Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Case Study on Comparison of Crowdfunding Sites

On Comparison of Crowdfunding Sites - Case Study Example This is an especially crucial aspect of a Crowdfunding website considering most visitors look for features such as supported projects, the Crowdfunding program’s history, and operating model (Kickstarter Inc., 2015). However, considering contemporary websites place these links at the bottom of the homepage, it is understandable for Kickstarter to follow this trend. Indiegogo’s website took nearly half a minute to load, which is an indication of high traffic. The homepage has a layout nearly identical to that of Kickstarter in terms of the arrangement and the selection of links at the top, middle, and bottom of the page. Similar to Kickstarter, Indiegogo’s site has a few links at the top, which include a search bar, sign up and sign in options, â€Å"Explore,† and â€Å"How It Works† (Indiegogo Inc., 2015). The middle of the homepage also mimics a news section that displays the most recent developments for project starters and potential funders. However, unlike Kickstarter, Indiegogo’s site includes several additional sections dedicated to praising the site’s most successful project placers, funders, and the website itself. These sections are â€Å"Trending Now,† â€Å"Personal Fundraiser Spotlight,† and â€Å"why Indiegogo† (Indiegogo Inc., 2015). The bottom of the page has links fo r assisting users interested in starting their individual campaigns or knowing more about Indiegogo as a Crowdfunding platform. Kickstarter does not thoroughly describe a compelling need for the project to be funded. The home page focuses on the best selections by the campaign staff, which includes the number of pledged, funded, and supporters available for given projects. In the page â€Å"Projects We Love archive,† Kickstarter merely lists the best projects in need of funding while using the project starters’ descriptions alone to persuade potential funders (Kickstarter Inc., 2015).

Monday, October 28, 2019

The Allegorical Character of the Novel Animal Farm Essay Example for Free

The Allegorical Character of the Novel Animal Farm Essay An allegory is a story with two meanings. One meaning is simple and is just about the characters and what happens to them. The second meaning is deeper and symbolic. The characters represent real people and the things that happen; refer to important events in the world. Animal Farm is a simple story about a group of animals who take over control of the farm. Their leaders, the pigs, promise them a wonderful life, but they end up starving and miserable. Orwell uses this plot to satirize the communistic system and the events following the Russian Revolution In the beginning of the novel, the animals live in a capitalistic environment. Old Major plants the seed of the rebellion by sharing his revolutionary dream with the other animals. This brings up the thought of Marxism and the ideals of Lenin. After the animals have taken over the farm, they set up seven commandments, which are to be the principles of Animalism. Animalism is exactly like the communism in Russia. The reason for the animals’ rebellion is so that everyone could have a better life, but they ended up worse off. The reason for the Russian Revolution was to fix the problems created by the Tsar, but Russia was also worse off and it turned out the Tsar was nothing compared to Stalin. The events in Animal Farm contribute to the development and flow of the plot, but they also represent real historical events. The rebellion of the animals refers the Russian Revolution. The battle of the cowshed can be linked to the Civil War between the Tsarist Forces and The Bolsheviks. It was a war of communist against anti-communist and it is also known as Red October. When the animals go into the farmhouse for the first time, they are amazed and disgusted. The common people have the same attitude towards the ostentatious wealth of the Russian Royal Family. Stalin and Trotsky were constantly arguing and couldn’t agree on anything, if one said something the other would side with the opposite. Snowball and Napoleon, both representing these leaders, have the same relationship. The windmill is a symbol of Stalin’s five year plan, both were failures. Napoleon set up new plans after the first failed as did Stalin. The Battle of the Windmill is a parallel to the Battle at Stalingrad when Germany invaded Russia during the World War 2. Neighbouring farmer, Frederick, wanted to buy a pile of timbre from Napoleon, while Hitler wanted oil stores in Russia. By selling the timbre to Frederick, it refers to the Nazi-Soviet Pact. In the novel, Napoleon uses fear and violence to attain power, Stalin uses the same tactic in the Purges of 1936. It is not only the events in Animal Farm that carry such significance, but also the characters. In Animal Farm, Orwell lets the animals speak and interact with each other. Judging by their actions and development during the story, we can see what kind of people they represent. Old Major, the prize-winning boar, represents the ideals of Marx and Lenin. Napoleon, the fierce dictator, symbolizes Stalin, whereas Snowball is his enemy, Trotsky. Their non-stop bickering is a reflection of the real life power struggle between these two leaders. Squealer does not represent a person, but an idea. Squealer uses propaganda to motivate the masses. The ‘Pravda’ also used numerous propaganda techniques to brainwash the people during the Russian Revolution. The Pigeons have a similar role. They spread the news of the Revolution/Rebellion, as did the ‘COMINTERN’ or ‘Communist International’. Mister Jones represents Tsar Nicholas. Tsar Nicholas made a lot of mistakes and the Revolution was supposed to make up for them, but didn’t. Mister Pilkington, the neighbouring farmer, represents Winston Churchill, while his farm, England. On the other side, there was Mister Frederick. He is similar to Adolf Hitler and his farm, Pinchfield, represents Germany. Boxer, the loyal horse, represents the oppressed workers class. Napoleon raises a litter of puppies and trains them as his own guard dogs; they have the same function as the Secret Police. Moses represents the religious side of the rebellion; he is in comparison with the Russian Orthodox Church. Mollie, who is not in favour of the rebellion and longs for her luxurious life of ribbons and sugar (fine food and clothing), represents the Russian upper class. All these animals and their human counterparts play a very big role in the allegorical character of Animal Farm. George Orwell sometimes referred to Animal Farm as a fairytale, but it is actually much more than just a pleasurable read. He saw what was happening in Russia, under the rule of Stalin and created this story to warn us about the dangers of leaders with too much power. The novel is a perfect example of an allegory. Every event and character can be linked to real events in Russian history. Although talking animals are not your typical adult entertainment, the message that Animal Farm conveys is timeless and universal.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Free Grapes of Wrath Essays: Steinbecks Style :: Grapes Wrath essays

Analysis of Style of The Grapes Of Wrath  Ã‚  Ã‚     John Steinbeck’s The Grapes Of Wrath is a moving novel, full of richly metaphorical language.   His writing style often evokes deep emotions, as it does in the passage reprinted below, by creating a clear picture in your mind of what he’s trying to say.   In this selection, he enforces a strong image in the reader’s mind: you cannot escape your past, which will be with you no matter where you go or what you do.   This message is enforced through a combination of wit and style in his writing that is rarely found among literary works.       But you can’t start.   Only a baby can start.   You and me—why, we’re all that’s been.   That anger of a moment, the thousand pictures, that’s us.   This land, this red land, is us; and the flood years and the drought years are us.   We can’t start again.   The bitterness we sold to the junk man—he got it all right, but we have it still.   And when the owner man told us to go, that’s us; and when the tractor hit the house, that’s us until we’re dead.   To California or any place—every one a drum major leading a parade of hurts, marching with our bitterness.   And some day—the armies of bitterness will all be going the same way.   And they’ll all walk together and there’ll be a dead terror from it.  Ã‚  Ã‚   (ch. 9, p. 11)    An important point that Steinbeck tries to deliver is the significance of memory.   â€Å"The bitterness we sold to the junk man—he got it all right, but we have it still.†Ã‚   Despite having rid themselves of the physical presence of reminders of past woes, the mental image and pain still remain.   Just because there isn’t anything around to provide evidence of something happening doesn’t mean that it will go away.   â€Å"You and me—why, we’re all that’s been,† he wrote—people are defined by their experiences as memories, not by what is around them.   One’s character is shaped from within, by his mind and his thoughts, not what he surrounds himself with in the external world. Steinbeck’s word choice has a very significant impact on the effectiveness of his writing.   By using words and phrases like â€Å"junk man,† â€Å"dead terror,† and the repetition of the words â€Å"bitterness† and â€Å"dead,† he drives his point home in a very matter-of-fact sort of way.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Implement person centred approaches Essay

