Case Study: Michelin’s supply chain strategy Essay

Michelin is the front line of the outspread tire just as a pioneer on the world tire showcase; they involved practically 20% piece of the overall industry on the planet. It’sâ realized that the pattern towards globalization as increasingly exceptional rivalries that acquire to bring down cost and improve the effective activities. In the interim, Michelin have its solid vision, since they have just settled a worldwide strategic 1900s, and constructed 35 manufacturing plants far and wide somewhere in the range of 1960 and 1975. Michelin can be gain the serious edge in the worldwide market through different assembling procedures, allude to (2000, Geoff Buxey) shows that it’s for the most part characterize into a few develop levels, _Domestic, Market get to, Low expense and Global ._Furthermore, so as to adapt to the difficulties under a few rivalries, for example, Goodyear and Bridgestone, they have setting a situation as effective in the †Quality assurance.† Also there are correlation and difference the worldwide activities among Michelin and Bridgestone in the last area. Q1. _THE MANUFACTURING STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY MICHELIN IN ORDER TO GAIN COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN GLOBAL MARKET._ Michelin have 69 creation locales in19 nations and their industrially accessible in 170 nations. This effective isn't just base on the capacity to organize the entire substances in the worldwide flexibly chain arrange, yet additionally relies upon their assembling procedures to get Michael Porter (1985) a practical Competitive bit of leeway. Worldwide In 1906, Michelin assembled its first plant outside of France in Turin, Italy and United States, that’s embroiled that they start to create and access to the universal market. All the more as of late, Michelin have scattering to six objective markets: Europe, North America, South America, Asia Pacific, China, Africa and the Middle-East. MICHELIN’S MANUFACTURING STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES Michelin’s Tire producing is comprise the idea of work serious and capital-escalated, hence they have to embracing various procedures between cutting edge nations and rising nations, blend of _low cos_t and _market access_ systems to go into the worldwide market, as (2000, Geoff Buxey) calls attention to that the _global fabricating strategy_ is comprise of minimal effort and market get to technique. Local Europe is the modern base of Michelin, their items are gives to two fundamental markets to the world: Original Equipment Market and Replacement advertise. In Europe, they quick to maintain its upper hand in giving high specialized items and offer a high-caliber and creative items and administrations; likewise a R&D division go about as a significant job in offering a persistent help to their assembling procedure. Also, Increase the efficiency can be straightforwardly decrease their activity cost, as the case referenced, Michelin will in general be through diminished the creation size to build the profitability in Europe. Concentrate ON HIGH QUALITY and TECHNICAL PRODUCTS PRODUCED IN EUROPE. This is no uncertainty that, Michelin is initiative in cutting edge innovations, in _Safety_, _Energy efficiency_, yet additionally in _Environmental friendliness_. For example, build up a low moving obstruction tires to decrease vehicle fuel utilization as general society is more consider about natural cordiality. The ground-breaking proof to demonstrate that the nature of Michelin’s items are perceived, World exchange Magazine to grant of †Manufacturer of Honor† to Michelin in 2007, in light of the fact that they give vehicle tires to U.S. military all through the world. ACCESS INTO THE EMERGING MARKET AND DIFFERENTIATION In the interim, the increments in the interest of developing business sector and the y understood that the transportation cost is includes an enormous level of their net deals, thusly, building up a plants in the oversea market and let the creation near the commercial center, it can diminish the stock and transportation cost, yet additionally ready to satisfy the client needs promptly and reaction to the market change. From the yearly report in 2006, there are 3 fields of techniques should be execute, that remembering †_Differentiation through advancement and development for rising nations to invigorate growth_.† Martin Christopher (2005) talks about that, in today’s commercial center where clients look for singularity and where sections are getting littler, a significant wellspring of upper hand can be picked up by connecting creation adaptability to client requirement for assortment. It’s concurred that gives an assorted variety of items may snatch the piece of the pie in the developing business sector. Additionally, Michelin sets up more plants in various territories can be satisfying the sharp increments sought after. Specific/FOCUSED FACTORIES To accomplish the major key efficiency gains, Michelin focus on modern limit and specialization of plants. Michelin hope to through †_The Michelin Manufacturing Way_ (MMW) † to build their efficiency, which is an administration apparatus shared by all Group plants and ready to lessen their buying costs Additionally, inferable from provide food for explicit and one of a kind neighborhood requests, Michelin embraced specific/centered processing plants technique as so to satisfy variousâ customer needs and accomplish nearby customization . Martin Christopher (2005) calls attention to that, Focus Factories implies † restricting the range and blend of items made in a solitary area the organization can accomplish extensive economies of scale.† It permits Michelin to appreciate lower activity cost on the grounds that the huge scope financial matters can be accomplished in assembling if more prominent volumes are created on less locales and it permit every industrial facility on a particular item run. As a worldwide organization, Michelin receiving an alternate methodology in different markets and satisfy the client needs at full steam. Through accomplish an items separation to catch the new client in the developing business sector; likewise, they have its solid neighborhood nearness to adjust to the particular highlights of the world markets. What's more, further build up the specialized items which rely upon their capacity to offer a high-caliber and creative items and administrations can be keeping up a feasible upper hand in the worldwide market. Q.2 EVALUATE MICHELIN’S GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT STRATEGY (GSCM), ANY ISSUES THEY NEED TO COPING WITH AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT. With expanded globalization, GSCM system is turning into a significant issue for Michelin, the stream between and among all organizations occupied with offering a decent or administration to the last client. FROM UPSTREAM TO THE DOWNSTREAM OF THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN Worldwide SOURCING The GSCM in Michelin is extremely confused, in light of the fact that various markets additionally have its own attributes in the client needs and the business arrange is covering more than 170 nations. From the upstream gracefully chain, Michelin embraced a _Global sourcing_ as a vital way to deal with diminish the crude material expense and blend of theâ manufacturing inputs accessible anyplace on the planet and access the oversea markets, which bolstered by †The Factor-Input Strategy† and †The Market-Access Strategy† OEMS AND REPLACEMENT From the downstream gracefully chain, Michelin have set up 11 particular specialty units to screen and co-ordinate the activity among substances into the GSCM. Plus, they have two diverse plans of action, OEMs and Replacement advertise. In any case, it’s interrelated, on the grounds that the first hardware part deals will make an immediate commitment by boosting interest for substitution tires. The tire sellers get the stock of new substitution tires through Michelin’s Distribution Centers and the interest is originated from various clients and it’s less conviction than OEMs advertise. Thusly, the Lead time in the OEMs can be decreased, on the grounds that the requests are set by the significant vehicle producers in a brief timeframe. For example, Michelin was likewise OEMs provider to _General Motor’s_ and _Honda’s_ vehicles Bob Ulrich (2007) up to this point. Subsequently, these two sorts of market fragments need to utilizing diverse methodology to control the downstream flexibly chain. Effective SUPPLY CHAIN AND RESPONSIVE SUPPLY CHAIN Fisher (1997) recommended two particular procedures, Efficient flexibly chain (ESC) and Responsive gracefully chain (RSC), and introduced a model which connections gracefully anchors to items. There are two particular gracefully chain draws near; Replacement items speak to an ESC and the lead time is longer, the OEMs items speak to a RSC in light of the fact that it’s ready to adaptable in taking care of change in client demand. Huang, Uppal et al. (2002) introduced a _hybrid flexibly chain_, show that some vehicle parts may contain inventive highlights, and the cross breed gracefully chain may in this way be appropriated in Michelin. In any case, Michelin likewise keep an eye on incorporation of the worldwide flexibly fasten system to most extreme their gainfulness and the center components to decide their worldwide gracefully chain technique is relying upon the market and product’s qualities. POTENTIAL ISSUES FACING BY MICHELIN The increments in the expense of crude materials and which are bringing about a negative generally sway on working salary. The OEMs showcase is developing show in cutting edge advertise, be that as it may, there are developing fast in developing business sector in both OEMs and Replacement, and it has expanded 15% tire deals from 60% in 2005 to 75% in 2006 in Replacement showcase. As the pointedly increment the interest in Replacement advertise, Vollmann(2005) states that †the Customer request decoupling point† which position in the †Finished stages† of the flexibly chain in substitution showcase, accordingly, accomplish an upgrade stock and maintain a strategic distance from stock out is exceptionally troublesome, in the interim, item life cycle become shorter and the item assortment persistent increment will

