Chemical and Physical Changes Lab Report

Also, be cautious as to not inhale the chemicals. Because the glassware is glass, they may break and as such must be handled gently. All glassware should be inspected for cracks before starting the lab. Ill. Pre-Lab Questions- 1 . Identify the following as either chemical or physical changes: A. Striking a match- Chemical B. Food Spoiling- Chemical C. Breaking a Glass- Physical D. Mowing the Grass- Physical E. Leaves Decaying- Chemical F. Boiling Water- Physical 2.In your own words, state the Law of Conservation of Mass: The Law of the Conservation of Matter says the matter can be neither created nor destroyed. 3. List he indicators of a chemical change: Chemical change can be illustrated in many forms such as rust, decay, light being produced, heat being given off or cold being given off, and color change. These are simply a few and are not all of them. 4. Identify each as an element, compound, or mixture: A. Alarm- Compound B. Sulfur- Element C. Hydrogen Gas- Element D. Salad- Mixt ure E.Water- Compound F. Sodium Bicarbonate- Compound G. Fruit Punch- Compound H. Sodium Chloride (table salt)- Compound ‘V. Procedure- Experiment 1- Combine a few iron filings along with sulfur powder on an unused piece of paper. Mix the samples well with a scoopful. Examine the mixture with a magnifying glass and record your observation. Next, move the magnet under the mixture and reexamine It with a magnifying glass once again and record the observations. Discard the sample. Experiment 2- Fill a small beaker half way with cold water.Obtain a test tube with warm bath water and add the warm bath water with the cold water in the water and placing it in the trash can and dump the water down the sink. Experiment 3- Place a piece of magnesium in a clean, dry test tube. Next, add 10 drops of MM HCI. Record observations. Carefully touch the bottom of the test tube to check for the change in temperatures. Flush contents down the sink with plenty of water. Experiment 4- Transfer smal l amounts of sodium bicarbonate into a clean, dry test tube.Add 10 drops of MM HCI individually. Touch the bottom of the test tube and record all observations. Wash all the leftovers down the sink. Experiment 5- Mix 10 drops of barium chloride solution in a test tube with sodium sulfate solution. Record all observations in the data table and then pour down the sink. Experiment 6- Mix a small scoop of sodium chloride with 2 ml of water in a test tube. Record all observations and wash down the sink. V. Data and Observations- Experiment # Mass and Observations Chemical or Physical?When the magnet was held under the piece of paper, the iron stood up and followed the magnet physical 2 The warm water became a solid when added to the cold water physical 3 When the MM HCI was added, the liquids began to bubble and heat up, which is exothermic chemical 4 When the MM HCI was added, the liquids began to bubble once again and the liquids lolled, which was endothermic chemical 5 When the barium chloride was added, the color changed and the consistency changed to a more milky consistency physical 6 When the small scoop of sodium chloride was added to the water, nothing could be observed as happening physical VI.Calculations- VI'. Post Lab Questions- 1. In which lab did you observe a precipitate? A precipitate was observed in experiment number 2. 2. In which did you observe energy change? An energy change was observed in experiment number 1 when potential energy changed to mechanical energy. . In which did you observe a color change? A color was observed in experiment was observed in experiment number 5 when it became a milky color. 4. In which did you observe the formation of a gas? Gases of any sort. VIII.Conclusion- The purpose of this lab was to identify what a chemical change and what a physical change is. A chemical change is when bonds are broken and new ones are forced to form. Some indicators are a change are exothermic (heats up), endothermic (cools of, precipitate (solid forms), and color change. In the first experiment when the agent was under the sheet of paper with the iron filings, the iron filings stood up on their end and followed the magnet around, changing from potential energy into mechanical energy.In the second experiment performed, a precipitate formed, a solid was formed out of the warm water when it was added to the cold water. In experiment three, an exothermic change occurred when the magnesium and MM HCI where combined, resulting in bubbling of the two and then the test tube heating up. Then in experiment four, an endothermic change occurred when the sodium carbonate and MM HCI were combined in the test tube and the test tube cooled down.In experiment five, there was a color change when the barium chlorine and sodium sulfate were combined resulting in a new milky color which also now had a milky consistency. In the sixth experiment, as far as I could tell, nothing happened in the sixth experiment. ‘X. Error Analysis- T he only possible error I can see is if my group made an error of some sort of error in experiment number 6 when nothing happened, and it Just seems like something should have happened in the experiment.

Clean Edge Essay

Non-disposable razors recorded average growth of about 5% in retail sales during the period 2007 to 2010 whereas refill cartridge and disposable razors recorded growth of approximately 2% and 3% respectively for the same period. Innovations and new product introductions are the prime factors for the growth. Non-disposable razors and refill cartridge market is broadly classified into three segments namely value, moderate and super premium based on price and quality. Paramount’s consumer research identified distinct segmentation in terms of product benefits and consumer behavior. % of non- disposable razor users are segmented as Involved Razor users, social/emotional shavers; 28% as Involved Razor users, aesthetic shavers and 33% as Uninvolved Razor users, maintenance shavers. Studies from 2009 showed that the retail sales of non- disposable razors and refill cartridge came from 25% volume of super-premium, 43% of moderate and 32% of value segments. In the last decade, the indus try has experienced significant growth in the super premium segment. Product innovation and new technology is leading this sector for a number of new entrants. In 2008-09 the rate of new product innovation leads to 22 new SKUs to be introduced. SWOT Analysis Strengths Paramount Health and Beauty Company’s biggest strength is that it is a well- established brand with deep pockets and a very good association with consumers. The product- Clean Edge Razor, that they nave released, is also technologically in the current market. Weaknesses best The company does not have a slice in the 37. 2% of the pie that corresponds to the super premium segment which has immense potential. Also there is a risk of launching the product in the wrong segment or positioning it wrongly. A wrong move could result in cannibalization of Paramount Pro, another product in their portfolio. Opportunities There is very good growth in the super premium segment especially in men’s grooming. The market is also highly profitable so vendors are ready to stock the products. Also, the maintenance users are a market not ventured by any company till date. Hence the opportunities are immense. Threats A good number of competitors are trying to become the leader in this segment which is expected to grow in the future. The competitors could also catch up with the latest echnology and release a technologically more advanced product. Availability of alternatives like disposable and electric razors make a high threat of substitutes. Because of large number of products available and constant innovation in the sector it is very easy for the consumers to switch the companies. Hence, consumers have a high bargaining power. Entry barriers are low in the industry since no major R;D costs are involved and there are no major regulations. The bargaining power of the suppliers is low. Hence, overall the premium segment of nondisposable razors is an attractive industry to enter into. Positioning Strategy: The first strategy that we suggest is Niche Positioning, targeting the premium segment: As of now, the products released by Paramount in the non-disposable razer segment, Paramount Pro and Paramount Avail are positioned in the moderate segment and as a value -offering respectively. After three years of development, Paramount Health and Beauty Company has come up with a new technologically advanced vibrating razor called Clean Edge. Keeping in mind the superior technology used and the fact that Paramount has not launched a product targeting the premium egment, Paramount could adopt Niche Positioning while launching Clean Edge. However, there are certain disadvantages and advantages: Advantages: Positioning Paramount’s Clean Edge as a niche will accentuate the company’s product portfolio significantly. From the exhibits it is visible that it will result in high and consistent profit margins for the company and the risk involved will be less. Apart from that, the financial requirement of launching the product in the premium segment is only 15 million dollars as against 42 million dollars for the mainstream targeting. Disadvantages: As the trends suggests, understanding the fact that the premium segment has not been targeted significantly, almost all of Paramount’s competitors have launched products for this segment. Also, for the past 5 years, the company’s current products Pro and Avail have not introduced any new innovations as a result of which its customers are moving on to other competitors. The product pro is in the mature face and might need phasing out eventually. The second strategy that can be followed is Mainstream Positioning. The advantages and disadvantages of the same are as follows: Consumers are becoming more and more sophisticated day by day and expect more advanced technology. Paramount’s bread and butter product, Pro was in the mature phase of the product lifecycle so there is a possibility of decline. Positioning Clean Edge as mainstream product will help prevent loyal Paramount customers from being wooed away to more innovative brands. Main stream razor unit volumes are expected to capture over three times the volumes of the niche market in the first year. Clean Edge has the potential for true market domination and would quickly gain ass appeal. Disadvantages: – Paramount already had product in mainstream positioning -Paramount Pro so launching it as mainstream positioning will dilute the brand power and will lead to cannibalization. More marketing support will be needed to reach the target masses. The company would require an extensive advertising campaign, considerable consumer promotions would be needed and thus the expenses associated with them will be huge. To reach full sales potential with this positioning, $42 million marketing budget would be needed for year one. Total sales of Paramount for Avail and Pro for first year (2009) and second year (2010) are calculated using the market size (retail sales) and corresponding market share, both real (2009)and estimated (2010), of Paramount. The cost of Cannibalization is calculated using total sales and percentage of cannibalization given. Analyzing the result, it is evident that launching the product is a profitable venture; however, the cost of cannibalization may change equations. The cost of cannibalization is lower for the niche market as compared to mainstream market. Although, cannibalization djustments give us losses for the first year in the case of both mainstream and niche, the profit obtained in the second year for mainstream is larger than niche market. Branding Strategy The branding should be done in such a way that it emphasizes Clean Edge Razor as a unique and breakthrough product with the usage of latest technology. However, given the tight advertising budget, it should use the well-established name of Paramount rather than build a brand based on the Clean Edge. This should help potential buyers connect with the product quickly and test it. This should ensure maximum sales. Recommendations & Conclusion The recommendation is to introduce the Clean Edge into the marketplace as a niche product since data shows that consumers in the premium segment are willing to switch between the companies. Using advertising and promotion of the new product we can gain market share from competitors. Exhibit 8directly suppo rts this recommendation and snows that even though unit sales are less than main stream sales, the operating profit and the operating profits as % of sales is higher. In both year one and year two, this niche arket is profitable and growing. It is here that Paramount should focus its efforts on product introduction and positioning for the Clean Edge Razor. Once it has launched itself in the niche segment, Randall should then launch it, maybe after 2 to 3 years, in the mainstream category. As the data shows, both niche and mainstream strategy will help Paramount to raise its market share in super- premium non disposable razor segment. But the niche strategy will enables Clean Edge Razor to contribute profit and at the same time, limit the effect of cannibalizing Paramount’s existing products.

