Conflict Management Essay Example Essay Example

Conflict Management Essay Example Paper Conflict Management Essay Introduction First of all, conflict is described as the expressed struggle of interconnected parties who perceive incompatible goals and interference from each other in attaining certain goals (Rothwell). The book describes two major types of conflict, constructive and destructive conflict. Destructive Conflict- characterized by domination, escalation, retaliation, competition and inflexibility (Rothwell) Constructive Conflict- characterized by a we-orientation, cooperation, and flexibility (Rothwell) However there are other types of conflict in which the book touches on, those are: Task conflict- conflicts concerning disagreements over the content of task being carried out Task conflicts generally have a positive outcome to it. High disagreement in a group usually results into better understanding of the certain task therefore producing a better outcome. Examples include: – Juror #8’s ‘not guilty’ vote during the preliminary vote. This opened the door for the group to discuss the case and re-examine the evidence, resulting into a unanimous ‘not guilty’ verdict, favoring the defendant. Examination of the murder weapon, re-enactment of the old man’s testimony (regarding seeing the defendant running down the stairs after the killing), and analyzing the woman’s testimony that she saw the defendant stab the victim through the L-train windows Relationship Conflict- conflicts concerning the interpersonal animosities and tensions between individuals themselves rather than the task at hand Relationship conflicts between group members generally have a negative outcome to it. Conflict Management Essay Body Paragraphs Relationship conflict lowers task performance by distracting members’ attention and reducing each individual’s ability to concentrate on the task at hand. Examples include: – Most parts of the movie showed relationship conflicts, this was visible in the behavior of the jurors. Although most of these relationship conflicts easily de-escalated, some of the stronger relationship conflicts remained. The relationship conflicts between jurors #3 and #10 versus the rest of the group stayed steady throughout much of the movie. Interestingly, the relationship conflict among the jurors helped them or made them realize that the facts presented in court during the trial were not accurate and that there was a reasonable doubt that the defendant was not guilty of the charges. Values Conflict- conflicts cause by perceived and/or actual incompatible beliefs; values that people use to give meaning to their daily lives Values conflicts or conflicts of beliefs arise when people att empt to force one set of values on others or lay claim to certain values or beliefs that do not allow or are not appropriate. One good example of conflict of values or beliefs is when juror #7 changed his vote to ‘not-guilty’ and when asked why he said it was because he had had enough. In response, juror #11 approached him and told him to do the right thing and that he should vote ‘not guilty’ only if he truly believed that the defendant was not guilty, not simply because he had had enough and had a ticket to a baseball game. Approaches to conflict and principles of conflict management: There are several different styles of approaching conflict, these include: Collaborating- a win-win style of managing conflict. Approach in which both parties attempt to find ways of solving the problem Accommodating- also sometimes referred to as ‘Yielding’ and is a win-lose style of conflict management. Accommodating results in one party accepting the other pa rty’s solution to the problem Compromising- a lose-lose style of conflict management in which both parties sacrifice something in order to achieve the goal that both parties are working for Avoiding- also sometimes referred to as ‘Withdrawing’ and is a lose-lose style of conflict management. When a party avoids the situation, both parties lose at the potential to completely solve the problem, sacrificing a resolution for all Competing- also sometimes referred to as ‘Power or Force’ and is win-lose situation. In a situation where one party competes with the other, they often force their ideas or goals onto the other party and the other party is therefore defeated, lessening the value of the group’s relationship as a whole Examples include: – Juror #3 and #10 approached conflicts by yelling and disagreeing with anything that went against their stance of guilty. They were using offensive communication patterns, which constitute destructive conflict. – Juror #8 was using means of constructive conflict. He was being flexible and cooperative in explaining his ‘not guilty’ verdict to the rest of the jurors. When faced with adversity or different scenarios, he carefully considered the opposing statements and proved them to be wrong or at least put doubt in the other jurors minds – Juror #2 approached conflict by being accommodating at first. He just thought the boy was guilty and didn’t know why. It was a result of groupthink in which he felt the need to agree with the majority of the group – Juror #1, who is supposed to be the foreman, makes feeble attempts at being a leader. A lot of avoiding techniques were used by him, so the other jurors wouldn’t argue or fight – Juror #5 was very passive at the beginning. He did not make an attempt until to argue any points until the evidence of the switchblade was being discussed which was honorable on his part considering that he was educated in the common usage of a switchblade – Juror #3 was very competitive. He kept interrupting and ambushing any opposing facts How conflicts develop: Reasons for why conflicts begin, nature of the conflict and the nature of the relationship Conflict development- Conflicts arise when not all members of a party are satisfied with the goal or a goal cannot be met for an assigned task (this may happen due to a various reasons) Nature of the conflict- Finding reasons for why there is conflict is necessary in solving it. The conflict can stem from the content of the conflict or the relationship Nature of the relationship- Are the conflicts not related to the task and are they solely conflicts within the relationships? The nature of relationship may also depend on how the conflict has developed or it may serve as reasons for why the conflict is continuing to be provoked Examples include: – majority of the jurors conflicts were content issues – juror #3 wa s struggling for power over the jury to stray to a guilty vote – minor conflicts can spiral into major conflicts due to things ike stress, being faced with conflict and possible failure, or even working for conditions like the heat – group members have a tendency to overreact when threats or offenses are perceived for members with more power – overreaction can have a ripple effect or chain reaction on the whole group – juror #3 spends much of his time arguing and yelling at the jurors voting not guilty in an attempt to bully them to change their vote to guilty in hopes of winning a guilty verdict – with the combination of stress from the case, the heat, and overall discomfort, the jurors lashed out at one another, therefore initiating conflict – when other jurors tried to convince juror #3 that the boy on trial was not guilty, he spiraled out of control and started yelling at everything, even to the extent of ripping up the picture of he and his son in sheer frustration – juror #3’s acts seemed too dramatic for the other jurors and also made them uncomfortable enough to leave the table Escalation and De-escalation of conflicts and whether or not they were resolved Escalation- beginning or opening of conflict, the disagreement that transforms into the problem De-escalation- point after the climax has been reached, the time in which the excitement of the conflict has ended and a resolution is soon to take place Resolution- an end to the struggle, settling the conflict, reaching an agreement Examples include: Escalation: -the conflict between the jurors was a destructive conflict because: -there was lot of shouting -also some men were verbally aggressive -One man was even physically aggressive -actually everybody was angry some were really furious, and some other were less furious -for example, #3 and #10 were mostly in charge of the conflict because they were yelling and verbally aggressive at those jurors who believed that the boy might be not guilty -they did not want to listen to them -thought that the boy is guilty and it cannot be the other way -#10 became physically aggressive because he was angry at the architect -but some jurors stopped him to prevent fighting -in addition, there were conflict spirals that escalated the conflict De-escalation/resolution: -there were lot of escalations, thus it needed to be deescalated and resolved -some jurors used the method smoothing which means calming down for example, #1 was a coach got angry because he thought that a certain person was not satisfied with his job a leader, he wanted to give up his position -but a juror came up to #1 and tried to calm him down -the juror and everybody else told him that they were satisfied with his job and that he should stay as the leader -also there was confrontation -which means like trying to solve the problem -for example, at the end #3 was the only person left who believed still that the boy was guil ty -#8 tried to talk with him about it – but he yelled, trying to convince everybody that he is right -everybody was starring at him -after all he gave up -the conflict was resolved Conclusion and conflict management within the movie The film, 12 Angry Men represented many types of conflicts and the ways in which they were managed. The film included the different types of conflict that occurred in the film, both constructive and destructive conflict and how each attributed to the goal that was ultimately reached. It also had displays of the different approaches to conflict management and the different principles of conflict management, including accommodating, collaborating, compromising, avoiding and competing which were executed by each of the different members of the jury. And the entire film was able to show us ways in which many different conflicts developed, then escalated, de-escalated, and finally came to a resolution. The film provided us with scenarios in which we c ould find ways to relate to how and when we can encounter conflicts, how to recognize them, and hopefully ways to solve them. We will write a custom essay sample on Conflict Management Essay Example specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Conflict Management Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Conflict Management Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

