Wolfe Implementing Self-Directed Taems free essay sample

RL Wolfe: Implementing Self-Directed Teams Introduction and Background Analysis This case was about the implementation of self-directed teams (SDTs) at the new pipe manufacturing plant of RL Wolfe located in Corpus Christi, Texas. The assessment took place in the second quarter of 2007, four years after the initial implementation of the SDT structure. The main change agents were John Amasi, RL Wolfe’s Director of Production and Engineering, and Jay Winslow, the Corpus Christi plant manager. Winslow was hired by Amasi to help in the planning and implementation of SDTs in the new Corpus Christi plant acquired by RL Wolfe in 2003. In contrast to Wolfe’s Austin and Columbus plants, the new plant was not unionized and was structured differently than the unionized plants in terms of job distinctions, work roles, and workers’ level of autonomy and involvement in decision-making. Amasi expected that after the implementation of SDTs, the Corpus Christi plant would achieve high productivity defined by him as 95% or more of design capacity. We will write a custom essay sample on Wolfe: Implementing Self-Directed Taems or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Meanwhile, the Wolfe’s Austin and Columbus plastic pipe manufacturing plants were running at 70% and 65% of design capacity respectively. Amasi’s Assessment Amasi arrived in Corpus Christi in May of 2007 to evaluate the results of the implementation of STDs. He found that the productivity level was at 82%- extensively higher than at Austin or Columbus’ plants, but still well below Amasi’s initial target of 95%. Efficiency levels on the third shift were considerably lower than for the first and second shift. Absentee rates were notably below the average for the first and second shifts, although they remained equivalent for the third shift. Leadership style and the role of the coordinator had changed positively, with 80% of the decisions about work made on the factory grounds versus through direction by the coordinator. The assessment exposed some problems in performance evaluations, ongoing tensions between the technicians and the line operators and material handlers, who felt they lacked status compared to the technicians. Besides there was worker frustration over perceived management failure to hand over promised control, and critical questions about just how much freedom to give the SDTs. Challenges Although the Corpus Christi plant had higher productivity and lower absenteeism rates compared to the ones at the other Wolfe plants, it was still not performing at the â€Å"high productivity† level that Amasi anticipated. Implementation of SDTs at the Corpus Christi plant had been associated with these superior results. The challenge is to figure out how to better utilize the SDT at Corpus Christi to drive productivity, as well as determine whether or not to implement SDTs to Wolfe’s other plants. Interventions Analysis The SDT arrangement in place at the Corpus Christi plant represented a completely different organizational structure than in the other Wolfe’s plants. Amasi assumed it would be easy to establish SDTs at Corpus Christi since this was an entirely new plant for the company. Although Amasi was able to get a new start with mostly new workers and a new plant, he did not consider the cost of the lack of congruence between SDTs and the culture and organizational structure in the broader organization. Although it is not stated in the case, it seems that there was no pressure to change structure due to any competitive advantage. Amasi solely took the decision of establishing SDTs in the new plant based on his readings and perceptions about the potential productivity improvement. I believe he needed to evaluate first the skills and culture required for the success of SDTs. From the case I can infer that the other two plants at Wolfe had a hierarchical structure with rigid job classifications and weight on the worth of seniority. There is strong evidence that the overall organizational culture and management style has historically been authoritarian. Wolfe’s culture lacked consensus-building and genuine participation in the decision-making processes, which are crucial characteristics for SDTs’ success. Although it was estimated that after three years of SDTs’ creation, the teams made 80% of the decisions, I cannot certainly infer that there was a change from an autocratic culture to one of consensus. Apparently, teams were empowered but at the same time they were not allowed to set performance goals or participate in strategic plans for the overall company. The limited empowerment might hinder the ability of SDTs to effectively work. I recommend a transition system where SDTs set their own performance goals, in coordination with management’s goals. The fact that operators complained bout having to wait for maintenance personnel to come in and repair problems, showed that they were willing to carry out these repairs themselves. I believe this is an indicator that operators were interested in self-management to some extent. This is a positive frame for SDTs success. Amasi’s expectation of getting 95% of productivity within three years was too optimistic. It repre sented an improvement of about 40% over the performance of the other two plants. A change in the culture of an organization cannot be done overnight, but instead is a process that takes time and perseverance. SDTs achieve gains when there is congruence among culture and organizational structure, skills and ability of the workers, opportunities to participate, supportive management, appropriate mix of team incentives, and the right environmental conditions. I believe Amasi needed to be more realistic and aware that this transformation required time and systematic OD interventions. Moreover, while higher productivity levels have been associated with the implementation of SDTs at Wolfe, there may be other reasons for this improvement. For instance, Corpus Christi was a new plant with workers and managers more attentive to tasks and goals. In addition, through the meticulous hiring process, Amasi and Winslow might get better workers than their counterparts in Columbus or Austin. The poor performance of the third shift (night hours) was present not only at the Corpus Christi plant but also in Wolfe’s other plants. The attempt of Winslow to solve this issue was rejected by the SDTs who saw this intervention as a lack of keeping the promise to allow self-direction. It might be worthwhile to give the SDTs the tools to investigate the problem. The reason for the shift’s poor performance could be the dissatisfaction of the workers with their poor family life (not able to share with family members during day hours), and the lack of any compensation differential; ultimately this caused workers to lose their motivation. At the manufacturing plant where I was a supervisor, workers rotated across different shifts allowing everyone to set a family time during the month. They had also a slightly higher remuneration to compensate the hardiness of the third shift. Winslow promoted a growing division between the line-level factory workers and the workers designated as â€Å"technicians. † I believe that Winslow gave preferential consideration to technicians when he wanted feedback of SDTs’ performance. This contributed to an increased gap between the two levels of workers. One of the principles of SDTs is egalitarian value (all members need to be treated as equals), which had been undermined through these actions. I would recommend doing some icebreaker activities and training that lead both levels of workers to improve their relationship. Besides, there was a fairly high turnover of floor workers, which means the membership within the teams changed frequently. This could hinder team cohesion and productivity. Winslow needed to improve workers’ motivation through egalitarianism, compensation and stimulating training programs, such as the Teachable Point of View used by Ford. I want to point out that Amasi and Winslow did not include a clear incentive program to compensate the additional responsibilities acquired by workers through SDTs’ implementation. The extra $2 per hour that Amasi initially considered was eliminated because of union concerns. Although SDTs might help to perform the same job more efficiently, I believe team players needed a compensation incentive to enhance their commitment. I recommended a systemized team-based performance evaluation system. Finally, I would recommend that Amasi and Winslow continue working together to improve SDTs with the target of further increasing in productivity (a more realistic 90% goal). Once the SDT structure has been refined, Amasi should meet Wolfe’s top managers to present the requirements and advantages of implementing SDTs at Austin and Columbus’ plants. I believe that Corpus Christi can be used as a benchmark for implementing SDTs at Wolfe’s other plants. At the end, overall Wolfe’s transformation in culture, structure, people, and task would set the SDTs’ requirements for success: enhanced productivity and competitiveness. Appendix (1) Self-directed team is defined as a committed, multi-skilled, multifunctional group with responsibility for the completion of a fairly whole piece of work and the control of all input, output, and underneath variables and conditions that influence team performance.

