Ethics in the Workplace Essay

The case study provided in Craig E. Johnson’s book, Ethics in the Workplace , is a moral and valuable lesson regarding the blurred vision between a for profit and a nonprofit. This example, while it may be considered severe, is an excellent one that leads the reader to more important questions. The question of whether nonprofits should operate as businesses encourages the reader to think about the pros and cons of each. If a nonprofit were to operate as a business, it would basically eliminate the unending concern about funding. Nonprofits, operating as a business, would be able to reap the benefits of for profit companies making more money for the organization but not necessarily the mission. However, this would ultimately lead to more expenses as the budget would have to include higher amounts in staff pay, marketing, and benefits. Another con of operating as a business is taxes. Nonprofits would no longer be exempt from paying taxes and once again, the cost would greatly increase the budget. Probably the most dangerous aspect of a nonprofit run as a business is the loss of the mission and vision. One may be concerned that the need for money and greed will usurp the original mission of the nonprofit. Should businesses operate more like nonprofits? This question is a difficult one to answer. Nonprofits exist for social justice, in many cases nonprofits pick up where the government has left off. While our economy is based on supply and demand, there is societal pressure to be charitable and giving. If businesses were to be as charitable as a nonprofit, they would undoubtedly lose money and perhaps close due to lack of funding, yet, their sense of social justice would be fulfilled. Since there will always be consumers, thus a demand for goods and services, businesses should not operate as nonprofits. As cited in the case study in the introduction by Johnson (Johnson, Ethics in the Workplace, 2007), the Goodwill Branch in Portland, Oregon does compete on the same level as businesses in the area. The Branch pays their top staff over $100,000 with the CEO’s salary at a whopping half a million. Yet, because they are registered as a nonprofit, they are exempt from paying taxes on goods and services, people utilizing the nonprofit get services for free, and they are able to pay their staff lower than competitive wages. If, as cited in the case study, a nonprofit competes on all levels with a for profit business, then the competition must be fair. Either the nonprofit has to begin to pay taxes or taxes for the business should be eliminated. It is important to note, however, that the elimination of taxes would devastate the economy. When it comes to salaries, businesses definitely have the upper hand. Because businesses operate to make money, they can afford to hire only the best in the fields. Nonprofits, relying more on government funding, are unable to afford those astounding costs. Furthermore, nonprofits operate under the definition of social services. For a nonprofit to lose sight of that and pay top dollars for staff, is a vision they can not afford to lose. Thus, executives of nonprofits should in no way be compensated or expect to be compensated at the same rate as their business counterparts. The services offered are meant to be taken advantage of by disadvantaged citizens and pay rates should reflect that mission. In the case study previously mentioned, Michael Miller, the CEO of the Goodwill Branch in Portland Oregon, is receiving a salary of $500,000 not including benefits and expenses. Moreover, some of the workers at that same branch are making below minimum wage. It is immoral for Mr. Miller to receive such a high salary, not only because his staff is making considerably less but more importantly because the salary is not in line with the overall charitable mission of Goodwill. It is unreasonable to believe that staff pay will remain the same as a nonprofit expands. However, certain standards must be in place to substantiate higher salaries. Standards may include: overall budget of the nonprofit and allocation of funds, effective service of the nonprofit based on data taken from all available programs, how the nonprofit compares to others in its region or state, and how well they are fulfilling their mission. The question as to whether this writer would charitably donate to the sight mentioned in the study can best be answered by weighing morals against greed. This writer believes that they would not donate to the sight unless there was documented proof that at least 90% of the donation was going to the people it was intended to help. Since this branch is more likely to document exaggerated salaries such as the CEO’s, it is unlikely a donation would be made to that particular branch.

Quota System in Bangladesh

Introduction: Quota System/Policy is a hiring policy, where a specified number or percentages of specific group members are to be hired. In Bangladesh every government jobs are enriched with the quota system. Different types of quota are available in both cadre and non-cadre class I & II jobs. The persons are selected for government jobs either from merit basis or district basis. Quota system was introduced in the government service by an executive order in 1972, where 45% are reserved on merit, rest 55% is distributed as 30% for children of freedom fighters, 10% for women, 10% for districts and 5% for indigenous people.Recruitment into different Cadres of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) is in accordance with the provisions of this rule. No direct appointment can be given in BCS Cadre Service without the recommendation of the Public Service Commission, and examinations are held (both written & viva-voce). The purpose of this quota system is to equally develop the country but whene ver we compromise the selection at the highest level of government service through quota implies the negative impact on the improvement of governance.From the perspective of Human Resource Management, Quota System never be a good selection tools because it discriminates the humans. Whenever we are going for any quota system which will must hide to select right people at right place at right time. [pic] To run any sector whether it is public or private people play a prime role which start from manpower planning. In figure-1 it is assumed that the recruitment & selection process is quota-free and hence entirely depends on merit.Therefore we would get a fair competition and as such we would obtain best fit for the organization. In long run, as they are fairly and merit-based selected, they would be more inspired, motivated, pro-active, result-oriented and careerist. At the end there would more possibility of nurture of talent, otherwise retain of talent would be impossible. Besides, th e quota-free selection ensures Equal Employment Opportunity. In the contrast, in Fig. it has been assumed that, the selection process is quota based, ie, we have to fill-up quota rather than selection right fit leading to non-compliance of Equal Employment Opportunity. These employees would be, no doubt, less motivated, inspired and re-active. Therefore there would be possibility by the management to exploit them rather nurture, because retain of such employees are not a big deal as they are not careerist, result-oriented. ———————– Figure 1: HR Tier In Terms of Talent Management Figure 2: Impact of Quota In HR Read also: Padma Bridge

International Trade Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

International Trade - Case Study Example The new service plan is that of the sports caf where football matches will be telecasted. The premises of the caf, the uniform of the attendants and the menu will speak out the theme clearly and loudly. The target marketing has revealed a niche audience with love for football. The company introducing the service is Interfresh Ltd - entertainment unlimited. The environment, even though it is going through recession, is favoring the opening of a sports caf. The SWOT analysis has highlighted that the caf has the opportunity of playing many other sports when it reaches the maturity stage and thus extending its maturity. The marketing objectives are that of awareness and creating and keeping profitable customers for the life of the caf. The marketing strategies will involve above-the-line and below-the-line marketing activities. The marketing objectives for the sports caf are that of awareness of the caf and the special characteristics that it possesses. Whether it is above-the-line or below-the-line marketing activities, both are used to ensure that awareness is spread and excitement is generated within people. Therefore, marketing strategies are formed in ways which will fulfill the marketing objectives, given the budget that was decided. The marketing strategies encompass creating customers, keeping customers and ensuring that customers are profitable. (George, 1981) Target Customers The intended target market is the football lovers. These people are in huge numbers and are especially prominent when the football season is going on. Huge numbers of people go crazy when football world cup starts, choosing teams to hoot for and players to die for. Service Positioning In the Market The product positioning is that of a very informal, casual caf, where along with great food, the customers will get unlimited entertainment, where they will be able to watch sports at all times. Thus, such positioning is bound to make a permanent place in the minds of the consumers. COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES UNDERLYING THE OPPORTUNITY The opportunity of opening up a sports caf has a comparative advantage for the company. The company is based in Zimbabwe, where the people are not too fond of sports as compared to people in other parts of the world. Thus, opening this business for another target market in some other country where people have a passion for sports is one of the comparative advantages that the opportunity has for the company Interfresh Ltd. COMPARISON OF THE POTENTIAL MARKET SIZE The customers are niche market that is those people who love football and who visit the caf for the prime purpose of watching the match in the caf. The market size is considerably high and the growth in the market is good as well because many children each year grow big enough to understand the game of football and becoming football crazy, thus enlarging the target market of the caf. ESTIMATED START-UP COSTS Costs There needs to be 20 attendants in the caf, all dressed in football gear or wearing the shirts of famous football players. The major costs of the caf will be the design and making of this gear as well as the periodic maintenance of this gear

Marketing plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Marketing plan - Essay Example Companies have also been able to take into consideration the comments left by different consumers and work with them to deliver brands which match their specific taste. Moreover, companies or manufactures have been able to design their products to match the different taste of their consumers, thus remaining on top of the market competition. b) Addressability as marketing issues can be said to be the ability of the company to share with their consumer details concerning their products or operations in a way that is easily understood. Interactivity on the other hand can be said to be the ability of the company to make their consumers participate in the production or manufacturing process. This may involve engaging the consumers to achieve response about their content or products. Accessibility is the ability of the company or producers to avail their products or services to the consumers without putting them through much hassle. Connectivity can be said to be the ability of a company or producers to reach their consumers by knowing such details like their profiles and designing their products or services to match their preferred taste. Control in relation to marketing mix can be said to be the ability of a company to accurately determine key consumer characteristics in order to make them loyal to the respective brands th eyre producing or manufacturing. c) The use of digital media has its pros and cons. Social media is a form of digital media that makes communication easier between parties involved. It also allows individuals, especially business men to expand their contact with their consumers. In addition, it improves the image of a business while also expanding market research for entrepreneurs in different markets. However, it may also decrease productivity of employees when they use for other purposes other than work. It has also led to scams as scrupulous individuals use it for fraudulent activities. Electronic media is

