Implementing organizational change

Implementing organizational change Introduction We all know that for one to thrive in the business world, change is paramount. Management has to develop new initiatives and catch up with the rapid technological and socio-economic advancements in order to stay ahead of the competition.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Implementing organizational change specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There are various theories and models recommended to corporate managers on how they can handle organizational change. However, in implementing organizational change in practice, especially where a large-scale organization is involved, can be challenging and complex and if not handled properly, it can be disastrous to the whole organization. This paper discusses practical implementation of organizational change in a large-scale business. General Motors Corporation will be analyzed by looking into the various changes it has undergone through and problems resolved as well as recommendations on new changes that could be carried out to enable it retain its competitive advantage in the industry. The GM adopted the overall structure organizational change model in implementing its changes. Implementing organizational change General Motors Corporation Organizational Changes The GM recently changed its traditional organizational model from being decentralized to a more centralized and unified one. The traditional model was characterized by a hierarchical structure of management and leadership. Jobs are arranged into independent functional departments. â€Å"GM was divided into different independent automakers†¦each independent automaker was operated differently and competing with each other,† (Kenly85 2009). The new model, however, does not have independent departments but rather consists of a team and individual employees all focusing on a common organizational goal. This model was adopted to respond to problems such as harmonization of w orkers. The staff required to develop a central set of skills by learning from each other’s designs of work as well as improve communication amongst themselves so as to work as a team rather than as autonomous individuals. The management revised its management to respond to the declined demand for medium and high-priced cars which had been created by the depression. A new management staff was put in place at the five-car division with the operational committee being dissolved and the executive committee eliminated. â€Å"In order to cut costs, the divisions had to share frames, chassis and other parts. This meant that productions and designing cars would entail cooperation and coordination among the four divisions,† (Spector, 2010). This resulted into reduced operation costs and streamlined management system.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More F urther, it was deemed necessary to reorganize the general office. The office was now empowered to oversee the operational and overall financial decisions. The top executive basically made all the major financial decisions in the organization. This is because financial decisions are very important to the future success of an entity through prospective policies and procedures. This made it a requirement to include general executives with special knowledge in prospective policies in decision making concerning financial matters. Operational policies were therefore left to the administrative committee. Later, the financial policy committee was created which was meant to authorize all financial decision matters. An operating committee was also formed and was mandated to oversee strategic planning and policies. The division managers no longer had legal authority. Its only role was to recommend policies for the operating policy committee to adopt. The president and chairman formed the CEO a nd had overall authority over the financial committee. Division managers were later included in administrative committees but this did not relegate their power of having overall control over policy. Policy groups made up of general office men now formulated policies. The proposed policies were then handed over to the administration committee which were required to debate and ratify or modify the policies. The divisions only had power to revise or amend such policies. Support systems were also formed to ensure organizational changes were effectively implemented. An Automotive Strategy Board together with a management committee were formed to keep the CEO updated on the happenings of the corporation. There were also monthly meetings whose attendance was compulsory globally. The meetings were used by operation heads to monitor the progress of the organization so as to inform the CEO. It also ensured that the organization staff worked as a team towards the achievement of the organizatio nal goal. A Culture Transformation Team as well as an Operating Model Team were established. The Automotive Product Board and also Automotive Strategy Board were eliminated and replaced with one committee consisted of eight individuals. This was done to fasten the decision making process.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Implementing organizational change specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The committee reported to the CEO twice a week when they met to discuss product matters. The operation team, however, was composed of ten executives representing the various divisions in the globe. This increased bureaucracy even more and the decision-making was made even slower. The government has also contributed to the GM change. The U.S. government eliminated certain vehicle brands such as Pontiac and Hummer and slashed headcount. It also reduced its debts and the obligated benefits and shuttered dealerships. The governm ent now has a 60% shareholding in the company; therefore, we can say that the ownership and control of the organization has shifted to the government. However, most of the government intervention in GM has been helpful to its growth as well as its changes. For example the New Deal Legislation in the past which was aimed at avoiding future depressions through relief, recovery and reform. It has somehow helped and the GM to recover from its bankruptcy through government funding and subsidies. The GM had to implement its organizational changes according to the Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy act. The government also funded the GM to the tune of $14 billion through the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. The Troubled Asset relief Program (TARP) supported the funding. It was aimed at saving the free-market system that GM represented. Effects of the organizational changes There were both positive and negative effects of the transition. Positively, the organizational change was able to must er teamwork amongst its workers. Streamlining of production and general operations cut down operational costs. By cutting costs, the organization was able to operate efficiently and maintain its solvency. Further, a good communication system was established from the teamwork. Good communication increases the motivation of workers through recognition and the ability to voice their grievances. It also helps in reducing resistance to change by engaging employees in the change program. This ensures that everyone knows what is going to be achieved and they are all willing to contribute towards the same. It will also give management an opportunity to clarify on the need for change and the intended results to ease out employee’s uncertainty and fear of the unknown on the outcomes of the change process such as retrenchments and layoffs.