Understanding The Growth Theory By Solow Economics Essay

Understanding The Growth Theory By Solow Economics Essay Robert Solow was born of a Jewish family on August 23, 1924 in Brooklyn. Fortunate with the opportunity to attend public schools, he had a strong academic foundation along with with motivation and mentoring he was awarded a scholarship to attend Harvard University in 1940. During his freshman year at Harvard he chose sociology and anthropology as his majors with a minor in elementary economics. At the end of 1945 Robert Solow decided to serve in the US army and later returned to Harvard in 1945. The depression at the time strongly influenced him to study the way the economy actually worked and after returning from the army he decided to switch gears and studied economics. At Harvard he was an assistant to Wassily Leontief producing the first set of capital coefficient for the output and input model sparking his interest in statistics and probability models which lead him to Columbia University for a concentration in statistics. About the same time he was also offered a position to lecture economics and statistics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) which he accepted and overtime his fascination leaned more with macro economics. For 40 years Solow worked closely with Paul Samuelson and together they developed numerous work together such as: Balanced Growth under Constant Returns to Scale, (1953), Theory of Capital (1956) and A Complete Capital Model Involving Heterogeneous Capital Goods. In 1961, Robert Solow won the John Bates Clark Award which is given to someone under 40 years who have made a major contribution to economic thought and knowledge. His continued efforts and passion for macro economics resulted to him winning the Nobel Prize in 1987 for his analysis in economic growth. Over the years Solow has continued to be a prominent figure as an economist, his theory is thought all over the world from government to his theory thought in schools. The study of the factors which permit production growth and increased welfare has been a central feature in economic research for many years. Robert M. Solows prize recognizes his exceptional contributions in this area. This paper will discuss the major contributions Robert Solow made to economics in an A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth (1956), the influences for his analysis and its relevance in understanding how the economy works. Understanding the Solow growth theory is a challenge due to the number of models that he incorporates to explain growth theory. The basic model focuses on the accumulation of capital after which Solow incorporates new factors such as population growth and technology in order to show the changed result in comparison to the basic model. To aid in development of his Growth Theory, Robert Solow addressed the specifics concerning the growth of an advance industrial economy, this was first developed by Nicholas Kaldor. Kaldor has six characteristics for the economy, four of which Solow focused mainly to development the Solow model. Real output grows at a constant rate. Capital Stock grows at a constant rate Real growth and capital stock are likely to be the same Profit rates show a horizontal trend with the exception of changes in effective demand. The first three characteristics describe when an economy is in the steady state. To expand on this definition the steady state as described by Robert Solow is constant growth and capital stock. In an article, A Contribution to the theory of economic growth (1956) Solow growth model represented an addition to the Harod- Domar Model which explained growth patterns in terms of savings and capital. The main differentiation between his model and the Harrod-Domar model lay in Solows assumption that wages could adjust to keep labor fully employed. The Solow Model is neo-classical and as a results focuses primarily on the supply side. This implies that as long the supply of a good increases then economic growth can be accomplished. In this aspect it differs from the Keynesian models which focus on the demand side of the economy in areas such as: unemployment and inflation. The supply side In Solows model follows the following assumptions: One good in production with no change in technology and two factors of production, capital (K) and labor (L) deriving the following equation Y =F (K, L). The demand side for the Solow model assumes that output demand is equal to consumption and therefore there is no disposable income in the economy. Y= C + S Thus far the model describes a stagnant economy and Solow introduces dynamic factors in the model to show capital accumulation which are investment which increases the capital stock and depreciation which decreases capital stock. The saving rate in this model represents the tradeoff between consumption and investment. This means, what is not consumed is saved in the economy; this therefore increases capital stock growth or capital accumulation in the economy. In the active economy in the Solow model the production changes and is represented by the equation Y=F (K, S, à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Å¡, k0) meaning output is a function of capital, savings, depreciation and capital stock. By utilizing the capital stock increases output in different periods but at some point the economy comes to a steady state as described by the Solow Model. The steady state is accomplished when output and capital are in equilibrium. It also implies that the economy will cease to grow so there is no change in capital at that point. Furthermore an economy in a positive steady state does not move from that point therefore this can also be considered as the equilibrium point The variables listed above can be divided into two variables exogenous which comprises of savings depreciation and capital stock and endogenous which are capital, income and investments. The model shows that increased savings shifts increases investments which impacts the steady rate causing it to shift also. This activity illustrates that higher savings in an economy means that there is higher capital stock thus leading to higher steady state per worker. Therefore in the economy one need to know that is the optimum level of savings is necessary to get to maximize steady state which is known was the golden rule. To recap, the steady state can be referred to as long run equilibrium in the economy and