Trends, Issues and Community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Trends, Issues and Community - Essay Example However, neoclassical approaches are also not without their flaws and thus practical policymaking ought to be about ensuring that the government is driven hard to deliver that which is the best from available resources. This brief essay presents a discussion about the neoclassical and the Keynesian or the welfare state approaches to policy making and presents an examination of the impact of neoclassical approaches to policymaking in Australia. I certify that, except where cited in the text, this work is the result of research carried out by the author of this study. The main content of the study which has been presented contains work that has not previously been reported anywhere. Individuals and communities in Australia and in other developed nations are often perplexed at the demise of the so called welfare state which had done far more to try to look after the individual than what is often observed today. Thus, government policies are now forcing individual citizens to take on far more responsibility in nearly everything, ranging from welfare, education to health despite a certain lack of satisfaction with this approach from the citizens (Centre for Policy Development, 2008, â€Å"Real World Economics†). The new policymaking is explained in terms of the limited ability of the community to care for the individual due to resource constraints and a shift from the Keynesian / Welfare state approach to the neoclassical or the new right approaches that are designed not only to provide but also to alter individual behaviour in a manner that is likely to be less of a burden to the society at large. The change that is now observed is often disturbing for those who had seen far better days when government really cared and help was always available in difficult times. Thus, it makes sense to try to understand what guides the new policymaking that has had an impact on nearly all facets of individual’s existence within the community and why Australians and others

What practices pay off best and under what conditions Assignment - 1

What practices pay off best and under what conditions - Assignment Example It is the consideration between the employers and themselves. It is usually a reward for a job done, directly related to the efforts applied in performance of the work. In merit pay/cost of living adjustments form of pay, the employees are paid in relation to past work behavior and cost of living (Belcher, 1996). An increase in merit is triggered by work behavior recognized in the past and the adjustments in the cost of living. The cost of living consideration raises the merit of all the employees without regard to the performance. This form of pay is mostly beneficial when the employer is assured of commitment and professional skills of the workers. This form of pay will work towards ensuring that there is low employee turn over as most appreciate that the employer is considerate enough. Adjustments of pay in relation to the cost of living encourage the employees to be loyal to the company and to increase their output. This form of pay is particularly beneficial to the employees as during harsh economic times they are assured that the employer will adjust the pay in their benefit. The pay system brings on board various groups of people and this determines what they perceive of the company or the employer. The society or the community considers job compensation often referred to as pay as a measure of justice towards the employees. It is the society’s belief that benefits extended to the employees are a reflection of the level of justice in the society. The most beneficial form of pay to the employer is the incentives or the variable pay. In this form of pay, pay rise is triggered by performance of the employees. Some of the assumptions of the variable pay method are: some employees are more productive than their peers; some perform better and are better equipped with technical skills; better performance should be rewarded; and some of the employees’ earnings should be directly proportional

The Long Valley by John Steinbeck Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Long Valley by John Steinbeck - Essay Example The aim of this paper is to discuss this matter, as well as any and all other key points of interested related to this. This is what will be dissertated in the following. This work of Steinbeck's is set in the beautiful area of the Salinas Valley of California, with the primary plot being that of simple people who are struggling to find a place for themselves in the world. There are certain issues which are made rather obvious or blatant, one of those being the tensions between town and country, laborers and owners, past and present. These particular issues can be related to by all, which is why The Long Valley is such a delivering and moralizing literary work. There is a subtle yet purposefully planned relationship between the setting and the characters themselves, which is set in the form of an external and internal landscape, with the setting being external, and the characters being internal. The basis and most important part of this relationship is that the characters each have their own distinctive categorization from each other, all which relate significantly to a different aspect of the landscape setting. From the main characters, Henry and Elisa Allen, to more minor ones such as Peter Randall and his eighty-seven pound wife Emma; Steinbeck obviously took his time in creating each one's separate and diverse yet intriguing and relating characteristics, with a telling story plot in his mind. John Steinbeck is a writer who is notoriously known for his intelligent and well thought out writings, and this work of his is categorized by many as the best of it all. The morals, meanings, thoughtfulness, and the fact that practically everyone can gain from this reading a relating and understanding feeling, proves that this work is certainly a must read. Works Cited Steinbeck, John. The Long Valley. Toronto: Penguin Books,

What practices pay off best and under what conditions Assignment - 1