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Much as these changes were meant to add to the development of the corporation, this was not the case. Instead, this transition affected the two most important stakeholders i.e. the customers and the surrounding community. Due to the discontinuation with some of the brands, it became hard for customers of some models to service or upgrade their vehicles. Consequently, GM did not only lose its customer base but also its reputation was affected. During the transition, however, GM had to close some of its factories aimed at streamlining production. Consequently, other entities â€Å"such as restaurants, gas stations, the real-estate market and the grocery stores suffered financially,† (Kenly852009). Therefore, the community’s financial well-being was disturbed. Of course, this had an impact on the money circulation chain in the market creating unemployment, downsizing in some public departments and generally lower standards of living. â€Å"Due to downsizing, people tend to move out of the town resulting to start of the cycle all over again,† (Dawson, 2003). The transformation of management system also had great effects on the workforce. This is because they were required to learn a new set of skills and also learn central software being used in all the organizations’ offices in the globe. This in turn impaired the communication system. Training and development of staff also became a major problem. This occurred because with the traditional model, the independent departments existing were using different softwares each. Recommendations for Future Organizational Changes The organization needs to adopt a new organizational culture which, according to Fitz Henderson, should consist of accountability, focus more on the customer and the product as the main subjects and also one that was ready to take risks. Also, it should be faster in decision making process. In the past, the organization was restructured where the Human Resource was given the responsibility of supporting culture change rather than drive it. Leaders came up with a new performance management standard and conducted an informative education system to communicate the new organizational culture and it’s values to all the workers. Those cultures were aimed at incorporating a culture into the organization’s highly bureaucratic system to ensure that its independent departments, regions as well as brands became self-governing and competitive within the organization. In order to retain its competitive advantage in the industry therefore, GM requires to make new changes to its organizational structure. For instance, it needs to come up with new organizational culture. There should be a way of making the executive body accountable for its performance standards. Employees should be exposed on how other organizations and, in general, other industries operate. The various staff should be promoted based on their performance as opposed to how much they h ave invested in the organization or how many years they have been on the job. Further, the organization should change its bureaucratic nature and adopt a more democratic decision making process to include even the employees in the process. This will bring the employees closer to the product, the problem as well as the customer themselves. In return, he will be able to respond quickly to the rapidly changing and divergent needs of customers as well as the highly unpredictable market conditions. Also, a company that is highly bureaucratic takes long in making decisions thus resulting into slow decisions. The organization should make changes to its production system into a Just-in-Time production system. This reduces costs since production is only done when the products are needed and therefore storage costs are minimized. Also, they should concentrate on producing environmental friendly cars as opposed to the guzzlers. This will not only ensure a clean environment but will also increa se demand since that is what customers are going for nowadays. Further, they should make more connections with suppliers globally to increase their distribution channels. Also, focus on getting low-cost suppliers by using competitive bidding. By keeping up with the consumer needs and general economic trends, the organization will be able to change as the market changes and produce products that will satisfy the consumers. It will also be able to adapt to current early enough to technological developments to avoid being outdated. In a world where technology is becoming the in thing, failure to adapt to new technology on time will have disastrous results to the whole organization driving it to bankruptcy. Conclusion The General Motors has taken various steps to change its organizational design in order to retain its competitive nature in the industry. This organizational change has helped it achieve some of its objectives such as teamwork and cutting operational costs. On the other ha nd, those changes have brought about several negative effects by affecting the customers, the community as well as the staff themselves. Its bureaucratic system has also contributed negatively to its failures. But GM’s organizational change has shown that bankruptcy can also be used as an opportunity to take that crucial step to implement major organizational changes that will see a company fly up and start flourishing once again. Therefore, companies should not fear making that big step and making holistic organizational changes. References Dawson, P. (2003). Reshaping Change: A Processual Perspective. Routledge. Kenly85. (2009). Blog 1: Organizational Change- General Motors (GM). kenly85’s blog, Just another Worldpress.com. Retrieved from https://kenly85.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/blog-1-organizational-change-%E2%80%93-general-motors-gm/ Spector, B. (2010). Implementing organizational change: Theory into practice, (2nd Ed). ND.