Linguistics and Language Teaching.

Grammatical mistakes made by non- native English language speakers. Introduction Language  may refer either to the specifically  human  capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of  communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication. The scientific study of language in any of its senses is called  linguistics. Linguistic theory has traditionally considered native speakers as the only reliable source of linguistic data (Chomsky 1965). It is therefore not surprising to ? nd only a limited number of works focusing on non-native speakers prior to the 1990s.The ? rst attempt to put‘(non)nativism’ onto the centre stage of linguistic inquiry by challenging current undisputed assumptions on the  matter was Paikeday’s (1985) The native speaker is dead  , in which it is argued that the native speaker ‘exists only as a ? gment of linguist’s imagination’ (Paikeday 1985: 12). Paikeday suggested using the term ‘pro? cient user’ of a language to refer to all speakers who can successfully use it. A few years later, Rampton (1990) similarly proposed the term ‘expert speaker’ to include all successful users of a language.Davies (1991, 2003) further delved into ‘native speaker’ identity, and thus formulated the key question of whether a second language (L2) learner can become a native speaker of the target language. His conclusion was that L2 learners can become native speaker of the target language and master the intuition, grammar, spontaneity, creativity, pragmatic control, and interpreting quality of ‘born’ native speakers. Generally, English educated Malaysians of all ethnic and family language background speak and move alike.However, with the implementation of the national language policy of Bahasa Malaysia  as the national language of Malaysia and as the language of instruction, (except in the cases of Chinese or Tamil medium pr imary schools), the status of English Language in Malaysia is different from the earlier years. The English language covered a continuum from first language through second language to a foreign language. Bahasa Malaysia  is replacing English in most of its previous functions, but English may be expected to remain as a continuum from second language to foreign language according to the background and occupation of the speaker.In Malaysia, presently the use of English is less common than in Singapore and is likely to decrease steadily with the implementation of the national language policy. However, English still remains as a language of considerable importance and is still being used in various spheres of everyday activity. The role of English has changed from its earlier status as the precise language of the colonial era and the decades after the Second World War to a second language.At the moment, it is still considered as an international code to be used for diplomatic and comme rcial negotiations and as a language necessary in many fields of tertiary study and research. Not surprisingly, the non-native English language speakers among Malaysians make grammatical mistakes from time to time. These usually happened among Malaysian adult students and even among some Malaysian English teachers. 1. The transcript of a recorded conversation. The following excerpt is a recorded conversation among teachers and will be analysed of the mistakes made by some teachers during discussion.Our discussion was on the quality and effectiveness of a programme called ‘Program Penutur Jati’ or English Language Teacher Development Project (ELTP). Briefly, the aim of the project is to enhance the lower primary ESL teachers’ ability to plan and deliver quality English lessons based on the new National English Language Curriculum in 600 schools across East Malaysia. The teachers involved in discussion come from various races, ethnic groups, ages and teaching exper iences. Kamel : That is my opinion. I don’t know yours. Ok. Chairperson : I agree †¦. augh Kamel : But , as I said just now. I don’t like that the fixture.. ok. For example aaaa as my mentor come to our school .. every Monday ok.. my class start at nine o’clock†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7. 30.. that mean one and half hour include the preparation for my lesson, so I don’t think that I have an ample time for me to prepare the things†¦ ok . Moreover, the one hour and one and half hour is the .. for all to prepare.. the whole week not only , the one day. So I don’t think that will be effective. Chairperson: Emmmm Kamel : So Chairperson : Did you tell him about it?Kamel: Aaaaaa†¦ So far not yet. Chairperson : Do you have the chance to talk about it. Kamel : Because, I don’t have any.. I don’t have the opportunity to.. Chairperson : Then, you should tell him. Kamel ; I was thinking. Why don’t the mentors like them to be .. have q ualification in teaching, so that they can come to the trainee teachers training college rather than†¦ Chairperson : For your information, ahh Chairperson : Overall, it seems to be working with you†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Naga : The ideas (cough)†¦ is good and different†¦ he is friendly. Chairperson : So.. ahh.If supposing .. You have a mentor to this.. who doesn’t speak.. doesn’t speak like Morrocan. Alright Naemah : Yehhh Chairperson: Right.. Alright, if.. Chairperson: Who? Chairperson : Madam Soya? She is from where? Others : Bulgaria.. (together) Chairperson : Bulgaria? Does she have the accent? Chairperson: What do you think? Do you think†¦ | 2. Common grammatical mistakes and errors by non-native English speakers. The types of errors can be categorised into two: descriptive and surface structures. Descriptive errors include noun phrase, verb phrase and complex sentence.While surface structure errors include omission, addition, misinformati on, misordering and blends. After analysing the recorded conversation, there are few mistakes or errors made by Mr. Kamel during the said discussion. a. The use of unmarked forms instead of marked forms is far more frequent, as can be seen in the examples as follows. * I don’t know yours. * I don’t know about you. * .. as I said just now. * .. as I have said just now. One possible cause of these errors is merely interlingual errors which is the result of mother tongue influences ‘Saya tak tahu awak punya’ and ‘†¦ seperti yang saya kata tadi. respectively. In his article, ‘A Role for the Mother Tongue’ in ‘Language Transfer in Language Learning’, Professor Corder (1981) reinvestigated the phenomenon and questions the term ‘transfer’. He suggests that mother tongue influence as a neutral and broader term to refer to what has most commonly been called transfer. Corder says that since most studies of error were made on the basis of the performance of learners in formal situations where it appears that errors related to mother tongue are more frequent, it was natural that an explanation of the phenomenon was of considerable concern to the applied linguistic.It was out of this concern that the whole industry of contrastive studies arose. He also claims that as far as the acquisition of syntactic knowledge is concerned, no process appropriately called interference takes place, if by that we mean that the mother tongue actually inhibits, prevents, or makes more difficult the acquisition of some feature of the target language. The term ‘interference’ is now most often used to mean what is no more than the presence in the learner‘s performance in the target language of mother-tongue-like features which are incorrect according to the rules of the target language. b.Obviously. Mr. Kamel has the problem in pronouncing certain words especially in the pronunciation of the initial sound of common words like the, there, then and that. It is also the middle consonant sound in feather and the final sound of bathe. These sounds are formed with the tongue tip behind the upper front teeth. The initial sound of that and the final sound of both are both voiceless dental. This problem arises because Mr Kamel’s tongue is not merely touches the teeth. Thus, his pronunciation of these particular words are incorrect. Besides, difficulty in phonology can caused by mother tongue interference.Eltrug (1984) affirmed that mother tongue interference can contribute to a large number of pronunciation errors made by students. An English sound does exist in the native language, but not as separate phonemes. This simply means the first language speakers do not perceive it as a distinct sound that makes difference to meaning. For example The sound /? / does exist in Malay, but whether the vowel is long or short does not make any difference in meaning. For instance, the English phonemes/? / and /i:/ differ very much in meaning as in the words ‘leave’ and ‘live’, ‘sheep’ and ‘ship’.The great amount of vocabulary of English really makes the second language learner suffer in reading. There is a lot of words unknown and the most confusing point is even the second language learner know the meaning but they can’t really understand the meaning of the whole sentence. It is because an English word gives different impressions in different situations. This makes things so confusing about the meaning of the word. Grammatical interference is defined as the first language influencing the second in terms of word order, use of pronouns and determinants, tense and mood.Interference at a lexical level provides for the borrowing of words from one language and converting them to sound more natural in another and orthographic interference includes the spelling of one language altering another. In Malay grammar, it doe s not require one to have any form of determiner in front of instruments like computer, piano, internet. English grammar, however, requires the instruments mentioned above (computer, piano, internet) to be preceded by determiners and if neither a possessive determiner nor a demonstrative determiner is used, the use of either a definite article or an indefinite article is necessary.Thus, the ungrammatical sentences in could be the result of interference of the cultural transfer from Malay language structure on English. Erroneous form| Correct form| She plays piano while I sing. Malay: Dia bermain piano sementara saya menyanyi. | She plays the piano while I sing | She stay at home. Malay : Dia tinggal di rumah | She stays at home. | Table 1 : Examples of interference from the learners’ first language. c.Subjects also exhibited errors in subject-verb agreement as is shown in the examples as follows: * Every Monday, my class start at nine o’clock†¦. * Every Monday, my class starts at nine o’clock†¦. The omission of â€Å"-s† can be attributed to the fact that Bahasa Malaysia does not require verbs to agree with subjects. However, the ending free form is generalised for all persons to make the learning task easier and this is a common intralingual made by people with diverse native languages like Mr Kamel. 3. Causes and sources of errors and mistakes Interlingual errors  are the result of mother tongue influences.Learners transfer/borrow some forms but not others due to two factors such as proto-typicality and language distance (Kellerman, 1979). Malay learners of English commonly make errors in negative sentences. For example: Adryna no coming today. [Adryna tak datang hari ini. ] Such errors are common in pre-verbal negation using  no, the same negative construction as in their L1. In order to determine whether transfer is the cause for the occurrence of errors, James (1998), demonstrates that learners with a particular L 1 make an error that those with a different L1 do not.He provides a useful summary of these strategies which includes the following; a. False analogy b. Misanalysis c. Incomplete rule application exploiting redundancy d. Overlooking co-occurrence restrictions e. System-simplification It is not clear which strategy is responsible for a particular error. Errors can also be viewed as ‘natural’ or as ‘induced’. For example: a. He  played  football yesterday. b. He  goed  home at six. c. He  drinked  milk. d. He  eated  dinner. e. He  sleeped  at eight. ConclusionTo conclude, learners’ errors are a part of the learners’ language learning process. Hence, teachers should not penalise students for the errors they made. Instead, teachers should note those errors and devise ways to assist learners to overcome their problems in language learning. It is difficult to decide whether grammatically or acceptability should serve as the crit erion for error analysis. If grammatically is chosen, an error can be defined as ‘breach of the rule of the code’ (Corder, 1967).Defining errors in terms of grammatically also necessitates giving consideration to the distinction between overt and covert error: In the field of methodology, there are two schools of thought with regard to learners’ error. Firstly, the school which maintains that if we were to achieve a perfect teaching method, the errors would have never be committed and therefore the occurrence of errors is merely a sign of inadequacy in our teaching techniques. The philosophy of the second school is that we live in an imperfect world and consequently errors will always occur in spite of our very best teaching and learning ethods. One effect has been perhaps to shift the emphasis away from a preoccupation with teaching towards a study of learning. The differences between the two are clearly defined: that the learning of the mother tongue is natural , whereas, we all know that there is no such inevitability about the learning of a second language; that the learning of the mother tongue is part of the whole maturational process of the child, whilst learning a second language normally begins only after the maturational process is complete.A child’s incorrect utterances can be interpreted as being evidence that he is in the process of acquiring language and the errors provide these evidences. Brown and Frazer (1964), point out that the best evidence a child possesses construction rules is the occurrence of systematic errors, since when the child speaks correctly, it is quite possible that he is only repeating something that he has heard. In the case of the second language learner, it is known that we do know some knowledge of what the input has been which we call as the syllabus.The simple fact of presenting a certain linguistic form to a learner in the classroom does not necessarily qualify it for the status of input, for the reason that input ‘is what goes in’, not ‘what is available’ for going in, and we may reasonably suppose that it is the learner who controls this input. This may well be determined by the characteristics of his language acquisition mechanism and not by those of the syllabus. References Mariam Mohd Nor, Abdul Halim Ibrahim, Shubbiah, R (2008). OUM-Linguistics and Language Teaching. Seri Kembangan, Selangor.Open University Malaysia. Corder, S. P. (1967). The significance of learners’ errors. International Review of Applied Linguistics,  5, 161-70. Corder, S. P. (1981). Error analysis and interlanguage. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ames, C. (1998). Errors in language learning and use: Exploring error analysis. London: Longman. Kellerman, E. (1979). Transfer and non-transfer: Where are we now? Studies in Second Language Acquisition,  2: 37-57. Eltrug, N. S. (1984). Analysis of the Arab Learners' Errors in Pronunciation of English Utterances i n Isolation and Context.Ph. D Dissertation. The University of Kansas. Chomsky, N. (1965). Aspects of  the theory of  syntax  . Cambridge, MA: MIT Press Paikeday, T. (1985). The native speaker is dead! Toronto: Paikeday Publishing. Rampton, M. B. H. (1990). Displacing the ‘native speaker’: Expertise, af? liation, and inheritance. ELT  Ã‚  Journal   44. 2, 97–101. Davies, A. (1991). The  native speaker in  applied linguistics  . Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Davies, A. (2003). The native speaker of World Englishes. Journal of Pan-Paci? c Association of Applied  Linguistics   6. 1, 43–60