Mixed methods research Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Mixed methods research - Assignment Example The mixed methods of research has numerous advantages. According to Collins, Onwuegbuzie & Jiao (2007), the mixed methods research provided a deeper understanding of the research problem; thus, allows for development of a better instruments of research that gather correct information on the topic in question. In addition, the mixed methods research helps outdo all the weaknesses that the quantitative and qualitative research may have in a study. Lastly, the mixed methods research helps explain the findings in a better way and even explain the causal relationships between variables (Creswell, 2013). The use of mixed methods research design may be disadvantageous to the field of Business Studies especially in the study of the implications of amalgamations and acquisitions on small and middle-sized business lending since the mixed methods research may not effectively apply the mixed methods; thus, not fully capitalize on the degree to which they apply the approach (Hurmerinta-Peltomki & Nummela, 2006). Collins, K. M., Onwuegbuzie, A. J. & Jiao, Q. G. (2007). A mixed methods investigation of mixed methods sampling designs in social and health science research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1(3),

Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Coursework Example The principles of marginal costing are often used to determine how changes in the volume of output effects the overall profit by separating fixed and variable costs and considering them as two separate elements of the overall product cost. An important point to know about marginal costing process is that fixed costs are never charged to in determining the final product cost. Fixed costs are in such a case are considered to be a period specific cost. They are not added while determining the price of the product and consequently expensed in the profit and loss account in the period of use. Contribution is a term that is very widely every time marginal costing is used. Contribution can be defined as the excess of sales price or revenue above the marginal costs. Another way of explaining contribution is the amount of profit made be any fixed costs have been accounted for. In very competitive market environments firms often make sales on marginal costs in the short term. As long as marginal costs are recovered, firms continue production as marginal costs cover all variable costs of production. Any excess of marginal cost to the sales price in such a situation contributes to the fixed costs and ultimately the firms break even. Monopolists often price their products on marginal costing basis whenever they see a market threat. Making sales at marginal cost in the short term would allow them to lower their prices temporarily until their competitors are driven out of the market. Consequently they can price their products at marginal cost plus profit formula and continue to exploit customers from their position as the sole supplier. There are some criticisms of the marginal costing process which must be discussed. Decisions taken on marginal costing are based on data derived from historical information. However, decisions made by management accountants relate to the future events and it is not clear whether the past

Number 1A,1948 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Number 1A,1948 - Assignment Example This paper addresses art in the context of what the audience sees in art, the functions of art, and the broader meaning of art. An analysis of the painting named Number 1A, 1948 by Jackson Pollock will be very fundamental. In understanding the functions of art, we ought to analyze the thinking and intentions of the artists at the time of creating the art. We also need to consider the timing and the meaning that the audience derives from the piece of art. Otherwise, the society misunderstands art by taking art out of context. The institutional art concept asserts that an artist has the freedom to make art what they decide it to become since art relates to everything within an artistic context. Arguably, this assertion leads to complexities and uncertainties in defining the meaning and functions of art within the industry and outside the artistic context. For example, artists could not agree on whether the â€Å"drip† paintings by Jackson Pollock (American, 1912-1956) depict real art. Considering that, art has many benefits it worth seeking an understanding on the relationship between art, audience, artists, and they type of art. The meaning of art has evolved with time from the classical meaning, renaissance meaning, post-renaissance meaning, the early 20th century meaning, and postmodernism and the meaning of art. Indeed, the classical definition of art emanated from a Latin word that meant skill or craft, which defined the original meaning of artwork. However, the meaning of art evolved during the renaissance to the post-renaissance period that depicted a separation between fine art and other arts by the end of the 19th century.1 The new meaning of art manifested the moral standards in Europe at the time. The meaning of art during the early 20th century entailed the effects of Cubism that influenced the development of fine art. During this period, Picasso

Nowledge Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Nowledge Management - Case Study Example This new concept of knowledge management has enhanced the progress of most institutions it turns personal knowledge to be the institutions asset and therefore it is widely used within the institution. Ones knowledge can be mixed with other values and insights to be applied in the organizations practices and routines this is according to Eardley and Uden (2011). Within a school setup, this can also be attained through enabling better processing methods for knowledge and through this better communication can be achieved and shared to others . Schools that practice knowledge management only focus on not repeating same mistakes and diversifying their thinking to avoid duplicate works. Wisdom high school is an average sized school with a population of six hundred students and forty teachers and twenty-five non-staff members. They all work together to provide quality service to its students and community. All workers exchange information among themselves on how to co-operate in work for be st outputs. This can be done through formal and informal ties and training among themselves. Networking system can also be encouraged to enhance access to information and exchanges between workers. Knowledge management faces several challenges in its implementation, but with the developments in computer networking, cooperation and consultations have been enhanced. It is enhances the support of decisions by more people within the organization and rejection if it is not appropriate. Therefore, this supports. Working within the school setup involves educating scholars and decision making on issue that affects the whole school society. Schools should know about current trends in the learning systems and therefore, try to embrace them to promote current discourse on academic issues. This creates advancements in performance and creates more interest from both scholars and staff to learn new ideas. Many learning institutions have been undergoing many weaknesses units management, therefore, to improve on its knowledge management it can focus on giving training to its personnel about current affairs in the economy and within the school institution (Pauleen, 2007). Some of the problems are because of lack of knowledge on what the institution is engaging in. There is need for understanding the concepts of knowledge management. This will help the institution determine on whether it is ready to engage in knowledge management. There is also the problem of social relations. The installation of technology should not stop direct confrontations and consultations. The institution should also not expect to acquire new knowledge but should instead focus on improving the existing one. This institution with both formal and informal personnel needs to have knowledge bases from where they can get their knowledge. According to their roles, there is need for diversified fields at the base. There is need for planning knowledge that helps guide the institution to its goals and objectives. It also helps in classifying needs giving priority to the most urgent and primary. Descriptive knowledge is also necessary to help the personnel understand the type of individuals they handle. Other kinds of knowledge are the predictive knowledge and assessment knowledge too. They apply in relating to customers, in sales and in management of finances. Therefore, to ensure proper relations between employees and workers, proper

The Importance of Higher Education Through Community College Essay Example for Free

The Importance of Higher Education Through Community College Essay Why is higher education important you may ask through community colleges? There are many benefits to life that come with the achievement of higher education. Furthering your education puts you at a competetive edge with todays evolving technology and the aggressiveness of the present job market. Higher education plays such a huge factor in today’s society and yet there are still very many people out there who cannot afford to go to a big university because of the cost. Four out of ten graduating high school students start their college careers at community colleges. Along the same lines community colleges are the largest and fastest growing area of higher education which means that more and more people today are exploring and learning about the benefits of pursueing higher education through community colleges. There may be many reasons why we choose to further our education through community college. We all live busy lifestyles and at times just our daily lives, routines and obligations can dictate just how much time people can devote to pursuing a higher education. Some of us may already have families or may even be working at a job. There are also a great number of people as well who simply just spend beyond their means. All of these examples can play a huge roll on affordability and how much time a person can spend inside the classroom.And because of this, these obstacles may prevent or even discourage people from being able to become a full time student. Community colleges offer the opportunity to higher education at a lower expence and present the student with the opportunity to take advantage of the many various scholarships and programs that these community colleges have available. There are a great number of community colleges to choose from in every state of the country. And many of these schools have a lot to offer potential students. Community colleges such as Ivy Tech and Oakland City University for example, have a vast amount of programs and benefits that will allow people a chance to attend class no matter how much time their daily lives and routines require them to spend. These schools offer the student a selection of online classes, courses and even degree programs all ready to take from their home or office all online. In addition to online classes these two schools also omake available full or part time student enrollment, day time and night time classes are also available if needed to help accommodate all types of lifestyles,schedules and obligations. With all of these programs in place it makes pursuing your future that much easier to grasp. By allowing the availability to attend community college online and at different times of the day and by using government and student financial aid such as Pell grants and the Stafford student loan people can often get a degree without going into so much debt. Sometimes the availability of these classes can help people get degree’s even faster than they normally would if they had to be on campus at all times. With our busy lifestyles and the competitiveness of the job market in todays economy it is vital to have an education. Even though at times we may think to ourselves that we just cannot afford to attend community college or are simply just too busy with the demands of daily life to dedicate accomplishing such an important task. In my oppinion, othing can be further from the truth. Making the choice to attain higher education through community college is a fantastic decision for anyone wanting to be a competitive force in todays ever evolving technological world and try to win in the current job market. Going to a community college may be intimidating to some people for various reasons whether it is having enough time, money or obligations. And at times, may even let these issues disuade their decision to attend. There are no obstacles too big in your way of pursuing your future and your dreams. And by taking advantage of all the programs and benefits that these schools have to offer can and will help to ease any anxieties you may have of becoming a student pursuing a higher education through community college.