what about bob essays

what about bob essays In the movie, What About Bob, the main character Bob Wiley is one of Dr. Leo Marvins newest patients. Dr Marvin is an uptight, egotistical psychiatrist who cant wait to get on Good Morning America to introduce his new book about emotional disorders. When Leo goes to New Hampshire to prepare for his TV appearance and vacation with his family, Bob decides to tag along, tricking the doctor's answering service into revealing his location. Before long, Bob turns Leo's vacation into a nightmare, winning over Leo's wife and kids even as he drives his psychiatrist to the brink of psychosis. Bob Wiley had quite a few disorders which, Dr. Marvin was unable to control. Bobs phobias and disorders are all serious and immediate medical attention is needed. One of Bob Wileys biggest neurotic disorders was social phobia, or an irrational anxiety elicited by exposure to certain types of social or performance situations, also leading to avoidance behavior. Bob told of his troubles of being in certain situation, and his symptoms of nausea, illness, pain, etc. that lead me to believe that he needs treatment of his social phobia, or he may even be agoraphobic, which is the abnormal fear of open or public places. Social phobia is a very prevalent and debilitating disorder, with public speaking anxiety being the most common fear among socially phobic individuals. Although there are a number of effective psychosocial treatments for social phobia (i.e., cognitive-behavioral treatments and exposure therapy) very little is known about the underlying mechanism of therapeutic change, and the variables that are predictive of treatment outcome. Among his trouble in social situations, he also has a phobia of being dirty, Automysophobia, and hypochondria, the persistent neurotic conviction that one is or is likely to become ill, often involving experiences of real pain when illness is neither present nor likely. His ten...

Equitable Discretion in Determining Relief Case Study - 1

Equitable Discretion in Determining Relief - Case Study Example According to Lord Upjohn in Redland Bricks v Morris4 the grant of a mandatory injunction will depend upon the individual circumstances of a particular case; unlike a negative injunction, it can never be â€Å"as of course†. In the case of Charrington v Simons and Co5, Buckley J granted an injunction but suspended it for three years and in stating his reasons, he has highlighted the issue of fairness and justice to both parties in granting the remedy that was sought: The underlying issue of fairness and justice as the basis for determining the grant of a mandatory injunction was similarly elucidated in the case of Sheperd Homes v Sandham7 where Meggary J stated that relevant grounds would also include â€Å"the triviality of damage to the Plaintiff, and a â€Å"disproportion between the detriment that the injunction would inflict on the defendant and the benefit that it would confer on the plaintiff.† The stated goal, according to Meggary J was a â€Å"fair result† and this involved the â€Å"exercise of judicial discretion.†Ã‚   In the matter of an interlocutory injunction, the purpose behind the issue of such an injunction is to protect the rights of the parties until the time of final disposition of the case. The guiding principles of fairness and justice to both parties were laid out in the case of American Cyanid Co v Ethicon9, which is one of the most significant cases, since it overturned earlier criteria for assessing the merit of an interlocutory injunction, i.e, to examine the probabilities that a prima facie case had been established for the grant of a permanent injunction.  Ã‚  

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 8

Discussion - Essay Example They develop socio-psychological problems, resulting in low confidence and low adjustment within the given paradigm and become ‘depressed’. The widespread implications of depression amongst the employees significantly impacting the economic performance, socio-psychological well being of the workforce and organizational capabilities become urgent issues that need to be addressed. Effective interventions and treatment of the mental illness needs to be taken by from the holistic point of view because holistic approach treats the disease, not as an isolated event but as part of the wider perspectives that takes into account the physical, mental and social aspect of the individuals. Harter, Schmidt and Keyes (2003) assert that ‘presence of positive emotional state and positive appraisals of the workers and his or her relationships within the workplace accentuate workers performance and quality of life’. The job satisfaction, encouraging work environment and leadership initiatives that work towards mutual respect, shared learning and understanding become major facilitating agents of improved performance. Empowered workforce and proactive management promote positive attitude and impetus for higher level of achievement. Thus mental and physical wellbeing of the workers becomes important consideration for management, consultants and employees. (279) Through the ages behavioral scientists have tried to explain human behavior for the wider welfare of human race. Human behavior under normal and excruciating circumstances differ widely and is often subject to one’s approach and understanding of the issue that broadly confines to individual’s choice and thereby his or her actions. Some scientists broadly categorize abnormal behavior in terms of 4 Ds of human behavior described as: deviation from the generally acceptable social behavior or acts considered ‘normal’ by people at large; deviation from the social