Ethical Guidelines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Moral Guidelines - Essay Example The American Statistical Association on their part ought to guarantee that everyone utilizing measurable practices is very much educated on the Ethical rules for factual practices. The significance of factual examinations in our present society can't go unnoticed. Factual practices are utilized in different areas in the economy, for example, wellbeing division, instruction, condition, horticulture, industry and numerous different segments. Along these lines, a moral dynamic in measurements rehearses in unavoidable. Prior to settling on any measurable choice, appropriate demonstrable skill must be clung to. The chief needs to guarantee importance before settling on the last factual choice. For example, before making any strategies that may emerge from factual outcomes, analysts need to think about the drawn out impacts that the strategy will have on the overall population. The moral rules necessitate that the scientist ought to guarantee that satisfactory measurable and topic aptitude in both applied to any arranged examination. In this way it is untrustworthy for someone who is experienced on horticulture to embraced examine on a clinical field where he/she has no aptitude. Regarding obligation, the rules plainly expresses that an individual ought to keep up moral duty regarding all the work bearing his/her name. This will guarantee that copyright infringement is kept away from at all expense. The field of measurements is described by numerous partners. This is on the grounds that numerous individuals have individual or open interests in the consequences of the measurable practices. The most probable partners in factual investigations are funders, customers and businesses. Funders are the individuals who support the whole examination and are generally intrigued on the positive outcomes from the investigation. They may utilize the outcomes to make strategies that may serve their advantage or the general public’s. By and large NGOs and

Blog Archive MBA Career Advice Do Not Use Your Elevator Pitch at a Networking Event

Blog Archive MBA Career Advice Do Not Use Your Elevator Pitch at a Networking Event In this weekly series, our friends at MBA Career Coaches will be dispensing invaluable advice to help you actively manage your career. Topics include building your network, learning from mistakes and setbacks, perfecting your written communication, and mastering even the toughest interviews. For more information or to sign up for a free career consultation, visit  www.mbacareercoaches.com. “Practice makes perfect,” they say. And there is certainly some validity to that adage. Practicing the things you might like to tell someone in an interview or at a networking event is useful because it gives you the chance to collect your thoughts, organize them in an orderly fashion, and recall the key vivid details of stories you might want to tell. In that regard, practicing an elevator speech or any other story about your life can be very valuable. The problem though is that you can’t create the “perfect story” that will work every time. Perfection implies something is fixed and frozen. If your goal is to memorize something and use it over and over again, it may work from time to time, but more often than not your networking attempts will fall flat. I am sure we can all remember that time we sidled up to someone we really wanted to meet, launched into our planned talk, and midway through realized it just wasn’t connecting and our value wasn’t getting across. That’s because in a first conversation with someone â€" the kinds of dialogue you might have at a networking event or with a busy executive in an elevatorâ€" the goal is NOT to get your point across. The goal is to make a human connection. The people you follow up with, the people you remember are the ones with whom you make a connection. This is true no matter where someone sits in the organizational hierarchy. If the CEO likes you when she meets you in that elevator, then the door may be open for a follow up conversation. If you fail to make a human connection, at best she won’t remember you; at worst, she might even avoid you. So why does the elevator speech so often fail? Because it is an attempt to transmit a fixed monologue instead of participating in what should be a spontaneous dialogue. You know what I am talking about â€" a conversation is a living thing, a collaborative interaction among the people having it. If it is your goal to “get your message across,” it will go over like a lead balloon. To succeed in these all-important first interactions, you need to be in the present moment. You can’t rely on a script from conversations past. Here are some tips for being more present in the moment so that you can make deeper and more meaningful connections through your networking efforts: Get happy. It’s very important to enter a conversation in a good mood. Most importantly, you need to make sure you are feeling confident in who you are. If you had a bad day at work, if that negative performance review has just flitted across your mind, stop. Do not start a conversation now. Instead, remember some things that you are really proud of â€" your manager’s kind praises about your most recent career success, that tutoring student who turned her performance around because of you, the giant risk you took in planning a solo trip to a foreign country that turned out to be a magical journey. Do not try to approach others until you are feeling great about yourself first. Let go of your agenda. There may be something you want from the person you are about to talk to. Putting your attention on that inherently makes you focus on the future and not in the present moment. That is a sure-fire way to fail to make a connection. So just let it go. If there is something you want â€" like an introduction or an opportunity to interview at the firm â€" just remind yourself that those details can work themselves out later. Your only job is to connect with the person in front of you. Save agenda items for follow-up if that helps you stay focused here and now. When in doubt, talk about something you love and let other people pick up the thread from there. Share ThisTweet MBA Career Advice

How The Supply And Demand Of The Healthcare Industry Has...

The supply and demand in the healthcare industry has its impacts daily with all health care organizations. The health care industry is continuously growing with high strides and demands in several areas; such as the following the growing demand of the population, health care professional, technology supplies and materials, marketing efforts, as well the caregivers, and organizations themselves. All of these items come also with the production process and producing them, From century to century we have to pick out battels in ways to improve the health care industry with the supply and demands. 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Andrew Carnegie Ruthless Conqueror or Great Philanthropist

Andrew Carnegie can be looked at as a double edged sword. One edge of the blade would show Carnegie as an ideal example of a poor immigrant fighting his way up to become an incredibly successful business man who would one day give nearly all his fortune away to help society improve itself. The reverse edge of the blade would show Carnegie as a ruthless business man who would slash his workers pay, drive other businesses under and used corruption to become leader of the capitalist world. These viewpoints of Carnegie have changed as years pass. Early accounts of Carnegie depict him as the ruthless conqueror of the steel industry while other later works tend to show both sides of Carnegie with great emphasis on the fact that he was a great†¦show more content†¦Such thriftiness was the key to his future success. Carnegie didn’t let the Industrial Revolution that destroyed his father’s business destroy him. As a young boy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Carnegie began working in a factory. He despised this position but it made him stronger and he pushed on in his hunt for his new future. In so doing, he was able to gain a fresh outlook with a position in a telegraph office. From here, he developed a skill that all successful business men need to master; Carnegie learned the artful skill of making business connections. This new talent is what led Carnegie to his relationship with Thomas Scott. Scott helped Carnegie by getting him a job with Pennsylvania Railroad. This position was a crucial turning point in Carnegie’s career. Perhaps the most controversial of Andrew Carnegie’s qualities is his belief in Social Darwinism. The English philosopher Herbert Spencer convinced Carnegie that it wasn’t bad to be successful. It was â€Å"survival of the fittest† in the business world and there was no reason for Andrew Carnegie to feel guilty for obtaining more wealth. Throughout Carnegie’s life, he displayed his firm belief in the certainty of competition. In fact, he was afraid of competition and did all he could to obstruct or completely remove it when it came to his