National Association of Home Builders Essay Example for Free

National Association of Home Builders Essay Purpose and Background The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is a trade association whose mission is to enhance the climate for the housing and building industry. A top goal for the NAHB is to provide and expand opportunities for all potential home buyers to have safe, affordable and decent housing. The NAHB also works with federal agencies on regulations affecting the housing industry in areas such as mortgage finance, codes, energy and the environment. According to the NAHB, about eighty percent of the homes built in the United States are constructed by NAHB members. In 1993 the NAHB and Reed Business Information, publishers of Professional Builder and Professional Remodeler magazines established the National Housing Quality Awards (NAHB website). The National Housing Quality Awards (NHQ) was modeled after the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award program and represents the housing industry’s highest recognition for achievements in total quality management. The NHQ award promotes and rewards best practices throughout the home building industry. It recognizes home builders for being focused on quality for the customer in construction, business management, sales, warranty service and design. The NHQ award is open to all U.S. home builders that believe their company meets or exceeds the qualities above. The home builder completes an application process and goes through an extensive interview process that requires a high level of commitment from the company and their management team. According to the NAHB application, every applicant will receive a written report and applicants that are chosen for site visits will receive detailed reports that provide objective benchmarking for quality improvement. The program is more than an award; many home builders use the award as a process for improving their processes to build a better home for the customer and a better company for their shareholders. In the home building industry, the expectations for high performance from the customers gets higher every year. Especially in the current housing market it is becoming more critical than ever that builders look for new products and processes that help to improve  their companies in areas such as leadership, performance management, customer satisfaction, strategic planning, construction quality, trade partner relationships, business results and human resources according to Steve Carroll of the NAHB. Award Criteria The NHQ awards are judged by a qualified experts who evaluate all the applicants and selects finalists who demonstrate high levels of quality achievement based on leadership, strategic planning, performance management, customer satisfaction, human resources, construction quality, trade relationships and business results. The experts can request additional information during the application process, including customer satisfaction surveys, company references and other information related to judging the criteria. In the Leadership category the panel experts will look at the company mission and values to determine if they guide the organization toward a common purpose. They review how senior management reinforce and instill the mission, values and vision in the company as role models and through empowering employees. They will also look at how the company demonstrates public responsibility and good citizenship while improving the home building industry. In the Strategic Planning categor y the experts will look at how your company assesses and will address the key strategic challenges that the company faces in the next one to five years. They look at how the challenges are identified and analyzed and the overall plan development, deployment and feedback for the company including how the plan is tied to the mission, vision and values. They will review how the plan leverages the company’s skills, experience, knowledge and the lack of skills, experience, knowledge and resources. In the Performance Management category the experts review how the company develops, manages, measures, and improves the key processes to achieve performance excellence. The Customer Satisfaction category allows the experts to look at the company’s design and delivery of products and services with a high level of customer satisfaction. The applicant will need to address how the company identifies market segments, the level of focus on the market segments, how product features and service are selected to best serve the market segments that were identified, how the company develops customer relationships, key factors in customer satis faction and how the company obtains and utilizes  customer feedback to improve performance. The Human Resource category addresses employee selection and development practices, motivation, satisfaction and compensation as it relates to the growth and success of the company. The experts will review the work environment, the morale of the employees, the benefits and the company culture. The applicant will need to address workforce development, staff performance management, and how both align with the company’s goals. The Construction Quality category will allow the experts to review the methods that the company uses to drive quality in the home construction process and ensure high performance and trouble free products and services. Applicants will have to discuss the quality standards that are communicated and demanded from the trades and how the company continues to educate and reinforce the quality standards to both employees and trades. The experts will ask how new plans are reviewed for quality and how the customer is involved in this quality review process. Applicants should be prepared to describe the customers’ post closing experiences, quality recognition programs and the company’s warranty processes. The Trade Relationship category allows the expert panel to review how the company creates high performance relationships with the trade partners. The applicant should be prepared to discuss how the company establishes mutually beneficial relationships, trade partner selection process, problem avoidance through trade involvement and trade partner feedback. The final category is Business Results. Applicants need to present the measurements of the business benefits resulting from the company’s high performance practices in the financial, operational, customer satisfaction and warranty areas. The experts may ask for customer satisfaction results from the last one to three years including the customers’ willingness to refer other buyers, financial results, employee satisfaction, trade satisfaction and operating metrics for the last three years. Benefits of the Award Many of the home builders that prepare the NHQ application feel that the application process and the experts’ comprehensive evaluation report are valuable tools for planning change to improve their business regardless if they win the award or not. Many of the award recipients find that the greatest rate of improvement occurs in the year following their application  or win (NAHB). Shea Homes and Pulte Homes found that the NHQ award process helped them identify opportunities to improve and allowed them to perfect processes that improved the quality of their product and service. Improving total quality management can lead to streamlining processes that will reduce costs, improve the quality for the customer, reduce warranty calls and increase the bottom line for the company. The NAHB encourages award winners to publicize and advertise the achievement to distinguish the company from the competition, establish the company as a top quality builder and raise the company’s re putation as an industry leader. Winners are featured in Professional Builder magazine articles that highlight their quality management principles and will participate in a NHQ award panel discussion at the International Builders show which is the largest home builders’ convention in the United States. Benefits to applying for the award are endless for home builders that are willing to commit the time and effort needed to complete the application process. The application process forces many of the applicants to look at the processes in the company that contribute to ensuring total quality and make changes to allow the company to improve and focus on the company’s mission, vision and values. The drawbacks to the NHQ award process is that it will take a commitment of time and energy to look at the quality processes in the company to analyze if it is moving the company in the direction of the mission, vision and values. Some companies may feel that this is a waste of time and energy or can be over whelmed at what processes need to be improved to get the company on track to improve quality. Past Winners Winners are recognized in three categories: gold, silver and honorable mention. The gold award is given to companies that have achieved a national benchmark level in each area of evaluation. According to the NAHB website, gold award winners have mature, fully integrated quality management principles and consistently demonstrate high level sustained financial results. The silver award is given to companies that are industry leaders in most evaluation areas, they have refined business practices and they exhibit good financial results. An honorable mention is awarded when companies are recognized that demonstrate an understanding of quality management principles, show an improvement process and good financial  results are achieved in most areas. Below is a list of winners, the award that was received and the year it was awarded (NAHB website). Many of the applicants that have participated in the NHQ process, whether the company was awarded or not, have said that the application process helped the company by having to look at all processes critically and make changes to improve the quality management for the company overall. Scott Thistle,  president of Brookstone Homes, said, â€Å"The award is a critical component of our commitment to customer satisfaction. By going through the NHQ program for the second year, it has enabled us to continually fine-tune our quality assurance systems and see a direct positive impact on our customers and their experience (Brookstone Homes).† Home Builders that apply for the NHQ award know that the process requires a lot of time and effort prior to submitting the application to the NAHB and could involve potential changes to the operational processes of the company to keep the company focused on total quality management. Grayson Homes president, Cindy McAuliffe said â€Å"At Grayson Homes, we differentiate ourselves from others with a deserved reputation for quality homes and products, processes, service, and people. Our participation in NHQ programs keeps Grayson Homes and its trades focused on product, process and experience improvement (Mid-Atlantic Builder).† Conclusion In reviewing the NHQ award and the process involved in applying for the award I found that it was a benefit to each of the home builders that took the time, energy and efforts even if the company did not win an award. Each of the companies that applied where able to review the quality processes that were in place, review the experts written report and modify the processes to achieve a higher level total quality management that improved the company’s quality focus for internal and external customers. While I do feel that this would be a benefit for my company I believe that we would have a lot of work to do in streamlining processes to ensure that company wide we are using the same quality processes that will allow us to grow while following our mission, vision and values. The company was a small company based in two markets that grew quickly to fourteen markets prior to the housing market boom. This fast growth did not allow for the company to ensure that quality processes were being handled in the same manner from division to division. The company has in the past three years established a strategic mission for the company and continued with the values that has allowed them to achieve the ranking of the 24th largest builder in the United States. The NHQ award process would force the management team to review what processes where in place in all divisions and get on track with companywide policies and procedures so a customer buying a home in one  division could expect the same great product and service in another division. References Brookstone Homes Newsroom. BrookstoneHomes.com. 15 Mar. 2008. http://www.brookstonehomes.com/newsroom/2006_august2.asp. Carroll, Steve. Telephone interview with National Association of Home Builders Research Center. March 14, 2008. Mid-Atlantic Builder Corner Newsletter. Mid Atlantic Builder. 16 Mar. 2008. http://www.homebuilders.org/file_depot/0-10000000/0-10000/48/folder/40005/ MBX_0105_60-70.pdf. National Housing Quality Award. National Association of Home Builders Research Center. 15 Mar. 2008. http://www.nahbrc.org/technical/awards/nhqa.aspx. Stromberg, Meghan. NHQ Best Practices. Professional Builder. September 2001. 1 Sep. 2001.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Incorporation of Companies

