An event in your life that changed you Essay

A new house, new school, and a completely new atmosphere were ahead of my nine-year-old life. I had lived in the same house for what it seemed like forever and had attended the same school since first grade. I knew everyone. From January to December, my calendars were filled with birthday parties I had to attend. Performing in talent shows with my best friends Dezerey, Jasmine, and Nykchasia were a yearly activity at Garden Valley Elementary School. The Robinson Center’s summer camp was mandatory for my big sister, Breonna, and me. I was used to familiarities like the Chihuahua that ran to the front of its gate and barked every time I rode past it on my sleek, black rollerblades. Those rollerblades made me feel untouchable, at ease and confident until I had to ride them in a new area, surrounded by new, unfamiliar people. Close to the end of my fourth grade year, my mother told my sister and me that we were moving to Terricina Gold Apartments in Natomas. I did not think it was going to change anything. I was probably a bit excited for what was to come. I can clearly remember my first day at Two Rivers Elementary school being terrified. I believe that was when it first â€Å"hit me† that I was not at â€Å"home† anymore. My comfort zone left was tarnished. I remember having butterflies and feeling as if I was going to faint before I stepped foot onto school grounds. When I got to the blacktop all I could do was stand there in silence. The other kids were standing around in there cliques and it was obvious that the fifth graders controlled the far left gate on the black top. I remember one girl that stood out. She looked larger than life in my eyes. She was bright skinned, tall and everyone seemed to flock to her. She made me feel small without even knowing her. I was having trouble finding my classroom number on the blacktop where my class was supposed to  line up. I completely gave up after a few minutes mainly because I felt so out of place I just wanted to hide. Not to mention I am legally blind and even with my glasses I still cannot see all that well so finding my class line was a far reach for my nine-year old mind. I felt out of place and inferior so I â€Å"I took it upon myself† to run away and hide in the nearest bathroom. I stayed in that bathroom for a while, even after the bell rang. I eventually decided to take a step out of the bathroom and walk to my class. In fourth grade I absolutely did not have any social skills. Many children lived in my new apartments. I envied their large groups of friends and seeing them made me miss my old ones. I could never gather up the courage to talk to anyone. Thankfully, I had my older sister. She is the most outgoing between us and she managed to know everyone in nearly a week of our residency. I eventually met everyone that lived in the apartments but I never felt at ease with them as I did with my old friends. I rode my rollerblades all around those apartments and they made me happy like a piece of home was with me. I never realized that I was in fact an introvert. I suppose I had always been a timid person my mother brings up her memories of my behavior as a child often. I never realized my childhood behavior until now. I remember my mom changing my teacher’s and being too afraid to walk into the classroom even though I knew the teacher and all the students well. Moving away from my familiarities showed how quiet and unsociable I was. I did not have friends at school until I was well into my seventh grade year. Today, I am on the verge of twenty-years-of-age, and I still have to work on speaking up and being more sociable. Before I had many friends and after I moved, I did not. I believe if I stayed where I lived before I would have been given a sense of security. Looking back, I believe I would not have gained a great number of wonderful friends. My experiences with people in my apartments are always the topic of conversation with my family and friends and they bring on tons of laughs and feelings of embarrassment. I love revisiting my old Natomas neighborhoods and seeing my old friends. We always joke saying TG (Terricina Gold) for life. I guess you can call it a family.

