Stereotyping in an Organisation - 880 Words

Stereotyping In An Organization The fact that people are always judged for their actions and behavior could be one of the biggest problems in an organization. Stereotyping is a fixed notion of people, coming up with their own assumption and judgment even before giving the respective a chance to explain the reason for both their actions and behavior. Stereotyping is a closure in which each individual blocks the opportunities of what people really are. People often take in all the information they feel most comfortable with and then close up. Thus, stereotypes are formed. There are many different kinds of stereotype that can go round in an organization. Such as gender, sex, status, etc. All these are formed because people are not†¦show more content†¦However, there are some countries that actually legalize gay marriages and are at the advantage because the gays would definitely move there as they have found a place that accepts them for who they really are without being judged. For organizations to be successful, they have to learn how to be more open-minded about such sensitive issues. They must be able to accept and deal with diversity. Respecting an individual for who they are is very important for relationship bonding as it promotes trust that will definitely result in better teamwork. Research Question: How much influence does stereotyping have on an organization? Research Objectives: * To find out the many different types of stereotypes that can be found in an organization. * To determine the cause of stereotyping and how they are linked to the success of an organization. * To identify ways to reduce stereotyping and how to motivate employees. Getting information from the people on the job has always been the best way for overcoming a problem as it all starts from them. Therefore getting feedback is important. Firstly, managers can occasionally conduct meetings with their employees and have them voice out their unhappiness. Secondly, managers must try to understand the reasons for their employees’ unhappiness so as to be able to work on them. Lastly, the organization must be able toShow MoreRelatedCase Analysis : Hy Dairies, Inc. Essay1394 Words   |  6 Pages25/10/2016 â€Æ' Abstract This paper is prepared as an analysis of the case of Hy Dairies, Inc. This will mainly focus on showing the affects of stereotyping in organisations in the real world, taking the incident that occurred at HY Dairies, Inc. It will also try to provide ways which organisations can adopt to minimize stereotypes or its affects as seen in the organisation. Here, the case would also be tried to be analysed by applying all the possible concepts and theories learned throughout the course ofRead MoreThe Ad Campaign By The Un Women Organization952 Words   |  4 PagesThe Ad campaign by the UN Women organisation began in March 2013 when two people, Memac Ogilvy Mather Dubai, who discovered widespread prevalence of sexism and discrimination against women, based on genuine searches on the search engine Google. The advertisements use four women from different cultures along with search results attached to their faces. Below each face there is a message by the UN in relation to the searches being depicted. To some extent most of the search results haveRead MoreCross-Cultural Film Analysis - Gattaca1230 Words   |  5 Pagesconfident and actually refuses to go ahead with the plan. He is talked around by the real Jerome, who needs the money to pay for his alcohol addiction, and prepares himself to lie and cheat just to succeed. Situations similar to this are played out in organisations regularly where people are prepared to lie, cheat and steal to gain success, typically financial success; and management must deal with effectively. As time goes on Vincent gradually adjusts to the new expectations of within the Gattaca CorporationRead MoreCompetency in Recruitment Selection1204 Words   |  5 Pageslong term goals. These areas of expertise may be in any area but are most likely to develop in the critical, central areas of the company where the most value is added to it’s products. â€Å"Core competencies are the collective learning in the organisation, especially how to coordinate diverse production skills and integrate multiple streams of technologies’ Prahalad and Hamel 1990. Originally seen as a way to measure performance and help with the training and development of existing staff, theRead MoreThe Changing Workforce1009 Words   |  5 Pagesand chances are it looks very different now than it did a decade ago. It’s impossible to determine when, what and where the changes will happen, but the business landscape will keep shifting. The fact that due to both economic and the society, organisations will go under changes constantly doesn’t mean that employees like it. (Harvard Business School Press, Society for Human Resource Management, 2005) Workforce in companies nowadays has become more diverse in terms of gender, race/ethnicity, generationRead MoreThe Glass Ceiling Effect Stand Between Men And Women Employees Essay889 Words   |  4 Pagesceiling study criterion focuses on instances of gender stereotyping, diversity in the workplace and who is accountable for driving gender equality changes. Leadership – This refers to the behaviours and leadership styles, the characteristics of male/female leaders and the leadership stereotyping within the workplace. Dependent Variable The measurement for the glass ceiling effect will be dependent on career focus and attitude towards to organisation. Career focus refers to the interest of an employeeRead MoreAgeism : Prejudice Or Discrimination Against A Particular Age Group And Especially The Elderly1960 Words   |  8 Pagesespecially the elderly.† Ageism is a form of stereotyping that can be pernicious to organisations by creating a platform for discrimination and further conflict. Ageism occurs quite regularly within organisations, whether it is directly or unknowingly, and intervention methods need to be employed to stop this conflict from arising. Stereotypes have long been prevalent in society, they are a part of our everyday lives – they are everywhere. â€Å"Stereotyping is the process of assigning traits to peopleRead MoreDo Men Make Better Managers Than Women?1413 Words   |  6 Pagesthat enable both genders to be good managers. Furthermore there will be a focus on the history of both me n and women in management, which will show how women have generally being regarded as being misrepresented within management due to gender stereotyping. Traditional sex role stereotypes state that males are more masculine in the workplace showing signs of being self-reliant, aggressive, competitive and good at decisive decision making (Powell, 1990). However females show signs of being more feminineRead MoreAttribution Theory On The Decision Making Process Of Tom And Amy1228 Words   |  5 Pagestheory. Draw on the mini-case to identify and explain three biases or errors that may affect the decision-making process of Tom and Amy. Discuss why attribution theory is important in relation to organisational behaviour and decision-makers in organisations. Attribution theory, as a powerful model for explaining and exploring decision making in the job selection, which helps us to determine whether an individual’s behaviour is internally or externally caused. The attribution to which behaviour isRead MoreThe Conflict Process Model and Its Application in Organisational Settings2073 Words   |  9 Pagesorder to manage conflict. It will further evaluate the consequences and drawbacks from stereotyping particular cultural groups and analyse the role and responsibility of the management in understanding the cause of conflicts and specifically cross-cultural conflict and how they could be solved effectively. Conflict process model Conflicts are the issues that arise between different parties in an organisation that can cause a rift between the workers. Conflict is instigated by many different sources