Advantages and Disadvantages of Incorporation of Companies This assignment will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of incorporation of companies. This will be discussed in relation to public and private companies and it will be concluded that the main advantageous of incorporation is and continues to be that of limited liability and separate legal personality. Other issues will discussed and the advantages and disadvantages discussed. It is important first to point out the distinction between public and private companies, the former being those which are permitted to offer their securities to the public and the latter being those which are not so permitted. Often whether a company is public or private is taken more generally as an indication of the social and economic importance of the company, so that the public company is more tightly regulated than the private company in a number of ways, which fall outside the remit of this assignment. However, it is important to note that this difference does exist. The fundamental attribute of corporate personality is that the corporation is a legal entity which is distinct from its members. At the end of the 19th Century following the case of Salomon v Salomon CO[1] this concept was finally grasped by the courts and it was appreciated that companies have a separate legal entity, as Lord Macnaghten explained â€Å"The company is at a law a different person altogether from the subscribers†¦.; and, though it may be that after incorporation the business is precisely the same as it was before, and the same persons are managers, and the same hands receive the profits, the company is not in law the agent of the subscribers or trustee for them. Nor are the subscribers, as members, liable in any shape or form, except to the extent and in the manner provided by the Act[2]† As a corporation is a separate legal person its members are not personally liable for its debts[3]. This principle also applies to obligations other than debts such as the members of the company, although members who become involved in the management of the company’s business will find that this separate legal personality does not necessarily protect them from personal liability to third parties. If a company enters insolvent liquidation, in theory the issue undergoes a considerable change, although in practice it does not. The question becomes whether the liquidator acting on behalf of the company can seek contributions from its members so as to bring its assets up to the level needed to meet the claims from the company’s creditors. The overall result of the broad recognition by the courts of the separate legal entity of the company and of the limited liability of its members and managers is to produce at a first sight a legal regime which is very unfavourable to potential creditors of companies. However lenders often â€Å"seek to leap over the barrier created by the law of limited liability by exacting the price of the loan to the company personal guarantees of its repayment from the managers or shareholders of the company, guarantees which may be secured on the personal assets of the individuals concerned†[4]. Legislation, whilst it has not overturned Salomo n, contains an extensive list of publicity and disclosure obligations to priorities for certain classes of unsecured creditors on the winding-up of a company[5]. Recently added to these statutory weapons are the provisions relating to the wrongful trading and the expanded provisions on the disqualification of directors, especially on grounds of unfitness. One clear advantage of corporate personality is that it enables the property of the association to be more clearly distinguished from its members. In an unincorporated society, the property of the association is the joint property of the members. The rights of the members therein differ from their rights to their separate property since the joint property must be dealt with according to the rules of the society and no individual member can claim any particular asset. By virtue of the trust and the obvious complications can be minimised but not completely eradicated. And the complications cause particular difficulty in the case of a trading partnership both as regards the true nature of the interests of the partners and as regards claims of creditors. On incorporation, the corporate property belongs to the company and members have no direct proprietary rights to it but merely to their â€Å"shares† in the undertaking. A change in the membership, which causes inevitable dislocation to a partnership firm, leaves the company unconcerned; the shares may be transferred but the company’s property will be untouched and no realisation or splitting up of its property will be necessary, as it will on a change in the constitution of a partnership firm. Similarly, the claims of the company’s creditors will be merely against the company’s property and the difficulties which can arise on bankruptcy of partners will not occur. There are difficulties relating to legal actions in unincorporated associations. The problem is of practical importance with trading bodies but has been solved in the case of partnerships as they are now able to be sued or sue in the firm’s name[6], although there are still practical difficulties in enforcing the judgement. This question does not arise with incorporated companies as they can sue or be sued in their own right. Another advantage of a limited company is that it cannot become incapacitated by illness, mental or physical, and it does not have to have an allotted life span[7]. This of course does not mean that the death or incapacity of its human members may not cause the company considerable embarrassment, however the vicissitudes of the flesh have no direct effect on the disembodied company, as Grcer LJ said â€Å" a corporate body has no soul to be saved or body to be kicked.[8]† The death of a member leaves the company unmoved: members come and go but the company can go on forever.[9] The continuing existence of a company, irrespective of changes in its membership, is helpful in other direction also. When an individual sells his business to another, difficult questions may arise regarding the performance of existing contracts by the new proprietor[10], the assignment of rights of a personal nature[11], and the validity of agreements made with customers ignorant of the change of propr ietorship[12]. Similar problems may arise on a change of the constitution of a partnership[13]. Where the business is incorporated and the sale is merely of the shares, none of these difficulties arise. The company remains the proprietor of the business, performs the existing contracts and retains the benefits of them, and enters into future agreements. The difficulties attending vicarious performance, assignments and mistaken identity do not arise. Connected to this issue is the issue of the shares. Incorporation with the resulting separation of the business from its members greatly facilitates the transfer of the member’s interests. In the absence of limited liability the opportunity transfer is in practice very much restricted. With an incorporated company, freedom to transfer, both legally and practically, can be readily attained. The company can be incorporated with its liability limited by shares, and these shares constitute items of property which are freely transferable in the absence of express provision to the contrary, and in such a way that the transferor drops out and the transferee steps into his shoes. A partner has a proprietary interest which he can assign, but his assignment does not operate to divest him of his status or liability as a partner; it merely affords the assignee the right to receive whatever the firm distributes in respect of the assigning partners share[14]. The assignee can be admitted in to the partnership in the pace of the assignor only if the other partners agree and the assignor will not be relieved of his existing liabilities as a partner unless the creditors agree, expressly or impliedly, to release him. Another important feature of an incorporated company is that a structure which allows for the separation of risk investment via the purchase of shares, in which many persons may participate, from the management of the company, which is delegated to a smaller and expert group of people who partly constitute and who are partly supervised by a board of directors. This concept was first explored in the United States by AA Berle and GC Means[15] and they drew attention to the revolutionary change thus brought about in traditional conceptions of the nature of property. Today, the great bulk of large enterprise is in the hands not of individual entrepreneurs but of large public companies in which many individuals have property rights as shareholders and to the capital of which they have indirectly or directly contributed. Direct or indirect investment in companies probably constitutes the most important single item of property for most people, but whether this property brings profit to its â€Å"owners† no longer depends on their energy initiative but on that of the management from which they are divorced. Two further advantages which must be considered are that of borrowing and taxation. The ingenuity of equity practitioners has led to the evolution of an unusual but highly beneficial type of security known as the floating charge; i.e. a charge which floats like a cloud over the whole assets from time to time falling within a generic description, but without preventing the mortgagor from disposing of those assets in the usual course of business until something occurs to cause the charge to become crystallised or fixed. This is advantageous to incorporated companies because until recently such a charge could not really apply to partnerships or other unincorporated organisation -this is because of two pieces of legislation. The first was the â€Å"reputed ownership† provision in the bankruptcy legislation which relates to individuals[16]†. This, however under the reforms resulting from the report of the Cork Committee was repealed and not replaced in the Insolvency Act 1986 . It never applied to the winding-up of companies. The second, which still remains, is that the charge, in so far as it related to chattels, would be a bill of sale within the meaning of the Bills of Sale Acts 1878 and 1882 which applies only to individuals and not to companies[17]. Hence it would need to be registered in the Bills of Sale Registry, and, what is more important, as a mortgage bill it would need to be in the statutory form which involves specifying the chattels in detail in a schedule. Compliance with the latter requirement is impossible since in a floating charge the chattels are indeterminate and fluctuating. Therefore it can be seen that use of this form of security is in practice restricted to bodies corporate. By virtue of it the lender can obtain an effective security on â€Å"all the undertaking and assets of the company both present and future† either alone or in conjunction with a fixed charge on its land. By so doing he can place himself in a far stro nger position that if he merely had the personal security of the individual traders. It therefore happens not infrequently that a business is converted into a company solely in order to enable further capital to be raised by borrowing. Once a company reaches a certain size, the attraction of limited liability is likely to outweigh all other considerations when business people are considering in what form to carry on their activities. Investors are unlikely to be willing to put money in a company where there liability is not limited if they are to have no or little control over the running of the company and for this reason incorporation is preferable. However with small businesses, which it is feasible to give all the investors a say in management, it is likely that tax considerations play a major part in determining whether the business shall be set up in corporate form or as a partnership. In the case of small companies the investors’ return on their capital may take the form of the payment of directors’ fees rather than dividends, so that participation in the management of the company may be the means for the investor both to safeguard the investment and to earn a return on it. This assignment has discussed the advantages and disadvantages of incorporation of companies. It can be seen that the advantages of incorporation very much depend on one company to another. For larger firms the division between the board and shareholders, transferable shares and the conferment of limited liability on the shareholders are helpful for the raising of capital. Partnerships and unincorporated organisations do not lend themselves easily to this kind of need and therefore are more favourable in this respect. There are many other issues that make incorporation favourable but it can be seen that it is, and will continue to be the fact that these organisations have limited liability that will continue to make them attractive and more advantageous than unincorporated organisations. Bibliography Cases Brace v Calder (1895) 2 QB 253 Boulton v Jones (1857) 2 H N 564 British Waggon Co v Lea (1880) 5 QBD 149 Griffith v Tower Publishing Co [1897]1 Ch 21 Rayner (Mincing Lane) Ltd v Department of Trade [1989] Ch 72 Re Noel Tedman Holding Pty Ltd (1967) QD R 561 Robson v Drummond (1831) 2 B AD 303 Salomon v Salomon CO [1897] AC 22 HL Slavenburg’s Bank v International Natural Resources Ltd [1980] 1 W L R 1076 Stepney Corporation v Osofsky [1937] 3 ALL ER 289 Statutes Bankruptcy Act 1914 Bills of Sale Acts 1878 Insolvency Act 1986 Partnership Act 1890 RSC ORD 81 Books Berle A and Means G, (1993) â€Å"The Modern Corporation and Private Property† New York Davies P, (2003) â€Å"Gower and Davies Principles of Modern Company Law†, Seventh Edition, Thomson Sweet and Maxwell Dobson P, (2003) â€Å"Commercial Law†, Third Edition, London Cavendish Morse G, (2005) â€Å"Charlesworth Company Law†, Seventeenth Edition, London Sweet and Maxwell Smith and Kennan, (2005) â€Å"Smith and Keenans Company Law , Thirteenth Edition, Harlow Press/Longman 1 Footnotes [1] [1897] AC 22 HL [2] [1897] AC 22 HL at 51 [3] See for example Kerr LJ in Rayner (Mincing Lane) Ltd v Department of Trade [1989] Ch 72 at 176 [4] Davies P, (2003) â€Å"Gower and Davies Principles of Modern Company Law†, Seventh Edition, Thomson Sweet and Maxwell at page 32 [5] Insolvency Act 1986 Ss40 175 and 386-387 [6] RSC ORD 81 [7] S84 (1) (a) of the insolvency Act [8] In Stepney Corporation v Osofsky [1937] 3 ALL ER 289 at 291 [9] See Re Noel Tedman Holding Pty Ltd (1967) QD R 561 [10] Robson v Drummond (1831) 2 B AD 303 and British Waggon Co v Lea (1880) 5 QBD 149 [11] See Griffith v Tower Publishing Co [1897]1 Ch 21 [12] Boulton v Jones (1857) 2 H N 564 [13] Brace v Calder (1895) 2 QB 253 [14] Partnership Act 1890 [15] The Modern Corporation and Private Property, New York 1933 [16] Bankruptcy Act 1914 S38 (1)(C) [17] See Slavenburg’s Bank v International Natural Resources Ltd [1980] 1 W L R 1076

