Commentary on Dorothy Parker’s Essay

â€Å"Mr. Durant’ is a prose about a man, who he had promised his children they could keep a dog but seems to no longer want to do so. He promised so while on their back he is trying to kick the dog out of the house. He does is on their back because he wants to remain the authority figure of the house who does nothing wrong. On the other hand, to his wife he gives stupid reasons like â€Å"all the males in the neighborhood will be running after her† and â€Å"first thing you know, she’d be having puppies.† Mrs. Durant is not very educated and also very ingà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½nues and so blindly trusts and believes whatever her husband tells her. She idolizes him because she does not read and is not very educated and therefore her husband’s knowledge might impress her a lot. The family relationships where the father is the dominant figure remain the same through the whole passage. 2. Chronology/time  Dorothy Parker has written this passage in such a way, tending to give actions one by one, making so the piece more intriguing and interesting. However, she often goes backwards and forwards when describing Mr. Durant’s den and character to give us a deeper understanding or certainty of his character. However, time in either case is significant but not essential and does not affect directly the themes of this passage. 3. Themes  Some themes implied through the passage are:  Authority is one of the main themes in this passage and Mr. Durant conveys this authority very easily. His wifes lets him do so, because she thinks that he is very educated and in consequence his actions and word is always right. This shows another theme, the ingenuity of Mrs. Durant who blindly believes everything her husband tells her. The relationships between these two characters seem very cold and unpleasant, not only because there is no agreement and understanding between this couples there is no evince of affection as well. Dishonesty is another important theme is this passage, which Mr. Durant is clearly characterized by because brutally beguiles his children on their back. Sexual perversions 4. How literary features convey/enlarge the themes  The prose has many adjectives which are very useful in strengthen the meaning of the themes since the prose is very descriptive. For example, the two adjectives â€Å"insatiable reader† and â€Å"indefatigable collector† show that although he wanted to seem as tireless reader, he is very unintelligent because is easily manipulated by the advertisements. A comparison in this piece is â€Å"young woman with wings like a vampire bat† which is very significant because in my opinion this is another hint of Mr. Durant’s sexual problems. 5. Point of view/ Tone  The passage is told from the third person point of view and that is the narrator, Dorothy Parker. She is more informing rather than evaluating because she tends to rely more on the facts leaving so up to us to interpret them in our own way. Because the atmosphere is not humorous at all, this shows the seriousness of the narrator’s attitudes towards her subject. She presents the main character, Mr. Durant as a very cold, distant and selfish person. The tone of the passage is very serious and desperate (fruitless) because the main character, Mr. Durant has all the power and his word for the others (his wife and children) seems to be a rule. This is shown when after he asks his daughter if he had ever â€Å"broke a promise†, she replies â€Å"No Father† but â€Å"conviction was not hers† whish shows that even she wasn’t convinced, she was obliged to reply so because of fear that he might get angry or react. Parker obviously do esn’t have a high regard for Mr. Durant at all, however using irony she enjoys mocking his attitudes of superiority and of the one who is so full of himself that wants others to believe that he â€Å"he has never broken a promise yet.† 6. Structure  The passage falls into many short and long paragraphs. Usually, the short paragraphs are made of dialogues while the long ones are mainly descriptive which might signify the greater importance of the descriptions. The two longest paragraphs are mainly about two subjects: Mr. Durant’s den and books. This shows that he is the main character since everything is mainly about him and also because he is always the one who gets the word. The short paragraphs in the first page have only three lines. They are short maybe because the piece is carefully described and avoids telling everything at once to let the reader get the themes one by one, making it more interesting. However, the dialogues although short, are very significant in understanding the personalities of the characters. 7. Lexis (language)  The language used is formal and this is because the issue that is being discussed is serious or at least that’s how the atmosphere is conveyed to us. This formal language has a positive affect on the piece because it is appropriate with the message that the author is trying to transmit, that of authority and stereotypes. The language is also particularly descriptive and therefore the author tends to give the themes by hints in the description. The language used by Parker in written in an ironic form towards this character, which although she doesn’t seem to admire at all, she enjoys mocking his attitudes of superior and of the one who is so full of himself that wants others to believe that he never â€Å"breaks a promise.† Parker uses satire which is a form of exposing of foolishness within a society through ridiculing them and that is what she does with the character of Mr. Durant. 8. Specific Images  Mr. Durant is clearly shown as the authority figure in this piece. An image that indicates this is † he jerked his head backwards† which shows that his order is not only an obligation to his wife but he does not even need to say it. Mr. Durant might not even be as knowledgeable as he wants to seem. There are two reasons why I think this. Firstly, the fact that his â€Å"books were lined up behind the glass of the bookcase† might show that they were not even used and were there as decorations. Secondly, as we notice in the passage, he seems very impatient and narrow minded because does not allow others to have their word yelling â€Å"Quiet!† to his daughter while he interrupts his wife who for once was about to protest against her husband, saying â€Å"Now you just leave all that to me.† This shows disrespect and impatience to listen to others and therefore might not even have the same patience to read a book. I personally, from this piece got the feeling that Mr. Durant is not a very sane person because there are many controversies on his character, like he tries to be the perfect father in his children eyes who â€Å"has never broken a promise†, while on their backs beguiles them being very ambidextrous. 9. Rhythm  The rhythm in this passage is very irregular for the reason that it is continually moving from â€Å"crescendo† to â€Å"decrescendo† form, creating so anxiety and tension to the readers. There is a high tension in the beginning of the passage because the author starts this passage with the word â€Å"Quiet!† which strait away gives a kind of conflict and makes the atmosphere very dramatic. Then, the author jumps into descriptions, going into a â€Å"decrescendo† form for a while. On the third part of the passage, again we have a â€Å"crescendo† in rhythm because the tension increases, especially when Mrs. Durant says ‘But the children, They’ll be just simply†¦Ã¢â‚¬  which in my opinion is an initial and tiny bit of revolt against her husband’s opinion.

Letter from George Essay

I’m sorry I haven’t written to you in a long time but a lot of things have happened since I last wrote, unfortunately its bad news this time. It all started when Slim and Curley came in the bunkhouse arguing one night. Then Curley turned to Lennie and says â€Å"what you laughing at†, and then he started lashing out at Lennie and smashed him in the nose. I couldn’t stand it anymore Lennie wouldn’t fight back so I told him to â€Å"let him have it†. Lennie caught Curley’s punch, then he crushed it and he wouldn’t let go. When he let his fist go it was flattened, not a bone was left unbroken in his hand. I was sure Lennie and I were going to get canned but Slim saved our skins. He told Curley that if he told anyone what happened and get us canned, we will tell everyone then he would get the laugh. That was good of Slim. I was all right at this point, I was happy, I thought if Lennie play and I our cards right and keep clean for a month we will get our fifty bucks each and get that ranch with old Candy. I started to believe our dream could really happen. All the lads and me were playing horses shoes late Sunday evening. I heard shuffling footsteps from the barn, I looked and saw Candy making his way towards me. His body language said every thing, when he looked at me I felt that something was wrong. He came to me said quietly â€Å"you better come to the barn†. When I saw Curley’s wife lying there dead the painful thought going though my mind that I had no other solution to this problem but assume that it was Lennie and knew that was what Candy was thinking. At this point the dream was over for sure of a little ranch. I knew this was the end of the road for Lennie. I knew Curley would want lynch him so Candy and I discussed what we were going to do. I went to the bunkhouse and got Carlson’s gun, while Candy went to get the boys. My memory flicked back to the night Carlson shot Candy’s dog. I went to the barn and heard how they were all planning how they going to get him, Slim reassured me that it was the only way. The others went of all armed; they all went the opposite way to where Lennie should be. I knew he would be by the river where we slept a few nights ago, I told him if he ever got into trouble to go there and wait for me. Sure enough he was there, looking at him made me shiver about the thought of my duty ahead. Lennie expected me to be angry with him but I told him visualise the dream of the imaginary ranch and how the rabbits would hop around and there soft hair. When he looked away I ended his life hoping he was going to a better place. As his lifeless body hit the ground it set a feeling guilt that was unimaginable. I looked at my right hand, which held the gun I throw it away in disgust. I’ve moved on now people, just don’t care about ranch hands. Best of luck Tom perhaps life will treat you better than Lennie and I.   

