International Bank Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International Bank - Essay Example With this combination of traits, F.C. will be perceived by her subordinates as highly professional and a less emotionally-attached supervisor. With the probable high-esteem perceived by these loan officers, they are being sent a clear and firm directive that this boss ‘means serious business.’ Thus, F.C.’s work characteristics will positively impact the subordinate loan officers’ behavior through the reinforcement of discipline and due diligence. To aid me in deciding which candidate is best for the position, I may require the invaluable information about the candidate’s capacity to solicit and rationalize the subordinate’s responses on the bank’s organizational approaches. This capacity is important because an understanding of the subordinates’ behavior is the primary key in formulating solutions in work problems like selling loans to low credit-worthy clients to reach or exceed the allotted quota, or lowering the set standards to accommodate all types of clients. Another criterion for judging the candidate’s suitability in the position is the capability to enforce individual accountability among the subordinate loan officers. The lack of such accountability may be the probable culprit behind the loan officers’ reckless exposure of the bank to financial risks. Moreover, the bank evidently fails or has a considerable lapse in enforcing accountability to these loan officers (else there would be no financial bath). The candidate who possesses such enforcing capacity and serves as a model of accountability has the potential to further and reinforce the bank’s risk-mitigating measures. For this particular supervisory position, personality assessment should be given as much weight as the technical qualifications. This is because technical tasks are difficult to delegate or coordinate without a healthy framework of soft skills. Moreover, decisions and actions are

Effect of Immigration on New York City Research Paper

Effect of Immigration on New York City - Research Paper Example Writing about New York City's population, Nathan Glazer noted, "If the United States remains the permanently unfinished country, to an even greater degree the same is true for New York City" (Vecoli, 567). Various reports show that immigration continues to shape the city. Immigrant flows are at an all time high since the peaks at the turn of the century. Immigration to the city in the 1990-2000 periods stood at approx 13,000 annually, a 32 percent increase over the average of 86,000 in the 1980s. (Lobo, 12) This growth mirrored the increasing flow of immigrants to the country as a whole; as a result, immigrants to the city constituted nearly 15 percent of all immigrants to the U.S. in both the 1980s and 2000s. (Martin, 02) This article examines the nature of these recent immigrant flows and their impact on the city's population. Traditionally, immigrants to the city have been disproportionately from the Caribbean and South America relative to the nation, which has been more likely to get immigrants from Asia and Mexico. The Caribbean comprised 33 percent of the flow of immigrants to the city, but only 12 percent of the flow to the nation in the 2005-2009 periods. ... Likewise, Asians were 26 percent of the city's flow but comprised 42 percent of entering immigrants to the nation. (Martin, 5) The 2000s marked resurgence in European immigration to New York City, and a decline in the share of Caribbean flows. Immigration from Europe stood at 22 percent, more than twice the level of 9 percent in the 1990s. (Vecoli, 562) Caribbean immigration, which stood at 40 percent of the total in the 1990s, dropped 7 points in the 2000s. However, the share of the Hispanic Caribbean (primarily the Dominican Republic) actually increased while there was a decline in flows from non-Hispanic Caribbean nations such as Jamaica, Haiti, and Barbados. Flows from Guyana, an English-speaking South American nation with a heavy Caribbean influence, also declined. The number of African immigrants to the city, while small, has been increasing steadily over the past three decades and comprised just over two percent of entering immigrants. The reason that immigrants are able to find jobs in the New York City and put a lot of people out of work is because they often take the low-paying jobs that most Americans don't want to do. Even though a lot of people may not like immigrants because they are putting them out of jobs, immigrants in this economy today are helping to keep inflation low, improve housing values, and benefit taxpayers (Martin, par. 12). In other words, immigration helps provide an increase to the U.S. economy. The only people that are really being hurt right now by immigrants are those people without high school degrees (Gelfand and Yee, par. 10). Every year they fight against immigrants for jobs and their wages just seem to keep getting lower. Immigrants who see their relatives and friends leading a better life

Motivating Employees in an Organisation Essay Example for Free

Motivating Employees in an Organisation Essay Motivating Employees in an Organization S Santosh Contents Chapter 12 Chapter 25 Chapter 310 Chapter 415 Chapter 1 Motivation: Concepts and Theories Defining motivation The word motivation comes from the Latin word movere to move. And managers often view motivation in exactly those terms (I need to get my people moving! ). Motivation is the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action. General motivation is concerned with effort towards any goal, whereas effort towards Organizational goals reflects work-related behavior. Many contemporary authors have also defined the concept of motivation. Motivation has been defined as: the psychological process that gives behavior purpose and direction (Kreitner, 1995); a predisposition to behave in a purposive manner to achieve specific, unmet needs (Buford, Bedeian, Lindner, 1995); an internal drive to satisfy an unsatisfied need (Higgins, 1994); and the will to achieve (Bedeian, 1993). For this paper, motivation is operationally defined as the inner force that drives individuals to accomplish personal and organizational goals. We mainly deal with the motivating employees in an organization towards the organizational goal for the benefit of both the organization and the employee. Understanding what motivates employees and how they are motivated was the focus of many researchers following the publication of the Hawthorne Study results (Terpstra, 1979). Motivation Theories and concepts While there are many theories on motivation, the seven major approaches that have led to our understanding of motivation are the following: †¢ According to Maslow, employees have five levels of needs (Maslow, 1943): physiological, safety, social, ego, and self- actualizing. Maslow argued that lower level needs had to be satisfied before the next higher level need would motivate employees. †¢ Herzbergs work categorized motivation into two factors: motivators and hygiene (Herzberg, Mausner, ; Snyderman, 1959). Motivator or intrinsic factors, such as achievement and recognition, produce job satisfaction. Hygiene or extrinsic factors, such as pay and job security, produce job dissatisfaction. †¢ McClelland’s Theory of Needs which focuses on three needs, namely need for Achievement, Need for power, Need for affiliation.