A Quick Tutorial on the Perl Array Pop() Function

A Quick Tutorial on the Perl Array Pop() Function When writing a Perl script you might find it handy to use the pop() function, which looks like this: $ITEM pop(ARRAY); Perls pop() function is used to remove and return (or pop) the last element from an array, which reduces the number of elements by one. The last element in the array is the one with the highest index. Its easy to confuse this function with shift(), which removes the first element from an array. An Example of Using the Perl Pop() Function myNames (Larry, Curly, Moe);$oneName pop(myNames); If you think of an array as a row of numbered boxes, going from left to right, it would be the element on the far right. The pop() function would cut the element off the right side of the array, return it, and reduce the elements by one. In the examples, the value of $oneName becomes Moe, the last element, and myNames is shortened to (Larry, Curly). The array can also be thought of as a stack- picture of a stack of numbered boxes, starting with 0 on the top, and increasing as it goes down. The pop() function would pop the element off the bottom of the stack, return it, and reduce the elements by one. myNames (Larry,Curly,Moe);$oneName pop(myNames);

Smith & Ricardo vs. Malthus, Bentham, Senior, J.S. Mill and Say Essay

Smith & Ricardo vs. Malthus, Bentham, Senior, J.S. Mill and Say - Essay Example It leads to increased productivity and consequently greater output, high wages and income per capita thus opulence of nations (Ekelund & Hebert 129). Natural harmony exists in economy due to the mechanism of the ‘invisible hand’ which drives individuals’ self-interests to promote greater good hence there is no need for government intervention. Competition in the market is vital and money is just for making trade more flexible. David Ricardo (1772-1823) in his Principles of political economy and taxation (1817) was concerned with distribution of wealth within Smith’s analytical framework. Like Smith he advocated for competition without restraint. He also acknowledged existence of use value and exchange value but concentrated on the natural exchange value which is determined by scarcity and labor cost of production (Bhatia, 116). Since rent is not part of the cost (its value in excess of real production) and capital is past labor, this leaves labor cost to determine relative value of commodities (Ekelund & Hebert 156). However, different types of labor are adjusted in market by relative rates of rewards and wages gravitate towards subsistence. If more than subsistence then population (labor supply) increases depressing wages and vice versa (p. 120). Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) focus was on population. Unlike Ricardo, he saw an imbalance between population and means of subsistence hence ineffective demand. For Malthus population increased in geometrical progression while means of subsistence increased in arithmetic progression hence population was bound to outstrip supply of means of subsistence if not checked (Bhatia 135). Population growth thus needed to be checked through preventive and positive checks such as delayed marriage, celibacy, moral restraint, floods, droughts, famine, disease and war. For Smith and Ricardo, demand for labor determined rate of population increase and was always kept

