Mavericks at Work Book Review free essay sample

In the past 10-20 years, the environment changed vigorously due to globalization and rapid development of internet. If organizations just follow the old success formula, probably it will go out of business. In the book â€Å"Mavericks at Work†, William C. Taylor Polly Labarre mentioned how â€Å"Mavericks† leaded their company to success in this fast changing environment. According to Oxford Dictionary, Mavericks means â€Å"an unorthodox or independent-minded person†. This book showed how Mavericks’ unorthodox thinking leaded companies to success. 4 mains areas were focused in this book, â€Å"Rethinking Competition†, â€Å"Reinventing Innovation†, â€Å"Reconnecting with Customer† and â€Å"Redesigning Work†. These 4 topics can be seen as innovative way of planning, leading, controlling and organizing functions of management. Part One: Rethinking Competition In the 21st Century, competition is much more vigorous than before. Many companies put too much focus on how to compete with its competitors. Their competitive strategies were to provide the same product or service as their competitor does. We will write a custom essay sample on Mavericks at Work Book Review or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Quality and cost are the only difference between different competitors. It will finally lead to loss loss situation. In part one, we can see how the Mavericks perform differently in planning process. Analysis on the market and identify a competitive strategy Different from the other competitors, the Mavericks tried to find a market that is not discovered by other companies. ING was one of the successful Mavericks. In the year 2000 all banks targeted customers with large amount of money for high risk investment purpose. ING targeted the customers who only wanted to deposit a small amount in the bank for saving purpose. After ING found this new market, it used a focus differentiation strategy so that their products are uniquely designed for its targeted customers. As the products are unique in the market, the customers are loyal to the company. Setting Mission and Goals The mission set by Mavericks is unique in the market. For example mission of ING is â€Å"leading Americans back to savings† while the others are about making profit or be the top. Therefore both employees and customers can easily find the difference between the Mavericks and other company. Formulating strategy While formulating strategy, companies usually focus on short term benefit rather than long term benefit to get higher bonus and credit from shareholders. However the Mavericks focus on long term benefit instead of short term benefit. For example, ING rejected big customers because if they accepted the big customers, its targeted customers will be ignored and finally it will lose its uniqueness as well as the targeted customer. Part Two: Reinventing Innovation Usually we think that innovative ideas are coming from laboratories and scientists. Most of the companies still see them as the only source of innovative ideas. However, due to high education level and well developed internet nowadays, the Mavericks realized that there are many ideas can be created by the grassroots all over the world. Organizing the grassroots How to find and organize the grassroots became the first question faced by the Mavericks. They found a place where most grassroots can be found – the internet. However these grassroots cannot be organized and managed by normal management way because they are not employed by the company. Some mavericks like Goldcorp organize the grassroots by setting up internet competition platform. It posted all its data about mining on the web and asked the participants to submit their ideas of where should be drilled. Motivation By the views of Maslows hierarchy of needs, most companies motivated their workers by safety needs such as employment and salary. Instead, the Mavericks motivate the grassroots mainly by Esteem, i. e. roviding worldwide recognition to these grassroots which they can’t get in a traditional workplace. Communication As there are too many grassroots and they are worldwide located, the company cannot communicate with them one by one. Lower communication channel richness methods such as email / Memo were used. Therefore the Mavericks focus narrow and tightly define so that every participant could understand the requirements easi ly. An example is when Marketplace limited the competition topic to single country and single theme, better ideas were generated by grassroots. Leadership As different from internal management, an open source leader does not have any leadership position power over the grassroots. The only thing the leader can do is to be open and transparent. Part Three: Reconnecting with Customers Many companies only focus on their products, their controlling process is mainly focus on the cost and quality of their product. They seldom connect with the customers and even set tricks in hotline to stop their customers reaching them. However, the Mavericks performed the controlling process mainly based on customers’ experience and they even make use of the customers in controlling process. Controlling Culture Even a company has good mission and competitive strategy, the employees may not follow and the customers will not be convinced. An example in the book is Commerce Bank, aiming at â€Å"Greating memorable experience† of the customers. In order to have good control in the organization to achieve its mission, the Mavericks built up company culture so that the employees themselves are internally aligned with the company. It created loose, fun, unapologetically cheery culture which made the employees feeling fun when they are working. It also had a volunteering â€Å"Wow Patrol Team† to organize elebrations, ran contests and otherwise contributed to Commerce’s culture. Everyone in the company was happy and their customers can feel it, which finally created unique experience and brand image to the customers. Controlling message received from customers Many companies see their customers as the one who only pay for their goods. Some better companies may use customer feedback to control the organization. The Mavericks further involve the customers themselves in the controlling process. An example in the book is Netflix which is a DVD rental store. It created a society where the customers can rate the movies, so others customers would follow and rented the highly rated movie. Netflix was benefited as the customers themselves forecasted the customer needs and therefore the store would not buy too much bad movies or too few good movies. Part Four: Redesigning Work People is the most important part of the company because company itself does not generate ideas but the employees do. Talents are even more important in Mavericks companies. This part mentioned how the Mavericks work in recruitment and designing structure in organizing process. Recruitment Companies usually post ads and waiting for talents to apply. The Mavericks never wait for the talents because they believe that talents almost always have a good job so they won’t find job by themselves. Instead, they find talents actively such as internal referral used by Starbuck or setting recruitment ads as search result by Google. Normally academic result or experience are the important requirement used to select talent, but the Mavericks select suitable talents by attitude and aptitude. They believe knowledge can be trained but attitude is in born and difficult to change. Many companies may just try to improve the compensation package to attract talents. However the Mavericks understand that attractiveness of job content is the major factor that affects the choice of the talents. For example IBM offering challenging projects, high quality team member and dynamic work place to the candidates. They also see hiring great talent as attractive point to other talents because all talents like working with great talents and learning from them. Designing structure Unlike formal structure, some mavericks such as SEI designed â€Å"Achocracy† structure with very high mobility. There is no formal structure in SEI. When there is a new project, the employees form a temporary team themselves and work on the project. The team will be dismissed after the project is completed. Conclusion In conclusion, the mavericks’ way of management is to make the company unique in market. Industries of banking, product industry, information technology etc were very success after applied the Mavericks way of management. According to contingency theory, there is no best theory and it depends on different situation. From my point of view, the Mavericks way of management is more suitable for the companies which are ambitious, product can be differentiated, customers can be segmented and competition exists. An counter example is government because she has too much limitation such as they cannot target narrow customers to maintain fairness nor sharing information to customers because most information is confidential. The government’s decision cannot too depends on her customers because it may harm the long term development like Greece. In 2006 when the book was published, the unorthodox way of management mentioned in the book is very innovative. However in 2011, many companies tried to copy the Mavericks way of management. If every company used the same way of management, the Mavericks companies will face head to head competition. Instead of the Mavericks way of management, the most important point I learnt from this book is the Mavericks thinking, i. e. being innovative to design my own Mavericks management way, rethink and rethink about management so that my management way can always be unique even in the fast changing environment.

