Leading in Project Management Operation

About the US Inspectors General

About the US Inspectors General A U.S. federal inspector general (IG) is the head of an independent, non-partisan organization established within each executive branch agency assigned to audit the agency’s operation in order to discover and investigate cases of misconduct, waste, fraud and other abuse of government procedures occurring within the agency. Within the federal agencies are politically independent individuals called Inspectors General who are responsible for ensuring that the agencies operate efficiently, effectively and legally. When it was reported in October 2006 that Department of Interior employees wasted $2,027,887.68 worth of taxpayer time annually surfing sexually explicit, gambling, and auction websites while at work, it was the Interior Departments own Office of Inspector General that conducted the investigation and issued the report. The Mission of the Office of Inspector General Established by the Inspector General Act of 1978, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) examines all actions of a government agency or military organization. Conducting audits and investigations, either independently or in response to reports of wrongdoing, the OIG ensures that the agencys operations are in compliance with the law and general established policies of the government. Audits conducted by the OIG are intended to ensure the effectiveness of security procedures or to discover the possibility of misconduct, waste, fraud, theft, or certain types of criminal activity by individuals or groups related to the agencys operation. Misuse of agency funds or equipment is often revealed by OIG audits. There are currently 73 offices of US inspectors general, far more than the initial 12 offices created by the Inspector General Act of 1978. Along with administrative staff and several financial and procedural auditors, each office employs special agents- criminal investigators who are often armed. The work of the IG offices involves detecting and preventing fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement of the government programs and operations within their parent agencies or organizations. Investigations conducted by the IG offices may target internal government employees or external government contractors, grant recipients, or recipients of loans and subsidies offered through federal assistance programs.   To help them carry out their investigative role, Inspectors General have the authority to issue subpoenas for information and documents, administer oaths for taking testimony, and can hire and control their own staff and contract personnel. The investigative authority of Inspectors General is limited only by certain national security and law enforcement considerations. How Inspectors General Are Appointed and Removed For the Cabinet-level agencies, Inspectors General are appointed, without regard to their political affiliation, by the President of the United States and must be approved by the Senate. Inspectors General of the Cabinet-level agencies can be removed only by the President. In other agencies, known as designated federal entities, like Amtrak, the U.S. Postal Service, and the Federal Reserve, the agency heads appoint and remove Inspectors General. Inspectors General are appointed based on their integrity and experience in: Accounting, auditing, financial analysisLaw, management analysis, public administrationInvestigations Who Oversees Inspectors General? While by law, Inspectors General are under the general supervision of the agency head or deputy, neither the agency head nor the deputy can prevent or prohibit an Inspector General from conducting an audit or investigation. The conduct of the Inspectors General is overseen by the Integrity Committee of the Presidents Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE). How Do Inspectors General Report Their Findings? When an agencys Office of Inspector General (OIG) identifies cases of egregious and flagrant problems or abuses within the agency, the OIG immediately notifies the agency head of the findings. The agency head is then required to forward the OIGs report, along with any comments, explanations, and corrective plans, to Congress within seven days. The Inspectors General also send semiannual reports of all their activities for the past six months to Congress. All cases involving suspected violations of federal laws are reported to the Department of Justice, via the Attorney General.

International Trade and Finance Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International Trade and Finance Law - Assignment Example However, besides the vivid opportunities, the global exposure practices have also been observed to impose certain threats and constraints upon the organisations. For instance, organisations intending to expand in the global context may face various types of legal risks owing to the differences pertaining to the regulatory framework of the home country and the host nation. It is in this context that international trade laws, in terms of industry specific concessions and Foreign Direct Investments, often tend to constrict the expansion programs of organisations (Johnsrud, 2011). Based on these aspects, the discussion intends to briefly discuss the international trade laws and the related risk factors that are quite likely to be faced by Cowan Davies (CD) PLC when expanding its business operations in South East Asia. Moreover, the discussion also focuses on identifying major risks of trade and finance that are probable to be faced by CD in its planned expansion to South East Asia. Brief Description of Legal Risks in International Trade and Finance Legal risks are often perceived to be a few of the fundamental issues faced by organisations when conducting processes related to international trade and finance. It is in this context that over the past decades, laws related to trade affairs and business operations have developed apparently, which has also imposed a significant influence on the organisational operations. For instance, in early decades of the 18th century, businesses were largely focused on national contexts rather than on foreign environments apart from the export and import functions. With the gradual increase in the globalisation effects, organisations became more concentrated on expanding their businesses in foreign countries in order to attain the virtues of added resource availability and increased market demand. However, owing to the distinctive cultural backgrounds and business procedures, various regions developed dissimilar trade policies which later cropped up as a fundamental reason for international trade related conflicts (Schmitthoff & Cheng, 1937). For instance, the legal framework followed by the South East Asian economies to facilitate international trade has been observed as quite different from that practiced by the western countries. Where the organisations operating in America, England and other allied western countries need to abide by the norms specified by North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the companies operating in the South East Asian region needs to follow the rules and regulations specified by the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN). Supposedly, the policies followed by the two international trade related treaties are distinct in terms of their characteristics which might give rise to conflicts and legal issues in case of global exposure (Johnsrud, 2011). With this concern, there are various trade and finance risks identifiable, which could affect the export activities of CD for its expansion in the South East Asian region. It is worth mentioning in this context t

Nature of employment relationship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Nature of employment relationship - Essay Example Since 2002, SABB has implemented a strategic plan called "Putting Customers First". Under this plan, customers would be the primary focus of the bank instead of giving more priority to products and services. The plan called for a total internal re-organization of the Bank to train employees to be focused and to align the delivery of its services to both corporate and personal customers (SABB 2002: 14). SABB's confidence that the plan will deliver benefits to its customers, the shareholders, and the Bank as part of its vision to be the leading financial services group in Saudi Arabia is shown by the successful increases in net income from SAR 830 million to 2.5 billion, assets from SAR 41.92 to 65.9 billion, and deposits from SAR 31.5 to 48.5 billion from the end of 2001 to the end of 2005 (SABB 2006: 16-17). SABB is the leading provider of value added and innovative Islamic financial product and services in Saudi Arabia. This is achieved while following principles of Shari'a whose core investment and market guidelines are to follow the Islamic Shari'a, honesty and integrity, professionalism, strong customer focus, and excellent reputation (SABB, 2006: 9). The main reason is that SABB is a service organization that relies on customer contact and satisfaction for its business. It will be successful if the customers of the Bank are happy with how the employees perform their work of service. This is why employees have to be first satisfied with their relationship with the Bank, because if they are not, this lack of satisfaction will be reflected in poor service quality to the customers. Poor customer service quality results in poor performance, because customers will not deposit their money in the Bank or buy the financial services that the Bank offers. The need for quality customer service is the main reason why the Bank put into effect their "Putting Customers First" strategic plan. Research has shown that in service companies like retail banks, the quality of the customer relationship can give the bank an advantage over its competitors by attracting more customers (Keltner 65-68). The Bank's customer relationship strategy requires that it upgrades its employment relationship to help bank employees to meet the different needs of its customers, not only for personal banking products and services but for the Bank's more profitable private, corporate, and investment banking products and services. Like other banks all over the world, most of its low value-added transactions like cash deposits and withdrawals, bank balance inquiries, questions about basic products and services are all done through Automatic Teller Machines, Telephone Banking, widely available Point of Sale (POS) terminals in retail outlets all over the Kingdom, and the Internet where it is cheaper to deliver the service. The cost to the Bank is lower because technology is used to serve customers by processing their transactions (Morisi 32). This will allow high value-added services like private, investment, and corporate banking to be transacted face-to-face in the Bank's branch network. The use of technology allows the Bank to reach more

Making Sense of Change Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Making Sense of Change Management - Essay Example It accounts for an organizational process which is aimed at the empowerment of the employees towards accepting or embracing a change in their organization or business environment. The strategy begins with a systematic approach for diagnosing the present situation for determining both the need for change and also the capacity of the organization to implement changes. However, at the beginning of the plan, the purpose, objective and process of the change must be specified to every member of the organization. Most organizations have acknowledged the idea of managing innovation in their organizations. In fact, the performance of innovation varies greatly across organizations which suggest that both the organizational and structural factors affect the influence of innovation on performance (Bessant & Pavitt, 2005, p.13). Â  The project aims to explore the changes and innovation management strategy undertaken in US-based Apple Corp Ltd. It makes an analysis of the effectiveness of the strategy undertaken in the organization in bringing about the change with a presentation of suitable arguments to support the topic. Â  The change management strategies are explained in terms of Kotter’s eight steps to change. The theory is one of the most important and most widely accepted texts in modern organizations. It defines eight steps in which changes can be implemented in organizations effectively. Although the steps are primarily meant for organizations, they also find application in personal change initiatives. Successful change management is also explained in terms of the Lewin’s model of organizational change.

