Wednesday, July 31, 2019

A Savage Journey

Numerous pursuits in obtaining dreams had been evident in the perceptions of many individuals.   How an individual carries himself in the realm of reality is actually dependent on how one tries to comprehend and internalize the explanations on why things consequently fall into place.As for Hunter Thompson, America has wickedly divulged on the rather comical state of rationality and thus is considerably out of track with regard to the rather important matters in life.   Its innovative response to technology and corruption is swallowing up the credit of the living masses and is thus benefited by the predator of the country.Thompson’s means of establishing what seemed to be true in his immediate time showed that the country was indeed facing a critical state of confusion over ‘reality’ and ‘idealism’.Undeniably, the impact of confusion towards a certain group of people or set of community may mean much on the development and the level of thinking of many.   How individuals are actually correlated in a broader sense, is the main reason why one action, either directly or indirectly, involves another whether it is in the negative or the positive state.AnalysisThompson’s book took pleasure upon unfolding the secrets of the past and the horrifying truths of the vortex of Las Vegas, or America at that.In the most extreme sense, I could easily distinguish the initial intent of the author in producing such masterpiece in the â€Å"dope world† which as a matte of fact, transcribed during the 60’s (Thompson), and if it may not be that harsh to take into assumption, inherited by today’s contemporary dopers, at that.One of the striking perceptions which I have noted on the novel, as established in Thompson’s plot, is the harshness of the society on the concept of ‘illegal’ entities.   Perhaps it is righteous enough to implement certain laws and reputation with regard to the matter, but th en again, the equilibrium of the imposition seems to boggle my sanity in that certain perspective.Thus, I realized that the callous form of justice had been crucially bias, taking for certain to a fact that even those who were held responsible for the eradication of what they introduced as ‘illegal’ were actually the catalysts of the inequity.   It takes to raise a brow in my rationality in the prudent side.The novel itself, taken with opinion based justification, is considerably a breakthrough to the society and to those who are well concerned over the matter.Perhaps ‘drugs’ is an evil commodity, but how Thompson was able to deliver his stands with the use of wickedly comical idioms and metaphors struck my amazement that his view on the society was amorously correlated and incorporated as rather the ‘evil’ one and ‘drugs’ as the hero of mankind (Thompson).   How’s that for the paradox of the universe?