Can choose from three Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Can choose from three - Essay Example According to Nagel, reductive arguments seek to explain a phenomenon in terms of objectivism hence it omits the essential of the conscious experience, which are subjective. Because of this, Nagel believes that the whole idea of objective does not add up or make sense. Nagel also believes that the conscious experience is about one’s interpretation and varies with people. It is like asking someone else what he or she thinks about something. In this case, one is entitled to say what he or she feels and whatever said is welcomed. Therefore, it is valid for Nagel to argue that the conscious is interpreted in terms of subjectivism. It is not always possible for the majority to see or view a phenomenon like an identical twins; the differences must be embraced and accommodated. Nagel chose the example of a bat to validate his information because of many things. First, bats resemble man to some extent. Similarly, there are rhetorical elements in his choice of bats since they have a traditional reputation of being weird, and some have special senses that humankind do not have. They are essential in persuading people that do not think others can reason the same way. Similarly, bats have experiences that man does not have. Hence, there is a limit to human understanding that makes consciousness very difficult to understand. It is also important to consider the situation and conditions of an organism that influences one’s consciousness. For example, Nagel argues that facts about what it is to be an organism conscious state is accessible only from certain points of view. A dead human being no longer reasons because she or he does not have any point of view. Similarly, a drunken person has a different viewpoint from the way sober people reason. Although a drunken is also a human being, the conscious mind that reason is not supported by alcohol but influences it towards giving unwarranted reasoning. The logic that one gives determines consciousness and all that pertains to

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 119

Summary - Essay Example This method gives an impression in the beginning of the commercial and then it introduces another text wherein the bunny enters with the battery on its back. The bunny is considered another text which eventually combines with the former text to make an entirely different text. The writer calls this process intertextuality and considers it important because it does not only happen in commercials such as the one cited above but it also occurs in everyday communications. For instance in the case of the novel by Jane Austen entitled Emma, readers and viewers of its movie adaptations called Emma in 1996 and Clueless in 1995, will have different interpretations because of intertextuality. The settings of the two movies are different but they somehow tell the same story and so viewers will definitely see their similarities to the novel. The interpretations of the directors and producers of the movie are different. Similarly, this could also occur in a person’s interpretation of poems or other literary works. Intertextuality happens everyday in every culture because one’s upbringing and culture are important influences which initially gave a person other texts which that individual can use in reading other

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 7

Economics - Essay Example Malthusian economics posits that the world economy is in danger as that the arithmetic growth of food production cannot keep up with exponential growth in population. What he fails to anticipate is the rapid technological improvement which significantly improved productivity. The present world situation becomes a proof of how technology has improved the efficiency among economies. It should be noted that technologically advanced countries like United States and Japan enjoys high level of production compared to their less advanced counterparts. The change in technology can be illustrated as a shift in the production possibility frontier. With technological advancement, processes in the value chain are conducted more efficiently. Mechanizing processes even necessitates the employment of less human resources which can significantly slash production costs. These resources can then be channeled to the production of other goods. In order to prescribe a solution for the problem of unemployment, it is important that its causes should be first laid out and fully understood. There are basically four types of unemployment each with different causes. This section will examine how to efficiently create jobs and reduce demand-deficient unemployment. Demand-deficient unemployment occurs when there is not enough demand to employ all those who want to work. It is also known as cyclical unemployment as it directly varies with business cycles. It can be noted that when the economy is booming, there is a strong demand for employees from various firms. This will cause a low level of demand-deficient unemployment level. However, during times of recession, demand for labor will drop thereby causing an increase in demand-deficient unemployment. Economic growth and unemployment are seen to be inversely related. As the economy grows, more jobs are created and unemployment declines.

English Exercises Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

English Exercises - Assignment Example Practice Exercise 1: You can use chlorine bleach to disinfect cloths that you believe are contaminated with germs. After you launder the clothes, you can wear them to the ceremony, but be sure to choose colors that compliment the theme colors: red, white and blue. The Chief Executive Officer is concerned about employee morale, and wants to study whether increased salary or shorter hours will help most. The Personnel Office has information on tuition assistance for courses in history, accounting, computer science and English. Each employee should take their application form to the receptionist in charge of summer extra work opportunities before the fiscal year ends. Practice Exercise 2: In sentence 2: ‘cloths’, ‘where’, and ‘chose’ should read ‘clothes’, ‘wear’ and ‘choose’.In sentence 3: ‘moral’ and ‘celery’ should read ‘morale’ and ‘salary’.  In sentence 4: ‘personal’ and ‘insistence’ should read ‘personnel’ and ‘assistance’.In sentence 5: ‘there’, ‘Sumner’ and ‘physical’ should read ‘their’, ‘summer’ and ‘fiscal’.

Mozart Operas and Pre-Revolution Chinese Operas Contain Surprising Article

Mozart Operas and Pre-Revolution Chinese Operas Contain Surprising Relationship - Article Example Also, the music takes greater importance in these works than the acting or singing, which is obvious in Mozart’s operas, but much less so in Chinese operas. Each of these styles is driven by the music, rather than by the story or even the vocal performances. Finally, both styles of opera have an understated simplicity, making the viewer of the opera believe that he or she could have come up with the plot, which allows for more enjoyment of the music and the experience as a whole. This is not to say that the plots of these operas do not have their complexities, but the basic plot is usually easy to follow, allowing for the casual viewer to simply enjoy the experience. The works of Mozart are widely regarded as some of the greatest in history. Even individuals who do not follow the opera or classical music closely have most likely heard his name and have also heard his music at some point during their lives. What these individuals probably do not know, however, is how politically driven much of Mozart’s work was. An example of this was Mozart opera entitled The Marriage of Figaro, which was originally banned in Vienna because it is a satirical look at aristocracy. Mozart had some very famous battles with the upper class over the course of his career, which got him into trouble because of his volatile personality.

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 78

Case Study Example eading of the Zara case study does lead to the conclusion that the immense success of Zara in the apparel retail sector is based on a few well thought and highly planned strategic approaches towards the clothing retail business. One major factor that could be held responsible for the high success of Zara in the clothing retail sector is the company’s pro-active approach towards business. The problem with most of the competitors is that they happen to have a highly market dependent approach towards business. They happen to wait for the market influences to shape and impact their business strategy. In that context, the amazing thing is that Zara has a business approach towards retail that is highly competitive and pro-active. Zara does not wait for the things to happen to it. Instead, this retail giant goes on and plays a pro-active approach in determining and shaping the consumer preferences and choices. The primary factor that sets Zara apart from its competitors is that Zara is always in touch with the latest fashion trends and is thereby able to get a hold of the clothing retail trends in a way that is unthinkable for other companies. Hence, it would not be wrong to say that Zara is not a product driven but a trend driven company in the sense that the primary stress at Zara is to identify, produce and market consumer preferences at all levels of its supply chain, are they strategizing, designing, manufacturing, marketing and sales. In that case it would be really important to mention that Zara is indeed one of the few clothing retail companies that have been able to strategically exploit the available IT inputs and choices in every aspect of its product designing, manufacturing, marketing and sales. Hence, the thing that needs to be understood is that the retail success of Zara is directly linked to the company’s practical understanding of the clothing retail market, the adoption of this understanding in every aspect of its supply chain and marketing, and

Energy in American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Energy in American History - Essay Example In fact, there was less reliance on the wood for fueling locomotives after discovery of coal. Moreover, there was a high preference for coal as a source of energy was due to its higher-energy content compared to wood. Coal was needed for production of coke in the process of manufacturing iron and steel; in fact, it was identified as an economical component in the production process. Nevertheless, the paper will focus on exploring use of energy in America through a comparison of different sources, while the next section will summarize arguments in these sources, thereby evaluating them to determine whether they are honest and accurate. Finally, the paper will explore the historical context for energy issue and discuss the way knowledge can influence evaluation of these arguments. There was profound growth of energy consumption in the transport sector during the nineteenth century, and this growth led to an exhaustion of sources of energy such as wood and coal, in American history. How ever, this was not until the Second World War, when petroleum was introduced (Johnson, 30). Establishment of petroleum let to a shift from use of coal as a source of energy to use of diesel and gasoline on locomotives and trucks. This was also facilitated by engines designed to consume gasoline and diesel, thereby making petroleum products predominant sources of energy for transportation. Nevertheless, this led to a rise in labor issues, safety standards, increased costs of coal production and a reduction in the use of coal as a source of energy. Years later, there was a reemergence of coal consumption as a source of energy, which involved firing electrical generators; this clearly indicated its stake as source of energy. However, introduction of petroleum as a source of energy and natural gas continued to reduce use of coals as a prime supply of energy. There was a further increase in the use of petroleum in the 1920s after a completion of the first petroleum drilling project by Ed win Drake (WOU, 1). In fact, this led to a significant increase of use of petroleum during the depression, which increased until 1973. In this case, petroleum can be considered the only source of energy that underwent sudden increase in consumption during the American history. Issues and arguments at this section of the paper entails a comparison of two sources from both governmental and non-governmental website, and these sources seem to agree in numerous accounts regarding changes in the consumption of energy in American history. Therefore, these accounts can be considered rational, and with an attribute of high level of accuracy. Consequently, this makes the stance of the paper to be in agreement with the accounts provided by these sources in relation to the history of energy consumption in America. Evaluation of the Arguments There has been a notable change in the patterns of energy consumption over the American history throughout the development of different sources of energy a nd change of energy consumptions. Therefore, the arguments proposed in the first section of the paper can be considered rational and accurate. In fact, there are other websites indicating that wood was used as a source of energy before establishment of coal, which was later replaced by petroleum. In this case, accounts by these sources indicate that coal was a highly preferred source of energy during the nineteenth century. Moreover, different sources also indicated that in

