cl imate; (4) a focus on pupil acquisition of basic school skills; (5) conducive atmosphere to the instructional process; (6) means of student progress monitoring; and (7) resources that can be focused on the fundamental learning objectives of the school. In line with these findings, Austin (1979) suggests that an effective school which can promote student outcomes need to provide a climate that stimulates ideas and facilitates the exchange of ideas with colleagues. Purkey and Smith (1985) have identified school leadership as one of the major factors in improving academic performance. For the purposes of seeking the perceptions of school communities on factors which mostly help the schools to

Strategic Development Study of Caterpillar Inc

Strategic Development Study of Caterpillar Inc INTRODUCTION This report presents the Strategic Development Study of Caterpillar Inc. Caterpillar Inc. founded on 15th April, 1925 in California, United Stated. Caterpillar is involved in designing, manufacturing, marketing and selling heavy equipments, machinery and engines and it is also involved in selling financial services to the customers all over the world. Caterpillar is the worlds largest manufacturer of manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines. The organization is serving worldwide and is providing employment to around 104,490 employees. Its products includes Bulldozer, Excavator, Wheel Loader, Haul Truck, Diesel Engine etc. and its services includes Financing, Insurance, Maintenance and Training. The developmental strategies used in the past, present strategies and the strategic planning for the future development of the Caterpillar, are discussed further in this report. Strategic Planning is about the finding the best solution for future problems to be faced by the organizations that not only solves the problems but should also proves to be beneficial to the organization. Caterpillar value statement is We have the people, processes, tools and investments to deliver the quality, reliability and durability customers expect from Caterpillar in each new product introduction. This strategic planning report focuses on three major tasks: Describe the strategies deployed by the organization in the past and their resulting outcomes i.e. the strategic development history of the company. Undertake the evaluation and appraisal of the companys current strategic situation with reference to the companys strategic macro industry and competitive environment and companys endowment of its resources and capabilities. Explore, evaluate and access the strategic choices available and recommend the best strategic plan available for the organization. STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT HISTORY OF CATERPILLAR It has been more than 85 years that Caterpillar is serving its customers and hence ranked worlds number one in its own industry. The company has been developing every year and has maintained its position into the market. In 1980s, Caterpillar came very close to bankruptcy but still it manages to come back as a high tech globally competitive growth company. The company has now proved itself as the worlds largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines. Companys Establishment In April 1925, the financially strong C. L. Best merged with the market leader Holt Caterpillar to form Caterpillar Tractor Co. Caterpillar is involved in manufacturing of heavy equipments used in construction and mining that are recognizable with CAT logo. Because of the intensive competition over the market share, in 1963, Caterpillar forms the joint venture with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. which is ranked 2nd in Japan for manufacturing construction and mining equipments. Caterpillar agreement with Shanghai Diesel in China was helpful in improving the market share of Caterpillar as it was a technology sharing alliance. Come back of Caterpillar from Recession In the year 1981, Caterpillar faced huge economy downtown and was very close to bankruptcy. For 3 consecutive years, the recession costs around $1 million a day to the company which further forces the company to reduce the employment. There were three reasons for this crisis i.e. global recession, strikes and unfavorable currency exchange rates. Company faced many competitors that time including Komatsu Ltd. as the prime competitor. To overcome this recession, the company CEOs introduced various strategic measures like cutting costs, employee reduction, out sourcing of machinery, parts and their components, introduction of modernization, diversification of product line and reorganization of companys structure. These measures were very important that time to save the organization to become bankrupt. Later on the organization worked really well and managed to generate the highest revenues. George Schaefers encouraged the executives to respond to recession. Caterpillar outsources 80% of its parts and components and further they used their brand names for selling the outsourced products keeping the quality control of the products. They doubled their product line in just 4 years from 150 to 300 equipments with an introduction of small and light weighted products along with the customer diversification as well. Caterpillar also focused on repairing its relationship with the labour as they experienced many strikes because of the cost cutting the company successfully achieved the target of an healthy employee and employer relationship. Also employee