Analysis of Kony 2012 Campaign

Campaign: Kony 2012 http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc Short versions: http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=j36n8Kn_lUY http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=VWd0veKp1R0&hd=1 (this may be a stronger version) 1. Why we are choosing this one: This was a very successful campaign. Most of our group had heard about the Kony campaign and have shared with more than one friend; thus it was a successful viral marketing campaign. The statistics show that 112 million people viewed this video in one week. 2. The Message Targeted towards people who are obliged humanitarian causes.Help create awareness of the campaign, which is to imprison Kony by December 2012 with the help of aid from foreign and Ugandan governments. To do this, they were selling products and promoting a â€Å"Cover the Night† day in which individuals who wear/post/display their products. The video tells you to make these purchases in order to help fight Kony, there are links to the website from the video and so the p urpose of the campaign was very clear and relevant. The Messenger is Jason Russell who is the co-founder of Invisible Children.The film’s purpose is to promote the charity’s â€Å"Stop Kony† movement to make Ugandan cult and militia leader Joseph Kony known to the international world in order to have him arrested by December 2012. Joseph Kony is already an indicted war criminal in the International Criminal Court. Environment – right time and right place. People are interested in this type of cause and it is popular to be a humanitarian right now. It was spread through YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. People feel good sharing this type of information; it makes the Sender feel as though they are helping a good ause and so they feel good. The result It was a triumph in that it has been viewed by more than 92 million people on YouTube and 20 million more on Vimeo, so well over 112 million people by the end of the first week. This is the same amount of people w ho watched the Super Bowl. (Visible Measures) After ten days, 52% of adults in the US had heard of the video. (PEW research center) More people viewed the video in such a short amount of time than any other video on the internet (to date). Kony 2012 facts and figures: http://static. guim. co. k/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/4/20/1334929057518/Kony-2012-in-facts-and-fi-009. jpg Invisible Children won’t yet say how much money it made from Kony 2012, but by conservative estimates, it has likely tripled its $13. 7 million 2011 revenue and it’s possible that the actual number is much, much higher. (http://www. businessweek. com/articles/2012-08-30/kony-2012-guerrilla-marketing) [Add details regarding how it was spread] Celebrities have helped spread the message (Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, Oprah Winfrey) Why did it work?The film discusses the desire to share, to be part of something, to inform others. Within the first two minutes, has drawn people in and makes them curious as to what is next. It was a very good quality video; both in resolution and the way it was directed. The director of the film, Jason Russell, is very personable. He is using people emotions to make them feel part of the problem. He even involves his own child in the film to make everyone feel that they are connected to this problem. People really want to feel like they are helping a good cause. It was also really the right moment.The film uses everything that is popular right now to keep people’s attention – instagram photos, facebook timeline. People, especially young people and hipsters, really want to help. The products were not very expensive but enabled the viewer to feel as though they were part of the video and â€Å"creating history. † The video emphasizes being part of, and making, history. Purchasing the products allowed for those who wanted to participate in Cover the Night to be part of the â€Å"in† group. Additionally, f amous and important people became involved and vouched for it.Many politicians and even celebrities became involved. What could have been improved? After the video there were allegations that the project was a scam. The Ugandan people were claiming that Kony was not even in Uganda and so contributing to this campaign will not help us. Also there was a rumor that the US wanted to have a reason to come into Uganda for oil. So they could have been their intentions more clear and probably clarified that even if Kony is currently not residing in Uganda, he still must be found and arrested.

Poverty, the Never-ending Disease Essay

Poverty is a lack of goods and services needed to maintain a minimal adequate standard of living. The definition of the term adequate varies, however, with the general standard of living in a society and with public attitudes toward deprivation. No university accepted the definition of basic needs exists because poverty is a relative concept. In poorer countries it means living at the brink of subsistence, while in our country few improvised families confront starvation, although many suffer from undernourishment. Not everyone is born into a life of the rich and glamorous. Those who are fortunate enough know that they are very lucky to be in their position. Others however are totally in different situations. They need to fend for themselves and having meal is something which comes only once a day. Malnutrition is the obvious result of not consuming the right amount of food. This will lead to outbreaks of diseases but in poverty stricken countries there are no hospitals to cure this. Lacking infrastructure means lacking educational rights. People who are living in poverty cannot afford to send their children to school so this will mean an unclear future for their children hence the undernourishment. Furthermore, living in crowded areas, this has a tendency to increase the chances of disease as people are drinking from unsafe sources of water. People around the world are not aware of how immense this issue is and sometimes hesitant to believe the scale that it has risen to. Without understanding the people living at a disadvantage from the rest, there is no cure for the problem. Poverty is not only the problem of the poor, but the rich as well. If the wealthy becomes too concentrated and there are too many people at the low end who can’t contribute to the cost of society (taxes to maintain infrastructure for instance) then more of that burden must fall to the wealthy. The wealthy that derive their wealth by selling goods and services to a mass market will be affected if the market dries up because too many individuals are too poor to be able to buy the goods/services. With hints of the invisible hand playing a role in this, it’s possible that the economy might not adjust to the buyers and sellers. People suffering from poverty may become enraged at the disparity between themselves and the wealthy and may express that rage through a violent revolution and redistribution of wealth. Some wealthy individuals may feel concern about such a disparity and choose to give some of their wealth to better the condition of the poor or to help the poor find a way to prosperity. Poverty in the United States has long been a social, political, and human rights issue. Few people would say that it is not our moral duty, as social human beings to take care of those less fortunate than ourselves, to the best of our ability. These types of people have what is called a â€Å"libertarian†. There is really no specific definition of â€Å"libertarian†, but it is associates justice with liberty. In relation to the matter at hand, specifically poverty in America, libertarians are against taxing the affluent or forcing people to aid the starving and poor. One of the most influential libertarians of our time is Professor Robert Nozik. His theory of justice begins with the principle that all people have rights, which require that we refrain from interfering with others. Other than this we have no obligation to do anything positive for anyone else, and likewise, they have no obligation towards us. These rights are natural or inalienable because all humans have them and they do not come from any social or political institutions. These rights forbid us from interfering with a person’s liberty even if it would promote some general good, or prevent another’s rights from being violated. Overall, the general idea is that people have the liberty to live a life free from intervention of others, and can lead their life however they so choose. In addition, he says that if a person acquired their fortune or possessions without harming, defrauding, or violating the rights of any others, then it is morally permissible to use those things however one wishes. This includes wasting, willing, or endowing the possessions to someone else. Even though many people are dying from starvation and malnutrition, Nozik’s theory of justice states that one has no obligation to help those people. His theory is summarized as follows: 1. A person who acquires a holding in accordance with the principle of justice in acquisition is entitled to that holding. 2. A person who acquires a holding in accordance with the principle of justice in transfer, from someone else entitled to the holding, is entitled to the holding. 3. No one is entitled to a holding except by (repeated) applications of 1 and 2. Relating to poverty, libertarians feel that no matter how the actual distribution of economic holdings may look, if all involved are entitled to the holdings they possess, then the distribution is just. Although Nozik’s theory concentrates on the just of distribution, Rawl’s theory of the difference principle can be thought of as the similar concept. The main moral motivation for the Difference Principle is similar to that for strict equality. The overwhelming economic opinion though is that in the foreseeable future the possibility of earning greater income will bring forth greater productive effort. This will increase the total wealth of the economy and, under the Difference Principle, the wealth of the least advantaged (the poor). The inequalities consistent with the Difference Principle are only permitted so long as they do not compromise the fair value of the political liberties. So, for instance, very large wealth differentials may make it virtually impossible for poor people to be elected to political office or to have their political views represented. These inequalities of wealth, even if they increase the material position of the least advantaged group, may need to be reduced in order for the first principle to be implemented. The difference principle may be the solution to poverty in the near future, but sadly the idea of strict equality between individuals will be a difficult concept for people to grasp. Capitalism is a system designed to produce for private profit, not for public need. We have gotten as far as we have due to decision-making of corporate boardrooms and placing them under the democratic control of the majority that the economy can provide for our needs. To do that, we need to bring into public ownership the largest 500 corporations and financial institutions. If the assets of these giant companies were under our democratic control, then investment and resources could be democratically controlled by working-class people. Resources would be available to address our most pressing social problems and allocated to areas of most need. To achieve this means breaking from giving any support to the two big-business political parties – the Republicans and Democrats. They are both fully implicated in creating the present mess we are in. We need to build a new political party to represent our interests as workers, the poor and young people, and which points a finger at the real villains, the super-rich and the capitalist system.

What caused a hurricane, tornado, or other natural disaster Essay

What caused a hurricane, tornado, or other natural disaster - Essay Example Two of the most dreadful natural disasters on earth is Hurricane and Tornado. Both are abnormal weather occurrences that humans have little or no control of. Hurricanes are experienced when warm, saturated air from the surface of the ocean is heated and rises due to its reduced weight. The warm air is then condensed by cold air above and form rain, but as warmer air rises, more condensation takes place. This creates a very powerful and rigid wind pattern. The strong wind forces water to the earth’s surface at a high speed from a single point to another (Langley 33). A tornado is a spinning air, which is destructive and is usually in contact with earth surface and a cumulonimbus cloud developing from heavy rain and high speeding winds of different pressures. Hurricanes and tornadoes can be said to the most destructive, powerful, and awful natural disasters to mankind. For example, hurricane Katrina killed about 1,800 people and destroyed property of over $100 billion in the sta tes of Mississippi and Louisiana (Langley 35). Earthquakes are among the natural disasters experienced by man. An earthquake occurs when the tectonic plates of the earths crust move away from or towards each other. This movement of the plate causes them to collide, resulting in pressure, which in turn releases energy. When the pressure is high, it is impacted on the adjacent plates which end up shaking the earth (Langley 7-12). According to Langley (16-17), there are other natural causes of earthquakes, such as volcanic activities and landslides. Human activities such as mining, which involves crashing hard rocks, using powerful nuclear bombs can also trigger earthquakes. Flooding is another disaster that is controlled by forces of nature. Floods occur when a river or a lake bursts its banks causing water to spread in dry surfaces that are not normally occupied by water. Heavy, prolonged rains and the fast melting of ice are the main causes of floods. Lack of vegetation cover speed up

Unit 1 Seminar Case managemnet Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Unit 1 Seminar Case managemnet - Research Paper Example dividuals, actively manage any programs that ensure a successful service provision as well as making decisions that facilitate a smooth service provision (Metzger 30). Dual relationships mean relationships that crop up between a client and a worker in the course of their interaction. A dual relationship might occur consecutively or simultaneously during the interaction between the client and the service provider. There are various types of dual relationships. They include, social dual relationships whereby the client is also a friend, a professional dual relationship whereby the client and the service provider are professional acquaintances in other arenas and a communal dual relationship involves the client and worker living in the same area/community. Other dual relationships include sexual dual relationships whereby the two are involves in a sexual relationship and a business dual relationship whereby the client and worker are business partners as well. Client rights refer to the entitlement of a client to receive certain treatment or services. Some of clients’ rights include privacy and confidentiality, accurate and timely access to information, receipt of excellent services (Woodside, 271). Clients are also entitled to have the cultural needs respected as they get respect as well as dignity in service provision. For instance a client going to see a professional counselor over divorce or custody matters has the right to have information disclosed to the counselor private and confidentially no matter