1.1 Define person-centred values Person-centred is about providing care and support that is centred or focused on the individual and their need There are eight person centred values that support person-centred care and support: Individuality, Independence, Privacy, Choice, Dignity, Rights 1.2 Explain why it is important to work in a way that embeds person centred values. Taking into account person centred values, rather than imposing my own choices on them and taking away their own right to independence and choice. It is important to do this as person centred approaches, policies and procedures, as well as care practices should always put the people whom we support at the centre of the day-to-day activities, as well as including the residents and their families in the planning and maintaining of this. 1.3 Explain why risk-taking can be part of a person centred approach. Risk-taking means being aware of the potential hazards, but still carrying on with the activity. Risk Assessment Processes include: visual check, recorded risk assessments. If you were no longer allowed to take risks that means you can’t progress in anything. Risk is about learning! Your inner questions. Can I do it? Can I REALLY do it? To take risk is all about challenge! 1.4 Explain how using an individual’s care plan contributes to working in a person centred way It is document where day to day requirements and preferences for care and support are detailed. Using an individual’s care plan where own needs and wishes are being met, rather than offering them a ‘choice’ of what is available. Using their care plan, you can build on what they want and see where there are gaps that need to be addressed. 3.1 Explain the importance of establishing consent when providing care or support. Consent is agreement to an action i.e. in social care agreeing to a bath or a shower, to medication, agreement to have details shared with others. Lack of consent could be construed as abuse i.e. forcing an  individual to have a shower when they have not agreed. Consent can be in different forms like – Verbal – written – via a representative or advocate. It is important to establish consent because it is a basic human right for everyone to have the choice. 3.3 Explain what steps to take if consent cannot be readily established. Steps to take when consent cannot be established include, not continuing with the task, reporting to the supervisor or manager, recording the information 4.1 Describe how active participation benefits an individual. Active participation is a way of working that recognises an individual’s right to participate in the activities and relationships of everyday life as independently as possible. 4.2 Identify possible barriers to active participation. Barriers include: lack of opportunity, lack of events, lack of staff, unwillingness of residents, and lack of confidence. Ways of encouraging residents include: discussion and encouragement with the individual, providing useful information, using friends and family to encourage, ensuring appropriate activities, peer-group encouragement, persuasion techniques, highlighting the benefits of the activity 5.3 Explain why a worker’s personal views should not influence an individual’s choices. A personal view should not influence individual choices as everyone is an individual in their own right and therefore should be able to make their own choices as their interest would be different to a staff. 5.4 Describe how to support an individual to question or challenge decisions concerning them that are made by others. Different approaches for individual, discussion, providing relevant, information, guidance from friends or family using an advocate or support service. We can also challenge decision where we can encourage questions and comments, be prepared to listen, assist the individual to ask for a second opinion, speak  to/refer the individual to a senior member of staff, use the complaints procedure 6.1 Explain how individual identity and self esteem are linked with well-being Well-being may include aspects that are: Spiritual – Emotional – Cultural – Religious – Social – Political – Sexual – Physical – Mental. Individual identity and self-esteem are linked with well-being as everyone has their own interests and what one person may find interesting another person may not find interesting, for example, some residents like gardening and some don’t and we should never force anyone to do what they don’t like or don’t want to do. 6.2 Describe attitudes and approaches that are likely to promote an individual’s well-being Attitudes and approaches that are likely to promote an individual’s well-being include: being treated as an Individual, dignity – respect, choices and good communication. It can also be environmental which includes physical environment – bedroom, handbag, personal belongings, and social environment – personal boundaries, subjective feelings.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Bus 610 Week 1

Michael Rush BUS 610 10/27/12 Complete Connect Exercise 1, Chapter 1 (p 13), 1. a. Interval b. Ratio c. Nominal d. Nominal e. Ordinal f. Ratio 2. a. Ratio b. Nominal c. Nominal d. Ratio 3. orangecountyregister. com Nominal- The sales of the Microsoft Surface allow for the measurement of Nominal data. When looking at the tablet market all of the sales are essentially a tally for the version or brand. The article looks at the sales which can be easily compared to other tablets in that market.Ordinal- The concept of ordinal measurement is directly represented in the idea of high school football. In the article it talks about the number one ranked Mission Viejo team. This is directly categorized as an ordinal unit of data. With having a clear ranking in terms of success, the first place team has a measureable gain over teams that would be in the lower rankings. Interval- Interval data can be found throughout the readings when it comes to weather. Weather is a great example of interval da ta.The temperature has a difference between values at a constant size and an easy ranking the temperatures for clear measurement. Additionally a zero does not have significance as in an absence of heat. Ratio- In the paper the Symantec Company was brought up. The article revolved around the earnings in the second quarter. This measurement is one of a ratio due to the fact that a zero value is meaningful. A company has the ability to be at zero and be factual. The data can be compared to different years or other companies. 4. a. Sample b.Population c. Population d. Sample Chapter 1 Practice Test for Part II, Problem #2 (p 20), 2. |Freshmen |Sophomores |Juniors |Seniors | |14 |18 |10 |6 | [pic] Chapter 2 Practice test for Part II, Problem 1 (p 54) 1. a. 30 b. 105 c. 52 d. 0. 190476 or 19% e. $165 f. Minimum= $120 and Maximum =$330 g. [pic] h. [pic]

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Racism in Football

Racism in Football Free Online Research Papers The topic that I have an interest in is racism in football. I am curious as to if there is still racism in the various levels of football in America. It seems that people still perceive certain players have to be a certain color and that’s just the way it has to be. The literature on the subject shows that there still is a stereotype of certain players and stereotypes of certain coaches. The same words seem to appear in most articles. Words like quotas, equality, and racial stacking. Most of the articles that I found seemed to believe that there was still a small amount of racism left in the National Football League among players and coaches and in the NCAA among coaches. One article I found mentioned the NFL’s colorblind tradition while talking about the affirmative action issues that arose in the leagues coaching ranks. This article went on to explain that the racism could go both ways sometimes. For example, the NFL runs a program exclusively for minority coaches so that they can gain valuable experience in the coaching profession. One white assistant coach in the NCAA has tried several times to gain admittance to certain NFL camps as a volunteer only to be turned away because he was white. The coach and the former commissioner of the NFL both agreed that â€Å"the principle of fair employment centers on the idea that employers should not hire less qualified or unqualified people while passing over members of minority groups who are more qualified.† (Franke) Other literature simply states the facts about the percentages of players in the National Football League who are white and who are black. Some of the percentages are quite amazing with over 90% of quarterbacks being white, while 90% of running backs are black. This is another one of the stereotypes that I mentioned in the above paragraph. White players are supposed to play certain positions while black players are supposed to play other positions. This stereotype comes from the belief that black players don’t have the intelligence to play certain positions on the field i.e. quarterback, offensive center, and middle linebacker. This is also the reasoning of why there are so few minority coaches in the NFL and NCAA. The common misconception is that they lack the intelligence to succeed and be winners in coaching. Why is racism still a factor in the NFL and NCAA? This is the question that I am going to try and answer in this paper. I feel that there still is racism in small amounts in the NFL and NCAA. Certain players are still stereotyped into certain positions regardless of skill level. The other questions that need to be answered are why traditionalists feel that only white players can play quarterback and be a head coach, and why non-traditionalists feel that only minority coaches deserve to have high ranking positions despite lack of production or experience. There is a question that Michael Kornblau had to answer everyday as the starting quarterback for Grambling State University, an all black university where the white students are considered to be the minorities. So you’re the new white Tiger? Kornblau hated hearing that question and hated even more when he had to answer it. Kornblau is the first white starting quarterback that Grambling has ever had. He also is the Tigers’ first Jewish Quarterback (Bamberger). This question posed to Kornblau poses an idea that should be asked of all football players and coaches. Is there racism in football in the 21st century? This is not the first time that Grambling state had to deal with this problem though. Back in 1968, Jim Gregory played quarterback at Grambling (although he never started) and he said that when he arrived he had a lot more trouble with the white community than the black community (Bamberger). The problems faced by Gregory and Kornblau are comparable to the problems that faced Marlin Briscoe in the late 1960’s. Briscoe was the first black quarterback in the NFL while playing for the Denver Broncos, and he said that â€Å"For black people, it was a test to dispel a myth that had been prevalent in society-that a black man couldn’t think, lead or execute. I knew there were certain aspects of the white community that wanted me to fail.† (Saraceno) Briscoe also stated that this racism had started long before he reached the NFL when his youth coaches wouldn’t allow him to play quarterback despite his abilities, he still owns the Broncos rookie record for touchdown passes. His journey eventually ended when his head coach for the Broncos held off-season quarterback meetings without making Briscoe aware. Briscoe asked for his release and never played quarterback again. These are just a few of the hardships that players had to deal with and are still dealing with in this decade. Only three years ago Rush Limbaugh made the now famous comments that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed. This is partly true but not entirely true, for all its well-documented faults, big league sports epitomized a wonderful American ideal: that anyone-regardless of race, creed, wealth, upbringing, or zodiac sign-can make it to the top. Just be among the best performers (Franke). The significance of this study is to try and dispel the myths that football has built up over the years. To try and get away from the idea that only white players can play quarterback and only black players can play running back and that only white head coaches can be successful in their profession. There need to be equal opportunities in football and equal opportunities for all players. But there are a number of reasons why one might expect to find levels of racial discrimination lower in football than in other social institutions. Professional football has had a relatively long and voluntary history of racial integration compared to other occupations. Currently non-whites account for over 60% of all professional football players and it is difficult to think of another occupation with equivalent social rewards that is dominated by non-whites (Kooistra, Mahoney Bridges 1993). Kooistra goes on to say that despite these reasons, there is evidence that racism pervades professional sports. Studies have suggested that minorities are grossly underrepresented in management positions and in more prestigious player positions that are presumed to require leadership qualities such as intelligence, emotional stability, and a greater responsibility. Nonwhites instead are disproportionately located in positions demanding more innate athletic ability such as speed, quickness, or brute strength. Research Papers on Racism in FootballTrailblazing by Eric AndersonThe Hockey GameHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionWhere Wild and West MeetBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XHip-Hop is ArtCapital PunishmentThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsComparison: Letter from Birmingham and Crito19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided Era

Monday, October 21, 2019

Reflections On Biodiversity essays

Reflections On Biodiversity essays Since the time of Adam and Eve, mankind has changed. We no longer see, interact, or depend on nature the same way as we did thousands of years ago. Yet, we are still very much connected to the earth. Mankind continues to be engaged in natures challenge to survive. Our relationship with nature is stronger everyday as our understanding of the world expands. Our human lives are built around the inevitable laws and affects of nature. And so, while our perspectives and functions in nature have dramatically changed, mankind remains intimately and inseparably attached to the rest of creation. Mankind has excelled at natures game of survival of the fittest. We have learned not only to adapt and to endure the whims of nature, but we have found ways to manipulate nature itself to ensure the welfare of our race. We have learned to take, to exploit and to pollute nature and its resources so that we may more easily survive. It is because of this that we have risen above all of natures other creations. We are alienated from the rest of creation only in the fact that we have mastered natures law of survival, allowing us to take the fate of our existence into our own hands. The skills that we have developed to better our chances of survival in nature can be but a logical step in natural evolution. Mankind has reached the apex of this step ahead of any other species; consequently we have lost the physical need to follow the flow of the rest of nature. Adam and Eve were distanced from a land of paradise, where there was no need to fight for survival, a land where all was provided f or. The segregation of mankind from the rest of creation cannot compare to the segregation of Adam and Eve from Eden because unlike Eden, nature is not a paradise. In the harsh real world of nature, we must compete to fulfill our needs in order to survive. The harshness of nature has driven mankind to rise above the rest of creation in order to ensur...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Anchisaurus - Facts and Figures