involvement program was launched by Schaefer in 1986 that involves employee satisfaction, quality improvement and increasing efficiency level. This program was termed as Employee satisfaction Progress i.e. EPS. EPS helps in reducing the rate of absenteeism, decline in labour grievances, saving in costs of upto $10 million and increases employees loyalty. Plant with the future (PWTF) is launched a s a modernization program. Shift from batch production to flexible work cells proved to be good for the organization. The technological improvements and PWTF program resulted in high quality of products, increased efficiency level and high productivity. As a result of all these efforts put by the organization, the Caterpillars 30 worldwide plants managed to cut the inventory level by 50% and manufacturing space by 21% in just 3 years. Also Caterpillars world market share goes up to 50% and its revenues increased by 66% from the year 1985 to 1990. Caterpillar beat the Komatsu by having total sales of over $11 billion in the year 1989, which were nearly twice the sales of Komatsu. The company takes the advantage of the growth in global demand for heavy construction industry at a steady rate of 4.5% in the 1990s and was successful in making its way towards the top most position. Schaefer proves to be the best manager of any manufacturing company of heavy construction equipments. After five year tenure of Schaefer as CEO, Donald Fites becomes the next CEO of Caterpillar Inc. Donald brought leadership style to the organization. He further focuses on reorganization plan that involves the customer needs on priority basis. Research and Development In 1904, Benjamin Holt solved the problem of driving tractors smoothly in moist soil faced by farmers in California by manufacturing a tractor with gasoline engine instead of steam engines that are much lighter in weight and that tractor was nicknamed as Caterpillar. By 1915, the Holt tractors were sold in around 20 countries. Further they formed a company named Caterpillar by merging with best company in tractors. Caterpillar was the first company that introduces diesel engines on a moving vehicle. In 1931, the company created separate engine sales group for the marketing of diesel engines to other equipment manufacturers and they further replaced it with sales and marketing division for serving better range of customers. The company was highly involved in manufacturing replacement parts as well because it generates over a quarter of the total revenue because of two main reasons i.e. sale of replacement parts is more profitable than the whole machines and the replacement parts marke t was less cyclical than that of original equipment. After World War 2, the demand for Caterpillar products increased to reconstruct the disaster happened in Europe because of the 2nd world war. Finally in 1960s, Caterpillar becomes the leader of the heavy construction equipment industry. Further in 1965, Caterpillar expanded its operations to Britain, Canada, France, Brazil, Australia, India and Japan. In 1983, the company starts providing financial services as well. There has been huge diversification in the product line to overcome the recession in the year 1985 to more than 300 products. As the company was developing and diversifying in its operations, it changes its name to Caterpillar Inc. In 2001, Caterpillar was the first company that launches 6 Sigma that helps the organization in improving its quality to the best level. Caterpillar starts sustainable development in the year 2005 as it responded to the Asian tsunami disaster and earthquakes in South Asia. CURRENT STRATEGIES OF CATERPILLAR Caterpillar Inc. is the worlds number one manufacturer of construction and mining equipments, diesel and gas engines and natural gas turbines. The organization is developing day by day and continuously expanding their business. Its market is not only limited to Europe but Caterpillar is selling its products all over the world like China, India, America, Russia etc. Caterpillar serves its customers with the highest quality product at a very reasonable price and also involved in good customer relations. Caterpillar is manufacturing its products at 110 plants worldwide and is selling its products in nearly 200 countries. Caterpillar made its sales through independent dealers that contribute around 66% of the total sales. Caterpillar uses many business strategies for its development and to compete effectively with its competitors. For the evaluation and appraisal of companys current strategies, various strategic tools are used like PESTEL Analysis for analyzing the macro environment, SWOT Analysis for analyzing the capabilities efficiency of resources as well and Porters Five Force Analysis is used to analyze the market, customers, competitors, suppliers etc. PESTEL Analysis For evaluating and analyzing the macro environment of the organization, the PESTEL Analysis tool is used. There are various macro environmental factors that affect the workings of an organization like Political factors, Economical factors, Social factors, Technological factors, Environmental factors and Legal factors. Let us now discuss in detail that how these factors affect the working of Caterpillar Inc. Political Factors Political factors are one of the main factors that affect the operations of the organization. Every country has its own governments with different laws and legislations, rules and regulations, import and export policies etc. As Caterpillar