Globalization and Boundless Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Human Population - Essay Example Food, water, shelter, healthcare, and security are increasingly becoming a key problem in the society. In Africa, for example, large family sizes are resulting in poor qualities of life. Moreover, population in China and India among other countries in the world exhibits the dire need for controlled population growth on the planet. Insights shed in the video are undoubtedly fundamental to the welfare of the human race. At a personal level, it is important for the contemporary global society to address the issues raised in the program. Water shortages are already hitting many parts of the world. Forest cover has been reducing at an alarming rate across the globe. Education and awareness on contraceptives remain inaccessible to many people around the world. In this respect, the video is an important learning tool for students, parents, social policy makers, and government agencies that deal with population matters. It is important to control and manage global population for improved social, economic, and environmental

How can a manager motivate a workforce and what are the major benefits Essay - 2

How can a manager motivate a workforce and what are the major benefits of this to a company - Essay Example The paper tells that benefits of the motivated workforce are immense because they need least supervision, efforts and guidance to get best out of them. Motivated workforce helps produce quality goods and efficient services. They learn quickly with fewer efforts on their training. They make fewer mistakes and tend to resolve conflicts quickly. Motivated workforce makes favorable impact on customers and exhibit minimal resistance to change. Away back in 1943, Abraham Maslow's theory explained about 'hierarchy of needs' of the people and that stood to the test of time during the time. A few years later, in 1960, Douglas McGregor proposed his Theory Y – opposing the Theory X, in which he acknowledged and recognized self-motivated people when given a proper environment and freedom to accomplish the given task. In fact, much of the motivational theories of later period find their roots in the Theory Y of Douglas McGregor. Financial incentives do play a role in motivating workforce t o a certain extent but not always, especially during economic downslide, managers’ hands are mostly tied to providing financial incentives and they need to develop other means that can create the motivating workforce in good and bad times. Steve Jobs, though he himself was a tough taskmaster, could inspire thousands of employees to accomplish the task with zeal and vigor. Perhaps, Steve Jobs provided most inspirational leadership to the workforce at Apple through his own commitment and dedication and ability to provide solutions to the problems. Walter Isaacson states that Jobs used to motivate employees to accomplish that at first hand appeared impossible. He states, "Jobs once pushed an engineer to accelerate a Macintosh's boot-up time, even after the employee explained why it would be impossible. In response, Jobs asked, "If it would save a person's life, could you find a way to shave 10 seconds off?" and calculated the overall time spent waiting for Macs to start up aroun d the world every year. Within a few weeks, the engineer reduced the boot-up time by 28 seconds". Thus, manager or leader’s inspirational role can do wonders in motivating employees. Nonfinancial Factors – a Key to Motivation The Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) based at the UK conducted a survey to find how organizations, employees, and managers in the UK feel about the various motivating factors in current times. The survey discovers that intrinsic factors such as recognition, praise are weighed highly as motivating elements over extrinsic factors such as financial rewards, performance bonuses. Key motivating factors that emerge from the survey are better treatment by employer, praise and creating a sense of being valued by the employer. Employee value recognition, support, feedback as the important motivating factors and managers who employ these tools to reward their employees are successful in motivating their workforce for more productive outcomes.