State-of-the-Art Et Application Practices Free Essays

?HI EMAS State-of-the-art ET Application practices * Looking through progressive state policies that support technology-in-education, and other new developments in pedagogical practice, our educators today have become more aware and active in adopting state-of-the-art educational technology practices they can possibly adopt. Introduction * Educators have become more aware and active in adopting state-of-the-art educational technology practices they can possibly adopt today. Computer Literacy and Competence – Don’t invest in technology hardware/system that may become a white elephant in a few years More recent ET in education practice * It is now accepted that the contribution of the computer to pedagogy makes up for â€Å"good instruction. We will write a custom essay sample on State-of-the-Art Et Application Practices or any similar topic only for you Order Now † * Teachers must therefore acquire or improve on their computer skills, as well as their â€Å"computers-in-the-classroom† skills. Trends that should be recognized by educators * Through school or training center computer courses, students have become computer literate. Teachers have deemphasized rote learning and have spent more time in methods to allow students to comprehend/internalize lessons. * Students assessment/examinations have included measurement of higher learning outcomes such as creative thinking skills. * Recent teaching-learning models (such as constructivism and social constructivism) have paved for instructional approaches in which students rely less on teachers as information-givers, and instead more on their efforts to acquire information, build their own knowledge, and solve problems. These trends and new levels of learning require the appropriate use of state-of-the-art instruction and the use of IT, tapping the computer’s information and communication tools (such as word processors, databases, spreadsheets, presentation software, e-mail, Internet conferencing, etc. ) Obstacles to IT pedagogical practice * Use of the computer is time-consuming and expensive. The fear that computers may soon replace teachers. * Ensure tha t the use of ET is fitted to learning objectives. * Teachers should acquire computer skills, serving as models in integrating technology in the teaching-learning process. Fostering a student-centered learning environment * Virtue is in moderation and so, there is truly a need for teachers to balance their time to the preparation and application of instructional tools. Through wise technical advice, schools can also acquire the most appropriate computer hardware and software. At the same time, training should ensure that the use of ET is fitted to learning objectives. In addition, teachers should acquire computer skills for so that they can serve as models in integrating educational technology in the teaching-learning process. SYSTEMATIC INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING PROCESS * All these suggestions show that teachers and schools can no longer avoid the integration of educational technology in instruction. Especially in the coming years, when portable and mobile computing will make computing activities easier to perform, the approaches to classroom pedagogy must change. And with continuing changes in high-speed communication, mass storage of data, including the revolutionary changes among school libraries, educators should be open for more drastic educational changes in the years ahead. How to cite State-of-the-Art Et Application Practices, Papers