savings is critical in the model because it shows that by increasing savings the steady state can shift upward which asserts higher level of capital stock per worker. The concept of golden rule was also incorporated in the Solows Growth Theory but prior to that the golden rule was a concept by Jon von Neumann and later in the work of Edmund Phelps. In Solows Growth Theory, he makes the assumption that policy makers will consequently determine a savings rate that will maximize consumption per worker referring to it as the golden level of capital accumulation. Robert Solow did not stop here with his theory he went on further to introduce population growth in his dynamic model which also means that the labor force is growing as well. What Solow is illustrating is the effect of this exogenous factor on the population. Therefore the capital stock will be divided thinly across the increasing population. Since this increase in population is decreasing the capital stock this indicates there is a negative effect on income per worker. Solow then adds technology to the model, technology as described by Solow can improve efficiency of production and this means that there is an increase in output ultimately leading to the sustained growth in the economy. At this stage in the model, Solow uses a new production function to describe the economy Y=F (K, L, E, à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬) this means that output is a function of capital, labor, efficiency and effective worker for this economy. Solow goes on to describe what is meant by an efficient worker and this is characterized by knowledge, familiarity and ability. Output can consequently increase by the efficiency levels of workers. Efficiency in this model per effective worker can move the steady state equilibrium where capital stock per worker constant. As a result, with technological progress in this model the capital stock per worker is growing at the technology rate even in the steady state due to efficiency in the economy. We can see that even if capital is not growing in the steady state capital per effective worker is at the rate of technology. In addition, this also asserts that output per worker is also growing at a rate of technology. Combined, total output and capital stock are both growing when the two variables population and technology are present. The Solow Model therefore shows that technological progress in the economy explains sustained economic growth in the context of living standards per worker.

Tall Organisational Structure And Power Culture Commerce Essay

Tall Organisational Structure And Power Culture Commerce Essay Culture is a systematic programme run in the mind which can be used to differ one set of people from another, and an organization structure is a breakdown of the organisational subordinate entities to pursue a common goal. Different modes of the Cultures would be Power Culture, Task Culture, Person Culture and Role Culture. The importance of understanding these concepts is that an organizational structure leads the organisational culture to flow across the organisation. Therefor a proper understanding of the functionality of these concepts is vital. There could be several types of structures as follows. Tall organisational Structure and power Culture A tall organisational structure is where the span of control is narrowed due to the higher number of management levels resulting in many managers being employed by a company and the commands are first informed to the top level managers and then the information flows in to the subordinates. Under this structure, it is likely that culture is unchanged and the informal commutation is applied because of the lower level subordinated work under a tall structure. Most organisations especially manufacturing and task oriented uses this method to make sure without any interference the task is done the correct person is on the correct chair. Tall structure always provides the systematic approach to planning and controlling mechanisms this is because the decision making is done at the top and then the decisions are flown downward and being (Naoum,2001:p.165). Figure1. Tall organisational Structure of a production company Source: The times 100 web magazine (http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/british-gas/roles-responsibilities-and-career-development/introduction.html#axzz2Dl7IBSzR) Power Culture is where one individual dominates the entire decision making only by himself. Power culture always allows the head of the business (Entrepreneurs) to make the decisions. Therefor power culture always bounded to a particular individual. In the current context Sir Richard Branson is a perfect example where he dominated the entire decision making of the group by himself and the success of the company is where he always retained the decision making power and the retention of the control under himself according toVirgin-Richards Block website (2012). Under this culture it is very difficult for others to poke into the decision making and the subordinates always have to follow the decisions. Figure2: Decision making represents the middle of the circle Source: http://www.mindtools.com/ Flat Organisational culture and Role Culture Flat organisational culture consists lower number of managers due to the lower number of management levels making the span of control wider. This might lower the interest of the top level managers feeling that they might lose out the control. Flat organisational structured entities are having greater innovation ability as the functional levels are given the authority from the top level. The swiftness of the communication is higher as opposed to other structures. The level of motivation of the employees will stay high as they are not been pressured more and the formal level of communication arises because of that (Warner M., Joynt P.2002:p260). Figure3. Flat Structure with minimum number of managers Source: Madura J. (2007:p279) Role Culture commands the employees to stick to their job description. This mainly happens in large entities where the particular job has its own guidelines. Under this approach the innovativeness is questionable as employees tend stick to their work boundaries and stifle the innovativeness. In this approach most of the Human Resource activities are done in order to chair the proper personnel. When every employee carries out their duties, the entire companys pillars are