Planned Organizational Change Essay -- Organizational Development, Cha

The ideal approach to creating change in any organization is to apply a realistic and deductive method of planned change. Within the realm of planned change, there is an eight-step process to implementing a program. However, there are four elements that are fundamental to any plan of action that will allow for an environment conducive to planned change. Planned change requires that those responsible for making decisions are not only rational, but must also have access to specific information pertaining to the plan, as well as the lack of constraints on time and resources (Stojkovic et al., 2008). The four key elements of planned change help to guarantee success in reaching a rational approach to important changes. The four elements needed for substantial change are innovation, accountability, leadership that will challenge historical routines, and commitment to change. In the area of innovation, it is important to note that successful change cannot occur in a passive environment and that a proactive approach for planned change is necessary (Stojkovic et al., 2008). Just as planned change cannot be successful without innovation and a proactive approach; there should also be a proactive approach to the accountability of the decision- makers if one wants to see the planned change succeed. While many organizations have already set forth accountability guidelines, they are not without a measure of corruptibility (Stojkovic et al., 2008). To implement planned changed that is going to be above reproach, a system of accountability with safeguards in place to limit corruption is necessary. The third element necessary for planned change is that there must be an acceptable leadership that is not afraid to challenge the status quo. To... ...is an insider that will guide the forces of change while simultaneously altering the climate in a positive manner (Stojkovic et al., 2008). The entire concept of an organizational change being handled sensitively with the entire culture being considered is in stark contrast to the paramilitary model where the climate is not conducive to change. Large police agencies and correctional systems are organized in a bureaucratic hierarchy. They have a clear chain of command that is rampant with formality that often makes it difficult to institute any type of change (Stojkovic et al., 2008). The top-down hierarchy considers only the organization as a whole, with top level administrators making the decisions for everyone. The lack of concern for subordinates often creates a climate of hostility that can often breed insubordination, but leave little room for alteration.