Issues in sports 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Issues in sports 2 - Essay Example 2. The issue of performance-enhancing drugs has been created in medicine and sport to ensure fair-play. It is considered vital that athletes should compete on a level playing field, on equal grounds, with the same advantages and liabilities provided to players from opposing teams. To articulate and enforce the concept of fair-play, there are anti-doping policies which prevent the use of performance-enhancing drugs. The use of these drugs goes against the rules of sports and is viewed as cheating (Kayser et al 2). 3. Management of the issue of performance-enhancing drugs is through the â€Å"physician involved in the athlete’s health supervision† (Kayser et al 9). The established ethics of the medical profession dictates that the physician’s role should be one of preserving the athlete’s autonomy. This is required to be done by maintaining a balance between ensuring the treatment leads to the highest degree of present and future health, while concurrently permitting the athlete to maintain a preferred life style. Principles of good practice for the role of sports physicians is an ethically rigorous need that has to be fulfilled. For this, employing independent physicians with status comparable to other sports officials, is possibly the best strategy for developing good practice. 4. The ways in which the above management action will affect the sport and society at large is an important aspect of the issue of performance-enhancing drugs. In contemporary times sports are increasingly significant for economic and political reasons. Elite sport is a self-sustaining enterprise, with extensive financial returns from â€Å"advertisement, media and audience revenues† (Kayser et al 9). Doping control cannot be considered as an internal matter of the sports community, since considerable public funds as well as governmental resources are provided for sports, for the purpose of health promotion and other sound reasons.

Learning experiences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Learning experiences - Essay Example Bexley Public School, consisting of 320 and located in Sydney’s southern suburbs, is a middle-sized school perfect for this unit. This school has students from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The school takes pride in its diversity; 87.9% of students are from language backgrounds other than English (there are 34 different spoken languages in the school). The school provides a range of programs for children, such as joining the National Partnership for the students’ literacy to be enhanced. The school celebrate holidays such as Harmony Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, and Christmas. This unit is suitable for stage 1, year 2, as it teaches them about the different celebrations in their community. More specifically, it teaches them to accept and value the way other people celebrate the same celebrations but in different ways. For instance, there are different ways to celebrate a birthday. As there is a wide range of cultures, it is important for the students to understand the different types of celebrations and how they are celebrated so they can learn how to accept and tolerate people of other cultures. The students will be engaged in researching and participating in different celebrations, as well as talking to guest speakers to understand the unit of celebrations and differences between them. Also, the students must bring their own party decorations to see how each student celebrates. Students will need typing skills; hence, knowledge of Microsoft Word will be necessary. Students will be aware of the activities they will be doing in class. Each of the learning experiences involves hands-on activities that implements cooperative learning. Also, each learning experience commences with a discussion to check the children’s knowledge and whether they learnt anything from previous lessons. Hence, this will allow a discussion to be formed in which the students can make their own contributions to the topic. Hence, through this unit there will be a wide

Analysis paper 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis paper 2 - Essay Example The key focus areas are in the textile and clothing industries, in the entertainment field, in factory farms, and in scientific laboratories. Among the causes that it is active in include abuse of domesticated animals, cruelty in the annihilation of animals that are deemed as pests but serve a useful role in various ecologies, and other related animal issues. Its means of advocacy include campaigns of protest, legislative lobbying, investigations of cruel acts against animals, education of the general public, the rescue operations involving animals in distress, the invitation of celebrities to take part in campaigns, the holding of events that are of special significance to the movement, and research initiatives (PETA). The literature defines various language-based tactics and strategies in common use by social movements around the world, and the objective of this paper is to identify PETA’s tactics and strategies and classify them according to the categories presented in the text, by way of undertaking an analysis of the use of those tactics and strategies as they relate to PETA’s campaigns and advocacies. To wit, the different strategies and techniques of persuasion presented in the text are acts that are symbolic and not verbal; the use of new technological platforms such as the Internet and social media; obscenity; labeling; ridicule; the use of music; the use of slogans; identification; polarization; and the employ of the power language or rhetoric. Through PETA’s long history, it is reasonable to assume that the movement must have employed all of the tactics and strategies listed above in some form or other in its campaigns and programs. The goal is to be able to look at the more current literature to identify exactly what tactics and strategies are relevant to PETA’s campaigns (Stewart, Smith and Denton 167-168; PETA; Tolhurst; Saul; Burns). In a most recent protest, PETA was reported to have laid

Critical Thinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Critical Thinking - Essay Example Patients have access to medical advice and similar cases online and can be extremely curious and choosy about medicines prescribed. Hence, medical practitioners must be prepared for queries from patients or their relatives about a particular line of treatment and the medicines prescribed. There are cures for some of the above diseases. Others such as stroke and Alzheimer disease, by and large, do not have an effective cure as of now. In these circumstances, it is advisable to opt for therapeutic treatments such as basic and simple exercises and physiotherapy as these enable patients to live with due adjustments for longer time periods. The above diseases interfere with the physical and mental capacities of the patients. The interference depends on the severity of the attack. It is important to get the correct diagnosis of the disease. Once the correct diagnosis is concluded, the regimen of medicines must be made available to the patient if he or she has to make informed decisions on whether or not to opt for the medicines. The patient has to make informed decisions because certain medicines have debilitating side effects (Deverell, Lil; 2002). Along with periodical nursing care, family members are the best caregivers for patients with the above diseases. The degree of self-support the patient is able to exercise depends on his recovery process and the metal frame. There may be bouts of frustrating moments for the patient and the caregivers. However, the healing process has surprising elements when the patient begins to adjust to the new lifestyle with the ailment (McConnell, Virginia; 2009). Patients must be able to live and move with dignity in spite of the debilitating effects of the disease. Nurses' interactions with the patient must be professional and spontaneous so that the best interests of the patient are served and family members who are involved as long-term caregivers receive useful lessons about caring for the patient. "Patients who are confused hav e changes in their actions and behaviors. A common memory problem is the inability to remember recent events. A confused patient may not remember that he just had breakfast. Personality changes including mood swings, suspiciousness, and delusions may be seen. Disorientation is another common symptom. The confused patient may have difficulty remembering the day of the week, season, or even the time of day" (Caring for the Client who is Confused or Mentally ILL). Along with medical help, the attitude and values of a nurse go a long way in restoring health and confidence of the patient. The confident and reassuring ways of a concerned nurse boost the patient's morale. Time and again, there are awesome accounts of patients receiving the healing touch because of the nature of care received from a particular doctor, nurse or nurses (McConnell, Virginia; 2009). Ethics Professional standards and core competencies in the nursing profession define the essence of a nurse.

Modern society is too dependent on technology Essay

Modern society is too dependent on technology - Essay Example Mass media which involve a great deal of technology has become part of what the modern society feeds on daily. Certainly our day today living is greatly impacted by technology. One key question that this paper seeks to respond to pertains to how dependable is technology to modern society. It is widely accepted that technology has been employed in various field for purposes of achieving efficiency. One such technology is the internet technology. It is indisputable that mass media (computer technologies, internet and phones) are the day today technologies that individuals interact with. Certainly, media technology is central to all other technologies and acts as a link. This thus implies that when addressing the subject of influence of technology on the society one cannot sideline the three mentioned above. However, this does not disregard other technologies such as marine technology, airlines technology, and military technology alongside other technological field. On a larger scale, internet serves various functions including but not limited to businesses transactions, advertisements, social networking and education, among other activities. Computer technologies started gaining popularity in 1970s. Increasing popularity of mass media and related technologies (Faithi & Marun, 2010) has made these developments correlated with a changes in the behaviors and habits of the generation today. The most affected generation has been the youths whose delinquency has been increasing across the globe, because the popularity of mass media. Education performance has also been made better or worsened (Kilburn, 2009) following the increased online education and social media. Mass media has been accompanied by various forms of entertainment that affect the young generation and for one to claim he or she is dancing to the tune of modernity, he or she must be seen to impress this technology. Soup Operas,