strengthening. Therefor in this approach the importance of understanding of the role of each person is highly important (Martin, 2005:P.493). Hierarchical organizational Structure and Task Culture Hierarchical Structure represents a pyramid shaped structure i.e. the power and responsibility are defined according to the position they possess in the organisational hierarchy. Under this approach the main objective is to retain the power and to get the task done through the divisions. In this approach it is likely that the span of control is retained at the divisional levels which lead to better communication where one reports to the other (Turner and Simister, 2000) Figure 4. Hierarchical Organisational structure in military organisation (Source: God, Quantum physics, Organizational structure and Management style, 2009:p.45) Task Culture gets the correct people and getting them to work together will be the key aspect of this approach. This culture mainly focuses about the team work for the accomplishment of a company objective. Through this approach it is likely that the company moves forward with market dynamism and market complexity as this approach gets the company people to discuss the changes in order to meet the complexity. Managers must make sure the level of commitment is achieved because of the distance and freedom they are given (Smith and Mounter, 2008:p.36). 1.2 Organisational culture and performance Organisational culture always has an impact on the organisational performance. In a strong culture (high norms, high Values) the bonds of the management with the employees are quite strong, the performance of the entity tends to be in a good position. According to Lussier and Kimball (2009) a weak culture will definitely stifle the connection of employees and management. Culture types such as Power and person, will limit the performance of an organisation due to the lack of democracy whereas role and task culture will improve the democracy. Employee performance will therefor directly impact the company performance the glue will be the culture. But it should also concluded that a strong culture will ease the mergers or alliances, where as a weak culture will be very difficult to maintain in a dynamic environment. b) From the current context Semco is a company build in brazil owned by Ricardo Semler who took the business from his father who are in to the manufacturing of mixers, pipes. Owner allowed employees to make use of the organizational resources in the way he would like make sure the correct inspection is provided at requirement. The considerations provided for the effort were well provided by Semler as a result company could increase profit up to 500 per cent. Therefor it is noticeable that a strong culture with more values and believes will contribute to a greater performance (Dickson, 1993:p.13). 1.3 factors which influence the behaviour individual at work According to the Mullins (2009) he has noted several factors which could influence an individuals behaviour at work as follows. Values Skills Personality Leadership Perception Demographic Factors Attitudes When an individual possess good values towards the work, the work will become more and more easy. Having good skills will always make the employee to feel comfortable with the tasks they carry out. When an individual comes with a better personality it is unlikely that the company influence the person but rather person will take it up by himself. Better leadership always has a significant impact over the work where the better leadership influences the person and getting the task done. According to Nelson and Quick, (2008:p.128) Better work conditions will always improve the perception of the individuals towards work. Demographic factors such as age, gender, will create some awkwardness towards work if the working environment tends to be challenging to them. Motivational Factors such as better work conditions will always improve the attitudes of the individuals. Therefor it is evident that above factors will have an impact over work conditions. Task 02 Introduction to Management and Leadership In simple terms Management is the way of deciding what to be done through planning, organizing, communication and controlling and leadership is the way of getting things done from subordinates by providing directions. Therefor clear-cut understandings of these theories are vital and Kurt Lewin has identified several styles as follows (Armstrong and Stephens, 2005:p.11). 2.1 Authoritarian Style Authoritarian approach is where the decisions are only taken by the leader himself and no input will be obtained for the decision making from the employees. This type of leadership is mainly found in task oriented organisations such as military organisations. Leader must know in and out of the tasks very well and must be able to communicate clearly the job to be done. This type of leadership is so vital when the employees lack the desired level of knowledge about the task (Iqbal, 2010:p.11). Democratic Style This is another way to lead people with more coordination, consultation and participation with the employees in the decision making process (Woods, 2005:P.2). The main objective of this approach is to obtain the best practical solutions to solve the problems. Through this approach the innovativeness, cohesiveness among the group will improve and companies requiring a lot of coordination to their decision making, will adopt this approach as the decisions will be more practical in comparison to the autocratic approach. This will allow entities to come up with better solutions in a complex and dynamic environments. Laissez-Faire Style With reference to Bass and Bass (2008) the laissez-Faire French term means completely hands-off. This approach is much similar to a delegated, but yet the instructions from the leader are less and the effort from the group members will need to be highly improved. In this approach the focus will be to provide maximum freedom with very little margin of inspections. For a company with lot of Skilled labour whom aware of the task deeply, will be suitable to carry out this approach. But it is advised that this method is the least productive because rarely find highly skilled and efficient employees. b) From the current context A popular biker and an actor Paul Teutul Jr. together with his father Paul Teutul Sr. has started the Orange County choppers which has twisted the American modified bike