Reason of Apple’s Success

The Success Of Apple: Above And Beyond Its Technology Over the weekend I was in an Apple store in northern New Jersey. It made me very uncomfortable. See, I’m a PC guy. A staunch Windows user, from Windows 3. 1 to 95 to 98 to NT to XP to Vista (ouch) to the current Windows 7 (did I miss any? ). However, I’m dabbling in the dark side, using an iPad (in addition to other devices such as a BlackBerry Playbook and a few Android phones). On a recent trip I broke the glass of my iPad. Hence my trip to the Apple store.As I was waiting for someone from technical support (called the Apple Genius bar) to help me, I observed Apple up close and personal. Here are a couple of things I noticed that have, no doubt, played key roles in Apple’s success. Happy staff = happy customers The whole staff was excited and happy to help customers. I observed one young lady in particular, an Apple staff member, who continually and genuinely smiled as she helped customers. She warmly greete d one customer after another and helped them work through their problems with a spark of excitement.Another lady adorned in big earrings and big glasses reminded me of a concierge at a high-end New York hotel. Friendly, professional and excited to help. In another incident, a customer came in and had a question about using her product in another country. I overheard an Apple manager suggest to a staff member that he call someone in the country to which the customer was headed, to get the answer she needed! How many retailers would take the time to make a phone call (to another country! ) to help out a customer on the retail floor? A chaotically smooth in-store processOver the course of my life, I’ve had the privilege of being around several U. S. Presidents. For obvious reasons, there is always a lot of commotion, activity and security around the President. However, all of this fuss is carefully choreographed by the U. S. Secret Service, the White House advance team and other s. To an outsider it might look like confusion, but as you look closer you see there’s a very detailed plan of action in place. This is how it was in the Apple store. Their were dozens of customers milling around, all with different needs.There were customers with pre-scheduled appointments at the Genius bar, walk-ins in need of technical support, those simply making retail purchases and people trying out new products—and everyone saw immediate attention from passionate and very knowledgeable staff members. What was also interesting was that all of the sales staff on the floor had the ability to process credit card sales with their iPhones, an innovation that is not seen at most retailers. Instead of standing in line for the cashier, the cashier comes to you and processes your transaction on the spot: pretty neat (and efficient). Also Case Study will describe why Apple Inc. is a very successful company.So what happened with my cracked iPad? Since the iPad was relatively new, the Apple representative said he would make an exception and gave me a new one. The entire process took about 10 minutes. I was fully expecting to pay $200 to get it fixed. So I was pleasantly surprised. Clearly, Apple’s products are well designed, easy to use and fun. However, the products are only one part of Apple’s success. The other part is the ease of doing business (that is, making the purchase and receiving support) that Apple delivers so harmoniously to its customers Reasons Apple Is So Successful One of the more interesting questions I get asked about as an industry analyst who’s followed Apple since 1981 is why Apple is so successful. It’s an honest question because to those unfamiliar with Apple, the company’s rise and current dominance in non-PC devices is somewhat puzzling. Most people have a working understanding of the fact that Apple lost the PC wars to Microsoft, and only nominally understand that when Apple created the iPod and then the iPhone, the company started to go in a new direction.And anyone who’s gone into an Apple store knows full well that Apple’s customer service and stores represent the gold standard for selling and supporting tech gadgets. But beyond that, the reasons why Apple is really successful are still a mystery to many. (MORE: 50 Best iPhone Apps 2012) There are plenty of books about Apple that talk about everything from Steve Jobs’ history to tenets of Apple’s business models to secrets about Apple’s internal-management ideas.However, after years of watching Apple up close and personal and having to deal with every one of their CEOs, as well as interacting with various Apple execs over the years, I would like to suggest that the reasons the company is successful can be boiled down to six key principles that make it very hard for competitors to compete with Apple. 1. For any product that Apple creates, the people who create it have to want it themselves So many times with projects I do with other tech companies, the goal is almost always based around the technology first, followed by whether or not people really want to use it.Geeky engineers are dazzled by the technology at their disposal and often create something because they can. But Apple’s approach is quite different. The engineers who are creating Apple products actually make them for themselves. And Jobs was the chief â€Å"user† of Apple products when he was alive. All of Apple’s products are based on the fact that Jobs represented the real customer. And his engineers had to come to grips with that when designing a product. It has to be something that they personally couldn’t live without. 2. The products have to be easy to useJobs was a stickler on this point. While industrial design is a critical component of any product Apple makes, if it is not easy to use, it is considered worthless to the consumer. This is what drove the company’s user-interface designs from Day 1 and is still the mantra pushed to the software and hardware engineers every day they go to work. All of the products they create have to be intuitive and easy to understand and learn. As technology has become more intricate and users want more features, the task of keeping things simple is sometimes difficult.And Apple creates tools for power users and rookies, which can mean a broad range of ease-of-use issues. But even with that, Apple is the only company I deal with where ease of use is more important than the product itself. Apple makes this a critical goal of its approach to creating anything for the market. (PHOTOS: The Apple II Turns 35) 3. Keep things simple I was in Paris in the past two weeks and had talks with various French telecommunications officials about many mobile-computing issues. But one conversation I had in particular emphasizes this keep-it-simple point.We were discussing how to compete with Apple — a major pastime for all Apple competitors and carriers these days — when the question of why Apple is really successful came up. And one exec nailed it when he said he felt that the real reason Apple is successful is because it has one product; in this case the iPhone. It minimizes the decisionmaking process for the consumer by making things simple. The person speaking was with a carrier in France, and he said that in their stores, they have to have as many as 25 different models of phones available.That makes it hard for his staff to be really knowledgeable about all of them all of the time, and their customers just have too many options to choose from. But Apple only has one iPhone model, and anyone who has gone into an Apple store understands that every staff member there knows a great deal about each of the four major products carried in its stor es. Apple doesn’t have five iPhone models to choose from; it has only one. While this may seem limiting given the amount of smart phones available to users, the truth is the reverse.Our company has done consumer research for over 30 years, and consumers constantly tell us that while choice is nice, in reality they want the process of choosing a tech product to be simple and not complicated by a plethora of choices. Yes, there are tech-savvy people who like more choices and sometimes even like complexity, but from years of experience as a market researcher, I can tell you that in the end, the majority of users are not tech-savvy, and keeping things simple for them is a plus. Apple understands this in spades and is never tempted to add multiple versions of an iPhone, iPad or even more than one or two types of iPods.This makes buying an Apple product simple. And consumers seem to appreciate this considering the huge number of iDevices that are sold each year. I know the tech med ia and techies are the most vocal about this issue of choice, but in the end, while choice is good for competitive pricing, what nontechie consumers really want is simplicity. (MORE: The Inventor Of the Future) 4. Offer great customer service and in-store experiences Jobs understood one of the major conundrums of technology: even if you create products that are easy to use, the variety of things that people want to use technology for often creates complexity.Because of this, consumers at all levels may need some hand holding from time to time. I was one of the most vocal critics of Apple when it introduced its first retail store in Tokyo in 2002. I thought it was crazy for Apple to try and go into retail. At the time, and even today, tech retail stores are in decline while big-box stores like Costco and Walmart sell products on price and nothing else. I thought that if price were the issue, an upscale retail store would be DOA. Wow, were other naysayers and I wrong about Appleâ€⠄¢s retail strategy. Apple uses this conundrum to its advantage.Because it keeps product SKUs simple, the salespeople inside the stores know the products really well. Notice that when you go into an Apple store and are greeted by one of the sales staff, you’re not asked, â€Å"How can I help you? † Instead they ask, â€Å"What would you like to do today? † They go right to the heart of any technology user’s question, a question that’s always related to what they want to do with the technology the user is interested in. And once you explain your needs, they take care of it on the spot in most cases. Or if you need more hand holding, they turn you over to the Apple Geniuses.No wonder 50% of people buying Apple products are new to Apple. Apple’s products are simple to understand and use, but if you do have a problem, Apple can take care of it at their stores or over the phone quickly. (PHOTOS: Apple Announces New iPad) 5. Apple only makes a pro duct if Apple can do it better Apple normally doesn’t invent a new product or product category. Sure, the company did invent the first commercial PC with the Apple II, and the Mac improved on PCs with a graphical user interface and mouse input. But since then, all of Apple’s other products have been recreations of existing products.Apple did not invent the MP3 player; Apple reinvented it and made it better. Apple did not invent the smart phone; Apple reinvented it and made it better. And Apple did not invent the tablet; Apple reinvented it and made it better. As Apple designer Jonathan Ive said recently, â€Å"Our goals are very simple — to design and make better products. If we can’t make something that is better, we won’t do it. † Clearly, Apple applied that thinking first to iPods, then smart phones and more recently, to the iPad. 6. Apple stays at least two years ahead of its competitors This is the one that scares Apple’s competi tors the most.While those competing with Apple are just getting products to market that are competitive, Apple is already working on the products at least two years out. For example, the new iPhone that will most likely go to market in October was designed and signed off on two years ago. And the iPhone the company is working on now is for the fall of 2014. The same goes for the iPad. The new iPad that we will most likely see next March was signed off on two years ago. The one that’s being worked on now we will probably see in 2015. This is a nightmare for Apple’s competitors and will continue to be for some time. (MORE: What Would Steve Jobs Do? Besides having geniuses in design, software and retail, Apple also has the cash to invent components, manufacturing processes and things like that, which almost makes it impossible for the competition to make any real headway against Apple. And don’t let the fact that Android has become the No. 1 smart-phone operating s ystem make you think that it’s the big winner. Yes, Android has gained ground by the sheer numbers of companies and products pushing Android. But the real measure of success is in the profits, and Apple is making as much as 70% of all the profits in smart phones and about 85% of the profits in tablets.Just ask any Android competitor which they would like more, market share or profits. You’ll get the answer relating to the real measure of success in this market. These six principles may seem a bit simplistic given the fact that Apple also has great software, industrial design and a powerful ecosystem of content, apps and services as part of the company’s success equation. However, I can tell you that from my three decades of following Apple, it’s these six key principles that are what really makes it successful.And as long as it adheres to them, it’s pretty likely that Apple will continue to grow and command a relatively large share of the market in the company’s product categories where it competes. Bajarin is the president of Creative Strategies Inc. , a technology-industry-analysis and market-intelligence firm in Silicon Valley The secret of Apple's success: simplicity Apple's success – driven by the vision of Steve Jobs – has been to distil its ideas to their essence. By contrast, too many companies are overly complicated [pic] Steve Jobs speaks during an Apple special event in 2010 in Cupertino, California.Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Apple's package-design team had just returned from its presentation to Steve Jobs, and the faces told the story – they had that â€Å"things didn't go exactly as we planned† look. â€Å"The suspense is killing me,† I said to the project leader. â€Å"How'd it go this morning? † â€Å"Well,† he said, â€Å"Steve hit us with the Simple Stick. † Translation: Jobs had rejected their work – not because it was bad bu t because, in some way, it failed to distil the idea to its essence. The person leading the project had directed the team to create packaging for two versions of the same product.Jobs had decided this was brain-dead. â€Å"Just combine them,† he said. â€Å"One product, one box. † There was no need to explore the idea of a second package. He was right. It was simpler, quicker, better. The conversation was over in minutes, and it left one very smart and talented group of people wondering why they hadn't thought of that before. The Simple Stick symbolises a core value within Apple. Sometimes it's held up as inspiration; other times it's wielded like a caveman's club: a deep, almost religious belief in the power of simplicity. If you're prepared to do battle with complexity, you'll have no trouble finding a fight.Chances are you're surrounded by it. Unless you work in the rarest of environments, complexity lives inside your organisation's hierarchy, its goals, and probabl y most of your colleagues as well. If your company ever fails, you can be sure it won't be the fault of simplicity – it will be the result of its absence. Think brutal Clarity propels an organisation. Not occasional clarity but pervasive, 24-hour, in-your-face, take-no-prisoners clarity. Most people never perceive that this is lacking in their organisation, but 90% of the time it is. Just open a few random emails, activate your â€Å"brutal-vision†, and read.The muddying messages are rampant. If people were brutally honest in their emails, the time we spend sorting through our in-boxes would surely decrease by half. Steve Jobs demanded straightforward communication from others as much as he dished it out himself. He'd cut you off if you rambled. He ran his business as if there were precious little time to waste, which well reflected the reality for Apple – as surely it does for any company serious about competing. This is probably the one element of Simplicity t hat's easiest to institute. Just be honest and never hold back.Demand the same from those you work with. You'll make some people squirm, but everyone will know where they stand; 100% of your group's time will be focused on forward progress – no need to decode what people are really saying. There is a general perception that Jobs was the nasty tyrant who demanded allegiance, barked commands, and instilled the fear of God in those around him. While Jobs certainly did exhibit these behaviours, this portrait is incomplete. The man could also be funny, warm, and even charming. There is a huge difference between being brutally honest and simply being brutal.You can't let yourself be talked into going along with something when you know it can be better. Ever. To settle for second best is a violation of the rules of simplicity, and it plants the seeds for disappointment, extra work, and more meetings. Most disturbing, it puts you in the worst possible business position: having to def end an idea you never believed in. Your challenge is to become unbending when it comes to enforcing your standards. Mercilessly so. If you submit only the work you believe in 100% and approve only the work you believe in 100%, you own something that no one can take away from you: integrity.As often happens in life, one must often suffer the consequences of doubting before becoming a believer. I'm not proud of it, but that's the way I learned my lesson about standards. There was a certain amount of theatre that went on inside Apple. The rules were well known, and a number of dramas played out with predictability. That Jobs was intolerant of stupidity is a matter of record. He wasn't at all polite when stupidity reared its ugly head. He especially wasn't fond of employing stupidity, so if you were on Apple's staff and wanted to retain that status, it was wise not to display your lack of smarts in a meeting with him.You'd just set him off and get it right between the eyes. A former App le senior staffer remembers a routine that he saw played out often during his time as a direct report to Jobs. He calls it â€Å"the rotating turret†. There was no predicting when it would happen, as it depended on how conversations evolved. But in some meeting, at some random time, some poor soul in the room would say something that everyone in the room could tell was going to light Jobs's fuse. First came the uncomfortable pause.The offending comment would reverberate in the air, and it would seem as if the entire world went into slow motion as Jobs's internal sensors fixed on the origin of the sound wave. You could almost hear the meshing of gears as his â€Å"turret† slowly turned toward the guilty party. Everyone knew what was coming—but was powerless to stop it. Finally, the turret would lock on to its target. In a split second Jobs would activate his firing mechanism, and without a second thought he'd unload all his ammunition. It was uncomfortable to wat ch and even more uncomfortable to experience, but at Apple it was just a fact of life.Think small How many overpopulated meetings do you sit through in a year? How many of those meetings get sidetracked or lose focus in a way that would never occur if the group were half the size? The small group rule requires enforcement, but it's worth the cost. Out in the real world, when I talk about small groups of smart people, I rarely get any pushback. That's because common sense tells us it's the right way to go. Most people know from experience that the fastest way to lose focus, squander valuable time, and water down great ideas is to entrust them to a larger group.Just as we know that there is equal danger in putting ideas at the mercy of a large group of approvers. One reason why large, unwieldy groups tend to be created in many companies is that the culture of a company is bigger than any one person. It's hard to change â€Å"the way we do things here†. This is where the zealots of simplicity need to step in and overcome the inertia. One must be judicious and realistic about applying the small-group principle. Simply making groups smaller will obviously not solve all problems, and â€Å"small† is a relative term.Only you know your business and the nature of your projects, so only you can draw the line between too few people and too many. You need to be the enforcer and be prepared to hit the process with the Simple Stick when the group is threatened with unnecessary expansion. In one iconic technology company with which I worked I found a framed sign in every conference room designed to nudge the employees toward greater productivity. The headline on the sign was how to have a successful meeting. The content read like it came right out of a corporate manual, which it likely did.It featured a bullet-pointed list of things like: â€Å"State the agenda at the start of your meeting,† â€Å"Encourage participation by all attendees,† and â⠂¬Å"Conclude your meeting with agreement on next steps†. What these signs really said, though, was: â€Å"Welcome to a very big company! Just follow these signs and you'll fit in well. † It's not hard to imagine Jobs, who actively fought big-company behaviour, gleefully ripping these signs off the wall and replacing them with Ansel Adams prints that might provide a moment of reflection or inspiration. If you ever work at Apple there will be no signs on the wall telling you how to run a meeting.Likewise, there will be no signs telling you how to tie your shoes or fill a glass of water. The assumption is that you are well equipped with brains and common sense and that you're a fully functioning adult. If you're not already a disciple of simplicity, you'll become one soon. Either that, or you'll decide you'd rather not be part of such a thing, which is okay too. Simplicity prefers not having to train a bucking bronco. If big companies really feel compelled to put something on their walls, a better sign might read: How to Have a Great Meeting 1. Throw out the least necessary person at the table. . Walk out of this meeting if it lasts more than 30 minutes. 3. Do something productive today to make up for the time you spent here. Think clarity This is an area where just about every business needs more work. Words are powerful, but more words are not more powerful – they're often just confusing. Understand that in your company's internal business and in communications with your customers, dissertations tend to drive people away. Though many writers never seem to grasp the point, using intelligent words does not necessarily make you appear smarter.The best way to make yourself or your company look smart is to express an idea simply and with perfect clarity. No matter who your audience is, it's more effective to communicate as people do naturally. In simple sentences. Using simple words. Simplicity is its own form of cleverness – saying a grea t deal by saying little. Think human Unless you're in the business of sterilising things, business is no place to be sterile. Have the boldness to look beyond numbers and spreadsheets and allow your heart to have a say in the matter. Bear in mind that the intangibles are every bit as real as the metrics – are often even more important.The simplest and most effective way to connect with human beings is to speak with a human voice. It may be necessary in your business to market to specific target groups, but bear in mind that every target is a human being, and human beings respond to simplicity. Best advice: Just be true to your species. This is an edited extract from Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success by Ken Segall (Portfolio Penguin, ? 14. 99) or at Guardian Bookshop for ? 11. 99 Doing business the Steve Jobs way It's natural for people to be resistant to change, large or small, so trying to change attitudes within an organisation can be difficult.But when you spread the word about the value of simplicity you are not spreading some oddball theory, you're echoing one of the most successful people in business history, Steve Jobs (right). If you refer to the benefits Apple has enjoyed by embracing simplicity, and make the appropriate parallels to your own business, you'll build a compelling case. You can spread the religion of simplicity project by project, by interacting with people and groups one at a time. Getting people to buy into a concept to the point where they start contributing their own ideas can literally create a movement within an organisation.Simplicity is a way of looking at every part of your job, the jobs of those around you, and the way your company operates. Once you start seeing the world through the lens of simplicity you'll be astounded at how many opportunities exist to improve the way your business works What are the Keys to Apple’s Success in Emerging Technologies? by Bill Halal [pic]Apple did not co me by its present success easily. Before the iPod, iPhone, and iPad became profitable icons of high-tech fashion, Steve Jobs suffered a long series of failures.Apple’s Pippin game player, the Next computer, Apple TV, the Lisa computer, the Newton PDA, and the Apple mouse are among the many products that are barely known because they were dismal flops. For many years, there were serious doubts if Apple could survive the battles it was losing to competitors like Microsoft. In contrast, Apple is now expected to sell 30 million iPads in 2011 — two-thirds of all tablet computers sold globally. Although the iPhone is fighting off 90 different smart phones, Apple’s sales are up 60% and could reach 100 million iPhones in 2011.The source of this staying power is seen in the fact that the Apple iPhone has the highest consumer satisfaction scores ever recorded. Apple’s profits exceed those of IBM, and it is considered one of the most Innovative and valuable companie s in the world, Such stunning success always raises questions over its origins. How did a struggling company run by a charismatic but somewhat erratic CEO learn to excel in the brutal battle among emerging technologies? Can the factors of this success be identified and used to guide others? The most striking conclusion about Apple’s rise is that Steve Jobs learned bitter but crucial lessons from failure.After years of autocratic leadership, dismal sales, and temperamental behavior demoralized the company, John Sculley became CEO in 1985 and Jobs was sent into the computing wilderness. For 12 years, he suffered losses such as the Next computer, which was overpriced and sold only 50,000 units in seven years. When Jobs returned to head Apple, he had learned to focus on good design, to treat people well, and to develop winning strategy. Tim Bajarin, president of a consulting firm, said â€Å"[Steve Jobs] would not have been successful if he hadn’t gone through his wildern ess experience. The main lesson from Apple’s success, however, is the central importance of focusing on strong products that are well-designed for the market. Jobs is a genius at minimalist designs that integrate technology breakthroughs to fill a newly emerging need with unusual style. He thinks success requires â€Å"listening to the technology† in order to â€Å"discover† the potential products waiting to be invented. The result can be seen in the way Jobs describes the attraction of the iPad – â€Å"It’s like holding the Internet in your hands,† he told a crowd. It’s so much more intimate than a laptop and more capable than an iPhone. It’s truly magical. † This keen sense of anticipating where emerging technologies are leading comprises the central talent that allowed Jobs to create revolutionary breakthroughs like the first personal computer (Apple 1), the first graphical interface (Mac), the first Unix PC (Next), th e first successor to Sony’s Walkman (iPod), the first online music store (iTunes), the first widely used smart phone (iPhone), and the first successful tablet (iPad).Serious processes are needed to closely follow advances in technologies that will impact your organization and to find creative new solutions for the market. That’s why Apple does far less conventional product research than other companies, and focuses instead on product discovery. Here’s how Jobs described his approach: If I had asked someone who only used a calculator what a Mac should be like, they couldn’t have told me. There’s no way to do consumer research so I had to go and create it, and then show it to them. Behind such great products, Apple thrives because it has been described as a â€Å"well-oiled machine. † Jobs learned to delegate, so his COO, Tim Cook, now runs a tight ship, and a cadre of managers and designers have learned to â€Å"think like Steve. † The company has outsourced its manufacturing operations, while 317 Apple stores are wildly popular and profitable. The Apple music store – iTunes – has expanded into a powerful vehicle for trading videos, movies, and possibly other information products.Even with these stunning achievements, Apple faces enormous new challenges as competition among other smart phones and tablets heats up. There are at least 20 versions of Android phones alone, slowly taking Apple’s market share. In 2011, Americans will buy more Androids than iPhones. The main issue, of course, is what happens when Jobs’ illness requires a successor? Despite claims that Apple has institutionalized practices that foster creativity, innovation, good design, and other legacies of Steve Jobs, it is really impossible to replace true genius. When Jobs returned from the wilderness to save Apple, John Sculley