Hell is Just a Social Thing free essay sample

Sartre once said, â€Å"Hell is other people†. Don’t you agree? What causes us to do things we normally wouldn’t do? Sneaking out of the house at night, texting words you would never dare normally say, hang with the wrong crowd. Their sultry poisonous words of wrong somehow erode into our imperfect minds and cause a hormonal misbalance that creates another personality that wreaks the havoc. It is what others do and say to us that makes hell. What causes emotional stress? He cheated on you, your best friend moved away, they all called you an ugly pig. We experience grief when a loved one passes away. People hurt when people hurt them. It is others that cause hell. Hell is a social thing. The more we socialize, the more pins we set up to be knocked down and the harder life throws that bowling ball. But without social interaction, there wouldn’t be a human species, no life, maybe even no Earth. We will write a custom essay sample on Hell is Just a Social Thing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page So who’s to say that Earth isn’t just a compilation of Hell?

Do I need God to be moral or happy

The creation of earth and man has remained a mystery that has enabled religious commentators and scientists to put forward spirited theories to explain their existence. However, critics too have come up with facts challenging the reports by denouncing their authenticity. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Do I need God to be moral or happy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The existence of man and earth though can be traced to a deity with supernatural powers who out of his love, decided to create them. It is only this idea that has had supportive documents in the form of holy books such as the Koran, the Bible, and the Jews’ scrolls, etc that dates back to several years. Consequently, this paper offers proposed knowledge on life and the relationship between God and man. Existence of man is thus a well calculated art of invention that was carried out by God himself; hence man is a child of God. This would lea d to the next perplexity which examines God’s possible identity. God is the father of man and created the earth so that man could find a home to live in thus God is supreme and holy. Man has power over the earthly gifts since mankind is an image of God. It is this special privilege that prompted God to provide and enforce his commandments in form of laws to govern every generation of man. Moses of the Old Testament was entrusted with the laws on Mount Sinai where rules and regulations guiding the human race were spelt out. Any opposition to these laws was therefore seen to be sinful. The origin of sin can trace back to the beginning of life when God’s first creation sinned against him after an encounter with Satan who duped them. Satan is the mastermind of sin and also the author of all evil on earth. It is believed that Satan was once an angel in heaven which is the throne of God, but was ejected for challenging God’s authority. Since Satan had nowhere to go to, he decided to come to earth and swore to make as many people as possible become rebellious to God as a way of seeking revenge. Due to this demonic intention, Satan has been seen to be behind every tribulation that has dogged man in the entire generation. God too has countered this wretched mission of Satan, by promising those who live righteously, for a better life through reincarnation and eternal life according to the Islam and Christian beliefs respectively. Those who shall have not changed by advocating for evil will perish according to the Muslim faithful or death by fire popular to the Christian beliefs.Advertising Looking for essay on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More God’s purpose is hence very noble and gives room for mankind to make a choice. It leads us to the next detail on discretion; wisdom is as old as the earth itself. King Solomon of the Old Testament exhibited his wisdom by arbitrating o n a dispute between two women who were contesting on parentage issues. Having resolved the issue through his immense wealth of wisdom, Solomon was named the wise king and always used his knowledge to bring warring parties together. The kind of wisdom seen here is so ancient and relevant even by today’s standards. Wisdom is deep knowledge and basically grows overtime through age and experience encountered before, this makes the older generation wiser than the younger generation. Ancient wisdom is truly superior and should be the foundation of knowledge on earth today. It is clear then, that knowledge and evidence goes hand in hand thereby defining empiricism. It is from this conviction of facts that I consider myself an empiricist since I feel convinced that wisdom is not innate but knowledge acquired from experience. Knowledge can also be adopted through any form of learning and it is because of this factor that I conceive in God’s creation having got an opportunity of attending madras classes and an in depth information from the holy book of Koran. Having seen the importance of God in human life, the subsequent submission of man to the wishes of God leads to mental and spiritual strength. Both items arise from the human conscience which dictates on character and other traits. God’s plan is to save mankind from evil, its quiet obvious that moral sanity comes from good teachings. These teachings propagate on good values such as joy, honesty, love and so on. All these values are God’s gifts that can only attach to good people. It is pretty fine to say that God dwells in a peaceful place guided by good morals. Morality here refers to accepted behaviors in man usually guided by Godly teachings. For example, abortion is sinful according to the Muslim faith since life is sanctified by God. So, the act of abortion is immoral .on the other hand, ethics simply dictate on morality. For instance, rules guiding a work environment such as ad hering to the dressing code show good ethics. It is apparent therefore that, morality is synonymous with good behaviors while ethics are the universally accepted codes guiding such behaviours.It is from these reasons that I offer my full devotion to God in my opinion as a true Muslim. This essay on Do I need God to be moral or happy was written and submitted by user Taraji Monroe to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Michael Collins, Astronaut of Apollo 11 Mission