Brexit in UK Housing Sector Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Brexit in UK Housing Sector - Essay Example The UK construction industry generates a whopping  £90 billion yearly. This accounts for 6.5% of GDP and 6.3% of UK jobs. In general, this market sector employs more than 2.9 million people. Despite the fact that the UK construction market is predominantly domestic in nature, Brexit will affect it since a number of people from other European nations have invested in it. Consequently, aside from the EU referendum result, potential investors in the UK need to take note of two key influences on the housing market in 2016: First, the stamp duty introduced two years earlier which saw the upfront cost of purchasing a home increase rapidly. Secondly, the introduction of a high taxes on second homes. However, eight months after the Brexit vote, UK construction industry has witnessed a significant growth in terms of construction activities. According to Kierzenkowski et al new orders flooded the month of December despite the weakening pound having driven firms’ material costs to thei r highest in half a decade. For example, a recent survey showed that purchasing managers in the construction market rose from 49.2 in August to 52.3 in September. This paints a good economic picture than many hardly expected after EU referendum. Therefore, clients should consider the following factors as they look forward to venturing into the UK construction industry. Supply refers to the connection between the cost of a good and the quantity producers are ready to make accessible for purchase in a given timeframe while other factors remain constant.

Applied management project Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 14250 words

Applied management project - Dissertation Example Companies can try to capture market share from foreign shores in order to be able to expand without the fear of being discriminated against foreign or local counterparts (Hoekman 2001). Still, there remains considerable criticisms because of the lapses of the organisation have negatively impacted some developing nations. However, the magnitude of the global marketplace makes it very difficult to manage. With the opportunities presented by the WTO, the companies can then turn their sights on these markets and the possible entrenched competition that they may face. Hence, there is the urgency to be able to penetrate swiftly as well as to guide the product in this very critical stage (Robertson 1993). Also, companies would do well to be able to be able to innovate in such a way that they can capture and hold market share. To do so, it is shown in the paper that it is important to always consider the market when innovating their products (Karr and Gabrielson 2007). Background, Aims and O bjectives The global economy has greatly benefited from the increased trading activities that have been fuelled by trade liberalization. Hence, there are many companies that have tried to take on the challenges and be able to get into the different countries and capture the demand of their respective domestic markets. This strengthening of the global trading system has further expanded the global marketplace where companies can have access to different areas where they can sell their wares as well as be able to enhance their production capabilities. It is important to note that this has been supported greatly by the anti-discrimination principles of the Most Favored Nation (MFN) rule as well as the National Treatment rule which has enabled the different companies from different countries to be able to have fair treatment (Hoekman 2001). Still, there are criticisms of the global trade organisation. In fact, Rose (2003) even alleges that the WTO does not really contribute to the growi ng trade between nations. Furthermore, there have also been allegations that the organisation is merely a pawn used by rich and powerful countries and companies to advance their self-serving interests and be able to take advantage of the resources from other countries. Also, there have also been conflicts that have come between policies from different nations with those of the WTO. Among these have been the labour policies and the now increasingly pressing environmental policies. Through the past decade, there has been increasing awareness of the effects of global warming. Hence, different countries have been growing more concerned about the need to protect the environment and mitigate the impact of pollution in the environment. Therefore, there have been increasing regulations that different companies must abide in order to reduce their carbon footprints. However, there is the risk that these policies may be interpreted as protectionist in nature rather than as a protection for nat ure. On the other hand, there have also been rulings in favour of trade that has earned the ire of environmentalist groups that have alleged that the organisation was favouring capitalism over the need to protect the environment. It is important to remember though that trade must be able to promote sustainability while countries must likewise ensure that they abide by the various agreements from the trade rounds that has