market. Father and son have every time looked to penetrate the decision making all by themselves. This has mainly reasoned the experience and the charisma these two possess. The authoritative style has benefited them in many ways. Mainly the task oriented stuff are done at a larger scale. With their prior experience of the market and the sense they have on the dynamism has benefitted the success of this biking company (Official website of orange bikes). Mr. Carlos Ghosn the President and CEO of Renault France; and the president and CEO of Nissan Japan has the approach of the democratic leadership. In tough situations especially when Renault and Nissan were faced by the high competition he believed his employees and the capabilities of them made the companies to profit from inception to now. He always believed that the decision making should always be generated from the lower levels. This has resulted Renault to come up with much better designs and the Japanese company could compete with Toyota and Mitsubushi perfectly with economical vehicle models (Magee, 2003:p. 13). 2.2 Organisational theory and Practise of Management Organisational theory explains how the study of the organisation should be done in order to solve problems prevailing in the current system and to meet the stakeholder likings with efficiency. One way of achieving the organisational theory would be the Classical approach where the emphasis is given to the scientific methods and bureaucracy to improve the productivity. Under the neoclassical view the employee behaviour of the organisation and in the environmental view the contingency is looked at and the effectiveness of the leadership will be situational (Linstead, 2004). Practise of Management indicates the ways in which management has controlled overtime and they should be subjected to high productivity and also the measurement must be done through indicators (Centrepiece Summer 2005 Magazine). The organisational theory underpins the Practise of Management in the following way. Better organisational theory will look to improve the management practises more realistic and swift. This is mainly due to the perfect understanding will provide the platform for a better understanding of the behaviour of the company and the best practises then can be implemented. Especially under the scientific way the main focus is to attract, recruit and retain the employees in a systematic way and the management will therefor find it easy to carry out their policies. Under the bureaucratic way the management is fairly less complex as the correct person will chair. Having a good understanding of the human behaviour though it is quite unpredictable, the easiness is there for the managers in terms of decision making (Crowther and Green 2004:p.51). 2.3 Different approaches to management I) Scientific Management F.W. Taylor has invented the approach of how the work should be done scientifically. This include the basic areas such as Recruitment through better job designs, better selection criteria, let the employees to carry out the task and the scientific regular control mechanisms such as performance appraisal are provided in this approach (Sheldrake 2003:p.15).This level of approach is mainly focused on the production where the remuneration is based on the performance of the employee rather than a fixed salary. The effectiveness according to the Taylor F. will improve gradually. II) Classical Administration Approach Henry Fayol (1841-1925) is considered to be the father of this method. He mentioned that every person has to perform management as a profession and found many administrative contributions such as distinguishing perfectly between the technical and managerial skills, elements of the management process such as division of work, leadership, unity of command, centralisation, and etc. Further he divided the organisations in to six categories and defined its common features such as planning, organising, commanding, communicating, and controlling. For an organisation whom into more and more complex and larger scales, can look at this method and can have a good result through the practises as the elements mentioned above provide a good stability to the controlling process as well as planning er becomes lot rational and logical (Singla and Singla 2009p.58). III) Bureaucratic Approach The emphasis of this approach is mainly to identify rational forms of organisation. In the current context even though the term Bureaucracy refers to many negative connotations, Max Webbers theory of bureaucracy understands how the management is successful under this approach. This approach mainly deals with the standard ways with employees. He preferred the specialisation, better organisational hierarchy, job roles and rules, full time appointed officials to make sure better person chair the position and division of labour in order to make sure too much work is not allocated. Mainly the government entities who are more in to formal methodology uses this approach because their main objective is to maintain the respect and pride in the minds of citisen (Gene and Thakur,1996 p.196). IV) Human relations Approach Classical, bureaucratic theories improved the production though couldnt realise that the employee stress and morale downfall. Elton Mayo under the Hawthorne studies realised that the provision of the social needs improved the efficiency as well as the productivity and the level of satisfaction. Therefor under this approach main concentrations are decentralisation, Participatory decision making, enhancing the self-motivation within the human minds. In the current context, innovation and dynamism being dominated the companies, the need of this approach is vital as this approach mainly focus on the basic fundamentals of employee satisfaction every time. Under this aspect employees are seen as human asset rather than human machines (Coffey, 1990:p.261). V) Systems Approach No organisation will profit without employees, assets, management, finance, marketing, and etc. Likewise this approach considers the organisation to be a system and the sub parts are to correlated to the main hub. The main focus in this approach to improve the swiftness and interaction of communication between separate divisions of the organization. Organisations mainly divisionalised tend to adopt this approach as they can result from being interrelated (Jackson, 2000:p.12). VI) Contingency Approach Approach of having no approach to management could be identified as a contingency approach. Under this, the main idea is that the organisation is rapidly changing and the variables of the external market, resources, technology varies day by day. Therefor the correct decision therefor must be taken having considered the pros and cons of each management. Organisations who are in to much more dynamic and complex environments uses this. Sometimes the bureaucracy, sometime the human relations approach depending on the situation (Cole, 2004:p.82) Task 03 Introduction Theories for motivation are highly essential as those have a clear connection to the level of output. Therefore, having a good understanding of the movement of the motivation with the productivity is highly essential. 