What practices pay off best and under what conditions - Assignment Example It is the consideration between the employers and themselves. It is usually a reward for a job done, directly related to the efforts applied in performance of the work. In merit pay/cost of living adjustments form of pay, the employees are paid in relation to past work behavior and cost of living (Belcher, 1996). An increase in merit is triggered by work behavior recognized in the past and the adjustments in the cost of living. The cost of living consideration raises the merit of all the employees without regard to the performance. This form of pay is mostly beneficial when the employer is assured of commitment and professional skills of the workers. This form of pay will work towards ensuring that there is low employee turn over as most appreciate that the employer is considerate enough. Adjustments of pay in relation to the cost of living encourage the employees to be loyal to the company and to increase their output. This form of pay is particularly beneficial to the employees as during harsh economic times they are assured that the employer will adjust the pay in their benefit. The pay system brings on board various groups of people and this determines what they perceive of the company or the employer. The society or the community considers job compensation often referred to as pay as a measure of justice towards the employees. It is the society’s belief that benefits extended to the employees are a reflection of the level of justice in the society. The most beneficial form of pay to the employer is the incentives or the variable pay. In this form of pay, pay rise is triggered by performance of the employees. Some of the assumptions of the variable pay method are: some employees are more productive than their peers; some perform better and are better equipped with technical skills; better performance should be rewarded; and some of the employees’ earnings should be directly proportional

Managerial Planning and Skills Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Managerial Planning and Skills - Assignment Example Therefore, a manager should be able to address all upcoming details in a clear and concise manner for better understanding by the junior staff members. Presentation of Information The manager has the ability to give the case personal mastery so that he can have a clear vision to what has been brought to him. This will help him get an understanding of the way to speak out the message and the format that he will use to deliver the information. The manager should apply the suspension judgment quality to ensure he has full control of over him/her self and end the ego of the position that he might be holding in the organization. In a matter where the manager is unable to comprehend over the matters that he has he has a room to identify assumptions that will give him the clearest assumption and this will be possible through dialogue (Gennard, 2009). Therefore, the manager should apply the management weapons so as to get the final ability to confront the staff and brief them on the news. Th erefore for the case of budget deduction the manager should take the initiative to go down and sit with the staff and deliberate first on the reasons that have led to the decline in the budget allocation. This will help the manager pass the information and help him make some decisions so as to handle the situation that has already aroused in the organization. ... Team work can lead an organization to a higher level of production that can help the organization try and cover up the five percent amount withdrawn from their yearly income. Staff Involvement The manager should totally involved the staff in decision making that will require good listening skills which will help the management focus on major options that they get from the dialogues (Gennard, 2009). This gives us the overview that in order the organization to grow and flourish again it has to return to starting board so that it can restart by laying down major or strategic plans that will enable the organization to shoot up again. This is a major step that the management has to reconsider so as to recover on the amount that has been reduced and run the organization smoothly. The manager should review the older budget so that he can restart by laying down the vision and mission of the organization. The manager should on look to the future results and objectives of the organization so t hat the management can develop actions that are to be carried in order to achieve the laid down objectives and goals. The re-laid plan should be followed and implemented within the time frame that it was meant to be accomplished. The manager should have a track record on the performance of every part of the organization so as access the progress of achieving the organization's objectives and goals (Bowhill, 2008). This will help in the evaluation of employee task force that will help the manager to have a wider over view of how the business of the organization is progressing. When there is frequent evaluation the management can notice the areas of weakness therefore, improving on them and thus propelling the organizational

Environmental Impacts from over Population Essay Example for Free

Environmental Impacts from over Population Essay Introduction The population of human beings on this planet has been gaining exponentially, since the dawn of Man. A basic feature of an exponential increase is that the numbers increase faster and faster as the population doubles and redoubles, with each doubling occurring in the same amount of time (Wright, 2008), As the population continues to multiply, so do the impacts upon our environment and surrounding ecosystems. As human populations increase, the demands for food, supplies, and housing also increase. With these increased demands, there is now a greater strain upon our resources more than ever before. The question then becomes, what are the impacts upon our environment by our population situation, and is there anything that can be done to deal with the problems from this dilemma? Population Impacts As civilization has continued to grow and develop, so has the impact upon our environment by our exploding population. As mankind began to â€Å"modernize†, the Earth began to feel impacts by the choices made from its inhabitants. Beginning with the agricultural