Urban Planning and 19th Century Essay Example for Free

Urban Planning and 19th Century Essay For many within the modern movement, the marriage between town and country represented the means of achieving an ideal form of settlement. Discuss the 19th century origins of this concept and how it was interpreted in different ways by modernist architects and urbanists in the 20th century. If architecture could change a person’s wellbeing; an architectural movement could create an ideal society. The modernists were not original in seeking an urban utopia. Architects of the 1800s had designed their ideal settlements to improve workers lives through the built environment. Modernism implies historical discontinuity, a rejecting of history and tradition, yet these 19th century projects, unknowingly, influenced the urban proposals of the ‘International style’. Through this century of proposals from 1830-1940s, lies a recurring theme of ‘utopia’; a rational, clean city with massive green areas, where both the convenience of the town and beauty of the countryside unite. The beginning of the convergence between ‘town’ and ‘countryside’ is due to the socialist thinkers of the 19th century, with their belief that one’s environment affects one’s character. The concept of architecture changing a person was explored dramatically by the socialist and radical thinker, Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832). The totalitarian design of his ‘Panoptikon’ was to â€Å"grind rogues honest†. It was built as a cylindrical prison and could be applied to schools and hospitals. The principle behind this machine-like institute was that the incarcerated would believe they are under constant surveillance, thus minimising chances of misbehaviour. This perceived scrutiny would allow the inhabitants to become better citizens. Due to rapid industrialisation in the 19th century, larger city populations exploded, and squalor was rampant. Many of the old cities had seen their populations double. Around 1800 about one fifth of Britain’s population lived in the countryside, but by 1851 half the population of the country was housed in London. This lead to uncontrolled housing developments, where the private sector responded to the population boom by building poor quality, high density housing for workers. The thinkers of the 19th century, like the modernists of the 1930s believed a planned urban form could solve these social problems. In its earliest form, the marriage between town and country is subtle; placing of private gardens or greenbelts, yet this soon grows into an entire ‘Garden City’ movement. Like Bentham, industrialist Robert Owen (1771-1858) believed that a person’s morale was affected by their surroundings. However, he believed less in the social engineering of Bentham and more on socialism, striving for better conditions for the working class. His mill at New Lanark, Scotland, was to become â€Å"the most important experiment for the happiness of the human race that has yet been instituted in any part of the world.† Owen’s humane regime was a stark contrast to the slums present in cities. At his mill, he built communal buildings and gardens for leisure and exercise, a â€Å"complete ideological systems for small communities†, where the workers children were also educated. This new high standard of living encouraged workers’ productivity. His New Lanark model encouraged him to build this environment of mutual co-operation at a larger scale. Owen devised a ‘Plan for an Ideal Village’, an area with specific size and population, of between 500 to 1500. This plan was similar to structures of towns found in ancient Greece; there was a geometric layout and a focus on agriculture to become self-sufficient. This theory became a development called ‘New Harmony’, which was to be situated in the US, with an estimate population for five thousand designed as a quadrangle with sides of thousand feet. The design was never realised. Owen was called a ‘Utopian socialist’ by the revolutionary communist Karl Marx, and Owen shared this title with Charles Fourier (1772-1837). Fourier believed that co-operation was key to have a successful community, and to achieve this phalanxes’ should be established. This ‘phalanstery’ would â€Å"1) Discover and organize a system of industry; (2) Guarantee to every individual the equivalent of their natural rights; and (3) Associate the interests of rich and poor.† These ‘natural rights’ included the ‘gathering of natural products’ and fishing, and these communal hotel-like settlements facilitated this with laid-out gardens and grounds for exercise. Jean-Baptiste Godin (1817-1888) modelled his iron foundry at Guise on the Oise on one of Fourier’s ‘phalanxes’, with prevalent communal values. The residential buildings at the foundry were ‘familistiere’. The merge of buildings and landscape was similar to the ideal Palladian relationship between the inside space and the exterior. Living standards of workers vastly improved, and by combining industry and nature the ‘familistiere’ provided its inhabitants with â€Å"les à ©quivalents de la richesse â€Å"(the equivalent of wealth). Figure 2-E.Howards Three Magnets Though Owen, Fourier and Godin believed in the ‘ideal settlement’, all projects were too small a scale to eliminate urban hardship. The Public Health Act of 1875 was the first legal action to resolve the appalling living conditions and preventing the spread of cholera in cities. The expanding sprawl of the city had pushed the countryside further away from workers in city centres. In 1898, Ebenezer Howard (1850-1928) wrote the â€Å"Garden Cities of Tomorrow†, which was the first realistic sign of a marriage between town and country to form an urban utopia. His â€Å"Three Magnets† diagram, showed the pull of the idyllic fresh air and low rent of the countryside, merged with the opportunities and convenience of the city into one ‘Garden City’. This utopian settlement noted the economic independence of the factory towns of Owen; each city would have its own industries and farms as to be self-sufficient. The settlements would have an optimum 32,000 inhabitants on 2,000 hectacres. It had a circular periphery enclosing a population of 30,000, the remaining would live on the agriculture belt which was ran only electrified industry. Six principal streets ran to the centre, where the main public offices were surrounded by four one-acre parks. In all, this ‘Garden City’ seemed â€Å"to blend, by rational means, the various demands of an expanding capitalist society and the nostalgia for communities on a human scale.† Howard believed these garden cities could be built on the peripheries of a central city and be connected by rail; he was opposed to the idea of these being identified as ‘garden suburbs’. After the success of the â€Å"Garden Cities of Tomorrow†, Howard founded the ‘Garden City Association’ in 1899. His first project was for a town 80 miles from London called Letchworth, with architects Barry Parker (1867 – 1947) and Raymond Unwin (1863 – 1940). In 1904, the town was realised. Unwin and Parker were associated with the ‘Arts and Craft movement’ of J.Ruskin and W.Morris, which opposed machine-like design and opted for picturesque ornament rooted in tradition. Letchworth was a family orientated settlement, where â€Å"the monotony of street fronts was broken by the turning of houses on their lots so each could command the sunniest and pleasantest view.† With an amicable architecture, a high-quality street system, it had ample space with â€Å"twelve houses to the acre.† The basic model by Howard had a centre of parkland and a lacked a commercial centre of a city. This design was developed by Unwin, who saw the ‘Garden City’ as a proposal for satellite towns of major cities. He based his first design on the city of London, and with Parker developed Hampstead Garden Suburb (1905), later to be followed by Welwyn (1920). Howard’s model inspired builders in Sweden, the US and Australia, where the layout of the capital Canberra was influenced by this ‘Garden City’ movement. It is in post-World War I that we see the 19th century ideas of Howard influence on European city planners. In mainland Europe socialist reform through housing was taking place. With a shortage of living space in the liberal city of Amsterdam, and the election of the SDAP (Socialist Democratic Worker’s Party), the State took control of all municipal building. The Woningwet Housing Act (1902) had been a result of â€Å"investigations into the living conditions of workers, the first hygienic regulations, and the interventions of scientific and philanthropic associations†. The most notable developments in Amsterdam are apartments built for two socialist housing societies, Eigen Haard and De Daagard. They were both designed by Michel de Klerk (1884-1923), who had studied under H.P. Berlage (1856 – 1934), and who was influenced by Bruno Taut (1880-1936). De Klerk is seen as a link between the Traditionalists and the Modernists and had been interested by Unwin’s model. He was a member of the ‘Amsterdam school’, a team who built a garden suburb project in Rotterdam. He became one of the leading Dutch architects in the Expressionism movement â€Å"which reached for a romantic, soulful symbolization of reality†.