The Ideal And The Realty Of Classical Athens

The Ideal and the Realty of Classical Athens Discovering the Western Past Introduction: Athens during the fifth century B. C. Is often identified as one of the main sources of Western values and standards. Later Europeans and Americans regarded the Athenians as the originators of democracy, drama, representational or realistic art, history, philosophy, and science. At different times over the past 2,500 years they have attempted to imitate this â€Å"Golden Age† of classical Athens in everything from buildings to literature.Many U. S. State capitols and government buildings are modeled On the Parthenon or there temples, complete with statuary of former governors in the manner of Greek gods. We still divide, drama into tragedies and comedies in the same way the Athenians did, though now we sometimes use a prerecorded laugh track instead of grinning masks to indicate that a given work is a comedy.During some historical periods, such as the Renaissance, thinkers and writers made conscious attempts to return to classical ideals in all areas of life, combing the works of Athenian authors for previously overlooked material in their quest to draw guidance and learn everything possible from this unique flowering of culture. Even more than as a model for literature and art, classical Athens has continued to serve as a relevant source for answers to basic questions about human existence.Though all cultures have sought to identify the ultimate aim and meaning of human life, the ancient Greeks, especially the Athenians, were the first in the West to provide answers that were not expressed in religious or mythological terms. Their thoughts on these matters grew out of speculations on the nature of the universe made by earlier Greeks, particularly Thales and. His followers Misbranded and Heraclites. These thinkers, living in the seventh and sixth centuries B. C. Theorized about how the universe had been formed and what it was made of by means of rational explanations drawn from observation rather than from myth or religious tradition. Because they believed the natural universe could, be explained, in other than supernatural terms, they are often termed the first true scientists or first philosophers. During the fifth century B. C. , several Athenian thinkers turned their attention from the world around, them to the human beings living in that world. They used this new method of philosophical inquiry to question the workings Of the human mind and the societies humans create.They asked such questions as. How do we learn things? What should we try to learn? How do we know what is right or wrong, good or bad? If we can know what is good, how can we create things that are good? What kind of government is best? This type of questioning is perhaps most often associated with Socrates (469-390 B. C. ) and his pupil Plato (427-347 B. C. ), who are generally called, the founders of Western philosophy. Thales and his followers are thus known as the pre- Soc ratic; and a twentieth-century philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead, noted-?only half jokingly-?that â€Å"the European philosophical tradition .. Insists of a series of footnotes to Plato. † Both Socrates and Plato believed that goodness is related to knowledge and that excellence could be learned. For Plato especially, true knowledge was gained not by observation of the world but by contemplation of what an ideal world would be like. In their view, to understand goodness, justice, or beauty, it is necessary to think about what pure and ultimate goodness, justice, or beauty means. Plato thus introduced into Western thought a strong strain of idealism and was the first to write works on what an ideal society or set of laws would look like.He also described the education required to train citizens for governing this Ideal state and the social and economic structure necessary to keep them at their posts. Though he probably recognized that these standards could never be achieved, he believed that the creation of ideals was an important component of the discipline of philosophy, a sentiment shared by many Western thinkers after him. Plat's most brilliant pupil, Aristotle (384-322 B. C. ), originally agreed with his teacher but then began to depart somewhat from idealism.Like the pre- Socratic, Aristotle was fascinated by the world around him, and many of his ratings on scientific subjects reveal keen powers of observation. Even his treatises on standards of human behavior, such as those concerning ethics and politics, are based on close observation of Athenian society and not simply on speculation. Aristotle further intended that these works should not only describe ideal human behavior or political systems, but also provide suggestions about how to alter current practice to conform more closely to the ideal.Thus, although Aristotle was still to some degree an idealist, both the source and the recipient of his ideals was the real world. In classical Athens, human nature was a subject contemplated not only by scientists and philosophers, but also by historians, such as Herodotus and Discusses. They, too, searched for explanations about the natural order that did not involve the gods. For Herodotus and Discusses, the Persian and Peloponnesus wars were caused by human failings, not by actions of vengeful gods such as those that Homer, following tradition, depicted in the Iliad as causing the Trojan War.Like Aristotle, they were interested in describing real events and finding explanations for them; like Plato, they were also interested in the possible as well as the actual. History, in their opinion, was the best arena for observing the true worth of various ideals to human society. To the Athenians, war was the ultimate test of human ideals, morals, and values, but these could also be tested and observed on a much smaller scale in the way people conducted their everyday lives.Although for Plato the basis of an ideal government was the pe rfectly trained ruler or group of rulers, for Aristotle and other writers it was the perfectly managed household, which they regarded as a microcosm of society. Observing that the household was the smallest economic and political unit in Athenian society, Aristotle began his consideration of the ideal governmental system with thoughts on how households should be run. Other writers on politics and economics followed suit, giving advice after observing households they regarded as particularly well