Organizational culture Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Organizational culture - Assignment Example The culture itself is a by-product of observable artefacts and espoused values. There are four types of organizational culture that are given below: 1) Clan culture: this form of organizational culture represents a family like culture in which flexibility is visible whereas employee satisfaction through development of consensus and employee involvement is considered as an important attribute of organizational management. Where such culture is conducive for employee’s job satisfaction and general motivation, there are also inherent risks of lack of diversity since only homogenous employees will thrive in such culture. Furthermore, lack of leaders’ authority and abuse of flexibility is also some of its disadvantages. 2) Adhocracy culture: flexibility is valued in this type of culture but with an external focus on development and growth by presenting innovative products and services. Some of the key elements of this culture are adaptability, creativity with quick response to market challenges and opportunities and less centralised power. Although such culture shows less formalization of processes whereas its unpredictability favours creativity, there are probabilities that such organizations rely heavily on new technology, unnecessary involvement of too many employees and reduced employee’ accountability and risk management (Kinicki and Kreitner, 2012). 3) Market Culture: this type of culture focuses mainly on growth and competition, building organization over the phenomena of control. Such organizations are result-oriented with more attention paid to customers and profits instead of employee’s satisfaction. The major advantage of this culture is higher profits and better results i.e. revenues and employee efficiency however it may ignore employees’ needs, job satisfaction and their welfare. 4) Hierarchy Culture: this culture has formalized procedures with defined roles and responsibilities; internal focus and higher managerial c ontrols are some of its basic traits. Such culture is predictable and has extensive risk management. However, this culture may lack innovative vibe since all the authorities rest with few individuals. Furthermore, employees may find it unnecessary to collaborate and compete within each other for controls (Kinicki and Kreitner, 2012). There are also various types of organization structures that are bureaucratic, functional and divisional or matrix structure. In bureaucratic model, organizations have strict hierarchies and central controls. In functional structure, organizations are divided into segments that have different functions such as marketing, HR, finance, administration etc. On the other hand, divisional structure results in many independently working departments with their own resources and they operate independently. Such division can be due to different geographic location, products and services etc. In a matrix organization, employees are utilized on the basis of their f unctions and use intended i.e. product or service. Hence, teams can be formed by involving members of different departments but are assigned with common goals. In the given case studies, City College has a functional model while Enterprise follows divisional model. City College is a single entity present on one location and providing education to students therefore dividing it into several departments functionally is appropriate for organizational effectiveness. However, such strict definition of roles and responsibilities may make it difficult for departments to collaborate and it may result in lengthy processes and procedures followed by unnecessary communication and transfer of responsibility in emergencies. On the other han

Using theories and research from the psychology and work module, and Essay

Using theories and research from the psychology and work module, and with reference to your placement year, critically examine the importance of individual differences and organisational behaviour at work - Essay Example In this paper I will attempt to elaborate on how individual differences and organizational behaviour influence the work process. To better deliver and communicate my point I decided to focus on two topics – leadership and approaches to work motivation. The organization that I choose as placement is in the customer service industry, so the priority for the company is to keep the customers satisfied, creating company loyalty policies. Drenth (1998) outlines briefly that the history of work psychology dates back from hundred years ago, when scholars, researchers and psychologists started to analyze the circumstances of the industrialization on the overall work processes. The specificities around that workload, and the labour market in the industrial era posed significant questions about the sickness absences, child labour, occupational stress, welfare differences and training and development devices. All these led to the creation of organization psychologists who provided care for the workers (Drenth, 1998). Even though technology become all too important, human factor enriches the work process to an irreplaceable degree. Therefore, studying human factor determines the main tendencies in work psychology. People at work are constantly interacting with each other, they exchange skills, obtain new knowledge through training, though still each employee besides the particular work role that he is performing remains individual, with his unique behavioural characteristics, personal attitude, reactions and style. The topic of leadership is significant not only for the organization and psychology at work, but also for the whole social science field. Furnham (2005) notes that authors from various disciplines from literatures, economics, and management are trying to determine the factors that make â€Å"good† leaders and what are their strengths and personal