revolution, humankind became able to manipulate his environment (Sharp, 2000). During the agricultural revolution, man was able to plant and grow food. As societies were still nomadic in their nature, mankind would use the resources of the Earth to their fullest extent, and then move on to the next area. This started with slash and burn techniques, and for the first time, CO2 levels were modified (Sharp, 2000) As the population of the planet continued to surge, the next great impact upon the environment would be the industrial revolution of the 1800’s. With the boom of the industrial revolution across the world, the demand for natural resources and the impacts upon the environment would soar. More people and natural resources were needed to sustain the new industrial system and the needs of growing societies (Sharp, 2000). The impacts of the industrial revolution were great and vast. For the first time in our world’s history, we could see the potential impacts of using our natural resources and dealing with an ever-growing worldwide population. The effects of population growth upon the environment are becoming revealed at an alarming rate. Between 1960 and 1999, Earths population doubled from three billion to six billion people (Rand, 2000). The world has changed dramatically over the last several years. The landscapes and ecosystems that were present hundreds of years of ago are no longer in existence. We are consuming our natural resources at an alarming rate. In fact, many environmental experts believe that human beings have reached their carrying capacity of sustainable life. How do we meet the challenges of population growth and managing our natural resources without exploiting the environment? First, we must begin to invest in technology that does not degrade the environment (Sharp, 2000). This is very critical to the retention of a sustainable environment for our future. In the past, countries developed around their economic strength. This factor often meant that most nations did not consider long-term environmental impacts by their decisions. These â€Å"slash and burn† techniques by many nations have resulted in devastating consequences to our ecosystems. There are entire species that have become extinct, all in the name of economic progress. This short-term economic gain for many of these nations has resulted in effects that will be felt from generations to come. The eye of man can see the effects of population growth. It also can now project the effects of population demand in the future. One of the growing problems facing mankind today is global climate change. From glaciers melting, to rising oceanic temperatures, and even climactic weather events, the effects of population upon the earth, have impacted our future for many years. Research suggests that temperatures have been influenced by growing concentrations of greenhouse gases, which absorb solar radiation and warm the atmosphere (Rand, 2000). There is still a great deal that we can do to preserve the environment and place a halt to the devastating environment impacts of our population growth. Our sustainability not only depends on us meeting this challenge, but also presents an opportunity to provide for the future of our civilization. An encouraging note is the simple fact that many companies are now becoming â€Å"green† companies, meaning that they are attempting to be environmentally conscious and pursue policies that offer to protect and not neglect our environment. The answers to this problem are two fold. First, we must address the growing populations in the developing world. The populations in these areas are growing at an alarming rate. Many of these areas are already facing critical famines and food shortages of historic proportions. Unfortunately, efforts to implement policies that stress birth control have not been effective. We must address the growing populations in these areas, if we are to tackle the problems that population growth has created upon the Earth. The next problem we must address, if we are to maintain adequate sustainability upon the Earth, is our own consumption issues. As a nation, we are consuming natural resources at an alarming rate. We consume more energy per capita than any nation on this planet. Moreover, we must develop better land-use policies in the developed world. The â€Å"slash and burn† tactics of the past must be stopped and we must acknowledge the fact that we cannot destroy entire ecosystems that have taken hundreds of years to develop, and believe we can replace them by simply planting hundreds of trees that will take years to grow. The impacts of our decisions are great. The choice is clearly impacted by economic factors. As a nation, our demand for consumer goods is at a high level. While our population is growing at a slow rate, our consumption levels have never been higher. Many Americans do not focus on the environmental impacts of their decisions today. We must implement sound environmental policies that embrace this factor. The choices are clear for society. As the population of the world continues to soar, so will the stresses upon our environment. There will be a greater need for usable water, natural resources, and even greater energy demands. While these demands pose a potential calamity for the environment, they also create opportunity for new industries. As mankind begins to recognize the negative effects upon the environment by poor decisions and usage in the past, we as a society can create and environment that fosters the development of â€Å"green† industries and elect government officials that encourage policies that promote the well being of our environment. Conclusion The effects on our environment from our population are visible everyday. One need only look to the smog filled sky, or read the newspapers decrying the shortages of drinking water, and the battles that are ensuing to lay claim to that drinking water to realize the impact of the decisions that face us as a society today. We can change the way we live and stop the poor use of the environment, and we can control the growth of the population in third world countries, or continue the status quo. If we choose poorly, we will face an environmental impact that will test the sustainability, not only of our civilization, but also of our planet.