Anchisaurus - Facts and Figures Name: Anchisaurus (Greek for near lizard); pronounced ANN-kih-SORE-us Habitat: Woodlands of eastern North America Historical Period: Early Jurassic (190 million years ago) Size and Weight: About six feet long and 75 pounds Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Long, slim body; ridged teeth for shredding leaves About Anchisaurus Anchisaurus is one of those dinosaurs that was discovered ahead of its time. When this small plant-eater was first excavated (from a well in East Windsor, Connecticut, of all places) in 1818, no one knew quite what to make of it; the bones were initially identified as belonging to a human, until the discovery of a nearby tail put an and to that idea! It was only decades later, in 1885, that the famous American paleontologist Othniel C. Marsh conclusively identified Anchisaurus as a dinosaur, though its exact classification couldnt be pinned down until more was known in general about these long-extinct reptiles. And Anchisaurus was certainly strange compared to most dinosaurs discovered up to that time, a human-sized reptile with grasping hands, a bipedal posture, and a swollen belly populated by gastroliths (swallowed stones that aided in the digestion of tough vegetable matter). Today, most paleontologists consider Anchisaurus to have been a prosauropod, the family of svelte, occasionally bipedal plant-eaters of the late Triassic and early Jurassic periods that were distantly ancestral to the giant sauropods, like Brachiosaurus and Apatosaurus, that roamed the earth during the later Mesozoic Era. However, its also possible that Anchisaurus represented some kind of transitional form (a so-called basal sauropodomorph), or that prosauropods as a whole were omnivorous, since theres (inconclusive) evidence, based on the shape and arrangement of its teeth, that this dinosaur may occasionally have supplemented its diet with meat. Like many dinosaurs discovered in the early 19th century, Anchisaurus has gone through its fair share of name changes. The fossil specimen was originally named Megadactylus (giant finger) by Edward Hitchcock, then Amphisaurus by Othniel C. Marsh, until he discovered that this name was already preoccupied by another animal genus and settled instead on Anchisaurus (near lizard). Further complicating matters, the dinosaur we know as Ammosaurus may actually have been a species of Anchisaurus, and both of these names are probably synonymous with the now-discarded Yaleosaurus, named after Marshs alma mater. Finally, a sauropodomorph dinosaur discovered in South Africa in the early 19th century, Gyposaurus, may yet wind up being assigned to the Anchisaurus genus.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Global strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Global strategy - Essay Example Competitive rivalry in UK supermarkets are driven by advertising battles, sales promotion campaigns, price competition, introducing new products, provision of warranties and guarantees and after sales services improvements. Threats attached to new entrance are minimal as product differentiation enables existing firms to build good brand image culminating to strong customer loyalty (Onsman, 2003, p.111). The market is controlled by Tesco, Sainsburys, ASDA and Safeway with nationwide branches and overseas high risks investing hence barriers for new entrance based on large capital constraints and difficulty to access distribution channel with new channels hard to establish. Aldi’s trio-principle; consistency, simplicity and responsibility makes it thrive. Aldi’s DNA and culture is driven by cost-effectiveness based on lower staffing and payroll cost but higher wages than rivals hence high capability in-store levels than rivals driven by investment in sophisticated till systems focusing on staff training (Onsman, 2003, p.122). It operates limited opening hours to avoid keeping shoppers for longer hours in stores and refutes add on facilities to remain cost-effective. Aldi’s secrecy of success lies on invisible strategies (Secret Culture) such as understanding essential defining features lying beneath the surface; unwritten cultural rules, values and standards hence Aldi’s competitive

Friday, October 18, 2019

Employee Relations Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Employee Relations - Case Study Example On May 15, he assured Monica that everything would be taken care of as planned. Carl pulled out the paperwork needed for the orientation plans after Memorial Day, which would place this time frame around the beginning of June. His goal at this point in time was to get everything finalized for the orientation that would be coming up in approximately two weeks. What he found was a big mess. Some of the applications were incomplete. Some of the new hires did not have the required transcripts on file. Not a single one of them had gone to have a drug screen, and those were mandatory. Furthermore, he could only find three orientation manuals and all of them had pages missing. The frustration did not end there. When he went to check on the room that would be used to train the new hires during the actual orientation, he found out that it was not even going to be available for use on that day. In fact, it had already been booked for the entire month of June for other company business. All of this turmoil left Carl very frustrated and having no idea where to turn next. Although each of these individual problems is significant, the real issue boils down to a couple of deeper problems: miscommunication and poor preparation. Most of this falls on the shoulders of Carl since he agreed to take responsibility for the orientation, but it could have possibly been prevented had other individuals in the company, such as Monica or Carl's supervisor, checked in on his progress and found that he was putting off some vital actions until it was virtually too late to correct them, at least in a quick and efficient manner. According to Anonymous Employee (2008, pg. 1), "Poor communication leads to inadequate workplaces. As in any relationship, communication is key to a strong business relationship. This can be the relationship between business and customer, or, equally as important, the internal relationships among different employees within the company. Communication can be improved in virtually every workplace, no matter the industry or size. After all, it is the only way for information to effectively spread throughout the business so that everybody can be informed to the degree that they required to properly achieve their goals." In addition, Anonymous Employee (2008, pg. 1) claims that, "Among the most trying elements of poor communication in today's workplace is a lack of information for the proper accomplishment of the tasks necessary within the business. Even in today's information overload society, employees often lack the information they need to do their jobs. They may have the data that they require

The Role of the Faith in social change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Role of the Faith in social change - Essay Example These problems are then addressed by faith. They believe that the problems in a society can be addressed by the implementation of religious values. They were of the view that the government is responsible for all the problems in the society and if these matters are addressed by a religious will the all the health issues, poverty issues, wealth distribution issues and welfare issues can be resolved by the religious teachings. Thus, it depicts that the faith can bring change in the society but the potential outcomes of involving faith in daily resolution of problems would be waging a war against the secular community in the society. The church cannot be utilized as a place where activities on social issues are carried out daily. Church is an important part of the society which promotes equality, justice, peace, hope and love among the people. A Church brings people on common grounds, through which they can work for the betterment of the society, keeping in mind that religious teachings can solve the problems (Stalling, 2010). The observers of the religious change believe that it is an ongoing process which is continually evolving along with globalization. The institutions of faith are developing themselves again so that the religious values do not clash with the secular values of the modern society. The national public religion in the society is often connected with the micro and macro level processes. This process helps in developing spirituality among the individuals, who seek religious guidance for the solution of their problems. The Americans are more focused towards the religion and concentrate primarily on the supernatural forces which can help in changing the course of problems which bring about social changes. They believe that deviating from the religious instructions is the main cause of the issues which they are facing in their daily lives (Stalling, 2010). Religion in Unites

Thursday, October 17, 2019

PathGoal Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

PathGoal Theory - Essay Example The articles are different in the way that Chester A. Schriesheim and Linda L. Neider provide more research and literature review on the theory while Jim Bolt discusses the modern leader and importance of changing the dimension of a modern manager's role in the company. Schriesheim and Neider begin their article by mentioning the developers' definition of a leader and the functions that are supposed to be held by a modern manager of an organization. They stress that, the function of a leader is to increase "personal pay-offs to subordinates for work-goal attainment and make the path to these pay-offs easier to travel by clarifying it, reducing road blocks and pitfalls, and increasing the opportunities for personal satisfaction en route" (House, 1971, p. 324). Effective leaders assist employees in their career path that is aimed at individual fulfillment of employees and organizational benefit. Most of the investigations of House's path-goal theory have concentrated on exploring relationships between leadership behaviors (e.g., consideration and initiating structure) and outcome measures (e.g., satisfaction) while studying the impact of different moderator variables (such as task structure). House (1971), for example, found preliminary support for t he contention that situational variables may moderate the relationship of perceived initiating structure as well as consideration and such effectiveness measures as subordinate job satisfaction. The authors of the article cite Bass (1990) noting that the leader "needs to complement only what is missing in a situation to enhance the subordinate's motivation, satisfaction, and performance" (p. 627). Mentioning about over 100 studies published on the theory of path-goal leadership, Schriesheim and Neider continue the article by outlining the findings of few studies. The results of a meta-analysis of over 40 studies, Resulted in a support for the basic propositions of the theory, particularly with respect to the role of initiating structure, moderated by taskcharacteristics, on employee satisfaction. The results with respect to performance as an outcome variable and with respect to leader consideration behaviors appear to be far less consistent, and this may account for the removal of subordinate performance from the most recent statement of the theory. Another study provided by Szilagyi and Sims (1974) found that "while task characteristics moderated the relationship between initiating structure and employee satisfaction, the same was not true with respect to the relationship between initiating structure and performance". Further, Schriesheim and Schriesheim (1980) found that perceived consideration appears to be strongly related to employee satisfaction levels regardless of situational characteristics. Specifically, supportive leadership explained 63% of the variance in supervisory satisfaction scores, even after instrumental leader behaviors were paialled out. This finding is also consistent with the meta-analyses conducted by Fisher and Edwards (1988) and Wofford and Liska (1993), both finding support for a positive relationship between leader consideration and subordinate job satisfaction. Both of these meta-analyses also, however, provided only mixed results regarding the theory's proposed moderator relationships. In contrast to Schriesheim and Neider, Bolt does not refer to any studies in his article but