Abuelitas Beans Essay Example for Free

Abuelitas Beans Essay Nothing can be more enticing to a nose than waking up to the delicious aroma of simmering beans. The scent compels one to peal away the comforter and stagger into the kitchen for a bowl of creamy delicious beans. Pinto beans have been a staple in Mexican cuisine for hundreds of years, and every family has his/her own recipe. I recall, as a young girl growing up in a large, Mexican family, that there was always a large pot of legumes ready to nourish twelve mouths for less than five-dollars. Dad always ended his meal rubbing his barrel stomach while saying his favorite aphorism, â€Å"Pansa llena, corazon contento† (â€Å"Full belly, happy heart†), which always meant that the beans were delicious. Here is Abuelita’s recipe to fill the tummy of those that are endearing to one’s heart. Cooking beans really is not that hard. First, gather the supplies needed: one, five-quart slow-cooker with a ceramic liner with a glass lid cover, a sturdy plastic cooking spoon ( Abuelita always said that one should never stir the beans with a metal spoon or they will stick and burn.I obey her. ), one-pound dried pinto beans, one-half aromatic white onion, two fresh garlic cloves, water, and two tablespoons kosher salt. Several people have asked me, â€Å"Why a slow-cooker? † Well, all the women in the family cook the legumes in a cazuela (an earthenware pot made of clay). The cookware is either given to the bride at her wedding with hopes that her culinary endeavors will produce a happy marriage, or it is an inheritance from her mother or grandmother. The beans have a better taste if cooked in the cazuela, at least that is what the women in my family declare. I on the other hand, embrace the beauty of the slow cooker; it frees me to leave the house to run errands, and I have never endured stinky-burned beans. Once all the supplies and ingredients have been gathered and prepped, proceed by placing beans in a colander. Rinse the beans and run them through one’s hands to make sure debris is washed away, and small stones are picked out. Put the beans into the slow-cooker and cover them with water. Furthermore, add all the ingredients in the cooker. Except for the salt. Set the temperature at high for six to eight hours. After one hour, the earthy aroma starts to penetrate the whole house, reminding one of what will be for consumption. Please, if you want plump beans do not stir the beans during the first two hours. After approximately three hours, check to see if water is needed, due to water evaporation, and the legumes absorb a lot of water. Always add hot water never cold because the cold temperature lowers the heat and toughens the beans. Once another three hours has past, test the legumes for doneness. I was told when one bites into a bean, it should be soft and creamy. As a result from respecting the process, and not disturbing them, the pot liquid will have thickened leaving a delicious dark chocolate color broth for a healthy soup. Lastly, but not least, it is time to salt the beans. Add two tablespoons of kosher salt and stir with a wooden or plastic spoon. Go ahead and taste the broth and decide if more salt is needed. Always remember to gradually add salt to the beans since adding is easier than extracting. In the end, set the temperature to warm and ladle beans into the bowl of one’s choice. In conclusion, if an individual follows these simple steps of gathering supplies, for example, a slow-cooker, it will make the process of cooking worry free. Basically, pinto beans are easy to make, but easier to consume any time of day, resulting in everyone rubbing his/her tummy’s with contentment. â€Å"Buen Provecho! †(Enjoy your meal).