Change Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Change Rosabeth Moss Kanter Change Management Organisations Must Change and Change quickly INTRODUCTION Rosabeth Moss Kanter is the professor in business at Harvard Business School, where she holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship. She is known for her classic 1977 study of Tokenism. As a business leader and expert on strategy and leadership for change, she was nominated as the top ten on the list of the 50 most influential business thinkers in the world, and she is on the list of the 100 most important women in America and the 50 most powerful women in the world. Her main concepts include changing organisations, bureaucracy and characteristics of resistance to change. (drfd.hbs.edu, 2007) In 1989, she argues that: todays corporate elephants must learn how to dance as nimbly and speedily as mice. (Burnes, 2004) In other words, she points out that big organisations should change and change quickly to meet the changing environment. This report is going to analyse the key drivers for this statement and find out the reason behind change. This report contains three sections. Section 1 will give definitions to change management and the importance of change. Section 2 is discussions, which is divided into two sub-categories, first part is concerned with the models of change management, and part 2 goes on to show examples of how big organisations keep up with change and the possibilities of failure. This section contains examples of big organisations successfully changed to meet their goals and objectives, while some other organisations stay the same and fail to maintain their strong market position. Section 3 is conclusions. CHANGE MANAGEMENT Todays corporate elephants must learn how to dance as nimbly and speedily as mice if they are to survive in our increasingly competitive and rapidly changing world (Burnes, 2004) According to Paton McCalman (2004), managing change is about evaluating, planning, implementing, operational, tactical and strategic changes. As Siegal et al (1996) points out that rapid change is a pervasive part of our lives as human beings; it is no surprise that change is also a fact of life within human systems. Recent developments in the global economy have catapulted this fact to the forefront of management concerns as well. Therefore, even though Professor Kanters statement was mentioned about 18 years ago, it is still valued today. Additionally, Kanter (1989) mentioned that in order for organisations to change, it requires faster action, more flexibility and closer partnerships with employees and customers than typical in the traditional corporate bureaucracy. To quote from her, Corporate giants, in short, must learn how to dance. Therefore, the corporate elephants represents big companies while mice, on the other hand, represents small firms. To summarise her statement above, we could conclude that small firms are more flexible in changing compare with big organisations, because big organisations have more management levels and more bureaucracy; therefore, corporate giants should adapt this ability to change and change quickly. More over, the most important reason for organisations to change, is to keep pace with the ever changing business environment and give a good company image to the public that they are keep up dating themselves and stay competitive. DISCUSSION To cope with a changing world, an entity must develop the capacity of shifting and changing. It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones who are most responsive to change (Beitler, 2006) Corporate elephants with change Marks and Spencer is a well known British retailer, which was founded in 1884. It is one of the most iconic and widely recognised chain stores in the UK and it is the largest clothing retailer in the country. (wikipedia, 2007) Marks Spencer is one of the typical examples for change management, and as Rippin (2005) proposed in her research that when, in Autumn 2003 I needed a case study on organisational change, without too much deliberation I chose Marks and Spencer. This corporate giant has developed through its golden years, the crisis, its change in leadership and its recent change management attempts in its response to its changing environment. (Rippin, 2005) Kurt Lewins model of change In the early 20th Century, psychologist Kurt Lewin identified three stages of change that has come to be known as the unfreezing-change-refreeze model. (Nilakant Ramnarayan, 2006) The graph below shows more detail about this model: Unfreeze This is the first stage of this model that to make system receptive to change. (Nilakant Ramnarayan, 2006) People feel comfortable and safe about the current situation and it is hard for them to change. It takes long time to unfreeze the environment and the first thing to do at this stage is to make people aware of the change and let them know the reason and needs for change. Moreover, organisations should involve employees in the decision making process by