Week 1 discussion questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week 1 discussion questions - Essay Example The imperatives of organizations must involve a ready preparedness for changes. According to Marrow ‘the changes required by the welfare of the business become everybodys business and get made’ (Marrow, 1957, p. 66). The changing business strategies to cope with the fast transforming socio-economical paradigms of the times have become crucial factors because they enable the businesses to compete against their rivals. The main risk of adopting changes in the business processes is the resistance from the workforce. They become unsure about their own ability to successfully adapt the changes in their work practice. As a result of their irrational fear, they fight against any change to defend their position and job in the organization. A good managerial leadership within the organization facilitates better understanding, prediction and improvisation in work place, leading to improved performance. Conflicts can be solved through effective communication that encourages discussions and doubts clearing sessions and leaders must adapt such techniques to overcome resistance and create congenial atmosphere in the organization. Proper dissemination of information is essential to dispel any doubts about their ability to adapt successfully to the changes and the usefulness of the new resource, thereby facilitating a change that is positive. In my office environment of meat processing organization, introduction of new technology in the packaging section has become vital to meet the challenges of the new business competitiveness. The initial apprehension of the manager was overcome through his judicious and widely popular managerial expertise which facilitated the changeover with smoothness and without any bad feeling or insecurities among the employees. The manager had ensured that all the employees were taken into confidence regarding the growing

Infromation System Development Blog Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Infromation System Development Blog - Essay Example The main purpose of system development is to develop an information system that should be able to meet business and personal needs of the users. Model-driven analysis can really benefit the development of information systems by providing a proper set of guidelines regarding system development to the developers. The main benefits of developing information systems include proper management of business related information, documentation of the collected information, and assisting managers in the processing of information. A model-driven technique helps developers draw such models, which can be used for various purposes, such as, to gather business related information, to prioritize requirements, and to review recommendations to develop an efficient information system. System developers use model-driven technique to develop such systems, which can be used for collecting business related data and for processing, analyzing, and disseminating collected data to the concerned departments in the form of information. Therefore, we can say that model-driven analysis plays a considerable role in developing efficient information systems. In this method, developers use documentations of problems, reports, files, and case studies for collecting information. Sampling of existing documentation and databases is a good way to gain understanding of the whole system. In this fact-finding method, developers try to understand the system by either participating personally in different activities or watching other people perform those activities. Observation allows developers check validity of the facts and obtain relevant data. In this method of fact-finding, internet, reference books, and previous researches on the same system are used to gather information. These sources make developers know how other people have been successful in developing somewhat similar systems in the

Schooling as Growth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Schooling as Growth - Essay Example But the present trend seems to be upbeat on everything else except in the field of education. Education today is based and defined more in terms of stringent testing and examinations and a person is valued according to the number of qualifications he/she has. Airing his views Anron Falbel stated that, â€Å"Today our social environment is thoroughly polluted by education – a designed process in which one group of people (educators, social engineers, people shapers) try to make another group (those who are to be â€Å"educated†) learn something usually without their consent, because they (the educators) think it will be good for them.† (Anron Falbel) Most of the schools fall within these parameters and there seems to be no release from its destructive grip. Educationists and parents are beginning to realize that this is not what they want for their children. The answer to their prayer comes in the form of democratic schools. There are many such schools across the globe in places like Japan, Israel, Thailand and New Zealand. One such ancient and very popular school is â€Å"Summerhill† which comes in like a breath of fresh air to fill that vacant void. This school which is one of the most famous schools in the world was founded in 1921 and is situated on the East coast of England. Summerhill School’s democratic approach that is based on the Philosophy of A.S. Neill has influenced scores of educational institutions around the world. Education at Summerhill is community based with most of the children coming from diverse backgrounds and boarding in the school premises. There is no strict syllabus drawn up and children are never pushed or compelled to study. They are free to choose what they want to study and when they want to study. According to a professor at Summerhill, lessons are not mandatory but it is more about inculcating the right values in the

THE ALTERNATIVE CITY Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

THE ALTERNATIVE CITY - Term Paper Example The main ambition of Hammar Sjostad planners was to extend the city, in order to meet the growing demand for urban living. Expansion of city center was also done to meet Sweden acknowledged environmental, energy, social and economical goals for the future. In retort to environmental and other forces, the Swedish government stated that it wanted to develop the concept of a â€Å"green welfare state,† where everyone lives in good housing, reasonable cost, and secure environment within a long-term sustainable framework. The environment program in the city was politically driven making it spread to an international legendary maintainable program (Ahlroth, 2011). The program included targets for refinement, use of Brownfield land, discouraging use of cars and providing public transport options, energy consumption and recycling of water and waste. Recycling of energy, waste and water management was developed jointly by Stockholm Water Company, Birka Enrgy and the City of Stockholm w aste management bureau. In Hammarby Sjostad city, the sewage water is recycled and purified at large sewage plants and the waste recycled into natural gas, which is channeled to be used as an energy source for the district (Ahlroth, 2011). Purification process produces heat, which is recycled for use at neighborhood-heating units. Hammarly Sjostad city has its own sewage treatment centre where nutrients from the sewage are recycled and used in agricultural land. The city management makes sure that all combustible waste products are recycled into heat energy to be used in apartments. The aim of the planners of hammarby Sjostad city is to minimize environmental pollution and maximize the use of waste products produced by city dwellers. Transport system is essential for a new city success. Planners of Hammarly Sjostad considered the integration of a master transit plan to meet social and environmental anxiety of the project (Ahlroth, 2011). Public transport is encouraged to ease conges tions in the city by private vehicles. The use of many transport technologies has made Hammarly Sjostad city accessible. There is a ferry link system, which takes people across the lake and it runs through from morning to midnight. Planners of Hammarly Sjostad goals were to design a city that is unique. The goal was to make a residential environment based on maintainable resource usage, where energy consumption and waste products are reduced while resource saving and recycling concurrently maximized. The city’s authority made efforts to meet the population increase in Stockholm, and were able to bring high quality housing onto the market at a time when demand was increasing. Good planning brought high standards in design quality and environmental performance of the building (Ahlroth, 2011). Planning application in Sjostad is based on the life cycle cost analysis hence making it simpler to justify higher initial investment in good performing building designs. The heating, tran sport and waste collection systems were planned to work together to reduce the amount of energy and resources required to maintain them in the long run (Ahlroth, 2011). Hammarly city planning administration predicted that residents would be older people and after completion of apartment blocks, people moving in were young families. The development did not meet its target for car owners because of limited parking spaces. References