Benefits of Strategic Management Models

Benefits of Strategic Management Models Nowadays, strategic management models are importance to senior executives that they need to evaluate battle management systems as well as science is always changing and improving all the things necessary to effect efficient organizations. Management strategies are important to all organizations and countries that are developing or developed to meet the objectives of each organization (Bahareh Khanali 2008). Meanwhile, the objective of strategic management models is to help their performance of corporation and learn how to create value from the use of learning strategies. Thus, the company will collect information and expectations regarding competition in the industry are important to define strategies after that managers need to measure performance using data appropriate to the management of strategic management process. In addition, the strategic competition will receive a higher return than the average when companies use the strategic management process. Therefore, successful busin ess still is not easy to perform. Those providing or participating in the strategic decision to bring the strategies used must be consistent and important factors such as basic knowledge of managers. Porters generic strategies1 model is commonly used to analyse in Japan. Porters generic strategies are widely used in America and Europe, but while Japan has not shown a case study on Porters generic strategies. This research study about the Japanese strategy of Porters generic or continued under the management of tanditional Japanese strategy by using Porters generic strategy to process. Japans experience economy in the industry was resembles economic crisis and lower management and economic distress in Japan owning to lack of analysis of long-term business plan, layoffs and non-profit. The system industry is the interdependent relationship between community organizations and private sector. According to Ishikawa (1988) observes that Japan can not meet rapidly changing demand of the market is entrenched group decision making and the formalized systems likely to slow down. After Japan was experiencing economic distress after the company began to find ways to cut out the bad decade an d their commitment to the Japanese management system and discovered Michael Porters (1980, 1985) generic strategies, which is the most important organization and renews the organization. The research sample used in this study consists of case management staff from large companies. The test survey of 101 samples from Japanese companies operating in the Tokyo show in Japans four strategies may begin to change the strategy of the Porter-based strategies, but traditional Japanese strategies2 abide. One example is the per cent of Japan uses frequency of strategic by product differentiation strategy, cost leadership strategy, supply chain and training (see Table1). Moreover, since the use of strategic Porter occurs then the article called Can Japan compete? (Porter Takeuchi, 2000) Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry of Japan has established a reward Porter Prize for Japanese companies to succeed and maintain profitability in the industry, especially the strategy and methodology of the process, innovation in products. Porter award is intended only to improve the competitiveness of Japanese companies. Recently, bring to generic strategies get attention in public debate in Japan after that change the key policy and strategic changes necessary to achieve the systems traditional Japanese companies increasingly use the strategy of Porter. According to Porters and Takeuchi (2000) explains that decades Japanese economic recession, especially in the case of Japanese companies increased competition in global markets. Meanwhile, Porters diamond model is the model used in the decision of the operators in the business extensively instance evaluate the success of the Indian shrimp industry in Thailand and international competition and the environment of the country. The keywords of this case are shrimp industry, competitiveness, flexibility3. Shrimp industry and exports in India and Thailand which the two species of shrimp has growth in the global shrimp market and industry they are P. vannamei and P. Monodon4. In addition, the suppliers of cephalopods are the most in India to Europe by 83 per cent volume of exports. In Thailand have many industries about aquaculture related and services such as chemicals and fertilizers. While P. vannamei is more delicious than P. Monodon. On the other hand, P. Monodon commands a special price. As a result, the global markets have exploded in demand. It is need to understand the competitive environment in the shrimp industry in India and Thailand. This means that Po rters diamond model can be analysed to help the case of this industry (Porter, 1990). According to Porter states that the national environment composing of four factors: internal rivalries, related industries, and firm strategy structure and factor conditions these are created from Porters diamond model. An additional, government is mainly played role in national competitive environment of an industry (Silpa, Yadav et al 2007). Nominal Group Technique used the diamond model for analysis Indian and Thai shrimp industry due to it can help flexibility theory. The Indias shrimp industry on Porters structure, India is the five points in the shrimp production. The shrimp farms are owned by small farmers to 90 per cent. The P. monodon is the main of species in shrimp culture. And India is the biggest frozen shrimp in the export which share of culture is about 80 per cent (MPEDA, 2006). The Indian shrimp industry and national competitive environment is used Porters diamond model to help and evaluate. However, India needs to develop infrastructure and also the foreign has not been to India for investment in shrimp industry owning to many business companies comes from family owned inherited that was happened over the decade. A part of Thai shrimp industry on Porters structure, since 1993 Thailand is the producers in farmed shrimp in the world where has successful of transform shrimp for a high cost product. Thai shrimp industry entries toward low cost competition product for change direction from a high cost product result of a successful in shrimp exports industry. External factors mean trade policy and elasticity of demand is domestic support export competitiveness in Thai shrimp sector those factors affect the efficiency of product growth (Ongsritrakul and Hubbard, 1996). The market share belonged to Thailand around 27 per cent which export frozen shrimps more than 1.5 billion bath per year. The overview and the conditions and factors such as factor conditions, demand conditions and role of national government cause by Thailand gained advantages more than India, overall from these differences that contribute success in supporting the global market. Moreover, Porters Diamond has presented the rating about panel of respondents on flexibility of competitive elements that India has negative rating higher than Thailand because of India lack of flexibility in shrimp industry scenario. It describes about how to respond to new threats and to arrange situation in the industry (see Table 2). Porters diamond is the elements of the competitive conditions within the country to facilitate international success. The operations of the diamond model show flexibility and support to enable the company to leverage competitive advantage environment. This research has identified factors that can lead role industry to competition by diamond model analysis (Silpa, Yadav et al 2007). Not only Porters diamond model and generic strategies model only widely used, but SWOT analysis5 model influence in performing analysis of business success. One of example is SWOT analysis applied to micro enterprises (MEs), small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), and large software enterprises (LEs)6: an Austrian study which interviewed random sample of 174 executives from Austrian Software Company. Most managers of Austrias largest software face significant obstacles in the growth of the business community because the nature of the software industry has globalised, high performance can also be used for other countries in the European Union. Research reviewed problems from software entrepreneurs with small-to-medium and micro Software Company which software innovation, investment and areas of collaboration between companies and joint ventures. Current models of collaboration between companies which factors affecting the scope of work and its impact on business success to determine the i mportance of cooperation between companies, especially SMEs. For the study on the experimental nature of the business of micro and small to medium enterprises contribute to its high-performance software for benchmarking. These results will be combined for special features and needs of micro, small-to-medium and large enterprise software to help professional managers, especially from young companies to develop market entry strategies of successful organizations survives in a dynamic business environment. Thus, implementation of the SWOT analysis, micro enterprise (ME), small-to-medium (SME) and large organisations (LE) are factors that can influence different strategies to isolate and identify the organization, which means the key of the most successful. The result from the analysis of factors that must be considered by managers as part of the strategic planning process prior to the scheduled corporate strategy because of high globalised nature of the software industry to make availa ble in other countries in the European Union. SWOT analysis also led the development of successful corporate strategies to survive in a dynamic business environment for Europes young into the market (Edward, October 2002). Obviously, models as a pattern often depends upon the managers to apply these strategies are how to be successful. Strategic management models are set to show action in helping to make decisions about allocation of resources to meet corporate goals of bodies. Managers in many industries have led some strategic management models used in their business, which is a help in decision analysis and business problems. The decision-making is important and has influenced many leaders and managers. Models are the technical advantages as the face of competition and the decisions and it can also increase as the decision in the case of the initial models to take part in educational and research issues in economic or competitive in global market and will appear when analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the business to bring these things to change and develop on the spot. In this section awareness and focus on Porters Diamond Model. Maxoulis, Kalogirou et.al (June 2007) observes that Michael E. Porter (1990) states that The competitive advantage of Nations suggest a new theory of competitiveness it is called diamond model its as a system such as the ceramic tile industry in Italy. The model illustrates why some industries in nations are more rival than others. The model argued that national home stand by the organization played a key role in creating opportunities to benefit the global level. The diamond model stands for four factors, which impact companies of the specified group. The four factors are in brief below: Context for firm strategy and rivalry: company directs competition will increase efficiency and innovation Strategy: Domestic capital markets impact the companys strategy. Because some countries capital markets are long-run outlook, while other countries are short-run outlook. America is likely to increase competition in the industry as short-term investments. At the same time, Switzerland is likely to increase competition in the industry to invest long term (Krishnamurthi, 18 November 2007). Rivalry: Porter says that Competition is intense in Japan; many companies are diligent company that will compete in most industries (Krishnamurthi, 18 November 2007). The competition of international cannot drastic and with environmental and adequacy of the differences between companies that can provide a useful excuse for managers who exceed performance with their competitors. (forumuz.biz, 28 January 2009). Demand conditions: If customers are demanding in the economy resulted in increased pressure on the company so it will always be forced to improve their competitiveness such as French wine industry is the country that experienced wine consumers. These consumers can help to produce high quality wine (Krishnamurthi, 18 November 2007). Factor (input) conditions: Skilled labour and capital structure in the factors of production. Porter suggests that countries that lack resources to allow them to compete in the industry, also known as one of the disadvantages that a change advantages. Therefore, these countries will struggle to overcome the problem of resources. For example Switzerland was the first country experiencing labour shortages. They dismiss workers turned to focus on innovative clock / high-end watches (Krishnamurthi, 18 November 2007). Related and supporting industries: Industry support is critical to the competitiveness of companies including frequency of partners and related industries are often in conflict, regional, national. For instance, Leather footwear industry and other leather products in Italy and U.S. car industry in Silicon Valley Detroit (Krishnamurthi, 18 November 2007). The government of role in the diamond model will act as a catalyst to increase its demand for advanced products with an emphasis on creating special factors to stimulate local competition is limited to work directly and anti-trust regulatory enforcement (Maxoulis and Kalogirou et al, June 2007). At forumuz.biz (28 January 2009) reports that large textile industry in India can be supported multi-directional and the local economy. Account the total production of most industrial countries over 20 per cent and employment has more than 15 million people and exports account for more than 30 per cent making India a net foreign exchange industry, the largest (Dalmia, 1994). The Government of India the economic reforms in the new format in 1991 made the economic situation of India is continuously improving due to the government to focus on the liberalization policy. It seems that benefits of Porters diamond model resulted in large companies bring to the widespread use in countries like America or even Europe. That bringing the Porter diamond model used in the process of organization and the national competition is an indication that the Porter diamond is a dynamic relationship between the four factors. According to Porter suggests that when he has been building diamond model by four years, it apply approximately a hundred industries and ten nations. This situation is supported by The Competitive Advantage of Nations, page 855 in 1990 (Dong and Hwy, November 2000). Furthermore, Porters diamond has become a strength benefit of implement. The evidence shows that Puerto Rico of the international competitiveness by using Porters diamond. The ten industries maintain competitiveness in Puerto Rico during the take the principles of Porters diamond in five years time7. Puerto Rico is a small industrial country in the Caribbean. Puerto Rico would like to know the potential of countries in global competition has led to the Porter diamond framework and apply in Puerto Rico Puerto Rico in the industry can increase opportunities to compete on health sector opportunities because of Puerto Ricos exports merchandise and services can also link industry to promote exports and benefit other industries such as tourism. Puerto Rico also shows that competition in the food sector can be competitive against the competition in its health sector since the expertise of local engineers and specialists with knowledge and technical work. About the chemical formula of these local companies because of they have expertise that comes from betting the Federal Drug Administration Puerto Rico can be shown effective in the development of this sector, both foreign and domestic. But Rico Puerto Rico should focus on to determine which company to a member of the competition because of external factors cause by the Porter diamond and local governments. These are nec essary to promote new industries and increased competition on international markets level. Strengths of the Porter diamond allow increased competition in the countrys exports (Luz Leyda, 2006). And other industries have used Porters diamond weakness resulted from the strength to compete with competitors in the same industry is aerospace industry to the Porter diamond framework is a specific factor to strengthen Hong Kong as a hub for air transport industry and transport, international and Hong Kong has also estimate that natural resources can increase the ability the same level to compete with neighbouring countries. Hong Kong application using Porters strategy, as Porters diamond competitive business aviation industry and the intense competition that Cathay Pacific has made more than HK$4.8 billions budget to create independent cargo terminal building and cargo because terminal will bring the race because of strong intensity at the airline will have more options to benefit from reduced costs of freight and more than that can increase capacity to manage demand in the future. Therefore, Hong Kongs aviation industry attempted to find strategic ways to cope with competitive bu siness. After using the Porters diamond analysis principles and then acquired ideas that are way to maintain Hong Kong as a hub for air transport might be done by creating a free trade city or bilateral agreement with the mainland (Yui-yip Lau, 25 May 2009). Additionally, this case involved the theory and Porters diamond, clustering and Performance Matrix (Martilla and James, 1997) as a tool for critical help in better management framework through the complexities of social phenomena, including thirty-three Singaporean financial clusters to introduce the main benefit of clustering the interaction between companies, which the matrix shows strength and weaknesses, to evaluate excellence in the industry maintain national competition and depth information. According to Singapore is a country example of the power in overcoming weaknesses into strengths, which makes factors in creating national advantage. Singapore is a small island and strategic geographical location, natural harbour good centrally located between the West and East, a location for the address of a development bank and international financial centre8. Singapore has a strong group of banks with 107 banks (www.mas.gov.sg) in order to have the worlds seventh largest holder of for eign currency reserves US 85.8 billions (May 2003). Money market in Singapore is the trading and short-term instruments such as money treasury securities. In addition, In August 1999, Singapore rank among the country was successful in most financial markets of the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report (Kuah and Day, November 2005). Porter (1990) stated that clusters in the Competitive Advantage of Nations as being: the connection between suppliers and related industries, Institutions specialized in limited locations. Innovation, improvement and change is seen to be central to creating competitive advantage. Arthur (1990) argues that strength of clusters can lead to attracting more of these regions and with the innovation will bring success to more innovation. Swann (1999) and Baptista et al (1996) noted that region not just to accumulate knowledge and human capital increase information exchange matures, but that does not comply with regulatory and imprecise means of spreading the knowledge is limited to areas outside clusters is a dynamic course of business associated with certain production companies and expansion of manufacturing in the cluster. Research results from the thirty-three respondents found that Singapore supported the financial industries that are necessary conditions of the cluster. For these rea son is Singapore was identified key terms correctly and maintenance industry as well. On the other hand, seven manager groups who answered the comments do not match; they thought that Singapore lack of skilled labour and environmental provisions in the good work. The researchers in this case said that we believer in the Porter diamond that it obtains two advantages. The first is Porters diamond that shows the actions to make real what happens within the suitable for article of analysis. And the second is the expression of Matrix applying Porters diamond potential in the organization has added more confidence in decision making and appropriate conditions and incentives for their manufacturers and workers of the company (Adrian and John, November 2005). In particular, the strengths of the work to Porters overall competitiveness in the industry from global competition and has identified many interesting things in the countrys major industrial nations. (Bruce and Eamonn, 1998). Robert (2004) says that factors in the Porters diamond will support it with its own, such as deterioration or improvement in one factor will affect the next one factor. This will highlight the natural characteristics of the micro economic power in the country: the link between these growth factors, strengths and weaknesses of the industry. Allows the strengths of Porters work occur because the client shared technology resources, distribution channels and suppliers and industry groups have occurred in geographic trends. Nevertheless, diamond is a good principle to benefit many industries, whether with you, but it must have criteria set geographical different (Dunning, 1993), especially in small related Porters single diamond related with those countries are limited number of variables. They must use variables of different countries to add the ability to compete on international markets for this reason Porter accepted variables are important to the international competitiveness of the country or the world for diamond version, but he clearly does not include these variables. Unfortunately, these variables were not clearly disclosed in his diamond model (Dong and Hwy, November 2000). Rugman says that Porter began training in the study of conditions in the countrys largest and most wealthy in America and very little Canadians. But in Canadians have been affected adversely by Porters diamond due to be limited by geographic labour and location (Eden, August 2004). From Dong and Hwy book (November 2000), according to Rugman (1991) argues that Porters single diamond weakness has two defected that the first is the role of government cannot be true to all unfold and the second is multinational activity inappropriate was established. For example, Porter analyzed and revises the international competition of Canadians. Canadians are just one in ten of the economic scale in America. Canada is relatively small and relies on the sales market in America. In fact, assumptions made that the U.S. diamond has been involved with Canadians diamond industry in Canada industrial multinationals due to sales of more than 70 per cent of their. The alliance of American-Canada fortify free trade this point. The weakness of Porters diamond is not just a case of the Canadians, but more than 90 per cent of the worlds countries by multinational industry of small open economies can not use the porter diamond. Moreover, other comments that critics Porters diamond from Dong and Hwy (November 2000) explains Porter that attempt to enter into new factors like those described, which is not identical to original. In contrast, at forumuz.biz (28 January 2009) reports that Porters diamond more concentrated with developed countries and the role of government is both positive and negative. Sometimes good intentions of the government make non-competitive impact on international and domestic industry. Porters lack of bringing core modem that led to the application in Canada. Porter focused on the home diamond in Canada that cannot identify the competitiveness of Canadian, but Canada is a successful cluster use of resources-based. They can add value in itself. Besides, Porter said in his book that Canadians affected Canadians are the only thing is factor driven. Discrepancy is the basis of industry and the dangers of misleading the wrong way, such as policy advice to Canadians. An aspect of the role of natural resources of the Porter is old fashioned9 and has been used in the wrong way. He said that dependence on natural resources bad as they dependence on technology standard or unskilled labour that is common these changes by comparative advantage in natural resources to the specific advantages in the process of resources, which can confirm that these sources of sustainable competitive advantage. For example, Alcan, Noranda and Nova are successful multinationals in Canada, which demonstrates how to add value by managing the introduction of these resources. But the idea of Rugman said if Porter crosses a border, he changes the mistake (Dong and Hwy, November 2000). Dong and Hwy (November 2000) observes that the discussion in the case of Canada and the defects of the diamond that is called when a very attractive industry and business, because Porter Rugman two people who have a reputation and expertise in the business community of the world. Porter is in the field of strategic management while Rugman is in the business community abroad. For the reason, Porters focused on competitive strategy national and corporate, but on the other hand Rugmans focused to precede realities of multinational companies than just beat the competition business. Thain (Dialogue, 1992) recommends that the discussion should focus on the practical fact of the introduction of good features that can be used Porter real treat because of the most important. Rugman is currently building another important point that makes policy recommendations on the basis of Porter might sound, but they do not correspond with the analysis of Porter (Rugman, 1992, p.59). Conclusion The evidence from several cases demonstrates that the model is that business and industry recognized in many countries and many leading companies. To be successful in that model to bring in the business process or the industry itself to develop a step to compete with national and global level that may be considered as a tool and model important mechanism to drive the process and industrial movement continued. Those executives should be aware of how strategic management is a process in place to adapt management strategies to broaden. Operating divisions are also improving and personnel and, importantly, to increase its competitive ability in organization and capabilities of each employee to promote a professional approach, we can make the company a leader in the industry. The popularity of the model are whether SWOT, Diamond or Generic resulting executives are confident and effective business decisions more because these are the cornerstones in the management strategy. Administrators can select a model in their competency and meet all environmental factors within and outside the mind. This model can help these executives with strategic change and resolve the problem on the spot. However, these executives should have a good basic knowledge of operating systems and vision in the work of the model chosen, however, have good management skills in the use of a single model may not achieve the organization. The successful of companies and industries will achieve, thus the management and staff should cooperate in order to perform. But while the model may be used with both strengths and weaknesses in the model, each have it that the conditions will be factors internal to the case analysis of Porters diamond model is known and famous throughout the world and has been used widely. Porter suggests that when he has been building diamond model by four years, it apply approximately 100 industries and 10 nations. The diamond model is a good principle to benefit many industries resulted in large companies bring to the widespread use in countries like America or even Europe. At the same time, critics have come to this model the well-known in business circles as Rugman argues that Porters single diamond has two defected that the first is the role of government cannot be true to all unfold and the second is multinational activity inappropriate was established and he focused to precede realities of multinational companies than just beat the competition business whereas Porters focused on competitive strategy national and c orporate. Eventually, the dispute between Alan Rugman and Michael Porter on the diamond model in its opinion may be different, whether because of several factors that makes either the aspects or different perspectives. But no one can rapidly identify who someone is wrong because the business strategy and management strategies to modify at any time. So what should realize is bringing experts to comment on each application and change the power of ideas to improve the system and how the same level of business to competitors and to compete successfully. This report is the first report on the basic knowledge in strategic management models widely used business from past until present and to bring more information in this report to know and find ways to develop a good knowledge in the future. Bibliography Book Baptista, R. and Swann, G.M.P. (1999), A comparison of clustering dynamics in the US and UK computer industries, Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 9(3): 373-399. Bruce Traill and Eamonn Pitts, Competitiveness in the food industry (Springer, 1998). Dialogue. 1992. Canada at the crossroads. Business Quarterly (Winter, Spring, and Summer). Dong-Sung Cho and Hwy-Chang Moon, From Adam Smith to Michael Porter (World Scientific, 2000), 95-100 Ishikawa, H. (1988). Kaizen. New York: Penguin Books. Jack Rabin, Gerald Miller, and W. Bartley Hildreth, Handbook of strategic management (CRC Press, 2000): 461 Rider, R. W. (1983). Making strategic planning work in local government, Long Range Planning, 16: 73-81 Robert F. Bruner, Applied mergers and acquisitions (John Wiley and Sons, 2004). Rugman, A.M. 1991. Diamond in the Rough. Business Quarterly (Winter): 61-64. Rugman, A. M. 1992. Porter Takes the Wrong Turn. Business Quarterly (Winter): 59-64 Thain, D. H. 1990. The war without bullets. Business Quarterly (Summer): 13-19 Document MPEDA (2006), Mission Document. Marine Products and Export Development Authority, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Government of India Journal Arthur, W.B. (1990), Silicon Valley locational clusters: Do increasing returns imply monopoly?, Mathematical Social Science, Vol.19: 235-251. Christos N. Maxoulis, Harris P. Charalampous, and Soteris A. Kalogirou, Cyprus solar water heating cluster: A missed opportunity?, Energy Policy 35, no. 6 (June 2007): 3302-3315. Edward Bernroider, Factors in SWOT Analysis Applied to Micro, Small-to-Medium, and Large Software Enterprises:: an Austrian Study, European Management Journal 20, no. 5 (October 2002): 562-573. Luz Leyda Vega-Rosado, The International Competitiveness of Puerto Rico Using the Porters Model Vol.14 (2) (2006) Martilla, J.A., and James, J.C. (1977), Importance performance analysis, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 51: 77-79 Ongsriirakul, S. and Huhbard, L. (1996). The export market for Thai frozen shrimps in the European Union, Briti.fh Food Journal, Vol, 98 No.8. pp. 24-28 Porter. M. E. (1990). New Global Strategies for Competitive Advantage. Planning Review: Vol.18 No. 3, pp. 4-14 Richard S. Allen, PORTERS GENERIC STRATEGIES: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THEIR USE IN JAPAN., ed. Marilyn M. Helms, Margaret B. Takeda, and Charles S. White, V