change management: Resistance

change management: Resistance Chapter 2 A Review of the Literature 2.1. Introduction This part will focus on how to overcome resistance to change. We will discuss theories on resistance to change and any other theory related to change management. The notion of change is something that we are facing everyday in our life; it is therefore the only constant. Change process can take gradual, rapid or radical form. Society is made up of human beings as well as inanimate organisms are subject to change over time. Environment is the only factor that is subject to and the only thing that does not change is the change itself. Change always affects employees in the organisation, therefore it is important to manage it successfully in order to avoid a failure of change or resistance to change. The change concept was studied by Authors like: Lewin, Trist, Hardy, Nieto and more. Nieto (2006) highlighted that a good definition of change is where the refreezing stage of Lewins model is no longer an option because nowadays change is faster in the twenty first century, there is no need to refreeze or you will be left behind by the competition. 2.2. A Review of the Literature If we conduct a survey we will find out that many employees have a negative attitude, behaviour and perceptions towards change. Employees feel more insecure about their jobs, status and also the fear of doing more work. Very often, the impacts of change on employees in the organisation are negative. There are fears, stress, frustration and resistance of change. Therefore most employees tend to resist to the change and change is always first resisted than accepted or seeing as an opportunity for improvement. Change, as death and taxes cannot be avoid, is it necessary bad? Even though uncomfortable and embarrassing, change can also be positive. The marriage, the birth of a child and a promotion are examples of change, very often we are happy and therefore it can be easily accepted rather than the negatives one like the divorce and the death. Good or bad, any change that happens whether to a person or inside an organisation requires adaptation and management. Nothing is unchangeable, even organizations are required to change. It is important to know understand why people resist change, to support those who cannot cope with change by motivating and coaching them and also handling the problems that change brings. Organisations are dynamic entities. They are changing all the time as they develop their operations and outputs in the pursuit of efficiency and effectiveness. The management of change is concerned with how change is effected in organizations and the principles and processes are essentially the same whether applied to the resign of the working practices of one section or the re-specification of the whole organisation and management structure According to Balogun et al (1999) change management is fast becoming one of the most talked about topics in management circles. Discussions about organizational change often focus on how important it is for organizations or individual managers to possess a capacity in this area. Likewise, business school courses on strategic change stress that change competence is fast becoming a key promotion differentiator within a managers toolbox. 2.3. Change management According to Ventris (2004), change management is all about inspirational leadership, detailed planning and rigorous, comprehensive implementation. A successful change management programme can be helpful to establish a continuous change in the organisation. But the most important thing is to make people realizing the value of change. Once people and have good experience about change management, and recognize the need for almost continuous change. As William Shakespeare said Things must change or cease. This sentence illustrates what has been said before about the Constance of change. Organisational change is a modification to employee attitudes, expectations, and skills (Robertson, Roberts, and Porras, 1993), it can also be a deliberate introduction of new ways of thinking, acting and operating ( Shalk, Campbell and Freese, 1998). The general aim of organizational change is an adaptation to the environment ( Barr, Stimpert and Huff, 1992; Leava and Barry, 2000) or an improvement in performance (Boeker, 1997; Keck and Tushman, 1993) This definition shows the importance of culture on change management, for the management to be able to implement these changes successfully, they will require changing the organizational culture which is not something easy to accomplish. Therefore by change employees attitudes, expectation and kills as suggested by many authors it will be necessary to make sure they adapt to the new environment and improve their performance which will also improve the organisational performance. Organisational change involves moving from the known to the unknown. Because the future is not certain and may affect employees performance, worth, and coping abilities, people inside the organisation do not want change unless they are forced to do so. It will be therefore important to create readiness for change. Implementing change in an organisation involves moving from the existing organisation state to the desired future state. (Cummings and Worley 2005) Change is omnipresent in society, and can occur in many forms. It is not a new phenomenon. Many Authors have developed a model of change process as it was argued by Moorhead and Griffin (2004) cited by McKenna (2006), that an alternative model of lewins process model will be the continuous change process model, which incorporates facets of the Lewin model. It is considered more realistic because it studies the change in an organisation from the top and recognizes that change is continuous. It is not good enough for an organisation to change; it must try to anticipate it as well by being proactive. This would require the planning of organisational change as part of the organisational strategy. According to McLagan ( 2003), managing changes as they emerge is not enough nowadays. As the number and complexity of changes increasing, it is time to plan and rethink about the structure of the organisation. It is time to accept the change in our life and move along with it, avoid doing business as usual or staying in the status quo. It is time to look at how the organisation is running its daily activities so that it is not a case of constantly trying to override the usual organisational processes. Such approach requires a structural and mental regesign of the organisation. The author emphasizes that change should not be managed during a period of crises or when strategies shift. It is a continuous challenge and condition in organisational life. A successful change management depends on how ready is the organisation to change its culture that is the attitude and the behaviour of members of the organisation. It is pointless to have only a part the employees who agree to the proposed changes. The aim of the executives is to ensure that all employees in the organisation are accepting the desired changes. The biggest motivator is to see other people embrace change management and witness the successful implementation of the companys vision. 2.3.1 The importance of change Change will always be there and will not disappear. Technology, civilizations and creative thought will keep their ever- accelerating drive onwards. It could be argued that change has almost become a continuous routine. (Luecke, 2003) Change management plays a significant role in any organisation since the task of handling change is not an easy one. Managing change in this case, mean making change in a planned way. Changes involve more challenge and life without challenge can become boring, therefore it is important to notice any small change because it will create an impact inside the organisation. The speed of change has increased significantly. Managers and the organisations they work for will be judged by their ability to manage change successfully. Unfortunately, for the managers of the early twenty-first century their ability to cope with complex change situations will be judged over ever decreasing time scales. Change is important because it enables to business managers to be more effective as a leader and sponsor of change. Knowing the importance of change will also enable you to prevent and manage resistance to change, decrease the cost, avoid unnecessary turnover and increase the probability that your business changes produce the desired results.( Hiatt, J and Creasey, 2003) As change is essential in an organisation, it is crucial to continue to improve and sustaining the change. The results about the organisational leaderships ability to continue and sustain performance improvement will be observed after a long period of time. Schein (2004 and Kotler (1995, 1996) have suggested that change is only Sustainable, when the organisational culture will match the new ways of thinking. These new ways of thinking must reflect the new behaviors and approaches that Become institutionalized. Change is important in any organisation and it contributes to its success, but the people perceive it in a different way, some employees might resist the change in a passive way or in the opposite way. 2.4. Types of change Change is inevitable in an organisation. Different types of change require different strategy strategies to implement the change successfully. According to Dessler(2004) there are four types of change which are: strategic change, technological change, structural change and people/Behavioural/Cultural change. Strategic change could be one option. For example, a company can face declining profits and decide to adopt this kind of change. This type of changes are usually triggered outside the company. External threats or challenges, such as deregulation, intensified global competition, and dramatic technological innovation like the internet generally make organisation to embark on companywide, strategic change. Strategic changes are often required for survival. For example researchers discovered that implementing strategic change did not necessary lead to success, but companies which did not change failed to survive. Another types of strategic changes will the one implemented during a crisis period, these types of change are highly risky. Technological change is the second basic approach of Desslers type of change. It means bringing change in the way the company is creating and marketing its products or services. Here, for example, the owner of a small farm might want to improve the productivity by buying new machines, training employees to use the new machines and also modifying the relationship between employees and their physical environment. Structural change is all about modifying the organisational structure or it is about how to reorganize. Structural change means changing one or several aspects of the companys organisation structures.( Here, for example, GEs new CEO, Jeffrey Immelt, recently reorganized his firms huge GE Capital division. He broke it into four divisions, with their four managers reporting directly to him rather than to the former GE Capital head) Structural change can also be applied by downsizing, recruiting or replacing. Or managers can change the firms infrastructure by changing its policies, procedures, and rules. People/Behavioural/Cultural change This is the last approach; strategic, technical and structural changes invariably trigger various changes in the behavioural side of the firm, including the employees attitudes, values, and skills to the job. This type of change is very difficult to manage because it is related to people and people always resist change, culture is hard to change. Some Authors have also discussed about other types of change. According to the punctuated equilibrium paradigm, incremental change is associated with those periods when the industry is in equilibrium, and the focus is doing things better through a process of continuous tinkering, adaptation and modification. Nadler and Tushman (1995) argue that incremental changes are not always about small changes. They can be large in terms of both the resources needed and the impact on people. A key point of this type of change is that is builds on what has already been accomplished and focuses on the continuous improvement. According to the gradualist paradigm incremental change can be cumulative and, over time, can lead to an organisation transforming its deep structures and reinventing itself. Transformational change is another type of change and it occurs during periods of instability. This kind of change can be referred to be revolutionary, but most writers- for example Tichy and Devenna (1986), Kotter (1999) and Burke and Litwin (1992) use the term transformational change. It involves a break with the past, a step function change rather than an extrapolation of past patterns of change and development. It is applied on new relationships and dynamics within the industry that may undermine core competencies, and try to know the very purpose of the organisation. This king of change involves doing things in a different way or doing different things. Transformational change is change which cannot be handled within the existing paradigm and the organisational routines; it entails a change in the taken-for-granted assumptions and the way of doing things around here. Nadler and Tushman have summarized the work of Tushman and colleagues, and the studies suggest that continuous incremental and discontinuous transformational change are faced by most companies but that: ââ€" ª This pattern of change keep on coming with some degree of regularity ââ€" ª Patterns change across sectors (e.g. periods of discontinuity may follow a thirty-year cycle in mini computers) ââ€" ª in almost all industries the rate of change is increasing and the time between periods of discontinuity is decreasing. The Authors also suggest that this holds true whether the focus is episodic or continuous change, and they propose that the ideal company in both cases would look like the successful self-organising firms that have been studied by Brown and Eisenhardt in the computer industry. There are three main categories of organisations that may not experience periods of discontinuous change; the self-organising and continuous changing learning organisation, companies that operate in the niche markets and last organisations that are able to continue functioning without transformating themselves. Weick and Quinn (1999) and Gersick (1991) Combining the incremental change and the transformational change which have been discussed so far- the extent to which change involves incremental adjustment or transformational change- provides a useful typology of organisational change (see Figure xxx). Nadler et al. (1995) also identify four types of change: Tuning is a type of change that occurs when there is no rush to change. It involves looking for better alternatives of achieving and defending the strategic vision. Here, for example, improving policies, methods, procedures; introducing new technologies; redesigning processes cost or developing people with required competencies. Adaptation is an incremental and adaptive response to a pressing external demand for change. It might involve responding to a successful new marketing strategy adopted by a competitor or to a change depending on the availability of the resource. Re-orientation involves a re-definition of the enterprise. It is introduced in anticipation of future opportunities or issues. The aim is to ensure that the firm will be aligned and successful in the future. Re-creation is a reactive change that leads to the transformation of the organisation or the restructuring through the fast and simultaneous change of all its basic elements. The Authors state that it inevitably involves a break down and destruction of some elements of the system. 2.5. Change process theory This theory as formulated by Lewin (1948) called force field analysis states that change can be divided into three stages namely; unfreezing phase when people realize that the old ways of doing things is no longer an option due to crisis, threats or opportunities; changing phase when people look for new way of doing things and select a promising approach; refreezing phase when people implement new approach as it becomes established. The problem for many organisations is not that they need to change, but that they do not see the need for change. This is especially true for organisations which have been successful in the past and cannot see why they should change what they see as a winning formula that everyone has become safe and comfortable with. By looking at the position of leadership towards change, the theorist states that leader can achieve change by either of the following two actions: to approach it by increasing the driving forces towards change through increase in incentives, use of position power to force change or to approach a change by reducing the restraining forces that create resistance to change, e.g. reducing fear of failure or economic loss, co-opt or remove opponents. Or using dual approach, which is a combination of the two approaches. Considerable research in the process of change management has been conducted in the work of Lewin, his model focused on changing the behaviour of groups, involves actions beginning in phases over time. The unfreezing stage according to Schein (2004) is about improving motivation and getting ready for the change, the changing stage is when the change is implemented, and the refreezing stage involves reinforcing and integrating the change. One of a popular model in the business literature about the change process has been developed by Kotters (1995, 1996) into an eight-step process for leading change management: (1) the first step is about establishing a sense of urgency, (2) forming a guiding coalition, (3) creating a vision, (4) communicating that vision, (5) empowering individuals to act and removing obstacles, (6) creating short-term wins, (7) consolidating improvements and creating more change, and lastly (8) institutionalizing new approaches. 2.6. The impact of change on organisational members The theory of reaction to change process describes how people in organisations react to an imposed change, is founded upon the typical sequence of peoples reaction to sudden traumatic events like death of loved ones, marriage collapse or natural disaster. The four stages of reaction pattern, which also happen during organisational change are: denial- deny the change is necessary; anger- get angry and look for someone to blame; mourning- stop denying that change is inevitable, acknowledge the loss and mourn it; adaptation- accept the need to change and go on with ones life. There is a related opinion regarding the effect of experiencing a repeated traumatic change has on different people. One effect of such repeated change is to leave people less resilient and more vulnerable to adverse effect from subsequent change. Another effect of repeated traumatic event can inoculate and leave them better prepared to change again without such an intense or prolonged period or adjustment. Repeated change can make some people more resilient and others less resilient. It is over thirty-five years since Toffer has published his book on Future Shock in which he discussed three aspects of change and assumed about the impact it will have on people. Toffer (1970) suggests that future shock is similar to culture shock, but with a crucial difference- there is no going back. If people find it hard to adapt to a new culture there is often an alternative to go back to the old culture, however this option is not possible with future shock. For example, if emigrants fail to settle in a new country it may be possible for them to return home. The management of change poses many challenges for managers. Burnes (2005) observes that: Managing and changing organisations appears to be getting more rather less difficult, and more rather than less important. Given the quickly changing environment in which firms operate, there is a small doubt that the capacity to manage change successfully needs to be a core competence for organisations. 2.7. The benefits for change According to Bradley (2006), changes must be well designed and managed in order to generate benefits which the author refers to benefits not generated, but removed from budgets. One realization can be made by a team effort; achieving benefits and agreed targets needs team effort. The author defines benefit as something that can be related to a cost reduction or increase revenue. A better definition of a benefit is an outcome of change which is perceived as positive by stakeholder. Changes consume resources, cost money, and need managing. Benefits are the outcomes, which cannot be directly made to happen and have no direct cost. The benefits of change can be also well explained by elaborating the following characteristics of an effective change management team which has been developed by Kotter(1996) as follows: The team member must share a keen sense of discomfort with the inertia They should be in substantial agreement on a vision for the future The team should include people who represent diverse points of view They must have a good reputation in the firm They must be willing to demonstrate public support for the change The team must commit to being involved for the long-haul Enough of the key players in the organisation must actively support the change to legitimize the process 2.8. Theories of change 2.8.1 Lewins three step model of change Lewin ( has worked on assessing the extent to which organisational change might be resisted by members of the organisation as we saw earlier when considering force field analysis in the change process. In addition, his work on group dynamics has resulted in what is known as Lewins three step model, which is usually used in change programmes. Introducing a programme of change into an organisation tends to arouse expectations in those involved; thus a subsequent failure to come up with the goods can lead to a state worse than it was before the innovation, because of these hopes and expectations not being realized. Thus Lewin considered that attention should not simply be made on the change itself, but should address what happens both before and after. The process of change should be implemented into three steps according to Lewin (1951) which are: Unfreezinf, changing and refreezing. The first step is unfreezing, where the motivation for change in the workforce is created. It is important to move the organisation away from its current position. This step is often not taking into consideration and is related with dividing old patterns of behaviour. People must be given reasons about the change and a good communication should be created before the implementation of change. To unfreeze the resistance to change, managers must increase the tension and dissatisfaction with the present, and improve the desirability and feasibility of the alternative. This stage takes more time because people have to change attitudes and behaviour. People do not like change because they are comfortable with old habits and it is important to consult them, let them know adopt the project as their own. To avoid resistance to change, we must encourage the staff, discuss and explain them the reasons for change. Once employees are aware, and have accepted the need for change, we can now move to the second stage. Changing is the second step where we have to identify the new behaviour, process or procedure and also encouraging individuals to adopt the new behaviour. It involves the development of new responses by the personel, based on the new information being made available to them and moving towards the new culture as necessary to fit strategic requirements of the organisation. At this stage it is important to make sure that there is a successful implementation of change, we also monitor the change and find out how people are feeling about their team. Refreezing is the final stage and we need to reinforce the changes made and stabilize the new culture in order to avoid people to go back to their old habits. At this stage, motivating employees by incentives will occur in the form of praise or reward for adapting to the new culture. The process as a whole is achieved through leadership, communication, education and training. In the twenty-first century it will be difficult to implement the refreezing stage, the term refreezing need a critical evaluation. The slush model was introduced by Nieto (2006), where he stated that changes in technology, employees, tasks and structure are more frequent. Organisations should have a flexible structure as having employee who is always been learning. The motivation of employees by using incentives will be a good idea. Refreezing is no longer an option because in this century, the change is moving faster than before, there is no need to refreeze otherwise you will be left behind by your competitors. Lewins model has been developed by edgar Schein through the integration of the latters perception of the response to change involving seven stages. This is known as the three conditions change model. See figurexxxx!!!!!!!! 2.8.2 Interrelationship of change The interrelationship of change or Trist model was developed by Trist (1981), this model helps to understand the interconnection of activities that influence change in organisations. It is important for the HR to understand because the model can be applies to our attention on the influence that changes in a firms activities can have on employees. For example a change of technology would lead to training people, changing task and the structure of the organisation, all elements are interconnected that means one element affects the others. Reid and Barrington (2000), argues the sociotechnical model suggests that management should learn how to understand and cope to changing relationships between people, tasks, technology and structure. It is therefore helpful to review the kinds of internal changes which have occurred in the organisation and to what extent to appropriate HR initiatives have been put in place to prepare employees to cope with the new technology but neglected to invest sufficiently in staff training, it is likely to be as effective as planned. Deciding what to change is very important for the organisation, it means any change should be planned effectively. The managers change programme can aim to alter one of the four basic things: the firms strategy, technology, structure and people/behaviour/culture. For example an organisation can change its strategy when the profit is declining. Technological change is a second basic approach and it means changing the way the firm innovates and markets its products or services. Structural change means changing one or more aspects of the companys organisation structure. Reorganizing is a familiar organisational change technique in todays fast-changing times. Dessler (2004) 2.9. Resistance to change Change can create uncertainty and therefore lead to personal insecurity. Therefore, we are not surprised to notice resistance to change within organisations. An organizational change, such as being promoted, is mostly accepted, simply because it is perceived to have obvious advantages. But not all changes fit into this category. Where changes create confusion and uncertainty, then resistance is likely to take place; the resistance is not to change as such- rather it is to the personal loss (or possibility of personal loss) that people believe will accompany the change (Burke, 1982). 2.9.1 Reasons for resistance (1) Perceived negative outcomes Employees are resisting to the change most of time because they perceive it as a negative outcome. According to Manfred (1995) change is creating a multitude of fears, of the unknown, of loss of freedom, of loss of status or position, of loss of authority and responsibility, and loss of good working conditions and money. This can be summarised as being in the comfort zone. People do not like change; they like staying in the same position and keep on doing the same old things. Once any change is introduced it will automatically create a resistance because it does not allow them to be in a comfort zone. Before undertaking any change management exercise, managers must identify where the changes will occur in the organisation and also anticipate how the change will affect employees in their job. After an economic assessment of the proposed change, managers will highlight the nature of the changes that need to be made for the benefits to be realized. (Berry 2002) (2) Fear of more work By introducing new changes it creates the fear of more work and less performance by employees, there is fear that additional work will be required at the same level of compensation. Change mostly involves additional work, change of culture and responsibility. We can also face some changes on the working hours, possible relocation, working condition, technology and more. As people fear of additional work, we will notice that people always resist change; Strebel (1996) argues that resistance to change is based on the disturbance of an employers implied pact with the company. This pack is formed of cultural values, job description and social dimensions. (3) Misunderstanding and lack of trust This is a situation when the people affected do not understand the real reasons and benefits of the change and mistrust the management who are introducing the change. They often do not believe what the management says and believe that they have secret ulterior motives. This may be because the management can access too many information than the people affected. This situation is commun in any organisation which have been organised traditionally on antagonistic industrial relations lines and have developed an us and them culture. Nowadays, most organisations try to engender a harmonious spirit which sees everyone as having a common interest, but for organisations which have a long history of conflict this is not something which is easily changed. The lack of trust is due to imaginary hidden implications; we can also list other elements that caused the resistance of change like: belief that change is not necessary or feasible, economic threat, relative high cost, fear of personal failure, loss of status and power and lastly threat to values and ideals. Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) (4) Lack of communication Communication is the exchange of information in an organisation. For organisations to work effectively, it is vital that information be communicated to those who need