Michael Collins, Astronaut of Apollo 11 Mission Astronaut Michael Collins has often been called the forgotten astronaut. He flew to the Moon aboard Apollo 11 in July 1969, but never set foot there. During the mission, Collins orbited the Moon, doing photography and keeping the command module ready to receive moonwalkers Neil Armstrong  and Buzz Aldrin when they finished their surface mission. Fast Facts: Michael Collins Born: October 31, 1930, in Rome, ItalyParents: James Lawton Collins, Virginia Stewart CollinsSpouse: Patricia Mary FinneganChildren: Michael, Ann, and Kathleen Collins  Education: United States  Military Academy at West Point, Harvard UniversityMilitary Career: U.S. Air Force, Experimental Flight School, Edwards Air Force BaseNASA Accomplishments: Gemini astronaut, pilot of the Apollo 11 Command Module, flew to the Moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Armstrong.  Interesting Fact: Collins is a watercolor painter of Everglades scenes and aircraft.   Early Life Michael Collins was born on October 31, 1930, to James Lawton Collins and his wife Virginia Stewart Collins. His father was stationed in Rome, Italy, where Collins was born. The elder Collins was a career Army man, and the family moved quite often. Eventually, they settled in Washington, D.C., and Michael Collins attended St. Albans school before leaving to attend college at the United States Military Academy at West Point.   Collins graduated West Point on June 3, 1952, and immediately entered the United States Air Force to become a pilot. He took flight training in Texas. In 1960, he joined the USAF Experimental Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base. Two years later, he applied to become an astronaut and was accepted into the program in 1963.   Collinss NASA Career Astronaut Michael Collins in his official NASA portrait. NASA   Michael Collins entered NASA in the third group of astronauts ever selected. By the time he joined the program, he had studied spaceflight basics as a graduate student, along with other future astronauts Joe Engle and Edward Givens. Astronaut Charlie Bassett (who died in a crash before he could fly in space) was also a classmate. During training, Collins specialized in extravehicular activity (EVA) planning for the Gemini program, as well as spacesuits for use during spacewalks.  He was assigned to the Gemini mission as the backup and flew aboard the Gemini 10 mission on July 18, 1966. It required Collins and his crewmate astronaut John Young to rendezvous with the Agena vehicles. They also performed other tests, and Collins did two spacewalks during their time on orbit.   Going to the Moon Upon his return to Earth, Collins began training for an Apollo mission. Eventually, he was assigned to Apollo 8. Due to some medical issues, Collins did not fly that mission but was instead assigned as the Capsule Communicator (known as Capcom) for that mission. His job was to handle all communications with Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders on the flight. Following that mission, NASA announced the first team to go to the Moon: Neil Armstrong and Edwin Buzz Aldrin to land and explore, and Michael Collins to be Command Module pilot orbiting the Moon. Astronaut Michael Collins, command module pilot of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission, studies flight plan during simulation training at the Kennedy Space Center in preparation for the mission. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images The three men lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center on the Apollo 11 mission on July 16, 1969.  Four days later, the Eagle lander separated from the command module, with Armstrong and Aldrin headed to the Moon. Collins job was to maintain the orbiter, follow the mission on the surface of the Moon, and photograph the Moon. Then, when the other two were ready, dock with their Eagle lander and bring the other two men back to safety. Collins performed his duties and in later years, admitted that he was very worried about Armstrong and Aldrin landing safely and getting back. The mission was a success, and upon their return, the three astronauts were heralded around the world as heroes.   Apollo 11 astronauts (L-R) Aldrin, Collins, Armstrong peering out window of quarantine room aboard recovery ship Hornet following splashdown fr. historic moon mission. The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images / Getty Images A New Career Path After the successful Apollo 11 flight, Michael Collins was tapped to join government service, where he was made the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs late in 1969, serving under President Richard Nixon. He held that position until 1971, when he took over as Director of the National Air and Space Museum. Collins held that job until 1978 and then was appointed the undersecretary of the Smithsonian Institution (the parent body over the Air and Space Museum).   Since leaving the Smithsonian, Michael Collins has studied at Harvard Business School and served as vice president of LTV Aerospace. Hes also written several books, including his autobiography titled Carrying the Fire. He is also well-known as a watercolor painter, focusing on scenes in Florida and also on spacecraft and aircraft subjects.   Awards and Legacy Michael Collins is a retired USAF general  and belongs to a number of organizations, such as the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He was also inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame. Over the years, Collins has been given many awards and honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, and NASAs Distinguished Service Medal. A lunar crater is named for him, as well as an asteroid. In a rare and unique honor, due to his involvement in several movies and TV, Collins and his fellow astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame dedicated to the Apollo 11 astronauts. He also appeared in a documentary about his flight to the Moon.   Collins was married to Patricia Mary Finnegan until her death in 2014. He remains an active and sought-after public speaker and continues painting and writing. Sources Chandler, David L., and MIT News Office. â€Å"Michael Collins: ‘I Could Have Been the Last Person to Walk on the Moon.’† MIT News, 2 Apr. 2015, news.mit.edu/2015/michael-collins-speaks-about-first-moon-landing-0402.Dunbar, Brian. â€Å"NASA Honors Apollo Astronaut Michael Collins.† NASA, NASA, www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2006/jan/HQ_M06012_Collins.html.NASA, NASA, er.jsc.nasa.gov/seh/collinsm.htm.Nasa. â€Å"Michael Collins: The Lucky, Grumpy Astronaut - The Boston Globe.† BostonGlobe.com, 22 Oct. 2018, www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2018/10/21/michael-collins-the-lucky-grumpy-astronaut/1U9cyEr7aRPidVuNbDDkfO/story.html.