I Learned At A Young Age Of What A Stereotype Really Means

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The Challenges Facing Contemporary Auditors

Question: Describe about the The Challenges Facing Contemporary Auditors. Answer: Introduction: Auditing refers to the systematic process of examining the affairs of an organization and which has legal and regulatory implications as well. The risks associated with an audit is dependent on the nature of business of the concerned organization. The current study is concerned with evaluating contemporary challenges faced by auditors today across the globe. The study seeks to understand the various risks associated with buying and selling of goods online. The study further highlights the ways in which auditors can detect frauds and misstatements in context of online businesses. Discussion: E-commerce refers to the purchasing selling of goods and transferring data or funds using an electronic network which is in general the internet. The type of business can be business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-customers (B2C) or Customers-to-Business (C2B). In this context, Askary et al. (2012) stated that e-commerce model of business has the lowest level of physical interaction between a seller and a buyer. However, the main benefit of e-commerce business is that its helps in eliminating geographical limitations. In other words, e-commerce business allows a company to reach out to a large number of customers which is not possible under traditional business model based on physical interactions. In addition to this, e-commerce business model increases the chances of sales for a company. However, the above benefits buying and selling online possess certain impacts on a business at both local and international level. As mentioned by Beck and Mauldin (2014), online buying and selling of goods lowers the strength of customer relationship with a concerned company. Put it differently, lack of visit to the online stores and meeting sales executives of the company somehow weakens the bond of relationship between a company and its customers. On the other hand, considering international business arena, cost benefit is one of the greatest benefit of e-commerce to expand current business of a firm (Bowling, 2014). In other words, setting up new offices, hiring new staffs and conducting business in a foreign market involves huge capital investment which further raises the risk associated with the concerned investment in the foreign market. However, e-commerce requires comparatively lower costs to establish business in a foreign country. This is mainly because of the fact that no physical offices or assets are required to be established in the foreign market. However, online buying and selling of goods over the internet also possess certain risks to business. In this context, Gunin-Paracini et al. (2014) stated that loss of transaction integrity is a key risk associated with doing business in e-commerce format. The loss of business integrity take higher form by inadequate audit trail either in electronic or paper form. On the other hand, security threats including virus attacks are yet another key risk to business under e-commerce format which could also result in loss of data or hacking of confidential information of the business and the customers as well. On the other hand, improper accounting policies in respect of certain expenditures in e-commerce business is a key risk to organizations engaged in buying and selling goods online (William et al. 2016). Capitalization of certain expenses like website development expenses, title transfer risk, wrong understanding of complicated contractual agreements, allowances related to warranties an d revenue recognition could lead to incorrect accounting treatment of transaction resulting in non-adherence to International Financial Regulatory Standards (IFRS). There are certain crucial factors to be considered while determining treatment of transactions in an e-commerce business. These are whether the organization is a principal or an entity and if only commission or gross sales are to be recognized. Treatment regarding free goods and discounts also need to be determined. As mentioned by Ihendinihu and Robert (2014), in case other companies are also giving advertisements in the website then on what basis would be the revenue allocated and determined. The above risks can further lead to misstatements and frauds under e-commerce business. Discount allowed account is a key area in respect of online business through which organizations can indulge in fraudulent activities to lower the profitability of an organization. In other words, an organization can show greater amount of discounts offered to customers than the actual discount amount to lower the revenue earned from sales and this further lowers the profit margin. This helps organizations to pay low amount to taxes to the government. On the other hand, in case a company wants to show higher revenues to impress shareholders then the same can be easily done by creating fake email IDs of customers and showing false sales transactions (Waldron, 2016). Lack of physical interaction is the main factor leading to easy manipulation of identity. Misstatement can also occur if an organization even being the principal represent itself as the agent and show false commission on the same. The i ntention behind such strategy is to benefit from tax exemptions due to agent identity and commission expense which also helps in increasing expenses on the profit or loss account and lower profit margin of the organization. The above risks can be addressed through several strategies. Development of adequate security system and audit control measures are the two key measures in this regard. Sound security system would help in reducing the threat of cybercrimes like hacking, identity theft, malware and others. On the other hand, stringent audit control systems could help in identifying frauds and misstatements committed by a company. Auditors while auditing business of an e-commerce nature need to take additional measures to detect failures, inaccuracies and problems in financial reporting to present an authentic opinion on the business of the company (Sanderson, 2013). Auditors need to verify the identity of the customers and suppliers prior to issuing audit statement (Sadgrove, 2016). In addition to this, auditors can obtain all terms of trade, credit terms, licensing and others from the management in respect of conducting the business. Bank account and payment gateways could provide vital insights on t he actual transactions, debit and credit of amounts in the business bank account. This could help the auditors in judging the authenticity of the transactions furnished by business owners. On the other hand, auditors also needs to obtain soft copies of website login details, online orders placed and web page visits of the customers. These are necessary to understand authenticity of sales transactions. In this context, Jang and Kim (2016) mentioned that fraudulent practices can be best managed by auditors by matching the movement of inventories with the sales figures furnished by an organization. Here, random audits can be done to check if the sales volume matches with the volume of goods issued from inventories. Physical verification of stock could be essential in this regard. Furthermore, the amount of website related expenditure need to be properly verified by the auditors to determine the correct treatment of such transactions. Conclusion: The current study revealed that buying and selling goods online offers various financial and non-financial benefits to businesses. However, e-commerce mode of business is also subject to various risks to the businesses using such models. The chances of frauds and misstatements are quite high in such business model. The study further indicated that data related to sales revenue, commission and discounts can be easily manipulated in case of online transactions. The auditors can however take certain initiatives to detect frauds and misstatements. The auditors need to verify the contact details and identity of the customers. In addition, auditors also need to verify inventory movement against the sales volume of companies. Reference List: Askary, S., Goodwin, D. and Lanis, R., 2012. Improvements in audit risks related to information technology frauds.International Journal of Enterprise Information Systems (IJEIS),8(2), pp.52-63. Beck, M.J. and Mauldin, E.G., 2014. Who's really in charge? Audit committee versus CFO power and audit fees.The Accounting Review,89(6), pp.2057-2085. Bowling, A., 2014.Research methods in health: investigating health and health services. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). Gunin-Paracini, H., Malsch, B. and Paill, A.M., 2014. Fear and risk in the audit process.Accounting, Organizations and Society,39(4), pp.264-288. Ihendinihu, J.U. and Robert, S.N., 2014. Role of Audit Education in Minimizing Audit Expectation Gap (AEG) in Nigeria.International Journal of Business and Management,9(2), p.203. Jang, J.Y. and Kim, C.N., 2016. An Analysis of the Effects of Knowledge Complementarities on the Performance of Information System Audit: A Perspective of the Resident Audit in the Project Office.Journal of the Korea society of IT services,15(1), pp.113-129. Sadgrove, K., 2016.The complete guide to business risk management. Routledge. Sanderson, I., 2013. Tools for IT governance assurance: using recent updates of ISACA's Information Systems Audit and Assurance Standards alongside COBIT 5 can help auditors evaluate their organization's information systems governance.Internal Auditor,70(5), pp.51-54. Waldron, M., 2016. The Future of Audit.CFA Institute Magazine,27(3), pp.55-55. William Jr, M., Glover, S. and Prawitt, D., 2016. Auditing and Assurance Services: A Systematic Approach.Auditing and Assurance Services: A Systematic Approach.