Rabies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Rabies - Research Paper Example This research paper outlines the rabies disease, its history, signs and symptoms. Rabies was well identified in Europe at some stage in the medieval times, and was in all probability transmitted to the New World, where it became widespread in North America and the West Indies by the eighteenth century and in the early nineteenth century it reached South America as well. Record of the disease in Asia is not well recognized but rabies has been in existence since the early times in China and India. Scientific studies on the disease were started in the year 1803 by Zinke who discovered the transmission of the disease by saliva. Louis Pasteur had developed the view that rabies is a disease of the CNS. Vaccinations were thereby worked on and gradually discovered over time. The time period between the initial infection and the onset of the symptoms usually takes around four to eight weeks or it may be a year at times, depending on the distance between the CNS and the site of infection. The initial symptoms in a rabies disease include fever, headache, fatigue, pain at the place of the wound, and even loss of appetite. Symptoms with respect to the two different forms of rabies have been identified. The symptoms of furious rabies include anxiety and agitation, neck becoming rigid, seizures, tears and saliva overproduced, convulsions, enlarged pupils, unusual understanding of light and temperatures, fear of water, insomnia, partial paralysis, hallucinations, abnormal mental clarity, and confusions.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

PathGoal Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

PathGoal Theory - Essay Example The articles are different in the way that Chester A. Schriesheim and Linda L. Neider provide more research and literature review on the theory while Jim Bolt discusses the modern leader and importance of changing the dimension of a modern manager's role in the company. Schriesheim and Neider begin their article by mentioning the developers' definition of a leader and the functions that are supposed to be held by a modern manager of an organization. They stress that, the function of a leader is to increase "personal pay-offs to subordinates for work-goal attainment and make the path to these pay-offs easier to travel by clarifying it, reducing road blocks and pitfalls, and increasing the opportunities for personal satisfaction en route" (House, 1971, p. 324). Effective leaders assist employees in their career path that is aimed at individual fulfillment of employees and organizational benefit. Most of the investigations of House's path-goal theory have concentrated on exploring relationships between leadership behaviors (e.g., consideration and initiating structure) and outcome measures (e.g., satisfaction) while studying the impact of different moderator variables (such as task structure). House (1971), for example, found preliminary support for t he contention that situational variables may moderate the relationship of perceived initiating structure as well as consideration and such effectiveness measures as subordinate job satisfaction. The authors of the article cite Bass (1990) noting that the leader "needs to complement only what is missing in a situation to enhance the subordinate's motivation, satisfaction, and performance" (p. 627). Mentioning about over 100 studies published on the theory of path-goal leadership, Schriesheim and Neider continue the article by outlining the findings of few studies. The results of a meta-analysis of over 40 studies, Resulted in a support for the basic propositions of the theory, particularly with respect to the role of initiating structure, moderated by taskcharacteristics, on employee satisfaction. The results with respect to performance as an outcome variable and with respect to leader consideration behaviors appear to be far less consistent, and this may account for the removal of subordinate performance from the most recent statement of the theory. Another study provided by Szilagyi and Sims (1974) found that "while task characteristics moderated the relationship between initiating structure and employee satisfaction, the same was not true with respect to the relationship between initiating structure and performance". Further, Schriesheim and Schriesheim (1980) found that perceived consideration appears to be strongly related to employee satisfaction levels regardless of situational characteristics. Specifically, supportive leadership explained 63% of the variance in supervisory satisfaction scores, even after instrumental leader behaviors were paialled out. This finding is also consistent with the meta-analyses conducted by Fisher and Edwards (1988) and Wofford and Liska (1993), both finding support for a positive relationship between leader consideration and subordinate job satisfaction. Both of these meta-analyses also, however, provided only mixed results regarding the theory's proposed moderator relationships. In contrast to Schriesheim and Neider, Bolt does not refer to any studies in his article but

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

CRJS315 U2IP Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CRJS315 U2IP - Research Paper Example It is the nature of teenagers to be rebellious but has the society asked itself what causes all this. Reported cases of bad behavior and illegal practices are common among juveniles, and this is worrying (BartuschandBurfeind, 2011). Anomie is the scenario where a community does not offer any guidance or direction to the people. This is especially the case for the 21st century where everyone is busy looking for money and self-empowerment while disregarding the general cohesion and togetherness of the community (Welsh and Siegel, 2011). Anomie is caused when a society undergoes rapid changes in its underlying values due to e.g. the emergence of different social classes. When this happens, the general cohesion of the society is weakened leading to different chances for the individuals to access opportunities equally. The lack of opportunities especially on the side of the less fortunate, results in a lack of morals. This is because they are willing to do anything to have those chances. Some end up finding their lack but most never do and may end up detesting the well-off (Clark,2000). This usually leads to cases of bad behavior e.g. bullying, pickpocketing, petty thieves and even drug and substance abuse. In cases of college teenagers, the inequality among the students may cause some of them to be involved in exam malpractices (Peterson,2013). To them, it is available means to excel in class and make a better life for them especially if they come from poor backgrounds. The solution, therefore, as a probation officer, is to encourage the community that, even though people may be in different social classes, the general cohesion and togetherness of the people should be maintained (Nowinski, 2007). The other things would be to encourage them to ensure equal opportunity for everyone and prevent discrimination against because of anything. Be it because of their sexual orientation, gender, race, social class or anything,

Monday, October 14, 2019

Metaphysics SHort essay 4 Essay Example for Free

Metaphysics SHort essay 4 Essay Price begins by describing how things we see in nature share elements. He explains how a tomato, sunset in the sky and a blushing face share nothing more in common than the color. However, some objects have many things in common. These objects group themselves together into Natural Kinds. Price describes a Natural Kind as a group of objects, which have many, perhaps indefinite, features in common. He explains that while this repetition makes things seem dull and monotonous, they are important because they are what makes conceptual cognition possible. In a world of incessant novelty, where there was no recurrence at all and no tedious repetitions, no concepts could ever be acquired. It would also make difficult the act of thinking because nothing would be recognizable. Price goes on to describe different terms of quality and relation. Quality is a recurrent feature of the world, which presents itself in individual object or events taken singly. Redness and bulginess are examples of this. A relation is a recurrent feature of the world, which presents itself in complexes of objects or events, such as this besides that, or between A and B. These terms allow us to give a simple analysis of change. Price explains how change has puzzled philosophers since the time of Heraclitus. Understanding objects in terms of quality and relation help us understand the concept of change. Another term that allows us to do so is the term ‘characteristics’. Characteristics are of at least two different types of qualities and relations. For Price, allow of this leads us to Aristotle’s theory of univeralia in rebus, or philosophy of universals. The philosophy of universals agrees that all objects characterized by x resemble one another. However once must be cautious and note the difference between exact resemblance in a certain aspect, and total or complete resemblance. While some have debated whether complete resemblance can be achieved, the important thing to note is the different intensities of resemblance that exist. Price goes on to list differences between the philosophy of resemblance and the philosophy of universals and deals with classical arguments against them both. Price concludes by saying that one must have a good knowledge of both. Since both can be misleading at times, when in danger of being misled by one of the theories, then can turn to the other for truth. D. C. Williams, on the other hand, comes out against the philosophy of universals in â€Å"The Element of Being. † He attempts to explain this in his example of the three lollipops. He tires to prove that when one says a is similar to b, one is only saying that a part of a is wholly similar to a part of b. He states that entities or abstract components are the primary constituents of this or any possible world. Many know these to be ‘abstract particulars’. Williams decides to name these parts tropes. He defines a trope as a particular entity either abstract or consisting of one or more concrete entities in combination with an abstraction. Tropes are connected to each other by way of location and by way of similarity. He goes on to explain and concludes by saying any possible world, and this one, is completely constituted by tropes and their connections of location and similarity. He explains how they would pertain to the notion of abstract and universal by using the example of Socrates (concrete particular), his wisdom (abstract particular/trope), Socratesity (concrete universal) and all of the wisdom (abstract universal). He goes on to explain how tropes would apply to different areas of philosophy, such as the philosophy of knowledge. He concludes by saying that all the things we see are no universal but consist of parts, tropes, which these things are a part of. Williams differs from Price by stating that objects consist of tropes and they are what create these appearances or similiarties. Price on the other hand states that objects share a certain resemblance in quality, relation and characteristics. Resemblance Theory and Trope Theory Carlos Manuel Jordan PHI 3500 Metaphysics December, 4 2014.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Strategy vs Structure in Strategic Management