20 Evaluation Essay Topics Hot Issues Related to the Spatial Order in Human Visual Perception

20 Evaluation Essay Topics Hot Issues Related to the Spatial Order in Human Visual Perception Welcome to our second guide where we reveal 20 topics on the spatial order in human visual perception. These topics give you a head-start to aid in writing your essay quickly. We have also included a sample essay on the spatial order in human visual perception which will assist you in writing a better article. After reading this guide, we highly recommend that you follow up with our third piece, academic guide for evaluation essay on the spatial order in human visual perception, which states how to outline and write an evaluation essay properly. You can also revisit our first guide, 10 facts on the spatial order in human visual perception, to understand the concept better. Without further ado, here are 20 topics on the spatial order in human visual perception: How Visual Perception Works Effect of Drinking Water on the Human Eye The Ability and Significance of Perceived Depth of a Scene Why Doesn’t Our Retina Detect the Color Red Why Human Eyes Perceive an Upside Down Image Why the Retina is Front-Back Inverted How Photoreceptors Are Really Activated Why Is Peripheral Vision of the Human Eye Extremely Low Resolution What Makes a Human See So Little in Darkness Why Do Humans See Everything in â€Å"Blue† When it Is Dark Reasons Why the Brain Splits and Distorts a Visual Image in Half Is Everyone’s Visual Perception the Same or Is it Different? Why Each of Our Eyes Can’t See Different Things Simultaneously Real Benefits of Having a Pair of Eyes The Functional Architecture of Human Visual Perception The Perception of Human Spatial Order Correlation of Human Visual Perception with The Principles of Gestalt The Geometry of Human Visual Perception Order-Disorder Transition of Human Visual Perception Sensitivity of the Human Visual System to Natural Image’s Local Statistics We’ve written a sample evaluation essay on one of the above topics so you can borrow a few ideas to better carve out your essay. Spatial Order Essay Example: The Ability and Significance to Perceive Depth of a Scene Human eyes have developed the ability to see and become aware of the distance of an object – this phenomenon is known as depth perception. It starts to develop in a child who’s not more than two months old. However, it takes two eyes to develop this phenomenon. When both of these eyes look at an object, they create two images simultaneously, which are a little different from one another. Depth perception is also responsible to form an idea of length, width and height of an object. This premise functions on a subconscious level and so quickly that we are not aware of the fact that it is actually happening. However, people with one eye might find depth perception very problematic – the phenomenon works ideally in binocular disparity (two-eyed normal vision). Neurological studies, however, suggest that the human brain has the capacity to manipulate depth of a scene with monocular vision (one eyed vision) too. Depth perception is created by a process known as stereopsis. This process enables the brain to overlap two images created by our eyes that are processed with information given by parallax – an effect that creates a distinction between close and background objects by slowing down background objects rather than the objects closer to our eyes. Having monocular vision still let us experience parallax, but it’s not as good as binocular vision. Depth perception is very important to keep us safe. It is the only reason that lets us know the distance of an object or how far an object is from us. Without this phenomenon taking place in our lives, it becomes very hard to differentiate between far and close objects. For example, if a person doesn’t have proper depth perception and a car is coming in his/her direction at a velocity of 200 km/h, he/she wouldn’t know how to judge the speed of the oncoming car and how far or close it is from him/her. Poor depth perception can lead to confusion during such dire situations which leads to high fatality risks. However, since our brain can manipulate depth perception, we can train ourselves to create depth of a scene through specific exercises. Scientists actually believe that depth perception is nothing more than a pseudo-3D effect that enables us to determine length, width and height of an object; and let us know how far or close an object is to us. However, our eyes are not capable of perceiving actual three dimensions when viewing objects. If we had real 3D perception, we would have been able to see an entire 3D object at once. But having a depth perception, even if it’s a pseudo effect, is very important to performing day to day tasks without any hindrances or running into accidents. This is the end of our second guide. Next up, we have a third guide which explains how to write an evaluation essay properly – it assists you in writing the perfect evaluation essay which will no doubt be the subject of admiration by your professors. References: Paul King, 2016 â€Å"Visual Perception: What are some mind blowing facts about the human eye?† Quora  https://www.quora.com/Visual-Perception-What-are-some-mind-blowing-facts-about-the-human-eye Paul King, 2012 â€Å"Why can’t we each of our eyes to see different things simultaneously?† Quora  https://www.quora.com/Why-cant-we-control-each-of-our-eyes-to-see-different-things-simultaneously Paul King, 2016 â€Å"Why do we have two eyes?† Quora  https://www.quora.com/Why-do-we-have-two-eyes Steven Bradley, 2004 â€Å"Design Principles: Visual Perception and The Principles of Gestalt† Smashing Magazine  https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2014/03/design-principles-visual-perception-and-the-principles-of-gestalt/ Ãâ€"ÄŸmen, H., Herzog, M. H. (2010). The Geometry of Visual Perception: Retinotopic and Non-retinotopic Representations in the Human Visual System. Proceedings of the IEEE. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 98(3), 479–492. http://doi.org/10.1109/JPROC.2009.2039028 Katkov, M., Harris, H., Sagi, D. (2015). Visual perception of order-disorder transition. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 734. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00734 Paul King, 2015 â€Å"How can we see images in our minds?† Quora  https://www.quora.com/How-can-we-see-images-in-our-minds

Juvenile Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Juvenile Justice - Essay Example As a result it is at times difficult to understand the need for additional programs which are labeled as promising programs. These programs do not have the established record of delinquency prevention that the model programs do and must rely on data that is not always based in success but in the potential for success. The National Gang Center defines a promising program as the following. â€Å"Level 3 programs display a strong theoretical base and have been demonstrated to prevent delinquency and other child and youthful problems or to reduce risk factors or enhance protective factors using limited research methods (with at least single-group pretreatment and post treatment measurements). The programs in this category appear promising but must be confirmed using more rigorous scientific techniques. The main reason is that a control group is not required in the research design.† (Programs) Some of the available programs range from community based rehabilitation programs to prev ention based educational programs. The benefits of working programs are readily quantifiable however; they still must be proven to become model programs for future approaches. The process by which programs become model programs can be plagued with research problems as each researcher tends to have varying views as to what works and what does not.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Essay

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) - Essay Example The main composition of the NACCP is basically made up of African Americans membership from different parts of the United States numbering over 300,000 (Jonas 107). The NAACP has been instrumental in assisting African Americans achieve their freedom through offering various activities for free. During the early agitation for equal rights for blacks, the NAACP was in the fore front of fighting for recognition of equal right for colored people through the courts. The organization offered free legal aids to fight for the freedom of colored people as well as offer pro-bono legal aid to jailed civil rights leaders. The groups gained prominence in the 1950 and 1960’s by winning several legal battles in the pursuit of equal rights for colored people in the United States. One of the philanthropic ways in which they participated in the fight for African American rights was through establishment of a defense fund. This fund was used in fighting court battles for the emancipation of the rights of black people. ... This board is today comprised of 64 members who ran the organization with a president who is the head of the organization. Several black leaders and civil rights crusaders have worked with NAACP in fighting for equal rights of colored people in America. Politicians such as Rev. Jesse Jackson and Kweisi Mfume are known to have worked with NAACP. NAACP has been instrumental in the US elections in the past and it cannot be ruled that a lot of politicians have used the organization to harbor political ambitions. The NAACP is today very instrumental in several societal issues in the USA and in some cases it has been instrumental in aiding black get prominent roles in the society (Skocpol 93). The organization has been active from the late 1990’s till today were its voice reflects a lot on the feeling and thoughts of colored people in the society. NAACP and Civil Society The NAACP is an organization that has been on the forefront of fighting for the rights of black people. Therefore , it is noteworthy to say that NAACP has helped in the momentum and push for civil society recognition in America. For instance, their legal battle to remove segregation of colored people in the education system and in many spheres in the society has brought great equal freedom in the United States. Its fight has seen the great acceptance of colored people in the United States and colored people have risen to greater heights in the US like President Obama. Large organizations such as the NAACP today have the voice to propel the fight for freedom of greater democratic space for its members (Skocpol 87). For instance, Skocpol in her book argues that organizations like AARP or AFL-CIO have centralized and organized offices to actively fight for rights of their members. She