Nonverbal Communication In Negotiations Cultural Studies Essay

Nonverbal Communication In Negotiations Cultural Studies Essay Cultural specific studies have focused attention on cultural and communication practices in specific countries, while conflict resolution and negotiation studies have integrated intercultural communication in their theories. Studies have identified factors influencing intercultural business communication which include effects or emotions and non-verbal behaviour. The earliest of these comparative theoretical and applied studies reflected in the conditions existed in the early stages of globalization following world war two. During this period complex international business transactions could be channeled through fully bilingual specialists who provided translation and interpretation services, while simple communication exchanges such as obtaining and fulfilling sales orders could be processed through routine channels. These transactions did not impose the same communication requirements as do the interactive and intercultural communication channels of the present day of international business communication environment. Since 1960s, language studies traditionally emphasized verbal and written communication, however in the recent times more research studies seriously began to consider what takes place without words in conversations, in instances were verbal and nonverbal communication meets (Hartley Bruckham, 2000). The research would start by discussing problems of communicating across social boundaries and then define and discuss some of the concepts associated with non verbal miscommunication in cross cultural meetings and negotiation. Then it would also focus on both verbal and non-verbal communication factors and consider how much scope there is for ambiguity and interpretation. If it can be anticipated how other people will interpret to what we say and do, then our communication can be made more effective. We also need to bear in mind that communication is not just the transmission and reception of information. No matter how carefully we feel we have encoded our message, we need to be aware of all the factors which can influence how other people will interpret our behaviour. The research would also address how cultural factors affect cross-cultural communication and explain in bridging cultures, and some strategies they can use to overcome cross-cultural communication problems. Nonverbal behaviours unintentional, beyond the words, can be interpreted by a receiver as having meaning. They either accompany verbal messages or are used independently of verbal messages. They may affirm and emphasize or negate and even contradict spoken messages. They are more likely to be used unconsciously and spontaneously because they are habitual and routine behaviours. There are seven key elements of Nonverbal Behaviour which include gestures, body moments, facial movements, eye contacts, postures, vocalics and haptics. Gestures, body moments, facial movement and eye contact are combined in the kinesics code, which vary culturally, also referred to as body language. The study of this caters to traditional linguistic principles to the parts of the body particularly the face, hands and arms or body as a whole. It also addresses posture in standing and sitting as well as with eye and facial expressions such as the arching of eyebrows or rolling of the eyes. Vocalics refers to a ll vocal activities other than verbal context, also called the paralanguage. Paralanguage may be expressed consciously or unconsciously and it includes the pitch, volume, and, in some cases, intonation of speech. Sometimes the definition is restricted to vocally-produced sounds. The role of Haptics focuses on touch as an element of communication and is very much a function of culture. It can vary from touch and the frequency and intensity, like many other roles of non verbal communication. The communication environment consists of physical environment and spatial environment. Secondly, there are the communicators physical characteristics like physique general attractiveness, height, clothes and other accessories. Here I would wish to bring into focus an incident which I had observed on television. When Americans go for negotiation to Saudi Arabia, the female members accompanying the team would always wear a full body cover named Abhaya (not Burkha). But recently when Indian Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh visited Saudi Arabia, Mrs.Manmohan Singh who accompanied him did not wear that. So looking at this incidence and by carefully observing, it can be said that there was a wrong cultural assumption from the Indian think tanks whereas even Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Clinton, did wear them during their respective visits. By wearing them is like respecting the feeling of Saudis, so here its the miscommunication made and the body language is like I dont care attitude, the opposite party can interpret it in that way. India is going there and its equally important for both countries, especially more for India, by doing this India is putting them in a wrong position right at the beginning itself. An another instance is when I was watching NDTV, a popular Indian news channel, there was a discussion with two leading political parties of India namely UPA and Left, which also included prominent news reporters. The discussion was regarding the past performance of the newly elected government. Usually a discussion of this kind can heat up at any time without warnings because thats how the Indian political scenario works. As expected, there was a hot exchange of words between the representatives of the parties who were sitting in close proximity. It was surprising to note that the opposite partys gesture by touching the hand of the other party member, couple of times to ease the tension. In Indian culture, this gesture is commonly used in easing tensed situation and making the opposite person calm during a meeting or discussion. A soft touch in the hand is considered as a humanitarian way of showing that there is no intension to start a fight (usually these gestures can be seen done my males) thereby avoiding the situation to get worse. This happens between people of Indian origin and in an Indian context; understanding and acting these small gestures can win a situation or even stabilize it. But in general, Asian cultures tend to discourage touching outside of intimate situations whereas certain other cultures like US allow cross-gender touching while same-gender is less acceptable. These rules change in Japan, where women are frequently seen holding hands but not men. In the Mediterranean, it is common to see men holding hands or touching in public but not women. So an awareness of these local