Stereotypes in the Media free essay sample

Results interpreted showed news stereotypes are considered more socially acceptable, whereas comedy stereotypes can be viewed as offensive and not suitable for children. Drama was very similar to comedy. Stereotypes and their Pervasiveness in the Media The media these days is littered with stereotypes. These stereotypes portray a multitude of different categories, such as age, race, religion, sex and sexuality, mostly in a negative light. The aged, for example, have bad hearing; Muslims are all violent and suicidal; and the French have a snobbish attitude, love for frogs legs, and a hate for the English. While stereotypes tend to have a grain of truth within them (the French really do hate the English), they tend to overlook the differences between individuals, making them too generalised and unreliable. Despite this inaccuracy, the media still does this often. While stereotypes are used in comedy â€Å"for the lulz,† they are deliberately used in this manner, unlike in certain news and current affairs shows, where it is used out of ignorance and efficiency. We will write a custom essay sample on Stereotypes in the Media or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Because of the way media has stereotyped minorities, society has absorbed this into everyday use and many find it socially cceptable to use offensive stereotypes in everyday conversations. While comedy shows are not trying to offend and proliferate stereotypes, they in fact cause more harm than news and current affairs programs. The Simpsons, a television show known well for its satirical voice and comedic social commentary, is scattered with stereotypes, many of immigrants. Apu, an Indian convenience store owner who appears often in the show, is stingy and has a recognisably Indian accent and prays to his Hindu god, Ganesh. This inaccurate portrayal of Indian immigrants is perceived to be humourous by the public, but they are likely to apply these stereotypes to real people if their misconceptions are not corrected. This research aimed to compare the frequency of stereotypes between different genres of prime time television shows. The genres compared were comedy, drama and news. The hypothesis is that comedy will have the most stereotypes, followed by news, then by drama. Method Participants The participants in this investigation were 36 fifteen to sixteen year olds in year 11 of high school. The students were all academically selective and were mostly Caucasian. The participants chosen were all psychology students, taught by the same teacher. Parents had given permission to participate in this research and signed a permission slip for students to watch at least 3 prime time television shows within two weeks, one to be news or current affairs, the other two being of their choice. Apparatus A log sheet was given (see appendix A) to record the amount of time watching television, and the number of stereotypes noticed. Televisions were to be provided by the participants. So were pens. Procedure The 36 participants were instructed to watch television between the hours of 5 and 10pm. While watching television, they were to record the number of times they saw a stereotype being portrayed and comment on what was being portrayed. This took place over two weeks, after which the results were collated and analysed. Results The results are shown in chart form in Appendix B and C. Once the results were graphed there was not much of a difference between the genres. The data in the graph is collected from a number of participants’ log sheets. 30 people watched news, 21 watched comedy, and 19 watched dramas. The graph didn’t show a single genre to contain significantly more stereotypes. [pic] The graph above shows that there seems to be less of a gap between different stereotypes in comedy, while news has more stereotypes of age and less of religion. Drama has less stereotypes than the others, even when the lack of viewers is factored in. Race and gender are the stereotypes most portrayed by television. Discussion The data partially supports the hypothesis. Despite drama being the genre of television with the least stereotypes, comedy came second to news. News portrayed a lot more stereotypes of age. This is probably a result of violent attacks on old people in their homes. The least portrayed were sexuality, most likely a result of complaints of sexually explicit material being aired. The results do show a large amount of stereotypes are present in television shows. The stereotyping has a tendency to make things quicker and less time-consuming. After all, how is it possible to list all the political, social, economic, ideological and theological differences of a population of about 6 billion? The accuracy of this investigation is to be questioned. While it is possible to rely on this data, it is not going to be completely accurate and it may not demonstrate the true amount of stereotyping done on television. If, for example, all the news shos watched were from the same network, this would affect the results. Other networks may be more biased or even more impartial. The lack of regulation of the programs and networks would have had some effect on the accuracy of the results. Also, the method of recording the stereotypes might also affect the results. With a very vague system, it is impossible to be exact on what stereotypes are displayed, and whether they are a simple comment on turbans, or a full-fledged attack on the habits of old people. Very little research has been done into the number of stereotypes portrayed on television, as opposed to countless studies into the harmfulness of these stereotypes on impressionable children and even adults. The research shows that there are a lot of stereotypes on television, at least 5 or 6 per program. This research is part of understanding how television networks design their shows, and how stereotypes are used as they are instrumental to making changes to unfair depiction of minorities in the media. If the stereotypes are deemed inappropriate then it would be unlikely to make things any better when it comes to international relations and even domestic relations. There has been a lot of rage aimed at the Australians who assaulted two Indian students in Sydney. The acts of violence against minorities have escalated recently. Further research may venture into stereotyping of specific minorities, to examine the details of stereotyping.