Elements of the Novel, To Kill a Mocking Bird :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

Elements of the Novel (To Kill a Mocking Bird) Element Questions Evidence Character 1. Name the various persons we encounter in TKAM. Scout, Jem, Atticus, Arthur Boo Radley, Calpurnia, Miss Maudie Atkinson, Mrs Dubose, Cunninghams, Ewells, Tom Robinson 2. How do we evaluate these characters? a. by their speech b. by their actions? We evaluate the characters by both their speech and their actions. What they say suggests how each one of them are thinking and the tone in which they say, illustrates their attitudes. Minor actions on their part also review their character s and attitudes. E.g. (speech) Atticus,† You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view†¦until you climb into his skin and walk around it.† (chapter 3) This piece of evidence shows that Atticus is understanding towards everyone as he would always try to see things from the other point of view. (actions) When Mr Ewell approached him, cursed him, and threatened to kill him, he just took out his handkerchief and wiped his face. He understood how Mr Ewell felt as he destroyed his last shred of credibility at that trial and felt that Mr Ewell, spitting on his face and threatening him could save Mayella one extra beating. He understood how they feel and did nothing to aggravate them. E.g. 3. Do we have privileged access to all the characters’ most private thoughts? No. We only have access to Scout’s most private thoughts as she is the narrator of the story. Her voice and viewpoint offer a glimpse of local events and personalities through the lens of childhood. Everything that happens is seen through her eyes. Everything that happens must be known to her. But,, we can never see â€Å"inside the heads† of other characters in the story. Only if the story is told in the third person, it would be different. We would probably know why exactly Jem cried, why Atticus took Tom’s case and what fears and doubts he may have had. E.g. Scout witnessed how Aunt Alexandra’s reaction to the bad news of Tom Robinson’s death. She was truly upset but she still put on a brave front and looked as happy as she could to join the other ladies. She thought that Aunt Alexandra was strong and wanted to be like her. So with her best company manners, she served them, thinking that after all, if Aunt Alexandra could be a lady at time like this, so could I. (access to Scout’s thoughts) E.g. Jem was moody and silent for a week after the incident which he left his pants on the wire and he went back to take it. We are unable

Response to Article about the Capsaicin Receptor Essay -- Biology Caps

The Summary of "The capsaicin receptor: a heat-activated ion channel in the pain pathway" Capsaicin is a natural product of capsicum peppers, that is an active ingredient in many hot foods. When nociceptors- neurons that transmit information regarding tissue damage to pain-processing centers in the spinal cord and brain- come in contact with capsaicin, the neuron gets excited, and there is a perception of pain, and the a local release of inflammatory mediators. These nociceptors get excited by increasing permeability of plasma membrane to cations, but the molecular mechanism explaining this phenomenon is unclear. Capsaicin is being used in an analgesic agent in the treatment of painful disorders, causing long-term loss of responsiveness because it kills off the nociceptor, or it destroys the peripheral terminals. It was decide that the existence of a receptor site represents the most likely mechanism, because the capsaicin derivative showed structure-function relationships and evoked responses in a dose-dependent manner. A competitive capsaicin antagonist called capsazepi ne strengthened this model, along with discovering resiniferatoxin, an extremely potent capsaicin analogue for Euphorbia plants that mimics the cellular action of capsaicin. The cloning of a gene encoding a capsaicin receptor was decided to help develop more understanding of the molecular nature of capsaicin action and its relationship to endogenous pain signaling mechanisms. A cDNA clone that reconstitutes capsaicin responsiveness in non-neuronal cells was isolated. It was discovered that capsaicin gives off burning sensations through the activation of a heat-gated ion channel that is likely to contribute to the detection of painful thermal stimuli in vivo. ... ...as well as help cure strains and sprains. Capsaicin may even regrow your hair! Capsaicin Prescription Information Generic Name: Capsaicin Chemical Name: trans-8-methyl-N-vanilly-6-nonenamide Common Uses: This medicine is used to relieve pain caused by inflammation and surgery and other conditions as determined by your doctor. Type of Medicine: non-habit forming, analgesic drug, for topical use only. Dosage: Apply three to four times daily. Possible Side Effects: This medicine may cause temporary stinging or burning sensations. If sensation persists, discontinue use and consult your physician. There are no known harmful interactions with other drugs. Cautions: Do not use this medicine is under the age of 2. Do not apply around eyes, nasal passages, or genitals. May cause burning or inflammation. The FDA has approved levels of 0.025% to 0.25%, topical.