norms is important and would help negotiators for better cross cultural negotiations. The use of space is called proxemics, and the use of time is chronemics. Environment involves the communicative value of the physical space. Unconsciously, we all keep a comfortable distance around us when we interact with other people. This distance has had several names over the years, including personal space, interpersonal distance, comfort zone, and body bubble. This space between us and another person forms invisible walls that define how comfortable we feel at various distances from other people. Business people, for example, assume significant meaning about desk size; its commonly assumed that the important people of companies occupy the top most floors of the company. Artifacts likewise is connected with communicative aspect of objects visible in a room such as art or possessions, these may be personal indicative of status of revealing lifestyle. In some societies much meaning is presumed by ones choice of automobile. Artifacts certainly play a role in cultural significance. For instance in many Western countries, pet shave great emotional significance; among many Arabs rugs are prestigious. It should be further emphasized that these codes do not usually function independently or sequentially, rather they work simultaneously. Moreover, nonverbal behaviour is always about sending messages. We cannot communicate without using them even though at times these messages are ambiguous. This wide range of nonverbal behaviour serves various functions in all face-to-face encounters (Gesteland, 2002). For instance at a companys important social meeting, the general manager is introduced to several new employees whom he has not met. Having greeted them with a dominant handshake, he stands at the social distance from the new employees. Knapp Hall (1997) claim that leaders and dominant personalities tend to also choose specific seats but seating position also can determine ones role in a group. Johnson (1993) says that choosing where to sit even if it means moving a chair or even deciding whether to sit, is significant. Anderson (1993) states that leaders and powerful people take up more space than others do. By taking up more space, they appear to be taking charge. Conversely, after shaking hands with the boss, the new employees take full or partial arm-fold gestures because of their apprehension about being in the presence of the companys top man. Both the general manager and the new employees feel comfortable with their respective gestures as each, is signaling his status relativ e to the other. A study conducted in the United States brought to light that, in more than 93 percent, the messages is transmitted by the speakers tone of voice and facial expressions; only 7 percent of the persons attitude was conveyed by words. Probably its a fact that we express our emotions and attitudes more nonverbally than verbally. There are however nonverbal differences across cultures that may be a source of confusion for foreigners. For example, expression of sadness, in culture such as the Arab, grief is expressed openly but this is just the opposite in the case of other cultures like the Asian. Here the general belief is that it is unacceptable to show emotion openly, whether its sadness, happiness or pain. Negotiation is a broad conflict management process involving discussions between and among individuals who are interdependent and need to come together for a decision or course of action; frequently associated with the need to compromise effectively (Shockley-Zalabak, 1988, p. 247). Negotiation consists of two distinct processes: creating value and claiming value. Creating value is a cooperative process whereby the parties in the negotiation seek to realize the full potential benefit of the relationship whereas claiming value is essentially a competitive process. The key to creating value is finding interests that the parties have in common or that complement each other, then reconciling and expanding upon these interests to create a positive situation. Parties at the negotiating table are interdependent and their goals are locked together. A seller cannot exist without a buyer. The purpose of a negotiation is a joint decision-making process through which the parties create a mutuall y acceptable settlement. The objective is to pursue a win-win situation for both parties. Sun Tzu once wrote: Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster. It is perhaps a bit extreme to compare a business meeting to a battle and a business partner to an enemy but the main principle still holds. In order to be reliably successful in business you must understand both yourself and your partner. This understanding will enable you realize what makes your corresponding person tick, and thus understand how he is likely to react in a given situation. In order to gain the full advantage of this knowledge, it is also necessary to understand oneself, both so that one can accurately grasp in what areas the other party is similar or dissimilar, and in order to accurately see how your counterpart is likely to view you. Hill (1998) mentions cross-cultural literacy, and defines it as an understanding of how cultural differences both across and within natio ns can affect the way in which business is practiced (1998:66) If we consider the fact that negotiating with our fellow citizen is not an easy task due to many individual differences, it would be reasonable to suggest that negotiating in a cross cultural setting with people from different cultural boundaries may be even more difficult. The way we perceive and create our own reality may be completely different to our counterparts way of thinking, behaving and feeling. Its also a fact that gaining knowledge of different languages is not enough to face and solve the problem. Language is a cluster of codes used in communication which, if not shared effectively, can act as a barrier to establish credibility and trust. Nations tend to have a national character that influences the type of goals and process the society pursues in negotiations. This is why specifying and understanding cultural differences is vital in order to perform successfully in inter-cultural communication. As we better understand that our partners may see things differently, we wil l be less likely to make negative assumptions and more likely to make progress during meetings and cross cultural negotiations (Zieba, 2009). Japanese negotiators are known for their politeness, their emphasis on establishing relationships and their indirect use of power. Japanese concern with face and face-saving is one reason that politeness is so important and confrontation is avoided. They tend to use power in muted, indirect ways consistent with their preference