Potential conflicts Essay Example for Free

Potential conflicts Essay Every State has three inherent powers which are all necessary and indispensable for its continued existence. These powers may exist even without an express constitutional grant. Among these powers are Police Power, Power of Eminent Domain, and the Power of Taxation On the other hand, citizens in a democracy enjoy certain rights and freedom. These rights serve as safeguard for the protection of the people against excessive and unnecessary exercise of these three powers mentioned. The beauty of a democracy lies in the proper balance between the civil rights and liberties of the people and the fundamental powers of the State. An over-concentration of power in the government will lead to dictatorship or authoritarianism. An over emphasis in freedom and liberty will result to anarchy and mob rule. Analysis of the USA Patriot Act Consider the enactment of the USA Patriot Act as our country’s response to international terrorism. Pres. Bush upon signing the Patriot Act into law emphasized that this law will provide law enforcement officials with sufficient weapons and tools to fight terrorism. â€Å"Remarks by President Bush at Signing of USA Patriot Act of 2001†) He emphasized that we need this law for the protection of our country and for our protection as well. Despite the highly publicized importance of the Patriot Act to protecting our national security and territory, civil rights advocates however fear that the said law may have severe repercussions to our individual liberties. This law which should protect us from terrorists may even be used against us. Some of the provisions of the said law will give the law enforcement authorities unlimited power to search our physical property and seize them, monitor our electronic communication and bank accounts, library records and even our medical records. Last January 2006, The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and the American Civil Liberties Union joined together in calling for the amendment of Section 501 of the Patriot Act which gives sufficient authority for government officials to seize any â€Å"tangible things† (Jeanne Lenzer)  Under Section 501, â€Å"(a)(1) The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation or a designee of the Director†¦may make an application for an order requiring the production of any tangible things (including books, records, papers, documents, and other items) for an investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities, provided that such investigation of a United States person is not con ducted solely upon the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution. † (Sec 501) It is because of this reason that in a number of medical center’s privacy policy there is already a statement informing their patients that they are authorized to disclose any medical information about the patient to authorized federal officials. Personal information about our health conditions, our sickness, the doctor treating us, the medicines we are taking and any other personal information, which we consider as confidential may now be discovered by the government, placed in a database together with all other personal information taken from other people, and this information could be transferred from one government agency to another. Conclusion I am a Libertarian. I do not think we need to sacrifice our liberty for the purpose of protecting ourselves from terrorism. Our civil liberty, such as our right to privacy, is our treasured rights. For some that is all they have. If the government will take this away from them they will be worse than the terrorists. There is only one solution to this problem and that is for the public to call for the amendment of this provision so that section 501 may finally be deleted from the Patriot Act. Although the said provision may also be useful for any criminal investigation, I believe however, that no government official should be given unbridled discretion to seize our medical records. As a rule, seizure of medical records should not be allowed subject to certain exceptions such as if a suit has been filed against the person whose medical record is being seized or if the person is a suspected terrorist who has confirmed affiliations with terrorists organizations.

Power of One :: essays research papers

â€Å"Inclusion, not exclusion, is the key to survival.† What does this mean? To say the least, the definition is clearly stated in The Power of One. Initially, Peekay in The Power of One was isolated by members of his family, and as a result of that he was excluded by society because of his background. Ultimately, he was excluded within his own race because of his actions throughout this story. â€Å"One thing got to all of them more than everything else. They couldn’t make me cry.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Peekay was isolated by his family and suffered through deaths and losses. Peekay’s father died early in his life and from there on out he had to learn to live with the idea of death. The next deaths came from Granpa Chook, his mother, and Nanny. Losses continued when Doc went back to Germany, and a camp guard killed Piet. Even when he picked up all his strength as a young man, his losses continued when Maria, his love, was also killed. It just kept on adding up, and Peekay kept taking blow by blow. â€Å"Don’t cry, Peekay. Sister’ll know I told you if you cry.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Next, Peekay suffered exclusion, and for him it wasn’t much different. He was English, and the Afrikaners in his society hated him. The English took over and governed their territory. â€Å"I was a rooinek and a pisskop. I spoke the wrong language. And now I was obviously made differently.† Therefore, Peekay was discriminated against because of his background. For example Peekay was even whipped while hanging upside down. It’s amazing that something such as that occurred. Lastly, Peekay went through exclusion because of the way he acted. Peekay was a friend to the blacks, which was very uncommon. He even started a Saturday school in which to teach blacks to read throughout their tribes.