managed.Whereas Plato clearly indicated that he was describing an ideal, in the case Of Aristotle and other Athenians, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether they were attempting to describe reality, what they wished were reality, or a pure ideal. Your task here will be to examine the relationship between ideal and reality in the writings of a few Athenian philosophers, historians, and commentators. What ideals do the writers set forth for the individual, the household, and the gover nment?How are these ideals reflected in more realistic descriptions of life in Athens and in the way Athenians built their houses and their city? Sources: All the written sources we will use come from Athenians who lived during the classical period and are thus what we term original or primary sources. They differ greatly from modern primal sources, however, in that their textual accuracy cannot be checked. Before the development of the printing press, the only way to obtain a copy of a work was to write it out by hand yourself or hire someone to do so.Therefore, each manuscript copy might be slightly different. Because the originals of the works of Aristotle or Discusses have long since disappeared, what we have to work with are translations of composites based on as many of the oldest copies still in existence after 2,500 years that the translators could find. The problem of accuracy is further complicated with some of the authors we will read because they did not actually write t he works attributed to them. Many of Aristotle works, for instance, are probably copies of his students' notes combined with (perhaps) some of his own.If you think of the way in which you record your own instructors' remarks, you can see why we must be cautious about assuming that these secondhand works contain everything Aristotle taught exactly as he intended it. Socrates, in fact, wrote nothing at all; all his ideas and words come to us through his pupil Plato. Scholars have long debated how much of the written record represents Socrates and how much represents Plato, especially when we consider that Socrates generally poke at social gatherings or informally while walking around Athens, when Plato was not taking notes.These problems do not mean that we should discount these sources, they simply mean that we should realize that they differ from the printed documents and tape-recorded speeches of later eras. We will begin our investigation with what is probably the most famous desc ription of classical Athens [Source 1]: a funeral speech delivered by Prices. Prices, one of the leaders of Athens when the Peloponnesus War opened, gave this speech in 430 B. C. In honor of those who had died during the first year of the war. It was recorded by Discusses and, though there is some disagreement over who actually Wrote it, reflects Prices' opinions.Read the speech carefully and be prepared to answer the following questions: (1) Is Prices describing an ideal he hopes Athens will achieve or reality as he sees it? (2) How does he depict Athenian democracy and the Athenian attitude toward wealth? (3) How does he compare Athens with Sparta? (4) How does Athens treat its neighbors? (5) What role does Prices see for Athena Ian women? Source 2 comes from a later section of Discusses' Peloponnesus War, and it ascribes Athenian actions in the sixteenth year of the war. As you read It, think about the virtues that Prices ascribed to the Athenians. 1 ) Are these virtues reflected in the debate with the Menials or in the actions against them? (2) How do the Athenians justify their actions? Sources 1 and 2 from Discusses, History of the Peloponnesus War, translated by Richard Crawler (New York; Modern Library, 1951) up. 103-106; p. 109. 1. Prices' Funeral Speech, 430 B. C. That part of our history which tells of the military achievements which gave us our several possessions, or of the ready valor with which either we or our ethers stemmed the tide of Hellenic or foreign aggression, is a theme too familiar to my hearers for me to dilate on, and I shall therefore pass it by.But what was the road by which we reached our position, what the form Of government under which our greatness grew, what the national habits out of which it sprang; these are questions which I may try to solve before I proceed to my panegyric (festival assembly) upon these men: since I think this to be a subject upon which on the present occasion a speaker may properly dwell, and to which t he whole assemblage, whether citizens or foreigners, may listen with advantage. Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighboring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves.Its administration favors the many instead of the few; this is why it is' called, a democracy. If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if to social standing, advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition. The freedom, which we enjoy in our overspent, extends also to our ordinary life.There, far from exercising a jealous surveillance over each other, we do not feel called upon to be angry with our neighbor for doing what he likes, or even to indulge in those injurious looks which cannot fail to be Offensive, although they inflict no posit ive penalty. But all this ease in our private relations does not make us lawless as citizens. Against this fear is our chief safeguard, teaching us to obey the magistrates and the laws, particularly such as regard the protection of the injured, whether they are actually on the statute book, or belong to hat code which, although unwritten, yet cannot be broken without acknowledged disgrace.Further, we provide plenty of means for the mind to refresh itself from business. We celebrate games and sacrifices all the year round, and the elegance of our private establishments forms a daily source of pleasure and helps to banish the spleen; while the magnitude of our city draws the produce of the world into our harbor, so that to the Athenian the fruits of other countries are as familiar a luxury as those of his own. If we turn to our military policy, there also we differ from our antagonists.We throw open our tit to the world, and never by alien acts exclude foreigners from any opportunity of learning or observing, although the eyes of an enemy may occasionally profit by our liberality: trusting less in system and policy than to the native spirit of our citizens; while in education, where our rivals from their very cradles by a painful discipline seek after manliness,

