A Message to Garcia Essay

A Message to Garcia is an award winning essay written in 1899. It serves as an inspiration to some as well as a lesson. In the essay President McKinley needed to have a message delivered to Garcia in the jungles of Cuba, he trusted one man with this mission, Rowan. He gave Rowan clear instructions on what to do. He gave him no tips nor told him any way he could complete this mission, he simply trusted Rowan to get the job done with his skill alone. What I’ve taken from this is the leadership and trust that is put into action throughout a unit. The company commander passes down an order to the platoon commander who in turn passes it down to the platoon sergeant and then to the squad leaders and fire team leaders who are tasked with accomplishing the mission. The trust that was put in Rowan is the same trust that is tasked throughout squads and fire teams. We have to be able to use the resources that we have on hand and the skills we learn throughout our training to be able to accomplish whatever mission and task is set before us. It gives examples at the end of the essay of different types of people who could be tasked out for missions but get lost along their way and lose sight of what needs to be done. It talks about people who need to do work when the â€Å"boss† is away and does work as well when he is at home. The man who when given an order doesn’t question it, but obeys without hesitation and does his job proficiently and thoroughly. The leaders who step up when it is needed and when it is not to be able to build trust in one another and earn the respect of his peers. A Message to Garcia highlights a prime example of the leadership that is need in a battalion, company, platoon and squad sized element, as well as the society we live in. A Message to Garcia Essay Written by, Elbert Hubbard, is a story written about trying to find the ideal messenger, or employee. And in many cases is hard to find even when it comes to a simple task, in this case, delivering a message. Hubbard goes on to explain that some individuals, when tasked with such a job will make it rather difficult. They will either ask questions, â€Å"who is Garcia? Where is he? Why can’t you do it? Have someone else do it.† Hubbard points out the most common flaws or unwanted qualities of employers when all he, or any employer are looking for is someone who is hard working and can be trusted with an important task regardless of what it is. And that is the type of worker that no employer can afford to lose. No matter when you are, regardless or your occupation, type of company or size, there will always be the workers that are replaceable, irreplaceable, or those who no one will hire. Hubbard explains the vast majority or employees that are in the work force. Lazy, irresponsible, untrustworthy, or are just plain worthless. However, the search for that one who will work hard even when no one is looking is rare to find, and that when he is found, he cannot be let go. After reading this book, it makes one realize, and actually look at whom they work with now, or in the past and see whom or how many actually fall into the category or workers Hubbard described. I for one was able to actually put faces with some of the examples given. More important than that, was looking at where I fit in, or which one describes me the best. Hardworking and the one that is rare and every employer is looking for, sure we would all like to think that but the reality of it, may not be as close as we would like to think. When tasked with delivering a message to Garcia, I would think it be natural for one to ask, â€Å"where is he†, such information is key. Rather than blindly searching for a man named Garcia with out so much of a direction. Does a question make one any less of their overall work ethic? I would think not, but when it comes to questioning the motives and  what is in the letter is completely different. Irreverent questions to the task at hand are unnecessary and would be seen as lazy or nosy. Overall it was an interesting book that makes you think other wise of not only yourself, but also those you work with all well. I would recommend any employer to have their employees read this book for they start working. That way it gives them something to think about, think about themselves and which type of employee they truly want to be. Also gives them an idea of what that employer is looking for in their workers, that way there is no question about what is expected. â€Å"He is wanted in every city, town and village- in every office, shop and factory. The world cries out for such: he is needed, & needed badly- the man who can carry a message to Garcia.†

Ww1 Causes of

Who or what was to blame for World War One: Did two bullets lead to twenty million deaths When one talks about the World Wars Germany often springs to mind and is was supposedly the root cause for the First World War and even The Second World War, but was it the sole force of Germany alone or was some larger being behind this whole â€Å"setup† in which at least 20 million deaths. Let me set the scene for you and let us embark on a journey that will reach into the realm of horrific torture, an accidental assassination and the source o number of deaths equal to almost a third of the population living in the UK currently. But before I show you these plans of evil. A new country is formed in 1871; it is a day to remember, as this country will be the fundamental reason for over 10 million deaths for the years to come. Germany is formed; Britain has built up an empire stretching from America to the edge of India. Germany, being born quite late is immensely jealous of Britain and builds up an army of 2 million foot soldiers. Now it aspires to have the greatest war-fleet in the whole of Europe. But it still will be no match for the British navy. So Germany forms an alliance. Whilst the forming of alliances is materializing Germany and Britain are having a massive arms race triggered by the German’s building naval giants in factories around the whole country, many of these battleships include Dreadnoughts. Britain senses this as an immediate threat to her lands and starts building even more naval vessels. By 1914 Britain had 29 Dreadnoughts and Germany had 14. Meanwhile France has been fighting with Prussia (German state) and lost Alsace-Lorraine, a wealthy town with a varied range of abundant resources, and wants revenge. France is also in league with Britain and later is thinking about using the sheer size of the British Navy to it’s own advantage. Austria-Hungary snatched lands in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908 as a part of expanding their empire and becoming great again. However in Russia the Tsar of Russia is becoming less and less popular with most of the population and was facing food cuts and terrible poverty. This forced Russia to think about taking lands in The Mediterranean and near the Black Sea, which was basically a large chunk out of the Ottoman Empire. When in 1908 Austria-Hungary took control over Bosnia Herzegovina, which was a huge mistake. The population in Bosnia-Herzegovina were composed of Slavs and they wanted to be reunited with Serbia (another Slavic country) to get revenge on Austria-Hungary. This situation is exacerbated by Russia having, not only, a huge army; but also having a large influence in the Slavic countries. This connection with an unknown enemy would influence the war effort greatly and raise morale. In 1908, Austria-Hungary took over the former Turkish province of Bosnia. This angered Serbians who felt the province should be theirs. Serbia threatened Austria-Hungary with war, Russia, allied to Serbia, mobilised its forces. Germany, allied to Austria-Hungary mobilised its forces and prepared to threaten Russia. War was avoided when Russia backed down. There was, however, war in the Balkans between 1911 and 1912 when the Balkan states drove Turkey out of the area. The states then fought each other over which area should belong to which state. Austria-Hungary then intervened and forced Serbia to give up some of its acquisitions. Tension between Serbia and Austria-Hungary was high. The only method of beating a country in a war that is bigger and greater than you was to make an alliance with another country. This meant you could lead a joint attack with the combined number of legions of both countries. The two countries are united against the one. Such was the power of an alliance. The alliances formed in the World War One were the Triple Alliance (also known as The Central Powers) and the Triple Entente (Britain, France and Russia). The idea was that the two sides would cancel each other out and Europe would be at peace. These alliances created more tension between the major powers. Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy felt threatened and surrounded by the Triple Entente. Russia was worried about Austria’s intentions towards the Balkans. A massive arms race began between Germany and Britain, with each country competing to have the biggest army and navy in Europe. In addition to this there were two crisis’ over Morocco, at the Algeciras Conference in 1906 Germany was outnumbered and had to withdraw, because of: British, Italian, Russian and Spanish support for France taking control of Morocco’s police and banks. The still fuming Germany sent a Dreadnought called â€Å"The Panther† to try and force France in stopping their invasion. Britain disagreed and sent a whole squad of warships. In this situation Germany was forced to back-down to the sheer force of the British navy. The German’s hatred for the British grew and grew. This evidence proves that the alliances formed were not for peace and prosperity, but War and destruction. Britain and Germany were forced to build ships on the account of invasion or protection. But mainly security. This didn’t do Germany any good when Italy switched sides and became part of the Entente. Militarism means that the army and military forces are given a high profile by the government. The growing European divide had led to an arms race between the main countries. The armies of both France and Germany had more than doubled between 1870 and 1914 and there was fierce competition between Britain and Germany for mastery of the seas. The British had introduced the ‘Dreadnought', an effective battleship, in 1906. The Germans soon followed suit introducing their own battleships. The German, Von Schlieffen also drew up a plan of action that involved attacking France through Belgium if Russia made an attack on Germany. The map below shows how the plan was to work. Germany would attack Belgium and defeat them within six weeks; this would gain them an access in France. Germany would then attack France from the Franco-German border and then send over 100,000 troops to outflank them, therefore occupying France. After this complicated manoeuvre was completed Germany would be free to attack Russia on its own. As you can see in this plan, Britain plays no part in this war. That was the main reason everything went wrong Russia mobilized its armies within six days and led an assault on Germany. Belgium put up fierce resistance and everything was in shambles. But after all this tension was rising when did the war break out? Or more importantly how did war break out. If we look at the dates and figures (seen below) we will easily see that in over eight days a mass war breaks out between Europe and nearly every other continent. For a country to go to war it would have to consider many things, for example: the cost of war, the casualties and suspected death rates. Communications weren’t easy. There were no long distance calls and no e-mails. Not enough technology to start a ar in no less than ten days. No, it must have been planned. A breakthrough for all the tension arrived, the pin in the balloon breezed in. A murder. Of royalty. June 28 The Assassination in Sarajevo: of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, who is killed along with his wife, Archduchess Sophie. Details July 23 Austria-Hungary sends an ultimatum to Serbia. Serbian r esponse is seen as unsatisfactory. Details July 28 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. Russia mobilizes. The Great War begins. July 31 Germany enjoins Russia to stop mobilizing. Russia says mobilization is against Austria-Hungary only. August 1 Germany declares war on Russia and mobilizes. Italy declares its neutrality. Germany and the Ottoman Empire sign a secret alliance treaty. August 2 Germany invades Luxembourg. Details August 3 Belgium refuses German ultimatum. Germany declares war on France. German troops enter Russia. August 4 Germany invades Belgium to outflank the French army. Britain protests the violation of Belgian neutrality, guaranteed by a treaty; German Chancellor replies that the treaty is just a chiffon de papier (a scrap of paper). The United Kingdom declares war on Germany. August 5 Montenegro declares war on Austria-Hungary. The Ottoman Empire closes the Dardanelles. August 5–August 16 The Germans besiege and then capture the fortresses of Liege, Belgium. Details August 6 Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia. Serbia declares war on Germany. Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijevic a respected leader of the Austro-Hungarian Military Intelligence masterminded a plan to get rid of the Archduke (heir to the Austrian throne) Franz Ferdinand. The colonel (CODENAME: Apis) wanted a militaristic Austria, so he formed a terrorist group of low-lying peasants and trained them to be assassins. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, on 28 June 1914, set in train a series of diplomatic events that led inexorably to the outbreak of war in Europe at the end of July 1914. Ferdinand – and his wife Sophie – were killed by Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip while on a formal visit to Sarajevo. Princip shot Ferdinand at point blank range while the latter was travelling in his car from a town hall reception; having earlier that day already survived one assassination attempt. The leaders of the world leapt for a chance to vie which each other, to gain power, land and money. World War One, unlike World War Two had a variety of reasons for bloodshed and massacre. Mainly the rising of tension and the exclusion of Germany in treaties and the colonization of Morocco and the Algeciras conference. Ultimately all the tension funnelled out into a World War.