Revison of paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Revison of paper - Essay Example ormational Leadership in the Public Sector: Does Structure Matter,† discusses whether or not transformational leadership has a place in the public sector. C.R. Emery and K.J. Barker focus their study on the nature of job satisfaction and employee attitude in relation to the different leadership styles in the 2007 article â€Å"The Effect Of Transactional And Transformational Leadership Styles On The Organizational Commitment And Job Satisfaction Of Customer Contact Personnel.† Finally, â€Å"An Empirical Study of Leader Ethical Values, Transformational and Transactional Leadership, And Follower Attitudes toward Corporate Social Responsibility,† by K.S. Groves and M.A. LaRocca (2011), offers another perspective on the outcomes of the different leadership styles. Transactional leadership has a simple goal; maintain the status quo and overseeing the normal flow of the tasks at hand. They often use incentives or a reward system as a means to motivate their staff to work to the best of their abilities. However, transformational leadership is rather different. This sort of leader does not rely simply on hand and mouth incentives to accomplish day-to-day tasks; they inspire, encourage, and motivate their staff by altering their perspectives and assumptions about their job and importance. While transactional leadership may spawn acceptable results, transformational leadership can have a more profound long term effect on the behaviours and attitudes of the employees (Wright & Pandey, 2010). For example, transactional leaders gain company loyalty and dedication with rewards, but what happens when those rewards stop; this will also end the positive behaviours and attitudes of the staff. Those led by a transformational leader will maintain that needed loyalty based on principle and not upon rewards. Wright and Pandey’s primary question focused upon whether are not there is a presence or place in the public sector for transformational leadership? This is relevant,