Digby Annual Report

[pic] C55847 – Digby Annual Report By Yan Lang, Ching-Hsiang Lin, Shu Ou-Yang, Nuo Xu Shareholder Letter To Our Shareholder, Customers, and Employees: The past eight years have marked an extraordinary level of progress for Digby Electric Sensors and its shareholders. In the past eight years, the company was able to turn its stocks from $34. 25 per share into $45. 77, plus issuing a total of $10 dividends per share along the way. While this level of performance is very rarely rivaled by any type of investment, our company is most proud of the sustainable within the environment and continues growth rate in the electric sensor industry.Eight years ago, our management team touted the importance of the following four guiding principles that helped to make Digby’s success today: 1. Cost leadership: By bringing labor and raw material costs down years ahead of the competition, our company has able to enjoy the prevailing market price and generating excess profits. 2. Low price products: By taking aggressive actions early to bring down the costs of production, our company has been able to output the highest quality line of electric sensors and offer low selling price in the industry. 3.Aggressive marketing: Aggressive spending in marketing every year has helped the company to gain customer awareness in preparation for eventual lower per unit production costs. This immediately helped Digby to sales in high volumes. 4. Board diversified products: In each segment, our company keeps trying to become the product leader. We spent heavily in TQM in order to reduce R&D cycle also increase market demand. The level of return on investments our company has been able to deliver by following the four listed principles is not only a tribute to our past success, but also serves as a source of optimism for Digby’s future.In the following pages you will find more detailed information on the dominate positioning our company holds in the industry as well as adjustment s to be made to further increase shareholder value. Best Regards, Digby Corp. Corporation Profile: Overall about the company Lang, Yan- Chief Executive Office and Chief Operations Officer established Digby, Inc. on January 22nd, 2013. The company’s headquarters are located in center Arlington, TX. Digby, Corp. is currently one of the leading manufacturers of high quality sensor chips in the United States.Yan founded the company on the premise that it would successfully produce and sell sensors of highest quality and reliability to various segments of consumers with all type of needs, such as those for newness and affordability, and would continue to place a strong focus on research and innovation to persistently cater to these changing needs and maintain a substantial amount of market share in the growing market. Digby’s product line includes Daze, Dell, Dixie, Dot and Dune, which are sold online, as well as through local technology retailers nationwide.Digby has provi ded quality products for many successful applications and has helped many companies achieve their project objectives with the highest standards of quality and reliability. Our Mission & Vision â€Å"At Digby, Corp. , we are dedicated to providing optimal sensors for our customer’s needs and wants. Our guiding objectives are customer satisfaction and continuous improvement. Our overall goal is to consistently strive to deliver the highest quality products and technology and offer competitive pricing in each and every target segment of users. Culture â€Å"We want employees to be proud of the work they do, and to remember that they are part of Digby, Corp. committed to providing excellent service and exceptional products to the public,† Core Values Integrity — Build  mutual trust through ethical and responsible thoughts, words, and actions. Teamwork — Collaborate, share information openly, leverage our diversity, be transparent. Speak up, debate, and dis agree, but decide, commit to the decision, and make it a success. Winning Mindset — Be positive, adaptable, and competitive.Deliver results to ensure the success of Altera and our customers. Accountability — Define, own, and answer to your area of responsibility. Innovation — Think forward, take calculated risks, be agents of change, adapt quickly. Create a learning environment where we develop our skills and invest in our employees. Executive Leader [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] Strategies: Digby, Corp. takes pride as a broad cost leadership and broad differentiation strategies to develop competitive advantages in the sensor industry.In the past eight years, Digby sensors were designed to fit a wider array of preferences, such as those for a brand new product, known as the Traditional segment; a premium priced product that offers both high performance and desirable size, known as the High End segment; an extraordinary performing product, known as the High Performance segment; a smaller sized product, known as Size segment; and finally, a lower priced product, which is referred to as the Low End segment.However, once the company executives began to recognize which stood out amongst the rest as the most promising for increasing revenues and producing maximum returns, Digby’s overall strategy was shifted to emphasize only on the Traditional, Performance, and Low End segments and in improving existing products in these categories while also creating new. In the first five years, we invest generous amount in TQM in order to reduce material, labor and administrative costs, shorten the length of time required for R&D projects to complete and increase demand for the product line enable for us to make more profits in short term.Further, we believes that wise use of resources and increasing efficiency are key in building long term success and that pinpointing the most effective outlets for accessing target consumers and utilizing a large marketing and promotional budget are essential for creating and maintaining awareness of Digby, Corp. and its products. Financial Highlights: (In Thousands of Dollars, except Per Share Data) | | | |Revenue | |Net Cash Flow | |Operating Activities | |Closing Financial Position | |Total Equity | |Per Common Share | |Market Value | |Financial Ratios | |% ROS |13. | |Cost leadership strategy |Low market share | |Board diversified products |Less diversity | |Strong brand equity |Low customer awareness and accessibility | |Strong financial position |High stock price | |Competitive wages and profit sharing | | |Loyalty customers | | |Opportunities |Threats | |Emerging markets and expansion abroad |Severe competition | |Innovation |Cheaper technology | |Product and services expansion |Reduction in demand from economic regression | |Increase customer satisfaction scores |Lower cost competitors or imports. |Aggressive spending in advertisement. |Maturing categories, products, or services | Risk& Uncertainty: Digby faces the uncertainty and risks of the competitive market in the sensor industry and the reduction in demand from economic regression, the top management team still dedicated to increase the market share and the stock price in the sensor industry. These results emphasize the role of uncertainty as a determinant of investment spending, and suggest that policies that reduce volatility may lower the required cost of capital. By using SWOT analysis, our management team figures out that add value to our products and decrease our product’s weakness.Digby using the cost leadership strategy to attract the target customers and also tries to decrease the labor and raw material costs, relative to that of competitors. Although cost leadership implies keeping costs as low as possible, our products and services still have qualities and features that customer find acceptable. On the other hand, our company keeps trying to become the product leader in each segment, w e spent heavily investment in the TQM in order to reduce R&D cycle also increase market demand. Future of the company: Digby is a company has lots of growing potential and energy. In the past eight years, we have just set a strong foundation for our company’s future grows. We will keep expanding its manufacture plants and focusing on board diversified products that meet customers’ need.With the â€Å"AAA† investment rating, we will invest heavily with low interest payments in R&D and TQM departments, so we would keep its low cost advantage within the industry. In the next five years, our targeted market share is 25%, and our targeted stock price is $65 with an overall $15 per share dividend payment. In the near future, we will start to use our best effort to develop, to expand, and to grow. And then, we will become the industry leader and enjoy the profits that we made. ———————– Lang, Yan Founder Chief Exec utive Officer Chief Operations Officer Lin, Ching-Hsiang Vice President of Marketing and Sales Shu, Ou-yang Chief Financial Officer Xu, Nuo Vice President of Human Resources