Strategy vs Structure in Strategic Management Strategic analysis: Strategy versus Structure for International Competitiveness Introduction The strategy structure relationship, that was previously considered reciprocal, is now recognized as being considerably more complex, and there is some agreement that structure can and does have a profound impact on strategy through its direct effect on the strategic decision making process (Bourgeois Astley, 1979; Burgelman, 1983; Fredrickson, 1986). In understanding the role of strategy and structure in international business, one must understand that what has essentially changed is the context within which business operations take place. The well developed and complex associations between structure and strategy in classical studies of firms are also central to research in international business, but the nature of business has changed, and so have the relationships. As such, issues have arisen over the best way for international firms, operating in global marketplaces, to best align their strategy and structure to serve numerous distinct markets, whilst maintaining a global identi ty. This paper looks at the development of business strategy and structure over time, highlighting how the relationships have changed, the implications for organisational behaviour, and how firms can alter their behaviour to best gain competitive advantage in international markets. International Strategies Business strategy refers to how firms compete in an industry or market (Varadarajan and Clark 1994; Walker and Ruekert 1987). The two historically dominant frameworks of business strategy are the Miles and Snow (1978) model, which focuses on intended rate of product-market change, and the Porter (1980) model, which focuses on customers and competitors. Miles and Snow (1978) developed a comprehensive framework that addresses the alternative ways that organisations define and approach their product-market domains and construct structures and processes to achieve competitive advantage in those domains. Miles and Snow identify four archetypes of how firms address these issues: â€Å"prospectors† continuously attempt to locate and exploit new product and market opportunities, â€Å"defenders† attempt to seal off a portion of the total market to create a stable set of products and customers, â€Å"analyzers† occupy an intermediate position by cautiously following prosp ectors into new product-market domains while protecting a stable set of products and customers, and â€Å"reactors† do not have a consistent response to the entrepreneurial problem. In contrast, Porter (1980) proposes that business strategy should be viewed as a product of how the firm creates customer value compared with its competitors, and how it defines its scope of market coverage. Walker and Ruekert (1987) observed that though each of these strategy typologies has inherent strengths, i.e., Porters external focus and Miles and Snows internal focus, each is also limited. To address this, Walker and Ruekert proposed a hybrid model that synthesizes the two foci in a typology that consists of prospectors, low-cost defenders, and differentiated defenders. However, although Walker and Ruekert’s article has been frequently cited in the marketing and management literature, the distinctions between low-cost defenders and differentiated defenders have only recently been supported in empirical analysis (Slater and Olson, 2001). Following on from these initial developments, over the last few years researchers have quite successfully addressed and explicated the various forms of international strategy, and these forms are generally well accepted in the literature. There is now considerable agreement among international business scholars that most firms embarking upon or undertaking international business operations are cognizant of the twin pressures of global integration and local responsiveness. To this end, the integration-responsiveness framework suggested by Prahalad and Doz (1987) has provided a valuable theoretical tool to better understand international strategic behaviours of firms. More recently, we have seen many successful applications of globally integrated strategies (Parente, 2003; Parente Kotabe, 2003). According to Yip (2003), global companies have developed more sophisticated and flexible versions of international strategies and organisational processes, which successfully embraced globaliz ation. Organisational Structures Organisational structure refers to an organisation’s internal pattern of relationships (Finley, 2000). Structure has been characterized by a number of dimensions and illustrated by using a variety of types, like functional or divisional (Fredrickson 1986), however, there are three dimensions of structure: centralization, formalization, and complexity, which have received more attention than any others (Fry, 1982; Fry Slocum, 1984). Each of these dimensions appears to have great implications for strategy and strategic decision making, and are dominant characteristics of the well known structural types (Fredrickson, 1986). Centralization refers to the degree to which the right to make decisions and evaluate activities is concentrated (Fry Slocum, 1984; Hall, 1977). A high level of centralization is the most obvious way to control and coordinate organisation decision making, but places significant cognitive demands on those managers who retain authority (Fredrickson, 1986). Min tzberg (1979) has discussed this issue by suggesting that an individual does not have the cognitive capacity or information that is needed to understand all the decisions that face a complex organisation. The degree of formalization specifies the extent to which an organisation uses rules and procedures to prescribe behaviour (Hage Aiken, 1969; Hall, 1977). Therefore, formalization has significant consequences for organisational members because it specifies how, where, and by whom tasks are to be performed (Fredrickson, 1986). A high level of formalization has the benefit of eliminating role ambiguity, but it also limits members’ decision making discretion. Complexity refers to the condition of being composed of many, usually, though not necessarily, interrelated parts. Hall (1977) suggests that there are three sources of complexity: horizontal and vertical differentiation, and spatial dispersion. Therefore, an organisation that simultaneously has numerous levels, broad spans of control, and multiple geographic locations would be considered as highly complex (Fredrickson, 1986). The Interaction Between Strategy and Structure Whilst strategy and structure have been studied in isolation for a great many years, and are now relatively well understood, what is less understood is the international role of organisational structure and its relationship with international strategy (Finley, 2000). International strategies are the forms and types of actions firms follow to fulfil their long term business objectives. Organisations involved in international business activities usually have two major forces impinging on them. One is the need to standardise products on a global basis, and the other is to respond to local country or local market demands. International strategies may be characterized in different ways, and the integration-responsiveness framework developed by Prahalad and Doz (1987) has extended the conceptualization of industry pressures to incorporate generic strategic responses. The framework suggests that organisations develop their strategies and structures based on the emphasis they place on either one or both forces. At the most basic level, organisational structures are established to coordinate work that has been divided into smaller tasks. Mintzberg (1981, p. 104) noted, â€Å"How that coordination is achievedby whom and with whatdictates what the organisation will look like.† Walker and Ruekert (1987) further hypothesized that firms that follow different generic business strategies adopt different structural designs. Vorhies and Morgan (2003) studied the relationships among marketing organisation structure, business strategy, and performance in the trucking industry. Both of these studies demonstrated that different marketing organisation characteristics are more or less appropriate for different business strategies. The forms of structures typically defined by formalization, centralization, and specialization, which as Walker and Ruekert (1987 p. 27) noted â€Å"seem particularly important in shaping an organisation’s or departments performance†, are also applicable in d ifferent ways to different strategies and geographic factors. For example, in studying the development of America’s dominant industrial organisations, Chandler (1962) observed that major increases in unit volume, geographic dispersion, and vertical and horizontal integration were eventually followed by changes in structural form. Several studies following Chandler’s work confirmed an association between these two variables, in that structure generally followed strategy (Fouraker Stopford, 1968; Rumelt, 1974). In spite of the wide spread acceptance of the structure follows strategy relationship, there is a significant body of literature that suggests that structure has a significant and major effect on strategy (Fredrickson, 1986). Bower, for example, characterized structure broadly as the context within which decisions are made, and observed that â€Å"structure may motivate or impede strategic activity† (1970, p. 67). This view is also supported by other researchers who contend that structure constrains, or in another set of circumstances, enables, strategic choice (Bobbitt Ford, 1980; Duncan, 1979; Hedberg, Nystrom Starbuck, 1976). To understand why it is logical for strategic action to be affected by structure, one must understand the relationship between decision making and structure (Fredrickson, 1986). March and Simon (1958) addressed this critical aspect of the relationship by suggesting that an organisation’s structure imposes boundaries of rationality that accommodate members’ cognitive limitations. By delimiting responsibilities and communication channels, structure allows organisations to achieve organisationally rational outcomes despite their cognitive limitations (Simon, 1976). Structure also allows management to control the decision making environment and facilitate the processing of information (Fredrickson, 1986). The structure-strategy relationship is well explained by Bower when he states that â€Å"when management chooses a particular organisational form, it is providing not only a framework for current operations but also the channels along which strategic information will flow † (1970, p. 287). As a result, the relationships between business strategy and organisational structure become massively complex when considered in the international context, and thus require organisations to strategically examine their fundamental behaviours in order to best align their strategy and structure, without becoming lost in the complexity. Strategic Organisational Behaviour Organisational behaviour refers to organisational members’ work-related activities (Ouchi 1977; Robbins 2002) and, according to Snell (1992), management attempts to influence organisational behaviour through the use of control systems. Control is any process that helps align employees actions with the firm’s interests (Snell 1992; Tannenbaum 1968). Control theory (Snell 1992) identifies three major categories of control mechanisms: behavioural control (e.g., establishing and monitoring of sets of actions), output control (e.g., goal attainment measures), and input control (e.g., training). When applied within an organisational context, control theory posits that management attempts to direct employee behaviour to enhance the probability of desired outcomes. As Snell notes (p. 292), â€Å"Advocates of the behavioural perspective posit that different strategies require different behaviours.† Snell also notes that this view of the link between strategy and behaviour is useful because it provides a clear explanation of why behaviour should be linked to strategy and because it posits a testable set of behaviours. As a result, strategic behaviours have the potential to create superior performance through enhancing the execution of business strategy and identifying the relevant organisational structure (Slater and Narver 1995). There are four behaviours which are all claimed to offer potential competitive advantage to firms. These are customer-oriented behaviours (Deshpandà ©, Farley, and Webster 1993), competitor-oriented behaviours (Armstrong and Collopy 1996), innovation-oriented behaviours (Hurley and Hult 1998), and internal/cost-oriented behaviours (Porter 1980). It is important to understand that these strategic behaviours are not mutually exclusive and that it is common for firms to engage in multiple sets of behaviours simultaneously (Slater and Narver 1995). Furthermore, different combinations of emphases will likely prove more or less beneficial for firms that adopt different business strategies. Customer-Oriented Behaviours Firms with a strong customer orientation pursue competitive advantage by placing the highest priority on the creation and maintenance of customer value. As such, these firms engage in the organisation wide development of and responsiveness to information about the expressed and unexpressed needs of both current and potential customers (Deshpandà ©, Farley, and Webster 1993). Because of the constantly refined market-sensing and customer-relating capabilities of the customer-oriented firm, it should develop strategies and a structure to anticipate customer need evolution and to respond through the development of new customer value-focused capabilities and the addition of valuable products and services (Day 1994). Competitor-Oriented Behaviours A different perspective on competitive advantage is simply to beat the competition (Day 1994). This orientation places a priority on the in-depth assessment of a set of targeted competitors, focusing on targeted competitors goals, strategies, offerings, resources, and capabilities (Porter 1980) and on the organisation wide dissemination of the information generated from this assessment. The result is that managers develop competitor-oriented objectives rather than economic or customer-oriented objectives (Armstrong and Collopy 1996). The behavioural goal of the firm is to match, if not exceed, competitors strengths, both in strategy and structure. Innovation-Oriented Behaviours Another perspective is that firms build and renew competitive advantage through radical or discontinuous innovations. An innovation orientation indicates that the firm not only is open to new ideas but also proactively pursues these ideas (Hurley and Hult 1998) in both its technical and administrative domains An innovation orientation encourages risk taking and enhances the likelihood of developing radically new products. March (1991) argues that firms must be aware of the possibility that an innovation orientation may not allow for the follow-through that is necessary to reap the benefits of earlier innovations fully, unless their strategy and structure are aligned with both the generation and utilisation of innovation. Internal/Cost-Oriented Behaviours Porter (1980) argues that there are two basic sources of competitive advantage. The first is the differentiation advantage that a firm derives from the customer-, competitor-, or innovation-oriented behaviours. The second is the cost advantage that a firm derives from internal orientation and structure, with internally oriented firms pursuing efficiency in all parts of their value chain (Porter 1985). They attempt to reduce costs in primary activities, such as logistics, operations, and sales and marketing, and also attempt to reduce costs in support activities, such as procurement, research and development, and administrative functions. These firms pursue operational excellence, through their strategy and structure, that they can translate into higher sales through lower prices or higher margins. Whereas experimentation is the hallmark of firms with an innovation orientation, exploitation is the hallmark of internally oriented firms (March 1991). Conclusion International business has produced some incredibly competitive and complicated markets, with numerous potential problems for organisations, but also numerous opportunities for firms that can best adapt to their marketplace. However, such is the level of complexity in these markets, that firms who try to engineer specific, rigid strategies and structures will likely find themselves left behind by the latest shift in the market or technology. As a result, firms competing in international markets would be best advised to focus on the organisational behaviour, or behaviours, that best match their capabilities, and let these behaviours drive their strategy and structure to provide the most sustainable competitive advantage possible. Unfortunately, there is currently a paucity of available academic evidence on the most relevant behaviours for firms to best secure competitive advantage under the myriad market conditions, and this should be a key area for future research, as it may soon bec ome a strategic issue of significant importance. Equally, organisational behaviour as a field of study is vastly complex, with ongoing debates between theorists around organistic versus mechanistic structures, the role of teams, and the best styles of leadership needed in an organisation. In particular, organisational behaviour tends to suggest that organistic structures will be required in uncertain, rapidly changing markets, however mechanistic structures will be required in markets where the pace of technological developments is slower (Burns and Stalker, 1961). Thus, more research is needed into the consequences of an organisation in a relatively fast moving market making strategic organisational behaviour choices which would be better facilitated by a more hierarchical, mechanistic structure. Similar research would be recommended into the roles of leaders, and teams within organisations, in implementing and driving these behaviours forward. However, regardless of the need for further research, it is clear that firms can no longer merely define a strategy, focus strongly on it, and expect their strategic focus to guarantee success. Likewise, in the international business world, firms should no longer focus on having a well defined structure, regardless of whether it is organistic or mechanistic. Instead, a key recommendation of the strategic organisational behaviour approach is that firms should concentrate on best aligning themselves to the most appropriate behaviour for their industry. In manufacturing, this is likely to be more internal, or cost oriented, in technology it will tend to be primarily innovation oriented and in professional services a strong customer, or client, orientation would be best. However, it is vital that firms do not neglect the other behaviours: those that are not their primary focus, as these remain important, and can help maintain a balance approach to strategy and structure, offering sustained competitive advantage in international markets. References Armstrong, J. S. and Collopy, F. (1996) Competitor Orientation: Effects of Objectives and Information on Managerial Decisions and Profitability. Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 33, May Issue, p. 188. Bobbitt, H. R. and Ford, J.D. (1980) Decision maker choice as a determinant of organisation structure. Academy of Management Review, Vol. 5, p. 13. Bourgeois, L. J. and Astley, W. G. (1979) A strategic model of organisational conduct and performance. International Studies of Management and Organisation, Vol. 6, Issue 3, p. 40. Bower, J. L. (1970) Managing the resource allocation process. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Burgelman, R. A. (1983) A model of the interaction of strategic behaviour, corporate con-text, and the concept of strategy. Academy of Management Review, Vol. 8: p. 61. Burns, T. and Stalker, G (1961) The Management of Innovation. London: Tavi-stock. Chandler, A. D. (1962) Strategy and structure: Chapters in the history of the American industrial enterprise. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Deshpandà ©, R. Farley, J. and Webster Jr. F. E. (1993) Corporate Culture, Customer Orientation, and Innovativeness in Japanese Firms: A Quadrad Analysis. Journal of Marketing , Vol. 57, January Issue, p. 23. Day, G. S. (1994) The Capabilities of Market-Driven Organisations. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 58, October Issue, p. 37. Duncan, R. (1979) What is the right structure? Decision tree analysis provides the answer. Organisation Dynamics, Vol. 7, p. 59. Finley, P. (2000) Strategic Management. Prentice Hall. Fouraker, L. E. and Stopford, J. M. (1968) Organisation structure and the multi-national strategy. Administrative Science Quarterly; Vol. 13, p. 47. Fredrickson, J. W. (1986) The strategic decision process and the organisational structure. Academy of Management Review; Vol. 11, Issue 2, p. 280. Fry, L. W. and Slocum, J. W. (1984) Technology structure, and workgroup effectiveness: A test of a contingency model. Academy of Management Journal; Vol. 27, p. 221. Fry, L. W. (1982) Technology-structure research: Three critical issues. Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 25, p. 532. Hage, J. and Aiken, M. (1969) Routing technology, social structure and organisational goals. Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 14, p. 368. Hall, R. H. (1977) Organisations: Structures and processes. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice- Hall. Hedberg, B. L. T. Nystrom, P.C. and Starbuck, W. (1976) Camping on seesaws: Prescriptions for a self-designing organisation. Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 21, p. 41. Hurley, R. F. and Hult, G. T. M. (1998) Innovation, Market Orientation, and Organisational Learning: An Integration and Empirical Examination. Journal of Marketing; Vol. 62, July Issue, p. 42. March, J. G. (1991) Exploration and Exploitation in Organisational Learning. Organisation Science, Vol. 2, Issue 1, p. 71. March, J. G. and Simon, H. A. (1958) Organisations. New York, NY: Wiley. Miles, R. E. and Snow, C. C. (1978) Organisational, Strategy, Structure, and Process. New York: McGraw-Hill. Mintzberg, H. (1981) Organisation Design: Fashion or Fit? Harvard Business Review, Vol. 59, Issue 1, p. 103. Mintzberg, H. (1979) The structuring of organisations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Ouchi, W. G. (1977) The Relationship Between Organisational Structure and Organisational Control. Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 20, Issue 1, p. 95. Parente, R. (2003) Strategic modularization in the Brazilian automobile industry: An empirical analysis of its antecedents and performance implications. Doctoral Dissertation, Temple University, August 2003. Parente, R. and Kotabe, M. (2003) Strategic modularization, evolution of sourcing strategies, and performance implications. Proceedings Academy of International Business; Monterey, CA. Porter, M. E. (1980) Competitive Strategy. New York: The Free Press. Prahalad, C. K. and Doz, Y. L. (1987) The multinational mission. New York, NY: Free Press. Robbins, S. P. (2002), Organisational Behavior, 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Rumelt, R. P. (1974) Strategy, structure and economic performance. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Simon, H. A. (1976) Administrative behaviour (third edition). New York, NY: Free Press. Slater, S. and Narver, J. (1993) Product-Market Strategy and Performance: An Analysis of the Miles and Snow Strategy Types European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 27, Issue 10, p. 33. Slater, S. and Olson, E. M. (2000) Strategy Type and Performance: The Influence of Sales Force Management Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 21, Issue 8, p. 813. Snell, S. (1992) Control Theory in Strategic Human Resource Management: The Mediating Effect of Administrative Information. Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 35, Issue 2, p. 292. Tannenbaum, A. S. (1968) Control in Organisations. New York: McGraw-Hill. Walker, O. C. and Ruekert, R. W. (1987) Marketing’s Role in the Implementation of Business Strategies: A Critical Review and Conceptual Framework. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 51, July Issue, p. 15. Varadarajan, P. R. and Clark, T. (1994) Delineating the Scope of Corporate, Business, and Marketing Strategy Journal of Business Research, Vol. 31, Issue 2, p. 93. Vorhies, D. W. and Morgan, N. A. (2003) A Configuration Theory Assessment of Marketing Organisation Fit with Business Strategy and Its Relationship with Market Performance Journal of Marketing, Vol. 67, January Issue, p. 100. Yip, G. S. (2003) Total Global Strategy II. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Prentice Hall.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Jarok As A Traitor :: Star Trek Defector Essays Papers