Analysis of the Greenwich Primary Care Trust

Analysis of the Greenwich Primary Care Trust A report describing and analysing the public health contribution of an organisation or initiative of your choice. Greenwich Primary Care Trust Introduction The contribution to public health made by an organisation or agency can be evaluated in relation to a number of features. These can be the range and scope of activities, the relevance for the local area, the effectiveness of the interventions, and their foundation within the boundaries of evidence-based practice. However, public health can also be measured in relation to how well the agency addresses key aspects of public health, including inequalities in health, what these constitute and their impact, and what is being done to address specific inequalities. In addition, known areas of public health need can be assessed in terms of progress made so far and amount of services provided to meet identified targets. This report explores the public health contribution provided by Greenwich Primary Care Trust in their The annual Public Health Report 2007 2008. In this report, which introduces itself using the following frames of reference, â€Å"providing the most up-to-date and local information; thinking ahead as the population is due to grow and change; and making evidence-based recommendations to help prioritise local actions on the key health challenges for the borough† (GPCT, 2008 p 3). Discussion Public health is generally focused on significant health factors and issues which are important to the wider population, rather than to the individual, and impact upon society and social structures and social life, not just on the lives of single people (Pomerleau and McKee, 2005; Orme et al, 2007). Pomerlau and McKee (2005) describe public health as â€Å"the science and art of promoting health and preventing disease through the organized efforts of society† ( p 7). Therefore, it is not surprising that the report focuses very much on language surrounding the identification of key elements of public health which are subject to health promotion within the locality, as being the specific focus of the Trust. Pomerleau and McKee (2005) cite the Ottawa Charter which was concerned with building healthy public policy; creating supportive environments; strengthening community actions; developing personal skills; reorienting health services ; and demonstrating commitment to health prom otion (p 9). These could be considered as signposts to understanding the value of a public health policy published by a specific agency. The report is a clear, detailed and comprehensive report clearly and effectively outlining key areas for health which are viewed as priorities. These include: Improving mental health (especially depression); Reducing cardiovascular disease (chiefly heart attacks and strokes); and reducing cancers (especially lung, bowel, prostate and breast) (GPCT, 2008). The report provides statistics on morbidity and mortality for the borough which demonstrate that in relation to health and disability over the lifespan, these are the most significant health problems and the ones which are, it can be assumed, most urgently requiring attention. All of these foci are very much about health promotion, but when looked at in the context of what is known about these kinds of diseases, all of the other elements of the Ottawa Charter cited above can be seen to affect these health issues. In line with health promotion principles, the report does focus on living longer, on quality of life, and on wellbeing issues, all of which are laudable in relation to public health because they relate both to the individual, and individual desires, and to the aspects of public health which will support and benefit the state (Iphofen, 2003). One of the drawbacks, however, of such a sweeping approach to public health policy, however, is seen in this report as frequently as it is seen in the national, governmental health promotion campaigns, that of over-simplification, and, arguably unconscious, marginalisation of certain individuals. For example, the report, like government public health campaigns, does not take enough notice of the individual fac tors which not only influence health but are not so easy to eradicate, such as the genetic factors influencing health and health behaviours (Hall, 1951). In relation to health promotion in the key health areas identified, the report does acknowledge the issues of lifestyle factors and socio-economic factors affecting health and disease, morbidity and mortality. The report states that both current and historic socio-economic factors, and the diversity of the local population, especially in relation to ethnicity, are considered significant in relation to the most important public health issues. There is a wide range of literature which links social life, socio-economic status and health, and which demonstrates that those who experience inequalities in health are those who are most disadvantaged in social and economic life (Bury and Gabe, 2004). It is also well known that health inequalities increase as the gap between advantage and disadvantage widens, and that certain social or cultural groups are more likely to experience disadvantage and the concomitant inequalities in health (Freund et al, 2003). GPCT (2008) acknowledge this, and fo cus on some important social groups as most suffering disadvantage in the locality, including Black African and Irish populations. They argue that their policies have been designed to demonstrate â€Å"greater targeting of groups at greatest risk of poor health outcomes, and working with these groups to develop approaches that will really work, with a particular focus on the Black African and Irish populations in the borough who have poor outcomes across the major causes of early death and ill health† (p 7). The report also addresses a range of ethnic issues and differences in health. However, it does not go far enough in describing and discussing policy responses to these issues, and to outlining constructive ways to make real progress in these areas. Plenty of literature shows the ethnicity based inequalities in health and the spectrum of disadvantage related to ethnic diversity (Spector, 2002). These kinds of inequalities, which are often racially demarcated, are reflected in global communities, and are no new occurrence (Goeslin et al, 2004). Yet there are ongoing discussions about the ability to address such problems through public health initiatives, even with the inclusion of and best use of healthy public policy (Bury and Gabe, 2004; Pomerleau and McKee (2005). Issues which continue to reflect the cross-sectorial problems surrounding public health include homelessness and poverty (Ryan and Sarikoudis, 2003). The report does address the statistics around economic inequalities and poverty, showing that the borough has a higher proportion of people in lower-paid occupations, which significantly impacts on health. It also addresses some specific issues which emerge from the social health spectrum, including sexual health and young people (Bergmann and Scott, 2001). The report does focus on behavioural aspects of health, and illness, across specific social groups, including young people’s health. Some of the issues presented are similar to those found nationally and internationally, including teenage pregnancy and teenage social isolation (Bergmann and Scott, 2001; Goesling and Firebaugh, 2004). However, there is very little focus on, for example, homelessness as a public health issue, one which affects many of the key points which are being raised in the report. Shah and Cook (2001) for example, show that in one of the key indices of cardiovascular disease, that of hypertension, factors influencing this disease the most are not socioeconomic status but actually social isolation, and homelessness is one of the most severe forms of social isolation that exists in our society. The report cites a number of initiatives which have positively affected health and wellbeing within the borough, but it does not really present any radical or innovative initiatives to address what are ongoing, predictable and somewhat repetitive and recurrent health and lifestyle issues which impact upon morbidity and mortality. There is a great need for different approaches to public health which build upon existing knowledge and incorporate, perhaps, more concrete information. For example, including service user input in the collection, analysis and use of these kinds of data, and in the development of public health policy, should be a significant part of public health activities such as these, and should feature more strongly in these kinds of reports. Yet models of health and social care continue to exclude the patient voice, though in this circumstance it may be complicated by the ethnic and cultural diversity fo the borough (Gagliardi et al, 2008). Conclusion The report discussed identifies the specific public health concerns of this London borough, and demonstrates not only what the most challenging issues are, but how the public health data of mortality and morbidity statistics intersect with some of the socio-economic and cultural statistics of the area. It identifies key areas for health promotion, but does not go far enough in addressing individual differences and the genetic factors which can complicate sweeping statements about causal and affecting factors in health and illness. It demonstrates that public health policies must be focused on local need, and that ongoing concerns are cardiovascular disease, mental illness and cancer. All of these are related to lifestyles, and therefore public health policy also relates to social policy. However, the links between these two could be made much clearer. References Bergman MM, and Scott J (2001) Young adolescents wellbeing and health-risk behaviours: gender and socio-economic differences. Journal of Adolescence. 24, 2, 183-197 Bury, M. and Gabe, J. (2004) The Sociology of Health and Illness: A Reader. London: Routledge. Carr, S.M. (2007) Leading change in public health – factors that inhibit and facilitate energizing the process. Primary Health Care Research and Development. 8 207-215. Freund, P., McGuire, M. Podhurst, L. (2003). Health, Illness and the Social Body London. Gagliardi, A.R., Lemieux-Charles, L, Brown, A.D. et al (2008) Barriers to patient involvement in health service planning and evaluation: An exploratory study. Patient Education and Counseling 70 (2) 234-241. Goesling, B. and Firebaugh, G. (2004) The Trend in International Health Inequality Population and Development Review 30 (1) 131–146. Hall, C.S. (1951) The genetics of behavior. In Stevens, S.S. (ed.), Handbook of Experimental Psychology, 1st ed. John Wiley and Sons, New York, USA 304-329. Harding, G. Taylor, K. (2002) Social Determinants of Health and Illness The Pharmaceutical Journal 269 485-487. Iphofen, R. (2003) Social and individual factors influencing public health. In: Costello, J. Haggart, M. (2003). Public Health and Society Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Orme J, Powell J, Taylor P and Grey M (2007) Public health for the 21st century (second edition) (Chapter 1.) Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Pomerleau J, Mckee M (eds) (2005) Issues in Public Health Milton Keynes: Open University Press Ryan, A. Sarikoudis, V. (2003). ‘The Social Model of Health, Bridging the Gap between the health and homelessness sectors’. Paper Presented at the Third National Homelessness Conference. Shah, S. and Cook, D.G. (2001) Inequalities in the treatment and control of hypertension: age, social isolation and lifestyle are more important than economic circumstances. Journal of Hypertension. 19 (7) 1333-1340. Spector, R.E. (2002) Cultural Diversity in Health and Illness Journal of Transcultural Nursing 13 197.