is operating and serving the customers worldwide, it should be aware of the political factors. Economical Factors The economic factors includes the recession, inflation, growth in GDP, growth in population etc. In 1980s, the recession hits Caterpillar badly as it was very close to bankruptcy but somehow it manages to overcome that economic downtown. The rise in the prices of raw material, diesel, petrol, import and export costs etc. is big problems for the organizations. A rise in raw material prices increases the manufacturing costs in Caterpillar and to maintain a balance, the organization has to increase its prices. Social Factors Caterpillar is operating in many diversified countries. Hence it becomes essential to consider the social factors while framing the business strategies. Each and every country has different societies with different values, culture, religions, attitudes etc. the company has to maintain a balance to avoid any kind of discrimination into the organization. Technological Factors A manufacturing organization like Caterpillar needs ongoing technological advancements. It should be updated with all the latest technologies to compete in a better way and maintain its position into the market. Caterpillar is always using the best technologies for manufacturing its construction equipments. Moreover it has invented many new products with the best quality and price range among the whole market. Environmental factors The Caterpillar has moved towards the sustainable development i.e. they are focusing on new technologies and innovations to increase the efficiency and productivity of the organization by not impacting the environment and also providing guidelines to the customers for doing the same. Their mission is to enable economic growth through infrastructure and energy development, and to provide solutions that protect people and preserve the planet. Legal Factors The various laws and legislations of the country in which the company is operating cannot be ignored. The laws related to import and export, employment laws, labour laws, should be taken care of. A lawful and legal organization can effectively survives in long run. SWOT Analysis The SWOT Analysis shows the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats available with the organization and provides an opportunity to the organization to use its Strengths and Opportunities for the betterment of the organization and keep the organization safe from its weaknesses and outside threats. Let us discuss the SWOT Analysis of Caterpillar. Strengths The main strength of Caterpillar is that it is a global leader in its own industry as it is worlds largest manufacturer the construction and mining equipment, diesel and gas engines and natural gas turbines. It is ranked as number 44 among all the organization in 2009 by Fortune 500. It has the highest revenue generation and highest share value in the market as well. It has a strong financial condition as it can grab the worldwide opportunities available. Caterpillar has 110 plants worldwide and is serving around 200 countries which show its huge customer diversification. It has a strong dealers worldwide network which contains over 200 full line dealers that helps the organization in capturing about 60% of the market. Weaknesses In recent years the company has faced many downtowns. The sales volume of the company is decreasing since 2003 which results in less revenue. Also the long term debts of the company have been increasing. The company does most of its sales through its independent dealers. Dealers show a very less confidence towards the Caterpillars new forecasting system. Opportunities Caterpillar has good opportunities of growth in developing countries like India and China. These countries demand lot of construction equipments and engines as well. Again the growth in the population demands more construction. Entering into joint ventures and acquisitions provides good opportunities for the companys development. In 2004, the company formed Caterpillar Power Generation Systems in association with Solar Turbines Incorporates to market the products of both the companies which further reduces the manufacturing costs of the firm and makes the organization more competitive. Threats The outside threats cannot be ignored as they affect the organization adversely. The recent threats faced by Caterpillar include the rise in the prices of raw material especially metal prices. This increases the manufacturing cost and further decrease the organizations profits. The demand of the mining equipments depends on the population growth and Gross Domestic Product growth which is very uncertain. The deal between Caterpillar and United Auto Workers finishes in 2004 which enable strikes and disruptions in work. Hence such contract expuration are great threat to the organizations. Porters Five Forces Porters Five Forces is a business strategy that is formed by Michael E. Porter. He points out the five forces available in the macro environment that affects the abilities and capabilities of an organization. These five forces are threat of new entrants, intensity of competitive rivalry, threat of substitutes, bargaining power of customers and finally bargaining power of suppliers. This helps an organization to be aware of the outside environment and make their business strategies accordingly. The further discussion on Caterpillars Porters Five Forces is as follows: Threat of New Entrants The threat of the new entrants in very