American National Government

What a piece of writing must that be, one inevitably thinks, the story which contributes to and precedes by two months the scandalous fall of a President. All the President’s Men is the real account of Washington Post’s two young reporters, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward who conducted two years of investigations to untie the Gordian knot and eventually expose of a very complicated political conspiracy mounting up to the Chief of State.The actual report starts one sunny Saturday in the Capital in 1974, when the two authors have started working on the topic of the Watergate break-in and develops into a broad inquiry through the political fraud and crimes that lead to the resignation of the then president Richard Nixon and his administration. Even though narrated in a simple and succinct manner, almost telegraphic, the story astonished me because of the huge bid of the search and the courage of taking it to its end, the chain-reaction it provoked, which obviously disrupte d the political life of the US and fired up the world’s public opinion.Placing it in real-time, we see that President Nixon resigned two months after the story was published. Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward’s investigation was altogether a great factor which contributed to the disclosure of a dirty business including money laundering, fraudulent electoral campaign, illegal wiretapping and other crimes that contravene to the very principles of the American Constitution and the Governmental establishment, and to the values of democracy in total.Undoubtedly, the sum of notes, papers and inquiries that the two reporters have gathered for the two-year coverage in The Washington Post has given birth to a book full of suspense, easy to read for the less initiated, full of insight into the political machinations and hierarchies at the White House and other organisms like CIA and FBI. The true story was awarded the Pulitzer price and inspired a very faithful cinematographic adapt ation in 1976, which in my opinion respects exactly the long and thorough problem-solving demarche of the two reporters through a net of hundreds and hundreds of leads.What I liked is the rhythm of the story and the perfume of the time. It is astounding to read the original chronicles of a journalistic investigation that made so much difference in the political and administrative life of the United States. At first, I found it a good, fast-paced detective story that appeals to the adventurer hidden in any of us, featuring a burglary intrigue and two â€Å"ordinary† heroes describing their obstinate effort to penetrate a very scary wall of silence that lead higher that either of them had imagined.Until then, it was like all good detectives normally do. But some dozen pages later, the heavy responsibility of the whole account struck me. I mean, as foreigner, this gave me a very crude and abrupt insight into the ramifications of the American administration seen through the eyes of professional journalists at that time, without much of introduction or decryption. This could account for a negative point, the rapidity of the narration, if the book had been meant to be didactic, not informational: a snapshot of the event.And because it was written at a time when this scandal grew to be central to the daily life of Americans, it achieves a role that I find essential for a very good documentary: the pulse of the time, the organisms of decision, the power structures and pressure games, the small hassles at the Post’s headquarters etc. Even though I had some notion about the affair before, the book launched me into a roller-coaster ride into the world of politics, newspaper journalism and communications.Before reading it as a sensational story, for me it was a manual of journalistic methodology and intuition. I particularly liked considering the ethical issues of such a public-related endeavor and the responsibility towards the audience, sources and actors, the dedicated meticulousness in working their way through this spider web of secret connections and political protocols. But overall, I found particularly inspiring the unequal buildup of the whole scheme up to the final takeover.There are several stages where Woodward and Bernstein’s findings give butterflies in the stomach, like discovering that one of the Watergate intruders was a CIA security agent, or when the two reporters meet the secretive agent â€Å"Deep-Throat†, and then when they publish the findings of the FBI regarding the greater scope of the burglary, which was in fact a huge misappropriation of funds, sabotage meant to create funds for Nixon’s reelection. And even though this book is not written in a pedagogical manner, the facts speak for themselves beyond any morals or heavy conclusions.As their echo proves, the articles, book and then the movie they inspired created a completely new approach to America’s institutions and, most probabl y, raised a great questioning mark over the political regimes worldwide. Taking up by the traces it left, I believe â€Å"All the President’s Men† managed to prove that any earthly institution is deeply questionable and may be biased or fraudulent despite its ideology. However, from a historical point of view, the book further shows that these regimes are savable provided the freedom of speech and research is allowed.The very principle of democracy is that each individual has the privilege and the duty to contribute for the collective well-being, and so they can become agents of change, when irregularities happen. I deeply believe this book stimulates such awareness and, why not, the reflex to keep one’s eye open and act with abnegation when needed. In consequence, the papers make an excellent material for our American National Government course because it provides a very strong case study of the American federal scheme of government and its potential breaches.I t underlines how the 4th state power, the mass media, can contribute to the regulation of an eventually corrupted system by rendering it transparent. We also have a very intricate access to very confidential information and behind the scene leads in the governmental hive. Because I come from a different culture, I esteemed the way this story, written with modesty, reveals the power of the press within American political process, as well as the power of the individual(s) within the hierarchies of power.The determination, perseverance of the two reporters, even after hitting apparent dead-ends lead to a huge mobilization of forces and a substantial change. In accordance, I would like to mention the patriotism of the veteran â€Å"Deep Throat†, revealed after more than 30 years of confidentiality as â€Å"FBI ‘s No. 2† official, W. Mark Felt† . This is an example of a personal belief initiative taken despite the great threats, without which the whole story cou ld have passed unproven.Wondering about the real contribution of Felt, I came about the statement of the two reporters in a 2005 Washington Post article. According to article’s author David Von Drehle’s, â€Å"Woodward and Bernstein expressed a concern that the Deep Throat story has, over the years, come to obscure the many other elements that went into exposing the Watergate story: other sources, other investigators, high-impact Senate hearings, a shocking trove of secret White House tape recordings and the decisive intervention of a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court. † To my understanding, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein have been very aware of the boom their investigation would consequently incite. There followed a great chain-reaction by which the juridical power, the intelligence services and other institutions have equally contributed to the making of the complete case against the President and his administration, through extensive legal procedures. For me, thi s is in a sense a revolution.It is a revolution because the corruption and the anti-constitutional deeds are denounced to the public opinion and, even though this mounts up to the head of the state, the guilty part finishes exposed, with reprimands in accordance. Even though this book has been written in a short and snappy manner, without personal elaboration or explanations, it surely reconstructs the pulse of the time and the dramatic beat of the ascending inquiry. Personally, I feel I had been dragged also in the â€Å"present tense† of the best politics& detective story of the passed century.Even though the authors do not make any deep analysis either about the power structures they touch, or about the consequences of their investigation, it remains a grand dissertation-scenario of the changing nature of political actions and the particular framework of the state powers during the time of Nixon and beyond. References: Bernstein, Carl; Woodward, Bob. â€Å"All the Preside nt`s Men†. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006. Von Drehle, David. â€Å"FBI's No. 2 Was ‘Deep Throat'†. June 1, 2005; Page A01. Washington Post. 8 Sept. 2007 < http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/31/AR2005053100655. html >