Globalization Localization Product

Globalization Localization Product 1. The paradoxes of globalization vs. localisation and profitability vs. responsibility In todays continuously changing world, globalization is what every business, organization, and nation should seek and welcome as a positive change. However, many people are unaware of the main focus and meaning of globalization, especially in comparison to localization. A large number of people believe that globalization is just another common word used to refer to changes and differences that cannot be explained. Therefore, many different activities or changes are improperly labelled to be a part of or caused by globalization. Localization is the process of adapting a product or service to a particular language, culture, and desired local preferences. Ideally, a product or service is developed so that localization is relatively easy to achieve for example, by creating technical illustrations for manuals in which the text can easily be changed to another language. The process of first enabling a product to be localized and then localizing it for different national audiences is sometimes known as globalization. In localizing a product, in addition to language translation, such details as time zones, money, national holidays, local color sensitivities, product or service names, gender roles, and geographic examples must all be considered. A successfully localized service or product is one that appears to have been developed within the local culture. Globalization is also a term that refers to the process of global integration of the economies of nations by allowing the unrestricted flow of goods, services, investments and currencies between countries. The process of globalization has both positive and negative impacts on life at the individual and nationals levels. Globalization and localization are almost opposite concepts but can coexist. Globalization can briefly be defined as ‘something that affects and changes the traditional arrangements. It is a term that directly implies change and therefore is a continuous process over a long period of time as compared to quickly changing into a wanted or desirable end business system. Globalization, focusing on a narrower scale, refers to sequences that occur in ones mind or behaviour that lead to processes that evolve as people or organizations pursue their daily tasks in a hopeful attempt to accomplish their specific goals. Both globalization and localization have many costs and benefits, although not always considered when making decisions that significantly affect a group or countrys outcome. Two main benefits of globalization include it being a good way for a company to make more money and also initiate more openness between countries on the economic level. Moreover, other positive aspects of globalization include the increase in productivity and improvement in standards of living. On the other hand, the benefits of localization are more beneficial to a single state/country because it involves and allows a country to have its own specific national style of economic practices that reflect upon the countrys distinctiveness. The costs of globalization mainly comprise of giving up a countrys distinction of its politics, culture, economy where as costs of localization involve less trade and international investment. Although many people view a decrease in a countrys involvement with trade and investment as a benefit, in the long run it is a cost because it denies the country the ability to communicate with other countries and to increase its technology and status (by importing and learning about other countries products). An increase in trade would also allow a country to advertise its products and abilities and export items to different countries with high odds of making a profit. Another cost of localization is its evolution from the pressures that lead organizations to narrow their horizons and participate in dissimilar forms of behaviour not always accepted and approved by globally integrated countries. The costs of globalization are not weighed as heavily as those costs of localization because time wi ll override many of the unavoidable problems. Therefore, globalization cannot be stopped and as the political and cultural changes occur, organizations with strong economic performances will survive, succeed and replace those less productive. From an economic point of view, globalization focuses on the expansion of production and trade whereas localization focuses on more narrow and specific activities of consumers and producers. These two dynamics operate in all human activity from cultural and social to economic and political activities. From the social and cultural aspect, globalization attempts to extend its ideas and practices beyond its original and present setting whereas localization discourages new ideas, norms and practices. In addition, these two sets of dynamics are linked in a way that it seems every change in globalization causes a change in localization and vice versa. Todays world affairs and processes are greatly affected by the tensions between the different aspects and characteristics of globalization versus localization. In my opinion, the benefits of globalization discussed in this paper are far more important than its costs or the costs and benefits of localization. Although, localization and globalization will continue co-existing, globalization will continue to increasingly dominate over time because most countries are generally leading to and becoming more accepting of the idea of globalization. The benefits gained by globalization are the most important to peoples lives because it aides in the learning process of people expanding their horizons and understanding the benefits to countries, organizations, and groups working together. Although losing some part of ones national identity can be a disadvantage at times, the advantages of being able to work together and help each other in a globally integrated world are much more. It is widely known that for a business to be successful it needs to provide a good or service that is desired by the public and also to obtain a profit in providing said well or service. Now while these are the most important components to a successful business, they are not the only ones. The social responsibilities of a business include the following: environmental protection and preservation, employee safety and morale, product safety for the consumer. The financial manager must keep these three social responsibilities in mind when making any and all decisions. The purpose organizations should serve has been a puzzle for strategists over years. There are two perspectives from which this paradox could be viewed: shareholder value—profitability oriented and stakeholder value—focused on responsibility. According to the shareholder value perspective, each company is established to serve the purposes of their owners. In other words, an organization should focus on increase of its stock value through the implementation of profitable business strategies. Even though it might be in the interests of