Essays --

In my thesis, I would like to analyse the representation of football stars in two iconic British magazines. My aim is to show how two distinct magazines contribute to the ongoing narratives of football players and managers. The first is one of the most famous football magazines around the globe, the authoritative FFT and the second is the original lad’s magazine, Loaded. Naturally, the proper investigation of this complex topic requires knowledge from various fields of cultural studies. In the following, I will introduce the theories and ideas related to my study. First of all, the term ‘football star’ should be examined closely. Although stars permeate the media, the meaning of sport star is not necessarily self-evident. Everyone has a rough idea about stars and stardom, but as I concentrate strictly on football stars in my study, a precise definition cannot be omitted. The main reason for this is that sport news is not only about sport stars but also players and managers who are not part of the star system. Smart states that the foundation of becoming a sport star is a unique sporting moment which shows the player’s exceptional talent. In order to keep this status, the player has to demonstrate his special skills repeatedly under pressure, against opponents in a highly competitive field (Smart 2005, 156). In addition, he has to grab the audience’s attention through media coverage and promotion. Cultural intermediaries and the audience together elevate the player to the star level. When this happens, exceptional qualities and original characteristics are being attached to the player’s name (Smart 2005, 156-157). Smart points out that appearance strongly increases media attention. He supports this point by claiming that David Be... ...hat Europe is a collection of individual nations. Even when discussing teams and fans of other nations, national reference points are frequently used. Pan-European identity almost exclusively appears in conjunction with references to the nation. Typically, Europe is only imagined as ‘self’ when it is dominated by English culture and fits into the framework of the English nation, otherwise it is considered to be ‘other’. The author concludes that the nation is essential to the sports media industries, as football basically relies on the idea of national ‘us’ and ‘them’. Moreover, the concept of nation is at the centre of fan cultures and popular culture surrounding football. In football culture, national stereotypes are a key source of humour. While all Europeans seem to celebrate football similarly, they are divided into national collectives (Inthorn 2010, 791-798).

Ethics, innovation and entrepreneurship Essay

With reference to one or two organization that you have studied, discuss the influence of ethics and innovation on the role of entrepreneurship (entrepreneur) and intrapreneurship (intrapreneur). Conceptual approaches play a vital role in influencing the role of entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship in an organization. Innovation, which is one of the concepts, is the ability to think anew by developing new services or products. It is synonymous with risk taking as defined in the entrepreneurial behavior. Organizations that create innovative products take on the greatest risk because they create new markets. It is the act to carve a new niche in it, as deemed by most entrepreneurs. Ethics, on the other hand is the basic concepts and fundamental principles of decent human conduct. Organizations that mobilize this conduct concerned with decisions and what and how to do it. For example, ethical considerations in the role of entrepreneurship and intrepreneurship are revolved around the ways of an organization approaches its customers by instilling good values throughout the conduct, and also through consideration in the branding of the products or services, based on morality as it portrays the image of the organization. These two concepts influence the survival of an organization in the modern world to cater the society’s demands. One of the organizations that best fit these criterions is IKEA. IKEA has introduced various ethical conducts throughout the century. One of its most significance considerations is that IKEA introduced IWAY. It is an ethic code that had been introduced by the founder of the organization as a code of conduct between the organization and its suppliers since the year 2000. It encompasses guidelines concerning working conditions, prevention of child labour, the environment and responsible forestry management. This ethical conduct is to ensure that the suppliers won’t go overboard although things may seem inevitable as most suppliers don’t put that much of concern regarding the issues and most organizations seek for reduced cost. However, IKEA prioritizes morality, and dare to be venturesome, in starting their business with ofits from the quality. This ethical conducts inhibit bribery and anything related to the impropriety andanother organization as it is to ensure that their products are top-notch and can initiate a much greater pr results in creating quality products for the customers, hence providing customers the best of what they should opt for from an organization. It will  promote trust in business, and enhance in the growth of likely more organizations alike to adhere to the same code of conduct resulting a better lifestyle in a society. People benefits from getting to use quality products, while organization and suppliers gain profits as the business go viral from the trust embedded by the customers. However, this code of conduct, to a certain extent, won’t be able to stand a chance against the long run of the business. From time to time, organizations should revise on how they conduct their business as policies change overtime in order to adapt to the current demand of the world. IWAY can’t stay appr opriate for organizations as benefits and importance would be totally different years after. Hence suppliers will end up breaking the guidelines, resulting in contract breaches causing damages and loss to both organizations. Code of conduct, is about refinement in order to get it sustainably carried out, yielding its finest outcomes. In the innovative aspect, IKEA had been coming up with the concept of sustaining the price by introducing the ‘do-it-yourselves’ concept. Lowest price is the basis of IKEA’s concept. IKEA identify new customer needs for furniture from not just from those who can afford but also among the young and less wealthy. So the founder had came out with the idea of designing furniture in kit form, leaving the customer to put them together by themselves hence, reduce the cost of assembly. The furniture is put in flat-cardboard boxes, so that customers can access to the self-service warehouse without using any third-parties. This results in almost 80% of reduced cost for transportation. This innovation, as deemed to be potently reducing most of the cost, comes from having the customers engage in the idea of ‘do-it-yourselves’. IKEA’s prices have been 30% below any other traditional furniture manufacturers. Its contemporary and innovative avant garde idea had garnered both the attention of customers and suppliers. This results in impactful effects on the society as more classes of people would be able to possess high quality products and furniture. IKEA’s ‘do-it-yourselves’ furniture not just exhibit the exquisite design and sophisticated image from the company but indicates their stand in providing quality products in affordable price. This will entirely improve the social standard of a society and cater the demand of the customers, to own furniture that suits their social living within the current globalization. However, this strategy is not foolproof. There have  been numbers of debates on how customers comment that some I KEA’s products are complicated to assemble and in further action, require the need of an expert hence require more expenses. This will get us back to square one where buyers would have to pay for assembling the products. The idea of ‘do-it-yourselves’ is vividly attracting attention of customers and suppliers however, it would be better if proper guidelines and further proposal is planned for this strategy to work. Entrepreneurs are gambling to the fact that they’re selling unfinished products to the customers hoping profits in return, however this won’t be likely to occur without proper planning and detailed reviews. As discussed in the passage above, IKEA is been putting priorities to both the suppliers and also the customers. Attention on the suppliers was to ensure that the raw materials used reach the standard of quality to yield the best products. Customers were given priorities in the aspect of wanting them to buy the products, by taking care their needs, and demands. Exclusion of any of these two societies would leave a profound impact to IKEA itself. But in this aspect, it would be better if slight inclination of priorities were given to the suppliers instead of the customers. A great enforcement on how the expensive raw materials should have been taken into count by IKEA, is essential and should undergo ethical inspection, so that it gratifies the satisfaction of both the supplier and customers. Any organization should be aware that, if the materials are not off good quality, this will affect the selling process, as well as will hinder the profits gained. It is for us to realize that even though entrepreneurship is about approaching the customers need, venturing to their demands, it is highly recommended that we should look back and reflect that without having proper supplies and the right suppliers, none of that would happen. To deduce, both the concepts, innovation and ethics influence the role of entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship in an organization. Without the actualization of these two concepts, IKEA won’t be able to achieve such influences in the modern world of furnishing.