Deontological Ethical Theory Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Deontological Ethical Theory - Essay Example The deontological ethical theory has its own weakness. For example, t makes room for using logical reasoning in determining what is right (Hoy, 2005). Once this is done, interpretation of the rules becomes a very difficult thing to do since everyone has their own discretion within which the rules are explained. In such a situation, it becomes very difficult to have a single modality under which ethics are applied.Consequentiality is another ethical view point that can be applied in the use of technology. In the premise of this ethical theory, there is the need to strive to increase utility. The strength with this is that the greater good of most people is sought instead of the subjective needs of a few people. This way, ethics are enforced because workers are made to look for the interest of other external stakeholders.What this theory lacks however is the fact that it fails to set the parameter as to who should be responsible for evaluating the consequences that affected people suff er. As a result, even though there is quest to satisfy people’s needs and values, the willpower to do this can be missing. Within the modern technological society, deontology can be said to hold more easily than consequentiality. This is because companies seem less concerned about the consequences of their actions on the public. Rather, they only focus on their profits. It is not surprising that global warming continues to be alarming as the number of technological companies continues to increase.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Essay

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) - Essay Example The U.S.-Canada agricultural provisions for Free Trade Agreement were incorporated into the NAFTA in 1989. With the creation of NAFTA all tariffs affecting agricultural trade between the United States and Canada were all removed but with very few exceptions for items covered by tariff-rate quotas. Moreover, Mexico and Canada also reached a separate bilateral NAFTA harmony on market entree for farm products. The Mexican-Canadian agreement also served in the elimination of a number of tariffs. However, some tariffs remained in force between countries such as those affecting trade in dairy, poultry, eggs, and sugar products. This paper intends to highlight some of the reasons behind Canada, the US, and Mexico, entering into the NAFTA, the concerns of each nation, and finally determine whether these concerns materialized. The Conception of the NAFTA Idea The most significant characteristic of the manner in which the free trade within the Western Hemisphere had influenced the trading syst em was a culmination of efforts to bridge the gap between the Northern and Southern Divide. NAFTA ensures that there is free trade between a major developing country and two developed countries that have undergone significant industrial revolution. This agreement in its entirety is usually based fully on reciprocal commitments. For instance, Mexico, in its own self-interest decided to open its market to far better degree as compared to United States and Canada. Mexico made this move because its tariffs accompanied by other border restriction were much higher at the onset. In addition, some of the areas of commitment that were extremely significant to Mexico include intellectual right to property, unrestricted procurement, ventures, and free transportation. It is worth noting that the sharp peculiarity between developed and developing nations, which permeated the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and currently the World Trade Organization (WTO) and which held the history of preferential trade considerations was not included within NAFTA. Furthermore, the outlook for a Free Trade Area of the America (FTAA) agreement aims at continuing with this non-special/non-differential affiliation. Even the small countries are certain to receive special and fair treatment since the implementation of free trade commitments and such regional integration on non-preferential basis is likely to have a considerable impact on the future of NAFTA. In fact, this process of developing a comprehensive free trade area within the Western Hemisphere through closing down the gap between the developed and developing nations or countries is compatible with the continued transformation of the multilateral World Trade Organization. However, there were various reasons behind Canada, Mexico, and US joining North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which are discussed hereunder: Reasons behind Canada’s Entry into NAFTA Upon the introduction of NAFTA, Canada did not welcome t he idea of expanding the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to a third country. In Ottawa, politicians were reticent in regards to the FTA and therefore they questioned the insight of additional tribulations. Nevertheless, through absolute expediency, Canada realized that the Mexico and U.S. were more than willing to sign an agreement in the midst of

The Historical Development of the Bureaucracy Essay

The Historical Development of the Bureaucracy - Essay Example Political scientists have identified four major periods in the history of American bureaucracy. The first, called the Government by Gentlemen (1789 - 1820), was marked by the dominance of people from elite families in the professional bureaucracy. In the next period (1830-1870), the bureaucratic positions were filled up by members of the major political parties that were lucky to win the presidential elections. In this connection, the number of people from middle and lower strata of society among the officials has dramatically increased. Many progressive changes were introduced into bureaucracy in 1880-1920 - it was reformed with the focus on balanced, rational administration. The fourth period that coincided with the period of contemporary history deepened depoliticization and professionalization of the bureaucracy. Its formation is now conditioned by competitive selection (Merit System). At the end of the 20th century, the number of federal employees in the United States has reache d 3 million people. 90% of all job positions were filled solely through a competitive process. In recent times the bureaucracy is regulated by a number of decrees and laws imposing specific legal and ethical standards, for instance, the U.S. President’s Executive Order of October 17, 1990 - Principles of Ethical Conduct for Government Officers and Employees. One of the provisions runs that public service is a sphere of activity that excludes any personal or other financial interests that can prevent acting in good faith.

Racing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Racing - Essay Example Hence, only those with an unyielding attitude are found willing to accept struggles and unceasingly proceed with the race. Though it typically pertains to a sport in which racers compete for speed and strategizing at the maximum speed to emerge as the first on the finish line, people in general form varying connotations about ‘racing’. Often times, racing is valued for the idea that life is only lived once so one should seize every opportunity that comes his way. It becomes worthwhile as well to consider that racing may represent people who are optimistic enough to not lose heart with their depressed conditions and keep the race with life instead, positively hoping for recovery no matter what it takes. To others, racing is a means to demonstrate potentials of being tough amidst crises or in contending against an opponent who wishes to maintain a tight competition, hence, only those with an unyielding attitude are found willing to accept struggles and unceasingly proceed with the race.Perhaps it is through the ambiguity of the term ‘racing’ that the world has been led to further inclination and fondness of a racing sport in view of its associated principles which are applicable to a person’s life. As it turns out, the fascination to reach a goal or beat the rest who go after the same goal creates the basic idea about racing which eventually serves as a guide for a racer to live a life of purpose regardless of the type of field or endeavor chosen.

Terms 'necessity' and 'duress of circumstances' Case Study

Terms 'necessity' and 'duress of circumstances' - Case Study Example "It includes the definition of specific offenses and general principles of liability." Black's Law Dictionary, 5th Ed. Apart from other actions that lead to harm to the community, and for which civil responsibility can be fixed, "criminal law is the primary instrumentality for preventing people from intentionally or recklessly destroying life and property" Simester, A P. and Sullivan, G. R. Criminal Law: Theory and Doctrine (2004) 2nd edition, (revised 2004) Hart Publishing. Criminal liability can be ascertained from two basic constituents of an action: "actus reus (actually doing an act of a criminal nature), and mens rea (the intention to carry out a criminal act)." Ashworth, A. (2003). In some criminal actions, the rule of strict liability is applied even if one of above is missing like in cases murder, assault damage to the property etc. However, common law principles provide for a defence to the accused. "The defendant is now seen as possessing a moral right to defend his autonomy, which is rendered superior to the assailant's rights by assailant's aggression." Ashworth, A (2003). Necessity and duress of circumstances are both defences based on excuse or justification. The main characteristic in the defence of justification available to the accused the main factor is that the act can be tolerated by society. According to Fletcher, this utilitarian attitude towards the non-punishment of harm-causers is supplemented by the intuitions of justice and retribution, to give an accurate account of the theory of justification. Ibid at pg. 285. Simon-Brown J elaborated upon English law on the "necessity" defence. He opined that English Law does in extreme circumstances, recognize a defence of necessity. It can arise from objective dangers threatening the accused or others in which case it is conveniently called "duress of circumstances". Secondly, the defence is available only if, from an objective standpoint, the accused can be said to be acting reasonably and proportionately in order to avoid a threat of death or serious injury. Thirdly, assuming the defence to be open to the accused on his account of the facts, the issue should be left to the jury, who should be directed to determine these two questions: (1) Was the accused, or may he have been, impelled to act as he did because as a result of what he reasonably believed to be the situation he had good cause to fear that otherwise death or serious injury would result' (2) If so, may a sober person of reasonable firmness, sharing the characteristics of the accused, have responded to that situation by acting as the accused acted' If the answer to both these questions is yes, then the jury could acquit, and a defence of necessity would have been established. Duress of circumstances cannot excuse the commission of an offence after the time when the threat has