shareholders to treat stakeholders well, there is no moral obligation to do so. On the other hand, stakeholder value proponents argue that a company purpose should be seen as an agreement among shareholders, employees, banks, customers, suppliers, governments and community and an entity should orient on the interests and values of its stakeholders. Stakeholders value perspective assumes that an organization should serve the interests of all parties that can be influenced by its activities or are somehow involved into the company operations. Even though all stakeholders are interested in the company profitability, there are also other business areas on which stakeholders place high value such as quality is demanded by customers; job security, occupational safety, good working conditions are required by employees; prompt payments, shared risk taking, secure demand are preferred by suppliers. Therefore, maximizing shareholders value to the detriment of the other stakeholders interests would be unjust. That is the emphasis that major shareholders place on stock pric e appreciation and dividends must be balanced against the legitimate demands of other parties. The choice of the major company purpose—the reason for which an organization exists is the essential one because it defines what will be the company mission i.e. the business philosophy that should guide strategic choices i.e. who should ensure that the strategies pursued are in accordance with the mission. If the company purpose is clearly specified, it will give direction to the strategy process and influence the strategy content. Moreover, the values share by an organizations members may have an impact on strategic choices and thus the company mission. 2. Grupo Elektra analysis For analyzing the performance of Grupo Elektra one of the helpful techniques is to scan the internal and external environment of the company with application of the SWOT analysis at different stages of its development in a chronological order. Environmental factors internal to the company can be classified as strengths (S) and weaknesses (W), and those external to the firm are opportunities (O) and threats (T). The following is the SWOT analysis for Grupo Elektra. Internal environmental factors: STRENGTHS Grupo Elektra was the first Mexican manufacturer of TV sets that allowed introducing a new product at the market. Ricardo Salinas, Elektras new CEO, employed a group of talented and competent professional managers. As a result the company had a competitive advantage in future business development based on the excellent management team that allowed achieving quality levels with greater efficiency, while other competitors was based on the trial and error approach. The company profits were properly divided: for distribution to employees, for commercial reinvestment and the product/service development. This rational division of profits allowed further continuous development of the company accompanied with employees motivated to put much effort into there work. In 1995, the company had extended its service range (domestic wire transfer, extended warranty program, photo products and processing services, as well as saving accounts) that strengthened its position at the market. The distribution network was increased to more than 500 stores all over Mexico that made Elektras products more available to customers. With four different chains (Elektra, Bodega de Remates, Salinas y Rocha and The One) Grupo Elektra covered 87% of the Mexican population it means that the company was monopolistic. The business plan for the international expansion is made by Filiberto Jimenez in order to attack the main competitor La Curacao. The plan successfully worked and in 2001 La Curacao went bankrupt that allowed Elektra redouble companys position at the Latin America market. Elektra offered 20% lower prices than it closest competitor La Curacao that gave a possibility to deserve the customers loyalty. The major factor in Elektras success was the partnership with TV Azteca. The channel did not advertise any of Elektras competitors that allow company to create unique image and to be very effective with advertising efforts. Elektra had a huge media budget of $27 million per year and it was the largest advertiser in Mexico, in terms of airtime. The strategy followed by Elektra requires careful analyses before any merger or acquisition is made and any acquisition should result in the additional value to the whole company. The strong side of the Grupo Elektra management is a well prepared and experienced management team and motivating techniques applied to employees, people are allowed with freedom to express themselves. WEAKNESSES In the management of the company there is only one person, Alvaro Rodriguez, who makes final decisions. This limited decision power may lead to difficulties in further management of Elektra. The company has a problem with the production of cloth for the clothing chain The One. The production capacity was not enough, so there were the shortage of stock level, colors and sizes of cloths. The company is not concentrated on one kind of business, there are many business directions and not all of them are enough qualified. In El Salvador and the Dominican Republic the existed Elektras business model didnt work. The main source of companys income is financial services, such as credits. The Elektra tries to attract more and more people to live on a credit and to pay quite high interest rates. External environmental factors: OPPORTUNITIES Offering Elektras services internationally provided the opportunities to compete at the worldwide market. In year 2001 Grupo Elektra was already a well recognized in many countries. THREATS Evaluation of management and suggested solutions As SWOT analyses demonstrates strengths prevail over weaknesses in Elektra case that explains continuous prosperity and success of the company in the market. However, certain weaknesses still present and are better to be eliminated. First of all, the management is performed by a group of well prepared managers while the final decision is always made only by one person, while others are not informed what principles and criteria are followed in making decisions. It is a risky strategy since biases the success of the company toward the decision of Alvaro. Moreover, it will be rather difficult in the future to replace Alvaro Rodriguez with anyone who will be equally active, smart and so well informed about the business of the company. More people should participate in the decision making process in order to avoid subjectivity and provide necessary support to the next CEO if something happens to Alvaro Rodriguez. From one side, the Elektra system perpetuates such type of culture where lower-income groups owe their lives or earnings to a central figure in this case Elektra owner Ricardo Salinas Pliego. For example, Elektra employs 4,000 â€Å"investigators† so every potential credit client can be visited at home before a credit sale is approved. From another point of view, the Elektra gives the chance of purchasing new things immediately and it makes peoples life better.