Tourism ] Essay -- essays research papers fc

Tourism The French define tourism as â€Å"the art to satisfy the most diverse aspirations which invite man to move out of his daily universe.† The Webster’s dictionary defines tourism as â€Å"the guiding or managing of tourists; the promotion or encouragement of touring: the accommodation of tourists.† Both definitions are apt for tourism. The private sector of tourism includes lodging, food, transportation, recreation facilities, attractions, travel agents, and tour operators. These in turn are supported by a variety of specialized services, such as research promotion and printing. In the public sector, promotion of tourism on behalf of the state or communities is a major activity. In addition, there is the infrastructure of travel and tourism-such as roads, bridges, and utilities-and the public investment, federal, state in land and a wide range of recreational amenities and facilities. Tourism consists primarily of travel for pleasure purposes. It does not n ormally involve a large measure of physical exertion, nor does it involve acquisition of new skills. Tourism is oriented to the consumer rather than to the producer, and the economic impact of tourism comes primarily from multiple retail purchases by the tourists in a variety of establishments. The average household spends more on tourism as its real income increase (The National Tourism Resources Review, 1976). The City as a Tourist Resource The City’s appeal is based on eight general categories of attractions: Business opportunities, both work and personal; recreation; cultural/educational facilities; contact with people; amusement and entertainment; special events; shops; and atmosphere. The pull of these attractions is in turn affected by five variables; reputation, cost overall quality of the urban environment (of which big-city problems, particularly crime, congestion and inconvenience are a part) locations and climate. The strength of a city’ s appeal depends on a combination of some or all of these factors, measured against the allure of other cities or alternative destinations. The broader the range of attractions and the more positive the other variables in reinforcing them, the larger and more stable will be the scope of a city’s tourist business. For instance, a City like Miami Beach which offers mainly recreational opportunities which depend on climate for their use appeals primarily to disc... ... and ugliness, of wealth and poverty, of creativity and mediocrity. All that is found in a city, and all that happens in one, together form a living environment. It is composed of people, buildings, attitudes, work problems, etc. It is this total atmosphere that confronts a tourist when he thinks of visiting a city. Is the environment desirable? The total tourist is most affected by total environment in all its aspects, positive and negative, than any other group. Because the tourist has freedom of choice and a wider range of wants and needs with personal preferences, he will weigh more variables in selecting his destination. (Report of the National Tourism Resources Review Commission, 1993). Bibliography References Destination USA Volume 3 Report of the National Tourism Resources Review Commission June, 1976 Destination USA Volume 5 Report of the National Tourism Resources Review Commission 1973 References Destination USA Volume 3 Report of the National Tourism Resources Review Commission June, 1976 Destination USA Volume 5 Report of the National Tourism Resources Review Commission 1973 (Report of the National Tourism Resources Review Commission, 1993). Word Count: 1052

Lee Silverman Voice Treatment Essay -- Health, Parkinson’s Disease

Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) is primary utilized as a voice treatment for individuals with Parkinson’s Disease (PD), it’s main focus is that it attempts to increase vocal loudness and improve vocal function (Countryman S, Hoehn M, O’Brien C, Pawlas A, Ramig L, and Sapir S, 2001)(Ramig L, Sapir S, Fox C, and Countryman S, 2001). There has also been success in utilizing this treatment protocol for clients with dysarthria associated with stroke, and traumatic brain injury as well as children who have cerebral palsy and Down syndrome (Marchant, J., McAuliffe, M., & Huckabee, M. January 2008)(Spielman, J Ramig L Mahler L Halpern A Gavin W., 2007,)(Wenke, R., Theodoros, D., & Cornwell, P., January 2008)). LSVT was conceived in 1987 and has been extensively studied around the world since then (Countryman et. al., 2001). LSVT is a very unique form of voice therapy in that it focuses on several very simple tasks that are designed to maximize the client’s phonation and respiratory functions. (Countrymen et al., 2001). Spielman et al., 2007 indicated that the standard course o...