The Witches In Macbeth Essays - Characters In Macbeth, Fiction

The Witches In Macbeth Essays - Characters In Macbeth, Fiction The Witches In Macbeth 1 The witches in Macbeth serve to advance the story, reveal human weakness, heighten the tension and give the audience a hint of things to come, but they do not control Macbeth or anyone else in the play. The only power they have over Macbeth is their ability to reinforce an idea that was already in his head. Their role is made clear when Hecate speaks to them, And which is worse, all you have done Hath been but for a wayward son. ( act 3 scene 5 ) She suggests that they do not have the power to make him do the evil and mischief that they want. Nor do they need that power. Macbeth is fully capable of doing all the mischief and evil on his own. How do individuals control others? How would the witches control Macbeth? This can usually be done by physical and/or emotional force. Fear and threats, rewards and praise work to control others. These tools work to different degrees on different people. So much of what is called control depends on the person that is being controlled. The promise of a throne may send some people to their knees while others will take to their heels. When the witches hold out their promises to Macbeth the only surety they have is a knowledge of his ambition and his need for power. In the end this was all they needed to be sure of. They may try to manipulate, but they do not need to control. The character flaws that Macbeth has will be enough to fill their needs. It is interesting to note that the witches do not ask for anything in 2 return for their prophecies. Macbeth does not have to promise his soul in exchange for any information. His soul was already in trouble before he met the witches. He was their logical choice. At the start of the play, Macbeth and Banquo are returning from the battlefield when they meet the witches. At this time they predict that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and king of Scotland. It is an interesting thought and the start of an idea. He has fought bravely for king and country, but when the first prophecy comes true, and he is made Thane of Cawdor , he says to himself, The first step toward the ultimate goal, the throne. ( act 1 scene 3) If he calls the ultimate goal, a throne, then he has been entertaining this idea before. In his life he has prioritized his ambitions, and the title of king is what he considers the highest step. As a brave an honorable leader of the kings army, shouldnt his highest goal be to serve? As an honorable man with strong morals shouldnt his ultimate goal be a decent life and a heavenly reward? Ambition drives Macbeth. He only needs the suggestions of things that might be his to push him on. There is no sense of moral right to keep him from murder. He hesitates only because he fears the earthly consequences not because it would be sinful. If the assassination could trummel up the consequences. But in these cases we still have judgment here. ( act 1scene 7) He does not realize that his struggle is not against evil but for good. The witches do not command Macbeth to kill Duncan or anyone else. The 3 murder of his king is his decision. This is the only way that he can see to reach his Ultimate Goal. One murder leads to another. Macbeth has spun a web that has trapped him in a paranoid mess. Soon he believes that everyone is out to get him. Traitors are behind every stone in his castle. He has no trusted friends left, and even his wife has fallen into a pit of madness. The only way to deal with this is to kill and kill again. He must know what the future holds for him, and again he turns to the witches. Maybe they can reassure him. At this stage of the play, Macbeth is in desperate need of some measure of security. The witches are only too happy to oblige. Theyll give him just what he wants almost. Hecate has forecasted Macbeths weakness when she

Significance Of Customer Portfolio Management In Modern Business Envir Essay

Significance Of Customer Portfolio Management In Modern Business Environment - Essay Example A loyal customer is an invaluable asset to any organization that contributes to the accomplishment of the firm’s long-term goals and objectives. Scholars reflect that efficient customer portfolio management at different levels of an organization is a fundamental driver of strategic as well as financial success. The concept of customer portfolio can significantly contribute to the firm’s efforts to retain the profitable segments of its customers because customer portfolio is a potential way to achieve enhanced customer satisfaction. According to experts, â€Å"in much the same way that we can examine a portfolio of products or brands, the importance of customers as assets and investment centers mandates a similar portfolio analysis† (Hooley, et al. 2008, p.436). This paper will explore the concept of customer portfolio management. The paper will also discuss how a company can apply this concept in its strategic management.  The term portfolio is often used by ma nagement professionals in the context of investments to represent the collection of assets owned by a person or an institution. With regard to customers, this term has a parallel meaning. A customer portfolio can be defined as â€Å"the collection of mutually exclusive customer groups that comprise a business’s entire customer base† (Buttle, 2009. p.125). In simple words, a customer portfolio encompasses different groups that make up a business’s customer base. For instance, Coca Cola’s customer portfolio comprises grocery stores, amusement parks, and restaurants. The thorough analysis of customer portfolios can assist a company to identify how a specific customer group is performing.

Opposing Viewpoints Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Opposing Viewpoints - Essay Example Genesis is not merely prolonged exercise of metaphors rather it provides an in depth analysis, as evolutionary believers have used metaphors for their interpretations as well. Natural selection in case Charles Darwin mechanism and Dawkins talk of selfish genes. Early scientists believed that God has created earth and life primarily based on some knowledge and not merely a divine whim which would be revealed through inquiries. Life is governed by rational, cognitive and eternal set of laws. Although grudgingly, yet the persecution of Galileo was accepted as mistake of the past. However, the recent events have unfolded the defamation of therapeutic cloning by the same conservative and erratic school of thought. Science and religion co-existence is the only way forward. At times science has owed to the nature. Science has profoundly admired the explicit concepts of nature and making a premise for the fathoming of science and religion. Similarly religion cannot stand alone or the proposition of denying religion with reference to science should be obliterated. Like the early scientists, who were as Christian as evolutionist paved the way for the harmony among science and religion. Also, both science and religion should adapt to the ever changing world and embrace the new concepts emerging on the surface of the world. The religion must not abscond the realms of the science for the prosperity and developments of nations, societies and world at large. 8. Louis Bolce and Gerald De Maio. "American Politics Is Dominated by Battles Between Religious and Secular Voters." At Issue: How Does Religion Influence Politics?. Ed. James D. Torr. Detroit: Greenhaven Press,

PERSUASIVE ANALYSIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PERSUASIVE ANALYSIS - Essay Example The obvious solution to this paradox, according to Holcberg, is legalization and monetary recompense for donated organs. He rationalizes his solution by appealing to the reader's sense of logic by equating payment for organs "as a type of life insurance" and the fact that this would be "mutually advantageous" to both the family who "gets needed money" and the "transplant patient" who "gets a vital organ." Holcberg then broadens his line of reasoning to organ donation while living, as well as after death. He supports his logic with reference to authoritative figures such as the Mayo Clinic, wherein they claim that the "the extraction of a section of liver" is "less than1 percent" risk to "the donor's life," and the New England Journal of Medicine, which states that this risk "is even smaller." By referring to authority, the reader is more likely to agree, or to at least take notice of what Holcberg has to say. At this point in his article, Holcberg endeavors to attract both proponents and opponents of his appeal by referring to a number of contrary standpoints. For example, he mentions that "those who object to a free market in organs would deny" a father who "may decide that one of his kidneys is worth selling to pay for the best medical treatment available for his child the right to act on his own judgment." He further states, that although these same opponents claim that "poor people are incapable of making rational choices" the fact is that they "do have the capacity to reason, and should be free to exercise it." In taking this approach, Holcberg appeals to the idea of human rights and is more likely to gain the reader's attention and agreement. He retains this attention on human rights by stating that "if the law recognizes our right to give away an organ, it should also recognize our right to sell an organ."While continuing his negation of opposing views, Holcberg dismisses their co ncern for the possibility of people committing "murder to sell organs," as scaremongering and uses evocative words such as "financial lure" and "difficult-to-execute criminal action" to suggest that organ trade would decrease the number of murders. Holcberg's use of language here, successfully leads the reader to question the irrationality of such opposing views. Holcberg's final counterargument against opponents of organ trade donation is a rejection of their concern that organs would go to the wealthier rather than the more needy people. He asserts that people's lives will be damaged (a seller would not get "the best price for his organ" and a buyer would not be able to purchase "an organ to further his life.") by giving organs to the needy. He refers to "charity" for the needy and effectively gives himself the last word on the issue by stating that "a free market would enhance the ability" for the needy to obtain organs from such "charitable organizations," and thereby demonstrates how their views are either questionable or wrong. Finally, after finishing his negations, he stimulates the reader's sense of self-preservation by asking whether, "If your life depended on getting an organ wouldn't you be willing to pay for one" and "If you could find a