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Organisational Behaviour

CONTENT Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦1 Trends affecting the workplace †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦2 The changing workforce†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2 Workplace value and ethics †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 Interview outcome †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 Research outcome†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 Reference list†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 Appendix A†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 Appendix B†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 Introduction Organizational behaviour knowledge is very important for everyone. It not only benefits a person as an individual, but also influences organization events. There are five organizational behaviour trends in the workplace: globalization, the changing workforce, evolving employment relationships, virtual work, and workplace values and ethics. In this essay, we will talk about two of them which are the changing workforce and workplace values and ethics. For the changing workforce, as Mcshane and Travaglione (2007) said there are primary and secondary dimensions of workforce diversity. And those diversities can present both opportunities and challenges in organization. Workplace values and ethics is a significant part of organizational behaviour trends. It can dictate people’s priorities, preferences and desires’ (Mcshane & Travaglione 2007, p 13). In order to understand these two trends better, I interviewed a manager who has six years work experience in Seven-Eleven store. During this face-to face interview, some relevant questions were asked. And the research result is quite helpful. Trends affecting the workplace 1. The cha nging workforce With the development of globalisation, workforce diversity has become one of the most important trends that affect the workforce. People who work in the same workplace may have different religion, education and work experience. And those diversities can bring opportunities and challenges to an organization. Racial diversity Ethnic and racial diversity in the workplace is a core value in organization. For example, Canada is a diverse country with a number of ethnic groups. Visible minorities account for 10 per cent of the Canadian population in 1995 and this figure is expected to double by 2015 (Demers, cite in Seymen 2006). Furthermore, Atiyyah (cited in Seymen 2006)in his work, concentrates on workforce diversity which is composed of Americans, Europeans, mainly Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Iran and Persian Gulf countries. Today,with globalisation increasingly happening , majority of organisation have seen multicultural background employees as a important part of success in this highly diversified society. The advantage of having a multi cultural group of employees in an organization is it broadens an organization’s view as they exchange ideas and opinions, working towards making a better and more effective business decision. However a diversified organization also has its disadvantage. One of the problems to overcome is cross-cultural communication. For members of different culture, they interpret certain words, actions or signals differently. As Karoc-kakabadse and kouzmin (2001) highlights that different cultures have different understanding regarding the interaction process and the different style of dialogues. Some misunderstanding could occur due to different interpretation and cause workplace disagreements Therefore in a diversified environment, it is important to practice cultural awareness as to avoid misinterpretation which could lead to unproductive working attitudes within an organization. Women in workforce Compare to the many years ago, woman in the workforce have increased intensively. Women have proven to be better at managing staff in an organization as they are more people-orientated. As Mcshane and Travaglione (2007) suggest that compared to male managers, woman managers are more relationship orientated and adopt a stronger emphasis on teams and employee involvement. However in many occasion, woman have stronger family commitment compared to men. Therefore higher percentages of main position in organization are mostly men. On the other hand, woman have been increasingly joining the workforce as many organization have better working conditions offered to woman such as longer maternity leave and in some organizations, childcare services are introduced to help woman return to the workforce after childbirth. Generational diversity Generational diversity could present opportunities as well as challenges in an organization(Mcshane & Travaglione 2007). Basically, generation X and generation Y has different work values as generation X go for job security while generation Y goes more for job satisfaction, status and social involvement(Cinnamo & Gardner 2008). By understanding generational diversity, it could help to identify employees’ needs, in turn managers or employers could come up with organization policies that matches those needs which could result in better job satisfaction and also low employee turnover. Employee turnover disadvantages an organisation as recruitment cost time, effort and money. And retaining employees with experiences, and training employees giving them more skills could in turn help the organization reach greater heights. Advantages of generational diversity could be improved decision making and team performance on complex tasks. In a diverse society, a diverse workforce would provide a better customer service too. This is one of the reasons why some organizations choose employees of diversified backgrounds and generations. 2Workplace value and ethics Importance of values in workplace McDonald and Zepp (2007) define values as the embodiment of what an organization stands for, and should be the basis for the behaviour of its members. Value and ethics guide employees’ actions, behaviours and making decisions. The influence of family, religion , community will determine individual values, Within an organization, when employees have clash of values , It becomes very difficult for them to work together , therefore having a set of organization work policy is very important , it defines the appropriate ethics and values that employees should have. With increasing cultural diversity these days, it is very important to find shared values that majority in an organization believe in, to promote harmony and also increase efficiency as they work together. However due to society diversity, ethical conflict could occur. As Wartick and Wood (1998) defines ethical conflicts as dissonances among principles of right among principles of wrong. At a workplace, it is common to come across ethical conflict whereby both parties reckon they are right in their own way, making decision to the benefit of the organisation. In this situation, conflict resolution comes in, where they should together and put their differences aside, and come up with an ideal solution. Corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsible is the organization’s moral obligation towards all of its stakeholders. Otherwise as Kotler and Lee (2005) define corporate responsible is a commitment to improve community well-being through discretionary business practices and contributions of corporate resources. This refers to a voluntary commitment a business is making in choosing an implementing these practices rather than mandated by law or by other ethical issues. Big organizations like Westpac and McDonalds practice corporate social responsible. First and foremost, due to their finance ability, and also to its massive marketing campaigns which due to influences the public. According to Macdonald CSR report 2007, over the years, they have been involved in caring for the environment, contribution to the Australian economy, practicing food safety and responsible marketing, and also giving scholarship and grants to children. In recent years, organizations are no longer after just profit-making, corporate social responsible is getting more and more businesses attention. Interview outcome In order to under to understand these two trends better, a manager of Severn-Eleven who has six year experience has been interviewed. During the face-to-face interview, ten relevant questions were asked. Here is the interview outcome. The changing workforce a) What do you think is changing workforce? I think changing workforce is the replacement of skilled labour, and training employees when the situation is required. b) Do you think the changing workforce is important in the workplace? Yes. I think it is important in a workplace. c) Why do you think it is/or is not? With demands around us constantly changing, it is important for us to prepare ourselves with skills, knowledge that is needed to cope with these changes. If not it will be difficult for our business to compete in this harsh and competitive environment. d) What factors do you think can affect the changing workforce? Technology advance could affect the changing workforce. e) Is there cultural diversity within your employees? Why yes/no? Yes, I employ a mixture of races of employees within my organsation, and they get along pretty well. I chose employees from different background mainly because of the multi-cultural environment we have in Victoria, and also the ideas they be able to exchange as they work together. Workplace values and ethics a) What do you think are ethical values? Ethical values are what one think is right or wrong and it guides one’s actions. For example, here in 7-Eleven ethical principles are those tell the truth, take complaints seriously, treat customers and employees fairly and so on. b) Do you think ethical values are important in the workplace? Yes, it is important. ) Why do you think they are/or are not? They provide behaviour rules that can control one’s thoughts and actions. They can affect one’s decision making and organization’s operation. d) What factors do you think have affected the way we think about ethical behaviour at work? It may be past work experience, cultural practices and family influences. e) Do you think people’s ethical behaviour at wo rk is affected by what their colleagues or superiors are doing? Yes, as the working environment of a person could directly affect a person’s decision and actions. Research outcome According to this interview, it is evident that employers find the need for employees continue acquiring skills to keep up with the changing workforce. As technology advances, it increases challenges in the workplace. For example machines and computers replacing human labour. Uren (2009) stated during recession, women, by contrast, have done better in the services sector of the economy, which is not as severely affected by recessions as manufacturing. As intangible service can only be provide by human labour. When equipped with skills, it is not difficult to cope with the changing workforce. Generally there is agreement about the trends compared to the interview results as the employer interviewed emphasized about inquiring new skills, and also supports cultural diversity within her chosen employees. Upon entering an organisation, ethics and value do affect an employee’s attitude and judgment, however his or her values could be shaped by religion, family upbringing, past experiences, therefore it is something hard to change. Corporate social responsibility educates and affects not only the organisation’s external environment; it affects the internal environment as well. Employees could learn proper way ethics on the way, as the organisation carry out campaigns, and it could guide the employees, giving them the ability and knowledge to help the public and needy and cutting down on environmental harm. Upon reflecting, the results we have got from the interview were useful and also highlight the importance of the changing workforce and ethics and values in organsations. We would have a better idea of what to expect when u enter the workforce. My new knowledge would influence me to develop cultural awareness in this multi-cultural environment, and also to keep up with changes, by learning new skills on the way. Conclusion From the above literature review, we could conclude that generational and cultural diversity may not be a bad thing, it broadens employees’ views and prospects, allows them to exchange ideas and interact , bringing out better opportunities in the global market. However, there are its short-comings, like ethics and value conflict and also cross-cultural communication problems. These could lead to major issue like misinterpretation of information and employee conflicts, which could affect employee’s performance and productivity. In recent years, there are increasing women joining the workforce, furthermore, occupying main position in organisation. In some situations, women have proved to be better managers than men, as they use a more interactive style of management, and more sensitive to employee’s needs. When employees’ needs are fulfill, they are more likely to feel job satisfaction. Corporation social responsible are getting more organization attention and participation as it provides marketing purpose, and also educating the public with minimizing environmental harm and helping the needy. Compared to the past, organisations are not just for making profit, but also responsible to the public. Reference list Cennamo, L and Gardner, D 2008, ‘Generational differences in work values, outcomes and person-organization values fit’, Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol 23, no. 8, pp 891-906. Karoc-Kakabadse, N. and Kouzmin, A. (2001), ‘Low- and high-context communication patterns: towards mapping cross-cultural encounters’, Cross Cultural Management, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 3-24. Kotler, P and Lee, N, 2005, Corporate social responsibility: doing the most good for your company and your cause, John Wiley and Sons, AUS Mcdonalds, G and Zepp, R 1989, ‘Business ethics: practical proposal’, Journal of Management Development, vol 8, no 1, pp 55-66. McDonald’s 2007, McDonald’s Australia Corporate Social Responsibility Report, McDonald’s, Australia, viewed on 31 Mar 2009. Mcshane, S and Travaglione T, 2007, Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim, 2ed, McGraw-Hill, AUS Seymen, O 2006, ‘The cultural diversity phenomenon in organisations and different approaches for effective cultural diversity management: a literary review’, Cross Culture Management, vol 13, no 4, pp 296-315. Uren, D 2009, ‘One in four workers to go on welfare’, The Australia, 31 Mar, pp, 6. Wartick, S and Wood D, 1998, International business and society, Wiley-Blackwell, US Appendix A Interview Questions The changing workforce a) What do you think is changing workforce? b) Do you think the changing workforce is important in the workplace? c) Why do you think it is/or is not? d) What factors do you think can affect the changing workforce? e) Is there cultural diversity within your employees? Why yes/no? Workplace values and ethics a) What do you think are ethical values? b) Do you think ethical values are important in the workplace? ) Why do you think they are/or are not? d) What factors do you think have affected the way we think about ethical behaviour at work? e) Do you think people’s ethical behaviour at work is affected by what their colleagues or superiors are doing? Appendix B Summary Globalisation has brought challenges and opportunities to the workplace. In th e multi-cultural working environment, there are opportunities to learn more from people from diversified backgrounds, which encourages creativity and exchange of ideas. Challenges could be conflicts due to misinterpretation of message, and also cultural differences. An offensive action or word may not mean to be offensive to another person. Misinterpretation could lead to conflict within the organisation, and unrest in a workplace. Therefore active listening and cultural awareness should be practice in a workplace. Misinterpretation could also lead to inefficiency at work. Changing workforce could be due to technology advance whereby employees should continuously learning skills to cope with the changes. With inappropriate skills, it could lead to inefficient completion of task, and also affects organisation’s productivity. Workplace value and ethics could be a challenge as well, as everyone is different. Different individuals have different values and ethic affecting their decisions and action. Value and ethics of an individual are shaped from past experiences, family upbringing, schooling and religion. Therefore it is something very hard to change. But in a workplace, it is inevitable to work with individuals of different ethics and values. And in serious cases, there could be ethic and value conflicts which could slow down teamwork’s progress. Therefore it is important to always communication and listen to sort the best way out when a problem occur. Corporate social responsibility is getting the attention of many organsations now. Compared to many years ago, organisation now is not just about making profit. They are more concern about environmental harms, people who need help and also responsible marketing and advertising. For example McDonalds which does community work, do clean ups for the environment, discourage wastage, and helping the needy. Most importantly, they engaged in responsible marketing, where they care the food they produce to sell, the health issues and also obesity issues linked to their products. Organisational Behaviour CONTENT Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦1 Trends affecting the workplace †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦2 The changing workforce†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2 Workplace value and ethics †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 Interview outcome †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 Research outcome†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 Reference list†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 Appendix A†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 Appendix B†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 Introduction Organizational behaviour knowledge is very important for everyone. It not only benefits a person as an individual, but also influences organization events. There are five organizational behaviour trends in the workplace: globalization, the changing workforce, evolving employment relationships, virtual work, and workplace values and ethics. In this essay, we will talk about two of them which are the changing workforce and workplace values and ethics. For the changing workforce, as Mcshane and Travaglione (2007) said there are primary and secondary dimensions of workforce diversity. And those diversities can present both opportunities and challenges in organization. Workplace values and ethics is a significant part of organizational behaviour trends. It can dictate people’s priorities, preferences and desires’ (Mcshane & Travaglione 2007, p 13). In order to understand these two trends better, I interviewed a manager who has six years work experience in Seven-Eleven store. During this face-to face interview, some relevant questions were asked. And the research result is quite helpful. Trends affecting the workplace 1. The cha nging workforce With the development of globalisation, workforce diversity has become one of the most important trends that affect the workforce. People who work in the same workplace may have different religion, education and work experience. And those diversities can bring opportunities and challenges to an organization. Racial diversity Ethnic and racial diversity in the workplace is a core value in organization. For example, Canada is a diverse country with a number of ethnic groups. Visible minorities account for 10 per cent of the Canadian population in 1995 and this figure is expected to double by 2015 (Demers, cite in Seymen 2006). Furthermore, Atiyyah (cited in Seymen 2006)in his work, concentrates on workforce diversity which is composed of Americans, Europeans, mainly Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Iran and Persian Gulf countries. Today,with globalisation increasingly happening , majority of organisation have seen multicultural background employees as a important part of success in this highly diversified society. The advantage of having a multi cultural group of employees in an organization is it broadens an organization’s view as they exchange ideas and opinions, working towards making a better and more effective business decision. However a diversified organization also has its disadvantage. One of the problems to overcome is cross-cultural communication. For members of different culture, they interpret certain words, actions or signals differently. As Karoc-kakabadse and kouzmin (2001) highlights that different cultures have different understanding regarding the interaction process and the different style of dialogues. Some misunderstanding could occur due to different interpretation and cause workplace disagreements Therefore in a diversified environment, it is important to practice cultural awareness as to avoid misinterpretation which could lead to unproductive working attitudes within an organization. Women in workforce Compare to the many years ago, woman in the workforce have increased intensively. Women have proven to be better at managing staff in an organization as they are more people-orientated. As Mcshane and Travaglione (2007) suggest that compared to male managers, woman managers are more relationship orientated and adopt a stronger emphasis on teams and employee involvement. However in many occasion, woman have stronger family commitment compared to men. Therefore higher percentages of main position in organization are mostly men. On the other hand, woman have been increasingly joining the workforce as many organization have better working conditions offered to woman such as longer maternity leave and in some organizations, childcare services are introduced to help woman return to the workforce after childbirth. Generational diversity Generational diversity could present opportunities as well as challenges in an organization(Mcshane & Travaglione 2007). Basically, generation X and generation Y has different work values as generation X go for job security while generation Y goes more for job satisfaction, status and social involvement(Cinnamo & Gardner 2008). By understanding generational diversity, it could help to identify employees’ needs, in turn managers or employers could come up with organization policies that matches those needs which could result in better job satisfaction and also low employee turnover. Employee turnover disadvantages an organisation as recruitment cost time, effort and money. And retaining employees with experiences, and training employees giving them more skills could in turn help the organization reach greater heights. Advantages of generational diversity could be improved decision making and team performance on complex tasks. In a diverse society, a diverse workforce would provide a better customer service too. This is one of the reasons why some organizations choose employees of diversified backgrounds and generations. 