National Savings Essay

â€Å"National saving can be used domestically or internationally. Explain the basis of this statement, including the benefits to the nation of each use of its saving. † First of all, let’s understand the concept of national savings. In economics, a country’s national savings is the sum of private savings (i. e. personal savings) plus the business savings (i. e. undistributed corporate profits) and public savings (i. e. tax revenues less public expenditure). (economicswebinstitute. org, 2003) & (Wikipedia. org, 2008). So in simple words, what people save i. e. hen they avoide to consume all their income, is called â€Å"personal savings†. These savings can remain on the bank accounts for future use. For the economy as a whole, national saving is the portion of the nation’s income not used for private and public consumption. Just as for people, saving for the national economy is the act of setting some of current income aside for the future instead of spending it for current consumption. (Gao. gov, 2001). So the savings left in bank accounts are an important part of money. This money could be used by banks, which can decide to finance businesses. The amount of money used for investment depends on the deposits, which banks receive. So an increase of personal savings and/or corporate profits could increase investment. Companies which do not distribute a certain part of its corporate profits, will keep that money in bank accounts also for future business opportunities. Domestic investment could be investment in new factories and equipment, which can increase productivity of the nation’s workforce. The increased productivity, in turn, will lead to higher wages and greater economic growth over the long term. Gao. gov, 2001). So we come to the first conclusion that if national savings increase, a country through its banks could invest more in its economy and finance more projects and support the economy. In general, more national saving will increase a nation’s capacity to produce more goods and services and generate higher income in the future. (Gao. gov, 2001). This phenomenon has been seen in a couple of Asian countries, where the saving rate of households was very high like in Russia, Japan and China, which were able to industrialize quickly. It seems also that there is a close association between national savings and domestic investment in developing countries. These countries are in desperate need for cash to invest in infrastructure and boost its economy including industry, service, etc. Before going to the international market and asking for loans, these countries will first of all make use of every penny that they can find in their banks. So one of the main findings, is that national saving provides resources for a nation to invest domestically. Traditionally, there has been a strong relation between domestic savings and investment ratios. feweb. vu. nl, 2009) The question now is: will these resources be used only in the country itself or could they be used elsewhere. In a closed economy the national savings will definitely be reinvested in the domestic economy. But this is only in theory, since nowadays we can not really find a 100% closed economy anymore! There are countries that have high net saving surpluses and which need to invest it. These countries are sometimes too small to be able to offer the right investment opportunities for this huge liquidity. Countries in the Arabian Peninsula like Qatar, UAE or Kuwait are the best example. In addition, capital is getting very mobile and can be moved easily from one country to another and invested abroad. (wikipedia. org, 2008). With all that money floating around looking for an investment, it doesn’t seem that domestic savings are all that important any more. (socrates. berkeley. edu, 2011). Let’s elaborate more on the benefits of investing the national savings abroad? We agree that the sum of national saving and saving borrowed from abroad represents the total amount of resources available for investment. This investment could be used to purchase capital goods like plant, equipment, software, houses, and inventories, by businesses and governments. (socrates. berkeley. edu, 2011). So what are the benefits of investing the national savings abroad? Will this really lead to improving domestic economy and increase the wealth of the people? An investment abroad does indeed increase the nation’s wealth and will generate income. This income could be again reinvested in the domestic country or abroad. One of the very obvious examples is the economy of the GCC countries. Qatar is one of the smallest and wealthiest countries in the world. Its main wealth comes from oil and gas, which accounts for more than 90% of its GDP. Qatar invested huge billions in its domestic economy (infrastructure, refineries, ports, real estate, preparation for world cup 2022, etc). It still has huge amount of money, which could be invested strategically. It currently, invests billions of petrodollars in all 5 continents. It has bought shares in big companies in all kind of industries (oil and gas, banks, luxury, airlines, soccer etc). By doing so, it will even help other companies and countries invest in successful businesses and boost their economies. The other countries probably have national savings which are lower than the needed domestic investment. They will borrow from foreign savers (in this case Qatar) to compensate the difference. Qatar will also repatriate this money or even reinvest it. This is a way to create more wealth to Qatar and the Qatari people of the next generations. A similar phenomenon is seen in other GCC countries, Singapore or Norway which have the so called sovereign wealth funds, that move huge amount of money from one place to another searching for the best investment opportunities. National savings is beneficial for each nation,, which needs to invest in its domestic economy. It’s also important for other nations, which borrow the money in the international capital market. By doing so, they can make use of the capital flows to invest in their economies and pay back the loans. So in total the world economy is more dynamic. Huge amount of money go to where the investment opportunities are. As a conclusion, we can say that national savings and the resulting investment have huge implications on the wealth of a nation and of course on the well being of people in current and future generations.

Why are policies in Germany so difficult to reform Essay

Why are policies in Germany so difficult to reform - Essay Example These included the modern poor relief, the Bismarckian paradigm or ‘worker policy’, protocorporatist social policy, and scientific social work. While the Bismarckian paradigm addressed workers as reliant on state policy, the proto-corporatist paradigm considered them as a partial subject. The latest measures taken by ‘conservative corporatist’ or Bismarckian welfare capitalistic regimes of Germany have not been examined through systematic comparative research (Bleses and Seeleib-Kaiser, 2004). However, literature related to welfare state change depicts the development of the Bismarckian family of welfare systems, and their distinction from other regimes. Bismarckian welfare systems confront the greatest challenges and require the most intensive changes. At the same time, there is documentary evidence of the Bismarckian welfare systems’ inability to implement essential reforms, state Palier and Martin (2007). On the other hand, Palier and Martin (2007) argue that in Germany over the last three decades, social insurance programmes have been developed, and changes incorporated in the Bismarckian welfare systems. Initially the emphasis was on raising social expenditure and social contribution towards funding a ‘labour shedding’ strategy to resolve the economic crisis. ... Two decades ago, researchers began investigating the ways in which mature welfare states including Germany, responded to those pressures. The findings indicated an absence of fundamental policy shifts, along with a significant contradiction that although structural pressurs for change could not be ignored for longer, there was relative stability in welfare state programmes. The two main approaches of historical institutionalism (Pierson 1994, 1996) and welfare regime theory (Esping-Andersen, 1990, 1999) helped to explain the continued stability inspite of the growing requirements for core changes to take place. According to these two approaches, â€Å"powerful institutional and electoral mechanisms and regime-specific characteristics prevented comprehensive reforms of European welfare states† (Stiller, 2010, p.9). At the same time, these explanations have been challenged, with increasing numbers of substantial reforms taking place across Europe, from the late 1990s onwards. Th is generated extensive research interest in the reasons and manner in which welfare state reform occurs. In the Federal Republic of Germany, the well-established Sozialstaat has undergone significant reform efforts, as seen from Katzenstein’s (2005) observation that major reform efforts related to labour markets, economic policymaking and social policy, together with partisan conflict and political stalemate, may have created a â€Å"recalibration or a dismantling of Germany’s semisovereign state† (Katzenstein, 2005, p.304). This development is significant because Germany has not demonstrated policy flexibility in the past. In fact, the country’s government had long been regarded as the key example of

ASTR123 G Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ASTR123 G - Assignment Example He was the first person known to calculate the circumference of the earth. He did this by use of stades, using a particular measuring system, which was remarkably accurate. The accuracy of the measurements was based on the assumptions that the earth is a sphere, Alexandria and Syene (places involved in the model) lied on the same meridian with a distance of 5000 stades apart. These assumptions give a significant deviation of 0.16ï ¼â€¦from the accurate measurements ( Kerrod, pg. 76). The Ptolemaic model explains the earth as the center of the universe. This model is inaccurate as other astronauts site the sun as the center of the universe. However, this model has been accepted over years, leaving No debate in the field of science. This is because ‘we’ human beings tend to think and believe that we are the center of the universe with all the other heavenly bodies revolving around us, as observed while one is on the earth. It’s not until technology and use of telescopes among other astronauts’ devices, that this model was confirmed wrong. People understood the process of motion and established the up to date model that the sun is the center of the universe. Similar to lunar phases, the phases of planet Venus, as explained by Galileo Galilei are the different variations of lighting as seen on earth’s surface. The phases of the planet Venus result from the earth’s orbit around the sun, giving an observer a sequence of progressive lighting. It provides a full image when it is o the opposite side of the sun and shows a quarter phase when it is at its maximum elongation from the sun. When Venus comes around to the near side between the Earth and the sun, it shows a crescent phase but a differently new phase when it is between the Earth and the sun ( Kerrod, pg. 110). Nicholas of Cusa (1401 - 1464) was considered by many to be a man ahead in the scientific field. In his scientific writings, he suggested that the earth was nearly