Venus Asleep Of Paul Delvaux Essays - Paul Delvaux, Walloon People

"Venus Asleep" Of Paul Delvaux Paul Delvaux (1897-1994) Venus Asleep 1. What Does the art work look like? describe it. This piece of art work in my opinion looks like a dream. The art work has a certain disoriented charm. It has mainly all dark colors and uses these dark colors to contrast with the light skin pigment of the people in the painting. The painting has a calm erotic nude lady sleeping on a very formal looking couch or day bed. If the picture is read as this ladies dream then it appears as if she were dreaming of death or something of a cult like manner. If it is indeed death she is dreaming of then she is symbolizing that death is very calm and relaxed, for her leg has gone limp as if she is very relaxed as death (the skeleton) is hovering over the foot end of her bed. In the background there are also people flying up in the sky and these people could symbolize the dead rising to a heaven or a god, or even angels attempting to help the dying on there way to a heaven or a god. It also seams as if the people in this dream are in a place of worship and they are all looking up to the skies and praying. The structures around them are very temple like, for they have many statues and engravings about them. There is one lady in close and she is not praying and looks very formal. This lady is looking right at the skeleton which symbolizes death. This lady could symbolize a priest that is conversationalizing with her god or death itself, or this lady could also symbolize a non-believer that only examines the cult or religion and passes judgment. Another major aspect of this painting is that it is all set at night, which only makes the viewer believe more that the painting is set in a dream state because most dreams occur at night when we are asleep. 2. What subject matter does the artist work with? How is the subject matter represented: realistically, abstractly. Paul Delvaux uses a lot of different subject matters and here is a list of them: mythology, dreams, religion, bourgeois men, death, skeletons, large landscapes with ruins or city views and naked woman who wander expressionlessly. But in this painting he used a dream like atmosphere and a Greek cult like landscape to portray his message. Initially his first works, painted in the early 1920's, mostly consisted of pretty post-impressionist landscapes, but later more into the late 20's (around 1926-1927), Paul Delvaux evolved towards a more simplified style of Expressionism and Symbolism as these styles were seeping into his works. In his own words Paul Delvaux explains "I wanted to find something else, but I did not know exactly what that could be.". After this metamorphosis Paul Delvaux converted to Expressionism. From 1935 and onward Paul Delvaux mainly focused on surrealistic works of art. This painting is represented in a surrealistic manner. His choice of subject-matter and his personal style attest to his own personality. 3. What kind of technique is used to produce the work? Include the type(s) of media that are used. Paul Delvaux uses many techniques, but for this painting Venus Asleep Paul Delvaux used very sharp edge images with a lot of dark shadows. He did this painting with oil on a (173 x 200cm) canvas. He conveys his work using political media from his time period and rearranging it to show his feelings of a subject or the reality of a situation. Sometimes he uses unrelated media that he links together to make a point in his own way. 4. Where was the work produced? (GeoGraphic location) Paul Delvaux is known as a Belgian artist. Paul Delvaux initially studied architecture, but later studied painting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. Around 1934 Paul Delvaux withdrew from society, spending a month in the tiny southern Belgian village of Spy filling his many sketch books with lingering fantasies in his mind and childhood memories. From 1951 onwards Paul Delvaux most often worked in Sint-Idesbald (Koksijde). Except in 1952 Paul Delvaux designed murals for the casino of the Kursaal in Ostend and he also did work in a few other places as well. The painting (Venus Asleep) was created in Brussels in 1944. 5. When was the work done? (Dates of the artists life, working life, name of the art period in which the work

SBA Offers Online 8(a) Program Application

SBA Offers Online 8(a) Program Application The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has unveiled a new electronic online application process that will make it easier, faster and less expensive for small businesses to apply for 8(a) Business Development and Small Disadvantaged Business certification. The 8(a) Business Development Program is a business assistance program for small disadvantaged businesses. The 8(a) Program offers a wide range of assistance to firms that are owned and controlled at least 51% by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Benefits of 8(a) Certification Small businesses that gain SBA 8(a) program certification can compete for and get sole-source government contracts worth up to $4 million for goods and services and $6.5 million for manufacturing. 8(a) certified firms may also from joint ventures and teams to bid on government contracts. â€Å"This enhances the ability of 8(a) firms to perform larger prime contracts and overcome the effects of contract bundling, the combining of two or more contracts together into one large contract,† notes the SBA. In addition, the SBA’s Mentor-Protà ©gà © Program allows newly-certified 8(a) firms to â€Å"learn the ropes† from more experienced businesses. Participation in the program is divided into two phases over nine years: a four-year developmental stage and a five-year transition stage. Basic 8(a) Certification Eligibility Requirements While the SBA imposes many specific requirements for 8(a) certification, the basics are: The business must be at least 51% owned and controlled by an individual or individuals who are socially and economically disadvantaged. The owners must be able to prove they meet the SBA requirements for both social disadvantage and economic disadvantage.The owner(s) must be an American citizen, by birth-right or naturalization.The business must meet the SBA size limits for a small business.The business must demonstrate to the SBA that it has a â€Å"potential for success.† More About the 8(a) Online Application Announced during a luncheon at Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week by SBA Administrator Hector V. Barreto, the new automated online 8(a) application will substantially reduce the time and cost of applying for certification. The newly launched 8(a) online application will allow small businesses to apply for 8(a) and SDB certification directly from the SBAs Web site, and ensure more small businesses are able to successfully compete for federal contracting opportunities, Barreto said. This user-friendly application represents another accomplishment of this Administration in developing e-Gov tools that make access to information less cumbersome for small business. [ Truth About Small Business Grants From the US Government ] The SBAs 8(a) Business Development Program helps small businesses owned, controlled, and operated by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals by providing management, technical, financial and federal contracting assistance with the aim of helping these entrepreneurs create viable businesses. About 8,300 companies are presently certified in the 8(a) program. During FY 2003, $9.56 billion in federal contracts were awarded to companies participating in the program. The new automated application was developed by an 8(a) firm, Simplicity, Inc. in conjunction with the SBAs Office of Government Contracting and Business Development. It employs decision logic to screen applications allowing the SBA to review and process applications more efficiently and provide improved customer service. The application is 100 percent Web-based, allowing applicants to apply without downloading any software or plug-ins, replacing a four-page written application that required substantial supporting documentation.