Huckleberry Finn Essays - Huckleberry Finn, English-language Films

Huckleberry Finn Essays - Huckleberry Finn, English-language Films Huckleberry Finn The conflict between society and the individual is a theme portrayed throughout Twain's Huckleberry Finn. Huck was not raised in accord with the accepted ways of civilization. He practically raises himself, relying on instinct to guide him through life. As portrayed several times in the novel, Huck chooses to follow his innate sense of right, yet he does not realize that his own instincts are more moral than those of society. From the very beginning of Huck's story, Huck clearly states that he did not want to conform to society; "The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me... I got into my old rags and my sugar hogshead again, and was free and satisfied." When Pap returns for Huck, and the matter of custody is brought before the court, the reader is forced to see the corruption of society. The judge rules that Huck belongs to Pap, and forces him to obey an obviously evil and unfit man. One who drinks profusely and beats his son. Later, when Huck makes it look as though he has been killed, we see how civilization is more concerned over finding Huck's dead body than rescuing his live one from Pap. This is a society that is more concerned about a dead body than it is in the welfare of living people. The theme becomes even more evident once Huck and Jim set out, down the Mississippi. Huck enjoys his adventures on the raft. He prefers the freedom of the wilderness to the restrictions of society. Also, Huck's acceptance of Jim is a total defiance of society. Ironically, Huck believes he is committing a sin by going against society and protecting Jim. He does not realize that his own instincts are more morally correct than those of society'. In chapter sixteen, we see, perhaps, the most inhumane action of society. Huck meets some men looking for runaway slaves, and so he fabricates a story about his father on the raft with smallpox. The men fear catching this disease and instead of rescuing him, they give him money and advise him not to let it be known of his father's sickness when seeking help. These men are not hesitant to hunt slaves, yet they refuse to help a sick man. This is contrasted to Huck's guilt felt for protecting Jim when he actually did a morally just action. Huck's acceptance of his love for Jim is shown in chapter thirty-one. Huck writes a letter to Miss Watson to return Jim, yet he ends up ripping the letter and wishes to free Jim. "'All right, then, I'll go to hell'- and he tore it up." Here, we see that Huck concludes that he is evil, and that society has been right all along. The ending is perhaps most disappointing because it seems as though through all the situations that it seemed he was growing up and accepting his innate ideas of right, he hasn't grown at all. When he is re- united with Tom, he once again thinks of Jim as property(get quote). (write conclusion). Huck functions as a much nobler person when he is not confined by the hypocrisies of civilization.