Censorship vs Freedom of Speech

Every form of expression should be allowed, even if it is freedom of speech, art, symbol, or any other form recognized by the first amendment. Freedom of speech is freedom given by the Constitutional Bill of Rights. Thanks to these rights, our country and government are as strong and resilient as today. Thanks to these rights, as our country we have been able to develop and expand our vision today. These rights are the foundation and foundation of our country and why our country is separated from all other countries in the world. Freedom of speech review: Children's Internet on the Internet is a very controversial communication device in today's society. If you want, you can find information on almost all the topics they choose. Censorship and freedom of expression are topics that are widely discussed when dealing with current Internet freedom, especially when dealing with young people. On the Internet, do I need to review illegal topics that children can post and view freely? Is the Internet free? Speaking of government, let's see how to freedom of speech. State censorship on the Internet is a common phenomenon that can not be imagined. According to Freedom House 2/3, the Internet users of the world live under government censorship regulation, suppression of speech and thought is increasing. Freelance publishers can only use 13% of the world's population. I will take it for a while. 13% More reports come from the social media platform, the Internet's living room, which is creating a phenomenon called silent spiral. Family, friends, colleagues, and the wider society are different. Atlantic articles reveal the prevalence of self-censorship Freedom of expression and freedom of censorship - What is the pros and cons of having to review the media and the public? What are the terms of the review discussion? Is the censorship system rational or can freely control the voice of the media and the freedom of speech? What is the priority of religious, business and governm ent censorship? Does someone benefit from reviewing information? Is it beneficial for society as a whole? The pros and cons of censorship is worth studying the role of deciphering freedom of speech in society and the role of different types of censorship.