The Story of an Hour Analysis

The Story of an Hour Analysis The short-story under consideration by Kate Chopin, the American short-story writer known for her works about strong women in terms of liberation debate, is entitled The Story of an Hour. Being the framing sign of the whole text, the title brings the text up to date, however, running through the entire plot it does not uncover the essence of the unpredictable situation the main character finds herself. It is a sign of prosecution and forms the expectations about what the story may deal with. a lot is hidden beyond the title but only having read the short-story it becomes clear that it describes an hour of true free life of a wife, Louise Mallard, who was dominated by her husband Brently Mallard and could break free from the imprisonment only after her husband had perished in a railroad disaster. The theme of the short-story is definitely connected with the future Liberation movement that was already on the way and promised the long-awaited equality. The analysis of the short-story under consideration is carried out in the light of the Lacanian structuralism who in his psychoanalysis reconceptualised Freud using post-structuralism. Kate Chopin enables readers to trace the widows mind working and the way it is influenced with sadness and joy. The readers distinctly feel the shift of tone in the narration as Mrs. Millard breaks through her conscious storm of grief that caught her immediately as she heard the news. Her first and adequate reaction of mind is weeping, Chopin says: she wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment. Everyone knew that she suffered from a heart disease and were very careful and tender to do the least harm to her fragile heart. It seems that her oppressed will obeys the established system of society and she expresses her feelings structured by the desire and expectations of others, through the relay of her surroundings. The reason of that may lie in the fact that human-beings are social creatures and their desire also has social nature that is developed through culture and language, the former structured like the unconscious. But then she abruptly calms down and sits in her room enjoying the view from the window: The delicious breath of rain was in the airà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves. At the moment the sound consciousness that cannot help but feel regret about the perished husband makes the way for physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul. Here Kate Chopin describing the unconscious through the symbols introduces readers the image of nature seen from out of the window of Louises room. The season itself, the springtime, symbolizing the new life the advantages of which she is still has not realized yet, and the window giving her the view of patches of blue sky, all this is definitely a new world that appears before Mrs. Mallard. The expression of the unconscious comes through symbols and readers see her motionless with her dull stare transformed into a gaze fixed away off yonder on the patches of sky symbolizing her future. She feels that something is approaching to posses her interrupting her bitter grief, that is the feeling of freedom that she never new before. And as according to Lacan, the unconscious is structured like a language, Louises eyes become keen and bright and she utters under the breath: Free, free, free! Louise did not cry herself to sleep as a child usually does, it was her unconscious desire to live a full life of beautiful images that lost its bright colors as her husband dominated her. Her conscious ego comes into clashes with her unconscious desire to gain freedom and live for herself. And the momentous joy that seizes her is the expression of her unconscious mind. Lacan substantiated the connections of binary oppositions that became central to structuralism. They can be noticed in the short-story as a system of interrelated signs that make up the whole. In the text under consideration the binary oppositions are male and female, joy and grief, love and self-assertion. The last opposition is ironically described by Kate Chopin, as the main character thinks that she loved her husband sometimes and adds that often she had not. She reasons what could love count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion that is a strong impulse for her to go on. She may have drawn a line to summarize what she lacked and longed for and realized that she deserves freedom and there would be no powerful will bending, no repression and restrictions imposed on her by the society of the time. Mrs. Mallard, though it is a kind of paradox, could feel so free and protected only after her husbands death and was joyously drinking in a very elixir of life through the open window. But the fate offers her another surprise bringing her husband alive and when he enters the house as nothing has happened her heart cannot bear the excitement and fails. Though no one of those present can guess the true cause of death, Louise dies of a heart attack as she instantly realizes that her hopes are broken against the shores of reality. Her family friends call it the joy that kills. Actually, she appeared to feel free only temporarily, but she was free only from the burden of marriage that repressed her, but the complete freedom is nothing but an illusion as it doubtfully exists. Viewing the short-story from the perspective of post-structuralism definitely has some drawbacks, as it propagates the ambivalence of meaning and upset link of the text and the real world. Rejecting the certainty of meaning it may result in thousands of free interpretations that put the readers on the wrong track. Therefore, analyzing the short-story in the light of structuralism is quite beneficial and helps to reveal through symbols the mental state of the main character with the unconscious dominating the conscious ego. It cannot help but catch the eye of the readers that Kate Chopin intentionally concentrates her narration on description of the mental state of the heroine and the signs that uncover it, paying little attention either to her appearance or to the interior and clothes. Structuralism developed by Lacan helps readers to have a good look through a magnifying glass of his postulates on the mental state of Mrs. Mallard and ponder over the reasons of her behavior concealed in the symbols. The short-story The Story of an Hour is of inspirational and though-provoking character that can hardly leave readers unmoved.

Essay --

Ethics of Dissection The use of dissection in classrooms is able to expand the knowledge of students by giving them a hands-on approach to anatomy. Dissection is one topic that is highly debated among all people who question whether it’s an ethical thing to do. According to Webster’s Dictionary the definition of the word ‘ethical’ means morally right and good or pertaining to right and wrong. The line between right and wrong is often a very thin line and many people don’t know where one ends and the other begins. I believe that dissection is an ethical way to get students more involved in learning and can give students a better understanding of the anatomical and physiological make-up of a once living organism. Creating an environment where kids are able to move around to learn instead of sitting in desks all day is important in the teaching process because the kids are able to participate directly, especially in dissection, without a teacher doing it for them. The National Science Teachers Association supports the idea of bringing in animals for dissection. â€Å"Student interaction w...