2Workplace value and ethics Importance of values in workplace McDonald and Zepp (2007) define values as the embodiment of what an organization stands for, and should be the basis for the behaviour of its members. Value and ethics guide employees’ actions, behaviours and making decisions. The influence of family, religion , community will determine individual values, Within an organization, when employees have clash of values , It becomes very difficult for them to work together , therefore having a set of organization work policy is very important , it defines the appropriate ethics and values that employees should have. With increasing cultural diversity these days, it is very important to find shared values that majority in an organization believe in, to promote harmony and also increase efficiency as they work together. However due to society diversity, ethical conflict could occur. As Wartick and Wood (1998) defines ethical conflicts as dissonances among principles of right among principles of wrong. At a workplace, it is common to come across ethical conflict whereby both parties reckon they are right in their own way, making decision to the benefit of the organisation. In this situation, conflict resolution comes in, where they should together and put their differences aside, and come up with an ideal solution. Corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsible is the organization’s moral obligation towards all of its stakeholders. Otherwise as Kotler and Lee (2005) define corporate responsible is a commitment to improve community well-being through discretionary business practices and contributions of corporate resources. This refers to a voluntary commitment a business is making in choosing an implementing these practices rather than mandated by law or by other ethical issues. Big organizations like Westpac and McDonalds practice corporate social responsible. First and foremost, due to their finance ability, and also to its massive marketing campaigns which due to influences the public. According to Macdonald CSR report 2007, over the years, they have been involved in caring for the environment, contribution to the Australian economy, practicing food safety and responsible marketing, and also giving scholarship and grants to children. In recent years, organizations are no longer after just profit-making, corporate social responsible is getting more and more businesses attention. Interview outcome In order to under to understand these two trends better, a manager of Severn-Eleven who has six year experience has been interviewed. During the face-to-face interview, ten relevant questions were asked. Here is the interview outcome. The changing workforce a) What do you think is changing workforce? I think changing workforce is the replacement of skilled labour, and training employees when the situation is required. b) Do you think the changing workforce is important in the workplace? Yes. I think it is important in a workplace. c) Why do you think it is/or is not? With demands around us constantly changing, it is important for us to prepare ourselves with skills, knowledge that is needed to cope with these changes. If not it will be difficult for our business to compete in this harsh and competitive environment. d) What factors do you think can affect the changing workforce? Technology advance could affect the changing workforce. e) Is there cultural diversity within your employees? Why yes/no? Yes, I employ a mixture of races of employees within my organsation, and they get along pretty well. I chose employees from different background mainly because of the multi-cultural environment we have in Victoria, and also the ideas they be able to exchange as they work together. Workplace values and ethics a) What do you think are ethical values? Ethical values are what one think is right or wrong and it guides one’s actions. For example, here in 7-Eleven ethical principles are those tell the truth, take complaints seriously, treat customers and employees fairly and so on. b) Do you think ethical values are important in the workplace? Yes, it is important. ) Why do you think they are/or are not? They provide behaviour rules that can control one’s thoughts and actions. They can affect one’s decision making and organization’s operation. d) What factors do you think have affected the way we think about ethical behaviour at work? It may be past work experience, cultural practices and family influences. e) Do you think people’s ethical behaviour at wo rk is affected by what their colleagues or superiors are doing? Yes, as the working environment of a person could directly affect a person’s decision and actions. Research outcome According to this interview, it is evident that employers find the need for employees continue acquiring skills to keep up with the changing workforce. As technology advances, it increases challenges in the workplace. For example machines and computers replacing human labour. Uren (2009) stated during recession, women, by contrast, have done better in the services sector of the economy, which is not as severely affected by recessions as manufacturing. As intangible service can only be provide by human labour. When equipped with skills, it is not difficult to cope with the changing workforce. Generally there is agreement about the trends compared to the interview results as the employer interviewed emphasized about inquiring new skills, and also supports cultural diversity within her chosen employees. Upon entering an organisation, ethics and value do affect an employee’s attitude and judgment, however his or her values could be shaped by religion, family upbringing, past experiences, therefore it is something hard to change. Corporate social responsibility educates and affects not only the organisation’s external environment; it affects the internal environment as well. Employees could learn proper way ethics on the way, as the organisation carry out campaigns, and it could guide the employees, giving them the ability and knowledge to help the public and needy and cutting down on environmental harm. Upon reflecting, the results we have got from the interview were useful and also highlight the importance of the changing workforce and ethics and values in organsations. We would have a better idea of what to expect when u enter the workforce. My new knowledge would influence me to develop cultural awareness in this multi-cultural environment, and also to keep up with changes, by learning new skills on the way. Conclusion From the above literature review, we could conclude that generational and cultural diversity may not be a bad thing, it broadens employees’ views and prospects, allows them to exchange ideas and interact , bringing out better opportunities in the global market. However, there are its short-comings, like ethics and value conflict and also cross-cultural communication problems. These could lead to major issue like misinterpretation of information and employee conflicts, which could affect employee’s performance and productivity. In recent years, there are increasing women joining the workforce, furthermore, occupying main position in organisation. In some situations, women have proved to be better managers than men, as they use a more interactive style of management, and more sensitive to employee’s needs. When employees’ needs are fulfill, they are more likely to feel job satisfaction. Corporation social responsible are getting more organization attention and participation as it provides marketing purpose, and also educating the public with minimizing environmental harm and helping the needy. Compared to the past, organisations are not just for making profit, but also responsible to the public. Reference list Cennamo, L and Gardner, D 2008, ‘Generational differences in work values, outcomes and person-organization values fit’, Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol 23, no. 8, pp 891-906. Karoc-Kakabadse, N. and Kouzmin, A. (2001), ‘Low- and high-context communication patterns: towards mapping cross-cultural encounters’, Cross Cultural Management, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 3-24. Kotler, P and Lee, N, 2005, Corporate social responsibility: doing the most good for your company and your cause, John Wiley and Sons, AUS Mcdonalds, G and Zepp, R 1989, ‘Business ethics: practical proposal’, Journal of Management Development, vol 8, no 1, pp 55-66. McDonald’s 2007, McDonald’s Australia Corporate Social Responsibility Report, McDonald’s, Australia, viewed on 31 Mar 2009. Mcshane, S and Travaglione T, 2007, Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim, 2ed, McGraw-Hill, AUS Seymen, O 2006, ‘The cultural diversity phenomenon in organisations and different approaches for effective cultural diversity management: a literary review’, Cross Culture Management, vol 13, no 4, pp 296-315. Uren, D 2009, ‘One in four workers to go on welfare’, The Australia, 31 Mar, pp, 6. Wartick, S and Wood D, 1998, International business and society, Wiley-Blackwell, US Appendix A Interview Questions The changing workforce a) What do you think is changing workforce? b) Do you think the changing workforce is important in the workplace? c) Why do you think it is/or is not? d) What factors do you think can affect the changing workforce? e) Is there cultural diversity within your employees? Why yes/no? Workplace values and ethics a) What do you think are ethical values? b) Do you think ethical values are important in the workplace? ) Why do you think they are/or are not? d) What factors do you think have affected the way we think about ethical behaviour at work? e) Do you think people’s ethical behaviour at work is affected by what their colleagues or superiors are doing? Appendix B Summary Globalisation has brought challenges and opportunities to the workplace. In th e multi-cultural working environment, there are opportunities to learn more from people from diversified backgrounds, which encourages creativity and exchange of ideas. Challenges could be conflicts due to misinterpretation of message, and also cultural differences. An offensive action or word may not mean to be offensive to another person. Misinterpretation could lead to conflict within the organisation, and unrest in a workplace. Therefore active listening and cultural awareness should be practice in a workplace. Misinterpretation could also lead to inefficiency at work. Changing workforce could be due to technology advance whereby employees should continuously learning skills to cope with the changes. With inappropriate skills, it could lead to inefficient completion of task, and also affects organisation’s productivity. Workplace value and ethics could be a challenge as well, as everyone is different. Different individuals have different values and ethic affecting their decisions and action. Value and ethics of an individual are shaped from past experiences, family upbringing, schooling and religion. Therefore it is something very hard to change. But in a workplace, it is inevitable to work with individuals of different ethics and values. And in serious cases, there could be ethic and value conflicts which could slow down teamwork’s progress. Therefore it is important to always communication and listen to sort the best way out when a problem occur. Corporate social responsibility is getting the attention of many organsations now. Compared to many years ago, organisation now is not just about making profit. They are more concern about environmental harms, people who need help and also responsible marketing and advertising. For example McDonalds which does community work, do clean ups for the environment, discourage wastage, and helping the needy. Most importantly, they engaged in responsible marketing, where they care the food they produce to sell, the health issues and also obesity issues linked to their products. Organisational Behaviour CONTENT Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦1 Trends affecting the workplace †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦2 The changing workforce†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2 Workplace value and ethics †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 Interview outcome †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 Research outcome†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 Reference list†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 Appendix A†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 Appendix B†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 Introduction Organizational behaviour knowledge is very important for everyone. It not only benefits a person as an individual, but also influences organization events. There are five organizational behaviour trends in the workplace: globalization, the changing workforce, evolving employment relationships, virtual work, and workplace values and ethics. In this essay, we will talk about two of them which are the changing workforce and workplace values and ethics. For the changing workforce, as Mcshane and Travaglione (2007) said there are primary and secondary dimensions of workforce diversity. And those diversities can present both opportunities and challenges in organization. Workplace values and ethics is a significant part of organizational behaviour trends. It can dictate people’s priorities, preferences and desires’ (Mcshane & Travaglione 2007, p 13). In order to understand these two trends better, I interviewed a manager who has six years work experience in Seven-Eleven store. During this face-to face interview, some relevant questions were asked. And the research result is quite helpful. Trends affecting the workplace 1. The cha nging workforce With the development of globalisation, workforce diversity has become one of the most important trends that affect the workforce. People who work in the same workplace may have different religion, education and work experience. And those diversities can bring opportunities and challenges to an organization. Racial diversity Ethnic and racial diversity in the workplace is a core value in organization. For example, Canada is a diverse country with a number of ethnic groups. Visible minorities account for 10 per cent of the Canadian population in 1995 and this figure is expected to double by 2015 (Demers, cite in Seymen 2006). Furthermore, Atiyyah (cited in Seymen 2006)in his work, concentrates on workforce diversity which is composed of Americans, Europeans, mainly Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Iran and Persian Gulf countries. Today,with globalisation increasingly happening , majority of organisation have seen multicultural background employees as a important part of success in this highly diversified society. The advantage of having a multi cultural group of employees in an organization is it broadens an organization’s view as they exchange ideas and opinions, working towards making a better and more effective business decision. However a diversified organization also has its disadvantage. One of the problems to overcome is cross-cultural communication. For members of different culture, they interpret certain words, actions or signals differently. As Karoc-kakabadse and kouzmin (2001) highlights that different cultures have different understanding regarding the interaction process and the different style of dialogues. Some misunderstanding could occur due to different interpretation and cause workplace disagreements Therefore in a diversified environment, it is important to practice cultural awareness as to avoid misinterpretation which could lead to unproductive working attitudes within an organization. Women in workforce Compare to the many years ago, woman in the workforce have increased intensively. Women have proven to be better at managing staff in an organization as they are more people-orientated. As Mcshane and Travaglione (2007) suggest that compared to male managers, woman managers are more relationship orientated and adopt a stronger emphasis on teams and employee involvement. However in many occasion, woman have stronger family commitment compared to men. Therefore higher percentages of main position in organization are mostly men. On the other hand, woman have been increasingly joining the workforce as many organization have better working conditions offered to woman such as longer maternity leave and in some organizations, childcare services are introduced to help woman return to the workforce after childbirth. Generational diversity Generational diversity could present opportunities as well as challenges in an organization(Mcshane & Travaglione 2007). Basically, generation X and generation Y has different work values as generation X go for job security while generation Y goes more for job satisfaction, status and social involvement(Cinnamo & Gardner 2008). By understanding generational diversity, it could help to identify employees’ needs, in turn managers or employers could come up with organization policies that matches those needs which could result in better job satisfaction and also low employee turnover. Employee turnover disadvantages an organisation as recruitment cost time, effort and money. And retaining employees with experiences, and training employees giving them more skills could in turn help the organization reach greater heights. Advantages of generational diversity could be improved decision making and team performance on complex tasks. In a diverse society, a diverse workforce would provide a better customer service too. This is one of the reasons why some organizations choose employees of diversified backgrounds and generations. 2Workplace value and ethics Importance of values in workplace McDonald and Zepp (2007) define values as the embodiment of what an organization stands for, and should be the basis for the behaviour of its members. Value and ethics guide employees’ actions, behaviours and making decisions. The influence of family, religion , community will determine individual values, Within an organization, when employees have clash of values , It becomes very difficult for them to work together , therefore having a set of organization work policy is very important , it defines the appropriate ethics and values that employees should have. With increasing cultural diversity these days, it is very important to find shared values that majority in an organization believe in, to promote harmony and also increase efficiency as they work together. However due to society diversity, ethical conflict could occur. As Wartick and Wood (1998) defines ethical conflicts as dissonances among principles of right among principles of wrong. At a workplace, it is common to come across ethical conflict whereby both parties reckon they are right in their own way, making decision to the benefit of the organisation. In this situation, conflict resolution comes in, where they should together and put their differences aside, and come up with an ideal solution. Corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsible is the organization’s moral obligation towards all of its stakeholders. Otherwise as Kotler and Lee (2005) define corporate responsible is a commitment to improve community well-being through discretionary business practices and contributions of corporate resources. This refers to a voluntary commitment a business is making in choosing an implementing these practices rather than mandated by law or by other ethical issues. Big organizations like Westpac and McDonalds practice corporate social responsible. First and foremost, due to their finance ability, and also to its massive marketing campaigns which due to influences the public. According to Macdonald CSR report 2007, over the years, they have been involved in caring for the environment, contribution to the Australian economy, practicing food safety and responsible marketing, and also giving scholarship and grants to children. In recent years, organizations are no longer after just profit-making, corporate social responsible is getting more and more businesses attention. Interview outcome In order to under to understand these two trends better, a manager of Severn-Eleven who has six year experience has been interviewed. During the face-to-face interview, ten relevant questions were asked. Here is the interview outcome. The changing workforce a) What do you think is changing workforce? I think changing workforce is the replacement of skilled labour, and training employees when the situation is required. b) Do you think the changing workforce is important in the workplace? Yes. I think it is important in a workplace. c) Why do you think it is/or is not? With demands around us constantly changing, it is important for us to prepare ourselves with skills, knowledge that is needed to cope with these changes. If not it will be difficult for our business to compete in this harsh and competitive environment. d) What factors do you think can affect the changing workforce? Technology advance could affect the changing workforce. e) Is there cultural diversity within your employees? Why yes/no? Yes, I employ a mixture of races of employees within my organsation, and they get along pretty well. I chose employees from different background mainly because of the multi-cultural environment we have in Victoria, and also the ideas they be able to exchange as they work together. Workplace values and ethics a) What do you think are ethical values? Ethical values are what one think is right or wrong and it guides one’s actions. For example, here in 7-Eleven ethical principles are those tell the truth, take complaints seriously, treat customers and employees fairly and so on. b) Do you think ethical values are important in the workplace? Yes, it is important. ) Why do you think they are/or are not? They provide behaviour rules that can control one’s thoughts and actions. They can affect one’s decision making and organization’s operation. d) What factors do you think have affected the way we think about ethical behaviour at work? It may be past work experience, cultural practices and family influences. e) Do you think people’s ethical behaviour at wo rk is affected by what their colleagues or superiors are doing? Yes, as the working environment of a person could directly affect a person’s decision and actions. Research outcome According to this interview, it is evident that employers find the need for employees continue acquiring skills to keep up with the changing workforce. As technology advances, it increases challenges in the workplace. For example machines and computers replacing human labour. Uren (2009) stated during recession, women, by contrast, have done better in the services sector of the economy, which is not as severely affected by recessions as manufacturing. As intangible service can only be provide by human labour. When equipped with skills, it is not difficult to cope with the changing workforce. Generally there is agreement about the trends compared to the interview results as the employer interviewed emphasized about inquiring new skills, and also supports cultural diversity within her chosen employees. Upon entering an organisation, ethics and value do affect an employee’s attitude and judgment, however his or her values could be shaped by religion, family upbringing, past experiences, therefore it is something hard to change. Corporate social responsibility educates and affects not only the organisation’s external environment; it affects the internal environment as well. Employees could learn proper way ethics on the way, as the organisation carry out campaigns, and it could guide the employees, giving them the ability and knowledge to help the public and needy and cutting down on environmental harm. Upon reflecting, the results we have got from the interview were useful and also highlight the importance of the changing workforce and ethics and values in organsations. We would have a better idea of what to expect when u enter the workforce. My new knowledge would influence me to develop cultural awareness in this multi-cultural environment, and also to keep up with changes, by learning new skills on the way. Conclusion From the above literature review, we could conclude that generational and cultural diversity may not be a bad thing, it broadens employees’ views and prospects, allows them to exchange ideas and interact , bringing out better opportunities in the global market. However, there are its short-comings, like ethics and value conflict and also cross-cultural communication problems. These could lead to major issue like misinterpretation of information and employee conflicts, which could affect employee’s performance and productivity. In recent years, there are increasing women joining the workforce, furthermore, occupying main position in organisation. In some situations, women have proved to be better managers than men, as they use a more interactive style of management, and more sensitive to employee’s needs. When employees’ needs are fulfill, they are more likely to feel job satisfaction. Corporation social responsible are getting more organization attention and participation as it provides marketing purpose, and also educating the public with minimizing environmental harm and helping the needy. Compared to the past, organisations are not just for making profit, but also responsible to the public. Reference list Cennamo, L and Gardner, D 2008, ‘Generational differences in work values, outcomes and person-organization values fit’, Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol 23, no. 8, pp 891-906. Karoc-Kakabadse, N. and Kouzmin, A. (2001), ‘Low- and high-context communication patterns: towards mapping cross-cultural encounters’, Cross Cultural Management, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 3-24. Kotler, P and Lee, N, 2005, Corporate social responsibility: doing the most good for your company and your cause, John Wiley and Sons, AUS Mcdonalds, G and Zepp, R 1989, ‘Business ethics: practical proposal’, Journal of Management Development, vol 8, no 1, pp 55-66. McDonald’s 2007, McDonald’s Australia Corporate Social Responsibility Report, McDonald’s, Australia, viewed on 31 Mar 2009. Mcshane, S and Travaglione T, 2007, Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim, 2ed, McGraw-Hill, AUS Seymen, O 2006, ‘The cultural diversity phenomenon in organisations and different approaches for effective cultural diversity management: a literary review’, Cross Culture Management, vol 13, no 4, pp 296-315. Uren, D 2009, ‘One in four workers to go on welfare’, The Australia, 31 Mar, pp, 6. Wartick, S and Wood D, 1998, International business and society, Wiley-Blackwell, US Appendix A Interview Questions The changing workforce a) What do you think is changing workforce? b) Do you think the changing workforce is important in the workplace? c) Why do you think it is/or is not? d) What factors do you think can affect the changing workforce? e) Is there cultural diversity within your employees? Why yes/no? Workplace values and ethics a) What do you think are ethical values? b) Do you think ethical values are important in the workplace? ) Why do you think they are/or are not? d) What factors do you think have affected the way we think about ethical behaviour at work? e) Do you think people’s ethical behaviour at work is affected by what their colleagues or superiors are doing? Appendix B Summary Globalisation has brought challenges and opportunities to the workplace. In th e multi-cultural working environment, there are opportunities to learn more from people from diversified backgrounds, which encourages creativity and exchange of ideas. Challenges could be conflicts due to misinterpretation of message, and also cultural differences. An offensive action or word may not mean to be offensive to another person. Misinterpretation could lead to conflict within the organisation, and unrest in a workplace. Therefore active listening and cultural awareness should be practice in a workplace. Misinterpretation could also lead to inefficiency at work. Changing workforce could be due to technology advance whereby employees should continuously learning skills to cope with the changes. With inappropriate skills, it could lead to inefficient completion of task, and also affects organisation’s productivity. Workplace value and ethics could be a challenge as well, as everyone is different. Different individuals have different values and ethic affecting their decisions and action. Value and ethics of an individual are shaped from past experiences, family upbringing, schooling and religion. Therefore it is something very hard to change. But in a workplace, it is inevitable to work with individuals of different ethics and values. And in serious cases, there could be ethic and value conflicts which could slow down teamwork’s progress. Therefore it is important to always communication and listen to sort the best way out when a problem occur. Corporate social responsibility is getting the attention of many organsations now. Compared to many years ago, organisation now is not just about making profit. They are more concern about environmental harms, people who need help and also responsible marketing and advertising. For example McDonalds which does community work, do clean ups for the environment, discourage wastage, and helping the needy. Most importantly, they engaged in responsible marketing, where they care the food they produce to sell, the health issues and also obesity issues linked to their products.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Literary Critique: Wicked Essay