Environmental factors affecting McDonalds management functions

Environmental factors affecting McDonalds management functions Executive Summary This analytical study aims to investigate and analyse the various environmental factors that can affect the working of McDonald’s Corporation and provide strategic recommendations for the enhancement of its organisational effectiveness, profitability and competitive advantage. The operations of the firm, especially the globalised nature of its working and its extensive geographical reach, make it subject to various environmental influences. The writer has accordingly shortlisted 12 important environmental factors, namely Customers, Products and Services, Competitors, Employees, Technology, Political Factors, Economy, Environmental Factors, Culture and Religion, Globalisation, Legal Issues and Shareholders and analysed them in detail. The writer has thereafter made use of the TOWS framework to provide several strategic recommendations for the enhancement of the firm’s productivity, profitability and competitive advantage. The main recommendations pertain to the utilisation of organisational resources for expansion of the nutritional value of the firm’s products, the creation products for elder age groups and the expansion of the customer base of the organisation. It is recommended that the organisational management of the firm should specifically focus upon removing prevailing perceptions about the nutritious value of the firm’s products and thus remove important customer associated apprehensions to future growth. Table of Contents S. No Contents Page Executive Summary 2 1. Introduction 4 2. Product Line 4 3. Environmental Analysis 6 3.1. Customers 7 3.2. Products and Services 7 3.3. Competitors 7 3.4. Employees 8 3.5. Technology 8 3.6. Political Factors 9 3.7. Economy 9 3.8. Environmental Factors 10 3.9. Culture and Religion 10 3.10. Globalisation 10 3.11. Legal Issues 11 3.12. Shareholders 11 4. Strategic Analysis and Recommendations 11 4.1. SO Strategies 12 4.2. WO Strategies 12 4.3. ST Strategies 12 4.4. WT Strategies 13 5. Conclusions 13 References 14 1. Introduction This analytical study aims to investigate and analyse the diverse environmental factors that impact the management and marketing functions of McDonald’s Corporation and thereafter provide strategic recommendations for the future. McDonald’s Corporation, founded in 1940 as a barbeque restaurant, has grown over the years to become the largest global chain of fast food restaurants (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014, n.p. The organisation has operations in 119 countries, approximately 440,000 employees and more than 36,000 retail outlets (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014, n.p.). McDonald’s is one of the world’s most successful business corporations and its operations have been studied in detail by various researchers (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014, .p.: Kennedy, 2014). The organisation has become a symbol for American business enterprise and corporate globalisation (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014, n.p.: Kennedy, 2014, n.p.). The comparative price of a McDonald’s burger has been used to compare the purchasing power of different countries (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014, n.p.). The firm owns approximately 15% of its outlets and operates them directly, the balance being operated by others through diverse franchising and joint venture organisations (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014, n.p.). The corporation operates in extremely challenging environmental conditions, characterised by intense competition from several large global food retailing firms and differing environmental conditions in its various markets (McGrath, 2013, n.p.). The firm has faced criticism from various groups of activists for its products and HR strategies (McGrath, 2013, n.p.). The next section of this structured analytical study provides details about the organisation’s products; this is followed by sections on environmental analysis and strategic analysis and recommendations. The study ends with a summative conclusion. 2. Product Line McDonald’s is known to be a hamburger fast food restaurant, which also sells soft drinks and a variety of sides (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014, n.p.). The organisation has however over the years developed a wide range of food products that can be categorised into six segments: Burgers and Sandwiches Drinks Snacks and Sides Desserts and Shakes Salads Breakfast (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014, n.p.) The following table provides the details of its products and product mix for the US market. Table 1: Details of McDonald’s Products and Product Mix Product Segments Details Product Segments Details Burgers and Sandwiches Angus Snacks and Sides Wraps Big Mac Apple Slices Quarter Pounder Fruit Hamburger Fries Cheeseburger Desserts and Shakes Ice Cream Crispy Chicken Sundaes Grilled Chicken Mcflurry Fish Shakes Mcribs Cookies Drinks and Beverages Milk Pies Water Salads Side Salad Juice Premium Salad Coffee Breakfast McMuffins Ice Tea McGriddles Coke Products Biscuits Cinnamon Melts Bagels Burritos (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014, n.p.) McDonald’s has also recently introduced Its McCafe range of coffees, chocolate drinks and smoothies (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014, n.p.). The firm also provides meal bundles like favourites under 400 (calories) Dollar menus, Extra Value Meals, Happy Meals and Mighty Kids Meals (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014, n.p.). The corporation is attempting to broad-base its food products to cater to diverse types of customer food needs (McGrath, 2013, n.p.). 3. Environmental Analysis McDonald’s has to operate in an extremely complex environment on account of the internationalisation of its operations and the intense competition it faces from diverse firms in the fast food business. The business environment of an organisation has several internal and external environmental factors that can influence and impact its working and shape its organisational strategies and policies. McDonald’s environment contains various elements, the more important of which are depicted in the following chart. Each of these factors is taken up for detailed analysis below. 3.1. Customers McDonald’s has retail operations in 119 countries and serves the needs of millions of customers (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014). Whilst researchers have tried to segment McDonald’s customer base in various ways, the organisation primarily caters to the needs of children, young people, parents, and business customers (McDonald’s Corporation, 2008). Each of these customer segments has specific needs and the organisation has to fulfil them as much as possible (McDonald’s Corporation, 2008, p 2). Children, for example love to visit McDonald’s because it is a fun place and McDonald’s responds to their needs with various toys, special facilities for birthday parties and other fun things for children (McDonald’s Corporation, 2008, p 3). It aims to provide nutritious meals for parents with children and has affordable menus for teenagers (McDonald’s Corporation, 2008, p 4). Business customers are provided with quick and affordable meals that fit in with their working schedules (McDonald’s Corporation, 2008, p 3). The organisation is constantly focusing upon the enhancement of customer satisfaction (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014 n.p.). 3.2. Products and Services McDonald’s provides a range of food products to its customers in clean, well designed and attractively laid out retailing environments (Frenchman, 2014 n.p.). The organisation aims to provide customers with a range of tasty and nutritious food, delivered swiftly and at affordable prices (McDonald’s, 2008, p 4). The organisation’s products and services constitute its strongest attraction for customers and the organisation very obviously has to ensure that they meet customer needs and continue to delight them (Frenchman, 2014 n.p.). 3.3. Competitors McDonald’s has several competitors, each of which is constantly seeking a greater share of the market (Raphel, 2014 n.p.). It is important to recognise that the organisation faces competition from various large organisations, like for example Burger King, Wendy’s, KFC and Subway and also numerous small fish and chip and fried chicken establishments (Raphel, 2014 n.p.). It also faces competition from strong firms like Starbucks, Taco Bell, Dunkin Donuts, Pizza Hut and Domino’s Pizza (Raphel, 2014 n.p.). Each of these competitors is constantly working on its quality of food and service, as well as on diverse other options and strategies to attract customers (Jargon, 2014b, n.p.). It is important to appreciate that competition for McDonald’s has increased significantly in the past two decades, which in turn has resulted in the slowing of the organisation’s growth and some reduction in its market share (Jargon, 2014b, n.p.). The nature and intensity of the competition faced by the organisation very clearly shapes its organisational strategies. 3.4. Employees McDonald’s is overly reliant upon its employees for both the preparation of its food and for the quality of its customer service (Lovewell-Tuck, 2013 n.p.). Restaurant workers form the largest group in the company’s employment structure (Lovewell-Tuck, 2013 n.p.). Each McDonald’s restaurant has average workforce strength of 50 employees; many of these employees join at the entry level and as part-time workers (McDonald’s, 2008, p 3). McDonald’s has been subjected to substantial criticism in the past for its low wages, as well as for the high turnover of its restaurant employees, who comprise teenagers, transitional workers, students and working mothers (Lovewell-Tuck, 2013 n.p.). The effective deployment and marshalling of its employees constitutes one of its most important organisational objectives (Lovewell-Tuck, 2013 n.p.). The organisation provides vocational training to all of its employees as well as the opportunity for securing promotions to higher positions, including executive positions in the organisational hierarchy (Lovewell-Tuck, 2013 n.p.). McDonald’s has constantly worked upon its HR management strategies and attempts to motivate its staff with diverse rewards and incentives (McDonald’s, 2008, p 3). All employees in the top 10% of McDonald’s restaurants receive bonuses on the basis of mystery shopper scores. The organisation also rewards its outstanding employees with awards and trophies at Gala functions. Neal Blackshire, a senior official at McDonald’s, states that the organisation recognises employee behaviours, ensures that recognition and reward are right for the workforce and understands what employees wish and value (Lovewell-Tuck, 2013 n.p.). 