Bachelor Degree Required Essay -- essays research papers

Bachelor Degree Required Seeking advancement in my company seems to have the term â€Å"Bachelor Degree Required† assigned to it. Without a degree it’s not impossible to be promoted, but it’s more of an exception than the norm. At times, should the applicant have sufficient years of equivalent experience and be known by the group hiring, the requirement can be waived. With the constant change in company policies, the equivalency option may be removed. Then what am I going to do? With so many younger people entering the work place with degrees in hand, it is more and more prevalent that I complete my education. A college degree combined with several years of experience should help ensure my personal marketability. â€Å"There are more jobseekers with college degrees than there are openings for college-level jobs.† Mittelhauser, M. (1998). I must obtain my degree or see my career future greatly reduced. After all I don’t want to be caught when someone comes in and says â€Å"Out with the old and in with the new!† What are the key areas you are looking to learn and/or in which you are seeking greater competence? By the completion of my degree I want to have increased my knowledge and decision making abilities as a manager. The assignment in team learning has already given me a better understanding to the importance of â€Å"Team† in the work place. With career advancement comes the responsibility of leading, and a leader has to be able to assess the abilities of each team member. I want to know...

The Two Major Causes of the Urban Underclass Essay -- essays research

Soc. 456 The Two Major Causes of the Urban Underclass   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Today in the United States, as well as in many other affluent, industrialized nations, there exists an urban underclass, which is defined as a class of people that comprises members of low-income households who have little or no participation in the workforce (Gilbert 2003, p. 274). Currently there are predominantly two distinct, conflicting views of why the underclass exists. On one hand, there is the notion that the underclass is simply the result of its members, who lack values and morals, and advocate unemployment (Whitman and Thornton 1986). Some, on the other hand, believe that social institutions and injustices are to blame for the underclass. According to Julia Rothenberg and Andreas Heinz (1998), â€Å"the current neoconservative discourse about the social behavior and problems of the poor centers around a notion of a morally corrupt underclass.† Charles Murray, a conservative, and one of the leading advocates of this notion, measures the underclass by things like criminality, dropout from the workforce among young men, and illegitimate births among young women. He writes of the members of the underclass as â€Å"people living outside the mainstream, often preying on the mainstream, in a world where the building blocks of a life—work, family and community—exist in fragmented and corrupt forms†(Murray 1999). Because this group of people, which is proportionately small, stays at a relatively constant level in terms of income with seemingly no ambition, Murray blames them for their own problems. Murray’s solution to the underclass is simply to lock up the criminals; he has no sympathy for them, as he believes that they are under complete control of their own actions (Murray 1999). He argues that inner-city poor people have opportunities in low-level jobs, but turn them down, in part because the fast life of the street makes it attractive not to work (Whitman and Thornton 1986). Among people who take the conservative side, the underclass is seen as the scum of society, a class of people that is undeserving of any help. According to Sonia Martin (2004), conservative and non-conservative â€Å"observers frequently view the underclass as homeless, young, black, welfare-dependent, drug-dependent, intellectually disabled, physically disabled, criminals, sole parents (typically women), p... ... some decent-paying employment opportunities. References Gilbert, D. (2003). The American Class Structure in an Age of Growing Inequality, United States, Wadsworth. Whitman, D. & Thornton, J. (March 17, 1986). A Nation Apart. U.S. News & World Report. v100. Rothenberg, J. & Heinz, A. (Summer 1998). Meddling with Monkey Metaphors Capitalism and the Threat of Impulsive Desires. Social Justice. v25 n2. Murray, C. (Nov. 1999). And Now for the Bad News. Society. v37 i1. Martin, S. (Feb. 2004). Reconceptualizing Social Exclusion: A Critical Response to the Neoliberal Welfare Reform Agenda and the Underclass Theseis. Australian Journal of Social Issues. v39 i1. Sanoff, A.P. (March 4, 1991). [Interview with Nicholas Lemann, author of The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How It Changed America]. U.S. News & World Report. v110 n8. Massey, D.S. (Sept. 1990). American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass. American Journal of Sociology. v96 n2. Pearson, R.W. (June 1991). Social Statistics and an American Urban Underclass: Improving the Knowledge Base for Social Policy in the 1990s. Journal of the American Statistical Association. v86. n414.