Jarok As A Traitor Betrayer. Renegade. Mutineer. Defector. No matter how you say it, it all means the same thing: a traitor. I believe that Admiral Jarok from the episode "The Defector" from the third season of Star Trek the Next Generation is indeed a traitor. He betrayed his country and his family, disclosed secret information, and I intend to prove that he fits the definition of a traitor. The definition of a traitor according to Webster's New World Dictionary from 1994 is: a person who betrays his or her country, cause, or friends (1418). This definition is pretty vague, so to understand the concept of a traitor one must know the definition of betray. To betray is: to help the enemy of one's country or cause; to break faith with; fail to meet the hopes of; to disclose secret information or confidential plans (133). In the following paragraphs, I will analyze this definition and show how Admiral Jarok is a traitor. Jarok is a traitor in the political sense, regardless of his motives (to stop a war). By political I mean having to do with the Romulan government or empire. To betray one's country is to be a traitor, and Jarok betrayed the Romulan government by giving away top secret information. According to the storyline of Star Trek the Next Generation, the Romulans and the Federation are enemies. Picard and his crew are members of the Federation, and Jarok is a Romulan; therefore, Jarok and Picard are enemies. Jarok claims that he has discovered a plot for a new Romulan offensive, and he wants to help the Federation stop a possible war. By coming to the Federation to help them, he betrays the Romulans and is a traitor by "helping the enemy of one's country or cause." Jarok elaborates by telling Picard that the Romulans are building a base on Nelvana III, a planet in the Neutral Zone, and there are 21 Warbirds in orbit around her, just waiting to make a first strike. (Lynch 1995) Jarok announces that the Romulans will shortly launch a major offensive against the Federation. (Kernick 1993) At first he wouldn't give Picard the coordinates of the base, but Picard demanded proof. Jarok, beaten, gives all the information he can, including the location of the Romulan fleet and information about cloaking technology. (Tong 1994) Jarok betrays the Romulans by disclosing secret information or confidential plans. Jarok also breaks the faith with and fails to meet the hopes of the Romulans.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Boom of Credit Cards