3.5. Technology Technological advancements are affecting every aspect of the social and business environment and McDonald’s takes care to ensure appropriate use of technology for achievement of organisational objectives and competitive advantage (Baldwin, 2013 n.p.). It works on technology constantly to enhance the optimisation of its operations (Baldwin, 2013 n.p.). The preparation of a big Mac,for example,now takes 60 seconds and is processed in three stages, including packaging (Baldwin, 2013 n.p.). The organisation is making use of several types of technology for storage of food, regulation of temperature, preparation of food, control of supply chain and financial management and reporting (IncisiveMedia, 2004, n.p). McDonald’s is linking different responsibility centres through appropriate communication systems in order to enhance optimisation of efficiency and productivity (IncisiveMedia, 2004, n.p ). 3.6. Political Factors McDonald’s operates in several countries, many of which have different political systems (Han, 2008, p 73). It thus has to cater to various types of political pressures in order to ensure the meeting of its objectives (Han, 2008, p 73). Various governments are currently attempting to increase their control over the fast food sector on account of health associated issues; some of them are restricting the issuances of licences to franchisees (Han, 2008, p 74). Local political pressure has also been applied on the firm from time to time for its perceived role in the dilution of local culture (Han, 2008, p 75). The corporation thus has to constantly anticipate the political environments of the different locations in which it works and take appropriate proactive or reactive action. 3.7. Economy The general economic environment plays an important role in shaping the organisation’s business strategies and policies (Thompson, 2002, p 36). The economic climate can affect discretionary incomes, customer footsteps, market brand, availability of labour and the prices and availability of materials (Gasparo, 2012, n.p; Gould, 2012, p 608). The organisational management of McDonald’s, both local and central has to thus constantly work towards anticipating and overcoming diverse types of economic challenges (Gasparo, 2012, n.p; Gould, 2012, p 608). It is important to however appreciate that the demand for affordable food products is by and large inelastic and stays high, regardless of the health of the economy (Gasparo, 2012, n.p; Gould, 2012, p 608). McDonald’s makes use of this benefit by ensuring that people can come to its outlets when they wish and purchase affordable meals for themselves and their families (Gasparo, 2012, n.p). The organisation has shown remarkable resilience during the recent recession and has protected its profit margin by balancing its low priced menus with premium products (Gasparo, 2012, n.p; Gould, 2012, p 608). 3.8. Environmental Factors McDonald’s, as the largest food retailing chain in the world, has to deal with several types of environmental factors (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014, n.p; McDonald’s Corporation, 2010, n.p.). The firm makes significant use of beef, packaging materials, napkins, carry bags, oil, water and power. Its operations also result in generation of substantial amounts of solid waste (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014, n.p; McDonald’s Corporation, 2010, n.p.). The firm has over the years worked towards the enhancement of operational sustainability and improving the ecological soundness of its operations (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014, n.p). It has tied up with the Environmental Defence Fund (EDF) to ease the company’s environmental burden (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014,n.p; McDonald’s Corporation, 2010, n.p.). It has introduced policies for enhancing the recycled content of its packaging material and for reducing the use of polystyrene (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014,n.p). It has developed a rain forest policy and adopted beef purchasing practices that do not lead to deforestation (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014,n.p;). 3.9. Culture and Religion McDonald’s has to necessarily work in diverse countries with different cultural and religious environments. It has taken the lead in offering customers taste and appearance variations in accordance with the demands of local cultures and religious customs (Cheek, 2014,n.p). It followed up its entry into India, where Hindus do not eat beef and Muslims do not eat pork, by introducing vegetable McNuggets and a Maharaja Mac with lamb meat (Cheek, 2014,n.p.). It has furthermore obtained certification for Halaal food for Islamic countries like Pakistan, Malaysia and Morocco and has advertised it on its menus (Cheek, 2014,n.p.). The firm’s menu in Morocco offers dates, milk and cookies during the holy month of Ramadan (Cheek, 2014,n.p.). The organisation has taken care to ensure the standardised structure of its menu, even though it has provided for several local variations (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014,n.p.). 3.10. Globalisation Economic and cultural globalisation essentially involves the economic and cultural intermingling of different cultures (Salisbury, 2014,n.p.). McDonald’s, as an eminent food retailing organisation, is a leader of globalisation and has spread the American food culture across the world (Salisbury, 2014,n.p.). It has, whilst doing so, had to take account of various social, cultural and global issues and respond to them with sensitivity, cultural sensibility, economic foresight and wisdom (Salisbury, 2014, n.p). The adoption of such carefully thought out approaches have helped it to overcome strong resistance in various areas of the world and establish successful operations (Salisbury, 2014, n.p). 3.11. Legal Issues McDonald’s has over the years been challenged by various legal issues in different countries. Its success has led many businesses to copy its name and logo and the firm has responded by taking legal action in several trademark associated cases (Petersen, 2014, n.p). The organisation has also been involved in several litigations involving its employees and worker rights (ABC News, 2007, n.p). Some of these cases have gone against the organisation, leading to penalties and fines (ABC News, 2007, n.p). One customer was awarded several million dollars after suffering from third degree burns because of spilling a hot cup of McDonald’s coffee on herself (Petersen, 2014, n.p). The corporation very clearly has to pay great attention to the legal aspects of its operations (Petersen, 2014, n.p). 3.12. Shareholders Shareholders comprise one of the most important stakeholders of the firm. McDonald’s has rewarded its shareholders well over the years in terms of market appreciation and dividends (Jargon, 2014a, n.p). The firm plans to increase its payout to shareholders by 10 to 20% over the next three years, even when it is under pressure to enhance sales performance (Jargon, 2014a, n.p). 4. Strategic Analysis and Recommendations This section entails the conduct of a strategic analysis and the provisioning of appropriate recommendations. A TOWS analysis involves the analysis of organisational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and the subsequent utilisation of strengths and minimisation of weaknesses for the exploitation of opportunities and countering of threats. 4.1. SO Strategies SO strategies entail the utilisation of strengths for exploitation of opportunities (Henry, 2008, p 42). McDonald’s is a global brand with a strong global presence (Lesser et al., 442). It has economies of scale, a strong real estate portfolio, branded menu items and one of the world’s most recognised logos (Research and Markets, 2013, n.p.). It also paradoxically has high employee turnover, a customer base that mainly comprises children and young people and is yet to develop a reputation for healthy and nutritious food (Research and Markets, 2013, n.p.). The firm should thus very clearly use its resources for expanding its customer base and for enhancing the nutritious value of its products (Lesser et al., 442). It should focus on developing a range of food products that are targeted at elderly people who are likely to have health conditions associated with blood pressure, blood sugar and the heart (Lesser et al., 443). The development of products for this customer segment will help McDonald’s in opening up a completely new customer segment and in the development of truly healthy products (Lesser et al., 443). 4.2. WO Strategies McDonald’s has numerous opportunities for enhancing its organisational effectiveness, success and competitive advantage (Research and Markets, 2013, n.p.). The growing population of the world, along with changing lifestyles and improving economies provides the organisation with significant opportunities for greater growth (Jurevicius, 2013, n.p.). It can reduce the weaknesses in areas of nutrition to target customers across its different segments (Jurevicius, 2013, n.p.). McDonald’s does have some salads on its menu, which offer health eating options to customers. The organisation however continues to be perceived as a purveyor of high calorie products that can lead to obesity and other health problems (Lesser et al., 445). It can take several more steps, like the introduction of hummus and tahini paste, feta cheese, and olive oil in its product range (Research and Markets, 2013, n.p.). Such efforts will certainly help the organisation in attracting more customers and enhancing sales. 4.3. ST Strategies ST strategies involve the utilisation of strengths for the reduction of threats (Williamson et al., 2003, p 109). McDonald’s currently faces threats on account of the continuance of economic difficulties, foreign currency fluctuations, intensifying competition, nutrition associated issues of its products and perceptions about the unhealthy attributes of its food(Lesser et al., 445). The firm can use its organisational strengths to enhance its supply chain management and improve its operating margins (Jurevicius, 2013, n.p.). It can engage in significant and focused advertising and outreach campaigns to focus upon its commitment to various customer segments (Jurevicius, 2013, n.p.). 4.4. WT Strategies WT strategies involve the reduction of weaknesses for the avoidance of threats (Thompson, 2002, p 32). The firm can engage in specific advertising to reiterate its commitment to health, fitness and sports (Lesser et al., 445). The sponsorship of sports programmes across schools, college and universities can assist the firm in enhancing th