Trifles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Trifles - Essay Example cture, including altering the starting and stopping points to some degree or another to either sharpen or soften the impact of the climax, it is true that most of our most popular stories follow this basic concept. However, Susan Glaspell, author of Trifles, has been accused of completely abandoning this basic structural framework within the play, creating instead a meandering, pointless and climax-less exposition that communicates its power through the very powerlessness of its main characters and the absence of the primary protagonist. A closer understanding of the basic plotline of the story reveals that Glaspell did not abandon this common structure, but instead placed it in an unusual context, purposely de-emphasizing the climax to illustrate the necessary actions of women with little to no power of their own. The play begins with the entrance of two women and three men into a gloomy farm kitchen that turns out to be the former home of John and Mrs. Wright. This is typically where exposition would start as the author begins to set up the story and this is exactly what Glaspell does. She includes some foreshadowing regarding the nature of the relationship between the couple as Mr. Hale continues to drop hints that John was cruelly dominating toward his wife. Telling the story of how he found the couple upon his arrival the morning of John’s death, Mr. Hale indicates that he had hoped to convince John to get a telephone and felt perhaps speaking about it in front of Mrs. Wright might have some positive effect as she was sure to want one as well. â€Å"I thought maybe if I went to the house and talked about it before his wife, though I said to Harry that I didn’t know as what his wife wanted made much difference to John.† This indication of a master/servant relationship is carried throughout this opening segment of the play and deliberately throws emphasis upon the men’s ideas regarding John’s death while allowing the two women to slip almost