Property Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Property Management - Assignment Example Having them is an advantage to the company. The company also uses the most effective way s to attract customers and to retain the ones that already exist. Several sales are registered anytime a marketing campaign is rolled out. Competition also exists in the industry. The major competitors are two big foreign companies. They are Glitz Housing Company and Sarajevo Group. The company owns approximately 37% of the market share and the two companies share the remaining percentage. The financial projections of the company are expected to be more promising as compared to the past years. Last year, the company registered a 13.64% increase in profits. This was an improvement of 4.23% on the previous year. The company expects a steady climb in income because the demand for houses is increasing daily. This puts the company at a perfect position to stabilize itself. Introduction Property management exists in the current world than never before. This is because people get busier with the increas e in engagement. This is attributed to the fact that people do diverse jobs, and very few are dependent on a single job. Property management involves several activities with different implications to the company. All these should are carried out with synchrony with the other tasks. This ensures that there is no confusion in the management of the property. Property management for residential homes includes a lot of activities. People tend to give property management firms responsibilities to handle their property because of various reasons. Some people tend to be very busy to appoint that they reassign the management of their properties to companies. Home management is not an easy thing to do as entails a lot. It involves the maintenance of the properties so that they do not get worn out very fast. Residential homes tend to be a harder task to crack because they are occupied on almost fulltime basis. The occupancy can be by the real owners or the people who are left to guard the prem ises. Property management for residential homes gives the company a chance to have a personal touch with the tenants. The tenants play a big role because it is their money that drives the whole industry. The property managers do gain a lot from their jobs. They do get a percentage of the total income in a specific period. This depends on the terms and conditions that exist between the two parties. Property management in homes has some good returns. This is because at some point in time, someone will have to own a house or at least rent one. The property management company does a lot of things to ensure that clients stick to their homes. They also lay down rules on how best they can attract customers to their housing units. The property managers play several other key roles. They draft the budget that they work with for a given period. This includes the expenses and the incomes registered as well. The property managers also ensure that the tenants pay the rent in time. This ensures t hat there are no defaulters. As a result, the company’s income does not reduce in any way. Rent collection is a very crucial part in the management of properties. This is solely because it is the most important source of income. Property management for residential homes revolves around the rent collection of rent. In case there are defaulters, the property managers also ensure that the debt is paid in due time. The property managers ensure that tenants adhere to the set rules and regulation regarding housing. The rules and regulat

The Institution of slavery in the American South of Antebellum Period Essay

The Institution of slavery in the American South of Antebellum Period - Essay Example This inhuman practice humiliated the enslaved blacks to an extent that they could never erase it from their minds as long as they lived. According to Hunter (73) the actual picture of slavery in Southern America was that of large farms plantations with a lot of slaves. In fact, slavery here was institutionalized were a few people owned slaves in their institutions with the aim that they provide cheap labor. Almost 3/4 of the Southern Americans did not own slaves, but they were solidly behind the slavery institution, as much as they did not benefit much from it. Though many of the Southern whites resented the privileges enjoyed by the few people who owned these slavery institutions, they did not speak against slavery (Hunter 74). However, all they wished for is for them to get an opportunity of owning slaves, so that they can also enjoy those privileges. Furthermore, slavery presented an opportunity to even the poor whites, of feeling superior to the blacks. A great number of slaves s pend much of their time in the cotton plantations, carrying out various activities (Hunter 74). Each of these cotton plantations had approximately fifty slaves, although some plantations which were relatively large had about a hundred slaves. Different plantations raised a wide range of cash crops such as rice, sugarcane and corn, but cotton at time, was the major cash crop. The slaves planted these cash crops as well as harvesting them. Apart from doing these two major activities in the farms, they also cleared land, slaughtered livestock and repaired buildings as well (Hunter 74). While black men slaves were expected to be drivers, mechanics and carpenters, black women were on the other hand expected to care for their masters’ families. There were two main categories of slaves; those who worked in their masters’ homesteads and those who worked in the fields. Hunter (74) asserts that from such categorization, one may think that those working in the homes were relative ly better than those in the fields. Unfortunately, that was not the case since those working in the homes had no privacy, operated under their masters’ close scrutiny and could be called for duty anyhow. By being close to their masters’ home slaves formed complex relationships with their masters. Children of both the white and black races born in such a scenario, mingled freely until they attained a certain age when they started understanding what was going on (Hunter 74). The diets of the slaves were inadequate, hence could not meet their workload demands (Hunter 75). Those working in homes though ate comparatively better since they could access their masters’ food stores. The poor eating conditions and the climatic conditions made the slaves to be so much prone to diseases. On falling sick the slaves were not given adequate treatment and sometimes they forced into work though sick. Although that is not inhuman enough, slaves were constantly being sold when the y become inadequate. This instilled a constant fear in them as they could suffer from being separated from their families. The women slaves also suffered from sexual exploitation such as rape. Hunter (75) explains further that slaves were punished for working slowly, disrespecting authority or running away. Punishment was administered in many ways such as imprisonment, whipping or even

Statement of purpose Essay Example for Free

Statement of purpose Essay Civil Engineering is vital to the modern world as it has been since the beginning of human history. The scientific, mathematical and team-working challenges present in modern engineering have always fascinated me and from the beginning of my secondary education, I have realized that I will always crave and enjoy such challenges. My desire to command projects from drawings and numbers on a sheet of paper to awe-inspiring physical structures has been present ever since I took part in a school engineering project. It consisted of three teams of five students whose task was to design and build a mini-sculpture of a transport bridge which would later be tested and scrutinized by the task leaders. My communication and leadership abilities were obvious from this project and I have been focused on improving them ever since. My desire and interest for engineering was further escalated as I watched day-by-day the construction of 30 St Mary Axe all the way to completion. My wonder that such a beautiful and complicated building could be constructed within the UK simply inspired me. My ambition for the future is to become a fully qualified Civil Engineer and to work my way up in a large construction company to become a Project Manager. I have read many case studies of people who have achieved this and I am working hard in order to gain the skills and knowledge these successful engineers have. I am currently studying Advanced Higher Mathematics and Higher Business Management because I believe these subjects can provide me with the essential skills and knowledge vital to a successful engineer. I very much enjoy mathematics aâ‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" it being my most accomplished subject. I have taken part in the Mathematics Challenge every year of my secondary education and have found each yearaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s puzzle more exciting than the last. Completion of this yearaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s challenge is therefore one of my targets for the coming year. In addition to this, I have also joined the Stirling High School Senior Mathematics Team and am eagerly awaiting the scheduled competitions against our neighbouring schools in the Central Region. In my sixth year at school I have taken part in the Young Enterprise program and have managed to obtain the position of Finance Director, I have accomplished this through convincing the other members of my mathematical talent and interest. I often have long discussions with the Managing Director about the companyaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s next moves and provide him with the financial data that I have collected. I have also taken the initiative to set up a chess club in my school where I teach the junior members and some disabled students how to play chess, and for the students already able, I show them tricks and techniques in order to develop their skills as a player. I find this very rewarding and exciting as I can apply my communication and teaching skills to a hobby. I have managed to build a relationship with the Large Property Developer aâ‚ ¬? Carronvale Homesaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. I have informed them of my desire to be a civil engineer and so once a week I am granted access to talk to the Project Manager at a site near my home who gives me updates and insights into what is going on around the site that day. I have found our interactions to be invaluable as they have provided me with an insight into what a day in the life of a Project Manager is like and has further escalated my ambition to be a civil engineer. In addition to my school related commitments, I am currently working part time as a sales assistant at Homebase while I complete my studies. I enjoy working during very busy hours so I can challenge myself and further improve my communication skills whilst sustaining an acceptable level of service under enormous pressure. Working within this environment has drastically improved my ability to work as an individual and as part of a small team and I hope to further improve these skills in the future. My main hobby is playing the bagpipes both as a solo competitor and as part of a world championship winning pipe band. My father has the leading role as Pipe Major in the band but I am often relied upon to lead the 30-strong team in his absence. This allows me to test my communication and leadership skills simultaneously. I have trained since I was very young and have shown absolute commitment to my hobby for almost ten years. I am absolutely committed to becoming a successful engineer and will work endlessly in order to achieve my goals. I feel that university will be one of the most exciting and interesting times of my life and eagerly await the experiences which university life will provide for me. I believe I am more than capable of achieving my aspirations through a series of short-term goals aâ‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" perhaps the most significant of which is gaining entrance into university, which will provide me with the challenges and experiences any ambitious engineer should crave.