Baldwin In A Microcosm :: essays research papers

Baldwin in a microcosm "Not everything that is faced can be changed but nothing can be changed until it is faced." - James Baldwin Racism has been a part of American and world history for centuries, and has become a pattern in cultures. James Baldwin was an African-American author who, like many black men and women, struggled against the inherent hate/racism in America. Baldwin had the opportunity to travel to a microcosmic Swiss village atop a mountain. His story of the native's curiosity towards him and eventually fondness challenges the idea that racism is quickly overtaking the world. A microcosm, by definition is a representation of something on a smaller scale. In the Renaissance age, philosophers considered the world to be a macrocosm hosting millions of individual microcosms: people. The term microcosm signifies the creation of the human being as a complete world. In contrast, macrocosm refers to the idea of the whole universe outside humanity. This idea that an individual person is a world unto himself, surely influenced Baldwin in the writing of his essay pertaining to the small Swiss village that was "virtually unknown" (124). The village that Baldwin verbosely writes about is not specified although he tells us that the warm springs are a tourist draw and that the village is "only four hours from Milan and three hours from Lausanne" (124), but this gives the reader little information about the city. The imagery that forms while reading the passage comes directly from the population of the village. The men, women, and children, are all astounded by Baldwin's skin color and hair texture. Some of the inhabitants believed that Baldwin's hair "was the color of tar, that it had the texture of wire, or the texture of cotton" (125). The sheer astonishment of the village natives took Baldwin by surprise, as did the young children shouting "Neger Neger!" The people of the town, although geographically sheltered, are the same people that Baldwin knew as he grew up. He says that "America comes out of Europe, but these people have never seen America, nor have most of them seen more of Europe than the hamlet at the foot of their mountain" (127). Baldwin grew up in Harlem and suffered from racism in many ways. He recalls be called the very same derogatory word that the children in the Swiss village called him, but the difference was that the children in Harlem had an inbred racism and the Swiss children had never seen a black man before.

El Presidente Essay

El Presidente was a film which portrays the happenings from the past when colonization of other country started while Emilio Aguinaldo was the president.  After watching the film, though we watched it bit by bit because of limited time, I can say it was still worth it, because it at least showed to us the events in the past with the creativity of the people behind it. The film was good. I enjoyed watching it, though in some parts of it were kind of confusing to me maybe because I don’t have enough knowledge of history. There are parts when Andres Bonifacio had been a traitor and had been punished to death because of him being a traitor, this confused me. Way back years ago, when I was in elementary and high school years, I can still remember that A. Bonifacio was one of the people I salute in the Philippine History, for being the Father of Katipunan and founder of it. But when I saw that film, I’m confused with what to think of him because of what he acted when someone kind of insult him for not having a higher level of education. He loses his patience and that led to his betrayal to the katipunan. I think if I was in his position, I wouldn’t do what he did, I would prove them wrong about what they think an uneducated or someone who has lower level of learning unworthy to lead, with that he should have proved himself worthy in stead of being eaten by his anger. Also, there’s another thing of the film which I’m confused, its Emilio Aguinaldo. It seemed like E. Aguinaldo was a type of person who do not have any flaws in the film. Overall the film was worth watching. It gave me goose bumps in some part of it because of its intensity, and that hurt feeling seeing how our ancestors fight for our freedom that we’re having now because of their bravery even though they had risked their lives for it.