Hosue On Mango Street :: essays research papers

3 Sandra Cisnero’s The House on Mango Street is an well-incorporated story told through vignettes shorts sections that piece by piece fit into a puzzle and reveal a theme. This unique story is about a disadvantaged young Chicana girl, named Esperanza, growing up in a poor neighborhood where she feels she does not belong. She does not like what she experiences, and constantly searches for a new future. As Esperanza grows and changes throughout the book, she realizes that women in her culture are treated unfairly, and makes a conscious choice not to fall into the same trap as the women around her. 4 Women all around Esperanza, such as Minerva and Sally, are held hostage, within their own acceptance of an unjust cultural fate. For example, Minerva is a young girl who constantly prays for better luck, and a happier life, but enables her husband to take advantage of her, and therefore sets the path for her unsatisfactory life. â€Å" One day she is through and lets him know enough is enough. Out the door he goes. Clothes, records, shoes. Out the window and the door locked. However, that night he comes back and sends a big rock through the window. Then he is sorry and she opens the door again. Minerva finds herself forgiving without truly seeing that her husband is sorry. She used marriage as a way out from her undesirable life, yet her married life still carries the same characteristics. And so, without fighting for a satisfactory life she settles with the hand she is dealt. 5 Furthermore, Sally, an innocent friend of Esperanza, tries to escape her father’s cruel beatings through marriage, but her circumstances do not change, her husband still treats her as her father has in the past. â€Å" He won’t let her talk on the phone. In addition, he does not let her look out the window. In addition, he does not like her friends so nobody can visit her unless he is working. Sally’s father controlled her and now it is her husband; she thinks that she is escaping when in reality she is just giving the leash to someone else. Sally chose the easiest way out of her life, marriage, she did not see the unfavorable life of the women near her, she just chose a route to flee, without thinking of her future. 6 All in all the women around Esperanza have all taken an easy escape from their surroundings leading them into another life of the same disappointment; and now accept their unhappy consequences, thinking that there is no way-out.

Language Investigation Essay

How gender affect linguistics in programmes. For this investigation I aim to produce a theory on the language of gender orientation in programming. I think it will be interesting to observe how the role of male and female in our society can affect the programmes that are broadcasted and the linguistics that feature when a programme adheres to a particular gender roles. I will take into account the contextual factors to fully assess whether it is gender, or other factors such as age, class or culture, that affects the language of a programme. The type of programming I am going to study are children’s television programmes because they are commonly reflective of society’s stereotypical views of gender. It is important to assess the influence of heavily male or female based language on children, and whether it forms a gender identity within them and affects how they linguistically interact with those around them. My hypothesis is that language will be heavily male orientated, following from the stereotypical role males have to assert dominance in society. I have chosen to study the children’s cartoon X-Men because it has an interesting reflection of gender portrayed through language. I am going to begin by analysing the title of the programme I am going to study – ‘X-Men’. This title introduces the influence of male superiority through the language it uses, instantaneously using the word ‘men’ to portray the themes of the programme. Instead of the programme only containing men as the title suggests, there is actually an equal number of men as there is women in the ‘X-Men’, so we can conclude that they play a dominant role in the programming, and the influence of stereotypical gender views have responsibility for this. It should also be considered that the women in this programme are represented through male characteristics, and by conforming to this and seen as part of the ‘X-Men’, they are not inferior, but instead seen as equal through another gender. The title clearly suggests that the programme is male orientated, and degrades the influence of the female gender in association with the themes of power and battle. Looking into the idea that the female characters in the ‘X-Men’ are represented with male traits, I am going to study the language of the names used for each character. Without knowing the gender beforehand, it is difficult to associate any of the names with an influence of the female gender. Nearly every name is associates with male traits. For instance when looking at the name ‘Wolverine’ we can clearly determine that the wolf is a origin for power, teamwork and male dominance, which is appropriate to the male character. In comparison to ‘Rogue’, a name which has no female influence, and disassociates the gender from the character, giving her a power orientated name, but suggests that the male represents power. This transcript is of a mostly male conversation, and reveals how the programme orientates towards this gender through it’s language. The use of M1-4 represents the 4 different male characters in this scene, and F1 represents the only female character. M2/3 are very aggressive, using phrases such as ‘Let’s crush him’ and ‘I think me and my buds are gonna squash this slimeball’. This associates the male figure as one of violence. This is disconcerting that this view could influence young children, because they will associate power and dominance with aggression, which could have all sorts of implications of their behaviour. Other male characteristics in the language of this scene are using last names for refer to each other, and imperatives to dominate the conversation and assert their authority. This fits in with George Keith and Jon Shuttleworth’s theory, found in Living Language, that men are competitive in conversation, as opposed to women, who are more supportive. The role of the female in this transcript is very brief, but she clearly supports the other character of Scott, rather than tries to compete with him. This transcript show how female characters are represented as weaker than male. It is interesting to consider that F1 is a dominating powerful character, with many male traits, when the programme deals with the super heros and battle scenes. In comparison, in this scene, she is represented as the supporting character, and inferior to the males. This suggests that the programme still has connotations of the weakness of the female gender. For instance when F1 says – â€Å"Oh, you poor baby!† her language suggests she is being supportive. The use of the word â€Å"baby† has maternal connotations, which is representative of stereotypical domestic and mothering views of females. The language associated with this programme portrays how the male gender dominates the linguistics of ‘X-Men’ which gives an insight into the general view of gender orientation of the programme. These two examples are more substantial in that they are repeated with every episode that a young child watches. It is important to analyse how a heavily male orientated programme effects children. We should consider that a child’s perception of the reality of a television programme is somewhat unclear, and it’s influence could change their gender associated behaviour and understandings. When watching ‘X-Men’ a young child receives language that has strong connotations of male dominance and power, which leads young children to gender roles themselves, which society have been trying to break for some time now.