for harmony and calm. In comparative studies, Japanese negotiators were found to disclose considerably less about themselves and their goals than French or American counterparts. Silence and pauses in conversations are normal. Two can strategically use breaks in conversational flows even in situations where they could process information faster and send messages sooner. In essence the period of silence provide a twofold advantage of reducing the possibility of introducing unproductive and destructive commends into conversations and providing breaks for reflection, designation of ideas and planning of communication strategy and tactics during negotiations. Thes e are consistent with the norms of Chinese and Japanese, however westerners might have discomfort in the same situations. They are very formal and polite and place great importance on proper protocol. They are also concerned with proper etiquette. British negotiation behaviour is characterized by the soft sell and their culture is relatively high in context. Americans usually like to get down to business quickly in a meeting which may lead to people from Chinese and Japanese cultures being offended. In spite of that, the discussion mostly proceeds at a much slower pace than US business people are accustomed. The Chinese uses high context speech and therefore use a lot of non-verbal cues to communicate. They may use feelings of guilt, shame and obligation to get certain kinds of concessions whereas Americans use less risk taking tactics to misrepresent in order to gain more information. In general, most Westerners expect a prompt answer when they make a statement or ask a question ra ther than long pauses and silence (Weiss, 1992). This form of Kinesic messages shows that even if one keeps silent, one is still conveying messages. Knapp Hall (1997, p. 332) state that The face may be the basis for judging another persons personality and that it can (and does) provide information other than ones emotional state. They found that how something is said is often more important than what is being said. In addition, Anderson (1993) suggests that people perceived as powerful, shift their position occasionally, making themselves appear in charge. However, the rise in the global business trend and cross cultural meetings has paved way for the Chinese and Japanese professionals in doing business with the West with relative ease and have shown tendency to modify their behaviours to accommodate west. Nonetheless, doing business in Japan necessitates preparing oneself by understanding areas such as business culture, business etiquette, and negotiation meeting protocols. For instance, bowing your head is an integral part of J apanese culture. It is used for greeting at beginning and end of the meetings to show gratitude or used in other occasions to express sympathy or to apologies but a Westerner would not be expected to bow and will most likely be greeted with a handshake combined with a slight nod of the head (Nelda Spinks 1997). The French, expect everyone to behave as they do when doing business which includes speaking their language. Negotiations are likely to be in French unless they occur outside France. The French enjoy conversation for the sake of conversation but they are also very pragmatic about details of the proposed agreement during negotiations. They are very much individualists and have a sense of pride that is sometimes interpreted as supremacy. They follow their own logic, referred to as Cartesian logic, when negotiating. These logics are based on principles previously established. It proceeds from what is known, in point-by-point fashion, until agreement is reached. Protocol, manners , status, education, family, and individual accomplishments are keys to success when dealing with the French. The French prefer detailed, firm contracts. They enjoy conflict and debate and will interrupt even the opening presentations with arguments of little or no relevance (Moran and Stripp, 1991). It is widely acknowledged fact that people from different countries tend to communicate in different ways. We argue that these differences are more related to different communication cultures than other differences. Being aware of these differences usually leads to better comprehension, fewer misunderstandings and to mutual respect along with the prospects of success and benefits in negotiations and cross cultural meetings (Janosik, 1991). The key to successful nonverbal cross-cultural communication is that one must be experienced, motivated, knowledgeable, skilled and competent communicator in the global marketplace. These factors are interrelated and a deficiency in one would impacts at least one of the other factors. The more the deficiency is reduced there is more likelihood of achieving a high level of cross-cultural communication. Spitzberg (1991) points out in his model of interpersonal communication competency that, there is an additive effect of these factors resulting in co mmunication satisfaction, perceived confirmation, and conversational appropriateness and effectiveness (p. 22). However these may not be true in all cases. For example, I would like to point out a particular instance from my personal experience wherein a subject becomes more important or more influencing factor in a face to face space negotiation, the subject is something slightly different than a pure technical one. If I am trying to create a thinking process or an idea or an ideology, I would like to spread that and make others understand, which is really important. So my aim would be to make others understand my thinking process, and to do that, I better do my homework properly and know exactly what others think, hence this topic is more valid in such context. When the negotiation is highly technical then all these dont make much difference because technical things are tangible. For example, if we say we would like to export one ship of rice to Kenya, the quantity of rice that can go to that ship load is tangible and the product in talk is also tangible as we can specify the type of rice. H ere, the negotiation is only about the final loading price for that particular merchant, so whatever language we talk (say I know everything about Kenya, I have hired a secretary for that and I have done everything for that) it work only if its feasible for me hence its pure technical. TATA motors was trying to sell their cars and trucks in Africa region but finally succeeded only in selling trucks because the tertian needed in that region is almost same as that of the Indian region. So there the buyer was only interested in the efficiency of the truck and the total maintenance cost, rest all was of least importance. For instance, consider an advertisement of any car in the daily, they are also communicating. We