Importance & Impact of Ethical Communication Essay

Abstract Communication is constant, especially in the information age. Savvy professionals know how to communicate quickly, effectively and ethically. The term â€Å"ethical communication† has different meanings depending on the context. A shampoo advertiser and a sports team spokesperson may have dissimilar views on what constitutes as ethical communication. Some communication guidelines are only applicable to certain situations, while others could be understood as ethical in one situation and unethical in another. Every aspect of ethical communication should be considered within the boundaries of the issue at hand. Introduction The Business Dictionary defines ethical standards as follows: Principles that when followed, promote values such as trust, good behavior, fairness, and/or kindness. There is not one consistent set of standards that all companies follow, but each company has the right to develop the standards that are meaningful for their organization. Ethical standards are not always easily enforceable, as they are frequently vaguely defined and somewhat open to interpretation (â€Å"Men and women should be treated equally, † or â€Å"Treat the customer with respect and kindness. ). Others can be more specific, such as â€Å"Do not share the customer’s private information with anyone outside of the company. † Ethical Communication in Business Every business is dependent on effective ethical communication. It’s what makes new policy in government, raises money for nonprofits and strengthens a business. Business communication occurs any time a message is given or received, whether it’s verbal or nonverbal, between two businesses, a business and its employees or a business and the public. The messages sent and received by a business need to follow ethical norms that don’t offend or make individuals feel uncomfortable. Significance Ethical business communication holds great significance on three main fronts: business to business, business to employees and business to the public. An example of the first type is between a business and its suppliers or distributors. The second is organizational communication within the business itself, how the leadership communicates with the employees. Lastly, communication with the public is how the business develops its public image. Maintaining high ethical standards on each front is essential to success in business. Function Ethical business communication’s primary function is to send and receive messages in a neutral, non-offensive manner. Ethical effective communication skills in business strengthen its corporate culture, resulting in a more attractive bottom line. When communication does not adhere to ethical standards, the consequences can include unhappy employees, a poor public image and a decrease in the bottom line. Ethical business communication is intended to care for the emotional and perceptive needs of its employees and customers. Misconceptions A common misconception concerning ethical communication in business is that most unethical communication is obvious and overt. True unethical communication is based on perception. If a person or people group perceive or interpret certain actions or words to be discriminatory or offensive, the communication can be considered unethical. The same is true with interpersonal interactions between employees. If a particular form of communication or gesture is offensive to another employee, it can be categorized as unethical. Purpose The purpose of ethical communication in business is to protect, respect and maintain a good public image. The communication in any business is for the purpose of maintaining order and the proper image with its employees and society. For example, if an accusation was to arise against a particular company, the public relations representative will arrange a press conference to verbally address the issue at hand. The company may also change a policy pertaining to the issue that non-verbally communicates the same message. Consequences There are many consequences to unethical business communication. A business may have an outstanding product or service, but if it doesn’t communicate well with its customers, they will not be satisfied, and this can weaken the business/customer relationship. Everything in business rises and falls on communication. When ethical communication is lacking, moral, corporate image and motivation will lack as well. Each of these elements affects the spirit of the employees, which in turn will reflect to the customer and result in a decrease in revenue. Ethical behavior is a companywide concern, of course; but because communication efforts are the public face of a company, they are subjected to particularly rigorous scrutiny from regulators, legislators, investors, consumer groups, environmental groups, labor organizations, and anyone else affected by business activities. Ethical communication includes all relevant information, is true in every sense, and is not deceptive in any way. In contrast, unethical communication can include falsehoods and misleading information (or can withhold important information). Some examples of unethical communication include: Plagiarism: Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s words or other creative product as your own. Note that plagiarism can also be illegal if it violates a copyright, which is a form of legal protection for the expression of creative ideas. Selective misquoting: Deliberately omitting damaging or unflattering comments to paint a better (but untruthful) picture of you or your company. Misrepresenting numbers: Increasing or decreasing numbers, exaggerating, altering statistics, or omitting numerical data. Distorting visuals: Making a product look bigger or changing the scale of graphs and charts to exaggerate or conceal differences. In contrast, an ethical message is accurate and sincere. It avoids language and images that manipulate, discriminate, or exaggerate. On the surface, such ethical practices appear fairly easy to recognize, but deciding what is ethical can be a considerable challenge in complex business situations. Distinguishing Ethical Dilemmas from Ethical Lapses Every company has responsibilities to its stakeholders, and those various groups often have competing interests. An ethical dilemma involves choosing among alternatives that aren’t clear-cut. Perhaps two conflicting alternatives are both ethical and valid, or perhaps the alternatives lie somewhere in the gray area between clearly right and clearly wrong. Suppose you are the chief executive of a company whose sales are declining and you might be forced to reduce costs by laying off 100 employees. You’ve decided to wait two months before making this tough decision. Here’s your dilemma: Do you tell the workforce now that several hundred jobs could disappear in the near future? Telling them now would give people more time to look for new jobs and adjust their finances—clearly a good thing. However, if you tell them now, vital employees nervous about their future could jump ship, which could drive sales down even more—clearly not a good thing. And what if you tell them now and many people leave but then sales improve enough in the next two months that you can avoid the layoffs? You will have unnecessarily disrupted many careers and families. Situations such as these often have no clear answer. In contrast, an ethical lapse is a clearly unethical (and frequently illegal) choice. In 2004, several insurance companies were accused of misleading military personnel at Fort Benning in Georgia, Camp Pendleton in California, and other bases around the country. Many of these young men and women thought they were signing up for savings programs when in fact they were buying extremely expensive and frequently unnecessary life insurance policies. The policies were often sold during mandatory financial training sessions for the soldiers, who were given no time to read the documents they signed. After the situation was brought to national attention by the New York Times and other news media, at least two of the companies involved, Madison National Life Insurance Company and American Amicable Life Insurance, began issuing full refunds. Ensuring Ethical Communication Ensuring ethical business communication requires three elements: ethical individuals, ethical company leadership, and the appropriate policies and structures to support employees’ efforts to make ethical choices. 39 Moreover, these three elements need to work in harmony. If employees see company executives making unethical decisions and flouting company guidelines, they might conclude that the guidelines are meaningless and emulate their bosses’ unethical behavior. Employers have a responsibility to establish clear guidelines for ethical behavior, including business communication. In a recent global survey by the International Association of Business Communicators, 70 percent of communication professionals said their companies clearly define what is considered ethical and unethical behavior. On a somewhat less positive note, slightly fewer than half said their companies encourage open discussion of ethical issues and dilemmas. Many companies establish an explicit ethics policy by using a written code of ethics to help employees determine what is acceptable. A code is often part of a larger program of employee training and communication channels that allow employees to ask questions and report instances of questionable ethics. For example, United Technologies, a large aerospace and defense company based in Hartford, Connecticut, offers employees, customers, and suppliers a confidential way to report suspected fraud and other ethical concerns. The people who share their concerns through the program then receive a written response that explains how the situation was resolved. 1 To ensure ongoing compliance with their codes of ethics, many companies also conduct ethics audits to monitor ethical progress and to point out any weaknesses that need to be addressed. Principles of Ethical Communication The Business Dictionary defines ethical standards as â€Å"Principles that when followed, promote values such as trust, good behavior, fairness, and/or kindness. † In order to establish good communication with people of other cultures, it is essential to understand their ethical framework. In rder to learn ethical intercultural communication, you must expect people of other cultures to think differently, be willing to learn culturally appropriate behavior and (at least to some extent) practice what their cultures consider ethical. Expect Differences Ethical principles are not the same across cultures. Rather, ethics are culturally informed. â€Å"The right thing to do† is not just instinctive in humans. Many aspects of what is â€Å"good† are taught (consciously and subconsciously) by a person’s culture. So, if you want to establish ethical intercultural communication with people of another background, prepare yourself to see the world differently. Do not expect that what seems good to you will also seem good to them; understand that they may view some things as bad that you view as fine or good. For example, while American culture teaches that individuality is a good thing and that â€Å"standing on your own two feet† is a position you should strive for, many other cultures value the group more than the individual. For example, in most African cultures, being part of a strong family support system is considered much more important and valuable than standing alone as an individual. Exemplify the Universal Although different cultures will have varying expectations and standards as to what is ethical, there are some ethical standards that are universal. So, by striving to abide by ethical standards that are universally received, you can take the first step in communicating and connecting