My friend and I went to go see the second to last showing of the popular, surrealistic musical Wicked on September 4th, 2010 in San Francisco at the Orpheum Theater. The production is generally a success on its own terms; however, I don’t think it is as flawless as everyone seems to think it is. The productions starts at the end of the plot which is a bit dramatic, goes back in time and continues to move forward until it, once again, reaches that dramatic ending. In essence, the production completes a circle which works because showing the audience the ending first grabs their attention immediately after the show begins and makes them wonder what events must have occurred in order for the characters to end up in their current situation. It also works because it’s clear that only part of the ending is revealed in the beginning of the show which still leaves some surprises in store for the audience and gives them something to look forward to–finding out the rest of the ending. Choreography was definitely a significant element in Wicked. I found that it contributed to the story a lot by allowing the audience to actually see the emotions that the characters are feeling in the form of movement, or more specifically, dance. Choreography was especially helpful when trying to figure out what the characters in the ensembles were feeling because, first of all, they were the people doing most of the dancing so one could get a lot of information out of their movements and, secondly, there aren’t that many other opportunities or ways for them to tell the audience how they are feeling. Without the choreography in Wicked, the audience would only have a good understanding of how the main characters feel which would prevent them from getting different view points on what was happening. There are a few times when the choreography doesn’t really work and those are when the cast uses props in their dance numbers. I noticed that the props used in the dance numbers don’t really contribute to the story, they are just there for aesthetic or entertainment value, which is fine, except for when they get distracting and take away from the dance number. An example of this would be in â€Å"Dancing Through Life† when I kept getting mesmerized by the books the ensemble were moving around instead of appreciating the whole scene. Something that contributes to the production even more than the choreography are the songs that are sung throughout the musical. Through the songs, the audience is given a more detailed description of the characters and the characters’ situations and emotions in a different way other than lines, captivating the audience one again and giving them the opportunity to relate to the characters. This is one aspect of the musical that works really well because it is a way for the show to hold the audiences’ attention and relay information to them. Having music especially works when the show was trying tell the audience something and get them to feel a certain way at the same time. However, much like the choreography aspect of the show, there were times when having music didn’t work. Some of the messages that the songs gave were powerful, but they might’ve been stronger if the director had chosen to have the message of the song spoken instead of sung. I really noticed this in the song â€Å"No One Mourns the Wicked†. The costume choice were another thing that grabbed the audiences’ attention because the costumes, even when they weren’t always the most glamorous looking, were out there. They work because they are very imaginative, contributing to the surrealism of Wicked. They also work because they are a reflection of the characters’ personalities and; therefore, provide the audience with character information. For example, Glinda is generally dressed really brightly and extravagantly representing her bubbly and extravagant personality; meanwhile, Elphaba is normally seen in dark, simple clothing portraying the fact that she is a misunderstood, unhappy, simply being. The theme of good versus evil was prominent in the popular musical. Juxtaposition is used a lot to portray this especially when the theme is applied to the two main characters–a â€Å"good† and â€Å"bad† witch. This worked for a couple of reasons. One of which is that the audience was observing more than one personality type, which were both taken to extremes, at the same time. This allowed them to really get both sides of the story, to be cliche, instead of just seeing the characters’ world from one person’s point of view. The way the director chose to introduce the theme of good triumphing over evil also works. At the beginning of the production it’s clear that being â€Å"good† does have some advantages over being â€Å"evil†; however, as the musical progresses it becomes even more clear that good triumphing over evil may not always be what it seems to be. Portraying such a strong message in this manner works because, at first, it shows the audience what they already know and what they feel comfortable and then slowly it introduces them to a new idea making it less likely that they will reject the idea being proposed to them. Wicked has certain aspects that work together to make it a success, such as it’s choreography, props, soundtrack, themes, and costumes. Although, not every one of those aspects has a completely positive impact on the musical which makes it hard for me to refer to Wicked as a complete and total success.