The Unsuccessful Willy Loman Essay Example

The Unsuccessful Willy Loman Essay Example The Unsuccessful Willy Loman Paper The Unsuccessful Willy Loman Paper Fangmei Chen 20080100117 Class 05 Readings from 20th Century British and American Drama The Unsuccessful Willy Loman Willy,as a man of 63,is supposed to come to an age where everything should be settled down. However,he is still suffering in his job even before he commits suicide. His financial situation is unsecure. His wife has to repair her stockings instead of buying a new one. And he has to borrow money from his neigbour Charley,though he never returns them. What has led to Willy’s unsucess in life,and finally even the tragedy of killing himself,we may wonder. My personal opinion is that Willy’s own personality and his illison of success has caused the final unpleasant fact of being unsuccessful. PEOPLE’S OPINIONS Some critics say that this is due to the fierce competition of the society. He works all his life and when he gets old and becomes less productive,the society,represented by his boss Howard Wagner,still puts him on straight commission,and,when Willy asked for â€Å"not travel† on roads(61),he refused and fired him. Even some pointed out that â€Å"Willy was a man who has worked all his life by the machinery of Democracy and Free Enterprise and was then spit mercilessly out, spent like a piece of fruit. †[1] Others say this is due to his blind belief in the American Dream. According to Matthew Warshauer, â€Å"Traditionally, Americans have sought to realise the American dream of success, fame and wealth through thrift and hard work. †[2] As for Willy,he has been on the road when he was only 19. He went through all the hustle and bustle all his life and still failed to success and get what he wants. In this case,he seems to be the victim of believing in the American Dream. But is it true? The answer will reveal itself later during the discovery of his personality. WILLY’S PERSONALITY When trying to find out more about Willy’s personalities,his job as a salesman can be regarded as an open sesame for us to know him. Old Dave is the man who makes an decisive influence on Willy when it comes to the moment of choosing his future career. From Willy’s remembrance of the past,Dave Singleman is a man of 84 who can sit in his room and pick up a phone and then make money. And also, â€Å"he died the death of a salesman,in his green velvet slippers in the smoker of the New York† and â€Å"hundreds of salesman and buyers were at his funeral. †(63)Because of the seemingly comfort and respect of this job,Willy made a final conclusion that salesman was what he wanted to be. Just simply seeing Old Dave’s success and then trying to make himself a salesman indicates Willy’s lack of self-reflection as a part of his personality. Firstly,Willy is different from Old Dave. Dave Singleman doesnt have a family and seems to enjoy his lifestyle as being alone(indicated byâ€Å"Singleman†) and being a salesman. He knows better of himself than Willy of what he is doing and is doing it successfully. Willy,however,deep in his heart,is in great need of love. In the flashback of the love affair in Boston,Willy said that â€Å" ‘Cause I get so lonely-especially when bussiness is bad and there is nobody to talk to. †(173) He can’t bear the loneliness of leaving his family and travelling on roads all the time while this is what a salesman’s job demands for. How can a person who can’t adapt himself well to his job be a successful person,or at least a happy person? We can see more details about how he feels about his job and find out how his own personality has an effect on his job,which is a failure in most degree. Sometimes he thinks lowly of himself and doing self-accusation. As he said to Linda, â€Å"My God,if businses don’t pick up I don’t know what I’m gonna do! † â€Å"I gotta be at it ten,twelve hours a day. Other menI don’t know they do it easier. I dont know whyI can’t stop myself- I talk too much. † â€Å"I’m fat. I’m very-foolish to look at. †(172) Although a salesman is supposed to be self-confident most of the time, Willy seems to lack self-confidence to assure himself. And that won’t help him with his selling work at all. He is also very mercurial about himself. He can feel upset about himself at one moment and turns to be very ambitious at the next moment,and vice versa. At scene I,he once said,â€Å"Oh,I’ll knock ‘em dead next week. I’ll go to Harford. I’m very well liked in Hartford. You know,the trouble is,Linda,people don’t seem to take to me. †(171) From what have been analyzed above,we know that Willy is inadequate for a salesman’s job. And his personality of being lack of confience contributes largely to that. Sometimes he seems to know that he oesn’t do his job well. â€Å"I get the feeling that I’ll never see anything again,that I won’t make a living for you, or a business,a business for the boys. †(173)Meanwhile,in the next line,he reveals his great ambitions: â€Å" There’s so much I want to make for- † . (173)And this is also mentioned befo re his flashback, â€Å" Someday I’ll have my own business,and I’ll never have to leave home any more. †(166) However,he makes himself feel like that he is doing a good job. When Linda asked if he had sold anything,at first he said, â€Å" I did five hundred gross in Providence and seven hundred gross in Boston. That number finally cut to a total number of seventy dollars and some pennies by the insistent questioning of Linda. In this way,he seems to cheat himself for feeling better. Finally,when Charley wanted to offer Willy another job as a solution to support his family,Willy refused. He is of too high self-esteem to receive it. In this way,he cuts out a way to survive himself in the competitive society. So,society shouldn’t be to blame in Willy’s tragedy. WILLY’S ILLUSION OF SUCCESS Willy’s view of success can be indicated in the case of Old Dave and later of the play. He believes that â€Å"to be well-liked is the means to being successful. † Not only he hinself believes in this motto,but he also teaches his son Biff following his concept. When Biff was a football star in high school with three scholarships to three universities,Willy thought his son had been successful. And it didnt matter even if he didnt work hard