Role of Stakeholder

Role of Stakeholder Jane C. Doe MGT/420 December 10, 2012 George Wells Role of Stakeholder The role of stakeholder in implementing a quality management process is one that has many facets. When an organization decides to embark upon a quality management process there are many people, internally and externally, dependent upon or affected in some way by the final product, output or process (â€Å"Tutorialspoint†,  2012). In order to decide who the stakeholders will be in the process, management of the stakeholder process is essential.First, it is important to identify all those required to ensure the success of creating an efficient process; those involved are either inside or outside of the organization (â€Å"Tutorialspoint†,  2012). Second, an analysis to ascertain what the stakeholder’s needs, boundaries, expectations, locus of control within the process, and mutual relationships will be is necessary to make sure everyone involved understands his or her rol e (â€Å"Tutorialspoint†,  2012).A third and also important step is the process of engaging all stakeholders early on in the project. Stakeholders must have the ability to engage with the leaders of the quality management process to familiarize everyone with each other and understand each person’s role within the process. When working conceptually with quality management, the three spheres of quality known as quality management, quality control, and quality assurance each have their own role but also overlap (Foster, Chapter  1, Differing Perspectives on Quality,   2007).In each of the spheres mentioned herein, stakeholders play various roles. In order for an organization to achieve, maintain, and improve the quality of its offerings, companies use quality control and quality assurance processes and procedures (â€Å"Tutorialspoint†,  2012). Organizations will define their internal quality standards, procedures, and processes as well as develop stakehold ers who will be required to adhere to those standards when dealing with quality control. Stakeholders will monitor process apability and stability, measure process performance, develop and maintain control charts and more (Foster, Chapter  1, Differing Perspectives on Quality,  2007). In terms of quality assurance, stakeholders are required to put forth a continuous effort to improve the quality practices within the organization. According to  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Tutorialspoint†Ã‚  (2012),  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Continuous improvements are expected in quality functions in the company. For this, there is a dedicated quality assurance team commissioned†Ã‚  (Quality Control & Quality Assurance).The stakeholders of a quality assurance team are dedicated to and responsible for defining a process for achieving and improving quality; they are responsible for process improvement (Foster, Chapter  1, Differing Perspectives on Quality,  2007). â€Å"The management processes that overarch and tie together the control and assurance activities make up quality management† (Foster, 2007, Chapter 1, Differing Perspectives on Quality). According to Foster  (2007),  the mixed view of quality management up holds the notion that quality is the responsibility of all management, not just quality managers (Chapter  1, Differing Perspectives on Quality).So in the case of implementing a quality management process, managers, supervisors, and employees are all stakeholder of varying degrees in implementing quality management activities such as planning, creating the quality culture, providing leadership and support, providing training and employee recognition, and facilitating organizational communication (Foster, Chapter  1, Differing Perspectives on Quality,   2007). Two companies that utilized world-class quality control plans are General Electric (GE) and Federal Express (FedEx). To keep GE ahead, managers have devised an array of corporate strategies. They put exceptio nally heavy reliance on the quality control program that far outstrips run-of-the-mill efforts†Ã‚  (Foster, 2007, Chapter 1, Differing Perspectives on Quality). FedEx utilizes the value-added perspective on quality (Foster, Chapter  1, Differing Perspectives on Quality, 2007). â€Å"To reach its aggressive quality goals, the company has set up one cross-functional team for each service component of the SQI† (Foster, 2007, Chapter 1, Differing Perspectives on Quality).The SQI is a 12-component index that FedEx uses that comprehensively describes how its performance is viewed by its customers. Each item in the service quality indicator is weighted to reflect how pointedly it affects overall customer service (Foster, Chapter  1, Differing Perspectives on Quality,  2007). References Foster, S. T. (2007). Managing quality. Integrating the supply chain (3rd ed. ). Retrieved from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content/eReader. aspx#gloss01_357. Tutor ialsPoint. (2012). Retrieved from http://www. tutorialspoint. com/management_concepts/stakeholder_management. htm