3.1) Leadership styles in changing environments It is needed to have an understanding about the different leadership styles and their impact on the motivation in a changing context. The above discussed three types could be used to demonstrate this issue. (Johansson, 2004) In a changing context using the democratic approach is really productive where the people get together and negotiate their problems and within teams they tend to find the proper solutions for the dynamism. Unlike that approach, using Authoritarian approach is much different where the top management might not foresee the change which will be detected only at lower grounds. Therefor in such scenarios, using this approach is not suitable as authoritarian approach doesnt improve the innovativeness to cope up with the level of change happening. Yet the Laissez-Faire approach doesnt give any sort of an idea to the subordinates yet the employees at ground levels can take up and do since the main idea of the Change is visible to them (Crawford, Cartwright and Bennett 200 4:p.188). Under the change of trends good leaders also must possess anticipatory skills where they should detect the change before the impact flows in. in such scenarios the level of motivation should be retained by activities such as quality circles, frequent meetings and also gather facts from the lower levels. With the changing trends the tasks may vague. Therefor using the above tasks are essential for the company progress and motivation retention (Christ, 1999 p.280). Therefor the leadership in changing environments are highly challenging and subjective 3.2 Maslows Motivational Theory Abraham Maslow, who had been a psychologist for years, could generate his own way of a motivational style from the facts he had gathered. The main idea here is once you get the primary needs under control the motivation tend to skim to the secondary levels. Under the primary levels, the safety needs and psychological needs are found. In a business organisation just provision of the basic factors might not be sufficient. Most of the manufacturing plants operating in China, India are having the culture of providing free but that wont be good enough. For lower level of employees, these factors are essential (Hoffmann, 2006:p.16). Under the secondary category social, esteem and self-actualisation is found where the social needs are extremely critical. The basic understanding here is that there must be a good social work environment to the employees where the communication must back it up. Every employee comes up with the aim of career progression. In such a situation just providing the normal needs plus the social needs will not be enough. In such a context usage of promotional packages comes in to play as usually human asset would like to improve their state. In such context esteem needs are gradually arises as the esteem needs are looked for a better recognition. Reaching the top of the management will satisfy the self-actualisation resulting in a better satisfaction with the work they perform (Mcshane, 2008 p.153). Figure 5: Maslows Hierarchy of needs Source: Hoffmann, 2006:p.16 3.3. Motivational Theories for Managers It is highly important for the managers to have a good understanding about the motivational levels of the employees. Mainly managers must focus what is the motivational limit. Having a good definition about the motivational levels of different employees, the easy platform is there for the managers to come up with good packages. For some employees, early leave, study leave, will be motivating where as some other employees would look for better recognition such as better career progression, better salaries, non-financial benefit schemes. Therefor managers must define what the best suitable package is for the employees having looked at the theories, experience and etc. (shanks, 2011:p.23) b) I) Herzberg Two-Factor Theory Fredrick herzburg carried out the mayos findings and further investigated that there are two levels of motivation which will result in better satisfaction. He identified Hygine factors and Motivational Facors to be more effective. Hygine fctors are where the factors that employee must be given and any failure will result in demotivation such as team working, better supervision, better salaries and etc. On the other hand motivational factors are those will improve the level of motivation if they posses but the failure wont depress the employees like in the hygiene factors. These include features such as better career progression, better attraction, recognition at work, and etc. Therefor managers must pay attention to define the package each individual would like to have (Green, 2009:p.56). II) Douglas McGregor Theory X and Y Theory X is where the managers believe that the employees are lazy and dislike to work and will be looking to exploit any loophole. Also employees must be carefully supervised and they must be followed day by day. In this context, managers would like to use the authoritarian approach to the work place and all the policy setting and management is based on that. Theory Y is where the managers have the feel that employees enjoy the work they perform, and they are self-motivated, personal progression is another big factor that employees look to deal with. Therefor under this approach, managers like to use the democratic approach to their work place and the concepts of team work will enjoy in this environment. (Koontz et al, 2008:p. 290) Task 04 Introduction Understanding of the mechanisms required to establish and to maintain the team work is much essential as the individuals consisting in the team are different to each other. Also the members may have different approaches to their leaders. Therefor a correct method must be formed. 