The German Automobile Industry and the affect it has on the German Essay - 1

The German Automobile Industry and the affect it has on the German Economy, Stock Utility Analysis - Essay Example With 121 billion EUR, the German car industry earned 60% of its sales in foreign countries. German car manufacturers and suppliers employ more than 1.5million people worldwide, more than half of them in Germany. Recently, domestic employment has been expanded; Since 1994, the number of jobs at home increased by122000.Despite economic weakness in 2002, employment in the car industry remained almost constant with 763 500 people. Owing to the assumption of additional value-added activities from the manufacturers, suppliers even employed additional staff. The German car industry employs more than 12.8% of the working population of the whole German industry. At the same time, it raises one third of the R&D expenditure of the German economy and one-fifth of the investments. During the last five years, 49 billion EUR were invested in Germany; over this period of time, expenditure for R&D exceeded 65 billion Euros, and the R&D staff was increased significantly to more than 70,000 employees (VDA, 2003). Literature Review: Germany was one of the European countries that succumbed early to the fascination of Fordist production methods. German automakers made pilgrimages in the 1920s to the USA, seeking to discover the secrets of the economic future at the holy cities of capitalism, which of course included the Ford plants at Highland Park and River Rogue. Creating the preconditions for a new age in automobile production was a strong motive behind numerous efforts to concentrate car production capacity in Germany. After the postwar stabilization of the economy, the large German banks - above all the Deutsche Bank - toyed with the... Robert Merton (1987), "On the Current State of the Stock Market Rationality Hypothesis," in Ruddier Dornbusch, Stanley Fischer, and John Bossons, eds., Macroeconomics and Finance: Essays in Honor of Franco Modigliani (Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press).

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Love between Fathers and children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Love between Fathers and children - Essay Example The first similarity is that the two poems have the dad as the main subject. In â€Å"Those Winter Sundays†, the poet states that â€Å"Sundays too My Father got up early/ and put his clothes on in the blueback cold† (1, 2). This line introduces the theme of the poem. In the entire poem, the poet continues to depict the figure and their role in the family setting. â€Å"My Papa’s Waltz† was the poet also introduces the father figure, â€Å"†¦the whisky on your breath/could make a small boy dizzy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1, 2). In this line, the narrator describes the habitual trait of their father. The same is emulated across the entire poem. The second similarity is that the two poems also depict the responsibility of the father in the family. In â€Å"My Papa’s Waltz† the poet asserts that, â€Å"we romped until the pans/ slid from the kitchen shelf† (4, 5). This line introduced the role of the dad depicted in the poem. In addition, the poem also displayed an exceptional responsibility of the father in the poem. In the poem â€Å"Those Winter Sundays† the poet states that, â€Å"who had driven out the cold/and polished my good shoes as well† (11, 12). This line depicts the father’s responsibility in the family setting. In addition, the narrator appreciates and recognizes the efforts of their father. The major difference in the two poems is that the perception of the father figure is represented differently. In â€Å"My Papa’s, Waltz† the narrator is appreciative of the role of the father. The narrator states that, â€Å"†¦then waltzed me off to bed/ still clinging to your shirt†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (15, 16). The narrator appreciated the efforts put by their father to make their night confortable. However ¸ in â€Å"Those Winter Days†, the narrator is fearful of their father; fearing the chronic angers of that house. In the poem, the narrator describes their father as one to be feared for their personality. In addition, the narrator includes

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Foreigners Changing China 1850-1980 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Foreigners Changing China 1850-1980 - Essay Example 345). Tensions over opium eventually resulted in the Opium Wars against the British. Registered addicts were licensed by the government to get decreasing amounts of the drug, and many users were punished and shops closed. By the time of the second Opium War, however, it became clear that the real text of the war was not opium smoking, but imperialism. Unfortunately, by the end of the second Opium War, China found itself defeated, forced into unfavorable trade policies, and still vulnerable as a population to opium addiction. the unbalanced system. The British were struggling to set up an imperialist structure in China by all means necessary during the 1800s. By the time of the â€Å"Arrow Incident† that started the second Opium War, the extension of the war was generally seen as an extension of British imperialism through Bowring in Hong Kong. â€Å"The British wanted the whole country opened up so that China could be incorporated into their "informal Empire," brought under indirect British rule like South America, rather than direct rule like India. The Chinese government was expected to govern the country in the interests of the British and their refusal to do this was bound to provoke renewed war† (China, 2010). In other words, China was punished with war for not accepting the unfair European imperialist system, until it relented and accepted treaty terms which were not favorable to its own interests. Some scholars argue the imperialism is a national construction in which politics do not generally emphasize a person’s color or nationality over their position in the economy, with which politics is primarily concerned, and it is clear to them that an imperialist political structure like the British one of the 1850s, with its aims focused exclusively on the capital to be extracted from China, is not as interested, and neither are insurgents who seek liberation from the oppressive imperial