Industrial society and native culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Industrial society and native culture - Essay Example With most of the industrial world following capitalist means of running their economies, the exploitation of natural resources in an unsustainable manner is the norm. However, an almost intuitive understanding of the manner in which nature functions enables native cultures to utilize natural resources in sustainable ways. The Brazilian Amazonian tribes follow methods of living that enable one to infer their respect for the environment. At first glance, the method of agriculture that they follow, slash and burn agriculture is done in a manner that the ecological balance of the area is not upset. Moreover, different plants are planted at different points of time, which not only ensures a constant supply of food but also efficient use of the soil’s fertility. This also provides the land an opportunity to replenish itself. The Yanomami is a tribe that follows these methods of farming to great effect. Initially, when the Europeans came to the Amazon, they were surprised at how the area was able to support the number of people that it did. This is possible because of the manner in which the Yanomami and other tribes in this area understand the ecology of the area and attempt to live in harmony with it (Hutchison 159-63, 2007). The needs of the present day Brazilian industrial society, is however, different. With a much greater population and corresponding needs, the Brazilian industrial society usually requires a greater yield than what slash and burn agriculture is able to provide. As a result, it has to follow scientific methods of agriculture that suit the needs of the urban populations of Brazil. A concerted effort in the past thirty years has enabled the Brazilian state to increase its agricultural production and achieve a food surplus (The Miracle, 2010). It has managed to surpass the problems that have plagued the management of environmental issues

Education & Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Education & Identity - Essay Example Douglass’ account Frederick Douglass is a prime example of this theory. He was born into slavery and lived through his early life serving his Master. His story revolves around the hunt for freedom and is engulfed in the concept of education affecting his perception of his own life. Since he started life as a slave, living to serve another was a norm for him and while his Mistress treated him with utter care in the beginning, she soon became wary of his thirst for knowledge. It is perhaps this thirst for knowledge that is equally influential in altering a person’s perception as without it, one may not pursue education and knowledge in the first place. Thus, Douglass was taught the beginnings of education by his new mistress Mrs. Auld. She later became extremely cautious of teaching him anything else or him learning anything else himself; â€Å"Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet, had given me the ~inch,~ and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ~ell.~† (Douglass). What this implies is that the educated elite were also wary of the power of education and it was not such a peculiar phenomenon. Ever since he learnt the alphabet, and realized that any further progress in education was scorned upon, he became all the more wary of acquiring knowledge and went to extreme lengths to learn to read and write. His efforts show his inclination and dedication to the task. His shrewdness gave way to several ingenious ways in the pursuit of education. He would employ several friends in the street and run his errands quicker than expected in order to save time for gaining knowledge through them. He started pondering over things he did not ponder over before, questioning his right to be free and why it was so difficult to attain: "You will be free as soon as you are twenty-one, ~but I am a slave for life!~ Have not I as good a right to be free as you have?" (Douglass). At times this newfound thinking became a measure of pain as well, and would dou se him in anguish whenever the question of slavery would arise in discussion. As his ability to read improved, so did his taste for newer books. He eventually read a book entitled The Columbian Orator which became the epitome of his changing perception. The story was very similar to his own wherein a slave who wished to be free from his master ran away thrice only to be returned to him. Eventually, after an intellectual discussion between him and the master, the slave is discharged of all duties at the master’s discretion. Of course, this sparked a growing urge within Douglass to be free himself. Notice how it incited a new drive inside of him to be free from anyone else’s possession rather than simply nurturing his old desire to read and write. While the old desire still persisted, the new feelings and emotions as a result of perceived education transpired within him superficially to overtake his old inclinations to read and write. Thus, it had a dual effect. This can be judged from the fact that he describes himself as a chattel earlier but later grows in feelings and emotions as a direct result of the knowledge he acquires, completely opposite to the description of a chattel. His perception was no longer the same regarding slavery. It did not just stop there. Once the perception changed, so did his desires in life. This revelation came as soon as he understood the meaning of abolition which,