How to Change The world

How to Change The world Free Online Research Papers According to some management guru’s change is a permanent feature in our lives or in the life span of organisations. Change is an inevitable phenomenon. There is no choice in having change. You may choose to have change in your personal life. You may be forced to change in your life patterns. Change may happen to you when you are unconscious. Changes take place in organisations; it may be as a result of premeditated and pre-planned actions. Change may come due to natural phenomenon, for example through a volcanic eruption. All what is acceptable is that change takes place always, either through conscious planning or through evolving conditions. Jackson and McKergaw (2002:3) say, â€Å"Change is happening all the time: our job is to identify and amplify useful change.† This quotation shows how permanent change is to us and the world we live; and how it is necessary to initiate change in the world. In this discussion the writer focuses on planned changes in our organisat ions or communities, changes that affect a large scale of people, change whose impact affects many people and last long, whose effect may take generations while still being felt. The change to be discussed is not due to scientific innovations or through natural experimentation but through social innovation. It is the change that affects our patterns of thinking and our ways of doing things. It is a change that affects the fabrics of our social existence. Some scholars have come to call it social entrepreneurships. By social it means it affects the way people live and the way people do things. According to Wikipedia.com says † a social entrepreneur is some one who recognises a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create and manage a venture to make social change.† It seems as if this discussion is drifting in void. To end this void let us put practical examples of social problems which could be solved through social innovations. Examples of social problems are poor accommodation or non-availability of accommodation, existence of diseases in our community, HIV/AIDS pandemic, non-availability of water and other sanitation problems, shortage of food, poor communication system, illiteracy, lack of clothing, poor road systems, poor sporting and recreational facilities. Let us consider an example of a social innovation that could have been used to solve a social problem. The emergence of HIV/AIDS disease means a break down in family structures. In some cases both parents die, and a family is left being headed by the eldest child. The elde st child could be a fifteen year old school boy. How could such wide spread social problem be solved? The creation of a net work to assist child-headed family can be instituted. For example a trust fund could be introduced to assist such families with food, clothes and school fees. That is a social innovation. What is the aim of social entrepreneurship? The aim according to Wikipedia.com is to meet social and environmental goals. Whereas we have looked at an example of a social problem we can now, give an example of an environmental goal. An environmental goal could be to eradicate or reduce land pollution in a certain community. Let us take an example of a work community where plastics are an end product and below standard plastics are thrown away. What could be down as a solution? The solution could be recycling such a waste product. The local residents could be paid for collecting such waste paper, what could be termed waste paper vending. Such plastics could be sold to other industries that mostly use waste plastics. Another example of environmental management goal could be the planting trees in water ways. If water ways are left unattended gullies could develop and valuable soil washed away. These are examples of social goals and social entrepreneurship. Most of the work done by non- governmental organisations (NGOs) is viewed as social entrepreneurship. Probably it could be wise to look at an example of a renowned social entrepreneur. One of them is mother Theresa. She is renowned for championing the cause of children and humanity by her invention. She did all she could do to advance the interest of the poor. Organisations such as the international Red Cross are a product of social entrepreneurship. United Nations and its agencies is a by-product of social entrepreneurship. So far we have looked at examples of social problems and examples of innovative solutions, but we have to look at what is called social innovation. According to the Wikipedia.com, a social innovation refers to,† new strategies, concepts and organisations that meet the social needs of all kinds.† Again the Wikipedia .com sited the following as social problems: â€Å"working conditions, education, community development, health, micro-credit and distance learning.† In this particular instance and according to the Wikipedia.com, an example of a s ocial innovation is distance education. So, for example, the existence of AIU is as a result of social innovation. And all students like me are gaining from a social innovation. What could the world be without distance and currently on line education? Why was distance education and on line education introduced? It was out of a need to meet the education demands of the financially disadvantaged population of the world, probably what CK Prakalad would call â€Å"Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP).† Probably one more concept we need to dwell on is the one of capital venture. Social Venture capital, according to the Wikipedia.com, means, â€Å"capital investment that provides capital to businesses deemed socially and environmentally responsible.† In simple terms it means money and resources that are set aside to be used to solve social and environmental problems. The problem with many people is to think that it is only the duty of rich multi-national companies or billionaires to assist in this respect. No! It should be a challenge and a concern of every citizen and corporate organisation of the world. A lot of individuals could donate whatever they can to assist in the achievement of such noble goals. There are a lot of trust funds that are created, where individuals could contribute. We look forward to the future where every one must be socially responsible. If every citizen of the world could set aside US 1$dollar per month towards averting the impact of global warming, what could the impact be in a year’s time? The idea of social responsibility should permeate within the mind of every one and all of us whether we are the poor, the rich or the CEO of rich multinational companies. With that the world will be a better place, should I borrow Michael Jackson’s own words. Let’s look further at the impacts and aspects of social entrepreneurship in more detail than before, point by point. The visible impact of social change must transcend over large areas, being it geographic, ethnic or racial. In other words the impact must affect a large cross-section of the population. It must affect a reasonable segment of a targeted group. By the term targeted group, we refer to the people in the same or similar circumstances who need assistance in a certain way. An example could be people between the age of eighteen years and twenty-four who may need to attend undergraduate courses. Among this target group there are many people who need financial assistance to further their studies irrespective of their race, place of origin, place of residence, among other considerations. Unaffordability of education presents a big social problem. Global sponsorship may be an innovation that is large enough in scale to be a social innovation. Almost all reputable universit ies offer either grants or scholarship as a means of assisting the socially- disadvantaged group. For example AIU has assisted many such needy students over the years. In the same area there is the new innovation of The University of The People. The University of the People based in the United States is an innovation targeted at the said target group. It is the first tuition free university. It was founded under the guidance and assistance of GAID-an arm of the United Nations. The scope of this innovation is international. This fulfils what Briskin (2009) talked about when he/she described the effect that people need to be part of settings where kindness towards other needy people is cultivated; to give others consideration and helpful hand. The other aspect of social innovation is caring. A social problem is identified. A solution is sought because you care about those affected. Caring and concern are the key concern of social entrepreneurs- others choose to call them philanthropists. These are people who are there to assist others not because they need to gain anything out of it, but to assist others. The underlying motive of care and concern is towards other fellow human beings ‘problems and plights. This should never a concern of a few richest people. Many people must be involved. Heath (2004: 4) says, â€Å"Social reality is construed by many voices† again there is a need for social entrepreneurship in corporate organisations. This has called for the creation of the Welfare Departments, community development projects and safety, health and environmental management (SHE) departments. As responsible social and human resources practioners, in particular we must be highly motivated and responsible for the s ocial problems our workers face. As a human Resources Manager I must not assist the workers because it is my duty, but because they are fellow human beings who are vulnerable and who need help. At enterprise level the introduction of a revolving fund; catering for loans, sickness, among other social problems is a social innovation. At Chipinge Banana Company, located in Zimbabwe we introduced many welfare projects. These projects are co-funded by the company and the workers. The workers are the share holders in these projects. What it means is that the workers have a big say in running the projects and in the use of the funds. Therefore, the company becomes more responsive to the needs of the workers. This is currently a unique innovation in our province. And several companies have followed our example. Again the creation of the posts such as Community Liaison Officer, Safety, Health and Environmental Manager; and Safety, Health and Environmental Committees at the workplace is a soc ial response to social problems. As human resources professionals we must champion the causes of social entrepreneurship. Other senior personnel such as the General Managers, Directors, production Managers must get seriously involved at a corporate level. After discussing caring as a characteristic of social entrepreneurship, let’s shift our attention to shift in government patterns. There is need to shift government patterns. By this we mean the way things are being run. There is need to adopt newer systems of doing things. Bureaucracy is a disease that affects may institutions. There is need to decentralise decision making and operations if institutions have to respond urgently, effectively and efficiently to current challenges in the social field. The motto â€Å"That’s what we used to do† must be changed. The world is dynamic and that’s why the way we govern or do things must change. One way in which the world has evolved greatly in the twenty-first century pertains to democracy. In Change your Operational System(2010) the writer says about democracy,† Today’s leading management espouse the need to give employees more autonomy, more opportunities to fully engage in their work, and more cho ice about how they want to work in order to benefit both the employee and the employer.† The principles of democracy have encroached all spheres of our lives. The patriarchal period is over. The period of dictatorship in national governance is over. There is now participative management and governance. In the country there are now elections to choose the leaders we want. There are constitutional procedures for removing despots. A leader must be responsive to the needs of the people. Even in the family the time for the father to dictate every thing is over. The father has to consult. At work the manager has to consult, has to survey and respond accordingly. So to respond to the needs of those people involved we need to consult and involve them. With that, positive and meaningful change takes place. I am a typical fan of AIU’s policy and system of andragogy. The student is the master choice maker in what he/she wants to study. That has been a shift from the traditional an d that underlines a shift in government of education. So, in order to achieve social solutions there is need for flexibility in the way we run and do business, including the ways we respond to social problems. No wonder why the Writer of Change your Operating System says,† Democracy is what creates the optimal conditions for learning, motivation, self-direction and a sense of ownership.† The sense of ownership makes everyone involved in introducing a social change to give everything in terms of effort and dedication. About the power and effect of democracy the writer of Change your Operating system gives the case study of DaVita. The writer says,† DaVita’s management team understood the power of employee voice in creating lasting transformation and a sense of ownership.† It is not only the shift in governance that is vital, but a shift in behavioural patterns is also necessary in order to have meaningful social change. There is an old adage that says:† You can take a horse to the river but you can not force the horse to drink.† This saying emphasis the need for change in behaviour. It is the horse at the river which should drink the water. The horse must be willing. If it is not willing no drinking can take place. The effort is wasted. So the people involved must have an attitude that is suitable for change, certain willingness. The willingness to change must be based, as well, on motivation. As a leader motivate your subordinates to change. If you are the community leader is as persuasive as possible if you need to achieve a social innovation. You need not to think and behave in a straight line. You do not need to wear a straight jacket. Be ready to change as the weather changes. We have one social challenge the writer talked about at th e beginning of this discussion that is the HIV? AIDS pandemic. The answer to curb this problem is in behaviour change .If you used to have unprotected sex; you need to change to use protection such as condoms. The willingness to change and the actual behaviour change is a requisitive in social innovation. Let us look at a particular example. Let us say you are in the business of making charcoal from timber. Your current site means that the smoke goes to the nearest residential area. However it is expensive to relocate the factory. What should a social entrepreneur do? Is he worried about the cost or be worried about serving the affected people? Although it is expensive to relocate, the willingness to change is based on your perception of the problem at hand. A social responsive manager will change the location of the plant. He must not only make the plans to change, or calculate the cost, he must implement the change at all cost. A social entrepreneur must have the guts to change be haviours that he or she feels must be changed to meet the people’s needs. The willingness to change and the actual behaviour changing action is important. Gallan (2010:1) says,† Transformation can only occur through behavioural evolution.† The word evolution implies a slow pace at which changes is cemented until the solution becomes a norm. Once a solution has been implanted, soon it will become a norm and it becomes cost-effective. Gilboa (2010) says that once a changed phenomenon becomes a norm it lasts and it becomes much lower in cost. Making a social change is not a simple task. It takes time. It needs patience. Change must be made in manageable steps, not in large leaps at a time. For real change to evolve there must be a suitable time frame. Such a concept is also found elsewhere in nature. If you are a builder and you want to build a strong concrete, you do not applied excessive heat so that the concrete dries quickly. If there is, much heat the concrete cracks. Even in normal room temperature a good builder puts water on the concrete so that, the concrete dries slowly. The slower it takes the stronger the concrete becomes. That is what happens in introducing a social change. The social entrepreneur needs to take ample time to time out and implement the change. In due course the change becomes a norm. A social consultant or a social entrepreneur must possess certain fundamental attributes or dispositions. Such an attitude or disposition must not be purely a borne in thing. Some people are born social entrepreneurs but many others are taught and conditioned to be such. Educational programs such as those undertaken at AIU can assist people to be socially responsible, and responsive to the needs of other fellow human beings. It is a core duty of educators, activist, philosophers, psychologists and writers to disseminate the awareness and consciousness of the necessity to assist to others. Just like how an individual is taught the skills and resilience needed in writing or creative work, people can be trained and conditioned to be social entrepreneurs. One essential thing for a person to assist others to have proper vision. Answers.com defines vision as,† unusual competence in discernment or perception, intelligent foresight.†So the ability to focus on what best to do in the future is important. Focus on the problem, focus on how the problem could be solved, focus on the impact of the solution to the beneficiary; and act according to that focus. The vision can be expressed explicitly through a statement of the vision. Most companies and organisation write down their vision. Vision can also be shown through the organisation’s mission. We have an example of a social program that was put up to find solution to specified social problems. Empowerment prog.org says about their mission, â€Å"The mission of The Empowerment Program is to provide education, employment assistance, housing referrals and support services to women who are in disadvantaged positions due to poverty, incarceration, homelessness, HIV/AIDs infection or involvement in criminal justice system†. Here the vision of the linked organisation is clearly spelt. In this mission the scope of social problems that needs solution has been named as abject poverty, criminal justice system among others. So the social entrepreneur must have a vision and capacity to assist humanity through the provision of needed facilities or the improvement and maintenance of sustainable ecological system. A personal social background can make someone such an entrepreneur or an educational background and awareness is needed. A person can be conditioned to have a feeling of empathy towards others. This could be done through awareness campaigns or creative artistic work such as films, poetry or music. There are different ways in which awareness can be done. Awareness through education, through face to face discussions. Awareness through creative work. Gallan (2010) talked about the importance of education in order to assist in effecting change. There may be need for educational and training background for some to be an entrepreneur. A detailed course work, theoretical and practical assignment can assist. The AIU vision and tutorial programs have such an objective. The power of media and awareness prog rams are vital. Human rights activists and other non-governmental organisation have a role to spread such awareness. The writers have also a role to play in creating awareness. It is therefore a role that must be played by various parties to assist in development of social entrepreneurship. Managers can create awareness programs and assign certain personnel with the responsibility to conduct training sessions to conscientise the other workers on the aspect of social responsibilities. Involvement on a corporate level on social programmes and social activities will assist employees to be socially responsible citizens. Through that organisations can mentor people who will assist in changing the world for the better. The other characteristic of social entrepreneurs is a life commitment to initiate social solutions to mankind‘s social problems. If an individual has identified a social problem he wishes to solve he/she must be dedicated to deal with that problem not for a short space of time, but for a long period and ideally his entire life. An example could be the story and struggle of Martin Luther King who gave his entire life to make needed social and religious change over a long period of time. What he achieved has affected the lives of many people down to our times. Mother Theresa was a dedicated nun who worked tirelessly for her entire life to assist the poor. These people were sensitive to the people’s needs. Citing similar example of sincerity and consciousness for humanity, Rundle (2010) expressed himself as having been sensitive to what the community would enjoy. Another important attribute of a person who is truly devoted to assisting in changing the lives of people through identification of social problems and then come up with lasting solutions is willingness to self-correct. When you have started on a long journey sometimes you will have to discover ways of dealing with challenges that you come along on the way. You should not wait for other people to correct you all the times. You may have to discover short cuts or you may have to discover ways of conserving the resources that you have. The ideas are that you have to observe things that around you, and take advantage of them so that you will afford to reach your destination. You may need to discover the right pace to travel so that you do not easily get tired. The idea is that you do not need just to be told everything, but you need to discover on your own and make rightful decisions and changes so as to suit to the conditions around you. The scientists would use the terms observe and a dapt in order to survive. In this discussion we can call this self-correction.Encyclopedia.com defines self-correction as, â€Å"correcting oneself without external help.