Feminism in Virginia Woolf Essay Example for Free

Feminism in Virginia Woolf Essay Virginia Woolf is regarded to be a modern literary figure. She was an English novelist and essayist who was a significant icon in London literary society. She was a member of the Bloomsbury group. Her famous novels are â€Å"Mrs. Dalloway†, â€Å"To The Lighthouse† and â€Å"Orlando† and the essay â€Å"A Room of One’s Own. † Contemporary feminists regard Woolf as an advocate of the movement. This paper will analyze Woolf’s background and some of her works to bring up points of her beliefs on the matter. Growing up in London, Woolf was influenced by a wide circle of Victorian society. Her father, Sir Leslie Stephen was an editor, critic and biographer. He had conections to numerous British writers including William Thackeray. Novelists such as George Elliot, Henry James, Julia Margaret Cameron, George Henry Lewes and James Russell Lowell often dropped by in their house. (Maze, 18, 1995) Woolf and her sister Vanessa were sexually abused by their half-brothers Gerald and George. According to modern scholars, this traumatizing experience triggered her nervous breakdowns. The deaths of her mother Julia Prinsep Stephen in 1895, her half-sister Stella in 1897 and her father in 1904 added salt to the wound. Woolf was institutionalized after her most alarming breakdown. (Maze, 20, 1995) Despite her mood swings, mental breakdowns and decline in social functioning, Woolf’s abilities to write remained. Biographers claim that Woolf’s marriage to Leonard Woolf was not consummated. According to them, she was a lesbian. Nonetheless, the couple had a tight relationship and often collaborated in the literature industry. Leonard Woolf was the publisher while Virginia Woolf was the writer. Hogarth Press published a majority of Woolf’s works. (Maze, 23, 1995) Woolf had a relationship with Vita Sackville West, an English poet and novelist. Their affair lasted for two years but thry remained friends. Other relationships with women were Madge Vaughn (the inspiration for â€Å"Mrs. Dalloway) and Violet Dickinson, a composer. There were also debates on whether Vanessa and Virginia also had an intimate and incestuous relationships or they were just close. (Maze, 24, 1995) Modern science explains Woolf’s disorder as a case of bipolar personality. On the verge of another nervous breakdown, Woolf commited suicide by drowning herself in the River Ouse. (Bowlby, 32, 1989) Students concentrating on Woolf and her works often analyze the lesbian and feminist themes in her novels, essays and short stories. For example, â€Å"A Room of One’s Own† discusses the difficulty female intellectuals and writers had to go through a time when men had more economic and legal power. What was instore for women in society and in education were unknown. This work exploited the obstacles, challenges and the anxieties of Woolf and other women writers during the 1930s. (Bowlby, 35, 1989) Women writers were afraid to write what they believed to be the â€Å"truth† because they were afraid that the academic world, which was made up by a majority of men, would disclaim their writings and describe it as mere opinions. A major problem of women writers in that decade was that tehyw ere not taken seriously. There was a disparity between male and female writers. The latter was said to be inferior. (Bowlby, 29, 1989). Woolf was a woman ahead of her time. One of the points she wanted to present was that a woman could be more than a housewife. She elaborated this by writing that women could perform the conventional duties in the household and have a career, in her case, an author, at the same time. She compared women who wait for the men to come home after work as objects, simply because they meet was was expected of them. (Lounsberry, 3, 1998) â€Å"Mrs. Dalloway† discussed themes on madness and feminism through two characters – Clarissa Dalloway and Septimus Warren Smith. Clarissa represents economic and sexual repression whereas Septimus is the remedy to depression and insanity. Septimus’ suicide was an allusion to Woolf’s constant struggle with manic depression. Like the character, Woolf also hallucinated that the birdes were singing Greek. There was also an instance when Woolf tried to throw herself out of the window, the exact same way she wrote Septimus’ death. â€Å"Mrs. Dalloway† also touched bisexuality through Sally Seton, Clarissa’s partner. (Lotz, 26, 2003) â€Å"To The Lighthouse† presented a new method on understanding thoughts. This is Woolf’s masterpiece and one of her best autobiographies. She suggested that by understanding thoughts, the writer must spend a good amount of time listening to her thoughts and studying how her words and her emotions affect her mind with what she saw. (Lotz, 27, 2003) In order to look into Woolf’s take on feminism and gender equality closer, scholars carefully analyze Woolf’s influential novel â€Å"Orlando. † This is a semi-biographical novel that was inspired by Woolf’s passionate relations with Sackville-West. It is the story of Orlando, a young English man who didn’t want to grow old. One day, he woke up and realized that he was turned into a woman. He still had the same intellect and same personality but he had a woman’s body. (Lotz, 28, 2003) Through this work, Woolf wrote a semi-autobiography that presented lesbian love to its readers. Because of the delicate subject matter, â€Å"Orlando† was banned in the United Kingdom. Also, â€Å"Orlando† started the trend of the non-fiction genre in literature. The novel is both transgender and transgenre. (Lotz, 29, 2003) Woolf is the first activist who vied for woman’s suffrage. Through her works, she changed the views and ideologies of women writers. Because of her, women were no longer annonymous. Most importantly, they were noticed and their works were regarded to be as the same level as those of male writers. (Lounsberry, 4, 1998) She set the groundwork for transformative social changes. Her beliefs which she wrote from 1920s to 1940 clearly indicated a movement that was heading toward the direction for women’s suffrage rights. Woolf’s writings on feminisms as indicated in her public letters and â€Å"A Society† assessed the development of the feminist subversion by male scholars. (Lounsberry, 5, 1998) â€Å"Three Guineas† is Woolf’s essay that has the most explicit and clear statement on feminism. It provides a meticulous and well-researched observation on the subject matter. Woolf also presented her relations with different women’s organizations which share her agenda. (Lotz, 30, 2003) This is Woolf’s feminist work that is uncompromising. She assaults the domination and privilege of men toward women. The details that are elaborated and sustained from beginning to end argue that women are still capable of maintaining a fervid argument which is relevant for feminism then and now. Woolf might have neglected class and sexuality in some of her feminist works because this was a problem during her time. However, she does her best to present to her readers her objectives on why she wrote her three guineas – which are democratization, education and public professional acivity. (Lotz, 31, 2003) By analyzing these three guineas and the possiblity of what can happen if a woman takes on the important roles that are associated to these, Woolf enriches the understanding of females everywhere. She takes into account the evolution and the development of feminism by combating the image that had been founded by males. (Lotz, 32, 2003) Woolf’s creations are long, scholarly and complex but when read with a feminist perspective, these are impressive and takes the reader into the author’s personality, convictions and beliefs. If she were alive now, she would prefer to be called a humanist than a feminist. Simply because she was not obsessed with women, she was merely hoping that women would have the same rights, honors and privileges as of men. By compassionately exploring Woolf’s feminism, literary scholars poke into her sexuality and psychology that surround and precede in all her works. She was once quoted saying that ‘the triumph of learning is that it leaves something done solidly forever. ’ She did exactly just that – with her works and her movement toward feminism. Works Cited Maze, John R, â€Å"Virginia Woolf: Feminism, Creativity and the Unconscious†, pp. 18 – 24, Free Inquiry, Vol 15, Spring 1995 Bowlby, Rachel, â€Å"Feminist Destinations†, pp 32 – 29, National Review, Vol 41, November 24, 1989 Lounsberry, Barbara, â€Å"The Tales We Tell†, pp 3 – 5, New Statesman, Vol 127, January 16, 1998 Lotz, Amanda D, â€Å"Communicating Third Wave Feminism and New Social Movements†, pp 26 – 32, Women and Language, , Vol 26. 2003,