Employee Performance Appraisal & Mitivation and Incentives Essay

Employee Performance Appraisal & Mitivation and Incentives - Essay Example This is one of the reasons why Nakheel has been such a success in the recent years and is making giant strides within the property development regimes in Dubai. The performance appraisal system that is in place within Nakheel makes use of the strengths that the employees possess within their folds and how they bring together the same for the organizational success in the long run. The objectives of performance appraisal within Nakheel are to make sure that the employees are compensated what they do and how they do within the workplace domains. The performance appraisal system that is in place is geared to achieve a great deal more than it is doing at the present. However, the vision is set to attain greater heights as have been promised by the performance appraisal system which is working to good effect within the organization. The objectives are therefore very succinct as far as Nakheel Group is concerned. The performance appraisal is clear cut as far as finding out the best availab le resources for the organization as this will reap rich dividends for the organization in the future. Nakheel is being seen as a much desired employer by the aspirants who seek employment within its aegis. It makes the entire organization a sign of being a positive one for the people at large. The methods and tools which are employed within the performance appraisal system that is implemented by Nakheel are important to ascertain. This is because it helps the organization to grow as a whole as far as its resources are concerned. Much emphasis has been paid on the fact that Nakheel is a name that delivers pure value for the stakeholders and end customers. The interviews are seen as some of the most important tools behind the performance appraisal methodologies which are in place. These also help the basis of determining where success areas for the sake of the employees within Nakheel remain. The methods and tools that are made use of within the performance appraisal system that is i n place within Nakheel is very specific and does not allow for any wastage as such. It taps the potential and the strengths of the employees and gives them a chance to excel within their chosen areas and departments. 2) Reinforcement Theory Reinforcement theory looks at reinforcing attitudes to make sure that results are achieved and attained in an easy going way. It allows for progress beyond what has been envisaged. What remains to be seen is how well the reinforcement theory works to best effect for the employees and what kind of results will be achieved at the end of the day (Hartman, 1991). The reinforcement theory is therefore an indication of how well the strategies are being made use of within the employee morale domains in an organization and what kind of results will be there for the taking by one and all. Undesired behaviors are sometimes given the go-ahead as far as workplace manifestations are concerned. This is because there is no check on such undesired behaviors and this results in a great amount of anarchy within the workplace settings. The role of the human resource management and indeed the top management is of essence here because it brings under focus the need for remaining one step ahead in terms of providing the solution that is required. The undesired behaviors need to be negatively reinforced so that employees could keep away from the same settings, for

Computers and Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Computers and Marketing - Essay Example It is inevitable that with most people doing things on-line, marketing and advertising executive are now also going on-line. Internet traffic continues to surge with more people going for convenience, ease and security of transacting their business on-line. Advertisers naturally go where the people are. Discussion Advertising serves a dual purpose: commercial, as when promoting a new product or a new service, and secondly, as a public service (such as broadcasting weather reports). But the essence of advertising has always been primarily commercial in nature. Advertising industry executives always find creative ways to post their ad messages and this is almost everywhere: in newspapers, magazines, giant billboards, moving billboards (such truck-side advertising or even on the bodies of airplanes like the Irish budget airline Ryanair) or in broadcasting such as radio and television. The latest media are digital Web sites on Internet and digital mobile devices such as cellular phones. It seems there is no escaping these ubiquitous advertisements. Like most people of my generation, I spend a considerable time of my waking hours on the Internet.

Computer Security Policies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Computer Security Policies - Essay Example The Reston, VA site has 1 on site senior consultant, 4 in-house junior consultants and 2 remote field consultants while our Annapolis, MD comprises 1 onsite senior consultant, 4 in-house junior consultants and 3 remote field consultants. Like our headquarters personnel, our offsite staff have years of ICT experience and industry-level certifications such as CISSP, CISA, PMP and others. To meet the growing needs of our increasing client base, we are expanding our ICT staff to add 14 onsite in-house employees and 6 remote field consultants. This future growth expansion is happening now and will be complete in six months time to truly serve all your ICT needs. Our current infrastructure consists of 1 domain controller server, 1 server for the finance department and 1 server for Web/email as well as secure remote access in the DMZ. In the months to come, we will add more hardware infrastructure to meet the growing demands of our ICT consulting and implementation services. To further enhance our capabilities aside from our modern infrastructure and certified personnel, our company has started the â€Å"road map† to ISO 17799/27001 – Code of Practice for Information Security Management and Information Security Management Systems certification. This is a globally-recognized information security certification that ensures a company practices globally-accepte d and best practices in information security – all our corporate policies are based on this ISO standards. ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE: The arrangements you make for maintaining your equipment, whether through on-site support or off-site support. Information Security issues to be considered when implementing your policy include the following: ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE: Office software forms a critical link between the primary business systems in your day to day work. The initial choice of the office package has far

Forum APA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Forum APA - Essay Example In academic writing, it is critical to understand the type of sources that are allowed for use. Books are one of the academic sources of information in writing. These sources may be accessed from the library or from online libraries. The other authentic source of information when researching for academic writing are journals and peer reviewed articles that are also available from libraries and online (Jager and Bak, 2003). Students may also use reports from governments and different organizations as the source of information when writing. Published theses are also used as authentic sources in writing (Adams and Forsyth, 2006). Lastly, a student is allowed to use some online materials when researching. Despite the numerous numbers of sources that a student can use, one is warned against using some online sources such as Wikipedia, blogs and websites ending with â€Å".com†. Whenever a student uses any source, one is required to cite it accordingly within the text and provide a list of references after the work is completed (Adams and Forsyth, 2006). Citing of references may be carried out based on different referencing styles. The most common referencing styles are American Psychologist Association (APA), Modern Language Association (MLA), Harvard, Chicago and Oxford. References are cited in any research work to avoid cases of plagiarism and to give tribute to the source of any idea (Jager and Bak, 2003). One of the reasons for the use of quality reference in writing is to assure that the student accesses authentic information. In the sources such as Wikipedia and blogs, the information contained may be changed by different people. This makes such information untrustworthy and incredible for use. However, quality sources contain accurate facts that have been tested through research and over a long period (Jager and Bak, 2003). Quality sources are also important as they provide

Leadership approach Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Leadership approach - Essay Example the aforementioned students, the animal owners who seek the services of the veterinary college as well as the clinicians. The Problem: Given the considerable job descriptions of the staff, coupled with the lack of resources and the need to provide excellent services, the staff finds itself in the classic low morale conundrum; too much work and effort required for a job description that is become less enviable by the day. This, in short, can be categorized as the crux of the problem that I face under the leadership aspect of my role as the finance manager. ... The major weakness of this concept is ironically related to its major strengths in that the rather malleable nature of production does not allow the firm to establish a solid ground in any of the different businesses that it participates in i.e. its becomes somewhat of a jack of all trades and master of none. Due to this lack of immovability, the firm is not able to continue a specific production practice for a large period of time, hence, is unable to ascertain best production practices and any other cost cutting techniques, thus, it always produces at a level that has to be considered in optimal for the firm. (Yinghong, 2006) McDonald’s is a pertinent example of the correct use of moving competencies as they have been able to strike the perfect balance between the usability of moving competencies and defining their basic company objectives and areas of expertise. Therefore, despite the fact that McDonald’s is expanding both is scale of operations and in its product ra nge, it is still intrinsically a fast food joint which it has been able to maintain due to its best practices and strong adamancy on quality assurance. From this description, it can be easily surmised that the need of the hour for the manager is to implement the system of moving competencies in a way that would oversee the creation of synergies and the institution of best practices in the form that ‘every job is done by that specific person who does it best’. Therefore, the creation of conjoined skills development becomes a necessity and the onus lies on the finance manager to institute the change that is needed for the creation of an open learning and

Personal Risk Profile Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Risk Profile - Essay Example As a neutral investor, from the investment choices, I would like to select bank deposit i.e. term deposit in term deposit where I can get 6% interest on my investment annually and requires only $ 25000 as a minimum deposit and having only 2 years locking period. The term deposit gives safety besides assuring a consistent return. After the 2 years, I can withdraw the money at any time which means the liquidity of fund. If I have $500000 in my hand by depositing the cash in the bank as a fixed deposit I will get 6% interest on the deposit which is 500000 * 6 / 100 = 30000. Investing money in the bank account as a fixed deposit would enable me to earn an interest of $ 30000. In the bank account, cash management is also a good choice because it provides an interest rate of 6.4% annually and it requires a lock-in period of only two years. The minimum deposit begins at $ 10000. Bank deposit is thus a safer and reliable investment compared to corporate bond and investment in shares. As a neutral investor, I am not willing to take many risks and I am seeking a safer investment area. Investments in shares are riskier even if it provides a good return. However, such investments are subject to several factors. There is also a high possibility of sustaining losses when the market crashes for some or other reason. The market conditions remain very volatile. On the other hand, if I invest in bank deposits, there is a proper guarantee of the return though it is comparatively less. Thus, as a risk-neutral investor, I will choose bank deposit as my preferred method o f investment. Risk aversion connotes to an investor’s attitude in an investment option where he prefers lower risk area. â€Å"A risk-averse investor dislikes risk and therefore will stay away from adding high-risk stocks or investments to their portfolio and in turn will often lose out on higher rates of return. Investors looking for "safer" investments will generally stick to index funds and government bonds, which generally have lower returns† (Risk Averse, 2011, para. 2).