† So as you try to find a solution to a social problem, you come against some challenges, and most of these challenges require you to find solutions yourself. Why this is important is because on such issues you may not have many people who initially support you. If you rely mainly on outside help you may be discouraged by other people, who may be pessimistic or who may not see your vision at the start of your project. An example where self correction is vital is when we set out a revolving fund at Chipinge Banana Company. The revolving fund was used to start fundraising projects. When the idea was borne and put forward to other people many people were against the idea of employees having to contribute towards their own welfare. In this project every interested employee was supposed to pay $1 per, month. A revolving fund committee was put in place. Initially, about 10% of the employees were interested and subsequently got involved. About 98% of other senior management staff was against this idea. At first they said that it was not a working idea, and suspected that the person who had started the project had a hidden agenda either to defraud the people or to have a personal financial gain. And that is the idea that can be found if a person wanted to solve a critical social problem. When the problem took off the ground those who were initially against, when they saw that it seemed to have been succe ssful they became jealousy and tried to influence most employees against it. So where a new idea is implemented there is usually resistance. Instead of people assisting with ideas and resources they resist the purported change. That is the reason why a social entrepreneur must correct himself or herself; relying on outside help may lead to resistance and criticism that can ultimately lead to failure. Many people will only assist you or join you when they are convinced beyond doubt that the innovation is definitely helpful. In the example sighted above of the revolving fund, many of the people who initially resisted later supported the idea and rendered assistance. So self-reliance and self-correcting are vital attributes of the people who want to initiate and institute change. Another essential attribute of people who want to bring social innovation is that of wishing to share credit. To be able to succeed in introducing change one needs as much support from as many people as possible. The people who get involved need credit for their support. In order to succeed in introducing change you have to be self-less or selfish-less. You need to consult widely; you need encouragement and support. For you to be able to achieve this you really need to make people to feel that the project is theirs and that their involvement is vital. So the credit needs to be shared. The success needs to be shared as much as you share the problem. One of the principles of change management is to involve as many people as possible, as long as those people are willing and committed. To achieve this some people who create change make use of committees. In order to share the credit and involve as many people as possible, in the introduction of the revolving fund, a commit was selected. Hitchcok (2008) emphasized the need to create self-directed teams and to consult as much as possible in order to implement change that affect and benefit many people. The principles of using committees and people participation were taken seriously at Chipinge Banana Company when they introduced the revolving fund. These committees brought about a lot of involvement. No wonder why Degraff (2007) emphasised that there is always need to select diverse and insightful individuals to join the leadership teams as participants in the† think tank† process Most people who were represented in the committee became committed to the change. In the committee, a cross-section of the employees was involved; women of various ages and from various work departments, men were recruited from various backgrounds, age and professions as well as from various work units. This brought up a big sense of ownership and the credit was not brought to the person who brought the idea, but to all the peo ple who were involved including a lot of the workers who were willing to part with their money. The idea is that those who are involved in social changes must do it to help the communities where they stay, not to help themselves materially or otherwise .On this Heath (2004:4) says,† analysis of dialogue surrounding a crisis can be sharpened by giving attention to the narrative elements that emerge as various groups interpret the crisis† When a person wants to initiate and develop a solution to a social problem, that person must be able to borrow ideas from different fields and interact with people of various backgrounds, profession and trades. For example to implement successful social change you need to have a rich background on various fields. You may need to understand accounting principles because you shall deal with finances, you need knowledge of economics because you may need investment to fund the projects, you may need to have knowledge of legal issues, and you need principles borrowed from sociology and psychology to deal with people. You must be a mult-disciplinarian. Robinson (2008) explained that learning should transcend across various disciplines for it to be most beneficial. Not that you have to study all these subjects at University but you need to consult. I attended a certain seminar that was based on environmental management one year. I was a teacher and a participant in the seminar. The first p rinciples that people were taught there was the principle of de-roling. By De-roling it means people need to stop considering the positions in the companies or institutes where they come from. Some people were teachers, others were students, others were managers, and others were simple people from the community. People, who were there had to ignore their roles. So in other words there were no longer managers, teachers, students or community members. All those who were there were the same. That was important and that is still important. If there is no de-rolling students would not participate actively they would leave everything to be done and said by influential people such as managers. Failure to de-roll would mean very little involvement. This all calls for a mult-disciplinary approach to solving social problems. I saw people involved in social issues such as HIV/AIDS. This needs people who have an open view and who apply knowledge and skills gained from various areas. At a corpor ate level when you want to introduce social changes you need to stop thinking that you are a manager and that your decision – as a manager- are better than the decision of a general hand worker. Where committees work it has been seen that brilliant ideas may not come from CEOs, or Managers, but some times from general workers. In the revolving fund committee that has been discussed earlier on a number of brilliant ideas came from the general workers. Those ideas were implemented and the results were excellent. This however does not suggest that good ideas come from uneducated, simple people only. The point is that in brainstorming and surfing ideas we have to open and not accept ideas on the consideration of a person’s qualifications or position in the society. The other essential aspect of introducing successful social change is to involve those whom are affected by the change or the program. What we are talking about here is empowerment of those who are affected by the proposed changes. Give the people involved the power to make their own decisions and to get actively involved. According to Joe.org, â€Å"empowerment is a social a multi-dimensional process that helps people gain control over their own lives. It is a process that fosters power in people for use in their own lives, communities and in their society.† So people must make decisions their own decisions where the proposed changes affect them. This brings on to them a sense of ownership. Even in the event of things not working according to the plan, these people will not shift the blame on the person proposing the change. The difficulties faced will be solved as a group again. This will also foster a spirit of resilience. A sense of ownership is a very powerful motivating factor to people. No one wants to see what she/he has worked for to fail. As many people are involved in a project there is going to be a lot of brainstorming and innovation when a problem presents itself before them. No projects or changes are without challenges. However the power of togetherness will make it easy to overcome difficulties. In the case of the earlier quoted revolving fund, at one time there was problem when we ran out of funds, but because we engaged many people from the onset, those who were involved worked hard so that we had increased membership and subsequently improved inflow of income. In this discussion there has been the example of the revolving fund. This example is suitable as it meets the criteria of a social change. Firstly the vision for the introduction of the fund was to assist all employees of Chipinge Banana Company who at one time have problems that the company could not provide assistance towards. This involves assisting parents with fees for their children, assistance towards bereavement, assistance towards any social problems the committee feels it warrants assistance .The focus of the fund is that, the fund shall run as long as the company exists and will assist workers for generations. It is a change that affects many people. This innovation has already been applied in companies that are around the place. Despite the fact that the fund was introduced about a year ago it is being a case study for many companies and even communities around. The other essential thing is that there has been a fundamental paradigm shift. It was unheard of in our country that workers would champion their own welfare through a common fund. The fund can also be used to sponsor training workshops especially in issues of HIV/AIDs and safety issues at the work place. So it is a typical example to use in this discussion to exemplify the practicality of what is discussed here as it relates to the planning and implementation of social change. Although this is a small scale social change it is a sample for other major social changes. As for the Human Resources Manager in the said company and for the other managers and personnel it has been an n essential hands-on example of how to institute change. For the proposer of this innovation there has been a conscious way to follow the learned parameters and theories of managing change. The knowledge and skills acquired will be essential for future consulting in change management. In the video watched there has been a case study of empowerment of the participants involved in the introduction and evolvement of the proposed changes. In this case the empowered people were the children that were the beneficiary of the child line service in India. That practical case brought a significant impetus on the idea of managing a social change. If in this project the affected children were greatly involved, what about circumstances in which we introduce changes that affect the adults or the educated population. It clearly demonstrates the importance and practicality of involving the affected people, no matter who they are, what their status is, where their live and what their backgrounds might be. This involvement is important in work place settings as well. The management team must involve the grassroots workers to be involved; their views on matters that affect them must be taken into consideration, and be greatly applied. It is great learning to us Human Resources perso nnel to involve the workers in issues that affect them. This has a big impact not only in motivating the workers but in creating a loyal, reliable, responsible and stable work force. At Chipinge Banana Company, a very stable company in terms of employee relations, the workers are highly involved. In most issues that affect them there is the use of committees. There are committees in sports teams, health and safety, HIV/AIDS awareness programmes, during end of year parties, among many other such instances. And the great results are that you create a stable work force. Again in the same company there is the open door policy on dealing with employee problems. The managers, the supervisors and forepersons are taught to deal with employee problems at any time and at any place. Employees must not wait to come to the offices assistance. The Human Resources Manager moves from place to place during the work days to hear the workers’ grievances and problems. I know the system is unique but it has also a unique way of making the workers happy and the work force stable. Social innovations by their nature must not be very expensive. These must be cost effective. The reason is that there might be very few people who are willing to put in their monies there, just for the sake of assisting others. The issue here is to have small investments that sustain some social projects, rather than waiting for a time when there is a large sum of money. However with this small investment there must be great courage to ensure that the projects or changes succeed. It is the power of vision, courage and resilience that must be at work most in order to achieve and sustain a social innovation. Penton.com (2010:1) emphasised that the key to change is the nature of the innovation, its scope and applicability rather than the amount of funds required to invest in it. In its explanation it says,† innovation of your products, processes and services will be key to delivering results.† In the example of The Revolving fund, under discussion, the amount of initial capi tal injection was very small. For the first three months there was a cash inflow of US $80 per month only; however that amount kick started a project that is now after about a year has a capital of about $8000.00 and which has assisted more than 500 people in all. So it is the vision and courage that is of great essence to achieve great social innovations. The video demonstrated the importance to impart and use soft skills. Soft skills are qualitative aspects that are essential for the success of projects. These are qualities that are not measurable but are essential .These are opposed to aspects of projects that are quantifiable. Money used to effect change can be quantifiable, the number of people involved in the projects is quantifiable, some resources such as motor vehicles involved can be quantifiable, but there are certain traits and characteristics that are essential for success of the innovations that are not numerable. In the video presentation, listening skill has been identified as a soft skill that is essential for social innovation to succeed. People involved in the projects must listen carefully to different points of view that come from the people involved. From listening then the people involved deduce the implication then later apply what is implied. Other soft skills which we can talk about include the communication s kills, interpersonal relations, mutual trust among others. Heath (2004:4) says, â€Å"Communication is a corporate strategy for dealing with a major business interruption.† In this case Heath emphasizes the importance of communication in business and social spheres. The change agent must also have core value that globally acceptable. Such values as integrity, creativity, multi-skilling, problem solving, inquiry, flexibility accountability and transparency among others. He/she must be able to use the principles of good governance. The innovators and consultants must have such basic skills in order to be able to implement the proposed changes. Another essential aspect is of ethical considerations. If you want to implement social changes you must have a high sense of ethics. You have to know what is just to the people and the community. Know what is good to all and what is acceptable. It is not considering the legal and economical aspects only that are important. Have a wider understanding of the community around where you are making the change and what is moral and acceptable to that area. This again calls for an interdisciplinary approach to introducing social innovations. Ethics are associated with certain disciplines which a social entrepreneur must be acquainted with, such as public relations, religious orientation or understanding social science principles. If you introduce something that is not morally acceptable in that area you wont succeed. If you introduce something that is a taboo in that area then you can not succeed. This calls for a lot of research before you come up with your innovations. The idea of consult ing and empowering the people affected come handy in this regard as well. So on the other hand the social consultant must develop a lot of research skills and knowledge and use that before introducing any changes or programs in a certain area. The other essential aspect is the willingness to work quietly. This means that although you work very hard, the intention is not to show people that you can come up with something spectacular. You work hard to achieve the mission you set out to achieve. It is not you who go about advertising how hardworking you are, but the community will observe that for itself and come in and join to assist you. There is need for humility in order to achieve the mission. Then there is the idea of social blue print. That is need and ability to come up with innovative solutions to social problems that haunt the community. For the problems bedevilling the people a home grown solution should be devised fast enough to avert any catastrophe. This, however, also calls to adopt new ways and to adapt to other conditions for survival. Adaptation is another way that is used to solve social problems, especially problems that arise from perceptions. For example there is a perceived problem in Africa, the problem of homosexuals. To many people this is a problem that is causing sleepless nights to religious leaders, politicians, HIV/AIDS activists and human rights activists. But what is the solution the community is searching for? Will the community able to eradicate homosexuality? What real harm can homosexuality cause? It is a problem-yes. But it is a perceptional problem, and the only sure, cheap and easy solution is there- the community has to adapt to this new phenomenon, since it can not cause any catastrophe to the human race. Adaptation is a solution, and an added way to overcome this is through awareness programs so that the community come to accept the new phenomenon. The ideas discussed in the video on how to change the world are very essential and practical. These aspects have a global focus and can be applied anywhere where change or innovation has to be made. The fact that in this discussion the writer based in Africa finds the suggestion applicable shows the universality of what was discussed in the video. The example of India shows that the ideas can not only apply in America, but also in Asia. When the writer followed the discussion on how to change the world he was able to give practical example from Africa to exemplified how useful the suggestions are and how applicable the recommendations are. The example from Brazil also shows the practicality of the ideas. The example of the revolving fund brings Europe into the picture. The idea of the revolving fund that is now being used across Africa has its beginning in Canada, which is a European Country. The implementation of the revolving fund was done after studying the Canadian example. So fo llowing the discussion on how to change the world, the description equally fits the change that started in Canada; the issue of the revolving fund. It is therefore important to note that the innovation, implementation and evaluation measures applicable in the first word countries can be done in developing countries. With this in mind it is easy to conclude that if we apply the concepts and philosophies explained and expanded in the video How to Change the World, surely the world can be changed, and together we can change it for the betterment of mankind. BIBLIOGRAPHY McAdam, R and Moffett, S(2010)University Of Ulster Innovation. Shirley Ann Hazzlet: Belfast Rundle,C.R(2010)Communication problem Solver: Simple Tools and Techniques For Business Managers. AMACOM books: New York Robbin,S(2008)Spirituality, Ethics and Care.Kingsley:london Heath, R.C(2004)Responding to Crisis.A Rhetorical Approach to Crisis Communication. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwa Jackson, P.Z(2001) The Simple Way to positive change.Nicholas Brealey Publishing:London. Hitchcok, D.E and Willard, M.L (2008) step by step Planning: How to Create and implement Sustainability Plans in Any Business Organ.Va Earthscan Ltd:London. Maser, C(2009).Earth in Our Care: Ecology, Economy and Sustainability. Rutgers University Press:New Brunswik. Lenner, P (2009) Environmental, Law, and Non profits: How NGOs Shape our Laws, Health and Communities. Pace Environmental review 26 No 1. Wint 2009 MAGAZINES Brunchhorst, D.J: landscapes Shaped by People and the Place institutions Require A new Conservation Agenda. BioScience 60 No 8 (2010) Nigg, J.N et all. Measured Gene-By-Environment Interaction In Relation to Attention- Deficit /Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology 49 No(Sept 2010 Raudsepp,H et all. Untangling The environmentalists paradox: Why is Human Well-being Increasing as Ecosystem Services Degrade. BioScience 60 No 8 Sep 2010. Singer,J and Helfrich C. Supporting RD support Groups. Research Technology Management51 No1 Jan/Feb (2008) Allen, S.M .Missed Connections. Social Forces 79 No 4 (2001) Karen,H(2008)Care Sociacultural Practice , Aesthetic Experience in the Art Clasroom: Visual Arts Research 34 No 1 Atkins, M. Five Key Concepts For Suitanaible Innovation. Industry Week 259 No.7. J1 2010. Mansdorf, Z. Sustainability-EHS Challenge . EHS Today 3 No1 Jan 2010. Penton Media Inc. Cleveland. WEB PAGES Nature versus Nurture www.wikipedia.com Research Papers on How to Change The worldEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married Males19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeThree Concepts of PsychodynamicGenetic EngineeringCapital PunishmentHip-Hop is ArtAnalysis Of A Cosmetics Advertisement