A Fools Payment Essay -- essays papers

A Fools Payment A Fool’s Payment In the short story, â€Å"The Necklace,† a greedy and selfish woman brings financial ruin upon herself and her husband. They go from a comfortable lifestyle in a slightly shabby apartment to an impoverished existence in an attic apartment. Mathilde Loisel was born to a lower middle class French family, but she wished that she could have of noble birth. Her longing for a better life caused her great grief. When she could have been happy with her situation in life, instead she would dream of a grand home and wealthy, dignified friends. When she borrowed a diamond necklace from a friend and lost it at an elegant party, she brought downfall to her husband and herself. Not only does Guy de Maupassant use the necklace as a vehicle for the hard times that the Loisels had to endure, but he also uses it as a symbol to teach a lesson about the repercussions of greed, ruin, and regret. To begin with, Maupassant displayed the necklace as everything that Mathilde had ever desired. The necklace was â€Å"†¦superb†¦and [Mathilde’s] heart throbbed with desire for it† (Maupassant 6). Mathilde had her choice of â€Å"†¦bracelets,†¦a pearl necklace,†¦a Venetian cross of finely worked gold and gems† (Maupassant 6), but instead she chose to take the most expensive and finest looking bauble in her friend’s jewel box. The diamond necklace revealed to the reader that Mathilde no only wanted the finest things, but she also wanted the most luxurious and expensive ones to be...

Christianity and Justice Essay

Christianity emphasises justice, while others emphasise compassion; this statement is fundamental in the belief of Christians. Justice means to have moral rightness that is based on ethics, civil laws, natural laws and religion. One of the Ten Commandments states, â€Å"Love thy neighbor as thy self†. This Statement was repeated seven times in the Bible, once in the Old Testament and six times in the New Testament. It is quite clear to me that our capacity to have this kind of love must be foremost in the mind of God, this also demonstrates that all individuals should be treated equally and as you would like others to treat you. Justice equated to equality. The Christian bible has many examples from both the old and New Testament that gives examples of Jesus wanting all his followers to treat each other in a just way. E. g. when he came across a lady who had been caught in the act of adultery and the crowds wanted to stone her to death and Jesus reminded them that they were all guilty of sin and they he who had not sinned should cast the first stone. Jesus throughout the many encounters with believers and non-believers has spread the message of justice and peace. In Isaiah 56:1 this is what the Lord says â€Å"Maintain justice and do what is right, ? for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed. This conveys Christianity as a religion, is based on the belief that all people should be treated equally and those who fault should be forgiven. It is a religion based on forgiveness and therefore a religion, which places value on justice. Example from the New Testament is Luke 16 – The Rich Man and the Beggar, the is about a rich man who was greedy and did not share his wealth nor listed to the guidance that was offered to him while on earth and the beggar who lived a poor but good life and shared what little he had with others. On death both men were judged by God and the rich man asked if he could return to warn his bothers so that they could change their ways and God answered that all people are treated equally and all have the same opportunities to follow his example and that he would not be given special privileged just because he was rich on earth. An example of a similar scenario is the quote â€Å"Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit† found in Matthew 5:1-13 Throughout the ages the faith of Christianity continues to demonstrate that its followers choose to live a life based on justice that comes from equality. The church does not value its members by their individual wealth or social standing and many not for profit organizations are Christian based. These were commenced to give people Christian or otherwise a fair go and an opportunity to participate on an equal standing in our community. Families who take advantage of this assistance do so in times of hardship. Organizations such as Centacare – Catholic community services or Anglicare – Anglican based are there to service the community, as a whole regardless of religious believes. Their service to the community is to ensure a level of equality for all. Jesus’ teachings were about looking after one another, being equal and not judging or discriminating against someone. Martin Luther was determined to focus on Jesus’ teachings, as the â€Å"somewhat corrupt† practices performed by the Vatican became Particularly troubling to him, as it was against the nature of divine justice, which Jesus had once shown. Martin Luther wanted the adherents of Christianity to be able to access the teachings of Jesus Christ without the Vatican selling indulgences, which was basically the buying of forgiveness of sins instead of repentance and/or penance. In conclusion, I believe the quote â€Å"Christianity emphasises Justice, while others emphasise compassion† is still in practice in today’s society as it was in the days of Jesus.