asking them how would they feel about a certain matter and what do they thing is necessary to change. In 1998, Marks and Spencer became the first British retailer to make a pre-tax profit of over  £1 billion and this is the peak time in the companys history. (marksandspencer, 2007) Few years later, it plunged into a crisis which lasted for around several years. The problems Marks and Spencer faced were: The rising cost of using British suppliers Losing customer loyalty Increasing rival companies with cheap production to lower down their cost, therefore to lower down the price Refuse to accept the credit card As a large company with a long term history, Marks and Spencer has its weak side that the bureaucracy management system (Rippin, 2005) made it lose its touch with the real buyer and lost potential younger customers. In 1984, the companys priority is to provide high quality clothing to working class women. As time goes on, peoples taste changed that we no longer chase quality products but disposable clothes with a cheaper price. At that time, Marks and Spencer didnt realize this shortage until they found themselves struggling to compete in the changing environment as the fashion trend changes. As a result, the companys share price went down by more than two thirds and profit fell from  £1 billion in 1998 to  £145 million in 2001, which was only 10 per cent compare with its golden age. (wikipedia, 2007) As Rippin (2005) described in her research that Marks and Spencer is a sleeping beauty as the organisation is in suspension waiting for the right prince to come and reanimate the bo dy. Change The second stage of the model is change to achieve the desired results. At this stage the actual change happens which can be either to acquire desired behaviour or technological change. (Burnes, 2004) It is a hard journey that the organisation might go through several stages before it successes. This is the stage that the real changes take place and the organisation applies the plans to action in practise. At this stage, Marks Spencer conducted another model-Planned model of change (step change) that issues are dealt with stage-by-stage and built to transformation over time. (Cummings Worley, 2004) Marks and Spencers change management was implemented step by step over time. To quote form the Stuart Rose Chief Executive: We continue to improve our core business†¦We are ahead of our space growth target†¦We are stepping up our investment in the business†¦ In addition, the Board is announcing a step change in the investment this year. These decisions reflect our confidence in the strength and future prospects of the business. (finfacts, 2007) In order to successfully apply this Step change model, Marks and Spencer is constantly working on the progress. In 1999, the company launched online shopping and issued credit cards payments in store or online to make transactions simple and faster for customers. In order to lower down the costs and have more sales, the company decided to switch to overseas suppliers, open store on Sunday and added self-check outs to tills. (wikipedia, 2007) Secondly, it changed its business focus from quality fabric for working classing to the new sales of fashion clothes, and the company launched the Per Una clothing range, which recovered some market share to the younger consumer group. Additionally, it changed the womens bras to machine washable while there are many designer brands that still need to be hand washed. (Rippin, 2005) More over, the company realized its strength and weakness, therefore, it sold the financial service to HSBC Bank Plc and stopped the expanding of its simply food line of stores. As a result of those changes, by 2005, its share price went up and doubled from 319p to 766p as the highest in 2007. (Bloomberg, 2007) Refreeze The last step is to refreeze and make changes permanent that cement change into the organisational culture. To quote from Cameron Green (2004), for change to be effective, it needs to be implemented at all levels and embedded in the culture of the organisation. Change management should be merged with the organisational culture that all the changes should be developed according to its culture with shared objectives and common goals. At this stage, organisations meet their goals and objectives and waiting for new changes. (Paton McCalman, 2000) Marks and Spencer today, has 760 stores in more than 30 countries around the world. In 2007, it is growing again and rapidly increasing profitability with revenue of  £7.8 billion. In Nov, the company reported that the profit before tax rose 11.5 per cent, which is slightly ahead of analysts expectation. (finfacts, 2007) Corporate elephants dance speedily Flexible Elearn (2005) explains the four key processes for success when implementing change within an organisation, they are: Pressure for change A clear and shared vision Capacity for change Action To summary from Flexible Elearn (2005), organisations need the driving forces for change and a clear/shared vision. In order to