Who is jack the ripper Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Who is jack the ripper - Research Paper Example This fear was further aggravated due to social and economic conditions of the-then London. With over two hundred individual considered as suspects, this serial murderer mystery remained unresolved even after a century which has given it an outlook of most fearful murders of all times. The murders begin in 1888 in East London which was flooded with Jews and Russian migrants trying hard to make a better living. The place was even a hub of many brothels and sex-rental houses, where reaching a woman was not an issue. Murders of prostitutes and sex-servers was not an astonishing news for many at that time since these prostitutes were at the mercy of clients, owners of the brothels and even the gangsters. Constant tortures, physical attacks, and murders were part and parcel of prostitution industry. Even discussing these subjects was considered inappropriate in the civilized part of London. However, a wave of fear captivated London where a similar pattern accompanied by threatening and rather mocking letters was identified by London Police and Scotland Yard. These methods of conducting murders bear striking resemblance giving it a profile of serial killing and the letters received further assured that there is a murderer in town, with notorious intentions for women. Although Jack the Ripper only committed five murders which only lasted for three months, the question arises what makes him stand out when the history is full of serial killers with much brutal methods of murdering. Careful analysis would reveal that there are various elements that added to the mystery and made it eternal. Historical analysis of the print media would show that it was mainly the newspaper which added fury to the living conditions of East London. East London, itself was full of low-life residents with economic depravity, living in violent neighborhoods where disease was common. What gave Ripper a menacing outlook was the intensive reporting by