Infancy and Childhood Reflection :: essays research papers

Infancy And Childhood Reflection 1.) The shows I chose to watch are shows that children usually don't grow out of or are attracted to at a younger and older age.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Simpsons, a classic comedy which draws the majority of us in with its realistic family and practical witt. The family goes through hardship,excitement, triumph and everyday experience that most families go through. 'Homer' the father of the family is employed by the power plant and is in constant battles to keep his job. 'Marge' the wife of the family is edgy or easily becomes paranoid, her main job is to be a stay at home mom, however she often goes out and tries to become more distinguished in society by working outside the home. She tries several times to get a job but often realizes she can't part with her family for those few hours a day. She is the basic prototype of every average American mother. 'Bart' the families son is a brat, of course being the boy of the family they make him out to be the trouble maker mainly because most families direct evidence of mischief to the boy because they are more curiouse or perhaps more unaware of the consequences whi ch come along with right and wrong actions but they may also simply not care. Bart vandalizes things, humiliates several members of the schools faculty, steals items from stores and dis-respects his parents. All this seems quit bad for a children show but Barts softer side does come around once in awhile, for every wrong thing he does it later shows his guilt and the punishments that come along with misbehaving. 'Lisa' the families most prevailed member of the family, is of a much higher intelligence then the rest of the family and is not blind of her families social class and immmature behaviour excluding Marge. Lisa, however still loves her family and even though they irritate and ignore or fail to notice her natural talent and integrity she knows this is who they are and she most except this.