Analysis of Communication Barriers to Distance Education Essay

The meaning of the communication in education and distance-learning are best understood, when the types of communication among the participants involved in distance education and some related communication theories are mastered thoroughly. The communication among the students and the communication between the members and the content should not be underestimated even though the communication between the teacher and the student is a vital element of successful distance education. If it is important to attain success in teaching and learning, barriers between the sender and the receiver of the message should be eliminated. Consequently, all strategies of learning and teaching during the delivery of instruction should not reflect any barrier (Nasseh, 1997). Different types of communication are employed in the network educational environment, such as: †¢ Work in collaboration with a teacher; †¢ Work in collaboration with other students; †¢ Work in collaboration with online course through a mass media. Telecommunication technologies offer a new scope to the mentioned communication types. They make it possible to travel beyond the physical distance and time. Nevertheless, it is essential to investigate communication via telecommunication technologies in detail besides the communication theories related with education, mass media, group interaction, knowledge and skill differences of users, and the preferences and the use ability of the involved members. Human beings need to create effective communication and establish contacts in order to survive. In other words, they need communication to provide connections and create effective understanding, get information and express feelings. Therefore, the effectiveness of the communication is measured by the message sent and feedback received. Furthermore, people’s personal, social and economic needs are also affec ting communication. Communication is a learnt activity and is provided by the media which forms a bridge between the sender and the receiver (Dimbleby, et al., 1992). The quality in communication and its effects on people’s lives can be improved once we clarify its meaning and also the meaning of education which is the major concept on which a structured society is based. Communication is a process that includes linear, interactive and transactional views from different perspectives barriers (Ä °Ã…Ÿman et al., 2003). One-way communication where the sender cannot get any feedback is the linear view. On the other hand, the interactive view is the existence of a two-way communication which includes feedback as well as nonverbal communication, but it does not include simultaneous sending-receiving feedback that transactional view underlines. Therefore, when creating mutual understanding in communication physical, psychological and semantic barriers are all eliminated. (Ä °Ã…Ÿman et al., 2003). As said before, communication is an important element of life. In order to increase productivity at work, organizations and schools should have effec tive communication. This is more important when it comes to education which is a tool for the welfare of the society. People socialize via communication and thus perform desired behaviors. Because of these reasons, preventing the barriers in communicating will provide a clearer field of experience between the sender and the receiver. People should find shared points by analyzing our encoding, decoding stages and channel by eliminating our unfairness about the backgrounds in order to create meaningful understanding. There is no perfect communication; this is almost inevitable and creating a qualified communication process is essential to create a permanent understanding especially in the teaching-learning process and establishing reasonable communication to improve meaningful learning of the students. Today, e-learning or distance education are the result of technology. As a result, traditional teaching styles are transformed to technology-based teaching. Distance education is a new trend in education which makes it possible for everyone to learn better and provide options under the constructivist ap proach. Technological devices like audio cassette, telephone, compact disc, etc become a major necessity for distance education. Students have a more flexible education opportunity because of distance education. But, on the other hand, lack offace-to-face contact with teachers may result in a loss of motivation. Besides, there are many barriers in teaching and learning process of distance education (Galusha, 2001). Most common barriers are the unawareness of the roles as teachers and students. Studies show that the barriers of distance education fall into such categories as cost, motivators, feedback and teacher contact, student support and services, alienation, lack of experience and training. Moreover, due to the lack of information about their roles in distance education there is faculty and organizational barriers. In addition, course content on the other hand constitutes another barrier and should be modified in distance education (Galusha, 2001). Therefore, to create effective and qualified distance education all barriers must be realized and eliminated. There are some differences between the types of communication in distance learning and classroom-based learning. Firstly, due to resistance to change and anxiety while engaged in distance education, students and teachers can have psychological problems. Technical barriers during communicating, on the other hand, can be experienced by students and teachers due to a lack of experience about technology and they may have semantic barriers in their communication by misunderstanding announcements (Perreault, et al., 2002). Therefore, it is important to eliminate communication barriers if qualified and effective distance education is aimed at. CHAPTER II BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION For communication to be effective, senders must accurately communicate their intended message, and receivers must perceive and interpret the message accurately. Anything that gets in the way of the accurate transmission and reception of a message is a barrier to effective communication. We should understand these barriers so that you can be aware of their existence and try to reduce their impact. We have identified the elements of communication as the communicator, the encoding, the message, the medium, the decoding, the receiver, and the feedback. If noise exists in these elements in any way, complete clarity of meaning and understanding does not occur. The following barriers to effective communication are: frame of reference, selective listening, value judgments, source credibility, semantic problems, filtering, in-group language, status differences, proxemics behavior, time pressures, and communication overload. These sources of noise can exist in both organizational and interpers onal communications. Barriers Created by the Sender There are five specific barriers created by senders of communication. 1.Semantic Problems Communication has been defined as the transmission of information and understanding through the use of common symbols. Actually, we cannot transmit understanding. We can merely transmit information in the form of words, which are the common symbols. Unfortunately, the same words may mean entirely different things to different people. The understanding is in the receiver, not in the words. Because different groups use words differently, communication can often be impeded. E.g. When your boss tells you, â€Å"We need to complete this project right away,† what does it mean? Does â€Å"we† mean just you? You and your coworkers?Or you, your coworkers, and the boss? Does â€Å"right away† mean today, tomorrow, or next week? These are examples of semantic barriers. Semantics is the study of words. Thus, because words mean different things to different people, a communicator may speak the same language as a receiver but still not achieve the intended goal of the communication. 2.Filtering Filtering, a common occurrence in upward communication in organizations, refers to the manipulation of information so that the receiver perceives it as positive. Filtering may involve deleting or delaying negative information or using less harsh words so the message sounds more favorable. For example, subordinates â€Å"cover up† unfavorable information in messages to their superiors. The reason for such filtering should be clear; this is the direction (upward) that carries control information to management. Management makes merit evaluations. Grants salary increases, and promotes individuals based on what it receives by way of the upward channel. The temptation to filter is likely to be strong at every level in the organization. 3.In-Group Language Occupational, professional, and social groups often develop words or phrases that have meaning only to members. Such special language can serve many useful purposes. It can provide members with feelings of belonging, cohesiveness, and (in many cases) self-esteem; it can also facilitate effective communication within the group. The use of in-group language can, however, result in severe communication breakdowns when outsiders or other groups are involved. Management, in this case, should provide communication skills training to affected individuals to facilitate effective communication between involved parties. 4.Status Differences Organizations often express hierarchical rank through a variety of symbols (titles, offices, etc.). Such status differences can be perceived as threats by persons lower in the hierarchy, and this can prevent or distort communication. For example, not wanting to look incompetent, a nurse may remain quiet instead of expressing an opinion or asking a question of the nursing supervisor. 5.Time Pressures The pressure of time presents an important barrier to communication. Managers don’t have time to communicate frequently with every subordinate. However, time pressures can often lead to far more serious problems than this. Short-circuiting is a failure of the formally prescribed communication system that often results from time pressures. What it means is simply that someone has been left out of the formal channel of communication who would normally be included. For example, suppose a salesperson needs a rush order for an important customer and goes directly to the production manager with the request, since the production manager owes the salesperson a favor. Other members of the sales force who get word of this become upset over this preferential treatment and report it to the sales manager. Obviously, the sales manager would know nothing of the â€Å"deal† having been short circuited. In some cases, going through formal channels is extremely costly or even impossible from a practical standpoint. Consider the impact on a hospital patient if a nurse had to report a critical malfunction in life support equipment to the nursing team leader, who in turn had to report it to the hospital engineer, who would instruct a staff engineer to make the repair. Barriers Created by the Receiver In some situations barriers are created by receivers. 1.Selective Listening In this form of selective perception, the individual tends to block out new information, especially if it conflicts with existing beliefs. Thus, in a directive from management, the receiver notices only things that reaffirm his beliefs. Things that conflict with preconceived notions are either ignored or distorted to confirm those preconceptions. For example, a notice may be sent to all operating departments that costs must be reduced if the organization is to earn a profit. The communication may not achieve its desired effect because it conflicts with the perceived â€Å"reality† of the receivers. Thus, operating employees may ignore or be amused by such information in light of the large salaries, travel allowances, and expense accounts of some executives. Whether such preconceptions are justified is irrelevant; what’s important is that they result in breakdowns in communication. In other words, if we only hear what we want to hear, our â€Å"reality† canâ€℠¢t be disturbed. 2.Value Judgments In every communication situation, the receiver makes value judgments. This basically involves assigning an overall worth to a message prior to receiving the entire communication. Value judgments may be based on the receiver’s evaluation of the communicator, previous experiences with the communicator, or on the message’s anticipated meaning. For example, a college professor, perceiving the department chairperson as not being concerned enough about teaching quality, may consider a merit evaluation meeting with the chairperson as â€Å"going through the motions.† A cohesive work group may form negative value judgments concerning all actions by management. 3.Source Credibility Source credibility is the trust, confidence, and faith that the receiver has in the words and actions of the communicator. The level of credibility that the receiver assigns to the communicator in turn directly affects how the receiver views and reacts to the communicator’s words, ideas, and actions. Thus, subordinates’ evaluation of their manager affects how they view a communication from her. This, of course, is heavily influenced by previous experiences with the manager. Again, we see that everything done by a manager communicates. Union leaders who view management as exploiters and managers who view union leaders as political animals are likely to engage in little honest communication. Barriers Created by the Sender and/or Receiver Senders and/or receivers also create barriers in organizational communication. For example, there are three specific types of barriers. 1.Frame of Reference Different individuals can interpret the same communication differently, depending on previous experiences that result in variations in the encoding and decoding processes. Communication specialists agree that this is the most important factor that breaks down the â€Å"commonness† in communications. When the encoding and decoding processes aren’t alike, communication tends to break down. Thus while the communicator actually speaks the â€Å"same language† as the receiver, the message conflicts with how the receiver â€Å"catalogs† the world. The interior areas represent the accumulated experiences of the participants in the communication process. If they share a large area, effective communication is facilitated. If a large area is not shared – if there has been no common experience – then communication becomes impossible or, at best, highly distorted. Communicators can encode and receivers can decode only in terms of their experiences. Distortion often occurs because of participants’ differing frames of reference. Teenagers perceive things differently than do their parents; college deans perceive problems differently than do faculty members. People in various organizational functions can also interpret the same situation differently. A business problem may be viewed differently by the marketing manager than by the production manager. Different levels in the organization also have different frames of reference. First-line supervisors’ frames of reference differ in many respects from those of vice presidents. Their different positions in the organization structure influence their frames of reference. As a result, their needs, values, attitudes, and expectations differ, often resulting in unintentional distortion of communication. 2.Proxemic Behavior An important but often overlooked element of nonverbal communication is proxemics, defined as an individual’s use of space when interpersonally communicating with others. According to Edward Hall, a prominent researcher of proxemics, people have four zones of informal space – spatial distances they maintain when interacting with others: the intimate zone (from physical contact to 18 inches), the personal zone (from 18 inches to 4 feet), the social zone (from over 4 to 12 feet), and the public zone (more than 12 feet). For Americans, manager-subordinate relationships begin in the social zone and progress to the personal zone after mutual trust has developed. An individual’s personal and intimate zones make up a â€Å"private bubble† of space that is considered private territory, not to be entered by others unless invited. Proxemics creates a significant communication barrier when the proxemics behaviors of the sender and receiver differ. For example, assume that, like most Americans, you stand in the social zone while interacting at a social gathering such as a cocktail party. However, in the South American culture, a personal-zone distance is considered more natural in such situations. When a South American businessperson you’re talking with at a cocktail party assumes a personal-zone distance, how do you feel? Typically in such situation, an individual feels so uncomfortable with the person standing â€Å"too close† that any verbal communication isn’t heard. Conflicting proxemic behavior can also affect each individual’s perceptions of the other – you may view the South American as pushy and aggressive; she may see you as cold and impolite. 3.Communication Overload One vital task performed by a manager is decision making. One of the necessary factors in effective decisions is information. The last decade has often been described as the time when information technology radically changed the corporate landscape. Technology has great potential to improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of organizational communication. Because of the advances, the difficulty does not lie in generating information. Rather, manager often feel buried by a deluge of information and data. As a result, people can’t absorb or adequately respond to all of the messages directed to them. They screen out the majority of messages, which in effect means that these messages are never decoded. Thus, in the area of organizational communication, â€Å"more† isn’t always â€Å"better†. CROSS-CULTURAL AND GENDER COMMUNICATION Language is the most obvious cross-cultural communications challenge. Words are easily misunderstood in verbal communication, either because the receiver has a limited vocabulary or the sender’s accent distorts the usual sound of some words. Voice intonation is another cross-cultural communication barrier, because how loudly, deeply, and quickly we speak sends secondary messages that have different meaning in different cultures. Communication includes silence, but its use and meaning varies from one culture to another. In Japan, silence symbolizes respect and indicates that the listener is thoughtfully contemplating what has just been said. Similarly, Japanese people usually stop talking when they are interrupted, whereas talking over the person’s speech is more common in Brazil and some other countries. Indeed, Brazilians are more likely to view interruptions as evidence that the other person is involved in the conversation. Nonverbal communication represents another potential area for misunderstanding across culture. Many nonconscious or involuntary nonverbal cues (such as smiling) have the same meaning around the world, but deliberate gestures often have different interpretations. For example, most of us shake our head from side to side to say â€Å"No,† but a variation of head shaking means â€Å"I understand† to many people in India. Filipinos raise their eyebrows to give an affirmative answer, yet Arabs interpret this expression (along with clicking one’s tongue) as a negative response. Men and women have similar communication practices, but there are subtle distinctions that can occasionally lead to misunderstanding and conflict. One distinction is that men are more likely than women to view conversations as negotiations of relative status and power. They assert their power by directly giving advice to others (e.g., â€Å"You should do the following†) and using combative language. There is also evidence that men dominate the talk time in conversation with women, as well as interrupt more and adjust their speaking style less than do women. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE The following literature review shows work done by researchers. All are related with communication barriers to distance education and the important communication theories which explain the diffusion of innovation with telecommunications, the knowledge gap between the members involved in distance education and the uses and gratification of the users of the mass media. According to Galusha(1997) distance education gives people (students) greatest possible control over the time, place and pace in education; however, it has problems due to loss of student motivations since there is no face-to-face contact, startup cost and lack of faculty support. Such problems are categorized into three main groups as student barriers, faculty barriers, and organizational barriers. Problems and barriers encountered by students are costs and motivators, the feedback and teacher contact, the student support and services, the alienation and isolation, the lack of experience, and training related. Barriers related with faculty are the result of the lack of staff training, the lack of support for distance learning, and the inadequate faculty selection for distance training. Barriers encountered by the organization are the infrastructure and technology related problems, and the present challenge. Heidi et al. (2002) examine the ideal combination of self-paced learning and interactivity is offered by distance education. Such learning requires online discussions, email support collaboration and interactive presentation of the students. All of which are possible through a healthy communication between participants and design groups for overcoming barriers to a successful delivery of distance learning courses. Asirvatham(2000) points out that opportunity to educate work force for all companies and industries could not be always possible in a classroom-oriented learning atmosphere for all to participate. Therefore, distance education becomes a powerful advantage to overcome great dis tance problems among the education institutions and people. Alternative ways oftechnology provide sufficient tools to establish a healthy communication and interaction among members in distance education. And regardless of all its problems, distance education is a good opportunity to compete with traditional classroom format. Eisinger(2000) points out that that education showed an evolution from chalk and blackboard education to distance online learning activities. The study defines adult educators and the importance of understanding learner’s autonomy as being instructors. In addition to this, there are some aspects like the lack of non-verbal cues which creates misunderstanding through the global interaction. Also, challenges to distance education are created due to the different needs and expectations of every learning environment. According to Berge (1998), impediments to online teaching and learning can be situational, epistemological, philosophical, psychological, pedagogical, technical, social, and cultural and include faceless teaching, fear of computers replacing faculty, diffusion of value traditionally placed on getting a degree, faculty culture, lack of an adequate time-frame to implement online courses. It is easy to go wrong when learning system is technologically advanced, there is resistant to change, and the lack of technological assistance is present. The most critical barriers, as Berge found in his survey, appear related to person’s resistance to or fear of the many changes that must occur at the individual and organizational level, the lack of support for the changing roles of students and teachers, and other barriers arising from difficulties in assessment. Berge (2001) also points out that toward the use of distance education organizations or administrations face different barriers. The study tries to find out if there is any unknown barrier to distance education which is different from technical and interaction problems. The emphasis of the research study is on designers or organizations of distance education and their reflective action to distance education. Muilenburg and Berge (2001) point out the underlying constructs that comprise barriers to distance educatio n in their exploratory factor analysis research. The ten factors found are administrative structure, organizational change, technical expertise, social interaction and quality, faculty compensation and time, threat of technology, legal issues, evaluation/effectiveness, access, and student support services. To determine these ten factors,they made a survey with sixty four different barrier items to 2054 members, and concluded that some barriers overlap with one or more different factors. Truman (1995) concludes that the methods and techniques to accomplish learning will be the most important. Those that eliminate communication barriers confront by nontraditional learners or students. In her study, that the delivery system in distance education may not be so important, she discussed the important barriers like money, equipment, time, student information perceptions and their understanding how the technology itself shapes the information it carries to differentiate junk information from facts. Pajo (2001) finds that the different roles of personal and attitude wise barriers predict current use and future intentions to adopt web-based technology. Current use of the technology is closely associated with personal barriers of those who lack competence in skills needed to use web-based delivery in their distance education. These personal barriers may hinder the individual from transferring his/her intentions into behavior. Leach and Walker (2000) argue that the instructor’s feedback to students is vital in distance education for their self-evaluation, task orientation, instructor support, and flexibility. Also they point out that the amount of student’s experience with technology is directly correlated in determining if technology used in distance education is a barrier. All technology concerns must be minimized, and the programs offered must be designed accordingly if a successful online education is to be attained. Cucek(2001) in his research study on distance education students he asks questions to Boise State University students in order to measure students` satisfaction with their distance education classes, perceived access to support services, and differences in their â€Å"classroom† behaviors in distance education and traditional face-to-face classes. The answers are mainly concentrated upon main problems (barriers) to the successful completion of their distance education courses. Almost all responses are related to course issues, time issues, personal issues, administrative, and technical issues. Course related barriers are the lack of interaction, course structure and accessing resources. Barriers related with time were the lack of time, personal commitments, and course work that takes too much time. Motivation and self-discipline comprised personal issues. The lack of expertise made up the technical problems.Finally, administrative problems are related to cost, course availability, obtaining course materials, and administrative support.