4.1) Groups and its behaviour within organisations Group is a collection of members who interact with each other with better understanding and who would like to work together. A better group will have essential elements such as group better cohesiveness, high homogeneity, less alternatives which will make the members not to leave but to stay within the group. According to Tuckman (1995) and Cole (2004 p.82) the stages of forming a group would be Forming- Initial gathering of individuals and getting to know each other Storming- Different individuals might contain different perceptions. Likewise with the group there could be many individuals with different ideas and they are clashed in this stage. Norming-This is where the different ideas are blended, clashed and the formation of new ideas are done. Performing- in this approach the group performance takes place. There could be different types of groups as well namely Informal Groups and formal groups. Informal groups are those membership is voluntary yet the clear objective is not there whereas formal grous meet with defined objectives and formal membership is applicable. Better teams will bring their ideas together, blend it and form new and innovative concepts. Organisational tasks will be easy to handle with good groups and special tasks which require coordination, will be the suitable advantages of having a good group for and organisation (Needham, 2004:p.201). 4.2) factors affect the performance of groups There are three different factors which affect the performance of groups according to West (2007) and Hall (2005:p.44) Membership Factors If there are similar people stay within the group then the thinking will be similar and then itll be a good team to work with and the ideas are more improves and innovative. If there many clashes, then the team wont be a successful one. If there are many alternatives with members, then the people will try to leave and join with another. When more people leave, the task wont be productive. If the group is much larger , then the possibility of solving problems is less and vice versa (Hall, 2005:p.44). Environmental Factors If the task of the group is heading, is incompatible and unsupportive with the current organisational philosophy, then the group wont be a productive one. If the management thinking is about the groups are similar to theory X, then the chance that the group will flourish will be really less (West, 2007). Dynamic Factors Understanding the groups given work will make the group to be work well rather than the membership of individuals (Hall, 2005:p.204). b) In the context which I have faced, the recent activity was organising an sports meet in the university, from which many practical aspects are possible. The group consisted close to 50 members and they were of different mind sets. When deciding the venue for the meet, the clashes began to happen. According to the Tuckmans model the storming era began where lot of conflicts arise. Also there were lot of disregards occurred. Therefor membership factors were at a high risk. Also the academic person who was in-charge always discouraged us about the group cohesiveness. The external factors made the task even worst. 4.3) Technology and teams Current technology has made a dramatic impact to the team development. With the penetration of the internet the concepts such as network teams where people with different geographical Ares are brought together, swiftness of communication though video calling and emailing, has increased significantly. Therefor the frequent meetings, quick decision making is now possible according to Gibson and Cohen (2003). Conclusion According to the facts gathered, the knowledge of relationships within an organisation, and its theoretical background, are essential for better human asset controlling. Specially in the parts of teams and leadership, the level of knowledge about the human behaviour in teams and the level of understanding about their motivation are so vital. Therefor the above facts provides a clear understanding about the relationship management essentials.

The Lost Voice (or I Think This Essay Belongs in This Book) :: Essays Papers

The Lost Voice (or "I Think This Essay Belongs in This Book") You've heard about the dumb farmer who won a million dollars in a sweepstakes, haven't you? When he was asked what he was going to do with the money, he said he'd farm until it was all gone. And did you hear about that farm kid who went to the U of M? Her first reaction on her first day of school was, "Wow! This place could hold a lotta hay!" Years ago, no one could have told me that all of those "dumb farmer" jokes would seriously affect my confidence in my intelligence, abilities, and goals. I never knew what to think about those dumb farmer jokes at first because growing up around a whole bunch of farmers, I never met a dumb one. I just thought they must be somewhere else. When I transferred to St. Cloud State after one year at a small community college, however, I found out those dumb farmers were in my hometown . . . or at least that's what other people thought. And, on the other side of the coin, no one could have ever made me believe that growing up hearing "dumb city slicker" jokes would instill in me a fear of becoming one . . . and make me reject those who already are . . . and hate myself for wanting to be one anyway . . . . The difference between small farming communities and institutions of higher education probably wouldn't be considered a cultural difference. But as we slowly succeed in our attempt to put a clamp on racist, sexist, ethnocentric, and other such jokes, who is fighting the "dumb farmer" jokes and the "city slicker" jokes? Isn't there a voice fighting for a respect between these two groups as well? And if both groups think the other group is stupid, who is defining intelligence, anyway? And what happens when someone like me crosses the border and goes to the "other side?" Do you think about people from remote rural areas when you think about cultural diversity on a college campus? Honestly, I never used to, either, so it's OK if you don't . . . because even though I was raised in a rural community, I never saw myself as "culturally diverse." After all, "cultural diversity," in its most frequently used definition, implies diversity among races, ethnic groups, nationalities, or language backgrounds.