on his math and failed the exam. Actually, â€Å"Willy’s strong desire to be well-liked is what drove him to have an affair in Boston. The fact that she would go to bed with him promoted his ego after a hard day of being turned away by buyers. [3] Actually,Willy is the one who knows his own â€Å"dream of success† and sticks to it strictly and overactively. He totally involves himself in the illusion of success. We may find that Willy seems to be exceptionally proud of a ceiling that he had installed in the living room. It was a task that the successful Charley could not perform. †Still in scene I,Willy and Charley have this talk: WILLY:Did you see the ceiling I put up in the living-room? CHARLEY:Yeah,that’s a piece of work. To put up a ceiling is a mystery to me. (178) Willy is good at the carpenter job and he likes it but he wouldn’t admit. When Biff suggested him for being a carpenter, he said ,â€Å"Your grandfather was better than a carpenter. † Biff,in the process of finding himself,confesses to himself that he doesn’t like life in the prosperous east and would rather enjoy a more primitive life in the west. While Biff is more aware of his own willingness, illusion of success again gets in the way of Willy’s happiness. Willy’s wish is to â€Å"get rich quick† like his brother Ben,who,according to Willy’s memory,describes himself as, â€Å"when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle,and when I was twenty-one I walked out. And by God I was rich. †(182)Willy doesnt care about how his brother made his money as far as his being rich has already fulfilled his illusion of success. In the end, he â€Å"sells† his life for a twenty-thousand-dollar insurance policy in order to stake his sons fortune. As analysed by Paul Rosefeldt,â€Å"His death becomes merely another ‘get rich quick’ scheme. Charley and Bernard, Willys neighbors, prove that success can be achieved, but for Willy Loman, who has absorbed too many American Dreams, the system inevitably becomes destructive. [4]The way Willy persuits his success is as the way of flying moth rushes towards fire,which brings destruction upon himself. CONCLUSION Willy’s unsuccess is due to his own personality and his illision of success. The competitive society still offers him opportunity as presented by Charley and his belief in the American Dream has become obsessive. The illision scheme of success carries him far away from the ro ad of success and even promotes his death in order that his son could success in the way he wishes. This unsuccessful image of Willy did leave for us many thoughts and force us to review the definition of success. REFERENCES: [1]website:Homework Online Study Guide homework-online. com/doas/discussion. html [2] Matthew Warshauer,Who Wants to Be a Millionaire:  Changing Conceptions of the American Dream, americansc. org. uk/Online/American_Dream. htm [3] The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District:English Resources: bellmore-merrick. k12. ny. us/death. html [4]Paul Rosefeldt ;Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition  © 2007 by Salem Press, Inc

HCM621-0804A-01 Ethics, Policy, and Law in Health Care Management - Essay - 3

HCM621-0804A-01 Ethics, Policy, and Law in Health Care Management - Phase 2 Discussion Board - Essay Example (Safire, 1993) The Watergate scandal impacted our current privacy act and health care privacy laws. If you go to The False Claims Act Legal Center (http://www.taf.org) you will find out of the top 100 claims of violations and fines, over 50 of them are health care institutions. For example, July 2006, Tenet Healthcare had billing violations that include manipulation of outlier payments to Medicare, as well as kickbacks, upcoding, and bill padding. June 2006, St. Barnabas Healthcare, filed false "outlier" Medicare payments (41%) which a hospital can claim if a procedure is particularly difficult or complex. January 2000, Fresenius Medical Care, the worlds largest provider of kidney dialysis products and services, was caught in a scam which involved fraudulent and fictitious blood testing, kickbacks to dialysis facilities to obtain blood testing contracts for LifeChem, and fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare for intradialytic parenteral nutrition. (TAF, 2006) Different kinds of human nature are the driving force behind violations of ethics. Some people are motivated by weighing the risk of getting caught versus the benefit of the fraudulent act. Others might be acting in the interest of rivalry – will this act cause them to move ahead of the competition? A desire to succeed can sometimes cause shortcutting or sidestepping ethical policies. Some people follow the rules of ethics simply because they do not wish to pay the consequences. Many are motivated to keep ethical standards by their own sense of fairness and self-respect. They self-police their own actions based on their moral code learned over time. And finally, some people simply do not know what the standards of ethics are about – never assume all people share the same education and ability to absorb external training. Since it is our business to provide ethical treatment and care for our customer – it’s in our own best interest to exceed minimum legal

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 26

Marketing - Essay Example As discussed earlier BMW is known for its luxury cars and primarily targets the premium market segment to generate its revenues. In order to successfully develop an effective marketing strategy, satisfying the needs and requirements of the targeted consumers should be given the topmost priority by any organization. Hence, the first step towards developing an effective marketing strategy of BMW would be to analyze the consumer behavior patterns followed by the company's potential target population. The key issues that are having a significant impact on the global automotive industry are the increasing rate of urbanization, environmental issues and the changing nature of consumer behavior. The two-tier concept of the industry is changing at a rapid pace. The mature automotive markets in US and UK are expected to converge with the emerging markets like that of China and India in terms of the needs and wants of the consumers regarding safety, reliability, and quality. Moreover, the autom otive market segments comprising of low-cost and premium prices vehicles are also expected to converge. This type of changing consumer behavior and market trends indicate that the available opportunities for the automobile manufacturers would increase in relation to the increasing demand for mobility services and electric vehicles. As regards the targeted customers of BMW, they look for high standards of performance, luxury and quality in the products. There is an increasing demand for hybrid electric vehicles in the market as well.