Organisational Change Of The American International Group Commerce Essay

Organisational Change Of The American International Group Commerce Essay The American international group has a history that dates back to 1919. The company was started when Cornelius Vander Starr established an insurance agency in shanghai the capital city of china. Starr was the first person from the western to sell insurance policies to the Chinese. Starr sold policies until the company which is the current AIG left china in 1949. In the same year the companys headquarter was moved to New York in United States from where it expanded through venturing into other markets in the parts of Latin America, Asia, Europe and Middle East. In 1962 the management of the company moved from Starr to Maurice Greenberg who diverted its concentration from personal insurance sales to high margin corporate coverage where he eliminated agents by bringing in independent brokers whom he used in selling insurance polices. This strategy helped the company to price insurance depending on its probable return even at times when there were reduced sales of certain products and for a long period and still incur very little extra expenses. After Greenberg took over the management of the company it sooner went public in 1969. Starting from 2005 the company was caught up in a series of frauds that were investigated by the justice department of U.S., the office of attorney general in new state and the securities exchange commission. The then CEO Greenberg was suspended and replaced by Martin Sullivan in Feb. 2005. In June 2008 some financial losses were disclosed which led to the fall of AIG share price in the stock market. This resulted to resignation of Sullivan who was then replaced by another CEO Edward Liddy in sep. same year. American international group is the biggest underwriter of industrial and commercial insurance. The financial scandals of 2008 led to great losses to the company which made it suffer a liquidity crisis as its credit rating was downgraded. AIG it a globally recognized insurance company with branches in different parts of the world. Its vision is to be the leader in innovative mortgage solutions while its mission is to be the mortgage insurer of choice through: professional and dedicated staff, entrepreneurial leadership, disciplined risk taking, customer satisfaction, and through solutions to facilitate Canadian homeownership. The companys global benefits network has lately introduced the AIG atlas as one of its strategies. This atlas is a basically a range of products meant to assist in meeting the unique benefit needs of the employees. This will then enhance the utility of the capability of the companys employees in over 100 countries hence be able to provide the best services as well as cost effective solutions to its customers all over the world (AIG Group Management Division 2009). The unique benefits to the employees will include medical insurance, life insurance and long term disability insurance. The company al so intends to provide full time services through charge-free phone number as well as management and monitoring of emergency medical cases. Strategies of AIG The company is one of the leading international insurance and financial organizations. It has partnered with several business groups including CRM, which is the number one credit management solutions provider in Europe. This partnership has enabled the company to provide better customer satisfaction and hence improving its sales of insurance policies while accomplishing efficiency gains. Currently, American international group operates in more than 130 countries while its member companies serve institutional, commercial, as well as individual customers through the widest property, life, and casualty of any insurer in the world (AIG Group Management Division 2009). The company is thus going through a period of drastic reviews of its of the processes and structure in all its centres so as to maximize and establish its B2C customer management. By making use of its resources more effectively the company aims to improve the efficiency of CRM and provide the best responsive customer care. Having partnered with other outsourcers, AIG realized the importance of outsourcing partners with whom they can combine the breadth of experience by providing well managed and high quality services. In 2002 AIG and finalized a business strategy with Transom with outlined a number of challenges such as developing organizational skills to secure maximum profitability and customer satisfaction. The company also had to act according to the desired outcomes for improved organization, quality and management as well as provide cost effective high quality and fulfilment solutions (AIG Group Management Division 2009). Following the deal between the two companies Transcom began to handle the inbound customer care service on behalf of AIG. Transcom then enhanced the quality of services by dealing with the mistakes in the existing program of AIG. Leveraging its long experience and first class technology, Transcom has been able to strengthen and expand the CRM activities of AIG through addition of telemarketing campaigns. Transcom has also succeeded in bolstering AIGs customer revenue and base through contacting its potential customers and presenting them with persuasive offers to coverage commerce. The general improvement in the quality of service of AIG has come from the enormous improvement in customer relations which has in turn strengthened AIGs image as a professional organization. All this was possible since Transcom kept within the service level boundaries as well as constant customer contact (AIG Group Management Division 2009) Organizational Behavior Analysis Organizational behavior analysis is an evaluation of the way individual work in an organization. The organization does not need to be a business institution like the American international group but can also be a religious institution. The ultimate goal of organizational behaviour analysis is to understand in a better way the relationships between individuals in an organization, the relationship of the employees and the organization and the organizations relationship with the rest of the society (Harigopal 2006). This information is then used by the management of organizations to increase the efficiency and productivity of and achieve the goals and objectives of the institution as a whole. According to Harigopal (2006), by gaining and understanding this knowledge the employee are able to realize the contributions of their individual efforts to the bigger image of the organization. The progress and success of every organization rests on the philosophy of management as well as on its vision, goals and values. These factors then drive the organizational culture that is made up of the social environment, formal and informal organization. The culture then influences the type of communication, leadership and group dynamics within the institution. The employees or workers in the institution then take these aspects as the quality of their work life and therefore they determine their rate or degree of motivation. The ultimate results of these will be individual satisfaction, performance, personal growth and the general development of the organization. Organizations are undergoing exceptional radical change in all systems of operation ranging from decision making to global competitive pressures and technology to acquisitions and mergers(Harigopal 2006). Organizations have therefore to respond quickly and effectively while remaining flexible and transforming themselves for the new world of work. Organizational behavior is therefore written with these changes and it explains through what leaders and managers need to know about organizations as they struggle to bring productivity and success in them. Organizational behavior and leadership development is institution wide responsibility that stretches across all functions and departments. Culture is described as the conventional behavior in a given society that includes beliefs, knowledge, customs and practices. Although it rarely finds its way into the conscious mind, it often affects the behavior of human beings within a given society or organization. Employees in an organization like the AIG usually depend on its culture since its culture gives them stability, understanding, security and the ability to react to a given situation. Organizational culture creates a number of concepts, situations and strategies that affect every level of planning in any institution. Understanding the operation of culture and organizational structure and the machinery that it runs behind the scenes helps the employees to organize and strengthen the effective cultures and remove the bad ones thus establishing and environment that promotes success within the institution. According to leadership theorists, diminishing and weakening of an organization together with the employees resistance to change is usually caused by ineffective leadership (Harigopal 2006). For instance the American international group underwent financial crisis in 2008 as a result of poor leadership. The bad culture of impunity that had been developed in the company led to corruption and mismanagement of funds as well and some other unscrupulous deals. Strong leadership and organizational culture are necessary for long term success in every corporation. However some institutions may show signs of success for a long time even without a strong organizational culture but when the culture starts to erode, the big organizations take only a short period of time to collapse. Strong leadership is necessary for a strong organizational culture although the reverse is also true. Without strong leadership to maintain everything running, a strong organizational culture will only dull and eventually erode. Practising business people and theorists have found out that organizational culture and leadership are tightly intertwined. Leaders require having a clear understanding of the impact and identity of the organization culture so as to determine the kind of adjustments and management systems needed within the organization as well as have the right styles of effectively communicating their visions to rest of the institution. The study of the operation of organizational culture and organizational structure makes the practical study of organizational culture and structure implications important. In all organizations from government groups to sport teams, the study of the impact of culture and structure on the general picture of an organization shows a better way of making an entity work. Good organizational structure ensures balanced distribution of responsibilities among the top management of groups as well as among the workers (Harigopal 2006 p.102). This has shown that good organizational structure with excellent personnel that ensure all are focused at the same goal, works well than excellent but conflicted personnel. Organization structure generally deals with the culture set up. It deals with the working of the management, the specific responsibilities of the supervisors, and the manner in which a complaint is passed through the ranks. Organizational structure ensures that. Managing change in organizations A significant change in an organization occurs when the overall strategy of an organization are changed for success, or when an organization adds or removes a major section or practice or when there is a change in the operation nature. Organizations develop by undergoing through significant changes at different points in their progress. Successful organizational change is usually very difficult to achieve thus it usually calls for skilful leadership in change management. In work organizations there are different approaches in guiding change whereby some are structured, planned and explicit while others are more unfolding, organic and implicit. These approaches work in different styles. Some work from the future to the present for instance when an organization develops a vision to be achieved in the future and then lays down strategies on how to acquire that vision. Some other approaches will work from the present to the future. In this approach the organization will identify its current problems issues and goals and then lay down strategies on how to deal with those priorities and how to achieve them (Harigopal 2006 p.97). The variation in the type of strategies used depends on the culture of an organization or on the leadership style of the managers. When starting from the present to the future the organization looks at its past in relation to the present and then looks at the present in relation to the future and then evaluate whether it can still go on with its activities just like it has been doing. For an organization doing business in this fast changing and advancing environment, doing thins like has been doing before may not help it compete fairly with others in the industry (Harigopal 2006 p.98). Even doing the same thing harder or even fine tuning it may sometimes make no difference. What organizations need to do keep doing things different as the changing business environment demands. In the daily operation of organizations the structures, methods, processes and technologies that were appropriate in the earlier market conditions may not be applicable in the current or future conditions. This implies that organizations may be forced to reset themselves on different assumptions and business prospects that are in accordance to customer focus, innovativeness, competitive intelligence, and competency base. For the best results in a change effort, the change agents should first of all have a comprehensive understanding of the context of the change effort such as the right