Concepts of Visibility and Invisibility in an Organization

Concepts of Visibility and Invisibility in an Organization Introduction The issue of gender inequality in organizations has never been addressed satisfactorily (Alvesson Billing 2009, p. 3). Daily activities carried out within an organization dictate the level of gender inequality. Realization of gender equality is important for the success of any organization. As such, organization’s internal practices play a great role in the determination of gender equality. An organization can have women and men doing same responsibilities.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Concepts of Visibility and Invisibility in an Organization specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, when it comes to the process of decision-making only men are engaged. Managers and leaders play a great role in promoting the gender equality within an organization. The underlying aspect in the fight against inequality is awareness. Therefore, managers should note that the lack of awareness could be either inten tional or unintentional. Visibility of inequality varies from one organization to another. In this article, the concepts of visibility and invisibility are analyzed with the aim of increasing the understanding of gender advantage and disadvantage in organizations. Discussion The topic of visibility and invisibility is now the subject of research in most organizations (Bilimoria 2007, p. 39). The researches aim at understanding the advantages and disadvantages of gender. It involves the analysis of how attitudes, cultures, race, and gender influence the working environment and the outcome results of an organization. The research on visibility and invisibility is focused on revealing the concealed gender issues within an organization. Normally, gender is hidden within norms, values, practices, and activities of an organization. Notably, early researches on organizations criticized the theorizing of work while dealing with gender. The studies portrayed males as universal subject and ma de females visible in terms of experiences in the workplace. The most recent researches and studies seek to make visible all the aspects, which have been suppressed within an organization (Cleveland Stockdale 2000 p. 67). The above is evidenced by the increase in management of several discourses such as sexuality and violence related cases in the workplaces. In most organizations, there are cases of sexual harassment, especially of the senior male workers upon the junior female workers. The most common being favours in exchange for sexual related acts. Other cases include the discrimination of women during the decision making of organization’s major strategies. Women are few in all the possible committees or board members. Thus, when it comes to decision-making through voting women have no impact.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Generally, statistics show t hat most organizations are male dominated as management structures and hierarchy places men in the top management as compared to their women counterparts (Simpson Lewis 2007, p. 90). Policies, values, and objectives of an organization usually hide the gender disadvantage. Most of the policies lack well stated strategies of addressing the gender inequality. Often, male workers are usually insensible to issues related to gender and this is depicted in their daily behaviours and activities at the workplace. Male workers enjoy many privileges in the workplace as compared to women. It is important to note that the implications related to the visibility and invisibility processes are complex and rely on the gender and organization’s context. Visibility in the organization is perceived as a limiting factor to women and advantageous to men. Women usually face masculinity and marginalization, while their male counterparts enjoy development opportunities and exposure to various challe nges. Invisibility can be recognised and understood in diverse ways. Similarly, invisibility has different implications in the management of gender within an organization. In the case of management, men are always the invisible in terms of gender and they are privileged since they face little or no scrutiny. Thus, men carry out the management role with ease as compared to the female workers. Women have difficult times in dealing with both the gender and work identity.Notably, the invisibility that implies the normative position gives men power. Obviously, it is the major causes of powerlessness among the marginalized portion of the workers and it is always concealed. The marginalized group works harder to be seen and recognized. The only way out for women is to manipulate the visibility and utilize the eroticism implication since men are hierarchically positioned in the management structure. To master the relationship between visibility and invisibility in the current organization, empirical as well as conceptual analysis is required. Researchers are involved in revision and reflection of concepts in order to understand the concepts of gender in an organization (Ryan 2011, p. 89). To deal with invisibility, surface and deep conceptual analysis of theoretical complexities and contradictions is vital. At the surface level are the feminist perspective and the exclusion and parity in numbers of women and men. On the other hand, the deep concept involves the maintenance of power within struggles relating to norms of the invisibility.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Concepts of Visibility and Invisibility in an Organization specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This calls for dynamic analysis of the visibility and the relationship between the groups. Women can embrace high performance because they can avoid mistakes. However, this can create a higher chance of marginalization and exclusion among women. I n some instances, men may opt for men friends and teamwork limiting the behavioural concept and leaving women with constrained roles. Visibility can cause negative consequences for female workers in terms of performance, high career qualifications, and unfriendly working environment. Other factors include the social barriers and behaviours observed in social interaction. To the contrary, token male workers are perceived as superior in terms of career, expertise, command, and authority and this is the reason for their success. Visibility is concerned mainly with the disadvantage of exclusion and difference among the different groups. In reality, the negative consequences facing women can be addressed by ensuring that the number of women working in an organization is increased. The balanced working group ensures that women enjoy gender equality as their male counterparts. Invisibility shades light on the normative position as well as the power related to norms. Men enjoy invisible pri vileges through their dominant nature in an organization since they encounter little scrutiny. However, studies show that women are currently threatening the powers and privileges enjoyed by male workers. It is possible due to the fact that the marginalized groups and women are trying to get the social and cultural recognition. The illustration indicates the hidden privileges and resources that men are currently enjoying. In reality, men have been noted and marked as the privileged gender group. It is perceived as the oppressor group and it benefits from the cultural and material advantages as compared to the women. Norm is invisible, it is hard to analyze, and usually escapes the scrutiny. As such, the individual groups who occupy normative position always go unmarked since they do not represent any gender. The interesting thing is that men do not see themselves as the gendered and privileged and this makes them invisible as the gendered group. Invisibility indicates that according to the normative position both material and cultural benefits usually go unrealized. The major reason is that they are concealed and are termed as inevitable prizes, which the dominant centre should enjoy. In essence, there is a failure when focus is limited to disadvantages that face the feminine group forgetting to look at the advantages of the masculinity.