Account for the economic development of the Tokugawa period Essay

Account for the economic development of the Tokugawa period - Essay Example Japan had a very unsteady history with periods of civil wars and not much progress. The country was divided with poor developmental progress. But the scenario was greatly altered after Tokugawa Ieyasu took over the country. He provided for a new beginning in the history of Japan. The period during which he ruled was known as the Tokugawa period. It was also referred to as the Edo period because the capital of the country was moved to Edo after Ieyasu took over. The Tokugawa period was a period of modernization, expansion and progress for the country and thus was also given the name of the Modern Period. This period lasted for approximately two and a half centuries. It started from 1603and ended in 1868. During this entire episode the country was ruled by Tokugawa and then his family and hence the entire phase was given the name of the Tokugawa period. In the Tokugawa period, there was not much technological advance in the country but the economy of the country flourished. In this period Japan isolated itself from the rest of the world which can be a reason for its lesser technological advances. This period laid the foundations for today’s economically stable Japan. This period was a golden era. The population of the country remained constant for these two and a half centuries. According to a first population consensus which was conducted in 1720 the population of the country was thirty million which stayed almost the same during the entire period. It has been seen that now Japan depends greatly upon imports from other countries particularly for food and energy. But in the Tokugawa period Japan was very self sufficient in all its resources. Though Japan is not very rich in natural resources but it was seen in the late Modern Period that salt was produced from coal and still there was no shortage of the fossil fuels. Reasons that have been provided for this are that because of the isolation from the rest of the world, there was a realization

MEDIA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MEDIA - Essay Example The audience tends to be neglectful of the wrong aspects of their behavior and approves of the behavioral model as such. Particularly, the youth blindly follows the role models. Media frequently highlights the negative aspects of the celebrities and often reveals the hidden controversies about them, which in turn causes the society to blindly imitate them (Oak). Although the controversies are projected with a view to create awareness in the people regarding what is happening around them. Paradoxically, this attempt is in turn generating more negativity in public. Media increases violence in the society: Media often becomes a good source of unique and innovative ideas for the pick pockets, thieves and robbers. Quite often, plays are based upon new ways of carrying out violence in the society, which potentially add to the skills and knowledge of the violence makers more than they educate the sufferers. In addition to that, media plays the role of slow poison for the society. Originally , people used to be very irritated by acts of violence, and used to protest against them in any way they could. With the passage of time, people have become immune towards the widespread violence in the society.

Literature review of my research about Dual authority in matrix Essay

Literature review of my research about Dual authority in matrix organization - Essay Example This resulted in the creation of a structure in which a number of employees were working under two heads, the department head or the project manager of the interdisciplinary project team. When this structure was depicted in paper, it was found that the crossing of the organizational lines could be represented in the form of grids or a matrix. Henceforth it was termed as matrix organizations (Kuprenas, 2003, p.1). When it is compared with the other forms of organizational structures, it is viewed as a combination of the traditional hierarchy which is overlaid with some form of lateral authority, influence or communication. The overlay creates a combination of commands, one which is long the functional aspects of the project and another which are along the project lines. Assuming the complexities of the project management in the business world of today, matrix structures are primarily used where the requirement of technical assistance across many different areas are required (Kuprenas, 2003, p.1). This structure is especially preferred in large scale consulting, the construction and the aerospace industry. One of initial and first users of the structures was Bureau of Engineering in the City of Los Angeles. However, certain problems were faced during the implementation of the same (Kuprenas, 2003, p.1). Implementation Challenges of the Matrix structure Research shows that implementation of the matrix structure in any organizational structure is difficult. Implementation of the matrix design in the Bureau of Engineering came with a number of difficulties. The Bureau experienced a number of confusions and conflicts with regards to the responsibilities and roles of the functional manager