Employee Empowerment Essay

The empowered employee is said to respond more quickly to customer service requests, act to rectify complaints and be more engaged in service encounters. A more reflective approach suggests there are different managerial perceptions of empowerment, resulting in empowerment being introduced in different service organisations in different ways, and presenting different benefits to managers and working experiences for the empowered. This paper suggests that a framework of analysis needs to be developed which goes beyond the more simplistic claims which tend to discuss empowerment as that which is labelled empowerment. The success or failure of an initiative which claims to be empowering will be determined by the experience of being empowered. Employee empowerment in services 169 Introduction Employee empowerment has been hailed as a management technique which can be applied universally across all organisations as a means of dealing with the needs of modern global business (Barry, 1993: Johnson, 1993; Foy, 1994), and across all industrial sectors. However, the service sector is said to involve a unique cluster of tension which managers, employees and customers have to address (Heskett et al. 1990), and the empowerment of employees is an approach which has been advocated for service sector management (Sternberg, 1992; Lockwood, 1996). Investigation of the use of empowerment in service sector organisations reveals a number of different forms of empowerment being applied in practice. These different approaches evidence a range of managerial meanings being applied which are based on different perceptions of business problems, motives for introducing empowerment and perceived benefits to be gained from empowerment. The fact that empowerment can be used as a term to describe different initiatives provides a convenient rhetoric which suggests that empowerment is â€Å"in principle a good thing† and produces a â€Å"win-win† situation for employees and managers. In part these different perceptions of the service need and the appropriate match with the management of employees, is a consequence of the different service offers being made to customers. Some service offers require employees to exercise discretion in detecting and delivering customer service needs. In other cases, the service offer is highly standardised and require employees to practise service delivery in â€Å"the one best Personnel Review, Vol. 28 No. 3, 1999, pp. 169-191. # MCB University Press, 0048-3486 Personnel Review 28,3 170 way†. Reflection on both the specific applications entitled â€Å"empowerment† and on variations in the characteristics of the service offer, question the somewhat simplistic claims for the universality of empowerment, and the supposed benefits which ensue. This paper is based on a cluster of research projects which have investigated different approaches to empowerment in similar service businesses: Harvester Restaurants, TGI Fridays and McDonald’s Restaurants Limited operate branded restaurant chains. All are to some extent â€Å"McDonaldized† (Ritzer, 1993), they use highly standardised menus, â€Å"one best way† production techniques which assist in the delivery of consistency and predictability to customers. That said, these organisations differ in the service offer to customers, particularly in the extent that employees exercise discretion to meet customer service needs. The approach outlined in the paper is informed by these cases studies, though the key concern of the paper is to establish a framework for understanding empowerment in the service sector which questions the universalistic and evangelical claims of some of the advocates of empowerment. This framework of analysis suggests that there is a need to approach the study of empowerment in a systematic manner which goes beyond the label. According to Conger and Kanungo (1988) empowerment describes working arrangements which engage the empowered at an emotional level. They istinguish between concepts of empowerment which are relational and motivational. As a relational concept empowerment is concerned with issues to do with management style and employee participation. As a motivational construct empowerment is individual and personal, it is about discretion, autonomy, power and control. This motivational aspect to empowerment becomes the defining feature of the initiative. The empowered must feel a sense of personal worth, with the ability to effect outcomes and having the power to make a difference (van Oudtshoorn and Thomas, 1993; Johnson, 1993). Advocates of empowerment claim that employee empowerment helps firms to enthuse and enable employees to take responsibility for the service encounter (Barbee and Bott, 1991). The paper identifies four different types, or managerial intentions, for empowering employees, which in turn impact on the precise form the arrangements take. Following from this, and so as to better understand the detailed changes in working arrangements which claim to be empowering, the paper provides a five dimensional framework of analysis. By contrasting and comparing the detail of the changes to what the newly empowered employee can now do, it is possible to establish the boundaries and limits which are placed on empowerment in any particular context. Given the need to engage employees at an emotional level and to generate the appropriate feelings about the service encounter, the impact of each initiative on the employee is a crucial ingredient in meeting the objectives set. This paper suggests that there are likely to be a number of factors which generate positive or negative feelings about a particular initiative. At root this will be concerned with the empowered employee’s perception of the state rather Employee than the form of empowerment. Investigation into empowerment must, empowerment in therefore, incorporate an analysis of how individuals feel about the result of services being empowered. Finally this paper suggests that beneath the rhetoric of empowerment, service firms are in different positions in relation to their customers and markets, and 171 this will impact on how managers perceive and interpret empowerment. Factors such as the degree of customisation/standardisation and the relative importance of tangibles/intangibles in customer satisfaction are likely to be influential in determining the locus of control of employee performance. Empowerment in the service sector Interest in employee empowerment in service industry firms has been associated with many of the key issues related to employment practices in general, namely in gaining competitive advantage through improved service quality. Paradoxically, however, attempts to gain competitive advantage through service quality can present some major problems for service operators. In the first instance, there are difficulties in defining the successful service encounter, particularly in the intangible sources of customer satisfaction. Customers vary considerably in their expectations of service quality (Rust and Oliver, 1994). Indeed individual customers may define and re-define their needs from service deliverers as their circumstances, experiences and expectations change. In turn, customer evaluation of a successful service encounter, and thereby repeat visits, will be a product of the extent to which their experience matches their expectations (Foulkes, 1994). Whilst there are these difficulties in defining successful encounters, many writers agree that â€Å"front line staff† (Johnston, 1989; Horovirz and Cudenne-Poon, 1990; Barbee and Bott, 1991) play a crucial role in the service encounter. There are in fact, some base level customer expectations of employee performance, positive interpersonal contacts, service deliverer attitudes, courtesy and helpfulness that are all closely related to customer evaluations of service quality (Adelmann et al. 1994). Hence human resources management and the strategies needed to engage employees emotionally in the objective of customer service take on a new and urgent meaning. This leads to the second difficulty for service deliverers. Unlike other resources used within an organisation there is a problem in predicting the levels of output, efficiency and general effectiveness which will be the outcome of a given level of labour employed. Human resources can be uniquely unstable. Under certain circumstances they physically leave the organisation, they may collectively resist management instructions or individually just not give â€Å"a fair days work for a fair days pay†. Clearly, these are problems shared by all employers but given the pivotal role of service delivery employees these issues are of particular concern to service sector employers. The response of many employers in the sector has been to look to manufacturing industry for models of control which minimised the significance Personnel Review 28,3 172 of individual idiosyncrasies. What Levitt called the â€Å"production-line approach to service† (1972) or the â€Å"industrialisation of service† (1976). Based on essentially Taylorist (1947) views of job design, they establish standardised procedures and one best way of doing each task. In many cases this extended to scripting the interaction with clients and left little to the discretion of the individual service deliverers. The consequence of this has been the rapid growth of organisations specialising in high volume, mass produced, standardised services which minimised the significance of labour inputs (Bowen and Lawler, 1992) in the delivery of predictable tangible and intangible product attributes to customers. Ritzer’s (1993) somewhat overblown comments about the â€Å"McDonaldization of Society† are little more than observations about the application of manufacturing techniques to the production of mass services, which are themselves but one of a number of service offers (Wood, 1997). Whilst this strategy was tremendously successful over the two decades preceding 1990, many of these operators now see the limits of standardisation and control. A point largely ignored by Ritzer. Apart from high labour turnover which has been endemic in many of these firms, any attempt to compete on service quality cuts across the rigidities of the production line approach. Firstly, even the most standardised operation encounters occasions when customer service needs are difficult to predict and a quick response is needed at the point of the service encounter. A small child in a family group at a McDonald’s is getting restive and the quick intervention of a crew member with a balloon or a hat calms the child. A customer knocks over his coffee in a Welcome Break and the service operative replaces it without charge. Whilst these responses may well be prescribed in operational manuals, they still require employees to act with initiative and discretion. The intangible element of the service encounter requires some form employee of participation, even in highly standardised and Tayloristic situations. The second problem is in the quality of the service encounter itself. Hochschild’s (1983) work with air stewardesses reveals much in common with â€Å"the commercialisation of feelings† across the service sector in general. She makes the point that seeming to love the job becomes part of the job; and managing the appropriate feelings of enjoyment of the customer helps the worker in this effort. Fineman (1993) also comments on the interplay between feelings and performance in service interactions. Enabling employees to sense their own power and the significance of their role in the service drama may help employees manage the emotions required of their performance. It is here that empowerment of employees seems to offer the prize of generating feelings of commitment to the service encounter (Barbee and Bott, 1991) with the appropriate amount of power and the freedom to use that power (van Oudtshoorn and Thomas, 1993) to meet customer needs as they arise. The extract below is from a series of advertisements by Marriott Hotels which make play of the benefits of empowered employees. It highlights the aspirations for empowerment. Here the night porter’s feelings of commitment to â€Å"delighting the customer† perfectly match the organisation’s commitment to its clients. The Employee advertisement also confirms that empowerment, service quality and empowerment in organisational attempts to gain competitive advantage through improved services service quality are entwined in some operations. It was more than considerate of the Marriott night porter to trace my lost wallet  ± it meant he had to re-trace my entire journey through Vienna. All I could remember was that I’d been travelling on a Southern District streetcar. Miraculously, from this tiny piece of information, the night porter from the Marriott hotel managed to trace the route I’d travelled, the particular streetcar I was on, and my wallet. I was astonished that he went out of his way so much to help me. But, as I now know, everyone at Marriott works this way. personally assuming responsibility for the needs of every guest. It’s called Empowerment. And thankfully, they never seem to find anything too much trouble. (Always in the Right Place at the Right Time, Marriott). 173 For the advocates of empowerment, empowered employees willingly take responsibility for the service encounter, they respond more quickly to customer needs, complaints and changes in customer tastes (Barbee and Bott, 1991). The organisation will experience lower labour turnover (Cook, 1994), there will be high staff morale and employees will take responsibility for their own performance and its improvement (Barry, 1993). Employees’ inherent skills and talents will be put to work for the organisation (Ripley and Ripley, 1993) so as to produce more satisfied customers (Johns, 1993) and greater profits (Plunkett and Fournier, 1991). Research methods The observations reflected in this paper are based on case studies of three organisations who make different service offers to their customers, and who manage their employees in different ways. Each is attempting to empower employees to take responsibility for the service encounter, though each expects employees to exercise discretion in different ways. The case studies provide a valuable context through which to explore employment practice in context (Hartley, 1994), though these are published in detail in other publications (Lashley, 1995; Ashness and Lashley, 1995; Lashley, 1997). This paper reflects on the findings from the case studies to build the framework for analysing empowerment. In each case, the study involved semi-structured interviews with senior managers to explore their perceptions of empowerment, intentions for the initiative and the perceived benefits ensuing from the changes. Interviews were also conducted with the immediate line managers of the empowered. Again the intention was to explore the detail of the changes on the ground, and most importantly the practical responses from both middle managers and those line managers whose role might have been changed by the introduction of empowerment. Finally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the â€Å"empowered†, that is the subjects of the initiative. In particular, the study explored their perceptions of the changes, the boundaries in which they had to operate and the extent to which employees developed a sense of personal efficacy. Personnel Review 28,3 174 The semi-structured interviews identified key themes which needed to be explored with each respondent. For managers and those responsible for introducing and managing the initiative (the empowering), the questioning explored the background to the change in the way the organisation was to be managed  ± perceived problems and views as to what contribution empowerment ould make to overcoming the problems. Having established the managerial intentions for empowerment, interviewees were asked to describe the form of empowerment and the changes in working arrangements which ensued. They were then asked to comment on the success and weakness of the changes, and comment on any plans for the future development of the approach. For the supposedly empowered, questioning followed similar broad themes but from their perspective. In other words, to what extent did they share managerial views of problems and benefits of empowerment? They were asked to comment on how the nature of their work had changed and how they felt about it. Fundamentally did they feel empowered? Flowing from this, the interviews explored changes in work behaviour and their perceptions of the benefits and limitations of the initiative. Table I shows the total number of interviews in each of the three case study organisations. The table indicates the number of interviews that were conducted with â€Å"empowering† and the â€Å"empowered† in each organisation. The case studies which inform this paper were founded on an approach which suggests that empowerment needs to be based on the systematic exploration of each aspect of empowerment. The more evangelical claims suggest that empowerment of employees will result in an almost automatic improvement in organisational performance (Foy, 1994; Stewart, 1994). These models are simplistic and do not take into account, different managerial intentions, different forms introduced, differences in what employees can now do, different needs of employees to feel empowered and different impacts on the resulting performance exercised by employees. It is more likely that a multistage model is needed to analyse initiatives and outcomes. Figure 1 suggests a model for studying empowerment which assumes that the organisational benefits will not be a simple and direct trade-off. Managerial perceptions of what empowerment is and the benefits it is supposed to deliver will shape the form that is introduced (quality circles, autonomous groups, etc. ), which in turn will shape what employees can now do that they did not do before the change. This in turn has an impact on the feelings of those empowered, do they Number of interviews with â€Å"empowering† 11 8 11 Number of interviews with â€Å"empowered† 28 38 25 Organisation Table I. Numbers of interviews in three case study organisations Harvester Restaurants McDonald’s Restaurants TGI Friday Restaurants Managerial intentions Forms of empowerment Change in working arrangements The state of empowerment Change in work behaviour Organisation objectives: – improved service quality – increased service productivity – reduced labour turnover Employee empowerment in services 175 Figure 1. The form, state and outcomes of empowerment experience the state of empowerment, and if they do, does the state of empowerment result in improved work performance which then results in the desired organisational objective? Managerial intentions for empowerment Once we move away from the generalised claims for empowerment it is possible to see that the term itself is being used to describe a wide variety of practice in service delivery. In the Accor group of hotels, for example, empowerment has been used to describe the use of quality circles (Barbee and Bott, 1991); in McDonald’s Restaurants, suggestion schemes (Bowen and Lawler, 1992); â€Å"Whatever it Takes† employee training programmes in Scott’s Hotels (Hubrecht and Teare, 1993); employee involvement in devising departmental service standards in Hilton International Hotels (Hirst, 1991); autonomous work groups and removal of levels of management in Harvester Restaurants (Pickard, 1993); and the delegation of greater authority to service managers in British Telecom (Foy, 1994). Investigation of these specific initiatives reveals that there is considerable overlap between employee empowerment, employee participation, employee involvement and even employee commitment. Often these terms are used interchangeably (Collins, 1994; Cotton, 1993; Denton, 1994; Plunkett and Fournier, 1991). Thus quality circles, autonomous work groups, suggestion schemes and various employee share ownership programmes are frequently discussed under these different headings without defining the boundaries between them. Clearly, these initiatives do have similar antecedents in that they aim to meet, in varying ways, the individual employee’s psychological needs (Watson, 1986). In addition there is similarity in the intended outcomes. Marchington et al. (1992) say that employee involvement is used to describe initiatives which are largely designed and initiated by management and intended to improve communication with employees, generate greater commitment and enhance employee contributions to the organisation. This Personnel Review 28,3 176 might equally be said of the intentions for employee empowerment (Sewell and Wilkinson, 1992). Indeed empowerment is an integral feature of the â€Å"soft† version of human resource management (Legge, 1995). Watson (1986) suggests that employment strategy tends to wax and wane between managerial concern for control over employee performance and concern for employee commitment. Whilst this is a useful metaphor which does indeed suggest that employment strategy is both dynamic and political, it does suggest that a shift towards employee commitment results in less organisational control. A view frequently expressed by line mangers is that empowerment of subordinates will result in a loss of control. In reality empowerment as an employment strategy is concerned with both commitment and control of employees. It is more a shift in the locus of control (Friedman, 1977). Figure 2 provides a model which suggests that different