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In fact, the issue of gender is only discussed when it causes harm, and this leaves room for the escape of gender from the view as a source of power. It remains concealed, protected, and perpetuated according to invisibility. In contemporary organization, women have secured key positions, but the drawback is that they have not been accepted as leaders, board members, and managers. Whit respect to election of members, women lack the needed numbers as compared to their male colleagues (Jeanes Knights 2011, p. 123). Women still seek cultural privileges attached to invisibility. Both male and female seek to attain the dominant centre and this is the reason why some women entrepreneurs are involved in businesses known to be dominated by men (Bruni Gherardi 2005, p. 56). However, most women choose to engage in businesses that are women oriented and by doing so they propagate the normative positioning. Male nurses who try to align themselves with their medical doctors experience the same struggle. Usually, male nurses position themselves equally as their male doctors irrespective of their different levels of professions. However, the entry to the dominant centre is causing difficulties, as they have to argue out for the areas in which they had been excluded and marginalized by the male doctors. Actually, the privileges attached to the dominant centre might not remain hidden forever from the view. The norm can be seen as the invisible side of power and it conceals gender related practices and the attached privileges. With respect to occupations and duties, women are highly visible and represent experience and materials. Therefore, they get marked as gendered. Another good example is the role and experience of women in the engineering career, they are visible physically but invisible when it comes to authority. Outside the norm, individuals lack power. Therefore, they are vulnerable to marginalization, neglect, and concealment. It is true that preservation and concea lment need power in order to control activities and practices in an organization to suppress any alternative means. Power is actually both fragile and insecure. Vortex explains how the visibility and invisibility behave in the margins and the dynamics outside the dominant centre (Gutierrez 2003, p. 186). The processes to conceptualize include exposure, revelation, and disappearance. The process of revelation is against the normative practices that are enjoyed by the masculinity group. Revelations occur due to female workers securing both leadership and management positions in the organization. The action of these women changes the traditional ways of doing things. Therefore, if women want to be visible, they must challenge their male counterparts. Women are put at the point of dismissal since they are over-exposed and are vulnerable to exploitation. To address visibility, organizations must accept invisibility. This calls for adoption of means of responding to demands of work and ho me. In an organization, there exists space in which women can disappear into the norm (Gutierrez 2003, p. 189). They do this by maintaining their profile low as a response to the visibility. Entering into a state of invisible norm is a strategic alternative to perceived disadvantage. In addition, women can strategically change between visibility and invisibility in an attempt to initiate change. They only become noticeable when challenging the normalcy. However, they are at risk of losing their leadership value in case their gender is exposed. Actually, being visible is a female advantage and it requires exposure of the lack of real leaders by women and concealment of the norm. Visibility leaves women with either positive or negative consequences from the experience of the female engineers who are highly physically visible but are ignored in terms of authority. For the minority group, female engineers, it requires extra efforts for them to be accepted as their male engineers. Women have adopted both visibility and invisibility as a response to the dense masculinity at the workplace. By doing so, women are able to subvert the mens authority in an organization. The ability of women to change between the visibility and invisibility has earned them the opportunity to participate in projects. Some arguments are against gender categorization of male and female since it is a violation of ethics. Actually, the gendering of human beings masks them against their status. Paradoxically, the visibility of women excludes them from the perspective of competence in comparison to their male counterparts. Women therefore ought to abandon the fact that they are female and should be treated equally as men. Instead, they should pursue careers that are friendly and put more effort without focusing on the gender equality discourse. According to the tacit rules, men are perceived as positive and best for the job while women are seen as less suitable not because of merit but because o f the notion that they are women. In an organization, the tacit rules help women organize themselves in the workplace. However, in some fields such as science women are discriminated since the male expertise is dominant and competent. Therefore, the masculinity discourse should be taken lightly. Conclusion Generally, the issue of gender equality at the workplace is expressed in different ways at different levels (Lind 2010, p. 45). The attitude of an organization reveals whether there is equality or not. It is clear that when there is equality, then there is little difference between men and women in terms of powers and privileges. Both men and women are involved equally in the division of work and the process of decision-making is democratic. All genders contribute equally during decision-making processes. The gender equality creates a positive attitude in combination of work and the family issues to both men and women. The basic step is to appreciate the differences between the tw o genders. Through this, a basis of cooperation and development within an organization is established. For this reason, the research of visibility and invisibility are embraced and encouraged. The studies about visibility and invisibility helps organization in shading light on the advantages and disadvantages, which are attached to the two approaches (Werhane 2011, p. 32). The invisibility is being perceived as advantageous to women while the invisibility believes in a normative position where men enjoy the powers and privileges in an organization. References Alvesson, M., Billing, Y. D 2009, Understanding gender and organizations, SAGE, Los Angeles. Bilimoria, D 2007, Handbook on women in business and management, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, U.K. Bruni, A., Gherardi, S 2005. Gender and entrepreneurship: an ethnographic approach. Routledge. London. Cleveland, J., Stockdale, M. S 2000. Women and men in organizations sex and gender issues at work. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates ,Mahwah, N.J. Gutierrez, M 2003, Macro-economics: making gender matter : concepts, policies and institutional change in developing countries, Zed Books, London. Jeanes, E., Knights, D 2011, Handbook of gender, work and organization. Wiley. Chichester, West Sussex. Lind, A 2010. Development, sexual rights and global governance, Routledge,. London. Ryan, M 2011, An introduction to criticism: theory, culture, society,Wiley-Blackwell. Oxford. Simpson, R., Lewis, P 2007, Voice, visibility and the gendering of organizations. Houndmills, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, Hampshire Werhane, P. H 2011, Leadership, gender, and organization. Springer. Dordrecht.