Folk Traditions of Trinidad and Tobago Essay Example for Free

Folk Traditions of Trinidad and Tobago Essay This research paper compiles primary and secondary data from interviews with violinists who work or have worked specifically in folk music in the Trinidad and Tobago. It seeks to investigate and document the reasons for and the importance of the violin in Caribbean music culture. The paper will also seek to notarise some elements of folk violin pedagogy. The report will form the basis of an electronic blog and will consist of a proposal, typed interviews, and a general list of interview questions, pictures, audio recordings and music scores. Project Rationale: 1. Cultural information transmitted through written word and musical scores can lose much of their meaning and intent when read, because of the nuisances of both language and melody. For instance, when most ethnic musical styles are notated using the standard begun outside of their context, they are usually played without their correct ‘swing’ or ‘feel’. 2. In November 2011, St. Lucian folk violinist Joseph Ives Simeon died at 87, taking a rich violin pedagogy with him. The player has many recordings, but much of his style died with him. This project is the beginning of this researcher’s (and classical string player from the Caribbean) attempt to preserve the pedagogical information inherent only in the different styles of Caribbean string folk playing, for use by Caribbean players. Objectives: 1. To audio record the sounds and actions of violin playing in the Caribbean folk context. 2. To document the musical views and ideas of current exponents of Caribbean folk violin playing. 3. To define the role of the violin in varying Trinbagonian folk traditions 4. To chart the evolution of the roles of the instrument in Trinbagonian culture General Interview Questionnaire: * How did you learn to play the violin? (How did you learn to play the violin in folk music?) * What types of events do you play for? And what is the significance of your instrument in that setting? * Do you have any stories about your experience of folk violin playing as a spectator? (now and in the past)? * What were the most important lessons your teacher taught you? * Can you describe your holds for the violin and bow? * Can you describe your bowing style? * Please describe your fingering style. * Do you admire any other players (now and in the past)? * Have you ever played classically? How do you feel this style differs in the way it feels OR Is it comfortable to play in this way for long periods of time, or was it ever more difficult to play for longer periods of time? * What are the different types of music that you play? Can you play an example of each? What are the differences among them? The Violin and the Musical Folk Traditions of Trinidad and Tobago. Introduction 2012 marks the Centennial Anniversary of the first ever recording of Calypso music. Engrained in wax (a new technology in 1912), this first recording was ‘Mango Vert’, an instrumental composition by George R.L. ‘Lovey’ Baille (a melody known today as the folk tune Mangoes, with added lyrics by Olive Walke). The stylish, well structured, yet heavily improvised piece was recorded by Lovey’s String Band, a group lead by violins. This paper hopes to explore the violin’s role in Trinbagonian culture in a holistic sense. Apart from the String Bands of yesteryear, we will look at the instrument’s role in Tobago’s Tamb’rin music and the Christmas season staple of Parang. At present, in all three areas, it must be said, the use of the instrument is almost non-existent. My interviews with modern violinists who have worked in and experienced our folk traditions for at least 50 years, highlighted similarities; between very different folk traditions; and to earlier scenarios that were previously thought to have been lost. The violin is an unfretted bowed string instrument with four metal strings tuned in fifths. It is â€Å"capable of great flexibility in range, tone, and dynamics†. The Violin in Calypso The instrumentation used in Calypso is usually the last thing to be discussed, if at all. This tends to be because calypso music is usually seen to be about the lyrics, the story within the song. This is the case with much of Trinidad and Tobago’s music. However, the story of the instrumentation used in Calypso, is a story of a search for a collective identity in our music. The 1912 recordings of Lovey’s String band are the first time that the violin’s importance to our music was archived. Lovey’s String Band was a typical example of Calypso bands of the time. The ensemble, led by him on the violin, consisted of another violin, flute, clarinet, tiple, piano, two guitars, two cuatros, an upright bass (although the Figure 1 picture of the group shows a cello) and a braga. With the exclusion and inclusion of a few instruments (e.g. trumpet, saxophone, oboe), this was the general instrumentation of a String Band. These groups were so called because stringed instruments were in the majority, with acoustic plucked stringed instruments forming the core of the sound (guitars, cuatros, tiples, bragas, bandols etc.). There were many other String Bands around at the time, including Belasco’s Band – founded by the renowned Lionel Belasco; Cyril Monrose String Orchestra; and Gerald Clarke and his night owls. These groups recorded and performed both as standalone instrumental groups and backing accompaniment for Calypsonians. In fact, the sound of early Calypso and what we now call folk music relied heavily on them. Listening to the recordings causes you to realise that these bands had been honing their sound long before they were ever recorded. Lovey’s String Band followed Mango Vert a week later, with recordings of songs like Trinidad Paseo, Mari-Juana, Sarah and Manuelito (See Figure 2), staples of the Trinidadian dance scene at the time. This recording of Manuelito is the only example of foreign-based music archived by the United States National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress, into that country’s National Recording Registry 2002. Figure 1: Loveys Trinidad Calypso String Band Lovey (George R.L. Baille leader, violin), L. Betancourt (2nd violin), P. Branche (flute), W. Edwards (Clarinet), Louis Schnieder (Tiple), E.P. Butcher (Piano), Donald Black, L. Demile (guitars). F.A. Harte, C. Eugen Bernier (cuatros), Patrick Johnson (bass), Cleto Chacha (braga) (http://calypsoforum.wetpaint.com/page/First+Recordings) Figure 2: Loveys Trinidad String Band (Musical group) Colonial-era Calypso? Undeniably, all of the recordings from this instrumental era display a high level of musicianship and excellent tonal quality, which particularly for violins, is a sign of classical training. This initial instrumentation is also obviously similar to classical ensemble styles where violins, clarinets (and oboes) regularly duet. Figure 1 also shows Lovey’s band in military-style or marching band style uniforms solidifying the notion that the string bands were heavily ingrained in the activities of Trinidad’s colonial past. Apart from Calypso, the bands also played a variety of European influenced dance styles of music The style and level of improvisation in the music also highlight the obvious influence of American small band New Orleans style Ragtime and blues. As found in those two American jazz artforms, Calypso String Band instruments have similarly set roles. * Guitars and other plucked string and low frequency bowed string instruments held the background rhythmic elements and chords and provided the foundation for all other instruments. * Violins and reed instruments, depending on the preference of the band leader layered on the melody or improvisational ornamentation and musical interludes (all layers always being present) * When vocalists were also involved, the violins tend to be used more often than reed instruments to support the melody line, with the reeds (and later trumpets) providing the musical interludes. The recordings below (Figures 3,4 5) demonstrate these different uses of the instrumentation with earlier recordings (1912 – 1930) displaying the preferential use of the violin, clarinet or vocal team. Later recordings show tendencies toward more structured instrument interlude lines and trumpet leads and reed instrument leads. They also display the introduction of the saxophone to the lead line-up (See Figures 6). Figure 3: Recording of Lovey’s String Band, ‘Mango Vert’, 1912 (double-click the icon below to hear the recording) Figure 4: Recording of ‘Yaraba Shango’ by (Calypsonian) Tiger and Gerald Clarke and his Orchestra, 1936 (double-click the icon below to hear the recording) This recording is still a few years before WWI. Here, the lead improvising instruments were obviously the clarinet and oboe, with the violin playing a secondary lead role playing mainly the same musical line as the main vocal sings and also supports the guitars. Both of these particular secondary roles are common to all of the recordings where the violin is present. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qA87Wl3dmAfeature=related) Figure 5: Recording of the Congo Bara performed by the Kiskedee Trio (written by Attila the Hun), 1935 (double-click the icon below to hear the recording) This version of Atilla the Hun’s (Raymond Quevedo) French patois/English tune relies heavily on the vocal trio to carry the melody. So much so, that the violin’s support of the voices, an octave above is almost missed. At this point, the addition of the marac and piano supplement the more sparse core instrumentation (possibly one or two guitars). A muted trumpet is used to provide the main musical interludes, supported again by the violin. Interestingly however, the trumpet is not used throughout the piece like the violin (and in previous recordings the reed instruments). This reveals the need for balance in the overall band sound in these live, one-track recordings and supports the authenticity of these recordings when compared to live performances. It also helps to clarify the use of the violin and the more dynamically-varied reed instruments in early calypso. The violin was prized in this setting for its ability to mimic the flexibility of the voice. The modern Calypso As unmuted brass instruments became more common because of their sharper, louder and more penetrating sounds, the musical lines in calypso became more structured and simpler. * Guitars continued to be used as core instruments, though fewer (possibly one or two) and usually exclusive of other plucked string instruments * Core instruments accompanied the vocals with simpler chord progressions followed by musical interludes in which the brass instruments would play, to the continued guitar accompaniment. * Clarinets and violins ceased to be used, except in Calypsos written in the style of early calypso * Vocal Calypsoes became the standard form, with instrumentals of the calypsonians compositions done by other instrumental groups, particularly steelpan. Figure 6: Recording of ‘Royal Tour’ by Roaring Lion (1978) (double-click the icon below to hear the recording) As such, the music is very different to the â€Å"jazzy† sounds of earlier calypso. It is in this era (1944) that my calypso-based violinist Stanley Roach was born. Roach was the violinist for Kaiso 2: Happy Days, with Phil Dobson’s band and for the recording for which he is best known, Calypsonian Shadow’s ‘De Hardest Hard’. However, Mr Roach has and always will prefer classical music and so is dedicating the rest of his days to that form, with the hope to produce an album of some challenging works. Roach was classically trained to ABRSM grade 8 (for which he received a Merit) by his father. He continued on to win the televised talent competition Scouting for Talent, in its second year of existence with challenging Romanian dances. His proudest moment however, was being called to play for the prestigious opening concert of the Music Festival many years ago. He has always valued his father’s style of teaching and his opinions. Roach notes that his father â€Å"taught a philosophy behind the music, to do with your mind and spirit†. In building sound technique, his father advised him to â€Å"take it one note at a time (step at a time) and put your mind and your soul and your heart into it†. In this area, he has much in common with the original string band players. With regard to calypso, for Shadow’s â€Å"De hardest hard† he notes that he used a technique of improvising that he calls â€Å"cross-phrasing†, where you improvise from the latter half of the initial phrase to another halfway through the next phrase. This allowed the music to breathe, something that was rare to the New Orleans-style filled sound of early Calypsoes. Roach admits readily that like his father before him, he disliked the way that classical instruments were used in Calypso. However, he was a fan and admirer of the work of Trinidadian parang fiddler Saltero Gomez of the Papa Goon Parang group. Apart from Gomez, his influences are jazz violinist Stephane Grappeli and classical violinist Menuen. Although, like Roach my second interviewee was also taught the violin classically, Lawrence ‘Wax’ Crooks has a genuine love of folk music and always intended to use his skill to play Tamb’rin Music. The Violin and Tamb’rin Music. The violin is the preferred melody line instrument in Tamb’rin music. This traditional folk music from Tobago, also has its roots in our colonial times. The handheld goat skin frame drums, called the cutter, roller and boum, are accompanied typically by the triangle and violin / the mouth organ (See Figure 7). Frame drums were used because they could be easily hidden from colonial masters who had a great fear of the drums. However, similar frame drums can be found in Martinique, the Dominican Republic, Mauritius, Morocco, Brazil and even among the Native Indian population of North America. Additionally, the spiritual dance styles that Tamb’rin music accompanies were derived from a mocking of the dances of the colonial masters during slavery and as such, the types of songs and the dances accompanying them are the reel, jig, pasea etc. Figure 7: Picture of Mt. Saint George Tambrin Band (1995) 56 year old Lawrence ‘Wax’ Crooks, is the violinist and leader of the Royal Sweet Fingers Tamb’rin band. He surprised me by first saying that he was taught to play classically by a classical teacher 7 years ago and joined the band immediately. Wax was a part of a 3-month workshop teaching Tobagonians to play the violin. It was the only formal training he ever received. He notes that it has made him a more precise player than his predecessors, and he has been noted by articles to have a classical bowing technique. However, he relied on his childhood memories to play tamb’rin. With this in mind, he plays with the instrument against his upper arm, so that it is easier to talk while playing in the relaxed settings of the events Tamb’rin music is usually played at. He also noted that it is more comfortable to play in this way and so playing can be done for the many hours of the traditional dances, weddings, christening (now replaced by djs), birth nights, illness (reel dance between 12-12:30 would help, as it would definitely cause a manifestation of the spirit to take place). At more formal events though, he admits to moving the instrument up to the classical position with his chin placed in the chin rest. Wax notes that violin was always the preferred instrument in Tamb’rin music, because: * The long hours of traditional ceremonies would lead to vocalists tiring * Mouth organs were limited in the notes they could play. They could not play the fully correct melody. The more modern push-key mouth organs have greater flexibility and with less need for training, they are starting to become more common than violins. * The violin has flexible notation. Many traditional ceremonies are long because when the spirit manifests itself in the person (Ride), the music must continue until they regain consciousness. â€Å"If you stop playing, you will leave them in another world†. The spirits also dictate the other aspects of of the culture of playing in Tamb’rin. Alcohol is liberally dispensed, as this â€Å"quiets the spirits†. Wax sprinkles rum on the back of his violin for the same reason. Also, tambrin is always played by a group of musicians, as the spirits can overpower one. Wax has seen instances of violin strings bursting and entire drums being lost when conditions are right. Even the music must be appropriate to the situation, or again instruments are scarred or lost. â€Å"When everything is right, the atmosphere is coolsoothing†. Figure 8: Scored Example of a reel â€Å"Call me Mama† Conclusion Interviews and archived material have confirmed that the violin as a solo instrument or in small numbers is a versatile member of a band that was perfectly suited for more traditional, acoustic arrangements. However, owing to changes in culture due to historical experiments with louder instruments (brass and saxophones), they are no longer common in at least two traditional artforms, parang and calypso. With the reinvention of the mouth organ and the lack of another generation interested in traditional forms, the violin is also slowly disappearing from Tamb’rin music. Its use in our music is a result of both classical training and the ingenuity and good ears of of Trinbagonian musicians. For this reason, although there are fewer exponents of each traditional form, there is a wealth of violin students and recordings of the music to spur another generation on. This project has enabled me to find many recordings and has started my interaction with older musicians who have a wealt h of anecdotal information on traditional music forms. It is my hope at this point that I will be able to solidify information on traditional violin pedagogy to pass on to future generations. References What is parang? Nalis Library archives. Last accessed 16 April. http://www2.nalis.gov.tt/Research/SubjectGuide/Music/Parang/tabid/233/Default.aspx?PageContentMode=1 The Stringed Instrument Database. http://stringedinstrumentdatabase.110mb.com/t.htm The National Recording Registry 2002, National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov/rr/record/nrpb/registry/nrpb-2002reg.html History of Trinidad and Tobago. 2012. Wikipedia. 16 April 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Trinidad_and_Tobago ANDREAS MEYER. â€Å"THE OLDER FOLKS USED TO FIDDLE AROUND THE NOTES.† PLAYING THE VIOLIN FOR TAMBRIN BANDS IN TOBAGO (WEST INDIES), 2006, http://www.llti.lt/failai/05%20MEYERIO.pdf Frame Drums and Tambourines in Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Volume 2: Performance and Production. Edited by John Shepherd, David Horn, Dave Laing, Paul Oliver, and Peter Wicke. New York: Continuum, 2003, 349-350, 362-372]. http://www.nscottrobinson.com/framedrums.php Discography Calypso Best of Trinidad 1912-1952. http://www.rhyners.com/proddetail.php?prod=0508 Calypso Pioneers 1912 – 1937. http://www.amazon.com/Calypso-Pioneers-1912-1937-Various/dp/B0000002QV/ref=sr_1_1?s=musicie=UTF8qid=1334700896sr=1-1 Calypso Carnival 1936 – 1941 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000002SC?tag=ubriacowinerevielink_code=as3creativeASIN=B0000002SCcreative=373489camp=211189 Victor Discography: Lionel Belasco Orchestra, http://victor.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/talent/detail/16409/Lionel_Belasco_Orchestra_Musical_group; Victor Discography: Lovey’s String Band, http://victor.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/talent/detail/44453/