Corporate Strategy Part A Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Corporate Strategy Part A - Essay Example rated by the communication industry in 2013 was $81,447.9 million and that of the consumer electronics industry was $247.2 billion despite minor fluctuation. The market value of the industries has attracted numerous domestic and international companies and as a result competition has increased considerably. Most prominent companies operating in these industries are Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, Dell, Blackberry, Amazon and Nokia (Market line, ‘Global communications equipment’, http://advantage.marketline.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/Product?pid=MLIP1262-0005, 2014, (accessed 10 August 2015); Market line, ‘Global - Consumer Electronics’, http://advantage.marketline.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/Product?pid=MLIP1271-0012, 2014, (accessed 10 August 2015)). The business environment has become highly dynamic with heavy exposure to various uncertainties. In this regard, strategic management plays an important role for managing uncertainty by means of decisions, investments and processes. Moving ahead on this notion, the paper assesses and compares environment, market and business strategies of two renowned companies, Apple and Blackberry for understanding their competitive approach and future prospect. Market and industry analysis is essential for companies because it presents vast scope for understanding current and future market size, growth rate and profitability of industry, pricing structure of the industry, market trends and key success factors for the company with respect to its competitors. Michael E. Porter (‘The five competitive forces that shape strategy’,  Harvard business review, vol.  86, no. 1, 2008, pp. 25-40) has proposed the five force model for industry analysis and the framework has been implemented to assess industry environment of Apple and Blackberry along with brief SWOT analysis. The communication equipment and consumer electronics industry chiefly comprises of small buyers and individual consumers who predominantly end users of the

Unethical Business Research Conduct Essay Example for Free

Unethical Business Research Conduct Essay Ethics and the behaviors associated with them have the highest significance for different reasons within a business organization. Companies must ensure they follow all levels of ethical behavior when any activity is performed at their premises; especially activities related to business research. Business research is the systematic inquisition that provides information to direct managerial decisions (Cooper Schindler, 2011). Its purpose is to allow companies access to valuable information on company policies, customer service and consumer buying habits. Business owners can use this information to discover which products and services are important to the public, worker morale and behaviors, as well as what they can do to set themselves apart from the competition. However, wrong methods and/or unethical research conduct can obscure results and lead to the damage of a companies’ process, financial statue and image. An example of unethical business research can be found in the 2004 discrimination lawsuit against the restaurant Cracker Barrel. A number of bad research methods contributed to the courts’ order to convict and discipline the retailer for a number of consumer accusations. The leading cause of the court’s decision was the companies’ bad research and investigations into the basic problems and the flawed information that was turned into the Department of Justice following said investigation. Cracker Barrel Restaurant and Old Country Store, a nationwide retail chain, underwent random testing of its facilities and stores to monitor the possibility of racial bias in customer service. This research and observation was not only to screen for the possibility of racism, but to expand culture and diversity training to employees as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice on May 3, 2004. This agreement was made after a number of African Americans (and other minority groups) customers of the establishment came forward with complaints through the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or NAACP, stating â€Å" they were made to wait longer for tables, were seated away from white patrons, received inferior service and wer e otherwise discriminated against at Cracker Barrel restaurants† (Fears, 2004). As part of a court agreement, Cracker Barrel conducted its own corporate research into the accusations against its company. They concluded that no wrongdoings were committed, asserting that its company has always maintained anti-discrimination policies to all consumer no matter what gender, race and sexuality they are. Upon the reception of Cracker Barrel’s results, the Justice Department decided to hire an independent auditor to check their claims. The Justice Departments investigation included interviews with approximately 150 persons, [of which consisted] mostly [of] former Cracker Barrel employees; and found that 80 percent stated that they experienced or witnessed discriminatory treatment of customers at a Cracker Barrel restaurant,† according to R. Alexander Acosta, Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The conclusion suggested that some managers directed, participated in, and/or encouraged stereotyping and discrim inatory behaviors from employee, Acostas added (Schmit Copeland, 2004). Though this suit ended with the court’s judgment for Cracker Barrel to pay fines and damages to a number of customers and their attorneys, the company’s reputation for discrimination is continuously being investigated a number of private and federal groups, including the Department of Justice, NAACP, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or EEOC. The first issue with the company began with management not taking customer complaints seriously, however, the major issue is how the company went about resolving the issue. Had they taken the time to actually brainstorm and come up with a logical way to resolve the issue, the accusations probably wouldn’t have turned into a class-action lawsuit. And when the Department of Justice demanded the company conduct a private, internal investigation, they should have gone about doing it the right way. However the company and managerial lack of interest in proper investigation and research skills lead them to produce questionable results of value to the case. With this, the Department of Justice chose to proceed with its own investigation to prove or disprove the case and integrity of the company. Reference Cooper, D., Schindler, P. (2011). Business research methods (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw- Hill/Irwin. Retrieved from the University of Phoenix eBook website: https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content/TOC.aspx?assetid=8e4d9544-fa8b-4402-8f2d- 624db889e46dassetmetaid=179f7507-93d0-431c-826f-d663a33b6057 Fears, D. (2004). Crackle Barrel, Government Settles Discrimination Suit. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved January 21, 2012 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/articles/A639242004 Schmit, J. Copeland, L. (2004). Cracker Barrel customer says bias was flagrant. USA Today. Retrieved January 20, 2012 from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/companies/2004-05-07-cracker- barrel_x.htm