employment strategies might shift the locus of control along a continuum between externally imposed control of the individual to internally generated self control. In effect employee empowerment, â€Å"increases [top management’s] control whilst creating the impression of lessening it† (Robbins, 1983, p. 67). Under this model, production line approaches to service delivery rely largely on imposed external controls in which employee commitment is less significant for effective performance, it is typical of Edwards’ (1979) â€Å"technological control†. Employee empowerment, in its more participative form, is more reliant on internalised self-control, where the employee works to the desired standard and controls their own performance accordingly (Salaman, 1979). Personal commitment to these standards then becomes a crucial ingredient. The empowered employee has much in common with Friedman’s (1977) employee with â€Å"responsible autonomy†. Having said that, it is possible to detect variations in the locus of control implied within different definitions of empowerment. Bowen and Lawler (1991), suggest that empowerment is defined as â€Å"management strategies for sharing decision making power† (p. 49). Others (Barbee and Bott, 1991) define empowerment as being â€Å"the act of vesting substantial responsibility in the people nearest the problem† (p. 28). These two different phrases reflect more than mere semantic differences. They reflect different assumptions about the nature of empowerment and the power of the empowered. The first implies a shift in authority whilst the second is concerned with a shift in responsibility. Traditional Technological Social Self Organisation Structure and Procedures Technology Leadership/ Management Style Work Groups Empowerment Professionalism Figure 2. Employment strategies and the locus of control External Control Internal Control My own investigation in the hospitality sector suggests that there are probably Employee four distinct but overlapping managerial intentions for empowerment (Lashley, empowerment in 1994). These are summarised in Table II. In principle they reflect the variations services in the assumptions discussed above, but there do appear a range of managerial intentions which have their roots in other initiatives mentioned earlier. For this reason the four categories are labelled with terms which reflect their 177 antecedents. There are three types of managerial intentions for empowerment of operatives. Empowering through participation is closely related to the Bowen and Lawler definition because they are chiefly concerned with empowering employees with decision making authority in some aspect of the work which had been formerly the domain of management. Harvester Restaurant’s use of semi-autonomous work teams (Ashness and Lashley, 1995) provides a good example. Employees not only dealt with and rectified customer complaints, they also were involved in receiving goods, securing the building and â€Å"cashing up the tills†. Empowerment through involvement is chiefly concerned with gaining from the experiences and expertise of service deliverers through consultation and joint problem solving. Managers continue to make the decision but with inputs from employees. The study of TGI Fridays (Lashley, 1997), confirms that pre-service team briefing sessions are used to both provide employees with immediate information about the operation and company objectives, but are also used to test out ideas with employees and gain suggestions. Employees have little authority to make decisions, even complaint handling is the responsibility of managers. Attempts at empowerment through commitment overlap and interrelate with both these other categories because it is hoped that improved employee commitment will result from the changed arrangements. However, some initiatives are distinctly aimed at winning Managerial meaning Empowerment through participation Initiatives used Autonomous work groups â€Å"Whatever it takes† training Job enrichment Works councils Employee directors Quality circles Team briefings Suggestion schemes Employee share ownership Profit-sharing and bonus schemes Quality of working life programmes (job rotation, job enlargement) Job redesign Re-training Autonomous work groups Job enrichment Profit-sharing and bonus schemes Empowerment through involvement Empowerment through commitment Empowerment through delayering Table II. Managerial meanings of empowerment Personnel Review 28,3 178 greater commitment to organisational service quality objectives. As with Barbee and Bott’s definition, these initiatives are ultimately about employees taking more responsibility for the service encounter through a variety of training programmes and appeals to both extrinsic and intrinsic sources of job satisfaction. McDonald’s crew training includes a customer care programme which aims to sensitise employees to customer service objectives. Crew are encouraged to intervene in the service situation, as in the example given above. They can give away some low cost gifts to children. The limits and boundaries of what they are empowered to do are narrow and restricted. Whilst the three foregoing intentions are typically concerned with employees, particularly front line personnel, some initiatives empower managers within the management hierarchy. These I have called empowerment through delayering. The restructuring of the McDonald’s MCOPCO organisation (Lashley, 1995), and the removal of layers of management in the external management of Harvester Restaurants (Pickard, 1993), or empowerment of hotel managers (Jones and Davies, 1991) are examples. Here the intention is greater managerial focus on the source of organisational profits  ± the units, greater responsiveness to customer needs, reduced management costs and the encouragement of entrepreneurialism. In the McDonald’s case, two levels of management were removed and the unit managers were â€Å"empowered†. In reality it meant that they were allowed to operate with reduced contact with their Area Supervisors. In this case, empowerment of the unit managers meant they were not as closely supervised by their superordinates and were â€Å"left to get on with it†. In suggesting these four features of managerial intentions I do not wish to imply that these are mutually exclusive. Whilst managers in some organisations may well be more concerned with one meaning more than others, it is more likely that managerial actions will be driven by a mixture of motives, and hence will encompass more than one, or all, of these. However, it is useful to suggest that managerial intentions are different and there are different managerial perceptions about empowerment and the benefits it will deliver. The form of empowerment Whatever the intentions of managers, initiatives which claim to be empowering will be translated into concrete practical arrangements which set the limits and boundaries within which the empowered operate (Ripley and Ripley, 1993; Potter, 1994). Somewhere, these arrangements will clarify just what the empowered have the authority to do and for what they will be responsible. It is here within the practical objective limits set by management that tensions between the perceptions and needs of management are likely to be set against the perceptions and needs of the empowered (Conger and Kanungo, 1988). Ultimately, the success of a particular initiative will be dependent in the first instance on the empowered being given the authority and freedom to make decisions which they themselves consider to be valuable, significant and important. Whilst this will clearly be subjectively assessed by individuals, who ill differ in their evaluation of these arrangements, it is important to arrive at Employee an objective analysis of the changes which have been introduced. empowerment in Our research has identified a number of dimensions of empowerment which services provide a means of describing, analysing and locating the form of empowerment being introduced in a particular company (Lashley and McGoldrick, 1994). These dimensions are listed in Table III. Essentially they 179 provide a mechanism for identifying the boundaries and contexts set for the form of empowerment being introduced. Consideration of these themes creates a framework for understanding the likely meanings of a particular form of empowerment within a given context. Each of the five dimensions is based on a bi-polar model which assumes a traditional â€Å"production line†, â€Å"top-down† approach at one extreme and a more empowered approach at the other. The task dimension considers the discretion which is allowed to the empowered in performing the task for which they were employed. To what extent are the empowered allowed to interpret the tangible and intangible aspects of the organisation’s services so as to satisfy customers. To what extent are the brand attributes, prices, product sizes, etc. , fixed, or to what extent can they be customised? To what extent does the need to control these issues set limits on the ability of an organisation to empower its members? In the cases we have studied there are frequently limits put on the employee because of the brand attributes being marketed. Hence employees in McDonald’s Restaurants and Harvester Restaurants were not allowed to alter menus or provide dishes off the menu, not even unit managers were allowed to make these decisions. In TGI Fridays employees could get a non-menu item produced if it involved ingredients which were stocked. In most cases, and to varying degrees, employees had some discretion over the service encounter. As stated earlier, McDonald’s had scripted the service in the past, but had dropped this in recent years as part of a strategy to improve service quality. Harvesters and TGI Fridays both relied on training and service values to guide the employee in their interactions with customers. An employee of TGI Fridays reported an incident that seemed typical. A customer had asked for a cigar, the company do Employee involvement in production line organisation (High volume, standardised, short time period, simple technology, theory X organisations) Low discretion Seeks permission Limited to task Calculative Control-oriented Employee involvement in empowered organisation (Personalised service, long time period, complex technology, unpredicatable, theory Y organisations) High discretion Responsible autonomy Influences the direction of policy Moral Trust-oriented Dimensions Task Task allocation Power Commitment Culture Table III. Five dimensions of empowerment Personnel Review 28,3 180 not stock cigars, so the employee went next door to the tobacconist and bought one. The guest was very pleased and wrote a letter to the company congratulating it on its excellent service. The task allocation dimension considers the amount of responsible autonomy an individual employee or group of employees have in carrying out their tasks. To what extent are they directed, or need to ask permission to complete their tasks? To what extent do company policies and procedures lay down what has to be done and then let them get on with it? To what extent are there tensions between responsible utonomy and the objectives for effective performance set by senior managers. In McDonald’s Restaurants, a â€Å"one best way† approach involves a narrow span of control and close supervision of both â€Å"crew† and managers. TGI Fridays, was also tightly controlled in the tangibles, again one best way procedures and close supervision of standards meant that employee performance was directly controlled. However, food and drinks service staff are encouraged to use their initiative in finding ways to customise the service interaction. Having said that, staff are not generally allowed to provide discounts or free meals to customers who complain. In Harvester Restaurants staff exercised more responsible autonomy, they were empowered to deal with complaints, to give free drinks, etc. , without reference to a â€Å"team manager† where they felt it would resolve a situation to the guest’s satisfaction. In some situations staff were able to decide on staffing levels, order stock and decide on how best to meet sales targets without the immediate involvement of the team manager. The power dimension is concerned with the feelings of personal power which individuals experience as the result of being empowered. What is it that the empowered are empowered to do? To what extent is their power limited to tasks? To what extent does it involve issues of policy at a more senior level (Marchington et al. , 1992)? To what extent do management efforts to share power foster feelings of empowerment in employees? What tensions are there between strategic objectives and limits on individual power? In all the cases included in these studies, arrangements were limited to what has been described as being â€Å"task participation† (Geary, 1994). In other words the empowered employee was not able to influence the policies which influence them. Thus at Harvester Restaurants, food service staff were able to decide as a team how best to achieve a sales target which required employees to sell one extra side order per table (Pickard,1993), but had no influence over this as an objective. The commitment dimension explores the assumptions about the source of employee commitment and organisational compliance in a particular form of empowerment. To what extent do they follow patterns in traditional organisations which assume that commitment is calculative and based on material extrinsic rewards (Etzioni, 1961). To what extent does the initiative assume a moral commitment, as the individual takes a personal sense of ownership in their activities and work? To what extent is there recognition that individuals may differ in their attachments and needs from work? How, if at all do the changes address needs for a sense of equity and fairness in the benefits from empowerment? Interviews with employees at Harvester Restaurants Employee revealed that employees working in autonomous work teams liked the empowerment in experience. Many reported that they â€Å"liked the extra responsibility† (Ashness services and Lashley, 1995, p. 27) and some that this was the first time they had been given responsibility. In TGI Fridays, employees reported that they enjoyed the â€Å"atmosphere† and that â€Å"you could have a good laugh†, but many also reported 181 that â€Å"they were working here because the money is good†. Employees are guaranteed a low basic pay, but can substantially add to this through a bonus on food sales and tips. Employees and managers both stated employees could earn over ? 0,000 per annum, some even as much as ? 30,000. The culture dimension examines the extent to which organisational culture fosters feelings of empowerment. To what extent can it be typified as being oriented towards openness, learning, and employee contributions (ChristensenHughes, 1992) and creating a climate of trust (Sternberg, 1992)? To what extent can the culture be described as bureaucratic, role, task or control oriented? To what extent is the initiative to empower a part of a broad organisational culture, or just â€Å"bolted on†? The research with the â€Å"delayered† McDonald’s organisation revealed that â€Å"empowered† General Area Supervisors in the pilot group experienced tensions with senior management because senior managers wanted to retain control over the recruitment of Restaurant Managers, and to get involved when problems occurred (Lashley, 1995). Using this five dimension model it is possible to locate the different forms which empowerment takes in practical organisational arrangements against the managerial intentions and the form empowerment takes  ± quality circles  ± autonomous work groups  ± â€Å"whatever it takes training†, etc. As stated earlier, managerial intentions may not be mono-dimensional, and particular initiatives may be driven by a range of intentions. However, each form of empowerment is likely to represent different sources of satisfaction to employees and represent different benefits to employers. Thus quality circles are usually representative, and may provide intrinsic satisfactions for those immediately involved (Kelly and Kelly, 1990), but they represent a more indirect source of satisfaction for the staff who do not take part. Managers gain suggestions and involvement in problem solving for those closest to the problem, but managers retain the decision making power. Autonomous work groups do give employees more direct involvement, all employees take part. They can provide sources of satisfaction which meet belonging and control needs. They can involve some task dimensions, but in the main, autonomous work groups are about improving work organisation. Frequently they are used in situations where the immediate organisational needs are difficult to predict, but the people directly involved are best placed to respond to changed circumstances. Several employees at Harvester Restaurants reported that when the operation was quiet the team would, â€Å"jointly agree for one member to go home for the rest of the shift, so that the team’s labour costs would be kept under control† (Ashness and Lashley, 1995, p. 27). â€Å"Whatever it takes† is again a direct form of involvement, particularly for service personnel, training is aimed at â€Å"giving Personnel Review 28,3 182 staff confidence to make decisions large or small, that impact on a guest’s stay† (Hubrecht and Teare, 1993). Typically these arrangements are focused at the task and interpreting customer requirements. For employees a sense of ownership, pride in the service encounter and the potential tip are sources of employee satisfaction. For the organisation, employees are encouraged to be responsive to customer needs and a greater level of customer satisfaction is likely to follow. Each of these examples, claim to empower employees, yet the brief discussion above shows that each represents different sources of satisfaction for employees. The arrangements are themselves different and appear to meet varied managerial needs. Certainly it is possible to identify alternative ways of managing and motivating employees which involve different amounts of discretion, autonomy, power, sources of commitment and cultural contexts, all claiming to be empowering. By considering the detail of the changes against the five dimensions it is possible to develop a much closer picture of the form of empowerment, the consistency of the arrangements and the limits placed upon them. My research with hospitality operators provides some useful vehicles for the analysis of forms of empowerment. For example, it is possible to describe Harvester Restaurants as empowering front line personnel through participation. In this case it takes the form of autonomous work groups where employees have virtually no discretion in the tangible aspects of their task, though they have some limited discretion in the intangible elements of the task. There is a high degree of responsible autonomy in task allocation. Power is limited, however, to the task level with little opportunity to influence objectives outside the immediate job. Commitment is in part calculative though, for some individuals, arrangements do meet psychological needs within a culture which is best typified as being control oriented. The state of empowerment The feelings of the empowered are fundamental to understanding the concept of empowerment and variations in form and application. Most definitions of the state rather than the form of empowerment stress the need for the individual to feel in control (Conger, 1989), have a sense of personal power together with the freedom to use that power (van Oudtshoorn and Thomas, 1993) and a sense of personal efficacy and self determination (Alpander, 1991). Similarly, Thomas and Velthouse (1990) suggest a four dimensional model of employee motivation based on a cognitive assessment of the competence, impact, meaningfulness and choice associated with a set of changes. In other words the state of empowerment is likely to be a consequence of the individual’s assessment of their ability to be effective, that they could make a difference, in a task which they feel is worthwhile and they have some degree of freedom to act as they see fit within a given context. Attempts to empower service workers will be tested against the experience of being empowered and the sense of personal efficacy which is created. Empowerment, therefore, involves both the objective facts of what a person is mpowered to do and the subjective feelings which the individual experiences Employee as a result. In these circumstances individual differences, orientations to work empowerment in and needs are likely to be important factors in the way an individual interprets services and responds to a particular change (Alpander, 1991). Managerial initiatives to empower employees are introduced to meet commercial objectives. In the case of service workers, the objectives may be to improve service quality or service 183 worker productivity, or improve job satisfaction and reduce labour turnover. Managerial evaluations of empowerment will therefore turn on the extent that these initiatives result in worker behaviour which meets the desired objectives. Whilst there is some research, on service workers which identifies factors likely to result in outcomes of empowerment as measured by pay satisfaction, promotion satisfaction and intentions to leave (Sparrowe, 1994), few studies draw the links between these feelings of empowerment and increased productivity or improvements in service quality.