Why They Play Pranks on Dec. 28 in Spain, Latin America

Why They Play Pranks on Dec. 28 in Spain, Latin America If you should be in a Spanish-speaking country some April 1 and play a joke on your friends and follow that up with a shout of  ¡Tontos de abril! chances are youll get nothing but blank stares as a reaction. The minor holiday of April Fools Day, perennially popular in the United States, is little known in Spain and Spanish-speaking Latin America, but there is a rough equivalent, el Dà ­a de los Santos Inocentes (Day of the Holy Innocents), observed on Dec. 28. The Day of the Holy Innocents also known sometimes in English as the Feast of the Holy Innocents or as Childermas. How Dec. 28 Is Celebrated The day is observed  throughout the Spanish-speaking world  in much the same way as April Fools Day. But when the prankster is ready to reveal the joke, the saying is  ¡Inocente, inocente! or Innocent one, innocent one! (See the lesson on making nouns out of adjectives for the grammar behind this.) It is also common on that day for newspapers and TV stations to print or broadcast news stories based in humor rather than fact. In its origins, the day is a sort of gallows humor. The Day of the Innocents observes the day when, according to the Gospel of Matthew in the Bible, King Herod ordered the baby boys under 2 years old in Bethlehem to be killed because he was afraid that the baby Jesus born there would become a rival. As it turned out, though, the baby Jesus had been taken away to Egypt by Mary and Joseph. So the joke was on Herod, and thus followed the tradition of tricking friends on that day. (This is a sad story, but according to tradition the babies murdered in Jesus stead went to heaven as the first Christian martyrs.) Celebrating With a Food Fight One of worlds more unusual celebrations of any kind is used to mark Dec. 28 in Ibi, Alicante, Spain, not far from the middle of the Spanish Mediterranean Coast. In a tradition more than 200 years old, townspeople engage in a massive food fight of sorts- but its all in good fun and is used to raise money for charity. After a several decades in which the festivities were suspended for the Spanish Civil War and subsequent national events, they were revived in 1981 and have become a tourist draw and major event since then. The festivities are known as Els Enfarinats in Valencian, the local language closely tied to Catalan. In Spanish, its known as the fiesta of Los Enharinados, loosely translated as The Flour-Covered Ones. (Enharinar is the verb for coating something with flour, known as harina.) The festivities traditionally begin around 8 a.m. when participants in mock military attire stage a fake coup and take control of the town and enact all sorts of crazy ordinances in program called New Justice - Justà ­cia Nova in Catalan and Justicia Nueva in Spanish. Those who brake the pretend ordinances are fined, with the money going to worthy causes. Eventually, a massive fight ensues between the rulers and the opposition, a battle fought with flour, vegetables and other harmless projectiles. Festive dancing marks the end of the battle. Other Observances of Inocentes Several other regions have distinctive ways of observing the Day of the Holy Innocents. For example, various celebrations are widespread in Venezuela, where many of the celebrations mix European and indigenous traditions. In some areas, for example, festivities are held in which children dress as the elderly, the elderly dress as children, leaders dressed in tattered clothing, men dress as women and women as men and so on, and many wear colorful masks, headgear, and/or costumers. Names or some of these festivals include the festival of the locos and locaà ­nas (the crazy ones). Although Dec. 28 is not an officially observed holiday, some of the festivities can last the entire day. Another noteworthy celebration takes place in El Salvador, where the largest observance of the day takes place in Antiguo Cuscatln. Floats for a parade are adorned with pictures of children representing those in the Biblical story. A street fair is also held. Key Takeaways In most Spanish-speaking countries, Dec. 28 is observed as the Dà ­a de los Santos Inocentes, or the Day of the Holy Innocents, commemorating the Biblical story of King Herod killing babies in Bethlehem.The day is observed in some areas much like April Fools Day is observed in the United States.Colorful celebrations are held in some other areas to observe the day.

Top Girls by Caryl Churchill Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Top Girls by Caryl Churchill - Essay Example My general thought of the production is that the director did an excellent job in explaining the challenges facing tough women. The play commences in the cafà © where Marlene waits for her friends to arrive to celebrate her success as the boss of the employment agency (Churchill 1982). The women guests explain their experiences prior to attaining their goals. Scene one in Act 2 displays Marlene at the agency working while Scene 2 shows Angie and Kit playing. Angie says that she would kill her mother as she had been sleeping around (Churchill 1982). In Scene 3 Marlene arrives, Nell and Win gossip about the latest in the office. Angie arrives; but is shy in Marlene’s presence. Mrs. Kidd interrupts and requests Marlene to step down from the â€Å"man’s job† for her desperate husband, Howard. Marlene declines Mrs. Kidd’s offer. Nell then arrives with the news that Howard had had a heart attack but Marlene is not moved (Churchill 1982). The final act takes place in Joyce’s kitchen, where Marlene, Joyce and Angie share experiences. Joyce and Marlene are wary that Angie may not m ake much of herself. Joyce is skeptical of her success, but Marlene insists that she will be a successful woman, just like her mother who is revealed to be Marlene (Churchill 1982). The setting played  a more active role in  my experience of the film by crafting a completely simulated world on my understanding of the film. The setting is in Britain where the success of women is regarded stylish and fashionable (Churchill

Marketing projectthe puzzle phone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing projectthe puzzle phone - Essay Example Although there are many other companies operating in the mobile phone industry but in terms of market share iPhone and Samsung are the leading brands. However for surviving in such a competitive market our company is offering some specific features that will help us create product differentiation. Puzz phone is a phone with distinctive, advanced and innovative features at affordable price. Our pricing strategies are very much different from our competitors as we are offering customized products at affordable price. Puzz is also trying to come up with new innovative technological features in order to compete with brands like Samsung. Puzz phone offers more variable features to its customers and that is what will help us to attract new customers. Our company also takes lesser time to assemble customers’ product. There are various factors that are considered to be the strength of Puzz Phone, however the important ones are its price and high customization. We offer variability in price so customers are allowed to choose according to their preferences. The price advantage provided by Rubik incorporation helps attracting a lot of customers. High customization helps customers selecting the features of their own choice. The demand of every customer is different from the other. Puzz phone helps people to express their own different character and personality through their phones. There are some features of the phone that do affect the brand image. These features are the low productivity and efficiency of the phone. The high customization being offered by the company does affect the productivity of the brand. The company however is trying to overcome the drawbacks in order to cater with the complaints of the customers and establish long term loyalty of the customer. Rubik incorporation is also trying to adopt useful marketing strategies for fulfill their mission and vision. The mobile phone industry is considered to be the