'Descartes' account of what is necessary and what is sufficient for Essay

'Descartes' account of what is necessary and what is sufficient for knowledge does not make sense'. Explain and critically discuss - Essay Example In developing these ideas, Descartes wrote several books regarding the nature of existence and knowledge, providing us with plenty of material to study and has had tremendous influence on those who have come after him. One of his most often quoted statements is â€Å"I think, therefore I am† which was published in his book entitled â€Å"Discourse on Method,† which was first published in 1637. By studying the writings that led up to this concept as expressed in â€Å"Discourse on Method† and comparing them with further attempts to refine this idea within â€Å"Meditations on First Philosophy,† one begins to conclude that Descartes’ account of what is necessary and what is sufficient for knowledge does not make sense. This simple-sounding statement of â€Å"I think, therefore I am† is the result of a discourse in which Descartes calls into question all of the assumptions he’s come to know as a result of the philosophical thought of his day. â€Å"I had long before remarked that †¦ it is sometimes necessary to adopt, as if above doubt, opinions which we discern to be highly uncertain† (Descartes, 2001). To seek a higher version of the truth, Descartes felt it was necessary to question every assumption that had even the shadow of a doubt. Through this questioning process, he demonstrates how thought, not observation is really the right foundation for knowledge. â€Å"When I considered that the very same thoughts (presentations) which we experience when awake may also be experienced when we are asleep, while there is at that time not one of them true, I supposed that all the objects (presentations) that had ever entered into my mind when awake, had in them no more truth th an the illusions of my dreams† (Descartes, 2001). His idea of discovering truths about the world was defined by whether he had a clear and distinct perception of them and that was sufficient for knowledge. However, the idea that knowledge can be defined by a â€Å"clear and

Organizational and Management Theories

Organizational and Management Theories Introduction: Organizational behavior is the backbone of any business. It is used to study about the internal character and the external character of the people in the firm. Organizational behaviour is the study of how individuals and groups perform together within an organization. It focuses effectively on managing individuals, groups, organizations, and processes (Steven Stralser, 2004). Organizational behavior is convenient shorthand that refers to the numerous interrelated influences on and patterns of behaviour of people within organizations. (Porter, Lawler and Hackman) The culture of the organization can be measured in the terms of the individuals, group as well as from the whole organization. So for the purpose of analyzing the factors that affect the organization we need to analyze the factors that will affect the character of the individual, group as well as the whole organization. The organization will run in different ways inside. Most of the times this is formal and sometimes this is informal as well. Most of the problems residing in the company are based on the interpersonal problems. To over come the problems within the employees the company has managed to come up with few ideas. Understanding Organizational Behavior Evolution of management: Classical organization theory evolved during the first half of this century. It represents the merger of scientific management, bureaucratic theory, and administrative theory. (David S. Walonick, Ph.D.) Scientific approach of management: (1) (2) The scientific management was formulated by Frederick Winslow Taylor (often called Taylorism) in the years of late 19th century in order to increase the productivity in the firm. His theory had four basic principles: 1) find the one best way to perform each task, 2) carefully match each worker to each task, 3) closely supervise workers, and use reward and punishment as motivators, and 4) the task of management is planning and control. Most of the principles are applicable to almost all the organizations and it was widely accepted by the firms in that time. The main objective that stands with this theorem is to gain economic growth by improving the labor productivity. All the things needed to increase the productivity of the firm had been included in this theorem. Taylor noticed most of the problems with the workers in terms of the intelligence, creativity, talent, motivation, skills and more. These differences are the main reason for the low productivity in the firm. Taylor was a lathe operator and foreman. The scientific approach developed by the Taylor is the first to use the science to weigh the value of the individual workers. He said that taking the decisions of the industry just by the wish of the decision maker and the thumb rule should be omitted and the importance should be given more to the careful study of the process of taking the decision. More analysis has to be done before taking any kind of decisio n. It created new era in the late 19th century and the early 20th century. Most of the firms in those days accepted the theorem as the new way to increase the productivity rather than taking the decisions by using the old imposed methods. The Taylors theorem was first coined as the term shop management or process management. Later it was changed to the name scientific management. This method is implemented in most of the firms to reduce the wastage of the resources and increasing the productivity in the