The No child Left Behind Statute

The â€Å"No child Left Behind† statute introduced by President Bush and passed by the congress has created a number of problems for the educational programs intended for adolescents in elementary and secondary schools. The financial situation of the elementary and secondary schools is extremely poor because the states governments have been eliminating vital elementary educational programs. The school administrations have been reluctant to provide extended courses to the students. Furthermore, the textbooks are not being printed consistently, making not only the students but also the teachers extremely vulnerable and helpless. The funding disparity has also created huge gaps between the education being provided to the children belonging to the rich families and those belonging to the poor ones. The shortcomings and the rhetoric behind â€Å"No child left behind† act needs to be exposed so that effective measures can be taken to curtail the damage (Susan, 2003). The consistent lack of attention being given to elementary and secondary education, particularly to adolescent literacy is posing a grave threat to the future of the American education system. The purpose of this thesis is to reveal the shortcomings of â€Å"No child left behind† law by first understanding the basic details of the act related to adolescent literacy programs and then persuasively assessing the loopholes in it. Lastly, the thesis gives carefully crafted recommendations aimed at not only the federal and state governments but also the school districts, parents and the educators. The aim is to create an understanding of the present and future needs for those educational programs that are aimed at adolescents and identifying the present gaps in the federal educational law. The American value of education emphasizes that all children, regardless of their gender, religion ethnicity should be able to acquire the basic skills of education and then carry those basic skills through to the elementary, secondary and high level education. Unfortunately, research has shown that the reality of the present education system is on the contrary. In a recent study, conducted by â€Å"National Assessment of Educational Progress† (NAEP, 2002), it has been noted that as much as 26% of the students are unable to read their textbooks fluently and almost half cannot comprehend the meaning of the text (Michael F. Hock and Donald D. Deshler, 2003). It is worth noting that the legislators and government officials realize the gravity of the situation but have been unable to cope with it. If nearly half of the students in the elementary schools are unable to effectively read their course books, then, these students will find higher education very difficult. The â€Å"No Child Left Behind† act has made things even more difficult because the focus has been on a long-term solution, whereas, it is imperative that the needs of the present generations are addressed immediately. This is because millions of students will be unable to cope with the demands of the future workplace needs if their basic educative skills are not enhanced at the right time (Michael F. Hock and Donald D. Deshler, 2003). The challenge for the present legislators, teachers, parents and school administrations is to counter the threat of adolescent illiteracy by introducing effective programs, backed by appropriate amount of government funds. The difficultly lies in the ineffectiveness of the present educational law to cater the needs of adolescents as the most problematical educational dilemma to deal with has been the deficiency in the reading, writing and speaking skills of adolescents. The present educational and political leadership need to create and implement productive adolescent educational programs, which are feasible in the present schooling environment (Michael F. Hock and Donald D. Deshler, 2003). Dough Mesecar, who is currently a senior policy adviser to the secretary of Education, while giving his comments on the present status of the NCLB act asserts in an interview, â€Å"The achievement scores are up, and we're very pleased to see both the achievement gap starting to close, kids are learning more, a very positive report in the sense that the Center for Education Policy report is a self-survey, so these are states and districts reporting on their own to the center that their scores are up, achievement gaps are closing. So we feel very positive that this is yet another report showing the trends are definitely heading in a positive direction. † Contrary to the above statement, many experts believe that the â€Å"No Child Left Behind† act presents a grave threat to the American values. But, before revealing the shortcomings of the â€Å"No Child Left Behind† law, it is imperative that the basic features of the law that are related to elementary education are clearly understood. It is important to note that at least four areas of the act have been considered to have severe repercussions on the adolescent literacy. These four features are as follows: The â€Å"No child left behind† (NCLB) act encourages superior standards. The law makes it imperative that those schools, which are being supported by the government through funds, align their endeavors with the standards set by the local state. Furthermore, the law makes it imperative for these schools to employ only skilled and qualified workforce and only work on evidence-founded programs that are time-oriented and result-oriented. It is believed that these measures will enhance the level of education because it will not only minimize the inadequacy of unqualified teachers but also enhance learning as only scientifically verified teaching initiatives will be offered to the adolescents (Jim Donlevy, 2002). The law asserts that the annual progress of all the schools will be noted in relation to the competence achieved by the students in subjects such as mathematics and science, and in skills such as reading, writing and speaking. Standardized procedures and methods will be drafted to evaluate the progress of each district, school, as well as every group within each school. It is important to note that these â€Å"assessments† have put a great deal of added stress on all elementary schools because they have to align their educational endeavors within the parameters of elementary education set by the state (Jim Donlevy, 2002). The NCLB act has set very high standards for elementary schools all over America. If a particular school fails to meet the standards of the state for 2 successive years then that particular school will have to craft counteractive programs. Should the school fail to meet the State†s requirements for the 3RD consecutive year, tougher measures will be introduced, which may include replacements in the school workforce, complete modification of the school syllabus and maybe even state takeover (Jim Donlevy, 2002). The law allows parents to send their children to a school located in another district should their present school fail to meet the standards set by the State. The cost for this transfer of school along with the daily cost of transportation will be met by the local government. Furthermore, if the students attending these low-performing schools need home-tutoring or any other measure to augment their children†s achievements, then the