Wynn Resorts Financial Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Wynn Resorts Financial Summary - Essay Example alents, cost of sales, total current assets, gross profit, long term debt, net income (loss), total equity, inventory and total assets for the years 2012 and 2011. The output also shows changes and percentage changes in the items over the two peariods. Debt to equity ratio defines the ratio of an entity’s capital that is contributed by third parties to owner’s equity. It is an instrumental tool to potential investors and lenders as it indicates levels of certainty of the entity’s continuity. It is determined by the following formula, Return on investment is a profitability ratio that compares the profit performance to the investment made towards that profit. It is fundamental to investors as users of financial statements. It is obtained from the formula, Liquidity refers to an institution’s ability to have cash or cash equivalents from which it can meet its short-term obligations. A firm that has readily available cash or current assets that can be easily converted to cash, such as inventory that can be sold or debtors that can pay to boost the entity’s cash reserve, is therefore said to be more liquid than one with less cash equivalents. Liquidity is further evaluated with respect to short-term obligations. A firm with higher current assets than current liabilities, hence a high current ratio is for instance more liquid that one with a smaller current ratio (Khan and Jain, p. 6- 40). The company’s liquidity decreased from the year 2010 to the year 2011 with values of 1.76 and 1.09 respectively. This meant, on a short-term basis, that the company’s operations relied more on short-term debts, as compared to its current assets, in the year 2011 than in 2010. It also means a lower probability of acquiring short term debts hence strained short-term performance (Khan and Jain, p. 6- 40). The gross profit margin defines a measure of an organization’s products profitability. The company experienced an improvement in its gross profit margin that