can see that some of these advertisement are related to festive moods like Easter so by means of picture, it is trying to relate us to that particular festival which helps us to get connect faster and thereby leading to buy the content. So here the language they use is a vis ual one. Another example is say early morning a person is ready to go for negotiation and finds that he has forgotten to take the thoughts and has the habit of sweating (sweating here indicates nervousness in a sense). Now imaging the condition of that person, he going to attend a important meeting, he will be biased because of the sweat and his body language would be completely wrong because of this irritation factor which is definitely going to affect his meeting. His conversation would be influenced by this irritation factor and there is a possibility that other members might misunderstand his body language or it could even be medical problem or a digestion problem or it could be something like a pillow given in the hotel. Instead of a soft pillow the person would have got a hard one and say that person has a spontaliaties problem, he would have a very bad night of sleep and this would reflect in his gestures. So its always not correct to say that one can understand and interpret the body language rightly, even if he has enormous experience and skills relating to it, as according to the above example, under such circumstances it would be very difficult to communicate in proper body language and even verbally may not be saying what he intended to say. Sometimes persons would be forced to do things they are not aware of because of various other factors related to it. It is not a pure science where oxygen and hydrogen combined together gives water, in any instance. In a positive sense, everything could hype a person up like the food that he had last night or the drink that he had or the company that he had, so there again he is not projecting his real self. The next day when he goes for a negotiation his spirits are high which also could be misread and misinterpreted by the opposite party. The opposite party would think that the person is much interested in the business or negotiation but the reaction would only come later, seeing him in high spirit, the opposite party would start in a entirely different way from what he had prepared earlier. As human beings, we act on the basis of our perceptions and beliefs. So if we have a particular view of human communication, then we will act on that view. If we have a faulty view, then our behaviour may cause problems. The behaviour of humans is bundled up by different complex set of factors from individual personality, the social context their respective cultural values. Negotiating behaviour can vary depending upon various other aspects from the age of the participant, class, religion and character, its complexity gives nuanced explanations (Hartley Bruckham, 2000). This is a classical example to show how different cross cultural non verbal signals are misread, the cost of it being delays and missed opportunities. This case comes during the early days when the American diplomats attended a meeting of US -China reconciliation. Cohen (1991) points out that U.S. observers entirely missed the most significant Chinese signal of reconciliation of all in the 1970-71 periods. In October 1970, Chairman Mao invited an American author and journalist to stand next to him at the Gate of Heavenly Peace. While this gesture seems obscure to American diplomats and hence they did not respond to it, the symbolism was clear to the Chinese, who expected a significant response. These gaps in nonverbal gestures created friction among these two nations, if addressed in its rightful instance could have brought out fruitful results beneficial to both nations.

Imperialism Essay -- essays research papers

Imperialism is often excused as a way of liberating people from tyrannical rule or by introducing the policies of a â€Å"better† way of life. It is based on the ground of a variety of causes running the gamut of economic pressures, greed, security, power, prestige, religion, and many other effective measures that can be taken given the circumstances. Arguments about the roots and virtue of imperialism can be put into four basic groups. The first is whether or not imperialism is economically beneficial. The second relates to the social aspect of imperialism and the natural desire to rule others. The third is protection and security, building up military powers around the world in order to help the main country when trouble erupts. Finally, the last is morals and their religious aspects. Because imperialism has its basis on power, it is often considered morally reprehensible. The thirst for power drove the European nations into a frenzy to control the continent based solely on the false belief that they were superior, thereby inflicting numerous evils upon both the African land and its people. Imperialism did benefit a small and favored group, but never the entire nation. For some people, capitalism and imperialism are the same and interpret imperialism as a late stage of capitalism when nations are forced to depend on monopolies in overproduction and surplus capital so that they can compete with other nations. At enormous expense imperialism has created an unsafe increase of markets, and has jeopardized the entire affluence of a nation in stimulating the strong resentment of other nations. During the nineteenth century, Great Britain had a huge empire, extending to many different regions of the globe. Before 1869, it only controlled a small amount of land in Africa. During the times before 1869, the British concentrated on imperialism in other, more profitable places around the world; places that would give them more markets for trade and more opportunity to increase their economy. Suddenly, the British were taking over land in places such as regions in Africa. The main reason for Britain’s interest in Africa was for the survival of their empire. Britain's economy has always depended heavily on trade, and creating more colonies was the way to expand their trade. Before the 1870s, Britain had little competition with various colonies. Their first act was against F... ...in reason for British imperialism in Africa was to bring Christianity, not to mention the European's idea of "civilization" to African countries. This decade witnessed the high spirit of self-confident, often self-congratulatory and always aggressive imperialism in which Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States conquered and annexed in the name of civilization. If anything, Europe was doing the exact opposite of spreading Christianity, all under false pretences. Imperialism was not economically beneficial, did not protect the â€Å"main† country by creating barriers, nor did it spread Christianity in mentionable portions. Nonetheless, imperialism did present upon a small portion of the elite a sense of power, though falsely earned. The animosities of imperialism did not help the people. Instead, it left them unprotected after the European nations had left, and left a hole in their culture. Word Count: 1,341 Sources: http://students.chs.lane.edu/~nbudu58/courses/intro2web/the%20dark%20continent/ http://www.smplanet.com/imperialism/toc.html http://www.indiana.edu/%7Ejah/teaching/2002_03/article.shtml http://www.boondocksnet.com/editions/morel/index.html