company. Most of the industries in those days were based on product development. There were fewer firms based on the services oriented. So it was well applicable to those time period/ but later it was falling in the negative side, as it was giving more importance to the part of improving the productivity that the human value. For example, during one of Taylors own implementations, a strike at the Watertown Arsenal led to an investigation of Taylors methods by a U.S. House of Representatives committee, which reported in 1912. The conclusion was that scientific management did provide some useful techniques and offered valuable organizational suggestions, but it gave production managers a dangerously high level of uncontrolled power. After an attitude survey of the workers revealed a high level of resentment and hostility towards scientific management, the Senate banned Taylors methods at the arsenal. (3) Certainly Taylorisms negative effects on worker morale only added more fuel to the fire of existing labor-management conflict, which frequently raged out of control between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries. Thus it inevitably contributed to the strengthening of labor unions, which was the opposite of any of Taylors own hopes for labor relations. That outcome neutralized most or all of the benefit of any productivity gains that Taylorism had achieved. Thus its net benefit to owners and management ended up being small or negative. It would take new efforts, borrowing some ideas from Taylorism but mixing them with others, to produce a winning formula. Classical theory of management: The classical theory of management has done most of its work on the flow of the control and the decision making capacity in an organization. It splits the organization into three levels based on the power they are having in changing the firm with their decisions. They are classified as top level management, middle level management, and Low level management. The top level management comprises of the directors and other board members who have the authority to take the decisions of the firm by themselves. In might include any acquisitions to be made, opening new departments, expanding in the international markets, applying innovations to create a new product, closing productivity of existing products etc. All the strategies that are going to affect the firm in a major aspect will have its birth from the table of the top level management. The middle level management is the supervisors who carry the decisions made by the top level to the bottom level. The middle level management is there to manage the decisions taken and to process those things to split the work among the different personnel across the organization. The low level persons are the real workers of the firm. They are the ones who execute the plans and the decisions of the top level management and the middle level management. These bottom line workers are the labors who were working for the hourly wage or sometimes as contractors. Most of the individuals in this level are low thinkers and capable of doing things they got expertise in. Hawthorne studies: (4) The Hawthorne effect an increase in worker productivity produced by the psychological stimulus of being singled out and made to feel important. Along with Frederick Taylors work, this study gave rise to the field known as Industrial Psychology as social group influences and interpersonal factors must also be considered when performing efficiency research such as time and motion studies. The major finding of the study was that almost regardless of the experimental manipulation employed, the production of the workers seemed to improve. One reasonable conclusion is that the workers were pleased to receive attention from the researchers who expressed an interest in them. The study was only expected to last one year, but because the researchers were set back each time they tried to relate the manipulated physical conditions to the workers efficiency, the project extended out to five years. Four general conclusions were drawn from the Hawthorne studies: The aptitudes of individuals are imperfect predictors of job performance. Although they give some indication of the physical and mental potential of the individual, the amount produced is strongly influenced by social factors. Informal organization affects productivity. The Hawthorne researchers discovered a group life among the workers. The studies also showed that the relations that supervisors develop with workers tend to influence the manner in which the workers carry out directives. Work-group norms affect productivity. The Hawthorne researchers were not the first to recognize that work groups tend to arrive at norms of what is a fair days work; however, they provided the best systematic description and interpretation of this phenomenon. The workplace is a social system. The Hawthorne researchers came to view the workplace as a social system made up of interdependent parts. Maslows Hierarchy Of Needs Abraham Maslow developed a theory of personality that has influenced a number of different fields, including education. This wide influence is due in part to the high level of practicality of Maslows theory. This theory accurately describes many realities of personal experiences. Maslow has set up a hierarchy of five levels of basic needs. Beyond these needs, higher levels of needs exist. These include needs for understanding, esthetic appreciation and purely spiritual needs. In the levels of the five basic needs, the person does not feel the second need until the demands of the first have been satisfied or the third until the second has been satisfied, and so on. Maslows basic needs are as follows: Physiological Needs These are biological needs. They consist of needs for oxygen, food, water, and a relatively constant body temperature. They are the strongest needs because if a person were deprived of all needs, the physiological ones would come first in the persons search for satisfaction. Safety Needs When all physiological needs are satisfied and are no longer controlling thoughts and behaviours, the needs for security can become active. Adults have little awareness of their security needs except in times of emergency or periods of