Credit cards have become such a familiar feature of the life style in the world that it is difficult to imagine a consumer economy functioning without them. The credit cards are nowadays the most convenient of all types of payments. The boom of the credit card industry has affected everyone in the world of the â€Å"plastic money†. That was the name given to the credit card right after it was invented. Nowadays, the â€Å"plastic money† occupies a very important place in the economy of the country. â€Å"Settlements indicates that the number of credit cards in circulation increased 34 percent between 1988†¦.. The data also show that the value of credit card transactions increased 98 percent during the same period† (Yoo, p. s. 1997). A lot of reasons explain the fact that the credit cards are holding the most important place in the wallet and purses today. Behind these reasons , is hiding a crucial social phenomenon that has very bad consequences in the country, credit card abuse. Despite the measures taken by the officials, statistics prove that the number is increasing everyday. Today, Visa and Master card occupy an important place in the credit card marketplace but the pioneer in the business remains to be Diners Club. In 1949, as the luncheon tables were cleared at the Major†s Cabin Grill, a popular New York restaurant of the period whose location next door of the Empire State Building was then a considerable asset, three men sat huddled over a prime table off to one side †¦. In their excitement, they called over Major, the proprietor and asked him how much he would pay for business that he would not ordinarily get. Without flinching, Major replied â€Å"7 percent† , number that established a major industry (Lewis, 1990). ` Those three men were Alfred Bloomingdale, Frank Mc Namara and Ralph Snyder. They conceived a plan for a new type of credit card. Unlike the retail and gas credit cards, which were restricted in use to those industries, theirs would be â€Å"universal† card that allowed its holders to purchase goods and services at different places across the country. An industry was born, Diners Club As a matter of fact, the period right before the First World War, was the first year for a new industry, the credit card industry. Those first credit cards were not really credit cards as they are today because they served only for limited needs. They could be used only on a very low level. The use of credit cards by retailers began in 1914†³ (Lewis, 1990). Since that date there was an inconceivable growth of credit card production. Prior to World War I, few hotels, oil companies and department stores issued credit cards. Then in 1931 the airline companies introduced the credit cards in their business (Lewis, 1990). The evolution and the expansion of the card went lide the speed of light. The most important step was the introduction of the credit card to the Internet in the 90†³s. Today, Web servers enable payments by credit card. A credit card transaction over the Internet is one of the most common types of payment. If a merchant has an account with a merchant bank that offers Internet credit card processing, he would be able to accept credit card payment over the Internet (http://search. netscape. com). â€Å"There was an increase of $78 billion over 1994, in just one short year. We†ve been tracking it since 1980, and we†ve never seen that kind of increase before. † (Glenn, 1984, pp. 857-68). What are the reasons that explain the fast increase of the use of the credit cards? As one reason that might explain the phenomenon, some people may think that carrying a credit card is much easier than having cash or a checkbook in their wallets or purses. There is no doubt that the â€Å"plastic money† doesn†t bother in a wallet or a purse because of its tiny size. Another reason that may explain the credit card fever is that it allows its holders to spend the money they haven†t got yet. Actually, it looks like free money, although it really isn†t. That is the case of the college students who have credit cards and whose parents will pay the debt their child has created. The strongest argument that could be also the main reason the t explains the increasing number of credit card transactions is that a lot of low income-persons are carrying â€Å"plastic money† and are using it widely but not wisely. When the time for paying off the balance due comes, a lot of people do not have enough money to clear their bills. Here is the beginning of a cycle that probably will never stop (Kathy and Bill B. â€Å"s case) until the credit card company or the banks realize that their customer†s debt is growing every month. Before any reaction of the creditors, the debt has reached an unbelievable amount. As a result of a non-payment of the bills, the problems in the credit card industry began. In addition to lost or stolen cards and billing errors, an uncontrollable phenomenon was born in the industry, fraud. Two major aspects determine the fraud in the industry, stolen cards and the black market created around the â€Å"plastic money. † In fact, counterfeiting credit cards has taken an important turn during the 60s. As expected, not long after they had instituted the unsolicited credit card programs in the late 1960s, the bank began to experience significant losses due to fraud (Lewis, 1990). Statistics prove how fast the fraud went up in the industry. In 1964, the U. S. Post Office investigated only fifteen cases of credit card fraud. Four years later, in 1968, that figure shot up to 360, and the following year, it more than doubled to 762. In 1970, Andrew Brimmer, one of the Federal Reserve Board†s seven governors, showed that bank charge card losses had increased 50 percent that year to $115. 5 million or $3. 4 percent of $3. 4 billion in outstanding credit card debt (Lewis 1990). In 1971, the Los Angeles Police Department made public its first reported of counterfeiting credit cards. The counterfeiters, two women and one man who apparently had knowledge of at least one bank numbering system used authentic blank cards stock to succeed their operation (Lewis, 1990). The very fast assumption of the abuse in the credit card industry made the banks and the credit card companies think about finding solutions that could stop this terrible phenomenon. Since the major source of losses in the industry was stolen cards, it was very hard for the credit card companies to find a solution that would stop fraud. The fraud in the credit cards industry had had an important impact in the economy of the United States such as financial losses. In 1973 alone, credit cards losses were estimated to be $288 million-or 1015 percent of the total credit card sales (Lewis, 1990). The delinquency rate has risen four quarter in a row for the first time since 1991†¦.. At the end of 1991, $3. 4of every $100 owed on credit card was delinquent, up eight percent from 1994 (Business Journal of Charlotte, 1996). Whose responsibility was it? In large part, the banks themselves were responsible for their continuing losses. In their desire to market their cards as actively as possible, they were reluctant to tarnish the image go the credit card by publicizing stories of thefts and losses , so they hid the information not to alarm potential cardholders(Lewis, 1990, p. 8). The government may be held responsible as well because the government issues cards to the members for government travel expenses only. Unfortunately, those cards have been used for the purchase of liquors, jewelry and flowers (Fritz, S. 1996, March 16). That is another â€Å"ugly face† of credit card abuse. The people who were supposed to help the country to overcome the problems abuse intensify the situation. As the industry was growing, the banks and the credit card industries did not think of any alternative that would stop an eventual fraud in the industry. The lack of management was one of the major sources of the problem. As one solution that had to be found, the credit cards companies invented the secured credit card that allows the customer to spend not more than what he or she has in his or her bank saving account. That seemed to be a good solution to stop the fraud but criminals are so good that they devised ways to tap into potentially lucrative market. By the mid 1970†³s, the credit card companies installed their own law enforcement to fight credit card fraud, the Association of Credit Card Investigators (ACCI). The role of this unit o the credit card companies was to have a better management of the growing number of customers. One measure initiated by the ACCI that proved effective was a combination of a post mailer with dual dating on the credit card. A dual dating enables the credit card Company to delay the effective starting date of the card until after it should have been received by the cardholder. The post mailer informed the intended cardholder that a card had been mailed to him or her and that the credit card Company should be notified if it had not yet been received. As a result to the important measures taken by the credit cards companies, 75% drop in fraud in the first years (Ventura, 1992). Another preventive measure adopted by the credit cards companies was a warning bulletin alerting the banks and merchants to fraudulent cards. All the major credit cards companies did not approve this kind of measure. On one hand, American Express, Diners Club felt that the warning bulletins were necessary to control fraud as well as the misuse of cards by delinquents and overspenders. On the other hand, Visa took the position that warning bulletins were not necessary and that sending postcard was enough. Statistics proved later that Visa was losing a higher percentage of its charge volume from fraud than American Express and diners Club(Lewis, 1990). The solution on the federal level would be an abolishment of the government credit card system as suggested republican George W. Gekas (R-Pa)(Los Angeles Times, 1996, March 16). In spite of the tough measures taken by the banks and the credit card companies, losses due to fraud continued throughout the 70s. As the 80†³s approached, the credit card companies overcome most of the legal and operational problems such as billing errors and the development of an efficient nationwide up-to-the-minute authorization system. A wide laws and regulations system now govern the functioning of the industry but still the fraud is inevitable. This number is still increasing due to the corruption of our society. The only way you can help to stop this is by changing the whole system. But then there will be some people who will pursue their illegal actions, and will find a way to abuse other systems also.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Chemical in Daily Life Essay