strategies needed and the kind of results expected. This means that the change managers should have a clear understanding of the basic structures and systems in an organization as well as their typical terms and roles (Harigopal 2006 p.98). The leadership style and management systems of an organization in relation to its culture are also necessary. Change management encompasses thoughtful planning and sensitive implementation of necessary strategies. Before a change is initiated and during the change process the change leaders should conduct extensive consultations with the people affected by the change and also involve them in the change process. The managers should also find ways of aligning the aims of the business with the needs of their people. The managers should check if the people affected agree with or at least understand the need for change and that they have a chance to decide or give views on how the change should be managed. The sensitive aspects of the change management should be handled through face to face communication so as to convey meaning and understanding. According to Harigopal (2006), managing change therefore demand establishing different management structures, like the interim structure to deal with the business of the business, the transition management structure to smoothen the change process and a structure to stream line the new state of the organization (p.95). Before starting the change process, an organization should be clear on its purpose, direction and vision as well as have a clear analysis of its prevailing strengths and weaknesses in relation to opportunities and threats. The dynaminism of business environment will then determine what should be changed and the required pace of change. Impact of technology on business According to (HÃ ¥kansson, Waluszewski Prenkert 2009), business today is inextricably entangled with technology starting from the smallest business to International Corporation with a number of monolithic applications of legacy. In todays world one cannot be in successful business activities and fail to come across the issues of technology. This is because the way business processes are carried out today is very different from the way they were being carried out 30 years ago. Technological advancements have occurred in several areas from communication, stock market, travel i.e. by air, land and water and technology has also evolved around our lives. Information technology has revolutionised the systems of business operation around the world. Local business have now gone international as a consequence of simple website information technology that than enabled them to advertise internationally (HÃ ¥kansson, Waluszewski Prenkert 2009). Information technology (IT) has helped in customer service where big organizations like Microsoft and American international group attend to needs of their customers through online services like email and chart. Internal and external networking in organizations has improved business operations around the world. Through networking staffs and clients in organizations can effectively get in touch with their leaders for feedback and updates on progress and extensions. Communication within firms as well as between firms has really bloomed with the current developments in technology. Business between organizations has even become easier and more effective. For instance the American international group has been able to work with other organizations and improve its services due to improved IT and communication. However due to high technology computer systems in organisations todays business calls for extensive and careful planning. This planning can be done on organised pattern, with formats schedules and Gantt charts. Due to improved computer systems huge data bases can now be managed and stored on network and back up drives for future records. Accessibility of stored data and files has also become easy with the discovery of a series of shared folders and password keys. According to HÃ ¥kansson, Waluszewski Prenkert (2009) Cash transactions are easily made hence reducing delay which then gives liquidity to business and makes the overall processes i n business faster. Information technology has enabled the businesses to put up an easier and effective coordination with their suppliers. This then has enabled them to benefit from production economics when they operate with the large specialized suppliers. Furthermore the drastic reduction of in the IT cost as well as the reduced risk of transaction in explicit coordination has been it possible for extensive application of explicit coordination with the suppliers. The resulting economized transactions and other factors thus enable a long term business partnership with a smaller set of suppliers According to Johnson Redmon Mawhinney (2001), communication is an essential part of any organization regardless of its operation size. It helps in building public relations via effective interpersonal relations and enhancing teamwork for high performance. Effective communication basically entails relaying messages in a clear and precise manner making it easy to be understood without altering the message being conveyed. Communication is composed of a couple of stages: sender as the source of communication, encoding involves the sender internalizing the message, channel of communication, decoding is relaying the message to the receiver. Receiver in this case is the intended recipient of the message and the reaction/feedback of the receiver completes the cycle. The effectiveness of the communication depends on both the degree of attention from both the listener and the recipient of the message. For effective communication one strives to reduce the mistakes likely to occur at every stage of communication discussed above. Encoding involves synthesizing the information to be communicated. The precision and ease with which you communicate will depend on the level at which you internalize the message (Johnson Redmon Mawhinney 2001). Special attention should be placed on the critical issues, the likely mistaken assumption the communication might generate and the missing information. One should understand well the message he wants to convey, project the likely impact and reaction it will be getting then relay it at the best time possible Wrong interpretations or assumptions may result to communication breakdown. Communication breakdown slows the implementation of ideas and creates stumbling blocks for the path towards the success of an institution. Both the sender and conveyer of the information should have the same understanding of the information. Well conveyed message helps th e listeners understand your thoughts, your perspective on a certain idea. Channels of communication vary from electronic communication electronic communication (fax, internet, video conferencing) face to face, telephone, mails, reports, memo and notices. Choosing an appropriate channel adds value to the information being relayed since each channel has its advantages and weaknesses. Decoding of the message by the listener also requires skill. One should be keen in order to note things like the mood of the sender the feelings in the message and its relevance. Poor decoding which mostly arises from lack of deep understanding of the issue at hand limits the importance of the message. Feedback by the receivers both verbal and non verbal helps in assessing how effective the communication was received. Upon failures it might be important to repeat the message. Circumstances at which you relay your information has impact on the communication. Many organizations like AIG have maintained success and goals achievement due to use of effective communication methods which have enabled participation of all employees towards accomplishing common goals. Removing mistakes from all the stages of communication is very important. The message should be organized, summarized and with minimum or no errors at all. Recent studies point out that communication skill both written and spoken is the biggest factor in isolation that is used in determining managers of cooperation. This is a major boost on the ability to relate well with your subjects and respect you. Poor communication skills will lead stand in the way of career progression as it leads to poor coordination of ideas. Conclusion In todays world, whether an organization is a profiting or non-profit making, it very important that the organization motivates and utilizes its talent. Understanding the organizational behaviour is a major factor for increased opportunity and chances of success in the business world (Johnson Redmon Mawhinney 2001). On the other comprehensively understanding the organizations culture ensures continued growth in a diverse manner. In order to attract talents and high quality skills into an organization there is need for a culture of open communication and diversity. Once the institution has the best culture it needs in its activities then it can improve its efficiency and have more widespread viewpoints from which it can learn from hence expanding its systems and operations. However there should be good care to ensure that the organizational culture and structure are in accordance or compatible with the strategic goals of the organization. In todays fast moving global world fro business, organizations need to quickly learn their threats and opportunities and adapt to them. The rate at which an organization learns these factors, affects the speed and efficiency at which the organization handles these opportunities and threats. Effective communication is also a very important factor in the productivity and success of every organization (Johnson Redmon Mawhinney 2001). Communication can either be formal or informal which are both used in all institutions whether directly or indirectly. Formal channels of communication in organizations usually follow the chain of command which is usually from top to bottom. On the other hand the informal channel tends to be more open and spontaneous. Gossip is some form of informal communication. The informal communication is a very effective method of communication and its mostly used by small companies. Investments aimed at increasing the level of explicit harmonization with the outside agents has resulted in enhanced risk to organizations. This has traditionally made organizations to avoid this increased risk by under investing in coordination. However information technology has been found to have the ability of reducing coordination cost without increasing the associated risk of transactions resulting in more outsourcing and less vertically integrated firms. Lower relationship specificity of IT investments and better capability of monitoring, means that organizations can safely invest in information technology. This will then enhance coordination between firms than in traditional investments. The rate and importance of organizational change has not slowed in the past years but it has actually been improving. The continued rapid technological innovations are bringing in changes in organizational processes and systems. The faster growth in internet has enabled much easier and faster access to information and knowledge which has then changed the way people operate businesses. The expectations of employees in their movement from one organization to another have also increased hence necessitating more and more organizational changes so as to meet the current market demand. American international group is a constantly changing organization due to the changing customer demands among other factors. According to AIG Group Management Division (2009), the rate of change portrayed a good culture of AIG that does not show resistance to change in the organization. Although the company experienced some hard times in 2005, its culture of good change enabled it to come out of the crisis. Organizational change has seen the abolition of some of the international market barriers which has then helped many organizations like AIG to venture into partnership with foreign institutions thus improving its market and services. This therefore illustrates the importance of constant organizational change. In spite the importance or organizational change not all the undertaken changes that deliver the expected benefits to the organization. This is the reason why any change in an organization should be carried out through the right procedures. Strong leadership qualities for the managers are also necessary for successful organizational change (Harigopal 2006). Failure for organizational change to deliver is usually brought by reasons such as absence of a change agent with qualifications or the change agent being too junior in an institution. Lack of support by the senior management and their committed executive should be available in any organization. Poor definition of organization objectives and diverse dimensional solutions helps in building confidence in the involved participants hence enabling them to take part in every process of the change. Failed organizational change initiatives do a lot of harm to the employees both in their spirit and strength which creates more difficulty in the accomplishment of the consecutive change initiatives. Actually todays managers face a great challenge in managing change. In order to ensure success therefore all managers are required to understand their organization together with their real needs. According to Harigopal (2006), the change leaders should also understand that bringing positive change in any organization is primarily about changing the employees behaviour in certain ways. Leadership, and powerful management skills like visioning, planning, prioritizing, giving feedback and rewarding are key issues in the success of any organization.