Leadership and Change Management in the Merger of Hewlett-Packard

Leadership and Change Management in the Merger of Hewlett-Packard William Hewlett and David Packard the two Stanford graduates started there business in garage at alto. After a year they did partnership called Hewlett-Packard by 1947 HP came into existence as worlds second largest computer supplier with net revenue of $42 billion. HP originally dealed with auio oscillators and then gradually entered personal computers field in 1980. Recent the company launched laserjet printer which is a greatest hit for the company. Compaq computer corporation formed by two senior managers at Texas entered personal computer field in 1982. Due to excellent quality service it was considered globally as worlds largest manufacturers of personal computers.the name of company itself is derived from Compatiblity and quality. The initial computers launched by Compaq were not handy there appearance was like a suitcase still a net revenue of 111 million dollars was generated. VALUES: THE HP WAY Bill Hewlett and dave Packard created a set of values to guide the company and change the company . these values became famous as the HP way which are as follows: the strength of corporate society is profit so identify profit in order to contribute to the society. There should be continous improvement in product and services of the company. Always look for new opportunities but stay focused on area where company is benefitted. Increase companys success by providing employment opportunities. Always give a work environment to encourage motivation and innovation Be a good citizen and be social Focus on basic exponential growth Leadership at HP Carleton S. (Carly) Fiorina Carly Fiorina was highly qualified peson who before coming to HP had 20 years experirnce of working at AT T as a senior leader. she became CEO of HP in1999 and was the first woman to be the leader so such a huge company and nations prominent female executive. She was very extravagant in managing work. She had strong capability to understand what should be done to achieve the set goals. She had a clear insight of the challenges that the company were facing. She was a powerful Charismatic leader who was able to do the cultural change change in the company with her assertive nature and honesty. She possessed transformational leadership quality that helped to make HP an effective leader in the competitive market. HP was now more flexible, innovative and possessed a effective internal environment whose primary focus was customer satisfaction. The most important reason for success of Fiorinas was the perfect balance between leadership qualities and management of the company resources with genuine concern for the employees and let them make feel as part and parcel of the company. As a good leader Fiorina started a stock option program for employees which created a enthusiastic work environment for the employees. Under this program employee will be profited if the company earns profit. Fiorina knows how to rise a company in the changing environment. Several steps were taken to reinvigorate HP they were as follows: Innovation was focused more. Structure was changed now front office and back office concept came into existence. R D department was re engineered. Clear mission and values of the company Reasons for the Merger HP was progressing at a great pace. The basic aim of fiorina was to modernize the culture of HP and to focus on profitable areas of business and HPs profit share increased from 54.43 to 74.48 dollars but still the company was not efficient as it could not met the set targets and due to this failure HP was supposed to cut down the jobs. Even fiorina had threat of losing her job. This was the indication that changing only internal strategies was not worth for the success of the company so a new plan came into existence which was to acquire Compaq worth of 25 billion dollars. Both companies believed that in order to do good in the recent competitive market and gain profit better way was to have a merger but the stakeholders considered it as differently according to them company wont be loyal to Compaq customers and the biggest problem was synchronization of members in the organization. As during merger the culture of organization will also change. Above all fiorina only considered the r emoval of one competitor in the PC market. According to her the market share will increase after merger and working unit will also increased. (Hoopes, 2001) HP experienced revenue growth but share prices constantly declined. Hp was badly affected by recession in 2001. Pay were cutted down and laid off. Jobs were cutted down. Stock price continued to decline at a great speed. Outsourcing was not proper. To improve economics and innovation. Strengthed business provides critical mass in key growth market. CHANGE MANAGEMENT Culture can be defined as the personality of a company. It encompasses the beliefs, values, leadership practices, governance structure, decision-making processes, and norms of a business. One of the primary reasons that culture is so important is because employee loyalty affects customer loyalty, thus directly affecting both the profitability of a company as well as stakeholder value.11 As John Kotter and James Heskett of Harvard explain in their book Corporate Culture and Performance, corporate culture is an important competitive asset. Kotter and Heskett believe that cultural strength among the employees of a company relates to performance in three key ways: first, it leads to goal alignment; second, it creates high levels of motivation; and third, it provides structure and controls without having to rely on formal bureaucracy, which often inhibits innovation and motivation.12 At HP, where culture (i.e., the HP Way) has always had a powerful influence on how the company functions, undertaking cultural integration poses an especially daunting task. At the same time that integration planners must adapt HPs existing culture to unify the two companies, planners must also ensure that HPs culture remains focused around the key elements of the HP Way: trust, respect, achievement, integrity, teamwork, innovation, and an interactive work environment. Among the first-and arguably one of the most important-steps in integrating cultures is to determine what constitutes a good culture and then to base changes on those elements. According to HPs integration planning team, a good culture must: be clearly defined and broadly understood; reflect the business strategy and brand; support best-in-class performance with customers, partners, stockholders, and employees; produce alignment, commitment and excitement; establish a competitive advantage; and be reflected in the communications and actions of core leaders. Change models 1.Unfreeze, Change, Freeze Kurt Lewin proposed a three stage theory of change commonly referred to as Unfreeze, Change, Freeze (or Refreeze). It is possible to take these stages to quite complicated levels. It is extremely relevant Stage 1: Unfreezing The Unfreezing stage is probably one of the more important stages to understand in the world of change we live in today. This stage is about getting ready to change. It involves getting to a point of understanding that change is necessary, and getting ready to move away from our current comfort zone. HP was in need to understand and prepare the company for the change as completion was relevantly increasing.fiorina was been motivated for change by lot of different characters and the chariasmatic leadership qualities that she possessed. Stage 2: Change or Transition Kurt Lewin was aware that change is not an event, but rather a process. He called that process a transition. Transition is the inner movement or journey we make in reaction to a change. This second stage occurs as we make the changes that are needed. HP used role models and allowed employees to develop new solutions and Fiorina also gave a clear picture of desired change and gave benefits to the employees. Stage 3: Freezing (or Refreezing) Kurt Lewin refers to this stage as freezing although a lot of people refer to it as refreezing. As the name suggests this stage is about establishing stability once the changes have been made. The changes are accepted and become the new norm. People form new relationships and become comfortable with their routines.Its often at this point that people laugh and tell me that practically there is never time for this freezing stage. And its just this thats drawn criticism to the Kurt Lewin model. 7S model 7S-McKinsey-model.jpg 7S model was created by McKinsey and company in 1980. Seven factors are included in this model. The 7S framework was dividing in thinking about organizational efficiency. In previous the manager focus was on organization because organization grew in size and complicated questions were also arised. Explanation of each element: Strategy: HP created a Strategy to maintain and make competitive benefit over the competition. Structure: Structure is the way the organization is constructed and who reports to whom. Systems: In systems the daily activities and events that staff members join in to get the job done. Shared values: Shared values are also called à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"super ordinate goalsà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ . These values are the center values of the company that are evidenced in the corporate culture and the general work. Style: you have to adopt the style of leadership. Staff: In staff employees and their general capabilities are included. Skills: Skills are the actual skills of the employees who are working for the company. Post merger The proposed merger consolidated HP Compaqs product into four groups customer services, imaging and printing, access devices, and information technology infrastructure. Although the new company was very competitive in respective segments but the merger made the company more powerful and fully integrated providing full services integrating both hardware and software solutions. the merged company had 145,000 employees.the new company strategy was to look for acquisition in consulting in order to expand market growth. The new HP also had the same commitment of customer priority,best engineering design toease all problems, and acceptance to open system to able to face the sudden market shift. Copmaq will give great support in giving many solutions in: IT Infrastructure Compaq and HP combined the server , storage and software capabilities all the solutions were more compelling and fault tolerated. A new management software was introduced that was of great help to monitor,mange and optimize the whole network. New storage solutions that were more efficient than payroll and was able to store data 10 times more efficiently.the other former change was in service and support expertise that was helpful in building and designing new innovative solutions. Services New HP had now vast range of outsourcing, consulting and support that helps in formulating strategies and managing the infrastructure. It started to become partner for architecting various enterprises. Now because of combined forces of both the company new HP was aiming to be top-tier service provider that provided choices for implementation and making strategy for various IT projects. New HP had great value for partnership so to gain benefit of products PricewaterhouseCoopers, Accenture, and KPMG company did partnership with them Access Devices As both the companies were strong in the market they offer a wide range of PCs, and many internet enabled devices. The new products simply work better and together. New devices were innovative and highly excellent technology. They work the way they want to work according to the office environment. After merger most of Compaq products were re branded with the HP nameplate Compaq brands were consumer oriented products. All Compaq computers were now shifted to HP . Compaq iPAQ were renamed to HP iPAQ. In 2007 HP released a new logo for their Compaq Division and in the next year all business line notebooks were renamed as HP Compaq series that was used for all HPs notebooks. The top business earning model was Hp Elite Book that was named as HP Compaq B series RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Resistance to change is one of the basic reasons for the failure of change process and its implementation. Resistance to change in general is ubiquitous by nature. It is defined as a natural response to any reaction or threat of change (Block, 1989). In HP resistance was visble among employees and shareholders. Resistance by employees there was Tension among the HP earlier before when the company decided to lay off thousands of employees because of the economic downturn. Before the cuts were made, however, employees were asked to assist in a cost-cutting campaign either take mandatory vacation or accept a pay cut, among other choices. True to the HP Way, yet surprising to many on Wall Street, many employees offered to have their salary cut. When the company later proceeded with layoffs, many felt betrayed. And thousands of more cuts are possible if the merger is approved. People fight against change because they:fear to lose something they value, ordont understand the change and its implications, or dont think that the change makes sense, or find it difficult to cope with either the level or pace of the change. Resistance by stock holder Walter Hewlett as a stock holder along with his sisters William and Flora Hewlett opposed the deal as stockholder rejection was one of the ways to terminate the deal.According to Walter Hewlett, Carly Fiorina had exaggerated the importance of scale in the computer business. Hewlett believed that rather than make the company more competitive, the merger would expose HP to the brutal, low-profit PC business. Finally Hewlett concluded that the merger would significantly dilute the value of the companys business. David Packard issued a statement siding with Hewlett in opposition to the deal. In his statement, Packard, chairman of the Packard Humanities Institute.Packard, the oldest son of the other late co-founder, claimed that Fiorinas highhanded management and efforts to reinvent the company ran counter to the core HP values established by the founders. Citing massive layoffs as an example of this departure from HPs core values.