Overview of Information Systems and Technology Essay

Corporations rely heavily on their internal business systems. These business systems consist of departments such as finance and accounting, human resource, legal, sales/marketing, and operations. Riordan Manufacturing, Inc. contains all the necessary business systems to operate for day to day activities. Riordan, a manufacturing company HRIS system is dated back in 1992 and as part of the financial system, it tracks the employee information such as pay rate, hire date, personal tax exemption purposes, seniority date, vacation hours for none exempted employees, organizational information such as manager’s name and department for budget purposes, and personal information with inclusion of addresses, birth dates and names. The company’s HRIS system was installed in 1992. It is a part of the financial systems package and keeps track of the following employee information: †¢Personal information (such as name, address, marital status, birth date, etc.) †¢Pay rate †¢Personal exemptions for tax purposes †¢Hire date †¢Seniority date (which is sometimes different than the hire date) †¢Organizational information (department for budget purposes, manager’s name, etc.) †¢Vacation hours (for non-exempt employees) Changes to this information are submitted in writing (on special forms) by the employee’s manager and are entered into the system by the payroll clerk. Training and development records are kept in an Excel worksheet by the training and development specialist. Each recruiter maintains applicant information for open positions. Rà ©sumà ©s are filed in a central storage area, and an Excel spreadsheet is used to track the status of applicants. Workers’ compensation is managed by a third-party provider, which keeps its own records. Employee files are kept by individual managers; there is no central employee file area. Managers are also responsible for tracking FMLA absences and any requests for accommodation under the ADA. The compensation manager keeps an Excel spreadsheet with the results of job analyses, salary surveys and individual compensation decisions. Employee relations specialists track information about complaints, grievances, harassment complaints, etc. in  locked files in their offices.