The History And Background On Martha Graham

The History And Background On Martha Graham Martha Graham, the outstanding 20th century dancer, choreographer and teacher was born on May 11, 1894 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as one among the three daughters of George and Jane Beers Graham (Martha Graham, 2010). During her life time she spent most of her decisive years on the west coast region. Media have often regarded Martha Graham as one of the well recognized dancers and choreographers ever lived in America. Martha Grahams father was a psychiatrist who concentrated much in his study and analysis of physical movement. He was a third generation American of Irish descent and her mother Jane Beers was one of the tenth generations of puritan Miles Standish. Dr. Graham and family had a high standard living because of the negotiable salary they saved from their works. The Graham family had a reputed position in the society on account of their high standard living and good educational background. From the very tender age itself, Martha had the support of her family in matters rela ted to education and career opportunities. Though her family was ever ready to provide her excellent guidance in education, Martha preferred her career as a dancing performer-disapproving her parents wish. After the completion of her educational career from Cumnock School, a junior college, she enrolled in the Denishawn Studio, a dancing school operated by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn (1891-1972) (Martha Graham, 2010). Analysing the biographical note of Martha, it is identfiable that after getting enrolled in Denishawn Studio, she devoted herself entirely for dancing and choreography. She married dancer Erick Hawkins in 1948 but their marriage proved to be failure and divorced in 1954. Later, as we see, she became proficient in dancing and tried her best to attain the highest position in this field. She focused her attention essentially in performing arts and practiced much by contributing her own methods to dancing. She tried her preeminent to open the new way for modern dance. Special attraction/feature of her dancing Martha Graham was a wonderful performer and good choreographer in America. Her choreography is very surprising and amazing to viewers that she created new style of body movements and facial expressions. While observing Marthas performances, it is well evident that she always attempted to expose real passion and human experiences which helped her to stand aloof from other performers of her time. Martha Grahams dance has often been compared to Picassos painting and Stravinskys music, and so on. One may not feel it as an exaggeration to reveal that her choreography and dance performances are incredibly attractive and stunning. Her contributions have transformed to different art forms which exerted notable influence in changing the old method of dancing. Marthas innovative style of dancing has paved the way for expanding the style of word around dancing. She expressed herself very liberally and truthfully in almost all her dance performances. It was the sincere attempt from her part to d evelop dancing profession resulted for the establishment of Martha Graham Dance Company in 1926 (Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, 2006). As her profession was dancing, she could compose many dance programs. Her dance company offers support to the entire American dance students by including other brilliant dance teachers also in her dance troupe. Freedman (1998) rightly enlists Grahams performance when he writes, Graham invented a revolutionary new language of dance, an original way of moving that she use to reveal the joy, passions, and sorrows common to all human experience. She had a genius for connecting movement with emotion. Martha Graham is not only a resourceful dancer but also an excellent choreographer. Graham created new trends and attractive style for dancing by reminding the fact that dancing has significant role in society as a pure method of entertainment. Dance is a one of the important and transitory forms of expression. Martha Graham attempted to convey her ideas so naturally and translated these ideas to expression with facial and body movements. Graham strongly believed that body and facial expressions must be there in an excellent dance. Graham controlled her body movements and facial expressions with music. These movements attracted the attention of many modern observers and as such, they accepted this new style and recognized this performance as a modern dance. A good dance performer should be capable of creating different types expressions on his/her face. The idea produced by the dancing body can include physical identity and physical representations of thoughts. So Martha Grahams new style of dancing can be considered as a representation and result of her thoughts. The performer and choreographer Martha Graham produced different gestures images, stances and poses. She had also included the physical representation of the feelings, moods and impulses. These styles or movements attracted a great deal of audience. Marthas Dance is a real representation of her personality- expression, and it conveyed different messages. Majority of the modern and traditional dancing forms tell a story which clearly coveyed the observer a message. Choreographer Martha Graham expressed her ideas in different ways and in different style. Thus one can infer that most of her performances were self expressive and self explanatory. During her life span, Graham had composed and presented a large number of dance programs. Her 180 dancing performances in America within the period of fifty years acknowledge this fact. She had won many awards and achievements. Some of them include the Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, the French Legion of Honor in 1984 and presidential Medal of Freedom in 1976. She could maintain her status as a good dancer and choreographer till the end of her life. Her last dance performance, Maple Leaf Rag presented in 1990, a year before her death, was also a grant success. It is such grant performances that earned her the name, 20th century revolutionary artist. She has exerted a significant influence in relieving the dance form from the traditional methods or concepts, presented with comparatively dawdling movements. 20th century dance forms are fast and it also tells the theoretical form of the story instead of merely retelling a story. Contribution to dancing Graham had given remarkable contribution to dancing field by developing distinctive style of training. She founded Martha Graham Dance Company, one of the oldest modern dance groups in America, which provides the best training for new generation dancers and choreographers. Martha Grahams new techniques and modern methods are really helpful to create classical ballet in the world. She avoided traditional and old methods, techniques and steps of classical ballet. Then her dancing form of classical ballet includes natural motion and music. She established different type style of dancing such as mobile scenery, symbolic props, and etc. Vision of the Apocalypse is the first large group piece of Martha Graham and it was performed in 1929. Other remarkable contributions are Dance Repertory Theater in New York in 1930 and Bennington School of Arts in Vermont, and so on. Her students and her co-worker helped to spread her ideas and style in the rest of the world. What was her inspiration? Though there are different things that attracted Graham to dancing, the most important among them were the classical mythologies she read. Other inspirations are the American past, biblical stories, historical figures, contemporary social problems, poems, stories, and so on. These motivations really helped her to develop new ideas and thoughts. These inspirations facilitate to found new music and gradually she won in her attempts to bring out new movements to express her own ideas.