Friday, July 26, 2019

Enlightenment and the Great Awakening Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Enlightenment and the Great Awakening - Essay Example Such changes made North America to become a great contributor in the colonial America’s economy. As a result of the major changes taking place in the cities, there was an increase in the rural urban migration. This was attributed to the fact that there was need for them to search for employment in the industries that had been established in the urban areas. The growth of the plantations also encouraged the migration as the plantations required laborers. There were numerous productions of raw materials for the factories and this maximized production by the industries. As a result there was a continued intake of laborers a step that made it impossible to eradicate rural urban migration. During the same period, North America experienced revivals in terms of religion, government and human nature. The role of enlightenment was to focus on challenging the existing religious standards and the divine rights that had been adopted by the people. It was through accepting the religious beliefs and tolerance among different individuals that they could be able to successfully experience enlightenment. It was through religion that they could be able to unify themselves. That is why they argued that religion was the opium of society an avenue through which individuals would understand each other.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Propaganda during World War 1 and World War 2 Research Paper

Propaganda during World War 1 and World War 2 - Research Paper Example In 1914 the War Propaganda Bureau were created in Great Britain. Bureau implemented propaganda among the soldiers and the population of the foreign countries.   In August 1915 the propaganda service was created in France. The activity was held by means of leaflets spreading. In 1917 the United States Committee on Public Information ruled by George Creel was created. The main task of the committee was to mobilize the public opinion inside of the country to support both the participation of America in War and the peacemaking efforts of Wilson due to the public opinion split straight after the war was declared. Creel’s committee started working not having any tested tools of mass media. Thus, it was necessary to improvise. As that time there was no developed radio and television for the fast spreading of information, the committee formed the mobile groups of volunteers. The main goal of such organizations was to make people think that the opponents wanted to destroy the country and they were not going to stop (Lasswell, 1972:40). The activity of the created organizations, which dealt with propaganda were successful and brought good results. For example, more people started entering such organizations as Red Cross. Less people tended to join those who propagated the end of the war and peace establishment (McQuail, 1969:5). Germany became the victim of the informational and psychological operations of the opponents. Under the informational pressure the revolution started in Germany and led to its failure.

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

The Effects of Fertilizer on Plant Growth Research Paper

The Effects of Fertilizer on Plant Growth - Research Paper Example â€Å"A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use† (Coleman, Fuenta, and Mock 1978). There are many types of fertilizer out there today for the aid of plant growth. There are many ways to categorize types of fertilizers; they can be classified as either organic or inorganic. It can also be defined as a solid or a liquid fertilizer, along with different ingredients that produce different actions. â€Å"Organic fertilizer is all natural and includes things such as bat guano, compost, peat moss, wood ash and manure. These are general soil amendments. They don't burn or harm plants, and they can have long-term positive effects on the soil without damaging groundwater. Organic fertilizer, however, generally has lower nutrient concentrations than inorganic fertilizers† (Broschat and Moore 2003). Whereas inorganic fertilizer can be classified with the characteristics of. â€Å"Man-made and typically comes as a po wder, pellets, granules or a liquid. Other chemicals that might be included in inorganic fertilizers include calcium, sulfur, iron, zinc and magnesium† (Broschat and Moore 2003). Research Questions 1. What are the specific effects of fertilizer on plant growth? 2. ... Methods Soil was mixed using a 1:1:1 ratio of pet moss, vermiculite, and potting soil. One scoop of the soil was collected and misted with water until it was moist. Four potting trays with six cells each were gathered. The cells were filled half way with the moist soil. Five osmocote pellets were added to each of the cells. The cells were completely filled with the remaining moist soil. A pencil was used to poke three tiny holes in each of the cells. A seed was placed at the top of each hole. The holes were then lightly covered with soil. Each of the cells was labeled one through twelve for the control group and the experimental group. A diamond wick was inserted into each of the cells halfway and was folded over at the bottom. This was to help water enter the cell. Two tubs were filled with water and two pieces of fabric for each tub were soaked and draped over the top of the boxes. Two antiagal tabs were added to each tub of water to prevent algae from growing. One control tray and one experimental tray were placed on each of the tubs. The trays were mixed up so that if something happened to one of the tubs, there would still be a tub that could be examined. The trays were placed under the fluorescent bulbs in the classroom. Plant height, number of leaves, and number of buds were collected each week. Water was added to the tubs weekly as well. Data was analyzed using statistical t-tests. Ethical Considerations Ethics are the moral codes which are followed in a research. These codes are binding and need to be followed irrespective of any circumstance which may surround the research since they give us a remembrance of the researcher’s responsibility towards the people being researched (Chapman and Shaw 2000). The following

Velocity and Flow Rate Measuring Instruments used in Pipes Essay

Velocity and Flow Rate Measuring Instruments used in Pipes - Essay Example Some relevant principles of fluid mechanics that are underlying principles of various flow velocity and flow rate measuring types of equipment are – â€Å"Pascal’s Law†, â€Å"Equation of Continuity† and Bernoulli's Equation†. These are briefly discussed below. The law states that pressure applied to any region of a liquid is transmitted to the entire liquid without any drop in the magnitude. This is the underlying principle for pressure measurement using the manometer. This law has several interesting applications like hydraulic lift and other hydraulic devices. This law can be mathematically stated as Where P1 and P2 are pressures at points 1 and 2 respectively, ‘ï  ²Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ is a density of the liquid, ‘g’ is the acceleration due to gravity and ‘h’ is the elevation of point 2 with respect to point 1.This is essentially a statement of the law of conservation of matter as applied in fluid mechanics. This law states that for an incompressible fluid the flow rate remains the same at any cross-section along the flow direction. This equation is essentially a statement of the law of conservation of energy as applied in fluid mechanics. This law states that for an incompressible and non-viscous fluid the total mechanical energy remains conserved along the flow line. This law can be mathematically expressed as This equation forms the backbone of most of the flow velocity and flow rate measuring instruments. Some of the important instruments measuring flow rate and flow velocity in a pipe are briefly discussed in the subsequent sections.While both the instruments work on the principle of Bernoulli’s equation and introduce in variation in the cross-sectional area of the flow path, there is the small difference in the two instruments. Venturi meter is much longer than an orifice plate, which is essentially a plate. Normally the reduction in cross-section is much larger in case of the orifice meter than that in case of Venturi Meter. Hence, measurements are more accurate in case of orifice plate than in case of venture meter.

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Rites of passage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Rites of passage - Essay Example felt that the United States of America has the best higher education institutions in the world and also offer numerous opportunities for career growth once I complete my studies. This made the decision to come pursue my higher education in the United States of America much easier. This paper will discuss my transition from high school to college and the challenges encountered. After making this crucial decision, I started making the necessary arrangements. I had to look for the best higher education institution in the United States that would suit my needs. The institution had to be well known, have excellent facilities and staff that would assist me in achieving my goals. I also had to secure admission in the institution. I was also forced to look for the necessary travel documents before I could leave my country. This was crucial as without the travel documents I wouldn’t be allowed to leave for the United States. This was an important stage in my life as I had reached the majority age. This meant that could be a citizen in my own right. This allowed me to be able to convince my parents that I was mature enough to take care of myself in a foreign country miles away from them. As a foreign student, I had to first of all, learn English which is the native language used in America. This proved to be harder than I thought. However, everyone, especially the tutors were very understanding and encouraged me a lot. I also had to leave behind my family and friends. Whom, I had gotten used to seeing and being around. I also had to leave behind the Chinese food and culture. On the positive side, I had gotten my chance to pursue my higher education studies in one of the best universities in the world. It also gave me an opportunity to meet new people and learn about their culture. It also gave me an opportunity to travel the world. Deciding to come to pursue my higher education in the United States has helped become a better person. I have learned how to manage my