Essay --

In Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the Wife of Bath’s Tale holds the unique position of being the only tale told by a lay female in the group. The Wife of Bath is a complex character in this, she isn't what she seems to be, and maybe not even what she herself thinks she is. One may at first believe that she represents a feminist character in this, defending the rights and power of women over men in both her prologue and tale. Though The Wife of Bath seems to see herself as a feminist (more or less as a strong independent female of her time), defending the rights and power of women over men in both her prologue the tales actual perspective is formed from the point of view of a man of the time in this, her entire image seems to shift. Notably, it is valid to state that it is highly unlikely that any man of the time period saw her in this same light; rather she seems to illustrate all of the wrongs that men found in women. Alongside this, it is important to emphasiz e that this tale (The Wife of Bath) begins the "Marriage Group" as G.L. Kittredge called it (even though other marriages appear in the Canterbury Tales fragments), involving the Clerk, the Merchant, the Franklin. In this, her spoken goals expressed in her Prologue, express a certain sort of unspoken implication that exerts that Alisoun intends to take the place of the traditionally held authorities on marriage. The Wife attacks medieval dogma and uses aggression as her defense. The primacy of authority over experience is turned upside-down. This in turn produces a cycle of, experience that yields tolerance, allows exceptions, and sees other views. She exemplifies what a perfect example of a "failed feminist," a weak parody of what men see feminists as. In Chaucer’s... ... when analyzing, explaining, and understanding The Canterbury Tales, especially â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Tale.† It is important to have an even balance between the feminist critics who view Chaucer as feminist, and the feminist critics who view him as antifeminist when trying to unravel this character as a progressive creation. While it can be argued that the Wife of Bath could be an early feminist character, there are too many aspects to her that indicate how she is working within the system rather than outside of it. Alisoun is not a character who sprung fully formed from her creator’s genius. Instead, Alisoun learns how to use what Chaucer initially gives her until she is able to develop her own story, identity, tale, and conclusion. She will forever be a small piece of Geoffrey Chaucer, but she is eternally her own voice that cries out, â€Å"I am Alisoun. I am the Wife.†

Dementia Care

EIGHT CAREGIVING MAXIMS FOR DEALING WITH PERPLEXING BEHAVIOURS ?Don’t try and stop people with dementia from doing something just because it isn’t being done â€Å"properly†. Give them time to do things in their own way at their own pace. ?People with dementia understand far more than they are ever given credit for. Take care what is said in their presence and don’t exclude them from conversations or decisions. Bossiness is Just Not On. It’s very easy to confuse â€Å"caring† with â€Å"controlling† and nothing winds up any one of us more than the sense that someone else is controlling our lives. And if someone can’t find the words to protest, then resistance or aggressive actions will ensue. ?Ask the question, â€Å"Who is it a problem for – us or them? † If it’s us, we should be old and ugly enough to let things ride.Does it really matter that he wants to go to bed with his trousers on, doesn’t want a wash right now, eats mashed potato with his fingers, says there are little green men in the garden? Don’t scold, argue or contradict. Go With the Flow, however bizarre it seems. ?Preserve their autonomy for as long as possible by giving them choice (e. g. in what clothes to wear) and celebrate what they can still do, rather than bemoan what they can’t. ?There is always a reason for agitation – often something or somebody in the environment.Try to spot the cause and change it if possible. ?If they can’t enter our world, we must enter theirs and affirm it. Forget reality orientation – what day is it, where are you, who’s the Prime Minister – who cares? Enjoy fantastic adventures with them in their â€Å"real† world instead. Be prepared to time-travel backwards into their personal history. ?Look behind the illness and reach out to the frightened person still in there who needs to feel secure, respected and cherished.

Women As ‘Real Men’

Throughout the selected stories in Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron many themes are brought to a readers attention. These themes help relate and compare the tales to one another in more ways than one. In the tale, Day two Story nine it raises a certain question on how a man may look as his wife, and the standards his wife may have to uphold. In comparison Day Five Story Ten, the question raised is a question of loyalty of a wife to her husband, which in turn, compare with the standards a wife may have to uphold for the husband. In both of these stories women are seen in the end as tough characters that take these actions from their husbands without any question; they are the real men in the tales. The tale Day Two Story Nine is about a man Bernabo whom is married to Zinevra, a very trustworthy wife. Bernabo and his friend Ambrugiolo while away get into a conversation about how easy it is to cheat on their wives while they are away, because in the end Ambrugiolo’s thought is that they do the same thing. Bernabo disagrees he looks at his wife as very trustworthily and Zinevra would never do such a thing. Because of a bet the two men end up making, Amrugiolo undeservingly wins the bet, or so Bernabo is led to believe. Bernabo orders a servant to murder Zinevra because of this misleading sin she been framed of committing. She pleads to the servant for her life and runs away to begin a new life as a man. Zinevra made a new life for herself after she was framed and moved on. But one day in the market she ran into her husband, Bernabo after much talking they realized who each other were. In the end, Zinevra gets revenge on Ambrugiolo and he is killed. Zinevra was in control of her decision to either go back to her husband Bernabo after he did not trust her word and ordered her to be killed, or not. She ends up goes back to her husband and in a way is a hero. Bernabo did not trust the loyalty of their marriage and was quick to judge Zinevra, but in the end the two lived happily ever after. Day Five Story 10 is another story with the loyalty of a husband and a wife. The story is about a man Guaitieri marrying a beautiful peasant, Griselda. Quick to marry, Guaitieri does not know if Griselda is truly a loyal companion and tests her through dramatic and horrific tricks. Including lying to Griselda about killing both their daughter and son, and Griselda does not question it and agrees with his actions. Guaitieri does not know what will break his wife because he believes this woman could not be so loyal. Therefore he pretends to divorce the peasant, and tells Griselda that he is getting remarried. He wants her to not only attend the wedding, but also clean and decorate the house for the event. Griselda agrees yet again, and in the end Guaitieri is convinced that she is just as loyal as she acts and tells her the whole truth of the matter. Their children were never killed, and the woman he was about to marry was their daughter. The loyal Griselda takes back Guaitieri and they live happily ever after. While reading these stories, which were written in a time not like today, a reader may be taken back. With the Bernabo and Zinevra story, a reader may question why Bernabo was so quick to judge what he thought was a trustworthy and loyal wife. But as we see in the selected tales women are viewed almost as a prize or object not as a companion or a real person. We see that in Guaitieri and Griselda’s story as well Guaitieri tests Griselda over and over and would not believe that she really was a loyal as she was coming off to be. Readers would take this story and see Griselda as almost an abused women, husbands do not treat their wives this way this time in age. In contradiction back in the day Griselda was seen as such a loyal women and wife because of her reactions to Guaitieri’s terrible lies. In both tales, the women over come their challenges and are viewed as harder and tougher people then the men.