Do Only What You Feel Like Doing as a Today's Philosophy of Life Research Paper

Do Only What You Feel Like Doing as a Today's Philosophy of Life - Research Paper Example People seem to be so eager to have more, that they even forget about their own lives and concentrate primarily on satisfying their material needs. It's not only about ensuring a comfortable life anymore, but it's also about luxury we are talking now, and about making things so easy, by introducing technology everywhere, that we even forget that this means "easy" and we get to think it has always been the same. Men have always had this tendency towards exaggerating, mostly when it comes to getting rich or powerful and there have always been philosophers who noticed it. Plato was one of them. He insisted on the idea that man should be moderate, should balance his desires. Moderation doesn't mean repression, but it means that you shouldn't satisfy only one need, one desire, in the detriment of other needs. The philosopher convinced that virtue is all that is relevant for happiness, is also convinced that the soul is immortal and that it comes from a world different from the material wor ld where we live with our bodies. And in the Greek philosopher's view, we should cultivate virtue and reason rather than desires that belong to the material world. According to Plato, there are two possible ideas for man's life: one which means that the ultimate purpose of life is a pleasure and the other one according to which the purpose of life is that of Good. Everyone knows that our life here is not eternal, that at a certain point, sooner or later, at a younger or older age we are going to die. So our life here ends. And then comes the question: what happens after that? When it comes to a question like that, people's opinions differ.  Some think this is all, others consider that the end of this life means the beginning of a new life, of a life beyond our senses and beyond materiality.