disorganization in the social structure (such as widespread rioting). Children often display the signs of insecurity and the need to be safe. Needs of Love, Affection and Belongingness When the needs for safety and for physiological well-being are satisfied, the next class of needs for love, affection and belongingness can emerge. Maslow states that people seek to overcome feelings of loneliness and alienation. This involves both giving and receiving love, affection and the sense of belonging. Needs for Esteem When the first three classes of needs are satisfied, the needs for esteem can become dominant. These involve needs for both self-esteem and for the esteem a person gets from others. Humans have a need for a stable, firmly based, high level of self-respect, and respect from others. When these needs are satisfied, the person feels self-confident and valuable as a person in the world. When these needs are frustrated, the person feels inferior, weak, helpless and worthless. Needs for Self-Actualization When all of the foregoing needs are satisfied, then and only then are the needs for self-actualization activated. Maslow describes self-actualization as a persons need to be and do that which the person was born to do. However, it is not always clear what a person wants when there is a need for self-actualization. (from Psychology The Search for Understanding by Janet A. Simons, Donald B. Irwin and Beverly A. Drinnien West Publishing Company, New York, 1987) The hierarchic theory is often represented as a pyramid, with the larger, lower levels representing the lower needs, and the upper point representing the need for self-actualization as below: The above theories give rise to the necessity of Human relations and team dynamics which play a major role in the successful performance of a company. Human Relations: (5) Human relations can be defined as the cordial atmosphere in an organization in which people practice the art of living in such a way that they communicate, act, interact and transact in a cordial manner recognizing each others needs, views, values and temperaments so that every interaction and transaction which takes place in an organization would have concern for each others interests and feelings leading to better motivation and morale of people at all levels in the organization. The business organizations of today, and days to come, must employ and manage educated and enlightened human beings in their work force, in place of traditional, illiterate and less ambitious man power. Team dynamics: (6) Team Dynamics are the unseen forces that operate in a team between different people or groups. Team Dynamics can strongly influence how a team reacts, behaves or performs, and the effects of team dynamics are often very complex. It is the responsibility of the manager to look into the group regarding the communication issues. The managers have to make sure that there are no personal disputes in the group and the communication mode is perfect in making the decisions within the group. And the authority given for a person is used in the right way and has never been misused. The responsibility to make sure that the ideas of any individuals are freely opening in the group resides with the manager. The group is made of individual characters. Hence the dispute between any two of the characters will lead to the destruction of the whole team. The team is made up of different people, different gender, from different location so they have to develop the skills to learn from each other. They should find the opportunity in the difficult times. Thats the real way to learn the things. People from different location can learn each others way of living, way of habit, their cultures and more. Even there may be difference in t he way of learning. So, all the things will be helpful in a team. The size of the team will also sometimes influence the way of attraction or the way that is causing the dispute between people. If the size of the team is too small in a single digit, then managing that group is somewhat easier than the other. Some of the people in a group will actively participate in all the works of the group. But others used to avoid such things. They wont actively participate in the team events. Some of the positive aspects about the team dynamics are as follows: This drags others in the team to get into the discussion, So that the team friendliness increases. Will increases the social feel to the group and the people start taking the things at ease. Remove their hesitation to play and having fun with other. And that kind of friendship asks them to be more informal and make their minds free of the stress. So the people will not have to expect the motivation and encouragement from any of the formal persons or through the beneficiary acts. Their team members are there to please them at the needed time. But it has some negative effects too. If two people were friends in a group, then the other people might find it difficult to get between them. So eventually there will be two sub groups. Most of the information passed through these groups is not passed to other group. Social culture within them gets spoiled and the people are not actively participating in each others activities. The decision making of the group is to be done without the intervention of one of the groups. The miscommunication within the team will lead to the poor performance from that team. At the time of problem the members of the group have to find the solutions as a team. This will reduce the processing time of the problems as well as bring out lots of alternative solutions for a single problem. Likewise the solution may be innovative and smart and sometime it will reduce the amount of resource we need to reduce. Thus it reduces the cost of implementing the solution. Let us consider an example to understand team dynamics: Suppose in a small team of six people working in one office there are two people who have a particularly strong friendship. This friendship is a natural force that may have an influence on the rest of the team, and can be manifest in various ways, either positively or negatively. The positive effect of a strong friendship in a team might be: The friends communicate a lot together which naturally results in