Multinational Company Requirements

Discuss the factors that a multinational company needs to consider in setting up a factory in a developing country? (20) A multinational company is any organization that has its headquarters in one country, but with operating branches, factories and assembly plants in other countries. A factory is an industrial building where workers gather and concentrate resources to manufacture goods and operate machine processing one product to another i. e. value adding. Developing country is a nation that is poor and whose citizens are mostly agricultural workers but it wants to become more advanced socially and economically.It is a nation with a low living standard, undeveloped industrial base, and low Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. Factors needed to be considered in setting up a factory:- * Natural Routes * Site Requirement * Access to the market * Availability of raw materials * Skilled labour * Power Supply * Industrial Linkage or Strategic Importance * Governmen t incentives One of the factors needed to be considered is the Site requirement. In developing country the land rents and values are cheaper so it’s an advantage to the company.The Land must be cheap, flat, undulating, and well-drained so that the construction of the factory is economical and environmentally friendly. The land chosen must be competent enough for alterations when considered necessary. Moreover, the climate and weather conditions at the site are favorable for production of goods throughout the year. Another factor is the access to the Natural Routes. The firm would be of great benefit if there is major land or sea route for transportation of raw materials and industrial goods. Road, Rail and Air Transport are available. This would give speedy and cost-effective transport.Other factors are the access and availability to the market place and raw materials. The distance between the site and market or raw material’s site should be brief and rapid enough for greater, inexpensive and reliable supply of raw materials and industrial goods. The raw materials should be available at an affordable and discounted price. One other factor is the presence of skilled labor force. Factory should be situated in an area where cheap work-force is on hand. A decent numbers and ample variety of workers are available, with reasonable skilled and knowledge, at or near the site.Another factor is the presence of power supply. There should be ample sources of power like electricity and gas, with an adequate amount and at cut-rates. The factory should be situated in an area where government may provide incentives and reduce taxes. The incentives could be in form of grants, low interest rates, simplified planning procedures and training. Another factor is industrial linkage or Strategic Reason. The firm should be established in area which is closed to linkage industries such as suppliers and customers from which some benefit could be gained.It should be apart f rom similar and rival organization in order to reduce competition and gain greater market share in that area. Perhaps the major factor that a multinational company needs to consider is the choice of the developing country. The chosen country should have good communication links with the country where headquarters of the multinational firm is located. The country shouldn’t be that much meager and poverty-stricken that sales aren’t lucrative and corporation doesn’t prosper. Language, legal and cultural differences with local workers and government officials could lead to misunderstandings.The host country or chosen country’s policies should be favorable and these ethnic and literary divergences are overcome. Consequently, a multinational organization should set up factory in that location which satisfies all these aspects. However, it is unlikely that all the factors will be available at any one particular location. So the location for a factory is to be ch osen in such a way, that the total cost of bringing all the inputs together, producing the goods, and distributing the products to the market, are minimized and maximum profit is generated.