A Piece of Peace Essay Example for Free

A Piece of Peace Essay The terrorist attacks on September 11th affected more than just the lives of those in people who were the direct victims of the attacks. An entire nation was victimized and the whole nation grieved for those who suffered in New York City. As the attacks occurred I sat in my high school English class and while the teacher taught I day dreamed. It was a typical Tuesday morning and to be truthful I did not ever hear her the first time she explained the tragic events that had taken place just moments ago. I heard the word â€Å"terrorists† and the fragments of statements like â€Å"hundreds died this morning when†. Then, I could only hear my heart beat in my ears. I watched my teacher turn on the TV. She flipped through several stations. I dont remember what I saw but I can remember what I heard. It was the sound of people crying. Over the next few months, as a nation, we followed the story as did the world. I can remember President Bush attempting to comfort the United States and telling us America would be going to war for reasons that werent clear to me then and certainly arent clear to me now. Somewhere between the night of September 10th, when I was plotting how I was going to avoid school the next morning and the night of September 11th, I grew up. When I look back on that time in my life I am left with a single haunting thought It is the pursuit of peace which leads to destruction. Even today, years after the terrorist attacks, people still talk about how that day changed everything. I agree, in some ways. It changed me and I became something new. It changed my family. It changed how American view other Americans and how we view the rest of the world. Americans have since the birth of the nation believed that their way was the best way. Americans were shocked to find out that people hated them enough to want to kill them. September 11th forced Americas to reflect on the military, social, and political actions of America and how they effected people of other countries. Perhaps Americans are not always in the right. For example, President Bush I gave weapons to the Afghan people to win a war against Russia. When the Afghan people defeated the Russian, Afghanistan was completely destroy. American promised them they will help rebuild but they did not. That is why the terrorist were able to come into the country and making a terrorist breeding ground. I dont think that September 11th effects the way Americans conduct their lives daily. People who say it does are feeling the pressure of guilt. Society says we must not forget, and as Americans say we wont. As a nation the citizens learned that there is a fine line between terrorist and freedom fighter- we are just afraid to admit it and seem unamerican. Those men who ran planes into building, killed Americans and killed themselves wanted only one thing peace. They wanted freedom from the western world and choose to die. Just as we wanted independence from England centuries ago. In looking for peace they destroyed lives, families, and shook the protected ground the United States sat on. It made the country stronger but not smarter. I am anxious over the global discord and the cultural ignorance that seems to grow between the United States and the rest of the world. The problems in Iraq foretell and may spark future clashes with a number of civilizations in the future. Just recently I drove home from work and I flipped through different radio stations. I caught the end of Bob Dylans â€Å"The Times They Are A-Changing†. Its funny because that is my moms favorite song and I had forgotten it existed. I still can hear her sing, â€Å"Come gather round people Wherever you roam / And admit that the waters Around you have grown /For the times they are a-changin†, while she tinkered around in the kitchen way before anyone else got up. I dont know that I ever really listened to the words before. Dylan knew and my mom knew things I was just beginning to. Dylan and my mom knew â€Å"theres a battle outside And it is ragin† and September 11th did shake our â€Å"windows† and rattled our â€Å"walls†. As a nation its citizens have no right to â€Å"criticize What we [you] cant understand† and our â€Å" sons and [y]our daughters Are beyond our [your] command† (Dylan). Our soldiers fight a war for reasons no one really knows for America that would rather criticize them then help in country that does not seem to want peace. Dylan sings about the injustice in war and that we should not be afraid to speak our minds: Come writers and critics Who prophesize with your pen And keep your eyes wide The chance wont come again And dont speak too soon For the wheels still in spin And theres no tellin who That its namin. For the loser now Will be later to win For the times they are a-changin. (Dylan) Bush wants peace but for his own reasons and through those reasons American soldiers are dying, and so are the Iraqi people. It is ironic that while those terrorists die nobly but ur soldiers die in such a cruel way. McKay writes in his poem, â€Å"If We Must Die,† that people should not die for nothing or by doing nothing. That death is inevitable, especially in war, but all people must fight for the things we want in this world and hold on to life and liberty as long as we can: O kinsmen we must meet the common foe! Though far outnumbered let us show us brave, And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow! What though before us lies the open grave? Like men well face the murderous, cowardly pack, Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back! (Claude McKay) In the summer of 2001 I was lying in my hammock and I could see a butterfly in my backyard. I remember as a child learning that caterpillars itch and go into cocoons to find peace from that. Change in a way is a form of destruction. To be able to be someone new people have to give up their old selves and move past who they used to bee. When a child develops into an adult, he must give up his toys, his childhood beliefs like believing in Santa Claus. His childhood fantasies must be destroyed if he is to move on. In the years that followed September 11th I could feel myself â€Å"adapt to my new surroundings† (White Line 2). White, through the use of nature explores the scary nature of change: I have to shed my skin again Adapt to my new surroundings become another version of myself. The change within me does not happen overnight but through the evolution of my life (White) I was filled with Americans sense of patriotism and unity. The new American was like â€Å"the first fish that grew tiny legs† (White Line 8). Christine Whites poem, â€Å"Molting† reminded me that it was not just me that grew up, the United States did too. Whites point of view is that change is not a bad thing and is inevitable. Nearly every person around the country joined together as one united entity to pay tribute and homage to all the fallen heroes. There was a sense of harmony and peace. In way I think America, even those the terrorist attacks were tragic, knew that such an event was needed if we were going to â€Å"shed our [my] skin† (White Line 1) and become a stronger nation. As time goes by and my bad memories fade I remember America in its full glory. Watching the cumulative effect of humanity shining through the fire and smoke. I remember how many people spoke about the importance of peace and understanding. I wonder if there can be peace if Americans are divide both support and protest our soldiers in Iraq. The war over there caused a war here between Americans. It is the protesters protest protesters on both sides of the issues – each wanting peace in their own way. People who do not want our soldiers fighting in Iraq believe that they would be peace if America stopped butting into everyones business. People who are for the war in Iraq believe peace will only come after the destruction of all terrorists. In the end these protesters (on both sides) are destroying the morale and lives of people fighting in the Iraq war and are disgracing the memories of those that died. The price of peace is extremely high especially because Americans do not know if we can ever have it. I do know that â€Å"The line it is drawn The curse it is cast / The slow one now Will later be fast / As the present now Will later be past† (Dylan). I do know that America must hold her ground against the terrorists. Americans will not be tyrannized and forced to live like cowards. Even when we face â€Å"the murderous, cowardly pack, Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back! † (McKay Line 14). The American fight for freedom and peace has also managed to destroy our economy. Oil prices increased, the value of the American dollar decreased, and the stock market bottomed out. When Clinton was President the stock market was well over 10,000 after 9/11 it drop well under 8000. President Bush spent the Clinton Surplus on military, and it is just now in 2006 that the stock has become stabilized. I think that our economy will emerge from this disaster and become strong once again like it was before the attacks. In the pursuit of peace and destruction, people in Americans have finally understood their place in society and were back â€Å"in the sun† (White Line 10). Not as a not as a bystanders but an active and willing participants. Americans realize that there needs to be a great deal of change and those changes have started. American citizens encourage our â€Å"senators, congressmen Please heed the call / Dont stand in the doorway Dont block up the hall† (Dylan). And governmental officials are making changes. I think our nation needs to help a new generation of people realize that aftermath of that day when humans lives were lost and Americas unique humanity and independence was demonstrated. This generations hearts were opened and turned around in the wake of airplane crashes. On September 11, 2001 many people lost their lives because men were seeking their own personal peace. Daily our soldiers are destroyed one by one for the goal of peace. The American economy struggles because of the war for peace against terrorism. Americans fight Americans over whether we should be in Iraq or not which tears apart soldiers pride. Before that Tuesday in September, I never thought about life and death. I never considered the consequences of war and the denial of freedoms. Now that I am older, I realize that September 11, 2001 was not just pivotal point for me but America itself. Not since Pearl Harbor had the United States been unexpectedly attacked on its own land. Just as families pulled together so did the United States as a whole. As a nation we cried together and we healed together. To actually witness the attacks was life changing but to be part of the healing process was life affirming.