William Randolph Hearst and the Spanish American War Essay -- William

William Randolph Hearst and the Spanish American War How far is a person willing to go to be the best? Will he sacrifice friends, family, even the lives of his countrymen? What makes someone that devoted to competition that they are willing to destroy everything that they’ve ever known, and quite possibly start a war in the process all to see that they’ve outsold there competition? These are the questions one must ask once you learn of the life’s story of William Randolph Hearst. From his news empire that included over 2 dozen major newspapers in 15 cities (Swanberg) to his more then slightly warped sense of moral propriety, Hearst’s life led him into the position where he escalated an international dispute into a war with one of Europe’s colonial powers. William Randolph Hearst was born on April 29, 1863, in San Francisco, California, to George Hearst and Phoebe Apperson Hearst. George Hearst was a self-made multimillionaire miner and rancher who spent much of his young life in Franklin County, Missouri in the 1820’s. Growing up he received very little in the way of formal education but he did learn a lot about the so-called "lay of the land," particularly in regards to mining. In fact, legend has it that local Indians referred to him as the "boy that the earth talk to." (Loe) The Senior Hearst quickly made himself wealthy through his investment in mining operations in the United States. Doing all of the research into these sites himself he owned some of the largest claims in the nation, â€Å"including the Comstock Lode in Nevada, the Ontario silver mine in Utah, the Homestake gold mine in South Dakota and the Anaconda copper mine in Montana† (Loe). The Comstock, Homestake and Anaconda claims would become three of the largest mining discoveries in American history. (Swanberg) This sudden success story was an inspiration to his son and his overbearing mother constantly told William of his father’s great successes. It was Williams Mother who became the fiery driving force in the young man’s life, constantly pressuring him to succeed and be better then all others. While George Hearst was running about the American West securing mine space, land grants, and buying hundreds of acres of grazing lands for what would be his second empire, cattle, Phoebe was prepping her son for a life of wealth and privilege. In 1873 she organized a European tour to educate... ...at Hearst and the other yellow journalists started the war, it is fair to say that the press turned what had been overlooked since Grant into a major international affair. Without sensational headlines and stories about Cuban affairs, the mood for Cuban intervention may have been very different. In the end the escalation of the crisis was a simple drive to be the best, to beat everyone else and to prove to the world (and his mother) that William Randolph Hearst was a success in his own right. Works Cited Dyal, Donald H.. Historical Dictionary of the Spanish American War. Greenwood Press: Westport, CT, 1996. Gould, Lewis L. The Presidency of William McKinley. University Press of Kansas, 1980. Loe, Nancy E. Hearst Castle. Hearst Castle Historical Society. 03 Dec. 2004 . O'Toole, G.J.A., The Spanish War: An American Epic-1898. W.W. Norton & Company: New York, 1984. Miller, Daniel A."Crucible of Empire." PBS, New York. Video Archive. 02 Dec 2004 . Milton, Joyce. The Yellow Kids: Foreign Correspondents in the Heyday of Yellow Journalism. Harper-Perrenial: New York, 1989. Nasaw, David . The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst . New York: Mariner Books , 2001.