Free Essays on English Bill Of RIghts

English Bill of Rights The English Bill of Rights set out strict limits on the Royal Family's legal privileges. It strictly prohibited the arbitrary suspension of Parliament's laws. More importantly, it limited the right to raise money through taxation to Parliament. The English elite had greatly offended the protestant Church of England when they began promoting the Roman Catholic religion, in spite of laws that Parliament had passed. Soon after William of Orange and his wife Mary were crowned King and Queen of England. (Mary was actually the daughter of the deposed King James II) in Westminster Abbey on April 11, 1689. As part of their oaths, the new King William III and Queen Mary were required to swear that they would obey the laws of Parliament. The Bill was completely passed through Parliament after the coronation ceremony for William and Mary. On December 16, 1689, the King and Queen gave it Royal Assent, which represented the end of the concept of divine right of kings. The Bill of Rights was designed to control the power of kings and queens. Another key factor was to make them subject to laws passed by Parliament. This has formally been called the "bloodless revolution" or the "glorious revolution." The Bill of Rights was one of three very important laws made at this time. The other two were the 1689 Toleration Act (which promoted religious toleration) and the 1694 Triennial Act, which prevented the King from dissolving Parliament at his will and held that general elections had to be held every three years... Free Essays on English Bill Of RIghts Free Essays on English Bill Of RIghts English Bill of Rights The English Bill of Rights set out strict limits on the Royal Family's legal privileges. It strictly prohibited the arbitrary suspension of Parliament's laws. More importantly, it limited the right to raise money through taxation to Parliament. The English elite had greatly offended the protestant Church of England when they began promoting the Roman Catholic religion, in spite of laws that Parliament had passed. Soon after William of Orange and his wife Mary were crowned King and Queen of England. (Mary was actually the daughter of the deposed King James II) in Westminster Abbey on April 11, 1689. As part of their oaths, the new King William III and Queen Mary were required to swear that they would obey the laws of Parliament. The Bill was completely passed through Parliament after the coronation ceremony for William and Mary. On December 16, 1689, the King and Queen gave it Royal Assent, which represented the end of the concept of divine right of kings. The Bill of Rights was designed to control the power of kings and queens. Another key factor was to make them subject to laws passed by Parliament. This has formally been called the "bloodless revolution" or the "glorious revolution." The Bill of Rights was one of three very important laws made at this time. The other two were the 1689 Toleration Act (which promoted religious toleration) and the 1694 Triennial Act, which prevented the King from dissolving Parliament at his will and held that general elections had to be held every three years...

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness Research Paper - 1

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness - Research Paper Example However, in the past few years, the company has implemented different changes in its business processes to offer its products. The top management of Amazon.com with the support of its founder Jeff Bezos, separated the trading platforms with on geographical grounds such that individual trading sites are developed to offer the products and services for consumers of UK, USA, Canada, Japan, China, Germany, France, Italy and other countries. There are two main reasons for bringing such global change in its business operations. Firstly, Amazon.com targeted the specific consumer needs for each geographical territory and aimed at catering the local customers through local platforms i.e. a decentralized platform. Secondly, the company managed to invest in the logistics and operations in different parts of the world on local basis. This means that the company has established the local supply chain in different countries and the products are not shipped from its global warehouses to a customer in a particular country, rather local orders are fulfilled through using local warehouses and logistics. Industrial Organization Model and Resource based Model Industrial organization model reflects that the external environment of any business poses a large influence upon the earnings of an organization as compared to the internal environment of any business (Johnson, Scholes, & Whittington, 2008). Amazon.com initially opted a business of e-retailing the books and similar reading content material and kept polishing this product line. However, this product line turned out to be a niche market for Amazon.com, as the company’s earnings remained stuck because several other online book retailers saturated this market as well as the market itself lost its momentum and showed a declining phase. Realizing this phase at an early stage, the top management of Amazon.com decided to enter into new product lines while staying as an e-retailer. New product lines provided Amazon.com a bette r opportunity to penetrate into other industries rather quickly as well as earning above average returns because of having an already established supply chain. From the resource based model perspective, the resources, which Amazon.com currently has, are quite capable of providing it the competitive advantage (Pitts & Lei, 2006). The most promising and trustworthy resource is the logistics and supply chain infrastructure. The company has developed its logistic infrastructure across the world on local basis such that if the specific consumer of a country orders a product, that product can be delivered through local supply chain within the least amount of time. Another resource which acts as a competence to Amazon.com is its highly dependable and secure Web-based IT infrastructure which ensures the safe transactions and privacy elements for the customers and eliminates the likelihood of system failure. Impact of Mission and Vision Statement Following are the mission and vision statemen ts of Amazon.com: Mission Statement â€Å"We seek to be Earth’s most customer-centric company for four primary customer sets: consumers, sellers, enterprises, and content creators.† (Amazon.com, 2012). The above mission statement of Amazon.com provides the company a room for several different areas such as the company has not confined its purpose of business operations to a specific

Social work research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Social work research - Essay Example Early diagnosis and interference in toddlers with learning disorders makes a considerable development in self-confidence and communal capability, which facilitates them in opening doors of chances in school and in the field of work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Perin (1990) has shown in his work that the students with learning disabilities have above average or high intellectual capability. If they are provided with suitable support and instructions, then they can succeed in college academic programs. The community care has been provided to the students with learning disabilities in New York. The faculties of City University of New York (CUNY) and State University of New York (SUNY) have emphasized on the need of the students with learning disabilities (Perin, 1990, p. 2). Adams, Dominelli and Payne (1998) have debated that the communal worker’s main concern is ensuring that the public can handle or deal sufficiently with their lives. Under this approach, the community workers do not approve a theraupetic-helping role. Their involvements are much more practical –generally passing on information about sources and potentials (Adams, Dominelli and Payne, 1998, p. 4). The stress on effects in the present competency –based strategies to social work is reliable to an ethical point of view that ignores procedures. The practitioners essentially want to avoid this position that follows the anti-oppressive strategies (Adams, Dominelli and Payne, 1998, p. 8). Humphries (2000) portrayed that in a social model, disabilities arise from society’s breakdown to meet the obligations of the disabled individuals. It has been debated that conventional positivist and empirical research examples are repressive and alienating to loads of research subjects. It often deprives people and not leads to any development to their material situations (Humphries, 2000, p. 110). Lowes and Hulatt