Chivalry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Knight’s Tale, and Mal

The term â€Å"chivalry† refers to one of the most popular medieval social ideals. Indeed, this term has excited the imagination of poets and readers throughout history, and modern cultures continue to revise the chivalric ideals of past ages. However, pinpointing what the term meant within the medieval period is difficult at best. The source of this difficulty lies within the fact that there was never one consistent definition for chivalry. Indeed, the meaning of the word seems to shift between cultures and throughout time. For example, the earliest usage of the word seems to denote only mounted cavalry; however, as time shifts, the word becomes synonymous with certain martial ideals. As the period progresses, the ideal of chivalry encompasses a more total social paradigm, incorporating a wide array of ideals including honor, hospitality, and love. Even this rough outline of chivalry’s history fails to account for the shifting ground that surrounds this t erm. However, regardless of an individual culture or poet’s conception of chivalry, it remained a popular ideal. Indeed, it was most often communicated within the genre of romance, and romance is among the most popular of medieval genres. Often times, these romances not only celebrate the ideal of chivalry but they also examine and critique it. Certainly, the form of the romance offers a perfect vehicle for this exercise. Whereas epic heroes are different from ordinary people by kind, the heroes of romance are different only by degree. While they may be a little stronger, a little smarter, or a little more honorable than the average person, we see within their victories the victories of the culture, and we experience within their failures the failures of the social... ...on seems to point towards the sort of cross-factionalism that the chivalric order demands. When Lancelot destroys him, he is in effect destroying the tie that binds the factions together, and Gawain reacts with rage. When the smoke clears, Gawain and Arthur are dead, and the dream of Camelot is destroyed. The critique here seems to be on humankind more than chivalry, for while chivalry stands as a great ideal, the men and women of Camelot were unable to subordinate their own desires to it. As with Gawain and the Green Knight, the text examines the most perfect example of chivalry that has existed and finds it flawed. In this way, medieval romance walks a delicate path between honoring the chivalric ideals and critiquing their execution. Ultimately, these texts seem to criticize humanity’s inability to live up to the code as often as they do the code itself.