British airways

British airways Executive Summary: British Airways is one of the International Airlines that provides its flights to 570 destinations in 133 territories. It mainly operates from the Heathrow and Gatwick. It faces many problems like 531 million pounds loss in revenue because of lack of international market study, employee relationship (strike problem) and many more. Hence an effective strategy is the only chance to overcome these problems. The strategy of British Airways includes the innovation in technological accessories, customers relationship, employee relationship, safety and security of stake holders and so on. Introduction: Any business has challenges from different elements like globalisation, information and technology, socio and cultural factors, political factors and so on. To meet these challenges a clear strategy is very crucial for any organization. A strategy is a clear vision of what the organisation will be based on a sustainable competitive advantage. Actually, strategy is a road map for future directions and scope. It is a long range plan for five years and more. It develops mission, objective and goals for an organisation. To develop an effective strategy any organisation must set an account with different factors. Environmental analysis, present analysis, strength, weakness, opportunities and so on are the factor through which a strategy can be developed. Part 1 1) Identify the mission, Values and key objectives of an organisation within its environment. The mission statement of British Airways is â€Å"To be the undisputed leader in world travel for the next millennium†. The values of British Airways: Honest. Reliable On time Good service Objectives of British Airways: British Airways based in London is the largest airlines in the United Kingdom and provides daily flights to more than 400 cities world-wide. Like most large corporations the airline must focus on a variety of goals and objectives both for short-term and long-term survival in the competitive global market. General objectives of British Airways: With an objective of becoming the worlds largest leader in global premium airline, British Airways will continue to focus on customer service at every level of passengers journey. The overall Objectives are divided into three areas. Global (appeal to all passengers, whether for leisure or business travel in order to create repeat customers). Premium (ensure that passengers receive the highest quality of service where ever they encounter the airlines). Airline (maintain the focus on aviation with the largest equipment, products and services). Strategic objectives of British Airways: British Airways provides four strategic objectives: Airline of choice (remain the top choice for International flights for premium customers as well as cargo, economy and shorter flights). Top-quality services (provides the best customer service for passengers on all routes and classes of travel and improve online service). Global city growth (continue to expand the list of top-tier countries through airline partnership). Meet customers needs (exploring the latest options and products to enhance customer loyalty. A stakeholder is a person or organisation that has an interest in a business, for example benefit from it. As a customer you are a stakeholder in British Airways. Even if someone is working part time they are stakeholders in their employers business. You can be a stakeholder as a customer, in all shops you buy from and anywhere you spend leisure money, it could be going to the cinema or supporting your football match.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Stakeholders of British Airways are: Groups Relationship with business Customer Buy product or services Suppliers Rely on business for orders Employees Rely on business for employment Owners Have invested money in the business Local and national communities Directly affected by the actions and operations of the business. Influences of stakeholders: Groups The influences of stakeholders Customers Are looking to buy products or services, they are looking for a wide range of products and services. They also want easy accessibility and hope to buy good quality products and services at a competitive price. They are really important as they provide money for the business in order to be successful. Suppliers Suppliers stock the business with the supplies the business needs, if they are late then it will cause a conflict between business and suppliers. Therefor it is vital that all the business suppliers are on time. Suppliers are probably the third important part in a business, they provide the products/services and if they are not in time it poses to be a threat to the financial state of the business. On the other hand, suppliers arent that important in decision making because they are scared of losing their contract with British Airways. Employees May want an increase in pay rise. Staffs have a very big interest in British Airways, they have an interest in the business in the form of wages, bonuses, discounts, and holiday pension.   Owners In contrast it may want a decrease in pay rise for their employees you could say that the owners probably one of the most important people in a business. Local and national communities Give planning permission depending on the business a person wants to do. Part 2 2) Investigate the economic, social, and global environment in which organizations operate. What is an economic system: An organised manner in which a state or a nation allots its resources and allocates goods and services in the national community. An economic system is loosely defined as a countries plan for its services, goods, and the exact way in which its economic plan is carried out. Basically there are three major/different types of economic systems prevailing around the world and they are: Market Economy: In a market economy, national and state governments play a minor role. Instead consumers and their buying decisions drive the economy. In this type of economic system, the assumptions of the market play a major role in deciding the right path for a countrys economic development. Market economies aim to reduce or eliminate entirely subsidies for a particular industry, the pre-determination of prices for different commodities, and the amount of regulation controlling different industrial sectors. The absence of central planning is one of the major features of this economic system. Market decisions are mainly dominated by supply and demand, the role of the government in a market economy is to simply make sure that the market is stable enough to carry out its economic activities properly. Planned Economy: A planned economy is also known as a command economy. The most important aspect of this type of economy is that all major decisions related to the production, distribution, commodity and service prices, are all made by the government. The planned economy is government directed, and market forces have very little say in such an economy. This type of economy lacks the kind of flexibility that is present a market economy, and because of this, the planned economy reacts slower to changes in consumer needs and fluctuating patterns of supply and demand. On the other hand, a planned economy aims at using all available resources for developing production instead of allocating the resources either for advertising or marketing. Mixed Economy: A mixed economy combines elements of both the planned and the market economies in one cohesive system. This means that certain features from both market and planned economic systems are taken to form this type of economy. This system prevails in many countries where neither the government nor the business entities control the economic activities of that country both sectors play an important role in the economic decision making of the country. In a mixed economy there is flexibility in some areas and government control in others. Mixed economies include both capitalist and social economic policies and often arise in societies that seek to balance a wide range of political and economic views. http://www.economywatch.com/world_economic-indicators/type British Airways operates in the Mixed economic system as British Airways was privatised on February 1987 and the government has less intervention as its a private company the only intervention that the government would have is only setting the prices of the air tickets. What is Social Welfare: Social welfare is about how people, communicate and institutions in a society take action to provide certain minimum standards and certain opportunities. It is generally about helping people facing contingencies. Social welfare which British Airways does for its employees. Social Welfare Policy: Is basically to improve and protect the standard of living of the people or citizens as a whole.   In the United Kingdom the Name â€Å"Social Policy† is used to apply to the policies that the government uses for welfare and social protection and the ways in which welfare is basically developed in a society. There are various social welfare policies that the United Kingdoms adopts and they are: Social welfare policy that British Airways has adopted/follows: The impact that social welfare initiates on British Airways as well as the wider community is firstly that British Airways adopting the work place regulation is that it benefits the employees of British Airways and that the employees can work without any head aces as British Airways has provided all it employees with training in safety measures, plus rest time is given to the employees and to the crew members of British Airways accommodation is given because the crew is normally flying for endless hours/long journeys. The workers are also made alert about the basic terms and conditions of the organisation which are basically ethics, code of conduct, and the responsibility of the organisation. The other social welfare policy which British Airways provides its employees is social security for its employees similar to contribution benefits (Retirement pension, maternity allowances) and also non contributor benefits (social fund, working tax benefits) to its employees, which gives the employees the freedom to do whatever in their personal life. The Employment Law in British Airways states and illustrates the normal working hours, conditions, and the acts of the organisation. What is Industrial Policy: Industrial policy comprises all government interventions which consist of: Directed towards the supply side of the economy that consists of enterprises, industries, sectors). Aims to influence the industrial structure of the economy and its industrial changes. Industrial policy purposefully affects incentives to produce specific goods or incentives to enter or exit a specific goods market. It is not limited to manufacturing and includes all types of commercial economic activities. Industrial policy interventions have to be justified because if competitive markets worked adequately, any such intervention would:  Ã‚   Distort optimal allocation, Distort dynamic competition and its benefits (innovation, flexibility, consumers sovereignty etc.). Privilege specific enterprises or industries or sectors at the expenses of others, Would disadvantage taxpayers and consumers. (An European industrial policy: concepts and consequences, Oliver Budzinski). Industrial policy is concerned; it is the government sponsored economic program in which the public and private sector coordinate their efforts to develop new technologies and industries. Government provides the financial support and capital to the private sector by direct subsidies, tax credits or government- run developmental banks. Industries policy emphasise cooperation between government, banks, private enterprise, and employees to strengthen the national economy. http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com Impact of Industrial policy on British Airways: In the United Kingdoms the Industrial policy has affected a lot of industries but the Industry that suffered the most was the aviation industry including all the airlines even British Airways. Therefore British Airways has changed its strategy of working and has been successful as British Airways adopted new policies. One of the policy that states to reduce Co2 emissions by 15% by all airlines and British Airways has decided to reduce by 50% as they are working on creating a new kind of fuel which is known as bio diesel which is pollution free and environment friendly. Fiscal Policy: Government spending policies that influences macroeconomic conditions. These policies affect tax rates, interest rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy. Monetary Policy: The action of a central, bank currency or other regulatory committee that determine the size and rate of growth of the money supply, which in turn affects interest rates. Monetary policy is maintained through actions such as increasing the interest rate, or changing the amount of money banks need to keep in the vault or bank reserves. Impact of fiscal and monetary policy on airline industry as well as British Airways:   The principles of economics tell us that governments can sometimes improve market outcomes. Methods of influencing market outcomes can come in the form of monetary and fiscal policies. Monetary policies influence shifts in aggregate demand for goods and services by increasing the money supply, reducing the equilibrium interest rates and stimulating investment spending or decreasing the money supply, raising equilibrium interest rates, lowering investment spending (Mankiw, 2004). Fiscal policies shift the aggregate demand curve by increasing or decreasing government spending or through the increase or decrease in taxes (Mankiw). Because these policies influence aggregate demand, the government uses such policies to try and bring stabilization to the economy. Such polices affect different industries on many different levels. Some industries have positive effects and some negative. In analysing how monetary and fiscal policies affect the airline industry, we can look at how these policies affect employment, growth of the industry, and product prices. Many fiscal policies directed toward the airline industry have had profound effects. One such policy is represented by the excise taxes and fees levied on air carriers. Such taxes and fees are allocated by the Government to fund improvements of airports, provide security for the airlines and airports, allocate funding for the FAA, provide for services for international customers, and support operations at airpark facilities. These fees represent roughly 26% or $52 of a standard 200-dollar round-trip airline ticket (Air Transport Association, 2005). Current economic conditions of the airline industry are dismal, especially due to the tragic events of September 11th. The Air Transport Association (ATA) argues that such fiscal policy in these trying times hinder the air carriers ability to right themselves through a self-help policy. The ATA further explains that in an effort to stabilize the industry, such taxes and fees can account for the elimination of over 129,000 jobs, forced many carriers into bankruptcy, and, because consumers react heavily to price increases in this industry, hinder their ability to allocate funds by raising ticket prices. With this current fiscal policy, air carrie rs have little manoeuvrability of funds to meet the demands of an operating budget. Mike Smith (personal communication, June 10, 2008), former owner of Pacific Crest Aviation in Big Bear Lake, CA, adds that governing agencies institute other fees to generate operating revenues for airports. On example of this is landing fees. Landing fees vary from airport to airport, but play a key role in the determination of where air carriers decide to base their operations. In attempts to accumulate more funding through fiscal policy, Mr. Smith explains that the FAA continues to suggest the implementation of user fees. Still to be determined how such a fee would impact the airline industry; present fiscal policies have air carriers screaming for reform. Deregulation is another fiscal policy that has considerably impacted areas of the airline industry. Since deregulation in 1979, the airline industry experienced substantial growth. With the emergence of new competition in the industry this created numerous amounts of jobs, drove ticket prices down, and expanded the available market for various air carriers. Through an industrial wide growth of over 200%, new carriers were able to open positions to thousands of new employees in various parts of the nation. Average ticket prices in 1979 remain relatively unchanged today. As an extremely competitive market emerged, the rally for passengers on each carriers flights kept ticket prices down as carrier created connecting flights through this new open sky policy; reaching more consumers, minimizing opportunity cost, and offering competitive pricing. The Airline industry continues to be affected by the overall condition of the nations economy. When healthy spending exists and pleasure travel is frequent, air carriers are able to fill flights, raise prices, and maintain a stable economic environment. However, when condition of the nations economy falls, so do the buying habits of the consumer. This is where the airline industry finds itself today. Struggling to fill flights in a slow economy and fighting heavy fiscal policy. Recent monetary policies made by the federal government to improve market conditions are sure to have an effect, but how it will impact employment, growth, and prices in the airline industry are still unknown. The most Recent monetary policy made by the government came in the form of economic stimulus checks. This in-flow of money into the economy in an attempt to stimulate the purchase of goods and services throughout the United States may help diminish the effects of our current sluggish economy. Little to no data exists to show how this has impacted any growth in the airline industry. So far, there seems to be little change in the spending habits of the consumer to travel via air. Because the economic position of the airline industry has been struggling for so long, improvements due to any single event may be impossible to track. Whether changes in fiscal policies, monetary policies, or internal carrier structure help to improve conditions in the airline industry, changes will happen slow and will reflect economic condition in the nations marketplace. By successfully managing opportunity cost, and adapting to an ever changing economic environment, airline industries can have economic success. However, the well-being of the nations economy will have a direct impact on the level of success experienced in the airline industry. During economic shortfalls in the nations economy, travellers will have fewer resources available to travel for pleasure. Contributing to the negative economic influences in the airline industry, future and existing policies targeting the airline industry will continue to hinder the industrys ability to recover losses in periods of economic hardships. http://www.taxreformpanel.gov Makiw, N.G. (2004) Principles of economics (3rd edition). Chicago, 2: Thomson South-Western. PESTLE Analyses on British Airways: PESTLE Factors Key Points Implications for British Airways Political Heavy regulation (AEA, 2009). Increased security due to past terrorist threats (DFT, 2008) Compliance is essential if British Airways wants to continue. Sufficient security measures should be in place to ensure consumer confidence and competitive advantage in maintenance. Economic Global economic crisis: world growth is projected to just over 2 per cent in 2009 (IMF, 2008). Pound weakness especially against the Euro. Oil prices declined by 50% since their peak retreating to 2007 levels. Decline in fuel prises the dollar strengthens (IMF, 2008). UK Consumer spending saw its sharpest decline for 13 years between July and September 2008 (Channel 4, 2008) Possible reduction in the amount of business travel as companies are cutting costs and using alternative means of communication such as telecom fencing. British Airways is vulnerable as a United Kingdom operating airline to a poor exchange rate. Fluctuation in oil prices and exchange rates will directly affect British Airways cost base. More intense competition.   Social The United Kingdom has an aging population. Increasing Unemployment Potential opportunities for growth as older generations have more time to spend on leisure activities such as international travel. Increased bargaining power as an employee. Technological A recent survey revealed that 34% of online consumers plan to use price- comparison sites more in 2009 (NMA, 2009) Online booking services and check-in is becoming increasingly used by the airline industry. Increased consumer awareness and therefore bargaining power. British Airways must ensure that they remain up to date with these technological advances whilst avoiding becoming overly reliant, as this may isolate certain consumer markets (i.e. the elderly) who dont feel comfortable using such technology. Environmental/Ethical Noise pollution controls and energy consumption controls. Cancellations of flights and loss of baggage. New legislation (e.g. climate change bill) enforcing tighter environmental regulation may increase operational costs each year. Such ethical issues could have a detrimental effect on reputation if left unresolved. Legal Collusion and price fixing. Recognition of trade union and industrial action e.g. cabin crew strikes. Open skies agreement. Restriction on mergers will have an impact on British Airways proposed alliance with American Airlines. Good employee relations are essential if British Airways wants to avoid industrial action and interrupted operations. Opportunity for British Airways and its competitors to freely transport aircrafts between the European Union and the United States. Part 3 3) Investigate the behaviour of organizations and the market environment. What is Oligopoly: Oligopoly is a market which is normally dominated by a few numbers of large suppliers. The degree of market concentration is very high. Firms within an oligopoly produce branded products and also sometimes there is a barrier to new entries. Advantages as general: Firms or companies are able to reap economies of scale, due to large scale competition. Products cannot produce by individual firms on a small scale. There is an incentive to engage in research and development. They have the ability to earn super normal profits and capture large market share. Firms enjoy lower costs due to technological improvement. This results in higher profits which will improve the firms or companies capacity to withstand price war. http://www.blurtit.com/q2774865.html Disadvantages as general: Firms and companies are concerned with the activities of their competitors. If one firm or company reduces its prices the other companies would have to. How oligopoly has impacted the airline market and British Airways: In the late 1990s the European airline market was liberalised, lowering the barriers to entry. Traditional firms then faced competition as firms could enter the market more easily. New entrants used leased aircrafts to keep costs low. Firms have merged (such as Liberia Airways and British Airways did in 2000) to improve the firms horizontal integration. What is monopoly: A situation in which a single company owns all or nearly all of the market for a given type of product or service. This would happen in the case that there is a barrier to entry into the industry that allows the single company to operate without competition. In such an industry structure, the producer will often produce a volume that is less than the amount which would maximize social welfare. www.investwords.com/3112/monopoly.html Advantages of monopoly as general: There is no risk of excess production. There is sufficient capital for research. Price of goods are reduced. The market can be controlled. Disadvantages of monopoly as general: The consumers are exploited. There is hardly and consumer choice. The price is high on products. As there is no competition it leads to inefficiency. The labour is exploited as the price charged is higher than the marginal cost. How monopoly has impacted the airline market and British Airways: There is no competition which would make the airlines inefficient. As there is no choice the consumer would have to take that one airline only. As the ticket prices could be high the consumers would prefer to take a train to their destination if the consumers destination is in Europe and this would cause a loss for the company. What is perfect competition: An ideal market structure characterized by a large number of small firms, identical products sold by all firms, freedom of entry into and exit out of the industry, and perfect knowledge of prices and technology. This is one of four basic, market structures. The other three are monopoly, oligopoly, and monopolistic competition. Perfect competition is an idealized market structure that is not observed in the real world. While unrealistic, it does provide an excellent benchmark that can be used to analyse real world market structure. In particular, perfect competition efficiently allocates resources. http://www.amosweb.com. Advantages of perfect competition as general: Optimal allocation of resources. Competition encourages efficiency. Consumers charged a lower price. Responsive to consumer wishes, change in demand, leads extra supply. Disadvantages of perfect competition as general: Insufficient profits for investment. Lack of product variety. Lack of competition over product design and specification. Unequal distribution of goods and income. Externalities .e.g. pollution. How perfect competition impacts airlines market and British Airways: As in the Airlines Industry there are many airlines and there is competition there can be either positive effects as well as negatives effects the positive effects of perfect competition is that the resources of the airlines is allocated to the point as t