well with people of another culture. According to William Howell in his Ethics of Intercultural Communication, â€Å"Two principles that are universal are that no action is ethical if it harms persons, and the action that benefits persons accumulates ethical quality. † Act in such a way that you do not intentionally bring harm to anyone, and always keep others’ best interests in mind. Learn their Culture To really communicate well interculturally, you must ask the question: â€Å"What makes a ‘good’ person in your culture? † Talk with people in the target culture to discover the traits of an ethical person. What attitudes and actions does a good person possess? Does a good person set aside his personal work to take care of his parents when they are elderly? Does a good person control his anger at all times? Does a good person practice abstinence in certain areas? You will find, as you look into someone else’s culture, that the things that make a â€Å"good† person in your culture are not the same things that comprise a â€Å"good† person in every culture. Empathize Through Action As you learn the ways of another culture, the best way to establish good intercultural communication is to act in a way that is considered ethical in that culture. Do and say the things that will express that you have the best interest of those around you in mind. Enjoy the food people prepare for you. If there are certain respectful gestures associated with greeting people older or more prestigious than yourself (or everyone), use them. Learn at least enough of the language to greet people and ask how they are doing in their native tongue. Wear clothing that is culturally appropriate. Respect family organization and methods of doing education and business. On every level of life and society, share in the way people think and act as much as you are able to. This willingness to adopt the standards of another culture is the best way to establish ethical and intercultural communication. Goals of Ethical Business Communications The purpose of business is to make money. Behaving ethically serves that purpose. People prefer doing business with ethical companies, companies they can trust, so in the long run the ethical company benefits from its behavior. This means that the goal of ethical business communication is to build the trust and credibility of the company. The International Association of Business Communicators maintains that companies that the practice of ethical business communication also increases a team feeling among employees and boosts employee morale. To accomplish these goals, corporate communication must strive to attain certain specific ethical goals. Honesty It is to a company’s benefit to be honest. Honesty is the basis of trust. If others feel that they can believe what a company says, they will trust it. Other factors being equal, people prefer doing business with a company they can trust. Honesty means saying what you believe to be true, but it also means distinguishing fact from opinion. It is easy to disguise opinion as fact. Some television news commentators do it every day, and their credibility suffers for it. They may be considered entertaining, but what they say is taken with a grain of salt. Consultant Michelle Howe advises any company that wants to be trusted to clearly label opinion as such, and to present what it has to say in an unbiased manner. Clarity Distinguishing fact from opinion is part of a larger goal of being clear and easy to understand. Ethical business communication calls for being clearly understood. It means that the company is not seen as attempting to obfuscate or confuse the public and other companies with whom it does business. Timeliness of communication can also help. Within the company, acknowledging problems and keeping relevant people informed with clear and direct communications helps dampen the â€Å"rumor mill† and maintains better employee morale. Commitment In the context of business communications, commitment means allocating the necessary time and resources to discussing issues fully. Communication needs to be thorough, for only when time and resources, such as feedback forms, are dedicated to discussing issues is there a chance for everyone in the organization to have their voice heard. Acknowledging Sources Few things create as much tension as when someone presents another person’s ideas as his own. Employees want credit for their work, so failure to acknowledge them is not only unethical but also bad for morale. Some people believe that concerns about plagiarism are only important in academic ettings, but anytime someone is caught â€Å"borrowing† someone else’s ideas without proper acknowledgment, trustworthiness takes a nosedive. Most people realize it’s important to use quotations when citing direct statements from others, but it’s also good practice and sound business to acknowledge ideas that are not your own. Openness to Other Views Openness is one of the key pillars of ethical communication. In communication, openness m eans being open to diverse ideas and opinions, as well as being ready to offer your own opinions even if you do not think they will be popular. A business environment where people are not free to play the devil’s advocate and say unpopular opinions is not an ethical one, because intolerance of divergent opinions means intolerance of differences and free flow of information is essential to both the public’s and the organization’s long-term well-being. Taking Care with Confidential Information Confidential information is a special class of information that requires special attention. The North Carolina State University business department emphasizes the importance of the ethical business practice of protecting confidential information while complying with public disclosure laws. Any use of confidential information for personal gain is also clearly unethical. IABC Code of Ethics for Professional Communicators Preface Because hundreds of thousands of business communicators worldwide engage in activities that affect the lives of millions of people, and because this power carries with it significant social responsibilities, the International Association of Business Communicators developed the Code of Ethics for Professional Communicators. The Code is based on three different yet interrelated principles of professional communication that apply throughout the world. These principles assume that just societies are governed by a profound respect for human rights and the rule of law; that ethics, the criteria for determining what is right and wrong, can be agreed upon by members of an organization; and, that understanding matters of taste requires sensitivity to cultural norms. These principles are essential: †¢Professional communication is legal. †¢Professional communication is ethical. †¢Professional communication is in good taste. Recognizing these principles, members of IABC will: Engage in communication that is not only legal but also ethical and sensitive to cultural values and beliefs; †¢Engage in truthful, accurate and fair communication that facilitates respect and mutual understanding; †¢adhere to the following articles of the IABC Code of Ethics for Professional Communicators. Because conditions in the world are constantly changing, members of IABC will work to improve their individual competence and to increase the body of knowledge in the field with research and education. Articles 1. Professional communicators uphold the credibility and dignity of their profession by practicing honest, candid and timely communication and by fostering the free flow of essential information in accord with the public interest. 2. Professional communicators disseminate accurate information and promptly correct any erroneous communication for which they may be responsible. 3. Professional communicators understand and support the principles of free speech, freedom of assembly, and access to an open marketplace of ideas and act accordingly. 4. Professional communicators are sensitive to cultural values and beliefs and engage in fair and balanced communication activities that foster and encourage mutual understanding. 5. Professional communicators refrain from taking part in any undertaking which the communicator considers to be unethical. 6. Professional communicators obey laws and public policies governing their professional activities and are sensitive to the spirit of all laws and regulations and, should any law or public policy be violated, for whatever reason, act promptly to correct the situation. 7. Professional communicators give credit for unique expressions borrowed from others and identify the sources and purposes of all information disseminated to the public. 8. Professional communicators protect confidential information and, at the same time, comply with all legal requirements for the disclosure of information affecting the welfare of others. 9. Professional communicators do not use confidential information gained as a result of professional activities for personal benefit and do not represent conflicting or competing interests without written consent of those involved. 0. Professional communicators do not accept undisclosed gifts or payments for professional services from anyone other than a client or employer. 11. Professional communicators do not guarantee results that are beyond the power of the practitioner to deliver. 12. Professional communicators are honest not only with others but also, and most importantly, with themselves as individuals; for a professional commu nicator seeks the truth and speaks that truth first to the self. Enforcement and Communication of the IABC Code of Ethics IABC fosters compliance with its Code by engaging in global communication campaigns rather than through negative sanctions. However, in keeping with the sixth article of the IABC Code, members of IABC who are found guilty by an appropriate governmental agency or judicial body of violating laws and public policies governing their professional activities may have their membership terminated by the IABC executive board following procedures set forth in the association’s bylaws. IABC encourages the widest possible communication about its Code. The IABC Code of Ethics for Professional Communicators is published in several languages and is freely available to all: Permission is hereby granted to any individual or organization wishing to copy and incorporate all or part of the IABC Code into personal and corporate codes, with the understanding that appropriate credit be given to IABC in any publication of such codes. The IABC Code is published on the association’s web site. The association’s bimonthly magazine, Communication World, publishes periodic articles dealing with ethical issues. At least one session at the association’s annual conference is devoted to ethics. The international headquarters of IABC, through its professional development activities, encourages and supports efforts by IABC student chapters, professional chapters, and regions to conduct meetings and workshops devoted to the topic of ethics and the IABC Code. New and renewing members of IABC sign the following statement as part of their application: â€Å"I have reviewed and understand the IABC Code of Ethics for Professional Communicators. As a service to communicators worldwide, inquiries about ethics and questions or comments about the IABC Code may be addressed to members of the IABC Ethics Committee. The IABC Ethics Committee is composed of at least three accredited members of IABC who serve staggered three-year terms. Other IABC members may serve on the committee with the approval of the IABC executive committee. The functions of the Ethics Committee are to assist with professional d evelopment activities dealing with ethics and to offer advice and assistance to individual communicators regarding specific ethical situations.