The Character of Esteban in The House of the Spirits :: House of the Spirits Essays

The Character of Esteban in The House of the Spirits Allende portrays Esteban as having a strong and harsh character in the novel, The House of the Spirits. Yet, after leaving, his mother and sister, and starting a new and independent life, Esteban changes much. For the first time he is successful and wealthy. He feels as if he has no problems, mainly because he does not have a family to weigh him down. Trueba's move to Three Marias seems to appease his hunger temporarily, before his monstrous, demanding, and ever growing needs overwhelms him. The type of lifestyle achieved by Esteban Trueba in Three Marias far surpassed that of living with his mother and sister, however only brief moments of satisfaction are incurred. These, previously mentioned, moments created a hunger for perfection and greed that would continue perpetuate at any cost. Receiving a letter from Ferula brings back memories for Esteban of his sad life with her and his mother, which forces him to endure his memories of poverty and pain. He even remembers the smell of medicince, which had encompassed their home. These memories force Esteban to reflect on the reasons why he left them. He reminisces on that portion of his life, occupied by the deterioration of his family. Ferula endured many burdens as well, due to their father's drinking, then his death, their mother's age, her chronic sicknesses, and Esteban's childho od care. A direct result of these chaotic years is the siblings inability to relate. When Esteban bought a luxury, an elaborate coffee with his money she scolded him for "spending Mama's medicine money on [his] private little whims" (Allende 43). Eventually Esteban tires of this oppressive way of life and goes to search for a "destiny that was bright, free, and full of promise" (Allende 44). At Tres Marias he hopes to find his Eden. All this cargo from his past is called to his attention by the letter he receives from Ferula. The letter does result in inflicting guilt on Esteban, for his lack of morals and complete selfishness. Ferula tells Esteban, in the letter, that their mother wants to see her son again before she dies. "Esteban had never really loved his mother or felt at ease in her presence," but he knew that resisting this visit to pay his last respects would be unethical (Allende 71).

Corporate Social Network Essay

Corporate Social Network – Final Project MIS 535 Managerial Applications of Information Technology Lou Ann McElyea June 16, 2013 Abstract Many organizations have suggestion boxes. One can find a suggestion box in a gas station, a restaurant, and even a work place. It’s an easy and mostly anonymous way to express ideas or concerns regarding an organization and/or its structure. Through the use of a suggestion box, either client or employee would be able to express opinions and make suggestions according to the various attributes of an organization without a high pressure environment such as meetings and superior/employee one-on-one sessions. With access to so much information technology and data collection resources, many organizations can take their ‘suggestion box’ out of the hallway and to the employee or client through their computer screen. The easy accessibility of the electronic suggestion box would not only encourage more users, but promote on the spot ideas at the time a suggestion is originated. For example, at Chili’s the restaurant they have an interactive module where you can play games and pay your bill. After a short visit to the bathroom, you think of a game they can add to their interactive board. Wouldn’t it be nice if instead of flagging down a waitress or trying to find a manager, you could put that suggestion right on the interactive board that goes straight to the manager in a message? Organization Background Opening in 2000, the fully accredited Advanced Academics Inc. partnered with schools and districts all over the United States to provide online  learning opportunities for students who needed an additional educational option available. Offering access to certified teachers 24 hours a day, 5 days a week and 24/7 student technical support on an innovative virtual classroom platform, Advanced Academics Inc. made a point to equip students with all possible resources to assist in achieving a high school diploma. With students in the most rural corners of Oklahoma, where the organization is headquartered, were unable to get to school. Buses didn’t run that far and methods of transportation were slim. More and more students in traditional classrooms were not finding the environment to be conducive to their academic success. Students who need more time with their teacher or doing their homework or tests can fall between the cracks of customary school systems. There had to be another option, surely, there was another way. Now a subsidiary of DeVry Inc., Advanced Academics Inc., is one of the most regarded online learning institutions in the country. Offering educational opportunities not only to those of high school age but to those who are younger, older, and in need of an accredited high school diploma, Advanced Academics is a sought after institution. This online learning option truly lives by their mission to help students succeed and graduate with a high school diploma. Problem Advanced Academics Inc. has free state-based programs in 10 states not including the international tuition-based program. Each of these programs requires specific criteria to be met in order to attend, as well as different contacts for counselors and student assistants and an outsourced general information and initial enrollment customer service. According to their LinkedIn page, Advanced Academics Inc., or AAI, has upwards of 500 employees across the footprint and headquarters with approximately 80% of their corporate employees able to work remotely utilizing the popular cloud computing system Salesforce. With all these national, and mobile, employees within the organization, AAI can experience a lapse in communication amongst their program directors, admissions, and enrollment. This lack of communication has led to a