other members being drawn into the discussion which results in a good social feel to the group which makes people enjoy being in the group which improves motivation and commitment The negative effect of a strong friendship might be: To cause the other four people to feel excluded which means they are less likely to include the two friends in decision making which means that there are likely to be two sub-groups which means that information may not flow across the whole group, but only within the subgroups which means that miscommunication may lead to misunderstanding and poor collective performance Case Study: To discuss the organizational structure and its patterns lets look into the following case study on Wipro Technologies Wipro Technologies is one of the largest IT services firm in India that has been started in the year of 1985, by Azim Premji. The Wipro Technologies is the subsidiary of Wipro limited started first as the company that produced the sunflower oil and 787 laundry soap. The IT services of the Wipro are being providing its services to the companies in Europe, America, Japan and almost all the parts of the world. The company majorly operates in three segments such as Global services India and Asia pacific services Consumer care and lightning The company is having it services in almost all the parts of the business such as health care, insurance, banking, military, hospital, mobile, finance, media, business management and more. The services provided by the Wipro are as database management, customer relationship management, business consulting, business intelligence, network management, testing services, enterprise application development, security applications and more. Wipro is one of the IT firms that is giving importance to the innovations of the tag line Wipro Applying Thought Wipro is having more than 40 centers of excellence that provide solutions to the number of industries across the nation. With its unmatched business solutions through the process excellence, service delivery innovations innovation, Wipro is the first company to receive the CMMI level 5 in the software services company. And also to receive the IEEE software process award by a company that is outside of the United States. Wipro has strong faith in the innovation and according to them the innovation will act as a significant partner in developing the business and achieving high goals. The top management of the Wipro was keen in looking for the innovation within the organizations. The top management believes that to become top most in the IT servicing firms, it has to make lots of changes in the innovative way. Some of the innovations made within the company as per the recent trends are introduction of home networking, wireless communications and workplace collaboration. Wipro is the first company to make the multiprocessor systems in India and making mini computer along with the compiler that was written in India. In the later years the company made its step into the IT related services. By the years of 1990s it became one of the notable firm in providing the IT related services. After the Infosys and the Tata consultancy services, Wipro is the major software exporter of India. After globalization started making impact on the world market, the IT service providing in India got a boom. Wipro was one among them to take their ship in that wave and was successful eventually. However, just like any other organizations, Wipro has its own flaws and was not an exception, where the employees face the same challenges as any other IT firm would face. Below are some of the common problems faced by the individuals in a software firm: Benching: Whenever the software industry is in need to get the status of the multi national company they will have to show some internal status to get that MNC grade. For that they have to implement their offices for development as well as marketing in other nations also. Likewise they have to show the certain number of employees working in their company. Accordingly, more than the required number of employees will be employed for the projects. As some of the employees would not be assigned to any of the projects, they will be idle and this process is called being on Bench. During the bad economic times and recession they will terminate the employment of those who are not assigned to any of the send out the persons who were not assigned with any of the projects. The job of a person in the MNCs is not safe. But that person is provided with the huge salary. Technical up gradation: Most of the people in the software firm fail to update themselves with the software field needs updating frequently. Without the up gradation of knowledge no one can survive in the field. Since it is the emerging domain, employees have to keep themselves well prepared. The firms will keep on training the persons with new technology and keep on appraising on the basis of their knowledge. The persons showing poor result during the appraisals would be de-promoted or thrown out of the firm at any time. So, unless and until the employees keep themselves updated with the growing needs, their jobs are in danger. Inadequate Time span: The employees are getting less time to finish their projects and the companies are looking for cutting the unwanted cost and to gain more. The employees are stressed more to accomplish the tasks. So the software engineers are expected to put more hours to work which not only affects the potential of the individuals but also the work-life balance of ones life. Lack of training: Most of the people in the software firm are not getting enough training when they are placing them in new project with new technology. They are supposed to learn all those sort of new technologies by themselves. So their work will not have perfection. High stress: It is not the kind of job for the people who are not capable for solving their solving their stress. Because the software domain jobs are highly payable, it also produces more stress in you than other jobs. People work on their computers for longer periods of time without any movement around and cannot be felt relieved from stress. Though the entities are concentrating on the stress management programs, employees are not able to find value in them, as at