Managing Diversity at Spencer Owens Essay

The definition of diversity: The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies. It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual.1 Two corporations who have implemented diversity efforts and have dealt with the benefits and challenges of these efforts are Spencer Owens & Co. and Cityside Financial Services. When examining both diversity efforts, it is important to understand how well each company has done with previous and present efforts, the problems the companies are facing now and the root causes of these problems. While these companies have implemented their own efforts to diversify their staff, it is important to examine the similarities and differences in managing diversity. Spencer Owens & Co. How well has Spencer Owens done in its diversity efforts? Spencer Owens’ recent past shows a great deal of effort put into diversifying their workforce. In the mid-1980’s, Spencer Owens & Co. initiated a strategy to diversify the company’s employees from entry-level to executive ranks. Prior to this start date, the company had an all-white executive male team. From the start of this initiative, Spencer Owens did very well on its diversity efforts to hire people â€Å"on their merits and for their capacities to do what is expected or required of them. To implement  the plan, the company set hiring goals, communicating them to all employees and creating accountability.† Over the next ten years, this in turn created opportunities for women and people of color to become part of the team and establish career paths for them to be future leaders in various departments of the company. Following the start of this program (1985-1995), Spencer Owens was considered the most diverse staff in its industry accounting for 50% of the firm’s 150 managers and professionals were women, and 30% were people of color. Additionally, during this period, people of color that were hired into entry-level positions had been promoted and moved up into managerial positions. Four out of the12 member executive team were women and three were people of color. Extensive involvement in the efforts to attract, recruit and retain minorities and women in becoming managers, professional staff and directors were a key priority to the firm. Spencer Owens also knew that a key to internal diversity was to ensure the company’s policies and overall commitment to an equitable workplace by instituting affirmative action goals, along with, aggressive hiring and advancement practices that set high qualification and performance hurdles. 2  The team at Spencer Owens was proud of their company’s commitment to fairness and equality and to encourage the employees to be â€Å"colorblind† to gender and ethnic differences. Along with this strategy, the firm also initiated sensitivity training and held follow-up discussions. Multiple employees commented, â€Å"Everyone is the same and treated the same.† With feedback from these trainings and discussions, the firm went a step further to create networking groups for women and people of color. How well are they doing now? Why is the firm now having trouble? Recently, Spencer Owens diversity efforts have witnessed great changes while also encountering many issues and problems. In 2000, the firm hired Agnes Richards, their first woman executive in 45 years. Over the course of the next three years, Richards noticed that the diversity efforts were slowly unraveling and affecting the productivity of the company. For  example, Richards noticed friction among race relations, people of color were bringing charges of racism against the white workers, and there were new complaints made by the two networking groups. One of the first steps that Richards and her leadership team took was to reinstate the sensitivity trainings. However, it was noticed that there was poor attendance among the racial and ethnic minorities. In addition to these issues, Richards fired an African-American female manager due to tardiness issues and for portraying a bad attitude. At that point, employees became angry and frustrated. Due to the firm’s problems, Richards hired consultants to study the firm’s race and gender relations. The interviews revealed the following: †¢ Employees have concerns about the affirmative action initiative. †¢ White employees feel that the diversity program is adversely affecting the quality of the firm’s work. †¢ It is perceived that white male managers are opposed to new methods brought forth by newer employees. †¢ People of color are critical of affirmative action program, including superficial results and feel that they are tolerated and not accepted. †¢ People of color feel their ideas are easily dismissed. †¢ Perception that the network groups defend the minorities of the company. †¢ Overall feeling of retaliation and fear of being called a racist. What is the root cause (or causes)? Spencer Owens’s discrimination-and-fairness paradigm, which measures progress in diversity â€Å"by how well the company achieves its recruitment and retention goals rather than by the degree to which conditions in the company allow employees to draw on their personal assets and perspectives to do their work more effectively, had created a cognitive blind spot. As a result, the company’s leadership could not frame the problem accurately or solve it effectively.10 Instead, the company needed a cultural shift – it needed to grasp what to do with its diversity once it had achieved the numbers. Because of senior managers’ resistance to a cultural transformation, Spencer Owens continues to struggle with the tensions rising from the diversity of its workforce.10 The root causes of these problems is that the employees need to feel that the ways they may be different are understood and accepted.3 With the de-emphasis of sensitivity trainings and follow-up discussions, the team became isolated in their views on diversity versus affirmative action goals. The misunderstandings became apparent with the original mission â€Å"to consider people on their merits and for their capacities to do what is expected or required of them.† Many minority employees say they gain a sense of belonging in the workplace when their employers create opportunities for workers with diverse backgrounds to interact with others and to become involved as apart of a group. 3 The networks were a great idea for employees to feel connected to the company; however, the execution was not done properly. These diversity programs could have helped employees of different backgrounds by communicating feelings and experiences about climbing the corporate ladder or breaking through the glass celiling.3 However, these network groups became defenders for women and the other minorities due to the perception of treatment, opportunities, miscommunication between the minorities and the white employees. Additional root causes for the present problems include employees wanting fair treatment, a sense of belonging, understanding and acceptance, and a feeling that they are contributing. Cityside Financial Services How well has Cityside Financial Services done in its diversity efforts? Cityside Financial Services has done well in diversity efforts. In 1999, after 69 years of being in business, the company had become very much diversified with half of the employees in the company being females and 90% of the support staff was African American. In addition, 53% of middle managers, 42% of senior managers, and 25% executives were African American. Cityside operated as two units in their Sales Division: Retail Operations  and External Deposits. The retail operations unit was filled with mostly African American employees. The external deposits unit was made up of mostly white college graduates. Nearly equal numbers of managerial positions existed in each unit, giving whites and blacks similar advancement opportunities. Bank employees agreed that, â€Å"If you did your job well, you’ll be recognized and promoted for it.† 4 As stated in the article, â€Å"Over the years, Cityside Bank developed a reputation for being a high-functioning, multicultural organ ization.† While the bank itself was deemed to be a multicultural organization, the two sales units were founded on two separate and distinct models that it was described by one executive as â€Å"two different banks†. While the bank was diversified as a whole, these two units were very much specialized to their distinct client base. This separation of duties and ethnicities has led to some of the problems that the company presently is facing. While the External Deposit team was described as â€Å"white, smart, dedicated and loyal workaholics, it was also said that it’s not the perfect job for black staff that need a salary, may be hard-working, but not at that level.† In addition, some of the other red flags to the present problems included wealthy individuals complaining about the limited services being offered to them, other clients in Retail Operations feeling overshadowed by wealthier clients in External Deposits (and were leaving the bank), and the lack of understanding (no clear guidelines) by Retail and External as the best way to handle the new market segment. This lack of coordination compromised the bank’s efficiency and created trust issues between these two departments as to the best way to help clients. How well are they doing now? Why is the firm now having trouble? While the company continues to maintain an overall diversified work staff, they are now encountering significant issues in their diversity efforts. One of the main causes of the problems that Cityside is now facing is that they have sectionalized the company with African American employees  working in the Retail Operations department and the white employees working in the External Deposits department. Per the head of External Deposits, she commented that â€Å"the problem is what is expected of senior management here has a cultural bias towards whites. It’s not to say that African Americans aren’t also able to do all that. But because of historical racial issues, they have been limited.† According to one black officer in Retail, he commented that â€Å"white workers would not be able to handle the demands of the Retail unit.† He continued to say that â€Å"(whites) wouldn’t know what to do with people in this neighborhood.† This bias ties into ethnocentrism, which represents the feelings that one’s cultural rules and norms are superior or more appropriate than the rules and norms of another culture.5 In addition, poor career planning shows another problem that African American’s have faced as potential candidates in the External Deposit unit. When Ron Wilkens, one of the investors of the bank, wanted to learn more about how the black workforce viewed its career prospects, it was noted that the root problem was how they (African Americans) were perceived by the whites. Was he deemed as a decision maker and someone that understands the customer where his thoughts are taken seriously or is he someone that is viewed as good at operationally making things work? His black officer commented that he is respected by white colleagues, but questioned the value of his contribution to the firm seen by his white colleagues. While there is diversity in the company as a whole, there needs to be more diversity in each division to ensure that each employee is given an equal chance to grow and that customers are offered the best goods and services as possible. What do these cases have in common? There are some significant similarities between the two cases. First, both companies originally had an all-white staff. Both companies instituted programs to diversify their teams. For example, Spencer Owens adopted an  affirmative action plan while Cityside initiated an aggressive minority program. After these programs were implemented, both companies had double-digit percentages of their workforce made up of women and African Americans. It was noted in both cases that these companies were recognized in their industries as greatly achieving a multicultural organization. With that, both firms committed to a fair approach for advancing all employees. It was also noted that as the diverse programs were in action, both companies began to experience compromised efficiency as the staff began to have problems working together. At Spencer Owens, the affirmative action movement left some employees feeling alienated and unappreciated. The article states, â€Å"Many non-white professionals reported having their ideas routinely disregarded.† Furthermore, a Latino programmer staffer explained, â€Å"Until white people discover an idea, until they express it with their own words in their style, it’s as if it doesn’t exist.† This comment is similar to the quote made by one employee at Cityside who stated, â€Å"When a white man disagrees, he’s being strong. He’s taken with respect. When a black man disagrees, he’s being negative and whiny, militant and kind of like Malcolm X.† Both quotes show that while the companies made strides as far as diversifying their employee base, there is still a great difference in the way the ideas and contributions of white and minority employees are perceived. With this comparison summary, in both cases, the working environment involves how employees perceive one another. This is labeled as social cognition and social information processing. Social cognition is the study of how people make sense of other people and themselves. The perception process influences a host of managerial activities, organizational processes, and quality of life issues. 5 Additionally, stereotyping employees is also seen in both these case studies. At Cityside, African-American employees in the Retail Operations unit are deemed to be able to better relate to the â€Å"local community†, which is predominately African American. At Spencer Owens, there is a stereotype threat in which white managers are in fear of supervising people of color in  that â€Å"any constructive feedback could be perceived as being criticized and subsequently being called a racist.† Lastly, both companies conducted interviews and developed surveys to better understand the opinions of the staff in order to get to the root cause(s) of why tensions were on the rise. What differences do these two cases have? The main difference in the two cases is the approach the companies took to diversity. As previously stated, Spencer Owens used the discrimination and fairness paradigm, which has a â€Å"focus on equal opportunity, fair treatment, recruitment, and compliance with federal Equal Employment Opportunity requirements.† 10 This approach can make employees feel equal, but it can also lead to feelings of alienation and a loss of identity to the employees. This may be what led to the elimination of sensitivity training. In a sense, if we are all equal and are basically the same type of person, then there is no need to be sensitive to our differences, since this approach aims to eliminate the differences entirely. This approach is what led to the problems now being seen in Spencer Owens. Cityside used an approach called the Access and Legitimacy Paradigm. Supporters of this approach believed that you need â€Å"access to – and legitimacy with-a more diverse clientele by matching the demographics of the organization to those of critical consumer or constituent groups.† 10 Cityside put African-American employees in retail because they would be dealing with mostly clients of the same race and culture and this would give the company legitimacy in the community and increase sales. Where this approach went wrong is that it alienated African-American employees and clients. While the discrimination-and-fairness paradigm used by Spencer Owens aims to make all employees equal and the same, access-and-legitimacy, takes the opposite approach and separates employees by race, not allowing the two to work together or grow in their roles in the company. What approach to diversity might have been more effective in each of these cases? Diversity and Affirmative Action: Difference Affirmative action is selective in mandating changes that benefit previously disadvantaged groups. It is an outgrowth of Equal Employment Opportunity legislation.5 Diversity is inclusive, encompassing everyone in the workplace. It seeks to create a working environment in which everyone and every group fits, feels accepted, has value, and contributes.6 Managing diversity, while based on cultural change, is a pragmatic business strategy that focuses on maximizing the productivity, creativity and commitment of the workforce while meeting the needs of diverse groups. 7 Approaches to diversity that might have been more effective in these cases: Managing diversity entails recognition of the unique contribution every employee can make.5 Managing diversity also moves beyond valuing diversity in that it is a way in which to do business and should be aligned with other organizational strategic plans.6 Diverse employees offer an extraordinarily wide range of proficiencies for doing business in any marketplace. The following are different approaches that Wilkens and Richards could have taken to be more effective in their efforts (see footnote 8): 1. To attract young, new hires, college career fairs allow an employer to target people of color and women who may be good potential employees. 2. Employee referral programs: good employees typically associate with other good potential friends and associates. By implementing a program where employees refer other good candidates, employers can identify and reach out to others of the same race or background. 3. Recruitment: enlightened employers know that they need to take a hard look at their own tactics for generating diverse job candidates. These organizations take a serious look at their internal assessment around recruiting. With this, employers target key groups of employees and then mentor them so that they are able to navigate the system successfully. 4. Education/trainings: a successful diversity program will also educate all of a company’s employees to understand the business rationale behind their efforts. That way, the employees who don’t directly benefit from a company’s diversity efforts  understand that they still have a stake in the program’s success. In addition, encouraging employees to participate in skills-based volunteer projects can help unleash targeted skills.5 5. Mentoring programs: It is important to understand that a company cannot expect to change in corporate culture unless you get your full employee base involved. Partnering lower level employees with senior level employees, including diverse and promising professionals of color mentor-mentee sponsorships, may help facilitate the understanding of working together. 6. Merit systems: performance standards should be based on a thorough job analysis. Standards should be periodically updated. It is also suggested that the standards not be based on traits and personality factors; focus should be on behavior or performance – what the employee does.9 7. Company philosophy: seeking out practices that emphasize equality and teamwork in compensation and decision-making. What should Wilkens/Richards do to turn things around? In addition to considering the above seven items, Wilkens and Richards should contemplate the following actions: 1. Reinstate sensitivity trainings: this needs to be mandatory for all employees to improve the negative relationships between the team’s diversity as a workgroup, to help with conflict management and interpersonal dynamics.5 This training will help to encourage collaborative behavior and improve communication efforts amongst the groups. a. Diversity should be understood as the varied perspectives and approaches to work that members of different identity groups bring.10 2. Take steps to reduce negative effects of unconscious stereotyping and increase the use of group goals in heterogeneous groups. Rewarding groups to accomplish group goals might encourage group members to focus on their common objectives rather than on demographic faultiness that are unrelated to performance. a. The leadership team must understand that a diverse workforce will embody different perspectives and approaches to work, and must truly value variety of opinion and insight. 3. The leadership team must recognize both the learning opportunities and the challenges that the expression of different  perspectives presents for an organization.10 4. The organizational culture must create an expectation of high standards from everyone.10 5. The organizational culture must stimulate personal development.10 6. The organizational culture must encourage openness and make workers feel valued.10 7. The organization must have a well-articulated and widely understood mission.10 Conclusion: Wilkens and Richards must realize that increasing demographic variation does not in itself increase organizational effectiveness. They need to realize that it is how a company defines diversity –and what it does with the experiences of being a diverse organization – that delivers on the promise.10 These companies should develop an outlook on diversity that enables them to incorporate employees’ perspectives into the main work of the organization and to enhance work by rethinking primary tasks and redefining markets, products, strategies, missions, business practices, and even cultures. By instituting this learning-and-effectiveness paradigm for managing diversity, Wilkens and Richards will tap into true diversity benefits.10 References: 1. http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~asuomca/diversityinit/definition.html 2. Ely, Robin. (April 17, 2006). â€Å"Managing Diversity at Spencer Owens & Co.† 3. Grensing-Pophal, Lin, (May 2002). â€Å"Reaching for Diversity Efforts in the Workplace.† 4. Ely, Robin. (April 17, 2006). â€Å"Managing Diversity at Cityside Financial Services† 5. Kreitner, Robert & Knicki, Angelo. (9th Edition/2010). â€Å"Organizational Behavior† 6. Stonybrook University. â€Å"Diversity and Affirmative Action: Difference† 7. www.business-marketing.com/store/affirmvsdiv.html 8. www.boston.com/jobs/diversity. (May 9, 2004). â€Å"DiversityWorks: How all Employees Benefit.† 9. Hodge, John. (June 1, 1993). â€Å"Relationship between managing diversity and merit-based systems.† 10. Thomas, David A. and Ely, Robin A. (September/October 1996). â€Å"Making Differences Matter: A New Paradigm for Managing Diversity.†