multitude of issues within the organization such as programs changing criteria or dropping out of AAI, misinformation being  provided to students and employees, and website update and repair. Because company-wide face to face meeting are near impossible, AAI has a heavy reliance on a chain of command and technology in order to make any updates or changes effective in the organization and for the information to spread accordingly. They lack a system or software that is accessible to all employees of the organization to be able to perform their jobs effectively. Halverson and Tirmizi (2008) state that organizations â€Å"have to find means, as they utilize global communication tools, to adjust their ways of communicating and understanding† in order to maintain effective communication (p. 185). AAI needs to make some adjustments so that all facets of the organization can work cohesively, providing the students the flawless service they ne ed to succeed. Solution Since most of AAI has access to the same databases as well as utilize the same resources to perform their various job functions, it is a safely drawn conclusion that most employees are inept at accessing different technologies on a daily basis. I propose that all of the employees access a form of social networking technology that enables employees and team members to share ideas, suggestions, opinions, and news/updates with those in the AAI â€Å"community†. This site created specifically for this purpose, will pose as a forum divided into applicable sections and accessible to everyone to receive information and updates in real time, instead of waiting for it to be handed down the chain of command. In this idea management database topics such as software and hardware issues, updates, and suggestions can be discussed as well as any organizationally related announcements regarding meetings, open houses, closures, and changes to any program. From each post, employees and team members will be able to vote on each post, elevating its importance (i.e. the more ‘likes’ a post has, it elevates to the top/front of the forum). They will also be able to re post to any smaller sub groups created in the organization. The AAI corporate office as well as group/subgroup leaders will be able to track the usage of the website to determine that all are using it to gather information and as an agreement/acknowledgement of any important policy or procedure changes. AAI  could also provide a discussion feature regarding any new changes, such as commentary on any other social media. Any proposals or changes, lower level employees will be able to communicate with the upper level management in order to ask questions or address any concerns. This feature can provide the communication the organization would need in order to provide proficient service for students. Benefits Aside from the obvious of supplying superior service to the students and parents, this social forum or virtual suggestion/announcement page provides many benefits to the AAI staff and employees. On The Spot Ideas AAI meetings for most of the departments are unintentionally sporadic and have to be spread throughout the footprint and calendar in order to ensure proper coverage for students. By then, team and staff members have to record and remember facets of their job functions that are affected and could be changed. Because not everyone is accessible throughout the organization at all times, it can be hard to utilize AAI’s open door policy. With the forum’s implementation, staff will be able to post questions right away, as it occurs to them. It would be open for other staff members to answer and vote on, to show its importance. This would also give upper level management opportunity to read and respond to any questions straight from the source, as opposed to second hand emails and meeting topics. Lost In Translation Because of the lack of formal information, the organization can suffer from procedural changes being lost in translation. Associates are able to misconstrue and confuse information that is being passed down to them through the chain of command. This game of telephone can lead to providing misinformation to students/parents, misinformed staff members, ebb and flow of communication lines between educational institution and organization, and  overall bad employee morale. When there are several lines of communication between student/parent and AAI, they could get several different answers to one question they may ask. For example, a student requested an application for the online program in Arizona for the next school year. The student then received a letter a week later from the program in Arizona stating they were not participating in an online program for the next school year and provided information on the traditional charter school they offered. Confused, the student called their admissions advisor who was unaware Arizona’s school was not participating next year. It was then that it was revealed that Arizona’s school had backed out of AAI’s virtual program. Had there been a more open communication forum, Arizona would have been able to communicate this to all formally. Ending any confusion that the student was caused. Slow Moving Communication Train It can take days, weeks, or never for certain information to be made available to everyone throughout AAI’s organizational structure. Information would have to be relayed from the state programs, to AAI’s upper level management and further down. Because there are so many cooks in the kitchen, AAI suffers from being able to relay information organization wide on a more time efficient basis. The information may be deemed as irrelevant to certain departments, however, if they were presented with a problem, they may be unable to assist the parent or student properly. Most communication within the organization occurs via email or by phone. With conflicting schedules and time zone’s, it’s very hard to relay information efficiently when dealing with so many people. With the forum, employees will be able to check it every day, all day during their working hours. This constant and consistent flow of communication allows for information readiness and could be referr ed to, before tapping on the shoulder of fellow associates or calling around departments. Business/Technical Approach Implementing this forum would enable the organization to communicate on a highly effective level. This form of information technology will enable  upper level management to put forth different and more effective business practices, allowing for a better rate of return in the organization. With better communication, the organization could run more smoothly. Frit-enz (1997) likens a useful information technology system to that of the body’s circulatory system stating that â€Å"when valid useful