Leadership Paper on The One Minute Manager

Leadership Paper on The One Minute Manager The book ‚The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.D. and Spencer Johnson, M.D. demonstrates three practical management concepts of being a One Minute Manager ‚someone who gets good results without taking much time (p.22) by story telling. The book begins with a young man who is seeking and wanting to learn an efficient and productive way of managing people. Interviewing with the One Minute Manager and the people work in the same organization, the young man reveals that the One Minute Manager has developed three processes for building a better manager and for increasing the productivity in the workplace. After he uncovers the three precepts, he finally becomes a One Minute Manager himself. The three concepts described in the book are One Minute Goal Setting, One Minute Praisings, and One Minute Reprimands.Refers to the book, One Minute Goal Setting is to make sure people know precisely what they are to do and what the manager expects.FeedbackOn the page 34, the steps o f One Minute Goal Setting are to agree on your goals and see what good behavior looks like. Then, to write out each of your goals on a single sheet of paper use less than 250 words. Next, read and re-read each goal, which requires only a minute or so each time you do it. Then, take a minute every once in a while out of your day to look at your performance, and finally, see whether or not your behavior matches your goal. The reason that the goals must to be write on one sheet of paper and less than 250 words because it is easy to be reviewed frequently, and goal seeks can easily keep their goals in mind. When the young man interviews Mr. Trenell in the company, he tells the...

Development of an E-commerce web site Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Development of an E-commerce web site - Essay Example Despite the fact that I did enjoy working with the provided software MS Visual Studio in the workshop session, I have chosen Adobe Dreamweaver as my web development application. I have decided to work with Adobe Dreamweaver mainly because I feel more familiar with the software application, using and creating forms, tables, and buttons together with all other Adobe software, for example, Photoshop, Flash or Fireworks. The scripting language that I have chosen for this task was PHP. The reason why I have chosen PHP instead of ASP.NET C# was that I am more familiar using PHP coding using the Dreamweaver development application. I also wanted to use MYSQL for the products database, even though the learning curve for PHP and ASP.NET C# are about the same based on what you want to achieve. Another reason why I have chosen PHP was that the chosen hosting provider offers a great tool called PHPMYADMIN where MYSQL databases can be created, imported and exported. After testing on your local ma chine, for example with the APACHE XAMPP software, I also chose my testing server application. Regarding the design, I have used the CSS technology to create a simple but immersive shopping friendly look for the web site. This can be shown below in figure 1and 2.Solving the matter of design has brought me to the coding and scripting process.At the beginning of the development process, my coding was aimed for testing the web page on my local machine. Therefore, the PHP scripting was written in a path for accessing the database from my local root folder., as can be seen below. [Figure 3] This code serves to enter the data from MYSQL database called products, created for the web store site containing six items each with five fields: id, name, description, price and an image field. SQL is a standard interactive and programming language for querying and modifying data and managing databases. It is both ANSI and ISO standard. Coding for this specifying database is show below: [Figure 4] A very important part of the development process is testing and evaluation. After linking the database with the web site by coding in my web development application software, it was necessary to test the connectivity and accessibility before uploading it on to the web server. As mentioned earlier, I have chosen the software called APPACHE XAMPP for testing the site on my local machine. The reasons why I have chosen XAMPP as my testing software are that I find it easier to work with, it’s free, it’s provided with quick and simple installation and it includes the PHPMYADMIN tool. This tool allows you to create, import, export save and backup your already existing MYSQL databases. This will save you lots of time when uploading the site on to the server where most of

English is seen by some as 'the global language'. Discuss with Essay - 1

English is seen by some as 'the global language'. Discuss with reference to some of the domains in which English is gaining most - Essay Example It is interesting to discuss why English, and why not any other language. According to Crystal David (2003 ) a language achieves a global status only when it develops a ‘special role’ and fulfils certain functions. The ‘power function’ of language expects that it should enable us to gain goods and services in order to live well and lead a good life. The ‘community function’ of language helps us to represent a personal and social identity. The former is a centrifugal force and the latter is a centripetal force. Let us examine how far the English language is successful in playing the ‘special role’ which implies numerous facets, so that it can rightly be called an international language. One hypothesis can be that a language that is the Mother Tongue of people in maximum number of countries can be an international language. But geographically speaking, English is a mother tongue in a handful of nations like USA, Canada, Britain, Irela nd, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa several Caribbean countries and a few others. Yet, we observe that its influence has reached all parts of the world. Hence, being a mother tongue of many nations cannot be a criterion for being qualified as an international language. ... The language adhered to the religion and was retained. English was the language of administration during the British rule and even after Independence, English continued to be used as an official language in more than 70 countries like Ghana, Nigeria, India and Singapore, to mention a few. In the 19th century, England was politically a powerful nation. In the 20th century, its power began to wane and USA became economically dominant. The mother tongue in USA is also English. Political power establishes a language, as it happened in the 19th century. But it is economic power that helps to maintain and expand it. This happened in the 20th century when America became an economic power. It is indeed true that ‘English was at the right place at the right time’. ( Crystal David, 2003 ) The Industrial Revolution and the Electronic Revolution were two important historical events that changed the face of the world. These revolutions were led by British and American scientists. The y brought vast changes in the lifestyle of people all over the world and were two major steps towards globalization. Following these events, English language captured areas like media, advertising, popular music, broadcasting, cinema, computers and internet. In order to stay ‘with the world’, people realized that they had to know the English language. It promoted international relations. English is taught as a foreign language in more than 100 countries today, the chief among them being China, Germany, Spain, Egypt, Brazil, India and an ever increasing number of countries for that matter. A lot of time and money is spent by many countries in teaching English as a foreign language. It is realized by one and all