Physics of Skydiving :: physics parachute skydiver sky dive

Could you see yourself jumping out of a perfectly good airplane traveling at 170 MPH 13,000 feet above the ground? Imagine being the first person to jump out of an airplane, entrusting your life to an unproven piece to technology. Over the past century, skydiving has grown from a madman's fantasy to a international sport. As a skydiver stands at the door of the airplane, the force of their mass multiplied by gravity is directly countered by the force of the plane pushing back up on their feet, this is know as the normal force and is shown is the equation FN = m * g As soon as the the diver exits the plane, the normal force is removed and the diver begins to fall. Generally, a skydiver will exit the airplane at about 13,000 feet (4000 meters). To maintain a stable flight, their body must face the "relative wind". This is the direction in which the greatest air resistance is coming from. After a jumper exits, the drag force of the air counteracts the jumper's horizontal motion until the drag is only working against gravity. For a 70 kg jumper with the acceleration of gravity (9,8 m/s2), the force of gravity can be calculated with the same equation as the normal force: Fg = 70 * 9.8 = 686 Newtons The force of the drag caused by particles of air is calculated by this equation with: FD=1/2 * CDr * v2 * A FD: force of drag CDr: coefficent of drag v: velocity A: surface area of the jumper When we set the FD equal to the Force of gravity on the diver and use the drag coefficient for the density of air and use the area of a diver in the "arch" position we find that the diver find a balance of forces (no acceleration) at about 55 m/s. When a skydiver wants to deploy their parachute, the most commonly used device used is a manually-operated pilot chute. The diver will reach back into their rig and grab a handle or small bean bag connected to the pilot chute and throw it away from them. The small pilot chute is affected by an extra drag force attempting to keep it stationary. When this force and the force of the falling diver create enough tension in the line connected to the pilot chute, the deployment bag containing the main canopy is unstowed. If the main canopy were to expand to full size immediately, the tensile forces between the diver and the main canopy would most likely kill the diver and/or break the lines.

Commentary :: essays papers

Commentary The article that will be discussed in this paper is entitled â€Å"Phenomenology as a method to investigate the experience lived: a perspective from Husserl and Merleau-Ponty’s thought† co-written by Maria Lucia Araujo Salada and Ruebens de Camargo Ferreira Adorno. The article gives a run through of the phenomenologies of both Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Edmund Husserl, in order to appropriate their theories into psychological nursing. The question written at the beginning of the second half of the article attempt to redefine the act of nursing through phenomenology. Then the author begins to describe how to use Merleau-Ponty’s work to re-evaluate the treatment of patients in an isolation ward. In the following passage the author describes how using Merleau-Ponty’s notion of lived experience would be beneficial for the nurse in treating patients in an isolation ward: â€Å"We chose students who were experiencing being on an isolation ward while they the research was conducted because we believed that while they were actually experiencing the isolation ward their thoughts and feelings related to the experience would show up in their perceptions before undergoing a reflexive process. In their descriptions we looked for their prereflexive experience, which is the origin of the whole reflexive process and knowledge of the world.† (Salada 288) Supposedly, by being on an isolation ward, they're lived-world is so limited that research can be done on the nature of perception much more concisely. As stated in the introduction to the article; "Recently nurses have seen phenomenology as an important methodology for understanding nursing experience....as opposed to the Cartesian method...this perspective seems to be better able to handle human issues by adding new perspectives..." (Salada 282) I chose this article because I am personally interested in how the work of phenomenology can be used in areas of medicine that have been traditionally controlled by psychology. The article gives an in-depth overview of Husserlian intentionality and Pontian redefinitions of the phenomenon and lived experience. Now, I will explain both the work Husserl and Merleau-Ponty have done in phenomenology as it regards this article. Husserl, Ponty and Phenomenological Research When Husserl began the phenomenological process, the dialectical problem that had arose from Cartesian dualism began to slip away. As Husserl put phenomenology, it was "universal in its scope, because there is no a priori which does not depend upon its intentional consciousness" (Husserl 11) Phenomenology begins from the primordial, it begins with 'the things themselves'.

Roberto Goizueta and Jack Welch are two of the best leaders in American

Roberto Goizueta and Jack Welch are two of the best leaders in American companies. Welch and Goizueta Leadership Assignment Introduction ============ Roberto Goizueta and Jack Welch are two of the best leaders in American companies. They have created much value and wealth for their shareholders. Goizueta was born in a wealthy family and is an aristocratic, formal gentleman who likes a nice predictable schedule. He has a deep respect of tradition. Being the chairman and chief executive of Coca-Cola, he essentially runs a one-product company. Whereas Welch was born in a poor family and grown in an environment that was full of competition. Welch is impulsive and charming. Being the chairman and chief executive of General Electric, he runs a conglomerate with a dozen businesses. He puts almost every aspect of GE management a heavy element of competition. Though there are many differences in their style of working, both of them do have good wealth-building skills and share some common characteristics to become successful leaders. In the following, an analysis of these common characteristics will be discussed. Common characteristics ====================== First of all, both of Goizueta and Welch have the vision and the ability to sort out the noise from the signal and then to drive just for essence of what’s important. Good leaders need to direct the employees to do things that will be beneficial to the companies, and discourage them from doing thin...