Monday, July 22, 2019

Islamic Arabia Essay Example for Free

Islamic Arabia Essay Signs of Islam using the Koran as the foundations of its life and values being more accepting of women whether they are married or single are easier to see than in Christianity that made use of the Bible as the basis of its spiritual teachings. Accommodations in Islam which means accepting women as people of sacred, substantial, cultural, social and moral worth began its call even before pre-Islamic Arabia (Smith 52). Increasingly, however, Christians are turning women into little more than just sex objects. Many other societies have actually demoted women with two pieces of skimpy cloth walking down the ramp, viewed on tubes for global audience use, drowning the usual human values, robbed of natural human distinction. The core of a woman is being destroyed by the image of being just sex objects. Mankind should remember that the origin of all is just one pair. Eve’s progeny reminds mankind to be grateful for her willingness to be the mother of the first children earth ever had and the generations later should be proud of the founding of humankind. Femininity is a tribute to society. Childbearing honors women who bear a child in her womb for nine long months, who goes through the pains of giving birth, and the burden of breastfeeding. Being a woman and a capable mother have great societal significance to Muslims, recognizing and accepting women’s role. There are two top religions in the world today that is reaping much awareness and credit. The 1st is Islam, which is the cult of those who believe in Muhammad as a messenger of God, differing according to culture, and Christian religion, the cult of those who believe in Jesus Christ the son of Mary, modified according to culture,. Though Muhammad and Jesus Christ have both been influenced by some patriarchal views (Fiorenza 316), they have also in many ways differing concepts about women in their respective time and society. Like, in one occasion when it came to the knowledge of Muhammad that a couple committed adultery, he ordered them to be stoned to death right in front of his mosque (Mishkat 267), on the other hand when Jesus received the report from a witnessed a woman committing adultery, and so she must be penalized according to Jewish law, Jesus said sternly, â€Å"Let him who is without sin among you throw the first stone at her†, discarding double standard of morality (John 122). However, in his personal affairs Muhammad advised his men to treat their women with kindness (Al-Bukhari   80). Today, long time after Jesus and Muhammad, these values have so much evolved as intellectual education intensifies bringing about much understanding of human nature and modifications to a changing ecosystem. It can not be denied however that there still exist varying scales as to acceptability of women in Islam or in Christianity. Accepting of women in society is relative when looked upon the perspective of Islam after the time of Muhammad as against those of the Christians after the time of Jesus without neglecting cultural values. In Islam women were raised on a pedestal over 1, 400 years ago (Jumuah 62), when Muhammad directed his followers to regard women with compassion (Al-Bukhari 1, 55, 62, 80). They were acknowledge   to be the sisters of men, bestowing rights: to education up to the highest intensity, the right to decide on their marriage partner, the right to end an unhappy marriage, the right to inheritance, and the rights of a full citizen of a state (Jumuah 62), though, cultural differences still exist. While Christianity is more liberal, it leaves women to find its own level in the strata of society (Luke 81). Christian codes do not specify and provide rights for women. Christians adopts rights for women founded by men as cultural dictates (Fiorenza 1083) incorporated in individual state and governmental laws, which changes from time to time as revised to suit a presumed social need (Luke 89). Islam considers that men and women are at par when it comes to value as pieces and parts of humanity (Jumuah 63), but, these changes from customs to ethnicity. A man can not be victorious in his life without a woman. Their rights and tasks crossover and balance their totality because their roles are harmonizing and shared, although their duties might clash in certain areas of life in accordance with their basic physical and psychological disparity, where each is equally liable for their actual tasks (Jumuah 63), according to culture. Not one sex is either better or lesser than the other in any way, depending upon the Muslim culture where one belongs. There are however those who practice primarily according to their culture, which is not definitely a teaching of Islam according to its advocates, because culture does not crossover nor influence the Islamic code which is likewise the Qur’an, since the Qur’an is all embracing and above anyone’s culture. They oppress women which is simply a reflection of local customs that are definitely inconsistent and contrary to the teachings of Islam (Jumuah 62). Not only material and physical rights are given to women. They have also the right to be treated with kindness and consideration because it is provided for in the Qur’an. Under Islamic law the following provisions are given to women: when a Muslim woman marries she does not lose her maiden name in place of her husband (Jumuah 63). She has the right to keep her identity. She is given a gift by her husband to be, prior to their marriage which is also called a dowry (Ali 759). It is a personal gift that is at her disposal or which she can spend to buy properties, invest on whatever she feels she must without the influence of anyone from her family (Ali 759). The man must provide for the needs of his wife and the family even if she has the money of her own (Ali 759). She is not in any way obligated to spend anything for the family, which relieves the woman from the burden of earning a living. She however has the option to work if she finds it necessary. As the family is similar to any systematic organization, leadership is bestowed upon men. The Qur’an Clearly states that the husband is to some degree higher than the wife being the leader and guardian of the family. This does not in any way presume a right nor a license to be the tyrant of the household. It is rather the complete responsibility of the husband to care for the family (Jumuah 63). Karen Armstrong in a biography said, the emancipation of women was dear to the Prophets heart, describing: women were treated inferiorly with no rights like slaves in pre-Islamic time, but Muhammad allowed them to stand as witnesses and gave them the right to inheritance (Armstrong 191). The concept of women’s dress is of Islamic moral, social and legal values. By their observance of proper dress code, men and women alike protect their honor and reputation in a society contributing to it largely along peace and order. It is also A Qur’anic revelation While Jesus did not marry, Muhammad had several wives after Khadija his first wife, for different reasons such as: widows who needs provisions (Ali 53), widows with orphans who needs a fatherly attention (Ali 129), literacy of a woman, wealth of a woman, the widow being the wife of the enemy (Ali 129), political alliances and as a virgin wife like Aisha (Mishkat 3:13). A woman has four reasons to marry: wealth, family status, beauty and religion (Al-Bukhari 16, 32). Divorces were allowed even before pre-Isalmic times (Smith 52), while it was only a male prerogative in the Jewish law (Deuteronomy 176). But, Jesus made it irrevocable (Mark 56). Jesus helped women, honored them like the hunchback, one he called daughter of Abraham after she was healed from illness (Luke 93), and praised another for anointing him with oil (Mark 62). Jesus parables showed his compassion for women (Matthew 34).

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Study on phelan mcdermid syndrome

Study on phelan mcdermid syndrome Seventy-five percent of individuals with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome have pure 22q deletions, which are either terminal or interstitial. A terminal deletion involves a single break in the long arm of chromosome 22 that removes the distal portion. An interstitial deletion occurs when two breaks occur within the long arm of chromosome 22 and only the segment between the two breaking points is lost. In Phelan-McDermid Syndrome, terminal deletions occur more commonly than interstitial. As is the case for many other terminal deletion syndromes, the pure deletions most often occur on the chromosome that is inherited paternally. The remaining 25 percent of individuals with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome have deletions that result from other structural translocations or rearrangements (Phelan, 2007; Bonaglia et al., 2006). The mode of inheritance for 80 percent of affected individuals is a de novo chromosome deletion (Phelan, 2007). A de novo chromosome deletion is an anomaly that occurs in the individual and is not inherited from the parents, who have normal karyotypes (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2010). Thus, the recurrence risk of Phelan-McDermid Syndrome for the future pregnancies of parents with normal karyotypes is highly unlikely. However, about 20 percent of affected individuals experience a familial mode of inheritance in which one parent passes on an unbalanced chromosome. When a familial mode of inheritance is involved, there is an increased risk of having other affected pregnancies. Therefore, it is highly recommended for these parents to receive genetic counseling in order to address future recurrence risks (Cusmano-Ozog, Manning, Hoyme, 2007; Robin, 2008). Individuals with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome share a common phenotype that includes hypotonia, global developmental delay, normal to accelerated growth, severely delayed to absent expressive language, autistic-like behaviors, and dysmorphic features (ONeill, Kniffin, Hamosh, Dolan, McKusick, 2009). The first presenting symptoms of the syndrome, which begin to become evident during infancy, are usually hypotonia, feeding problems, and developmental delay (Phelan, 2008). Typical craniofacial characteristics of individuals with this syndrome include a high forehead, a disproportionately long and narrow head, puffy and drooping eyelids, large ears, a smooth philtrum without Cupids bow, a wide nasal tip, and a pointed chin. (Manning et al., 2004; Cusmano-Ozog, Manning, Hoyme, 2007). Other common physical traits are large, fleshy hands, swollen feet, syndactyly of the toes, and a chronic lack of perspiration that often leads to overheating (Havens, Visootsak, Phelan, Graham, 2004). Althoug h chronic otitis media is common, most individuals with this syndrome have normal hearing (Phelan, 2007). As noted, autistic-like behaviors are present. These include poor eye contact, self-stimulatory actions, tactile sensitivity, and a decreased interest in socializing. It has been suggested that Phelan-McDermid Syndrome is a type of syndromic autism (Phelan, 2008). Additional behavioral aspects present include an increased tolerance to pain, frequent mouthing and chewing of non-food objects, hyperactivity, short attention span, and, at times, aggression (Havens, Visootsak, Phelan, Graham, 2004; Philippe et al., 2008). Most individuals with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome experience a severe to profound intellectual disability (Phelan, 2007). The degree of phenotype expression and severity of Phelan-McDermid Syndrome are dependent upon the size of the deletion (Manning et al., 2004). The size of deletion varies from a very small 100 kilobases to a substantial 9 megabases. One hundred kilobases are equivalent to 100,000 deleted base pairs of DNA, and 9 megabases are equivalent to 9 million deleted base pairs of DNA (Phelan, 2008). Prasad and colleagues (2000) presented case studies of individuals affected by Phelan-McDermid Syndrome. Of their case studies, the patient with the largest deletion presented the most severe developmental delay in addition to other comorbid features, such as seizures. Recent findings have suggested that deletion of the SHANK3 gene, which is also called PROSAP2, is responsible for the neurological features of global developmental delay and severely delayed to absent expressive language that are demonstrated in individuals affected by Phelan-McDermid Syndrome (Durrand et al., 2007). The SHANK3 gene belongs to a family of proteins and it is involved in the formation and maintenance of synapses. This gene is located in the critical region for this syndrome, 22q13.3, and a deletion of the SHANK3 gene has been present in all reported cases of the syndrome. In fact, a SHANK3 gene deletion hot spot has been identified in numerous unrelated cases where the breakpoint has occurred in an essentially identical location. However, it is important to note that individuals who have the same type of SHANK3 gene deletion will still present different degrees of severity in their phenotype due to other confounding factors (Bonaglia et al., 2006). The first diagnosed case of Phelan-McDermid Syndrome was documented in 1985 (Prasad et al., 2000), and, since then, there have been more than 500 cases identified worldwide (Unique, 2008). Among the documented cases, the age at which individuals have been diagnosed with this syndrome has widely ranged from prenatally (with the use of amniocentesis) to 46 years of age (Cusmano-Ozog, Manning, Hoyme, 2007). Reportedly, the deletion does not have a gender preference as it is equally frequent in males and females. Because no life-threatening characteristics are associated with this syndrome, overall life expectancy is considered to be normal (Unique, 2008). This syndrome is highly under-diagnosed due to clinical and laboratory difficulties. Therefore, its true incidence is unknown. At the clinical level, healthcare professionals may be unfamiliar with or fail to notice the phenotypical characteristics associated with this syndrome that would warrant a referral for further cytogenetic testing (Phelan et al., 2001). Also, at the laboratory level, the deletion is often subtle and it can be undetected by a routine chromosome analysis. In fact, over 30% of individuals with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome have required two or more chromosome analyses to discover the deletion (Phelan, 2008). Thus, enhanced molecular cytogenetic testing, such as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and array-based comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH), are utilized to verify the presence of the 22q13.3 deletion (Feenstra, Brunner, Van Ravenswaaij, 2006; Sathyamoorthi et al., 2009). FISH and array CGH are used to detect the deletion of a specific genetic segment in the chromosome that goes undetected due to its small size. These tests differ in that FISH focuses on a specific genomic region, while array CGH is able to focus on a specific region and test hundreds of additional genomic regions simultaneously during one experiment (Robin, 2008). By aiding in the detection of the 22q13.3 deletion, FISH and array CGH also assist in the differential diagnosis of Phelan-McDermid Syndrome. Several of its phenotypical features, such as hypotonia and global developmental delay, are also common features that are found in other disorders. Individuals with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome are often initially misdiagnosed with another condition until further testing is conducted. This syndrome is most commonly misdiagnosed as Angelman Syndrome or Velocardiofacial Syndrome (Phelan, 2008). Management Phelan-McDermid Syndrome is a life-long condition, and its management involves the assistance of several healthcare professionals. Among these professionals are the primary care physician, clinical geneticist, neurologist, physical therapist, and speech-language pathologist. The following are some of the responsibilities of these professionals with regard to this syndrome. In addition to providing routine medical treatment, the primary care physician is involved in noting the clinical presentation of the syndromes phenotype and referring a patient for genetic testing. The clinical geneticist is responsible for performing the cytogenetic testing that is necessary to confirm the diagnosis of Phelan-McDermid Syndrome. The neurologist and physical therapist will often work together to treat the hypotonia (Cusmano-Ozog, Manning, Hoyme, 2007; Phelan, 2008). Role of the Speech-Language Pathologist The hypotonia that begins to become evident during infancy usually results in feeding and swallowing difficulties. Thus, a speech-language pathologist is often necessary for the purpose of feeding and swallowing evaluations and intervention. Several behavioral aspects, such as hyperactivity, self-stimulatory actions, and attention difficulties, are often treated with medication. However, in addition to the physicians pharmacological approach, a speech-language pathologist can also help with the implementation of functional alternatives to these challenging behaviors. A speech-language pathologist will also focus on addressing the negative pragmatic aspects of this syndrome that include aversion to socializing and aggressiveness (Phelan, 2008). Many studies have found that individuals with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome have receptive language skills that are significantly greater than their expressive language abilities. Thus, these individuals often benefit from the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems. A speech-language pathologist can implement the use of AAC systems, such as a simple picture card system, so that individuals with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome who have significant language delays are able to better communicate with those around them (Havens, Visootsak, Phelan, Graham, 2004). Picture exchange communication systems (PECs), computer touch screens, and voice based systems are most commonly recommended for these individuals because these systems are compatible with their needs and the presence of hypotonia, which makes it difficult to communicate through other methods, such as sign language (Unique, 2008). In conclusion, individuals with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome exhibit a common phenotype that includes several cognitive, behavioral, and physical aspects. This syndrome is a life-long condition, and its management requires the help of a multidisciplinary team of professionals. The role of the speech-language pathologist in this syndrome is especially important due to the feeding and swallowing difficulties, challenging behaviors, and the significant communicative impairment experienced by individuals affected by Phelan-McDermid Syndrome.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