Gender Discrimination in the Workforce

Although there have been decades of hard won civil rights gains for women, we do not yet live in a gender blind society. Sexism perpetuates a cycle of unfulfilled aspirations among women. Public policies are being scrutinized under ever stricter legal microscopes, and an atmosphere of unease about the future pervades our national consciousness – â€Å"a future beset with economic challenges from abroad, technological innovation at home, a demographic revolution in our workforce, and a re-stratification of society. † Restrictions on women’s access to and participation in the workforce include the wage gap and the glass ceiling.We will discuss the following laws that have helped women make important strides in the workforce, cracking (but not breaking) the glass ceiling so they could climb up the corporate ladder: the 1963 Equal Pay Act, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Executive Orders 11246/11375, the 1968 Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act. In addition, we will provide reasons for the continuing network discrimination against females, a recent case study of pervasive gender discrimination resulting in a 152. 5 million dollar ettlement by one well known employer who was sued, and steps women can take to continue making strides toward an equal opportunity workforce. Legislation requiring equal pay for women was first introduced in 1945 in acknowledgement of women’s war work. Business owners and labor organizations succeeded in thwarting the effort, in part because of the perceived need for women to leave the labor force to create vacancies for returning servicemen. By the end of the 1950’s, policymakers were becoming concerned about insufficient use of â€Å"womanpower†.In 1963, Congress passed the Equal Pay Act as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require employers to pay equal wages to men and women doing â€Å"equal work on jobs†¦which [re quire] equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and are performed under similar working conditions†. The Equal Pay Act was the first federal effort to bar discrimination by private employers on the basis of gender. The Equal Pay Act has limitations in its enforcement of protecting women – for full-time, year- round workers, the 2009 American Community Survey median earnings for women were 78. 2 ercent of men’s earnings – $35,549 compared with $45,485. Furthermore, women’s earnings were lower than men’s in all of the 50 states. One year after passing the Equal Pay Act, Congress passed the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which made it unlawful to discriminate based on a person’s race, religion, color, or sex. Title VII attacks sex discrimination more broadly than the Equal Pay Act extending not only to wages but to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.Thus with the Equal Pay Act and Title VII, an employer cannot deny women equal pay for equal work, deny women transfers, romotions, or wage increases, manipulate job evaluations to regulate women’s pay, or intentionally segregate men and women into jobs according to their gender. In 1971 Reed v. Reed became the first case that the Supreme Court would uphold Title VII to, thus protecting women from sex discrimination. One year following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued Executive Order 11246 as a directive as to how the act should be interpreted and followed. Executive Order 11246 prohibited public and government sector employers from iscriminating based on race, color, religion, or national origin, but not sex. Executive Order 11246 was amended by Executive Order 11375 on October 13, 1967 after sexual harassment became an issue. Sex would now be included as a category that could not be discriminated against by an employer. Executive Order 11375 meant to ensure that women would not be exploited sexuall y to advance their careers. Women were to now be protected in the workplace from supervisors and coworkers who did not take into consideration the concept of personal space or offensive language and conduct.Legal regulations now banned these behaviors and legal action could be taken if they did occur. Executive Order 11375 meant women should no longer have to worry about being discriminated against in the workplace in terms of being hired or released. Executive Order 11375 meant that Affirmative Action (of Executive Order 11246) now applied to women as well. Affirmative Action is an organization’s active effort to find opportunities to hire or promote people in a particular group (in this instance, women). Affirmative Action plans must consist of an equal opportunity policy statement, an analysis of he current work force, identification of underrepresented areas, the establishment of reasonable, flexible goals and timetables for increasing employment opportunities, specific a ction-oriented programs to address problem areas, support for community action programs, and the establishment of an internal audit and reporting system. Contractors receiving more than $10,000 from the federal government must take affirmative action, and those exceeding $50,000 must develop a written affirmative action plan for each of their establishments. The plan must be in place within 120 days of the beginning of the contract.Employers whose contracts meet minimum size requirements must engage in affirmative action to ensure against discrimination. Employers must consider all qualified individuals for employment, must choose without regard to gender (now a protected category), and must engage in outreach to encourage the broadest possible group of qualified individuals to enter the supply or applicant pool. In 1967 Congress passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. The ADEA branches from the debate on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimina tion on the asis of race, color, national origin, or sex, but not age. President Lyndon Johnson strongly believed that age was a growing issue among Americans. This law prohibits discrimination of men and women employees over the age of 40 and forbids companies to base employment decisions solely on an applicant’s age. The Equal Opportunity Commission enforces this act but there are still many complaints filed yearly from workers who are experiencing discrimination because of their age. For many years, elderly workers have felt that they are losing out to their younger coworkers.The Age Discrimination in Employment Act attempts to eliminate the gap between younger and older employees. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act applies to businesses with 15 or more employees working 20 or more weeks per year including employees in state and local government, federal government, employment agencies, and labor organizations. The ADEA helps protect unlawful discrimination of older individuals that can occur when applying or interviewing for jobs. The Age Discrimination Act protects employees by prohibiting employers to include age preferences or limitations in job applications and advertisements.Under the ADEA it is not expressly forbidden to ask an applicant’s age, but it is closely examined to make sure the query was made for a legitimate purpose. Despite the Age Discrimination Act, The Supreme Court recently changed what qualifies as successfully proven age discrimination. Companies come up with multiple reasons why an employee is terminated without mentioning age, when in actuality the employee’s age is the only factor. Seniors are a growing population and many are planning to work past their retirement age. Discrimination against age is not only affecting individual employees but ociety as a whole. An employee now has to prove that their age was the sole reason for their employer’s actions, therefore older workers can barely fight or prosecute age discrimination. In 2007, 60-year-old Oklahoma City Teacher Judy Jones filed an age discrimination suit against the superintendant who eliminated her teaching position and reassigned her to an office job as a principal. Judy’s salary decreased and benefits were affected during her second year as principal, while school directors and the superintendant himself frequently commented on Judy’s age and retirement plans.The district court rejected her claim because she â€Å"could not show sufficient evidence† that her age was the sole reason for her relocated position and reduced pay. There have been successful outcomes to Age Discrimination lawsuits as the U. S. Equal Opportunity Commission recently charged two companies with age discrimination. A 70-year- old pharmacist at the Honolulu Kmart was awarded $120,000 after higher management habitually commented on, and wrote about, her elderly age, causing her humiliation and compelling her to retire. In a nother case, a 75-year-old qualified receptionist was fired based on ge after her second day at work at Red Rock Western Jeep Tours Inc. She filed a lawsuit and it was settled in a $35,000 payout. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 defines discrimination on the basis of pregnancy and childbirth or any other form of illegal sex discrimination. This act is meant to ensure that no woman will be subject to non-hire by an employer due to pregnancy. She is to be treated the same as any other individual and is to be guaranteed benefits and accommodations based on the same policies and procedures as any other employee with a disability.Pregnancy discrimination occurs when expectant mothers are fired, not hired, or otherwise discriminated against due to their pregnancy or intention to become pregnant. Common forms of pregnancy discrimination include not being hired due to visible pregnancy or likelihood of becoming pregnant, being fired after informing an employer of one’s pregn ancy, being fired during maternity leave, and receiving a pay dock due to one’s pregnancy. In 1978, the U. S. Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, an amendment to the sex discrimination section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Pregnancy DiscriminationAct states that discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions constitutes unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII. This clause covers employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments. Title VII also applies to employment agencies and to labor organizations, as well as to the federal government. Women who are pregnant or affected by pregnancy-related conditions must be treated in the same manner as other applicants or employees with similar abilities or limitations. An employer may not single out pregnancy related conditions to determine an mployee’s ability to work. However, if an employer requires its employees to submit a doctor’s statement concerning their inability to work before granting leave or paying sick benefits, the employer may require employees affected by pregnancy-related conditions to submit such statements. If an employee is temporarily unable to perform her job because of her pregnancy, the employer must treat her the same way as any other temporarily disabled employee. Pregnant employees must be permitted to work as long as they are able to perform their jobs.If an employee has been absent from work as a result of a pregnancy-related condition nd recovers, her employer may not require her to remain on leave until the baby’s birth. An employer also may not have a rule that prohibits an employee from returning to work for a predetermined length of time after childbirth. Employers must hold open a position for a woman who has been absent due to pregnancy-related issues for the same length of time jobs are held open for employees on sick or disability leave. Any health insurance provided by an employer must cover expenses for pregnancy- related conditions on the same basis as costs for other medical conditions. An employer need ot provide health insurance for expenses arising from abortion, except when the life of the mother is endangered. Pregnancy-related expenses should be reimbursed exactly as those incurred for other medical conditions, whether payment is on a fixed basis or a percentage of a specific amount. The amounts payable by the insurance provider can be limited only to the same extent of amounts payable for other conditions. No additional, increased, or larger deductible can be imposed. Employers must provide the same level of health benefits for spouses of female employees as they do for spouses of male employees.Pregnancy-related benefits cannot be limited to married employees. Benefits must be provided for pregnancy-related conditions to unmarried women if benefits are provided to employees for other medical conditions. If an employer provides any be nefits to workers on leave, the employer must provide the same benefits for those on leave for pregnancy-related conditions. Employees on leave because of pregnancy-related conditions must be treated the same as other temporarily disabled employees for accumulation and crediting of seniority, vacation calculation, pay increases, and temporary disability benefits.A case that was important to the creation of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was Muller v. Oregon (1908). The Supreme Court upheld a decision limiting women to 10 hour workdays based on the idea that â€Å"performance of maternal functions† made women inherently incapable of the same work that men did. In the 1950s and 1960s, laws in several states prohibited women from working and others banned their hiring for some length of time before and after birth. Reasons for the continuing network discrimination against women include myths about female workers, conscious and unconscious stereotyping and biasing applied by ma ny white en who are desperate to keep their competitive edge over women, and inadequate reporting and dissemination of information pertaining to glass-ceiling issues. The following myths about female employees, despite being disproved, still exist: women executives refuse to work long hours or relocate, and many women executives take leave of absences (and that those who go on federally and state protected maternity leave have suddenly lost professional credibility upon becoming pregnant or taking temporary leave). Statistics show women executives work 56 hours per week on average – the same as their ale counterparts. Only 14 percent refused to relocate as compared to 20 percent of the men.Only one-third of female executives surveyed had ever taken a leave of absence and 82 percent of these were for maternity leave or other family reasons protected under FMLA. Finally, there can be a twisted perception that women executives lose their professional credibility upon becoming pr egnant or taking maternity leave – an â€Å"out of sight, out of mind† mantra held by their bosses. Furthermore, a pregnant woman obviously has priorities outside of work and a selfish mployer may have the unreasonable expectation of work being a sole priority. Research suggests that an underlying cause of the glass ceiling is the perception of many white males â€Å"that they as a group are losing – losing competitive advantage, losing control, and losing opportunity as a direct consequence of inclusion of women. † There is also a â€Å"difference† barrier â€Å"manifested through conscious and unconscious stereotyping and bias. † People who do hiring feel most comfortable hiring people who look like them. Recruiters for high-status jobs are predominately white males who then hire other white males from the same socio- conomic status, which helps perpetuate their over-representation in the best jobs. Governmental barriers include the collec tion and disaggregation of employment related data which make it difficult to ascertain the status of various groups at the managerial level. There also continues to be inadequate reporting and dissemination of information pertaining to glass ceiling issues. Most importantly, there needs to be consistent monitoring and enforcement of laws and policies already on the books. The following case demonstrates how costly illegal gender discrimination can be to employers:In May 2010, a jury in the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York awarded a record $250 million in punitive damages to 5,600 female sales employees in a sexual discrimination case after Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (â€Å"Novartis†) took the lawsuit filed against them to court – and lost. In July 2010, the parties reached a $152 million settlement agreement of the plaintiffs’ claims of gender discrimination in the terms and conditions of their employment, including compensat ion, promotion/promotional opportunities, reviews, and pregnancy leave. The terms of this greement allow for full compensation of former and current female employees dating from 2002-2010, ensuring that every woman who worked at Novartis over the past 8 years was compensated fairly.As part of the settlement, Novartis must also spend an additional $22. 5 million over the next three years on anti-discrimination policies, programs, and training, as well as on strengthening its employee complaint process. Novartis was ordered to increase its Human Resource and Employment Relations staff within nine months of the effective state of the settlement agreement – ensuring that there would be ne Employment Relations Investigator for every 1,000 Novartis employees. A Compliance Master would be appointed as an external specialist for the New York Federal Court to monitor Novartis’s compliance with the settlement agreement’s terms and conditions. Steps that women can take to continue making strides toward an equal opportunity workforce are to show themselves as decision makers, risk-takers, and players. Furthermore, a female manager should do her best to remove gender biases from her own business practices by not comparing her employees to men at the top.In Conclusion, women are just a few steps closer to being looked at as equal to men due to these legal acts. Women now have fewer restrictions and more rights within the workforce. The 1963 Equal Pay Act and 1964 Title VII brought women higher pay and more equal opportunity. Women are now seeing the benefits of Executive Order 11375 which included protection from any sexual harassment. In 1967 the Age Discrimination in Employment Act was put into place to include age from discrimination, and women benefited from the insistence that age should not prevent a capable and qualified person from working.In 1978 the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was implemented so that pregnancy did not determine a womanâ€℠¢s ability to work; it also ensured that she received the same benefits as anyone else with a disability. Furthermore, even today women are fighting to have fair rights within the workplace. Even with the legal clauses, women are faced with stereotypes and glass-ceiling barriers. In order for women to overcome the problems they are tackling, to truly be protected and to have the rights that they deserve, there must be constant reinforcement of the laws that are currently in place.