Feature extraction using crossing number (cn) and ridge tracking technique

Feature extraction using crossing number (cn) and ridge tracking technique PROPOSED ALGORITHM: FEATURE EXTRACTION USING CROSSING NUMBER (CN) AND RIDGE TRACKING TECHNIQUE The various steps involved in feature extraction are as given below: 3.2.1 ADAPTIVE BINARIZATION The enhanced greyscale image is converted to a binary image using adaptive binarization [1]. Global thresholding is not used for binarization because of possibilities of non-uniform illumination on the surface of scanner. Thus using adaptive binarization with a window size of 91 x 91 (This size was finalised after a number of trial and errors). The algorithm can be outlined as follows: Algorithm: Adaptive binarization Input: Enhanced greyscale image e(x,y). Output: Binarized image bin(x,y). For each pixel (i) of e(x,y) Compute local mean (ml) in the 91 x 91 neighborhood of the pixel. If ml > e(xi,yi) then, bin(xi,yi) = white. Else bin(xi,yi)= black. End For. - 3.2.2. THINNING The binarised image is skeletonised using medial axis transformation (MAT)[1] to obtain a single pixel thin ridge structure. The thinning algorithm can be outlined as follows: Assumptions: Region points are assumed to have value 1(white) and background points to have value 0(black). Notations: 1. The 8 neighbour notation of a centre pixel p1 is as shown. p9 p2 p3 p8 p1 p4 p7 p6 p5 2. n (p1) is the number of non zero neighbours of p1. I.e. n (p1) = p2 + p3 + †¦. + p9. 3. t (p1) is the number of 0-1 transitions in the ordered sequence p2, p3,†¦p9,p2. Algorithm : Thinning Input: Binarized image bin(x,y). Output: One pixel thinned image th(x,y). Steps: 1. W.r.t the neighborhood notation a pixel p1 in bin(x,y). is flagged for deletion if the following conditions are satisfied; 2 ≠¤ n(p1) ≠¤ 6 . t(p1)=1. p2 V p4 V p6 = 0 p4 V p6 V p8 = 0 2. Delete all the flagged pixels from bin(x,y). 3. W.r.t the neighborhood notation a pixel p1 in bin(x,y) is flagged for deletion if the following conditions are satisfied; 2 ≠¤ n(p1) ≠¤ 6 . t(p1)=1. p2 V p4 V p8 = 0 p2 V p6 V p8 = 0 4. Delete all the flagged pixel from bin(x,y). 5. Go to step 1 if bin(x, y) is not same as the previous bin(x, y) (indicating that single pixel thickness is yet not obtained) 6. Assign the image bin(x, y) obtained from step 4. to th(x, y). Thus one iteration of the thinning algorithm consists of applying step 1 to flag border points for deletion deleting the flagged points; applying step 3 to flag the remaining border points for deletion; and deleting the flagged points. The basic procedure is applied iteratively until no further points are deleted, at which time the algorithm terminates, yielding the skeleton of the region. 3.2.3 ESTIMATING SPATIAL CO-ORDINATES DIRECTION OF MINUTIAE POINTS. Minutiae representation is by far, the most widely used method of fingerprint representation. Minutia or small details mark the regions of local discontinuity within a fingerprint image. These are locations where the the ridge comes to an end(type: ridge ending) or branches into two (type: bifurcation). Other forms of the minutiae includes a very short ridge (type: ridge dot), or a closed loop (type: enclosure). The different types of minutiae are illustrated Figure 1. There are more than 18 different types of minutiae [2] among which ridge bifurcations and endings are the most widely used. Other minutiae type may simply be expressed as multiple ridge endings of bifurcations. For instance, a ridge dot may be represented by two opposing ridge endings placed at either extremities. Even this simplification is redundant since many matching algorithms do not even distinguish between ridge ending and bifurcations since their types can get flipped. The template simply consists of a list of minutiae location and their orientations. The feature extractor takes as input a gray scale image I(x,y) and produces a unordered set of tuples- M = {m1,m2,m3mN}. Each tuple mi corresponds to a single minutia and represents its properties. The properties extracted by most algorithms include its position and orientation. Thus, each tuple mi is usually represented as a triplet {xi, yi, ÃŽ ¸i}. The crossing number (CN) method is used to perform extraction of the spatial coordinates of the minutiae points. This method extracts the bifurcations from the skeleton image by examining the local neighborhood of each ridge pixel using a 33 window. The CN of a ridge pixel ‘p is given as follows CN=0.5 { i=18pi-pi+1 } p(9) =p(1) . For a pixel ‘p if CN= 3 it is a bifurcation point. For each extracted minutia along with its x and y coordinates the orientation of the associated ridge segment is also recorded. The minutia direction is found out using a ridge tracking technique. With reference to figure 3.3 once the x and y coordinates of the bifurcation point are known, we can track the three directions from that point. Each direction is tracked upto 10 pixel length. Once tracked we construct a triangle from these three points. The midpoint of the smallest side of the triangle is then connected to the bifurcation point and the angle of the resulting line segment is found which is the minutia direction. Assumptions: Ridges are assumed to have value 0 (black) and background points to have value 1(white). Notations: The 8 neighbor notation of a center pixel p1 is as previously shown. The algorithm for extracting the minutiae using the crossing number technique can be outlined as follows: Algorithm: Crossing number Input: Thinned image th(x,y). Output: Image with (x,y) coordinates and orientation thita of each minutia. Steps: 1. For every pixel p in th(x,y) compute the crossing number (CN) ; CN=0.5 { i=18pi-pi+1 } p(9) =p(1) . 2. If CN= 3, the pixel p is declared as a bifurcation point and its x and y coordinates, i.e. p.x and p.y are recorded. 3. The orientation at the bifurcation points p.ÃŽ ¸ is calculated using tracking algorithm. Fingerprint matching Process:- Each minutiae may be described by a number of attributes such as its position (x,y), its orientation ÃŽ ¸, its quality etc. However, most algorithms consider only its position and orientation information. Given a pair of fingerprints and their corresponding minutiae features to be matched, features may be represented as an unordered set given by I1 = {m1,m2.mM} where mi = (xi, yi, ÃŽ ¸i) I2 = {m1,m2.mN} where mi = (xi, yi , ÃŽ ¸i ) Here the objective is to find a point mj in I2 that exclusively corresponds to each point mi in I1. Usually points in I2 is related to points in I1 through a geometric transformation T( ). Therefore, the technique used by most minutiae matching algorithms is to recover the transformation function T( ) that maps the two point sets . The resulting point set I2 is given by: I2 = T(I1) = {m†1,m† 2,m† 3.m†M} m†1 = T(m1) m† N = T(mN) The minutiae pair mi and m†j are considered to be a match only if (xi-xj)2+(yi-yj)2≠¤r0 min( |ÃŽ ¸i − ÃŽ ¸Ã¢â‚¬  j | , 360 − |ÃŽ ¸i − ÃŽ ¸Ã¢â‚¬ j | ) Here r0 and ÃŽ ¸0 denote the tolerance window. The matcher can make on of the following assumptions on the nature of the transformation T Rigid Transformation: Here it is assumed that one point set is rotated and shifted version of the other. Affine Transformation: Affine transformations are generalization of Euclidean transform. Shape and angle are not preserved during transformation. Non-linear Transformation: Here the transformation may be due to any arbitrary and complex transformation function T(x,y). The problem of matching minutiae can be treated as an instance of generalized point pattern matching problem. In its most general form, point pattern matching consists of matching two unordered set of points of possibly different cardinalities and each point. It is assumed that the two pointsets are related by some geometrical relationship. In most situations, some of the point correspondences are already known (e.g. control points in an image registration problem [5,4,6,7])andthe problem reduces to finding the most optimal geometrical transformation that relates these two sets. However, in fingerprints, the point correspondences themselves are unknown and therefore the points have to be matched with no prior assumption making it a very challenging combinatorial problem. There have been several prior approaches where general point pattern techniques havebeen applied. Some of these have been discussed here. Ranade and Rosenfield [8] proposed an iterative approach for obtaining point correspondences. In this approach, for each point pair mi, mj they assign pij , the likelihood of the point correspondence and c(i, j, h, k), a cost function that captures the correspondence of other pairs(mh,m_k) as a result of matching mi with mj. In each iteration pij is incremented if it increases the compatibility of other points and is decremented if it does not. At the point of convergence, each point mi is assigned to the point argmaxk(pik). While this is a fairly accurate approach and is robust to non-linearities, the iterative nature of the algorithm makes it unsuitable for most applications. The hough transform [9] approach or the transformation clustering approach reduces the problemof point pattern matching to detecting the most probable transformation in a transformation search space. Ratha et al [10] proposed a fingerprint matching algorithm based on this approach. In this technique, the search space consists of all the possible parameter under the assumed distortionmodel. For instance, if we assume a rigid transformation, then the search space consists of all possible combinations of all translations (Δx,Δy) , scales s and rotations and ÃŽ ¸. However, to avoid computation complexity the search space is usually discretized into small cells. Therefore the possible transformations form a finite set with Δx ÃŽ µ {Δ1x,Δ2x . . .ΔIx} Δy ÃŽ µ {Δ1y,Δ2y . . .ΔJy} ÃŽ ¸ ÃŽ µ {ÃŽ ¸1, ÃŽ ¸2 . . . ÃŽ ¸K} s ÃŽ µ {s1, s2 . . . sL} A four dimensional accumulator of size (I Ãâ€"J Ãâ€"K Ãâ€"L) is maintained. Each cell A(i, j, k, l) indicatesthe likelihood of the transformation parameters (Δix,Δjy, ÃŽ ¸k, sl). To determine the optimal transformation, every possible transformation is tried on each pair of points. The algorithm used is summarized below for each point mi in fingerprint T . for each point m_j in fingerprint I for each ÃŽ ¸k ÃŽ µ {ÃŽ ¸1, ÃŽ ¸2 . . . ÃŽ ¸K} for each sl ÃŽ µ {s1, s2 . . . sL} compute the translations Δx,Δy Explicit alignment: An illustration of the relative alignment using ridges associated with minutiae mi and mj ∆x∆y=∆xi∆yi-s1cosÃŽ ¸k -sinÃŽ ¸ksinÃŽ ¸k cosÃŽ ¸kxjyj †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦(1) d Let (Δix,Δjy) be the quantized versions of (Δx,Δy) respectively. e If T{mi} matches with m_j increase the evidence for the cell A[Δix,Δjy, ÃŽ ¸k, sl] A[Δix,Δjy, ÃŽ ¸k, sl] = A[Δix,Δjy, ÃŽ ¸k, sl]+1 3.The optimal transformation parameters are obtained using (Δ*x,Δ*y, ÃŽ ¸*, s*) = argmax(i,j,k,l) A[Δix,Δjy, ÃŽ ¸k, sl] References: Gonzalez, Woods, and Eddins. Digital Image Processing using matlab. Prentice Hall, 2004. D. Maltoni, D. Maio, A.K. Jain, S. Prabhakar, Handbook of Fingerprint Recognition, Springer, 2003, ISBN 0-387-95431-7. R.Thai, Fingerprint image enhancement and feature extraction. Australia. Anil Jain, Salil Prabhakar, Lin Hong, and Sharath Pankanti. Filterbank-based fingerprint matching. In Transactions on Image Processing, volume 9, pages 846-859, May 2000. Anil Jain, Arun Ross, and Salil Prabhakar. Fingerprint matching using minutiae texture features.In International Conference on Image Processing, pages 282-285, october 2001. L. Hong, Y. Wang, and A. K. Jain. Fingerprint image enhancement: Algorithm and performanceevaluation. Transactions on PAMI, 21(4):777-789, August 1998. L. Brown. A survey of image registration techniques. ACM Computing Surveys, 1992. A. Ranade and A. Rosenfeld. Point pattern matching by relaxation. Pattern Recognition, 12(2):269-275, 1993. R. O. Duda and P. E. Hart. Use of the hough transformation to detect lines and curves in pictures. Communications of the ACM, 15(1), 1972. N. K. Ratha, K. Karu, S. Chen, and A. K. Jain. A real-time matching system for large fingerprint databases. Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 18(8):799-813, 1996.

The Appease for more Lands and the Effects Essay -- English history, ba

The battle of Hastings of 1066 intertwined English history with that of Normandy and consequently with France. Once William of Normandy conquered England, the nature of medieval English state transformed drastically. In 1086, all land in England became a fief held by the â€Å"crown in return for service.† Norman presence under King William â€Å"diminished local particularism† by scattering and distributing land. Furthermore, as Hollister and Stacey indicate, Norman Conquest brought with it, its own form of feudalism distinct from its French counterpart— â€Å"more orderly and thoroughgoing†.† As a result, a tightening of the military occurred; fortresses could no longer be built without royal authority to prevent insurrections. In addition, other Norman elements such as the French language and culture manifested among the English elites, but in no way made their identity. William’s conquest did not eliminate Anglo-Saxon culture that preda ted him; instead, he adopted the Anglo-Saxon disposition and Carolingian forms of rulership, which continued under other Norman rulers of England. By the Norman Conquest, England had already become one of the most integrated and consolidated states in Europe with a highly structured system of royal administration, well-established laws, and a centralized economic system (with effective forms of taxation). At best, the Norman Conquest improved already existing political, economic and social structures. The battle of Hastings led to the switch in English monarchy and linked English fate to France for centuries to come both militarily and economically but it was not the making of England. Norman rulers from 1066 onward focused more on territorial expansion than developing the English identity as a showcase o... ...,† as transformations that occurred in England, legal, economic and ecclesiastical all emerged independent of France, mostly from internal pressure than outside push. As Hollister and Stacey illustrate, the distraction of England by its interaction with Franc is evident in the fact that â€Å"almost every English king since the Norman Conquest had campaigned against the French at one time or another.† While conquest and military expansion by the twelveth and thirteen century became a part of the English need to expand its empire it was not a necessary attribute to their â€Å"Englishness.† Bibliography: Halsall, Paul. â€Å"The Trial of Joan of Arc, 1431." New York: Fordham University, 1998. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1431joantrial.asp Hollister, C. Warren, Robert C. Stacy, and Robin Chapman Stacy. The making of England to 1399, 8th ed. Houghton Mifflin, 2001.