local government will provide funds for those measures as well. The primary objective of the NCLB law is to enhance the possibility of success in elementary education for all Americans. This is being done by placing specific standards and then taking effective measures to make sure that these requirements are being met (Jim Donlevy, 2002). The most severe negative outcome for the elementary schools will be that they will loose their freedom to experiment with the instructional methods. While scientifically proven methods offer a great deal of benefits to the students, the creativity and progress in discovering newer and more effective instructional methods will be lost. Furthermore, while numerous research studies about effective reading methods have been conducted, very little research exists on other educative areas, such as speaking, writing and learning. Therefore, elementary teachers and schools will be finding it very difficult to meet the standards of the State (Jim Donlevy, 2002). Another major loophole in the NCLB act is that the â€Å"counteractive measures† for schools will be extremely costly. It is important to note that the measures set forth for under-performing schools are unfeasible to implement. If the number of schools that fail to comply with the standards set by the State for 2 successive years increases substantially, then the funds required to bring the necessary changes in the workforce, syllabus and structures of the schools or a complete State takeover will be extremely difficult to manage as the funds for education are being slashed every year by the Bush Administration (Jim Donlevy, 2002). The condition laid out by the NCLP to only employ specialized, qualified and licensed teachers is posing severe problems for struggling schools. It is vital to note that those schools that have either failed to or are struggling to comply with the standards set by the local government consistently employ replacement-teachers from far-off areas and are bound to face shortages of licensed teachers. Furthermore, many experts believe that this tendency will increase in the coming years and the struggling schools will face tougher challenges to meet this condition, while those schools that have been meeting the State†s standards of initiatives have been consistently employing certified teachers. Therefore, the persistence of the NCLB act to employ only licensed and specialized teachers has made it unrealistic for low-performing schools to meet this condition (Jim Donlevy, 2002). Additional troubling features of the NCLB Act The funds allocated for the successful implementation of NCLB are not only limited but also very poorly directed. While the NCLP act lays clear emphasis and provides adequate funds for crafting accountability structures and carrying out transformations for schools that fail to comply with the Standards of the State, it fails to provide adequate funds for conducting research on equally important academic areas for adolescents† literacy, namely, educator training and constant learning, the needs and interests of adolescents and framework for educating and learning in subject areas. This misdirection of funds will further hamper the progress of low-performing schools (Mark W. Conley and Kathleen A. Hinchman, 2004). Furthermore, NCLB gives very little consideration to the framework of literacy strategies. The three areas cited in the NCLB act are alphabetic acquaintance, fluency, and comprehension strategies. While the adolescents have been able to develop the first two categories (alphabetic knowledge and fluency), they have found the last category (comprehension strategies) to be extremely difficult. This is mainly due to the fact that new frameworks for subject-contents are being developed, which create the need for the development of newer comprehension strategies. Nevertheless, several studies have asserted that NCLB mirrors very limited research on this issue and sets a very restricted standard on strategies related to the development of newer comprehension strategies (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998; Alexander & Jetton, 2000). It is important to note that adolescents do not come prepared for the challenges they will face in their elementary and secondary education. One cannot wait for newer laws to be enacted or school reforms to be initiated. Immediate strategies have to be developed so that the present threats emerging from the NCLB act can be turned into an opportunity for all schools. The federal and local State governments should reflect on the following strategies for immediate and quick-fix actions: Firstly, recognizing those strategies that have been successfully implemented by high-performing schools and then enforcing the low-performing schools to adopt those strategies (Michael F. Hock and Donald D. Deshler, 2003). In order to present those successful strategies to low-performing schools and ensuring that they have comprehensively understood all the aspects of the strategies, the government ought to set up presentation-places to illustrate those plans and achievements (Michael F. Hock and Donald D. Deshler, 2003). Encourage programs that educate teachers on scientifically verified instructional methods. Despite the fact that confusion about the proper definition of adolescent literacy still prevails, modern research has been able to give some direction to the dilemma. These directions should be used as a framework to allocate funds for teacher training programs that have been clinically verified to be productive (Michael F. Hock and Donald D. Deshler, 2003). Increased consideration should be given to literacy instruction because no current teacher training programs inform the teachers about the difficulties they will face while dealing with the literacy instructions in their teaching careers (Michael F. Hock and Donald D. Deshler, 2003). These recommendations should be implemented with immediate affect because we are all aware that schools are very multifaceted and therefore manifold characteristics and strategies have got to be adopted (Darling-Hammond, 1997; Marzano, 2003). It is important for the government officials to note that neither the adolescents nor the teachers can be ignored because they both are the pillars for growth and development of any society (e. g. , Pressley, 2001; Strickland & Morrow, 2000; Stronge, 2002) (Margaret Taylor, 2004) The â€Å"No Child Left Behind† act can be considered to be more idealistic than realistic because while the aims are very noble, the funds required to achieve these noble aims are very limited and a number of vital issues have been ignored. The State governments have been busy in establishing high standards of achievements for all schools without making efforts to really understand the complexities of the present system and the repercussions of their policies on the schools, parents, teachers and the students. Therefore, a proper reaction to the present threats being posed by the NCLB act should be thorough, carefully directed, and all-inclusive if across-the-board transformations are desired. Lastly, endeavors to bridge the differences amid the objectives and the present capabilities have got to be the most important concern if the aim is for adolescents to productively challenge the needs of the business and the society.