Pros and Cons of Single-Sex School on Students

PROS & CONS OF SINGLE-SEX SCHOOL ON STUDENTS Pros & Cons of Single-Sex School on Students INTRODUCTION Single-sex school has not been a stranger to us even from back in those old days. It practically shows how gender differences and effects caused by it had largely impacted on the society. People learnt how the attraction between Adam and Eve kind brings a lot of many things, including the separation of these two kinds through – one of the most important thing to the society, the education. According to the article ‘What is Single Sex  Education? Defining Single-Gender  Education’ by Amanda Morin,  Single-Sex education are the practice of educating girls and boys in separate classes or schools. Just like many other co-educational schools, single-sex ones are no exception to the ‘villains and angels’ of this issue. There has been a lot of discussion regarding the pros and cons of single-sex school, which would be my focus in the essay. Pro, based on the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, are something that are in favour of. Hence, con would be the opposite meaning of pro, meaning disadvantages of something, issues or problems.Before 1900, education in America was contained largely within a single-sex framework (Bracey, 2007). That structure was the result of societal views, expectations, and opportunities for each gender. As a rule, males required greater formalized education to facilitate their expected worldly occupations, and females received a much less formalized education, rich in the practical skills necessary for their anticipated domestic life. Males and females required such different educational experiences and subject matter that they were educated separately (Cohen, 2000).There were long and storied history in American higher education about single-sex colleges and universities where a few original colleges in U. S. existed – though that is to educate men only. However, in the early 1800s severa l seminaries for women were founded to provide girls with a liberal education. Post Civil War has also produced the women's colleges of the Northeast, whom been wishing to demonstrate that women were as capable of achieving advanced education as were men. By 1950 the percentage of women in higher education dropped to a low of 30 percent, and enrolment at many of the single-sex institutions began to decline.The 1960s and 1970s saw a more pronounced shift away from single-sex institutions toward coeducation. The history of one’s place or issue could probably make us understand better, whereas would help us to elaborate more on the matter. The focus in this essay would be the advantages and disadvantages of single-sex school, from two different perspectives – academically, and socially. ADVANTAGES As we all know it, boys and girls inhibit and exhibit different learning style and learning outcomes. Research has shown that boys and girls brains are different, they are progr ammed to learn distinct ways.It is not saying that one gender is inferior to the other, they are just different. Single sex education has been shown to reduce stereotypes based on gender rather than promote them. Factors such as smaller classrooms and teacher training are factors of a good school and many single sex schools offer those variables, in addition to offering different and specialized teaching styles which also may improve the quality of education. From the book entitled ‘Early Implementation of Public Single-Sex School : Perceptions and Characteristics’ , its study team has contacted all 20 schools the U.S. Department of Education identified as public single-sex schools in 2003. It shows academic behaviours in 164 single-sex classrooms and 45 coed classrooms in the single-sex and coed schools visited. Students in the single-sex elementary, middle, high schools, were more likely to complete homework than were students in the coed comparison elementary and mid dle school, but no study on high school were included. One public charter school in Northeast Indianapolis namely Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School, segregates academic classes for its younger students.Overall, the policy has been positive, resulting in better grades and fewer distractions. On the social side of this matter, Rosemary Salomone, professor of law at St. John’s University and author of the 2003 book Same, Different, Equal: Rethinking Single-Sex Schooling, said that: â€Å"Many students in single-sex classes report feeling more comfortable raising their hands and expressing uncertainty regarding a lesson or topic without fear of embarrassment or teasing from the opposite sex. † Boys tend to soften up and become more collaborative as they can just be boys and not worry about what the girls might think in a single sex setting.Girls become competitive, bold, and a risk-taker which also give girls the opportunity to take on leadership roles and interact wit h women in positions of leadership. National Coalition of Girls' Schools had conducted a survey which 93% of the women surveyed felt that they had more leadership opportunities and that 63% felt they were well-prepared for the â€Å"real world. † DISADVANTAGES On the surface, it is undeniably true that most single-sex schools do well academically, by saying that the gender gap between girls and boys has been overcome. However, by separating them, the gender gap are still there, but not always seen.Over the past 10 years, 130 independent schools that taught girls and boys separately have either become co-educational or closed. Some schools now offer single-sex lessons in an attempt to close the gender gap that has seen girls overtake boys in achievement. This gender gap is about the fact where boys are always lagging behind girls, and if practiced through placing them in a same sex school, it should probably causes the fact that all-boys’ school lagging behind all-girls ’ school. From the article ‘All-boys school are not the answer’ by Oli De Botton, in practice, the single-sex question is a distraction from what really matters.It sounds obvious, but both boys and girls will do better if they are taught better by excellent teachers. That means skilled teachers whom can attract and teach the students well – regardless of their gender. Kids that are able of responding to all learning environments are better, which they can break out from their comfort zone. Let boys and girls learn together, taught by the best teachers we can find. A new report, published in the journal Science, states that single-sex schools’ students are no better educated than those who attend co-ed schools. The study has also noted that a review commissioned by the U. S.Department of Education found only, little overall difference in academic outcomes between children in single-sex schools versus those in co-ed schools. The professor of psycholog y and education at Penn state, Lynn Liben says that â€Å"There's really no good evidence that single-sex schools are in any way academically superior, but there is evidence of a negative impact,† Another disadvantage would be students’ socialization. The article ‘Co-ed vs. Single-sex schools’ by ULS. com has said that a wider range of people allows the interaction of students of both sexes which allow them to learn how to work and talk to people of the opposite sex.This, though does not happen in a single-sex school causing lack social skills of the students of a single-sex school. Furthermore, the all-boys and all-girls situation might lead to other case such as homosexual. Ghanaweb. com has reported that how their Ghana Education Service has conceded that single-sex schools in Ghana are becoming the place where homosexuals breed. Stephen Adu, the Deputy Director General of the GES told Citi News, that he disagree to the way of dealing with the situation with converting such schools into mixed school. Instead he thinks holistic approach is required to deal with the situation.He added, â€Å"I will agree that homosexuality and lesbianism started with single-sex schools. It has become prevalent and so more people have become aware of it. This is just one of the many problems we have in our educational system†. OPINION In my opinion, single-sex school is neither good or bad. It is the matter of how people work, consider and tolerate it. Elizabeth Weil, in her article titled ‘Teaching Boys and Girls Separately’ stated that the United States Department of Education, along with the American Institute for Research, published a meta-analysis comparing single-sex and coed schooling.The authors started out with 2,221 citations on the subject that they then whittled down to 40 usable studies. Yet even those 40 studies did not yield strong results: 41 percent favored single-sex schools, 45 percent found no positive or negat ive effects for either single-sex or coed schools, 6 percent were mixed (meaning they found positive results for one gender but not the other) and 8 percent favored coed schools. I have one friend of mine, ex single-sex’s school student, whom has such different way of thinking. She’s a feminist, has such a hard time trusting guys and has limited social skills.She doesn’t know how to interact with boys especially, even with the girls sometimes. This is what I can see from her. My evaluation and interpretation might be wrong as I am not an expert. As academically, she’s a perfectionist, hardworking, competitive and a bright student indeed. But her low self-esteem and lack of social skills penetrated her from speaking in class as she doesn’t have the ability of delivering what she wanted to say. What I can see is that single-sex school benefit so much on the academic side, as students really focuses on studying because there is no other distraction an d attraction at school.They really want to compete with each other, curious and wanting to know their ability because they think they have the same capabilities, just at different levels. However, it is sad to compare to their socialization, because single-sex school changes the way they think. They got used to the all-girls or all-boys situation that they end up being sexist, which then later lead to cases like homosexuals. CONCLUSION. Boys and girls are obviously different in nature, and vary in their likings and favourites. What people do not know is a little bit of understanding in these differences could bring such a vast improvement on students.Socialization and academic are both important, and must be balanced well in order to have a fully accomplished life. Pros and Cons are unavoidable where we can’t really choose the good one instead of the bad one but to accept both willingly and somehow work with it. REFERENCES References : RMC Research Corporation Portland, Ore. (August, 2008). Early Implementation of Public Single-Sex Schools : Perceptions and Characteristics. Bradley, K. (n. d. ) The Impact of Single-Sex Education on the Performance of First and Second Grade PUBLIC School Students.Kreyden, V. (March, 2011). Multiple benefits of single-sex classes. Retrieved from : http://blogs. indystar. com/ypress/2011/03/01/multiple-benefits-of-single-sex-classes/ Morin, A. (n. d. ) What is Single-Sex Education? :Defining Single-Gender Education. Retrieved from : http://childparenting. about. com/od/schoollearning/a/what-is-single-sex-education-def. htm Weil, E. (March, 2008). Teaching Boys and Girls Separately. Retrieved from : http://www. nytimes. com/2008/03/02/magazine/02sex3-t. html? pagewanted=all (e-news) APPENDICES