Overcoming the perils of canoe lake Essay

There are over two thousand drug courts in America, each one specializing in its own level of drug abuse. A drug court’s primary role is to handle cases with offenders of substance abuse. They offer offenders an opportunity to enter a rehabilitation program in lieu of sentenced jail time. The road to recovery is of course challenging and difficult, making the drug courts so strict and costly. Drug courts were generally created for non-violent drug abusers. Although these offenders are given the chance to avoid jail time they are extremely supervised by the court officials. Drug tests, substance abuse treatment, must make regular appearances in court and constant checkups are required to continue in the program. These offenders’ cases are usually dismissed due to their involvement in the program or their sentence is only shortened. Participation in these programs are completely voluntary and if qualified to enter, the offender must agree to complete all the tasks given a nd report to every summoning from the court. If an offender doesn’t complete the program, they can be prosecuted or their sentence will be revised and will be placed in jail. Drug courts are considered one f the most effective ways to eliminate drug abusers and avoiding incarceration. While in the program offenders are monitored and results of every drug court case is very astonishing, but the long term effect of these cases are beyond the rulings of the court. It is not known if those who participated in the programs continued their lives drug free. These courts have been examined and tested to see if the results justify the cost of the program. The operations evaluated such as the number of participants, referrals issued, and drug court graduates. The cost savings of processing the offenders through the program instead of straight jail time, and results compared with those who have been completed their sentenced jail time as opposed to those in the programs. The therapeutic jurisprudence theory supports these courts, f ocusing on the impact that these laws create on a human’s physiological and emotional well-being.

Organizational Culture and Its Counterculture

The authors Joanne Martin and Caren Siehl are focusing on organizational culture and its counterculture. The definition given by the authors for counterculture states that counterculture will most likely arise in a strongly centralized organization that has allowed a reasonable decentralization of authority to take place. The article assumes that cultural systems can emphasize as well as sustain the objectives of the firm’s top management. The main argument here is that in addition to serving integrative functions, culture can express disagreement and address needs for segregation among organizational elements.As a replacement for thinking culture is a huge phenomenon, they explore counterculture’s uneasy symbiotic relationship with the rest of an organization. Finally they tackle the connection between cultural development and managerial action by asking what a leader does, unintentionally or intentionally, that seems to impact the development of a counterculture. Give n said that when a dominant culture and a counterculture takes place it creates an uneasy symbiosis between these two interdependent cultures. There were two books selected for this research, one was by Ed Cray and the other was by J. P Wright on General Motors.The three core values for dominant culture in GM were â€Å"respecting authority†, â€Å"fitting in† and â€Å"being loyal†. J. P Wright talks about how DeLorean’s division in GM has created an uneasy symbiosis relationship between the dominant culture and counterculture. DeLorean’s activities have been studied to see how he has created a counterculture in an organization with such a strong dominant culture. There are several ways to counter the dominant culture and DeLorean has done so by â€Å"questioning deference to authority†, â€Å"finding an alternative way to fit in† and â€Å"opposing demands for unquestioning loyalty†. . There are three types of subcultures; th e first is enhancing, orthogonal and counterculture. This article’s main focus will be on counterculture. According to the authors some core values of a counterculture has a direct challenge to the core values of a dominant culture, therefore creating an uneasy symbiosis. This article has taken two main authors as their references to explore the adequacy of a dominant culture and a counterculture and to find out what values those artifacts put across.The two main authors are Ed Cray, Chrome Colossus: General Motors and Its Times (McGraw-Hill, 1980) and J. P Wright’s description of DeLorean’s activities, On A Clear Day You Can See General Motors (Wright Enterprises, 1979). This article was done on General Motors, one of the main characters that was discussed in this article was on John DeLorean who was a head of one of the division’s in GM. DeLorean was a man who made his way up the corporate ladder which gave him a position of leadership, resources and po wer who in return questioned the dominant culture of GM.There were three main core values of GM that were discussed, the first is Respecting Authority: Jargon and Rituals of Deference. What happens in GM is that the dominant culture gives so much importance to paying reverence to the top corporate management; special jargon was used to refer to these executives. For example, each top manager was assigned a junior executive who will be an assistant, and these assistants were called â€Å"dog robbers† which meant an assigned servant who is responsible to pick up the dogs dropping in a large household.Another type of dominant culture artifact was the ritual, GM had many rituals, this is just one of the rituals; subordinates were expected to meet their superiors from out of the town at the airport and carry their bags, pay for their hotels, meals and chauffeur them around day and night. The second core value found in GM was Fitting In: Communicating Invisibility by Visible Cues. The core value of invisibility was expressed through such visible cultural artifact as dress and decor.An example GM’s dress code was a dark suit, a light shirt and a muted tie so that no single employee stands out. The rule implemented on office decor also states the value of invisibility. All the decor was standardized. In GM if an employee was invisible he was a â€Å"team player†. They engage in public, symbolic acts of conformity to show they are team players. The third core value to the GM way of life was loyalty to one’s boss. They were all expected to be loyal to their bosses and not question them or even point out their wrong doings.One of the examples given was, GM retirement dinner, in this retirement dinner they pay tribute to the retiree by telling his journey story in the past years in GM. These dinner instilled mutual respect, admiration and loyalty. It was important for GM to tell the stories of their retiring employees, simply because these stor ies were true and shows a sequence of events in the company’s history. In one case, DeLorean did not go to pick his boss up from the airport, which was a ritual followed by all GM employees, what happened was DeLorean’s boss was furious and expected DeLorean to not repeat it ever again.In the retirement dinner, they reward the retiree for the past tasks done by ensuring future loyalty, so in DeLorean’s case he would be marked by the others and may be seen as someone who isn’t a team player. The counterculture to these dominant cultures can be seen by DeLorean’s actions. There are three areas to it; the first is questioning deference to authority. DeLorean kept creating stories that were being questioned by other employees, because one story will not make most of the employees buzzing, therefore DeLorean created many situations.For example, he wanted to replace deference to authority with task-oriented efficiency. He discouraged the meeting of super iors at airports. DeLorean himself role modeled the behavior. This incident became an organizational story. He became a controversial and powerful figure. This particular event was significant because it expressed a value that contradicted a core value of the dominant culture. The second counterculture, An Alternative to Fitting In: The Limits of Acceptable Deviance. DeLorean did not agree on the core value of fitting in team play. He instead valued dissent and independence.He backed his values with practices, by changing his divisions’ performance appraisal system. Performance was measured on basis of criteria that were as objective as possible. DeLorean was also able to role model himself by not following the dress code and he also changed the decor in his division, allowing his executives to have their own touch in their spaces. This was his way of declaring independence from the dominant culture. The only way a counter culture can sustain is by implementing the practices as well as being consistent with the preferred value.Opposing Demands for Unquestioning Loyalty is the third counterculture. Articulation of a â€Å"boomerang† challenged the dominant culture. The Corvair was a product of GM that was supposed to be the finest and most appealing product to attract the young. The Corvair story becomes a boomerang, it takes a sudden turn and employees started questioning the safety of the rear engine, but without enough support and evidence that the Corvair was not safe GM management told the employees who objected to join the team or find some other place to work. In the end the Corvair had caused many deaths because of its faulty design.This in return cost GM its reputation and millions of dollars in legal expense, and of court settlements. 3. This argument fits with my experience as an observation that I have seen happen over and over again, it is no other than an public area which most of us are bound to go to in some time in our lives in di fferent occasions, the hospital. It is always said that right after graduating as a doctor, the worst fear for all of them is their houseman ship years. It is a dominant culture that all new doctors who are coming in for their houseman ship are pushed around and are made to work over time.In other words they are bullied by their superiors. It has been a culture that has been happening all around the world and many have come to accept it as a norm. In my opinion I don’t think it should be the case, I believe that there can be an artifact of a counterculture here. Why it is that fresh new graduate doctors allow their superiors to push them around to a certain extreme. For example, senior doctors, will intentionally post questions for houseman ship doctors in front of a patient and then mock them for the answers given to enforce their authority as senior doctors.This can be emotionally damaging depending on the degree of verbal abuse. Another case would be houseman ship doctors are treated as the lowest employees in the hospital during their houseman ship years; they are not only pushed around by senior doctors but by the nurses as well. They are made to do irrelevant work and lots of running around. Another case would be sometimes, senior doctors will make houseman doctors to do their shifts as well, resulting in the housemen to be wore out and exhausted.Some of these housemen will eventually break down, for they are not able to cope with the pressure and stress. Then again this happens over and over again in all parts of the world. In my opinion I think it would make a lot of difference if some doctors have the capability to stand up and make a change in this environment. I believe as time goes by, more and more stories and incidents will occur causing the dominant culture to be questioned and a breakthrough for a counterculture to take place in this particular environment.I am sure there are cases where certain doctors have made a stand for themselves, but with the repetition of the same behavior this dominant culture may be able to change. Where the houseman ship doctors are treated with equal respect and are able to apply what they have learnt over the past few years in their houseman ship years. 3. This argument fits with my experience as an observation that I have seen happen over and over again, it is no other than an public area which most of us are bound to go to in some time in our lives in different occasions, the hospital.It is always said that right after graduating as a doctor, the worst fear for all of them is their houseman ship years. It is a dominant culture that all new doctors who are coming in for their houseman ship are pushed around and are made to work over time. In other words they are bullied by their superiors. It has been a culture that has been happening all around the world and many have come to accept it as a norm. I believe that there can be an artifact of a counterculture here.For example, senior doc tors, will intentionally post questions for houseman ship doctors in front of a patient and then mock them for the answers given to enforce their authority as senior doctors. This can be emotionally damaging depending on the degree of verbal abuse. Another case would be houseman ship doctors are treated as the lowest employees in the hospital during their houseman ship years; they are not only pushed around by senior doctors but by the nurses as well. They are made to do irrelevant work and lots of running around.Senior doctors will make houseman doctors to do their shifts as well, resulting in the housemen to be wore out and exhausted. Some of these housemen will eventually break down, for they are not able to cope with the pressure and stress. Then again this happens over and over again in all parts of the world. It would make a lot of difference if some doctors have the capability to stand up and make a change in this environment. As time goes by, more stories and incidents will occur causing the dominant culture to be questioned and a breakthrough for a counterculture to take place in this articular environment. I am sure there are cases where certain doctors have made a stand for themselves, but with the repetition of the same behavior this dominant culture may be able to change. Where the houseman ship doctors are treated with equal respect and are able to apply what they have learnt over the past few years in their houseman ship years.4. Reference Martin, J and Siehl, C (1983) Organizational Culture and Counterculture: An Uneasy Symbiosis. Organizational Dynamics, pp 52-64