low for Caterpillar. Caterpillar is into manufacturing the construction equipments which requires a huge capital and resources. It is difficult for any new entrant to invest that much into this industry when it knows that there are already highly competitive firms available. Caterpillar should compete continuously with its competitors to maintain its position into the market. Intensity of Competitive Rivalry Caterpillar faces a high competition into the market and the other competitors can overcome Caterpillar anytime if they lose focus or using bad business strategy. Caterpillar has around 50 competitors worldwide that controls around 80% of the market. Threat of Substitutes There is nearly no threat of substitutes for Caterpillar as it is involved into the manufacturing of such unique construction and mining equipments. Bargaining Power of Customers The customers have a moderate bargaining power as most of the sales are done through independent dealers and pricing is done according to the markets. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Again the suppliers also have a moderate bargaining power. For manufacturing construction equipments, there is a need of steel or other heavy raw materials which are difficult to transport and also costs very high. Hence an increase in the prices of raw material is a big issue for the organization. FUTURE STRATEGIC PLANNING OF CATERPILLAR Caterpillar has set various targets for future and is seriously involved into the achievement of those targets. The organization has set its strategy as Vision 2020. This strategy sets the stage for the next phase of the companys leadership and growth in the global industries it serves. The visions and missions set by Caterpillar are very practical and will provide further development to the organization. In the past 80 years, Caterpillar has proved itself to be a well established business with effective management and business strategies that helps the organization to maintain its profits and position into the market even at the time of recession. The organization knows the ways of beating the recession and wins back its position into the market. Caterpillars future strategic visions are like becoming a recognized leader in its own industry everywhere, the products, services and solutions provided will helps the customers to succeed, making use of the organizations distributions system as their competitive advantage, maintaining good labour relations and acquiring highly talented people. The organization has set various targets for its next five years i.e. providing the best return to its shareholders, hiring and maintaining the best talented people into the organization and becoming a global leader everywhere they do business. These targets are already achieved by Caterpillar to great extent. The 100% achievement of these targets needs more efforts. Caterpillar is now focusing towards more sustainable development i.e. making the efficient and effective use of the resources available without impacting the environment and also works for the society as a whole. Caterpillar has named as one of the top 10 industrial supply chains in 2010 on Gartners Inc. top 10 list. Also the Caterpillars Chairman and CEO, Doug Oberhelman named into the top 50 people in business according to Fortunes 2010. Hence Caterpillar is actively involved in the development of its business and competing at its best into the environment. Future Recommendations Caterpillar should be opening new markets all over the world as an expansion of its business mostly into the developing countries as around 80% of the population lives there and they demand for such construction equipments on high basis. Also the diversification into the product line and customers is important for further growth. Lack of diversification reduces the sale which has already suffered by the organization. The diversification of the products done by the organization in the past proved to be very profitable. Marketing has become an essential part of any organization. Successful marketing plays an important role in gaining competitive advantage. A wide spread distribution service network is important is essential in competing with heavy construction equipment industry. Joint ventures are important to expand the new markets and diversify into new products. This is important for the growth and development of the organization and to cover a large number of customers. Recently the global economy downturn decreases 25% of the Caterpillar sales. The ability to rebound the economy plays a significant role in the profitability maintenance of the organization. The other critical issues for the organization like changes in the prices of raw material, changes in the government monetary and fiscal policies, the credit risk involves into the financial services provided by Caterpillar etc. should be given special attention as their affect on the organization can proven to be the worst. Continuous growth and development initiatives are important for the maintenance of the topmost position into the market. Like entering into the new markets, diversification of products and services, customer diversification, sustainable development, new distribution channels etc. The full usage of its Strengths like companys strong reputation, dominating among the industry, good financial condition for upto date technology and beating any competition and diversified business competencies, will provide a competitive advantage to the organization.