Hardy Weinberg Principle

One of the most confusing topics in Evolution for students is the Hardy Weinberg Principle. Many students learn best by using hands-on activities or labs. While its not always easy to do activities based on evolution-related topics, there are ways to model population changes and predict using the Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium Equation. With the redesigned AP Biology curriculum stressing statistical analysis, this activity will help reinforce the advanced concepts. The following lab is a delicious way to help your students understand the Hardy Weinberg Principle. Best of all, the materials are easily found at your local grocery store and will help keep costs down for your yearly budget! However, you may need to have a discussion with your class about lab safety and how normally they should be not eating any lab supplies. In fact, if you have a space that is not near lab benches that could be contaminated, you may want to consider using that as the workspace to prevent any unintentional contamination of the food. This lab works really well at student desks or tables. Materials Per Person 1 bag of mixed pretzel and cheddar Goldfish brand crackers Note They make packages with pre-mixed pretzel and cheddar Goldfish crackers, but you can also buy large bags of just cheddar and just pretzel and then mix them into individual bags to create enough for all lab groups (or individuals for classes that are small in size.) Make sure your bags are not see-through to prevent unintentional artificial selection from occurring Remember the Hardy-Weinberg Principle No genes are undergoing mutations. There is no mutation of the alleles.The breeding population is large.The population is isolated from other populations of the species. No differential emigration or immigration occurs.All members survive and reproduce. There is no natural selection.Mating is random. Procedure Take a random population of 10 fish from the ocean. The ocean is the bag of mixed gold and brown goldfish.Count the ten gold and brown fish and record the number of each in your chart. You can calculate frequencies later. Gold (cheddar goldfish) recessive allele; brown (pretzel) dominant alleleChoose 3 gold goldfish from the 10 and eat them; if you do not have 3 goldfish, fill in the missing number by eating brown fish.Randomly, choose 3 fish from the â€Å"ocean† and add them to your group. (Add one fish for each one that died.) Do not use artificial selection by looking in the bag or purposefully selecting one type of fish over the other.Record the number of goldfish and brown fish.Again, eat 3 fish, all gold if possible.Add 3 fish, choosing them randomly from the ocean, one for each death.Count and record the colors of fish.Repeat steps 6, 7, and 8 two more times.Fill in the class results in a second chart like the one below.Calculate the allele and genotype frequencies f rom the data in the chart below. Remember, p2 2pq q2 1; p q 1 Suggested Analysis Compare and contrast how the allele frequency of the recessive allele and dominant allele changed over the generations.Interpret your data tables to describe if evolution did occur. If so, between which generations was there the most change?Predict what would happen to both alleles if you extended your data to the 10th generation.If this part of the ocean was heavily fished and artificial selection came into play, how would that affect future generations? Lab adapted from information received at the 2009 APTTI in Des Moines, Iowa from Dr. Jeff Smith. Data Table Generation Gold (f) Brown (F) q2 q p p2 2pq 1 2 3 4 5 6