Buy Nothing Day Essay

Buy Nothing Day is an day of protest that was founded in Canada in 1992 where people are asked to purchase no goods as a way to attempt to increase awareness of excessive consumerism and its environmental and ethical consequences. Over the last 22 years it has been held annually in many nations and activist groups are continuing to try to convince more and more countries to pledge their participate. A Buy Nothing Day, although based in good motives, is extreme and should not be established in the United States because it may hurt the economy, and it is an ineffective way to promote anti-consumerist ideas. Asking American consumers to boycott all goods for a day could have negative effects on the country’s economy in many ways. Consumer spending almost single handedly carries the economy and makes up almost 70% of the gross domestic product. Not only does a Buy Nothing Day day have the potential to lower the GDP, but it would also cause instability in an already fragile economy that is still recovering from a recession. On a more personal level, a Buy Nothing day could seriously affect small businesses that depend on daily sales much more than large companies and workers in sales positions. If stores knew that they would not see many customers on a Buy Nothing Day, they may ask many workers to stay home which could be harmful to people who depend on work every day to pay for their living expenses. Even if a person was luck enough to still be called into work, many salespersons are paid low, basic wages and then paid commission for the number of sales they make that day to make u p for the low base earning. If no one comes into the store to buy goods that means the commission they would have earned is not available. In addition to negatively effecting the economy, a Buy Nothing Day is simply an ineffective strategy to promote anti-consumerist ideals. Asking consumers to completely abstain from purchasing goods is extreme and will likely not have a lasting effect on consumers’ buying habits. This is because this approach, although it may cause a day of less consumption, does nothing to educate people about why excessive consumerism is a problem. The more likely result is that it will simply hasten or delay the purchase of goods to  another day, and it may not have any effect at all on the purchase of necessities such as gas and groceries. In addition, it’s intense focus on the helping the environment is misleading, as one day a year will have almost no positive effect on the environment. Purchasing goods or not, most people will still have to use fossil fuels for transportation, and large industrial factories will continue to manufacture goods just as they would have before. If this campaign truly wants to create a lasting change in the way American’s purchase goods it should focus less on such extreme protesting and instead focus on year-long advertisements which better promote the reasons behind their campaign and on consumer education which would teach people how to make smart decisions when purchasing goods. Starting a Buy Nothing Day in the United States could cause instability, damage the already fragile economy and hurt individuals who depend on sales for their livelihoods. In addition, it is altogether a poorly constructed and will not change the way people consume goods because it does not adequately educate people about the cause, nor will its one-day strategy have the impact on the environment that the campaign wants to. Although it has good points about the extreme level of consumerism in the modern world and its negative effects, its extremist approach is not the way to go. Better promotion of the ideas behind a Buy Nothing Day and consumer education are the way to create a lasting effect on the way people purchase goods.

Religion and Filipino Mothers Essay

Rizal’s Reminders on Equality, Self – Respect and True Spirit of Religion 1. The tyranny of some is possible only through cowardice and negligence on the part of others. 2. What makes one contemptible is lack of dignity and abject fear of one who holds one in contempt. 3. Ignorance is servitude, because as a man thinks, so he is; a man who does not think for himself and allows himself to be guided by the thought of another is like a beast led by a halter, 4. He who loves his independence must first aid his fellowman, because he who refuses protection to others will find himself without it. 5. If the Filipina will not change her mode of being, let her rear no more children, let her merely give birth to them. She must cease to be the mistress of the home, otherwise she will unconsciously betray husband, child, native, land and all. 6. All men are born equal, naked, without bonds. God did not create man to be a slave; nor did he endow him with intelligence to have him hoodwinked or adorn him with reason to have deceived by others. 7. Consider well what kind of religion they are teaching you. See whether it is the will of God or according to the teachings of Christ that the poor be succored and those who suffer alleviated. In summary, Rizal ‘s Letter To the Young Women of Malolos focused on five major points (Zaide & Zaide, 1999) 1. Filipino mothers should teach their children love of God, country and fellowman. 2. Filipino mothers should be glad and honored, like Spartan mothers to offer their sons in defense of their country. 3. Filipino women should know how to protect their dignity and honor. 4. Filipino women should educate themselves aside from retaining their good radical values. 5. Faith is not merely reciting prayers and wearing religious pictures. It is living the real Christian way with good morals and manners.