the end of the day the project work is your first responsibility. Recommendations for effective Management for the above discussed problems: (6) Developing effective management skills to deal with specific challenges and problems of each organization is the urgent needs of many businesses and organizations in the global competitive environment, rapid changing of technology and environment. The new tendency of training and development of successful organizations over the world today is developing effective skills in dealing with specific challenge of their own organization to reach their own mission and objectives in the new organization that characterized by networked, flat, flexible, diverse, global organization. An effective management should have the following skills. Creative Problem Solving Skills: This includes identifying the cause of the problem, analyzing the problem and developing and implementing a creative and sensible approach for the problem Communication Skills: The effective communication should ideally include listening, presentation and report writing skills where the employees should be provided adequate training and awareness on. Conflict Management Skills: Management should capable of identifying any sources of conflict, understanding the style of conflict resolution and should be able to choose the best strategy for dealing the conflict Self-Awareness and Improvement: The management should emphasize on the concept of self-management and the effectiveness of self-management. This can be done by developing a holistic thinking and understanding the emotions in the work place of the employees Traditional versus Contemporary Organizational structure and Culture: (7) Traditional organizations emphasize a strict division of labor, top-down decision-making, and extensive rules and procedures where as on the other hand the contemporary design flattens the traditional pyramid structure, facilitates the flow of information to all parts of the organization and reduces response time to external and internal demands. It is to be noted that the traditional organization is a pyramid with a president at the top, a few vice presidents, and layers of management and the majority of employees at the bottom. Jobs are specialized, and information and authority flow from higher to lower levels. Wipro Technologies has been following the traditional organizational structure when it has first started with the production of sunflower oil and laundry soaps, until it entered the IT market. However, as the times passed by, due to the expansion of the firm in to global market with a variety of services, it chose to follow the modern organizational structure to grow as per the industry standards. In the modern times, especially for an organization like Wipro where it has emerged in to the global markets, the contemporary or the modern organizational structure suits the best as it is in par with the changing times. Conclusion: Thus, it is very evident that all the organizational and management theories put forward are to help the organizations to be successful in terms of their individual employees, groups, management and environmental changes. The organizations choose the type of organizational structure to be followed, either modern or traditional depending on the vision, industry and the market approach of the firm. It is no be noted that the individual employees contribute to the major part of the firms success and therefore the management should always bear in mind the human relations and team dynamics with in the organization while effectively managing the groups.

The Velvet Revolution Essay -- World History

The citizens of Czechoslovakia had not known freedom in decades. During much of World War II the nation was occupied by the Nazis and later by the Red Army as it drove the Nazis back to Berlin. When they Red Army moved into an area, communist regimes were set up to govern the area, and establish satellite nations. There were numerous uprisings throughout the decade that were violently suppressed by the communist governments with help from the USSR. After Alexander Dubcek tried to grant reforms to the people of Czechoslovakia in 1968, the USSR and most members of the Warsaw Pact sent their military forces to intervene and suppress any unrest or reforms. Things grew somewhat violent and brutal, as any demonstrators were either or beaten, killed, or arrested. Dubcek himself was removed from power. While many Czech citizens were fed up with their lack of freedom and the failing economy, they had little chance to achieve change. In the mid 1980’s though things began to lighten up w hen Mikhail Gorbachev became Premier of the USSR and announced his reform programs of Glasnost and Perestroika. Gorbachev also encouraged the leaders of the satellite states to follow suit and grant their citizens more political and civil liberties. Under Gorbachev the USSR also withdrew most of its armed forces from eastern and central European countries. Many citizens and political reformers took advantage of the moment and started to push for an end to the single party political system that had been forced on them for years. 1989 was the year of many revolutions and demonstrations in eastern and central Europe. In October of 1989 police in Prague had to break up a few large demonstrations that broke out on the 71st anniversary of the establishment of Czec... ...the movement gained such widespread popular support made it possible for the demonstrators to have a great deal of leverage when negotiating with the communist party. Works Cited Ladislav Adamec, "Speech by Premier Ladislav Adamec at an extraordinary session of the CPCz CC, stating his preference for a political solution to the crisis," Making the History of 1989, Item #512, http://chnm.gmu.edu/1989/items/show/512 (accessed April 17 2012, 7:06 pm). The Civic Forum, "The Civic Forum's Exposition of its Position in Public Life with a Call for Nonviolence, Tolerance and Dialogue," Making the History of 1989, Item #503, http://chnm.gmu.edu/1989/items/show/503 (accessed April 17 2012, 7:15 pm). The Civic Forum, "List of Goals by the Civic Forum," Making the History of 1989, Item #513, http://chnm.gmu.edu/1989/items/show/513 (accessed April 17 2012, 6:56 pm).