The influence of Internet on recognition of identity

The influence of Internet on recognition of identity Identity recognition has been a hot topic in recent years. It is a complicated issue that no single definition of the term has been set up in science. The first time identity of perception goes to the public as a scientific term is in The Interpretation of Dreams (published in 1900) by a great psychologist, Sigmund Freud. He proposed that dreaming was an unconscious process of information in the day time, which shared the role of controlling individuals mental and psychical activities. Thus he claimed that dreaming maintained the personalitys continuity and identity. Identity conception plays an important role in human beings psyche, he suggested. The society is developing quickly, which makes human beings lost in recognition of identity in social life and also in psycho. Problems of identity are studied for years in different areas, and the conceptions of identity differ. Most of the recent studies are conducted in sociology, which focus on study the social groups, social phenomena and social behavior. Here in this paper, I focus on the individuals behavior, individuals interpretations of the information on the internet, and how the internet influences individuals. Identity is the state of an individuals consciousness of the relationship with oneself, people around and with the surroundings. It is more about how an individual sees himself, based on the aggregation of his personal characteristics, personal feelings, personal values, personal judgments and his interpretations about the information inwards and outwards. To determine ones identity, we need to aggregate ones characteristics of personality that are of a biological, psychological, social, and cultural nature.(Vladimir Rimskii, 2)Identity is a stable consciousness that will last for a long time once set up. It enables one to be oneself in different situations. (Vladimir Rimskii, 2)However, identity changes with the environment changes. Individuals take in different and changing information for the new situations, and this process of aggregation with information will slightly change the individuals perception on his own identity. So exists the possibility to coexistence of different ide ntities (Vladimir Rimskii, 2)at one and the same moment in time. In some cases, this leads to crisis because the adaptation of identity lags behind the changes in reality. Childhood plays a significant and essential role in forming an individuals identity, which continues until death. Identity forming is about mental development, influenced not only by biological factors, but mainly by social factors. The relations and interactions among children, parents, culture and social life of the community play a very important role in shaping ones identity. As a person enter his adolescence years, identity keeps forming and yet changing, for his high time of mental development and values forming. An adolescent goes through a time of getting rid of the influence of parents and setting up self-values in the changing environment. In many cases, these adolescents have the problems of identity because of their lack of experiences in life. As they grow up, they will begin to shape their own identities as the acceptance of particular roles and the rejection of other roles. This process will slow down as they enter adulthood, and they will have stereotype identities, w hich are relatively stable. However, the identity crisis among adolescents has been a hot topic recently. The new generation is said to be too cool and willful. They are exposed to a world full of information. They have a lot of chances to get in touch with different people, learn about different thoughts, and know whats happening around the world. Therefore, their identities are easily influenced and changed. Also, because of the overindulgence of their parents, they young generation lose some chances to think about life and future by themselves. They fail to pay enough attention to the identity forming. Therefore, identity crisis is a very import yet complicated issue. In this paper, I will try to briefly study the internets influences on youths identity conception. Identities in the reality Many identities are perceived as social roles interacting with other individuals. Human beings live within social groups. They have more than one role when connecting with others. Each role might have its own identity or tend to have slightly different identity. These different identities coexist in one at the same moment of time, thus exists the possibility that a person might not able to show all his personalities and roles in one identification card. The other possibility is that people around cannot clearly know who the person is. The author (Vladimir Rimskii, 3) suggests that collective identities of a social group enable its members to determine who belongs and who does not. Individuals almost always interact with representatives of particular social groups, which make them constantly adapt or affirm their own identities. According to him, we can know a person by checking the social group he belongs to. It is true that social life and social experiences help a person to achieve a definite identity. In order to achieve a sense of belongingness, self-preservation, recognition, self-realization and other needs, a person will join in some certain social groups by attaining membership.( Vladimir Rimskii, 4) However, humans have subjective initiatives. One may not want to reveal his complete real information in social life with the purposes such as self-protection. Also, one may fake his information in order to get into a group. People are bound to the conventions of the society. They live in a world full of limitations. They cannot fully express and show their values, judgments, behaviors, and personalities. For example, the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual (GLB) may not want people around them to know their secrets. They may cover up in case other people blame them for acting against the cultural and social traditions. Therefore, one will not present the true person of oneself in reality and we cannot know a true person by processing the intended presentation of his identity. In the process of identification, an individual may project his own identity onto someone else. He may borrow someone elses identity, or mix his own identity with the identities of others, so as to create a new him. Identities on the internet Today, hundreds of thousands of people have accessed to the internet, and have identities in the virtual world. The number is growing at a very fast speed. Individualism and the freedom of expression may be the first reason that people form a new identity on the internet.(Julie Rak, 7)There is no restrictions of forming an identity on the internet, so a person can register an ideal identity, do whatever and say whatever he wants on the internet. Another reason for peoples formation of identity on the internet is that people desire to create ideal identities that cannot be realized in the real world. Individuals can decide their attitudes, perceptions, stereotypes, judgments, opinions, assessments, priorities, tastes, ways of life, characteristics of activity, etc. Internet makes it possible for individuals to achieve self-realization and to be ideal ones for a while. Quite different from the reality, there is also possibility for a person to use a number of different identities simul taneously without using verifiable information. People have been arguing about the advantages and disadvantages of internet on identities. The supportive side suggests that we can know a person better through internet because his identities online are mostly the ones that he wishes to be. Those identities reveal the real inside of a person. People will fee safe and comfortable to chat on the internet. They use nicknames with limited information revealed. The information doesnt have to be true, which protects people from being traced. Moreover, the communication is mostly non-face-to-face. Therefore, people may be more willing to share their real feelings and thoughts on the internet than in real world. However, the opposed side argues that people who get addicted to the internet may lose their identities in the reality and fail to bear his responsibilities. They suggest that people turn to the internet to avoid things in the real world. On the internet, all things, including identity information, thoughts and feelings may be false, which will easily confuse people. The exposure to different kinds of information and identities will not help people clear up their minds. It is more likely to pull people away from the real world along with their responsibilities. Combination of Identities in the reality and on the internet Based on the discussions between the supportive and opposed sides, I suggest that the combination of identities in the reality and on the internet may be a useful way to help solve the identity crisis. People base on the reality to face the life, bear the responsibilities and solve problems. Therefore, the identity in the reality should be the basic and should be stable. It defines a persons position in a society. However, its understandable that people want to keep personal secrets and hide characteristics and feelings. The internet will be a good way for them to relieve the pressure from reality and try to be another part of themselves. Therefore, the combination of the identities in the reality and on the internet may complete a persons identities and is good for human experiences. However, one important premise for this is that the internet should be under more control to provide a safer internet environment. To fully solve the problem of identity crisis, more in-depth studies of identities on the Internet, and investigation of the positive and negative effects of their influences on individual identity perceptions, should be conducted. We believe that these findings may shed some light on tackling the problem of identity crisis in the near future. Notes Rak, Julie. THE DIGITAL QUEER: WEBLOGS AND INTERNET IDENTITY. Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly 28.1 (2005): 166-182. Academic Source Complete. EBSCO. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. Rimskii, Vladimir. The Influence of the Internet on Active Social Involvement and the Formation and Development of Identities .Russian Education HYPERLINK javascript:__doLinkPostBack(,mdb~~s8h||jdb~~s8hjnh||ss~~JN Russian Education Society||sl~~jh,);HYPERLINK javascript:__doLinkPostBack(,mdb~~s8h||jdb~~s8hjnh||ss~~JN Russian Education Society||sl~~jh,); Society; Aug2010, Vol. 52 Issue 8, p11-33, 23p, 2 Charts

Minors and the Death Penalty Essay -- essays research papers

A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Should the death penalty be given to minors? The two groups against this issue, are the religious and medical groups. They believe they are too young to know what they have done. The medical groups believe adolescents are less developed than adults and should not be held to the same standards. . The opposing side, held mostly by state officials, feel if they are old enough to commit the crime they, old enough to get the punishment, including death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The very first execution of a minor was in1642 with Thomas Graunger in Plymouth Colony, Massachesetts. In the three-hundred years since that time, a total of approximately 365 persons have been executed for juvenile crimes, constituting 1.8 percent of roughly twenty-thousand confirmed American executions since 1608. Twenty-two of these executions for juvenile crimes have been imposed since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. These twenty-two recent executions of juvenile offenders make up about 2 percent of the total executions since 1976. The death penalty for juvenile offenders has uniquely become an American practice, in that, it appears to have been abandoned by nations everywhere else in large part due to the express provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and of several other international treaties and agreements   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  C.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The reason this is a moral issue because the death of a human being is a moral issue, and if that human being is not even an adult, than it makes it an atrocity that he/she was put to death by are legal system that in all aspects is placed there for our protection. The punishment is for the criminal, but in reality the only people being punished is the family of the juvenile in question.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  D.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Capital punishment is more expensive than a life imprisonment sentence without the opportunity of parole. Florida spent an estimated $57 million on the death penalty from 1973 to 1988 to achieve eighteen executions, that is an average of $3.2 million per execution. It costs six times more to execute a person in Florida than to incarcerate a prisoner for life with no parole. The average cost of a capital trial in Florida is ... ...y between the law breaker and society. Just punishment is binding and not to be mitigated by any utilitarian consideration. Kant also believes in â€Å"blood guilt† and the necessity for cleansing criminal actions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   H.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This issue is pretty touchy to me, because i could support both side of minor being put to death. I agree with if they do the crime, they can do the time, but at the same time they are just little kids and they do not know better. The way I see how this situation can change is that instead of holding the child responsible for the crime hold the parents in contempt. The reason I say this is because a study shown shows that most juvenile convicts come from a broken home. The old saying goes â€Å"monkey see, monkey do.† I believe if these children would have had the chance of growing up in a stable family upbringing, there is a good chance that they would have been upstanding citizens. So my belief may be torn apart on the subject, I'm am going to have to say that I am against the death penalty for minors, because i believe they don not know what they do, because of a lack of immaturity and lack of experience in life.

Attack on America :: essays research papers

Tonya Wood  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   October 4, 2001  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dr. Annan  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Freshman Seminar   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Attack On America   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I was quite saddened by the event that took place on September 11, 2001. An unfortunate tragedy occurred in New York that will go down in history. Two airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center, causing them to collapse, injuring and killing thousands of people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When I first learned of the catastrophe, I was in my dorm room asleep because I don’t have classes on Tuesdays. My mom called me and informed me of the horrendous episode and it actually took me a while to realize what happened. But when I turned the television on, everything was clear as day. I saw people falling and jumping out of windows. It was horrific. My initial feelings were hatred toward the culprits behind this cowardly act. I couldn’t comprehend exactly what the purpose of this was proving. I hope and pray that Osama bin Laden and whoever else is responsible for this callous act is given capital punishment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If I were in the position to do something I would donate clothing, blood, counseling, and anything else that would assist anyone who needed emotional support. But unfortunately I can’t donate blood because I’ve had body tattoos done recently.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My feelings toward the people that live in the Middle East are good nor bad because not all of them can be held responsible and not one individual can be pinpointed. But it is unfortunate for them because even though they are Americans, they are considered as â€Å"one of them† who were involved in this hate crime. It’s quite sad.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It’s very difficult to say why exactly we were attacked, but I’m sure whoever was responsible for this had more than one motive. I’ve heard numerous reasons and some people think we should attack; others think we should make peace. I personally think that if we don’t fight back and let everything go, we’ll be attacked again. If it takes bombing Afghanistan, then that’s what it takes.

Hamlet’s First Soliloquy

Hamlet’s soliloquy in Act I Scene 2 is the first time that the reader fully understands Hamlet’s character, his inner thoughts and opinions. The general tone of this soliloquy is very personal and emotional revealing Hamlet’s despair over the current situation and his depressing state of mind. It sets the stage for the rest of the story, being Hamlet’s hatred of Claudius and resentment of his mother. Previous to this soliloquy we learn that King Hamlet’s brother, Claudius, has become the new king of Denmark by entering into an incestuous marriage with Queen Gertrude, the late king’s wife. Claudius has made a grandiose, eloquent speech presenting him and his wife to the court, manipulating and distracting his audience from the abnormality of the situation. Hamlet, naturally still mourning his father’s death, is shocked by how quickly everyone has forgotten and refuses to play along with Claudius’ show. Hamlet interrupts the speech with snide, witty comments like, â€Å"a little more than kin and less than kind,† addressing the unnatural relationship that him and Claudius now have. The King and Queen turn to Hamlet and encourage him to get over father’s death and to stay in Denmark under the pretense of loving him. When Hamlet again interrupts with spiteful words against both his mother and Claudius, Claudius publicly humiliates Hamlet by making a speech, highlighting the reasons why Hamlet cannot be king. Instead of refuting Claudius, Hamlet becomes compliant to his mother’s wishes and agrees to stay in Denmark. Shakespeare utilizes situational irony at this point in the story where once Hamlet is left alone we expect him to explode into anger, but instead he falls into a passive state of self-pitying. â€Å"O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew. In this line Hamlet expresses his desire to commit suicide which alerts the reader to his depressive state. The way in which he describes the act as â€Å"melting† also alerts us to his sedentary disposition, in that even the taking of one’s own life is inactive. In the next line Hamlet informs us that he cannot commit suicide because of his religious views. â€Å"Or that the Everlas ting had not fixed his canon ’gainst self-slaughter! † Hamlets inability to commit a sin shows us that he has a high moral standing and an air of innocence. In this soliloquy Hamlet is deeply conflicted and unable to resolve to commit himself to a course of action as is seen through his cyclical thought process. Hamlet employs many allusions within this soliloquy to make a comparison between Hamlet Sr. and Claudius. Hamlet uses mythological characters to compare his father to Claudius saying that â€Å"So excellent a king that was to this Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother that he might not beteem the winds of heaven visit her face to roughly. Hamlet believes that comparing his father to Claudius is like comparing Hyperion, the Titan God of Light to a half-man, half goat. Through this analogy we realize that Hamlet has a very idealized view of not only his father but also Hamlet Sr. and Gertrude’s marriage. This builds in him a resentment of Gertrude for so easily moving on and an even greater hatred of Claudius for corrupting his mother. Hamlet then goes on to contrast his father and Claudius by comparing himself to Her cules, unintentionally associating himself with Claudius. My father’s brother, but no more like my father than I to Hercules. † This line further shows the deterioration of Hamlet’s self-image. Hamlet’s first soliloquy helps the reader to understand the source of Hamlet’s action throughout the rest of the play. It introduces his self-destructive ways and tendency to refrain from acting. It also introduces a later recurrence of Hamlet’s deep disturbance of his mother and Claudius’ relationship.