Sorporate unethical behaviour Essay

You have been exposed to several cases of corporate unethical behaviour. Ethical misconduct of senior executives appear to be at the centre of these scandals. In Australia, the James Hardie Industries ‘asbestos’ case has been featured in the media for some time. The company has been accused of causing over half of the number of documented cases of mesothemilia, a lung cancer caused by asbestos. In your in-class essay writing, you are required to do the following. 1. Using utilitarianism, discuss two reasons each in favour of, and against, James Hardie executives’ conduct. 2. As summarised in your week 2 tutorial exercise, reflect in your essay, how your views concerning ‘responsible business’ have been influenced by †¢your research for this assessment task, and †¢by your engagement with the subject matter of COMM101. 3. Referencing and citations: The two references provided below should be used in your essay but are only starting points for your research. On their own, they are not sufficient. A requirement of this assessment task is that you should submit to your tutor, as an attachment to your essay, a list of references consulted whilst preparing for this essay. This list should be cited in your essay and prepared using a word processor and produced via a printer. Ensure you follow the referencing guidelines set out in your subject outline. As a guide, we expect that you should have consulted at least six references (including the two mentioned below) in preparing for this assessment task. 1. Read One Philosopher’s Approach to Business Ethics in your textbook, Shaw et al (2013), pp.105-112. Use the content to develop your essay. 2. Read and use the content from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s Decision in James Hardie Penalty Proceedings (Tuesday 13 November 2012), available at http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf/byheadline/12-275MR+Decision+in+James+Hardie+penalty+proceedings?openDocument

Jamie Thomas essays

Jamie Thomas essays Jamie Thomas was born in 1974, Dothan, Alabama. Jamie Thomas was the fourth child and a very independent one. He did everything to fit in as a kid. He was the fourth child. Every child in his family was a little rebellious. So when they had him they decided that they have had enough ( Brunett, Pgs 60-61). As a kid Jamie raised himself in a sense. His mom taught him a lot of things but most of the things he had to learn on his own. He Probably had to learn a lot more things on his own than the average child. When Jamie was growing up he was probably the best skater in his town, since there wasnt a lot of skaters in Alabama. Jamie lived in Alabama for a long time. Jamie got a lot of attention as a kid because he was a skateboard kid ( Brunett, Pgs 62-63). When Jamie was young he did all the basics to fit in: the Mohawk, the shaved head, the bleached hair and whatever else was necessary. When Jamie was growing up the kids that were older were always better at skating than him. A lot of the kids over there either quit skating or got hurt. Jamies parents were always there for him. And they were there when he was in trouble to tell him right from wrong. But usually it took him getting in trouble first ( Online 2 ). While Jamie was growing up his mom was always supportive of everything he did. And his dad was just supportive of school. Jamie was always in a little bit of trouble. He wanted to make the most of school so he always had some fun. Since Jamie wasnt eighteen when he quit he couldnt formally quit on his own. So Jamies mom signed him out for him ( Brunett, Pgs 64-65). Jamie got suspended for five or eight days. Jamie turned seventeen two weeks before he quit school. If he didnt quit he would have failed anyway. Before Jamie came to California he had to work double shifts to save for a car. After Jamie dropped out he was looking forward to come to Calif...