successfully implementing change, organisations need to identify the resources that will be required and make sure they are provided. The last stage is action and implementing the planned changes. At this stage, organisations should keep checking and monitoring the process, and ensure the progress is operated well. Organisations like the benefit of change but they are afraid of failure. In order to successfully launch the change within organisations, Flexible Elearn (2005) suggest organisation to follow this stages, but on the other hand, changing could be difficult according to the change stages model as it is time consuming and costly. To quote from Saka (2003), one of the main boundaries for big organizations to change is the one which separates the model-builders from recipe-givers, the theoreticians from the practitioners. Organisations understood the need for change, but they dont seem to be able to respond quickly, especially for those big firms as they have many layers of management level that all the decisions need to run through the top to the bottom. It takes time to inform everyone in the organisation about the change and keep them up-dated with the progress. As Saka pointed out that there is a lack of interaction between decision and action. Organisational members, who are not onl y potential change-makers, are likely to be more questioning about the value of change. CONCLUSION Change management plays an important role in any organisations regardless its size. It means to make change in a planned and systemic way. (Cummings Worley, 2004) Moreover, it helps to lower risks associated with change, eliminate resources conflicts and redundancies. For Marks and Spencer, its problems include: business too complicated, competition, downsizing, and management system. The Marks and Spencer story shows that changes are essential for all the organisations regardless its size and reputation. Staying in the same place without considering the changing environment will leads to losing profit or failure. Moreover, Marks and Spencer went through three stages of change, which are: Unfreeze: feel the needs to change as the market share and profit was going down Change: going through changes with the planned model of change that allows the company to change step by step with continuously changing progress. Refreezing: met the goals and objectives that Marks and Spencer successfully changed itself from an old, transitional British retailer to a new look, fashionable icon. To sum up, small organisations are more flexible when they facing changes, while big organisations have bureaucracy management system and more layers of management level, hence, it is harder for them to response to the changing environment. Therefore, big organisations should adapt the ability to change and change quickly. REFERENCE Beitler. M, 2006., Strategic Organisational Change: A Practitioners Guide for Managers and Consultants, Practitioner Pr Intl. Burnes. B, 2004., Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organizational Dynamics (4th Ed), Pearson Education. Cameron. E Green. M, 2004., Making Sense of Change Management: A Complete Guide to the Models, Tools Techniques of Organizational Change, Kogan Page. Cummings. T Worley. C, 2004., Organizational Development and Change, Thomson South-Western. Flexible. P Elearn. L, 2005., Change Management: Management Extra, Elsevier. Kanter. R, 1989., When Giants learn to Dance, Simon and Schuster. Nilakant. V Ramnarayan. V, 2006., Change Management: Altering Mindsets in a Global Content, Sage Publications. Paton. R McCalman. J, 2000., Change Management: An Guide to Effective Implementation,, Sage Publications Inc. Rippin. A, 2005., Marks and Spencer-Waiting for the Warrior: A Case Examination of the Genddered Nature of Change Management, Journal of Organizational Change Management,, Volume 18, p578-593 http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0230090605.html [Accessed 17/11/07] Saka. A, 2003., Internal Change Agents View of the Management of Change Problem, Journal of Organizational Change Management,, Volume 16, p480-496 http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0230160501.html [Accessed 22/11/07] Siegal. W et al, 1996., Understanding The Management of Change: An Overview of Managers Perspectives and Assumptions in the 1990s, Journal of Organizational Change Management,, Volume 9, p54-80 http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0230090605.html [Accessed 20/11/07] http://drfd.hbs.edu/fit/public/facultyInfo.do?facInfo=biofacEmId=rkanter [Accessed 17/11/07] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marks__Spencer [Accessed 20/11/07] http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6963/6/62/figure/F1?highres=y [Accessed 20/11/07] http://www.marksandspencer.com/gp/node/n/46010031?ie=UTF8mnSBrand=core [Accessed 21/11/07] http://www.finfacts.com/irelandbusinessnews/publish/article_1011718.shtml [Accessed 21/11/07] http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=MKS:LN [Accessed 19/11/07]