information is blocked, the system goes into a form of cardiac arrest† (p. 93). An effective organization needs to absorb and use what information is being presented and decide what is needed in order to make the organization the most successful in the industry. This forum would allow upper level management to actively participate in a collaboration with all employees by sharing resources, information, and making themselves accessible when needed. It is within large corporations and organizations that colleagues and associates become so involved in their own daily job functions, they have no direct relation to what may occur within other departments or areas in the organization. Collaboration and working closer together is one basic necessity of a successful organization and one that seems to fall out of practice with other organizations. It should remain a focus and when other ideas of maintaining that communication fails, a new one should be introduced and put into practice, such as the forum. Business Process Changes Currently, there is a ‘chain of command’ associated with AAI’s communication structure. This would have to be basically removed and replaced. Reason being, AAI would have to use the forum in its entirety, and on a consistent basis, in order for it to become effective and useful. The information technology team in the organization would be in charge of handling the forums structure and functionality. Each department, as it does currently, has a leader in which all information must be relayed and filtered through. From here each department lead will be responsible for providing information on the forum for everyone. Upper level management will be able to determine, via regular virtual or in person meetings, to discuss what topic(s) are applicable to what department. As not everything within the organization is necessary for all departments, these meetings and their consistently are crucial in the development and maintenance of the forum. Other departments  will be required to view and participate in the forum on a regular basis, depending on department determines frequency. From there, each department lead can determine whether or not the participation can determine agreeance/acknowledgement of certain procedural and policy changes as well as could serve as topics for in person meetings or huddles. These changes, although fairly subtle since most communication in the organization is electronic would prove to provide a faster return and feedback on any information presented. Technology/Business Practices Used With the implementation of a social media type forum in AAI, some best business practices will need to be agreed upon and enforced. Current moral and ethics practices and processes can continue to be used. Maintaining professionalism in this seemingly informal form of communication is key. Only professional and proper language will be used and enforced in the forum. Any language and behavior to the contrary will not tolerated and disciplinary action will be enforced. Within the IT team, they will work to monitor the forum’s functionality, and maintain its ability to run efficiently. It’s reliability is allows AAI to â€Å"feel confident in its own capabilities and start assuring the rest of the business of continued service availability and performance† (Addy, 2007 p. 165). The IT team will perform routine maintenance on the forum to ensure its functionality and will be able to access and view feedback as well, adjusting the forum to create and maintain high usability throughout the organization. High Level Implementation Plan In order to properly implement the forum, it’s blue print must first be created. The IT team can create the forum and all functionalities presented, and bring it to the associates and employees who would benefit from its usage the most, being the end users. The end users would then provide the IT team feedback regarding what needs to be added or changed, based on the uses they would need the most. The agile process would make the end users a team who are more focused on the use and ease of accessibility of the forum. From  there, the IT team can take the feedback and create a forum. The end users at that time will perform tests on the system, under the monitor of the IT team, to ensure all of the functionality the end users need is present. Based on the feedback received from the testing phase, the IT team will be able to create and present the forum from there to upper level management, or provide the tweaks needed in order to make it more functional and run more tests. Once it’s put into effect, the forum will start in a probationary time frame to slowly introduce the forum into the daily lives of AAI employees. Another survey will be taken after said probationary period to determine if the forum can be of the utmost use to everyone, or if it works for certain departments only. From there, the forum will be put into play permanently, or if AAI would need to return to the drawing board. Conclusion It is with the introduction of this forum that I feel AAI would earn an immense amount of benefits for all. Everyone would be able to communicate, in real time, effectively. By building this information technology based community, AAI will be able to connect, collaborate, and share resources with all the associates and colleagues they interact with on a daily basis. Allowing for this open flow of communication, according to Cross (2010), will help everyone â€Å"network and build relationships, and then sustaining those connection and conversations in an online community in which a broader audience can participate† (p. 5). In this open door and open door community, AAI can see success grow by leaps and bounds inside and outside the organization. References Addy, R. (2007). Effective IT Service Management : To ITIL and Beyond!. Berlin: Springer. Austin, E., & Pinkleton, B. E. (2000). Strategic Public Relations Management : Planning and Managing Effective Communication Programs. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Cross, R. L. (2010). The Organizational Network Fieldbook : Best Practices, Techniques, and Exercises to Drive Organizational Innovation and Performance. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Fitz-enz, J. (1997). The 8 Practices of Exceptional Companies : How Great Organizations Make the Most of Their Human Assets. New York: AMACOM. Pell, A. R. (1999). The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Managing People. New York, N.Y.: Alpha Books. Tirmizi, S., & Halverson, C. B. (2008). Effective Multicultural Teams : Theory and Practice. [Dordrecht]: Springer. Walton, D. N. (2007). Media Argumentation : Dialectic, Persuasion, and Rhetoric. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://www.linkedin.com/company/advanced-academics