Globalization of Non-Western Cultures Essay

Globalization is an important concept for many capitalist. It is the process of developing an integrated society where interchange of culture, products and world view are recognized. Globalization could bring advances in technology and economic development to many countries. It brings greater interdependence and awareness among the people of the world. Aside from these benefits, globalization could also affect any country’s interdependence for economy and culture. In this paper, examples of native non-Western cultures that have been impacted by globalization will be discussed and one of those examples will be further analyzed. China is an example of non-Western culture that has been impacted by the globalization. The impact of globalization in China mainly affected their economy. From a culture that mainly relied on economic self-sufficiency, China has transformed to a progressive economy that is more open to trade and foreign economy (Overholt, 2005). Another non-Western culture that has been impacted by globalization is India. Globalization altered the view and treatment to women within the male-dominant society. With globalization, there is the power to uproot the traditional views towards women so they can take equal stance in the society. Influence of Globalization in the Chinese Culture China is very rich in its cultural heritage. Their culture has survived for many centuries. Highlights of their culture include particular festivals, dresses, foods, music, etc (Bransteller, 2006). Chinese culture was once one of the most significant opponents of globalization. But as going from one country to another in search for better jobs and lifestyle, people meet other nationalities and results to cultural diffusion. Influence of globalization in the Chinese culture has caused by several factors. First to influence the Chinese economy and culture is the west. It has greatly influenced the Chinese culture, just like its impact all over the world. The free trade policies are also a factor. With these, more products of other  countries are imported by China, thus represent the culture of other nations. Diversity also immensely influenced Chinese culture with regards to its music, food, language, clothing and other traditions. Media plays a great role in manipulating many cultur es. Outside factors and ideas were brought into China which causes major changes in lifestyle of Chinese people. Effects of Globalization Globalization has had its major effects on the Chinese culture. Their ethics and economy is one of the major positive impacts. After experiencing globalization, the Chinese economy became one of the most prosperous economies in the world. The main factor that brought benefits for the Chinese economy due to globalization is that interchange of products which widens their international market. Due to globalization, a new dimension of trade was introduced and more Chinese products were exported to the markets all over the world (Gao, 2003). This earns them foreign exchange and gives other countries awareness about their heritage. And with diversification, Chinese culture was given new ways and options to do a certain job. The main effect of globalization to the Chinese economy is the widening of market. However, globalization has also had some negative effects. Adoption of western culture as their own and inclination to western cultural heritage were major effects. Chinese people misinterpret Modernization as Westernization. Westernization has altered some of the Chinese rich culture and other institutions. Education system of China was altered. The traditional Chinese curriculum was replaced by new curriculums and courses. Clothing was also changed. People preferred wearing jeans and t-shirts rather than wearing cheongsams and coats. Another major effect is on food. Globalization caused the replacements of traditional Chinese restaurants with fast food chains. China’s Response to Globalization Many of the major cities in China have quickly embraced globalization. The main evidence of Chinese response to globalization is the developing urbanization. Major cities of China have been massively populated due to the rapid interchange of products which brought many opportunities for trades and jobs. Although China has joined the globalization system late, this does not hinder their success in the world economy today. With much more  enthusiasm, China’s economy is more open than those of other countries. China adjusts its internal structures as it participates in the globalization. Indeed, with the integration into the world economy, Beijing pursuits the goal to play an active role in setting rules of world economy (Lardy, 1994). The Chinese policy towards globalization is also a power policy. It aims at increasing China’s influence on the world affairs. Today, China is sending missions throughout the world to seek for the best practice. Aside from foreign technolo gy and foreign corporate management techniques, China also adapts a wide variety of foreign institutions and practices. Though China entered the world economy that is dominated by the West, the Chinese leadership is apparently winning initiatives in creating a new world order (Lardy, 1994). A more active China is participating in the world trade because of this reason. Today, China influences the direction of globalization in a more intensive manner. References: Bransteller, L., & J. Lardy. (2006). China’s Embrace of Globalization. National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Gao, T. (2003). Globalization and China: Impact on Economy and People’s Quality of Life. Zarb School of Business, Hofstra University. Lardy, N. (1994). China in the World Economy. Institute for International Economics, Washington.Overholt, W. (2005). China and Globalization, RAND Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.