The Role Of Electronic Communication Today

The Role Of Electronic Communication Today Introduction Communication plays a very important role in our daily lives. When we interact with others we use different means of interaction. Communication has advanced from simple speech and cave paintings to the World Wide Web and many types of touch screen technology. With the recent creation of electronic communication, we finally could talk to each other at any place around the world in real time instantaneously. Another wonderful advantage it gives to us is the ability to use our time more to efficiently. However, electronic communication has drawbacks as well. For example makes it easier for bad people to make their deed more organized and efficient. History of Communication We have advanced significantly in our ability to communication. The first forms of communication our ancestors had were cave painting and face to face meeting. A form of writing was invented in 3500 B.C., which helped keep track of information, historical events, and tell about the citys laws. Our alphabetical letters (a, b, c, ect.) were invented in Ancient Egypt around 2000 B.C. The main problem for our ancestors was long distance communication. Mail. Our ancestors used a mail system for a long time, a system we still use today. They used it so they didnt have to travel every time which is very costly, immensely time consuming, and dangerous. Mail is pretty simple: you just write a letter, and give it to a post office closest to you to send. The post office used horses and ships to deliver the mail to the destination. Ships were the fastest types of delivery, but they used horses for areas without sea. A good example of a local mail system is the Pony Express that was used by the 13 colonies to deliver mail and news in the mid 1700s. The Pony Express was a delivery service of mailmen that travel by horse. The world also used ships to send information faster than by land, however it took take months to get to their destination. Telegraph. The telegraph was the first device that let us use electronic communication. Samuel Morse invented the telegraph in 1837, but the first commercial telegraph was invented in 1844 in the U.S.A. It was like a fax machine except there was no keyboard, it sent dotted messages, and it was wired. However, it was the first to have immediate replies. Soon businesses realized that the telegraph could really improve their business, but it was really expensive for two reasons. The first reason was that it was big and new, the second reason was that it needed a lot of wiring across the country that costs a fortune. What really helped the spread and popularity of the telegraph was the American Civil War. Since the North needed better advantages over the South, they needed the telegraph to send fast orders to the troops fighting in the west, on the border, or in the North. After the war more people got familiar with the telegraph and the wiring in the North was already there. In 1866, th ey even successfully made a cable from the U.S. to Europe that made fast electronic communication from North America to Europe possible. iPhone. Now, about 150 years later, we have excellent ways to communicate like the telephone, cell phone and the Internet with a laptop. Technology is continuously advancing. A recent advancement in electronic communication is the iPhone. The iPhone is a smart phone that is a touch screen and has the ability to access information on the Internet. Thanks to this phone we can save time and energy. The iPhone has a lot of awesome new features like the thousands or even tens of thousands of wonderful apps that are either free or cost $10 or less. It also has an excellent GPS system that even tells how much traffic each road has. The iPhone is a technological breakthrough. I once had an iPhone for one month, and out of all the cell phones I had, the iPhone was by far my favorite. Positive Effects and Aspects Well start with the positive aspects and effects. Now we use electronic communication for reasons including: Communication Saves time and energy A reminder Gaming Communication. First, it really improves are means of communicating to each other. First, communication gives us the ability to stay in touch anywhere at anytime. Also, it is more reliable and faster to transport important documents or news by mail or memory stick. Last, you could have immediate replies no matter where you are. Saves Time and Energy. First, the iPhone could give us direction in an unfamiliar area. Second it is easier to find and correct mistakes messages thanks to computers spell checks. It also increases the process of learning. A great example is how you taught me how to type correctly and faster when we are in two different states. They even have a really helpful touch screen computer ordering system, however it is in a couple restaurants. I went to one of these restaurants it was very good. You have the possibility to look at all the option on the menu, put topping, and order it anytime you wanted. It even has games on it you can play while you wait. The iPhone even makes the polices job easier. In the news, I heard this crazy report that someones iPhone was stolen and with a portable tracking system, the police found the thieves. Thats not the only case, there is another case when some thieves were stealing from a car, and the phone in his pocket accidentally calls 911, and thanks to t hat the police caught them. Good Reminder. Phone, email, and other types of electronic communication have special calendars and/or alarms that could remind you about: Appointments Meeting Family matters Special occasion Gaming. Games have always have been fun. Over the years gaming has advanced to a whole new level. In the 1990s they have made gaming systems that you can play storyline against computer. Now in the 21st century, you can play games against and talk to people around the world. For example, I have met a nice Canadian that lives in the second largest French-speaking town in the world, Montrà ©al. I have never met him face to face, but I have known him for well over a year and a half. Negative Aspects or Effects Of course if there are positive effects, there are negative effects from this technologic advancement: Your reputation is more vulnerable Over reliance Helps criminals also Problems with touch screens It increases the efficiency to Ruin any Reputation. Since the Internet is so vast, it is harder to keep information secret. A great example is how a teacher got fired for posting to her friends on Facebook that she hated her job and that her students parents were spoiled. If you make a mistake and send it, there are no ways you can stop it and it is easier for people to find your mistakes. A common example is a vending email, and you or someone else accidentally press send, and its immediately in the persons computer, since emails have search commands, so they could find that email a lot faster. You May Become Reliant on Technology. Reliance is not that big of a deal, but it could cause long-term problems. For example, a friend of mine has a portable GPS system and he uses it when he drives. A consequence of that is he doesnt even remember his friends addresses because he keeps using the GPS. Im a good example as well. When I was a little kid, I used to need to remember numbers, but with the addition of phone contacts in cell phones, I dont need to remember a single number. Now I dont know any of my friends numbers, only the numbers I remember are the ones I remembered when I was little kid: My parents cell phone numbers Our home number My parents office number 911 My dad has the same reliance as me, for most of his life, he remembered every number of his family and friends, but now all he remembers is their names in his contact list. It Could Help the Criminals as Well. The Internet is so helpful that it is even makes it easier for people to commit crimes. A great example is how terrorist use the Internet to find people to join their cause and it is a lot easier to send their messages without getting caught. It is also a lot easier to steal someones ideas and/report you just need to do three things: Search Copy Paste The Internet also made it possible for hackers to exist. Hackers go into any account steal the money, identity information, ect, and use it to profit themselves or frame others they dont like. It even helps people publish top-secret files. A great example is how Wiki Leaks published thousands of top-secret files about Afghanistan for the whole world to see, including terrorists. Touch screen problems. A touch screen is usually helpful, but there are problems with it. First, you need to clean the screen pretty often because when you touch it, it leaves fingerprints, which could block your sight or make it harder for the touch commands to work. Second, it is a lot more fragile, because glass is weaker than metal. Last if you scratch it, you need to either change the screen or just always look at the scratch. Conclusion All in all electronic communication is a great human achievement. We have gone a great way in our new breakthrough the iPhone. Although the advancement electronics has many drawbacks, it benefits have really helped our ancestors and us get to a new, better age. Now there are many types of advanced electronic communication that wed of never expected.