Its brief meaning explains it all. Chemistry is a science that deals with matter, its composition, and changes they undertake. Chemistry has been part in our lives ever since. It contributes to our existence, our culture, and our life. Chemistry explains why changes happen around us. All living processes are chemical reactions. It helps in sustaining our needs. Through this we are able to feed the world’s population, medicines to cure diseases and improve health, and to protect our environment. Chemistry plays an important role in our lives. It contributes a lot to human knowledge. So let’s use chemistry in a way that human being and our environment would benefit from it. Chemistry involves everything about us. It is part of our daily life. From the moment we wake up until we go to bed. The food we take, the makeup we put on our faces, the soaps and cleaners we used everyday, chemistry is all around you every day. hemistry is somehow related to accountants. Because it helps to understand the changes that accountants undergo in their life and to understand human body. It only shows that chemistry plays a major role in our life. It explains every phenomenon in Life and illustrates the changes in our environment. It can be the source of maintaining the ecological balance and designates the life of planet Earth. Chemistry draws the chemical phenomena in life processes that contributes to our knowledge about the chemical changes in life and environment. Learning chemistry is like learning the reality that we are blessed by God because He create us and other Living things perfectly. Accountants need to study chemistry in order to know about the life processes and the composition of every thing. And that is the scope of studying chemistry. MPORTANCE AND USES OF CHEMISTRY An understanding of living organisms, including the human being have  reached us through chemistry, the science dealing with materials, their composition, and the changes, which they undergo. Chemistry and chemical changes help us understand the human body. Chemistry fits into our lives. It offers new chemical frontiers and tells us what benefits may flow from them. Chemistry contributes to our existence, our culture, and our quality of life. Chemistry is concerned with the changes we see around us, like the rusting of iron, growing of grass, burning of wood and many more. Without these changes or chemical reactions our Planet Earth would be lifeless. A plant takes carbon dioxide from the air and water from the soil to produce carbohydrates through a wondrous series of chemical reactions called photosynthesis. All living processes are chemical reactions. Everything we use, wear, live in, ride in, and play with is produced through controlled chemical reactions. Chemists design reactions that will convert chemical substances we find around us into chemical substances that serve our needs. Chemistry answers the needs of our society through a deep understanding of the factors that govern and furnish control of chemical reactions. It plays a critical role in man’s attempt to feed the world population, to tap new sources of energy, to clothe and house humankind, to provide renewable substitutes for dwindling or scarce materials, to improve health and conquer disease, and to monitor and protect our environment. Because of this responsiveness to human needs, chemistry has become a crucial factor in the nation’s economic well-being. Aside from that, our culture believes that learning about our place in the universe is not enough reason for encouraging scientific inquiry. Nothing concerns humans more than questions about the nature of life and how to preserve it. Since all life processes are brought about by chemical changes, understanding chemical reactivity is a vital foundation for our ultimate understanding of life. Thus chemistry, along with biology, contributes to human knowledge in areas of universal philosophical significance.

U.S. Economy in the 19th Century

Peter Hart History 1:00-1:50 U. S. Economy in the 19th Century The Industrial Revolution first took place in Britain where it spread like wild fire. Eventually it made its way to America in the late 1800’s to the 19th century where it would eventually change America in every aspect. The American Revolution began because of a single British man named Samuel Slater who brought over manufacturing technologies. The creation of the cotton gin by Slater would soon be the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.The Industrial Revolution brought many new ideas and inventions that made the economy boom. The North would be the first to start the Industrial Revolution while the South stayed true to their old ways; agriculture. The effects of the Industrial Revolution put a strain on both the South and the North. On top of all of this, many changes were being made in this time period such as transportation, manufacturing, and communications. All of these changes transformed the daily lives of Americans as much as it did as any other historical event that has happened in history.Because of this major event, many effects were being taken place; Unions, working conditions and labor itself were accounted for the changes in the 19th century. The North started out as a commercial industry where trading and selling was a big part of American life. Before the Industrial Revolution hit America, people made all of their goods/products in their homes. Factories weren’t that prominent in the North until the Industrial Revolution came by. Technological advancements were nowhere to be found because they were used to making everything at home by hand.The South was farther behind in innovations than the North itself. They were strictly agricultural and farming. In due time though, a man named Samuel Slater brought over new manufacturing technologies from Britain to the United States where it would start the Industrial Revolution. From there, many more inventions were created such as the steamboat by Robert Fulton which marked the beginning in technological innovations. This invention would make transportation of goods and services quicker and more effectively. Another invention during this time period was the telegraph. The telegraph was reated by Samuel Morse. This invention was created in 1837 which allowed America to send messages to international countries all around the world. The new inventions being created in America would lead America in a direction of prosperity and a dominant force in production and at the same time agricultural ways. America would eventually emerge as the center of industry and agricultural in the late 19th century. As an effect of the Industrial revolution, population tripled, farming doubled in the amount of work due to technological inventions such as the steel plow by John Deere.This invention allowed farmers to plow fields faster and plow more fields without having to change the iron plow every time they uproot the grou nd. Due to this invention, more workers were needed to harvest the crops when the time came. Fortunately, a certain invention was made that helped the harvesting process go quicker and more efficiently. This invention was known as the reaper which was made in 1831 by Cyrus McCormick. Certain inventions helped working production go a lot faster than it was before the Industrial Revolution started. The U. S.Patent Office had a record of 276 inventions during the 1790’s, during the 1890’s a record of 235,000 inventions were registered. At first, the South was resistant against this new generation of inventions and industrialized cities. Ultimately, the South would fall under the new ways of the North. From 1880 to 1900, the amount of cotton mills increased dramatically; 161 to 400 in less than decade. As the need for workers rose, so did the amount of cotton. The amount of cotton increased by eightfold while the amount of workers increased by fivefold.All of these increas es resulted in the creations of new inventions. As production increased, so did the need for labor. But as labor increased, so did changes in working conditions, labor itself, and Unions were created on behalf of all of the workers. Even though all of these inventions prospered America, working conditions in the factories that were producing goods such as steel, cotton fabric, and other goods were bad and harmful for the workers. The life of a 19th-century American industrial worker was far from easy. Even in decent times, wages were low, hours were long, and working conditions hazardous.Little of the wealth which the growth of the nation had produced went to its workers. The situation was worse for women and children, who made up a high percentage of the work force in some industries and often received but a fraction of the wages a man could earn. Periodic economic crises swept the nation, further eroding industrial wages and producing high levels of unemployment. At the same time, the technological improvements, which added so much to the nation's productivity, continually reduced the demand for skilled labor.Yet the unskilled labor pool was constantly growing, as record numbers of immigrants, 18 million between 1880 and 1910, entered the country, looking for work. Before 1874, when Massachusetts passed the nation's first legislation limiting the number of hours women and children factory workers could perform to 10 hours a day, there was literally no labor legislation that existed in the country. It was not until the 1930s that the federal government would become actively involved. Until then, it was left to the state and local authorities, few of whom were as responsive to the workers as they were to wealthy industrialists.The laissez-faire capitalism, which dominated the second half of the 19th century and fostered huge concentrations of wealth and power, was backed by a judiciary which time and again ruled against those who challenged the system. For mil lions, living and working conditions were poor, and the hope of escaping from a lifetime of poverty was slight to none. As late as 1900, the United States had the highest job-related death rate of any industrialized nation in the world. Most industrial workers still worked a 10-hour day (12 hours in the steel industry), yet earned from 20 to 40 percent less than the minimum deemed necessary for a decent life.The situation was only worse for children, whose numbers in the work force doubled between 1870 and 1900. On top of working in harsh conditions, workers had to face low wages and long hours that consisted of a 60 hour week load. These conditions were outrageous and then eventually led to the forming of unions. The first major effort to organize workers' groups on a nationwide basis appeared with The Noble Order of the Knights of Labor in 1869. Originally a secret, ritualistic society organized by Philadelphia garment workers, it was open to all workers, including blacks, women a nd farmers.The Knights grew slowly until they succeeded in facing down the great railroad baron, Jay Gould, in an 1885 strike. Within a year they added 500,000 workers to their rolls. The Knights of Labor soon fell into decline, and their place in the labor movement was steadily taken by the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Rather than open its membership to all, the AFL, under former cigar union official Samuel Gompers, focused on skilled workers. His objectives were straight-forward and simple: increase wages, reduce hours and improve working conditions.Per se, Gompers helped turn the labor movement away from the socialist views earlier labor leaders had supported. Due to the capital not granting their goals, riots started to break out. A certain riot known as the Great Rail Strike of 1877 was taken place because of 10 percent cut in wages. This started a line of riots that spurted throughout the country. Finally, after many riots and negotiating with the bosses at the factorie s, conditions in factories were better and hours were decreased and wages were increased.Child labor laws were forced upon everyone, while women were given the chance to have equal opportunities and equal wages as men. All of these effects of the Industrial Revolution played a vital role in forming what is now known as America today. The Industrial Revolution led America in a way that forever changed it. It was one of the most historic events to ever happen in American history. Due to new inventions and ideas, America was led into an Industrial Revolution. With the Industrial Revolution came more jobs and Unions to protect the people in the factories from harsh working conditions, long hours, and small wages. .