Personal application assignment Essay

Prompt 1 I am currently employed as the Assistant City Manager/Director of Economic Development with the City of Mount Rainier, a small municipality located in Prince Georges County, Maryland. Mount Rainier is a historic residential community that borders the District of Columbia. Within the last several months, the city has been exploring the option of redeveloping its downtown district with the aims of removing blight and increasing tourism. In addition, the City of Mount Rainier has been trying to brand a new identity. As Assistant City Manager/Director of Economic Development, my role is to develop a plan that will aid the city in the revitalization its downtown retail and commercial district making it a desirable destination place. Currently, the downtown area lacks a mass of shopping, dining, and entertainment to attract visitors or residents. Along with spearheading these efforts, I am also responsible for finding funding to aid the city improve the public infrastructure that will aid in the revitalization of the downtown area. Evidently, the organization’s current orientation towards the tourism market is weak. The population has not yet been well oriented in the details of the tourism industry despite the city’s significant potential in the business. At the moment, Mount Rainier is not an obvious tourist destination. While the city does have a mix of tourist products and activities of interest for visitors, there are currently not enough infrastructures, enterprise motivation, and marketing advertisements to make a significant part of the tourism market take notice of such products. Future development in Mount Rainier will not just create a space for tourist, but will aid the city market its underutilized areas. The target customers are the local community, developers/investors and the focus is on the tourism market. It is recognized that the current economic crisis has actually caused a decline in out-of-the-country tourism for Americans and more and more Americans are going on vacation at locations in their own state or in other nearby states (Brown, 2008; Julio, 2008). This provides a market opportunity for the organization to take advantage of. Currently, the organization does not have a formal customer service rating system that can adequately measure customer satisfaction. Data on customer satisfaction is basically sourced through word-of-mouth and through survey forms given out independently by various tourism oriented services. Based on the previous topics, strong marketing and customer service management systems need to be established for the organization to take the first step in realizing its long term goals in the tourism industry. Prompt 2 The value creation and delivery sequences of the departments valued core competencies is coordinating how the City of Mount Rainier markets itself to businesses and developers, ensuring the implementation of financial packaging for development, attraction and retention. â€Å"Providing a value through specific product features, service development, pricing, sourcing and making the offer†(Kotler and Keller, 2008, p. 21). In other words, the value creation and delivery process in which has been created, gives the city the capability to understand and capture customer value, allowing the right activities for strategic planning in marketing economic development in the City of Mount Rainier. Specifically, the value chain in the organization’s efforts on tourism development begins with the identification of key tourism demands. It proceeds from this point to the customization of available resources to meet such identified demands. Finally, the products that address the identified demands are marketed and released. In line with this value chain, the core competencies of the organization include a strong expertise in conducting quantitative and qualitative research and managing communications between investor and investment representatives. Strength in formal research is known to be one of the effective components of business decision making (Hanson, 2008). With this core competency, an organization can realistically predict market outcomes and take advantage of identified opportunities. On the other hand, effective communications management is also essential in investment relations management. When an organization is able to maintain excellent communication lines, the risk of miscommunication is reduced, thereby allowing the organization to present and gather information from relevant groups accurately (Giannetto, 2006). According to Kotler and Keller, â€Å"a clear and thoughtful mission statement provides employees with a shared sensed of purpose, direction, and opportunity†(p. 27). The City of Mount Rainier’s value chain is driven by the mission statement which employees the department of economic development so heavily rely upon. As an organization, the City of Mount Rainier ‘s department of economic developments purpose is the coordination, planning, supervision, and in some cases, the execution of all programs, policies, proposals, and functions related to economic development. MDED also advises the Mayor and citizens on the most effective allocation of public resources devoted to economic development in the City. The vision of the organization is a city that is able to maximize all of its available resources and attract investors in developing all of its potential services. This envisioned city is has a stable, flourishing economy that is well managed by its officials who are empowered with decision-making information based on valid and reliable research. The mission-vision of the organization definitively plots the course of its strategic planning by setting reasonable short-term and achievable long term goals. On the short-term, the goal based on the mission is to identify key areas of development where the organization can recommend city funding to be utilized with the best possibilities for the greatest returns on investment. On the long-term, this organization intends to follow through with identified areas of development and establish programs that can explore such potentials completely. With the vision as its guiding perspective on what is the ideal, the organization studies how other cities are able to achieve similar goals in the past and determines the extent of applicability of such strategies to the City of Mount Rainier. Prompt 3 Using a classical approach, the City of Mount Rainier Department of Economic Development conducts its marketing research using an in-house research approach. The first step to this approach is drafting a brief by the manager discussing the area selected for the project. In the latter, Mayor and Council is provided with a verbal explanation and description of what is required, together with relevant background documents and samples of products or demonstration of services to be studied. Then Mayor and Council will hold public hearings to seeking the views of citizens on the proposed project. In addition, to conducting in-house marketing research the City contracts marketing research consultants to aid the city in determining the right development to build a healthy economy and increasing property tax dollars for the city. Thus, identifying and targeting development that that will be a good fit for the municipality. This approach to decision making provides a way of assessing the value of additional information that maybe inaccessible to staff. Another key aspect to this marketing research approach strategically shows comprehensive demographics, consumer demand and other feasibility studies that will be very costly and time consuming for a very small agency to conduct. Socio-cultural factors affect the intended clients since such factors are a part of the tourism experience. Many customers wish to have different cultural experiences and so diversity plays an important role. Situational factors, specifically natural phenomenon can greatly affect customer’s purchasing decisions as well. For example, the occurrence of a natural disaster such as an earthquake or hurricane can make customers shy away from the products even after rebuilding for fear of the occurrence repeating itself. On the other hand, other situations such as the occurrence of something noteworthy can be a positive factor that can draw customers to purchase tourism products. Prompt 4 The primary customer segments that the City of Mount Rainier Department of Economic Development target and provide services to are the community and investors/developers. The difference between the two entities is only what each requires from the City. As a local government, the community defines the development process challenging the undesirable and unacceptable disparities that may affect their quality of living. In other words, the community’s needs are to keep the nature that it is used to while developing sectors to gain greater financial leverage. On the other hand, investors/developers goals are to create, expand, or improve the endeavors of the city and would promote economic vitality. This requires for change to be effected by the government that would make the environment suitable for investments. These primary customer segments offer competitive positioning, increased visitation and a yield with significant growth potential. Competitive positioning allows companies to perceive and address their strengths and weaknesses against existing competitors and develop plans based on such analysis (Porter, 1980). The primary product strengths of the City of Mount Rainier are arts, theatre and cultural heritage, tourism, and accommodation. These focus areas and key strengths provide a framework to advance the commitments of strategic imperatives and guide investment throughout the city. The main advantages and uniqueness of the City of Mount Rainier, is its geographic location, local market demand and integration with other market clusters. With low-cost real estate and relatively cheaper labor costs in comparison to neighboring Washington D. C. , these attributes have been identified as key success factors for economic development. The organization can market these advantages to potential investors in order to get them to appreciate making investments in the city.