BACHMAN Surname Meaning and Family History

BACHMAN Surname Meaning and Family History The Bachman surname has several possible origins. A topographical name for one who dwells by a stream, from the German bach for brook and mann for man.  From the Hebrew  ben chayim, meaning son of life.   Surname Origin:  Hebrew, Dutch, German Alternate Surname Spellings:  BACHMANN, BAUGHMAN, BACKMAN, BOCKMAN, BOCKMANN, BECHMANN, BECHMEN, BECMAN, BAUCHMAN, BOUCHMAN Famous People with the Last Name BACHMAN Michele Bachmann - founder of the U.S. Congressional Tea Party CaucusRandolph Charles Randy Bachman -  Canadian musician; best known as lead guitarist, songwriter and a founding member of The Guess Who  and  Bachman–Turner Overdrive Where is the BACHMAN Surname Most Common? The Bachman surname, according to surname distribution information from  Forebears, is somewhat less common, found most prevalently in the United States. Within the U.S., individuals named Bachman are found in greatest numbers in states with a high number of past German immigrants, including Pennsylvania and Iowa. It is also a lot more common in Poland, than in Germany. The Bachmann spelling is much more common in Switzerland and Germany, where it ranks 26th and 157th, respectively. WorldNames PublicProfiler  data demonstrates the same pattern, with Bachman most prevalent in the U.S. states of South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Nebraska and Iowa, as well as in Saskatchewan, Canada. Genealogy Resources for the Surname BACHMAN Bachman Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Bachman family crest or coat of arms for the Bachman surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. BACHMAN/BACHMANN/BAUGHMAN Y-DNA ProjectThe goal of the Bachman Y-DNA Project is to use DNA combined with traditional genealogy research to determine which of a number of descendants of Swiss and of early American Bachmann immigrants share common ancestors. BACHMAN  Family Genealogy ForumThis free message board is focused on descendants of Bachman ancestors around the world. Search the forum for posts about your Bachman ancestors, or join the forum and post your own queries.   FamilySearch - BACHMAN GenealogyExplore over 360,000  results from digitized  historical records and lineage-linked family trees related to the Bachman surname on this free website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. GeneaNet - Bachman RecordsGeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Bachman surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries. Ancestry.com: Bachman SurnameExplore over 490,000 digitized records and database entries, including census records, passenger lists, military records, land deeds, probates, wills and other records for the Bachman surname on the subscription-based website, Ancestry.com. - Sources: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998.Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003.Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997.Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Truth and Knowledge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Truth and Knowledge - Essay Example The thinking process involves reasoning, analyzing, arguing, testing, and making decisions. (Halpern, 2003, p. 37) Arguments are constructed from known facts or evidence, which are presented as the premises, and conclusions are drawn from the given premises. (Salmon, 2004, p. 45) For example, the statement â€Å"All crows are black† is a statement of fact that becomes a premise. Similarly the statement, â€Å"This bird is a crow† is another fact that becomes the second premise. From these premises, it can be said that â€Å"This bird is black†, which is a conclusion. There are two approaches for drawing conclusions –deductive and inductive. Deductive arguments proceed from the universal to the particular cases. If all the premises are true, the conclusion in a deductive argument has to be true. We can say that the conclusion is already implicitly contained in the premises in the case of a deductive argument. A deductive argument is either valid or not valid; there is no intermediate state. Inductive arguments proceed from particular instances to draw conclusions about the universal truth applicable to all elements of a particular class. Inductive arguments expand what is contained in the premises, and draws conclusions that are probably true but not necessarily always so. Thus there is a degree of validity associated with inductive arguments. (Salmon, 2004, p. 49) Some arguments contain unstated premises. These are facts or assumptions that are necessary for the argument to be valid but are not expressly stated. Premises may be unstated because they are perceived as universally known. For example, a joint library between San Jose University and Silicon Valley may be concluded as demonstrating the university’s commitment to promote innovation. This conclusion might be based on the unstated premise that Silicon Valley is innovative, even though this might not be stated expressly. (McGraw-Hill, 2000) However, it is always better

Communicative Technology - Short Messaging Service (SMS) Essay

Communicative Technology - Short Messaging Service (SMS) - Essay Example The user should have activated the service of sending text messages, this activation involves paying a cost to some mobile network whereas on most mobile phone networks the activation is free. However, each text message costs some amount per text message, though nowadays mobile service networks offer packages that allow you to send a limited number of text messages for a cost in bulk. Lastly, the user who wants to send an SMS should know how to read and type a text message on the mobile phone and the model they have and should have a recipient to whom they want to send their texts to and they are good to go. (Illinois State University 2014). In 1984, a man named ‘Friedhelm Hillebrand’ was experimenting with casual sentences and questions on his typewriter at his house in Germany. Whenever he wrote a question or a sentence he made a count of the alphabets, number and the spaces in between them. This led to an odd discovery, which further on became the idea behind the length of an SMS. He noticed that every time he counted, the total quantity of characters was less than one sixty characters. (Gayomali, C. 2012). It is said that the first ever text message sent in the world was: ‘Merry Christmas’. It was sent by a man named Papworth. He was a computer designer at ‘Sema Group Telecoms’. Since the mobile phones at that time did not have the ability to type as there were no keyboards he used his computer to send the greeting to his buddy ‘Richard Jarvis’ who was employed at ‘Vodafone’. (Erikson, C. 2012). In 1993 ‘Nokia’ became the pioneer to launch the first ever mobile phone set which allowed the users to send text messages. However, there were limitations to the SMS service, firstly, it could only be typed through a numerical keypad by the multi-tap system and most importantly the SMS service was only limited to one network.  Ã‚