Customer Value and Superior Performance Essay

Market Orientation, Customer Value, and Superior Performance Stanley F. Slater and John C Narver Thinking in terms of the market (not marketing) is essential in the highiy competitive arenas of today, o achieve superior performance, a business must develop and sustain competitive advantage. But where competitive advantage was once based on structural characteristics such as market power, economies of scale, or a broad product line, the emphasis today has shifted to capabilities that enable a business to consistently deliver superior value to its customers. This, after all, is the meaning of competitive advantage. Our recent research shows that a market-oriented culture provides a solid foundation for these value-creating capabilities. A business is market-oriented when its culture is systematically and entirely committed to the continuous creation of superior customer value. Specifically, this entails collecting and coordinating information on customers, competitors, and other significant market influencers (such as regulators and suppliers) to use in building that value (see Figure 1). The three major components of market orientation+ustomer orientation, competitor focus, and cross-functional coordination-are long-term in vision and profit-driven. Based on extensive interviews with managers and executives, Kohli and Jaworski (1990) conclude that market orientation provides â€Å"a unifying focus for the efforts and projects of individuals, thereby leading to superior performance. † A developing stream of empirical research has found a strong relation- T ship between market orientation and several measures of business performance, including profitability. customer retention, sales growth, and new product success. Customer Orientation The heart of a market orientation is its customer focus. To create superior value for buyers continuously requires that a seller understand a buyer’s entire value chain, not only as it is today but also as it evolves over time. Buyer value can be created at any point in the chain by making the buyer either more effective in its markets or more efficient in its operations. A market-oriented business understands the cost and revenue dynamics not only of its immediate target buyers but also of all markets beyond, for demand in the immediate and â€Å"upstream† markets is derived from the demand in the original â€Å"downstream† markets. Therefore, a market-driven business develops a comprehensive understanding of its customers’ business and how customers in the immediate and downstream markets perceive value. Employees of market-oriented businesses spend considerable time with their customers. Managers and employees throughout the business call on their customers or bring them into their own facilities in a constant search for new ways to satisfy their needs. For example, Ih Pont has developed a program called â€Å"Adopt a Customer† that encourages a blue-collar worker to visit a customer once a month, learn the customer’s needs, and be the customer representative on the factory floor. Market-driven businesses continuously monitor their customer commitment by making im- proved customer satisfaction an ongoing objective. To maintain the relationships that are critical to delivering superior customer value, they pay close attention to service, both before and after sales. Because of the importance of employees in this effort, these businesses take great care to recruit and retain the best people available and provide them with regular training. Some businesses even involve their customers in hiring, training, and developing contact people as well as in making motivation and reward system decisions. Involving customers in these key areas forges strong customer loyalty. ogy development. Top managers frequently discuss competitors’ strategies to develop a shared perspective on probable sources of competitive threats. A reason for the success of many Japanese companies is that they train managers to understand that competitive intelligence is part of everyone’s job. Using this information, marketdriven businesses often target opportunities for competitive advantage based on competitors’ weaknesses. In any case, they keep competitors from developing an advantage by responding rapidly or anticipating their actions. Interfunctionai Coordination Competitor Focus The third of the three core components of a marCreating superior customer value requires more ket orientation is the coordination of personnel than just focusing on customers. The key quesand other resources from throughout the comtions are which competitors, and what technolopany to create value for buyers. Any point in the gies, and whether target customers perceive them buyer’s value chain is an opportunity for a seller as alternate satisfiers. Superior value requires that to create value for the buyer firm. This means the seller identify and understand the principal that any individual in any function in a seller firm competitors’ short-term strengths and weaknesses can potentially contribute to value creation. As and long-term capabilities and strategies. For Michael Porter (1985) explains: example, a team of Marriott employees traveled the country for six months, staying in economy Every department, facility, branch office, hotels and collecting information about their and other organizational unit has a role facilities and services. Armed with this informathat must be defined and understood. All tion about potential competitors’ strengths and employees, regardless of their distance weaknesses, Marriott invested $500 million in a from the strategy formulation process, new hotel chain. Fairfield Inn, its budget market must recognize their role in helping a entry, achieved an occupancy rate 10 points firm achieve and sustain competitive higher than the industry average in one year. advantage. A seller should adopt a chess-game perspective of its current and principal potential competiTo accomplish this, effective companies have tors. Moreover, it should continuously examine developed horizontal structures that focus on the competitive threats they pose, inferring these building value, such as time-to-market for new threats from intent and value-creation capabilities. This is crucial information to a seller in developFigure 1 ing its contingency competitive Market Orientation strategies. In one case, HewlettPackard decided to accelerate the Interfunctional announcement of a new computer Information Assessment Acquisition peripheral after discovering through its travel agency that a rival had booked conference rooms around the country for a specific date. Knowing that this rival had a similar product in development, H-I-’ rushed its announcement and beat the competition to the market. In market-driven businesses, employees from all functions share information concerning competitors. For example, it is crucial for R&D to receive information acquired by the sales group about the pace of a competitor’s technol- Customer InformationCompetitor Information d Coordinated Superior Customer Value Other Market Information Market Orientation. Customer Value, and Superior Performance 23 products. They manage projects through small multifunctional teams that can move more quickly and easily than businesses that use the tradtional function-by-function, sequential approach. For example, cross-functional teams call on customers to identify additional opportunities for value creation. Engineering becomes involved during preliminary market research to help marketers understand what is feasible. Production is involved during product design to ensure that the product can be manufactured at a reasonable cost. Engineers and production people constantly discuss their capabilities and limitations with sales and marketing so capabilities can be leveraged and limitations avoided when promoting products or sewices. When all functions contribute to creating buyer value this way, more creativity is brought to bear on increasing effectiveness and efficiency for customers. Does This Mean the Marketing Department Is in Charge? Shapiro (1988) tells the anecdote of a company CEO explaining to top managers that because of increasing competition, the business needed to become more market-oriented. With that encouragement the marketing vice president jumped in, â€Å"I’ve been saying all along we need to be more marketing-oriented. Marketing has to be more involved in everything Ixcause we represent the customer and we have an integrated view of the company. † At that point the CEO snarled. â€Å"I said more ma&et-oriented. not 177arketin~-oriented. † That story is very epresentative of our experience with marketing orientation as well. A marketing orientation implies an emphasis on the marketing function that may not be appropriate. Customer value is created by core capabilities throughout the entire organization. Whereas Procter and Gamble’s competitive advantage may be based on :I core marketing capability, 3M’s advantag e is innovation: Canon’s is technology. This does not make 3M or Canon any less market-oriented than Procter and Gaml~le. Because market-driven behavior permeates multiple functions at 3M and Canon, they may be more market-oriented and less marketing-oriented. In our view, lvhen a business achieves the objective of developing a pervasive market orientation, the marketing function may become lessnot more-important, because all functions are dedicated to creating and delivering customer value. This is consistent with Regis McKenna’s (1991) notion that â€Å"Marketing is everything and everything is marketing. † Webster (1992) foresees a time when marketing specialists will become increasingly rare while marketing as a general management function becomes more important. This is the result of a general focus on cross- unctional cooperation, which causes internal functional boundaries to lose meaning. GE’s 1990 Annual Report puts it this way: In a boundary-less company, internal functions begin to blur. Engineering doesn’t design a product, then â€Å"hand it off† to manufacturing. They form a team, along with marketing and sales, finance, and the rest. Customer service? It’s not somebody’s job. It’s everybody’s job. However, for businesses that currently have an internal orientation on production or research and development, the marketing department may have to take the lead role in encouraging marketoriented thinking throughout the firm. As the primary boundary between the business and its markets, marketing is â€Å"management’s window on the world† (Holver and Garda 1985). Because it is dependent on other functional areas for the timely and efficient development, production, and delivery of the product, marketing is likely to be the first function that fully appreciates the benefits of market orientation. To maximize its effectiveness. marketing must demonstrate the benefits of market-driven behavior to top management and to other functions. Marketing may have a key role in the development and maintenance of a culture that is truly arket-oriented The crux is that the responsibility for superior buyer value is beyond that of any one function. Creating value for buyers is analogous to a symphony orchestra in which all members contribute according to a general plan and in which the contribution of each subgroup is tailored and integrated by a conductor-with a synergistic effect. A seller must draw upon a nd integrate effectively all of its human and other resources in an ongoing effort to create superior ,alue for buyers at a profit. This coordinated integration of company resources builds directly on both customer and competitor analysis.