Pearl Harbor :: essays research papers

Pearl Harbor was one of the most vicious attacks on American soil. The surprise attack by Japan took place on Sunday morning December 7, 1941. Japan wanted to immobilize U.S.’s Pacific fleet and destroy any chance of a counter strike in from the Pacific. The United States responded by creating Japanese-American Internment Camps, which uprooted tens of thousands of Japanese-American families. And later America decided to use atomic weapons to end the war with Japan. Tension between Japan and the United States started in 1931. Japan had taken over Manchuria, which was then a part of China. In 1937 Japan had started a campaign to conquer the rest of China that was long lasting and didn’t work. In 1940 Japan signed the Axis Alliance with Germany and occupied all of Indochina the next year. The U.S. was worried by Japan’s movements because of economic interests that the United States had in East Asia. The U.S. strengthened military aid to China and increased financial aid. They also built up the military in the Pacific. The U.S. also cut off shipments of oil and raw materials to Japan. Japanese government saw this move as a threat to Japan’s survival because Japan doesn’t have many natural resources. Japan’s next plan was to take control of the territories of South East Asia that have good amounts of natural resources, even though it would start a war with the United States. (Lord,Walter. Day of Infamy ) (www.histo ry.navy.mil) (http://campus.northpark.edu) The only thing that stood in the way of this plan was the threat posed by the U.S. Pacific fleet stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the leader of the Japanese fleet, was the mastermind behind the plan to cripple the U.S. fleet. Yamamoto wanted to disable the U.S. Pacific fleet by destroying enough ships, airfields, runways, planes, support facilities, and 4.5 billion gallons of fuel so that there was no chance for a counter attack. As Yamamoto put it he wanted to destroy the â€Å"dagger pointed at our throat†. (Beck, Roger. Black, Linda. Krieger, Larry. Naylor, Phillip. Ibo Shabaka, Dahia. â€Å"World History† pg.827 – 830) Yamamoto devised a clever plan that would have the attacking Japanese follow a storm front and keep strict radio silence to avoid being detected by American radar. The Japanese attack was led by Vice-Admiral Chuichi Nagumo and consisted of 6 aircraft carriers, 2 battleships, and 2 cruisers.

Commission in the European Union

As a staff member of the Directorate-General of the European Commission I have been appointed to describe to you the composition and the powers of the Commission in the European Union. In the following paragraph I will describe the body of the Commission divided in three pillars: First you have the College of the Commissioners, then the Directorate-General (DGs) and lastly the cabinets. In the Third paragraph I will briefly describe the powers of the Commission and in the last paragraph I will conclude with an opinion on the question, as to how far I consider the European Commission to have â€Å"a vocation to further the interests of the community as a whole†. The Commission consists of twenty-seven Commissioners, one for each Member State including the President of the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security. The Commissioners are responsible for the work of the commission stated in Art. 17 of the TEU, and are therefore not allowed to have any other duties during their period of office that could bring about any conflict of interest. If a Commissioner fails to do so, the Court of Justice may retire the member concerned on application of the Commission or the Council acting on a simple majority. The exception to this rule is, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy who is a member of the Commission responsible for the conduct of the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy and its security and defense policy but also takes part in the work of the EC, presides over the Foreign affairs Council and carries out mandates of the Council. The High representative is appointed by QMV with agreement of the President of the Commission, and may be dismissed the same way. The president of the Commission is proposed to the European Parliament by the European Council acting by a qualified majority, and is elected in the European Parliament. The president is the most powerful Commissioner and has several important roles: he/she adopts the list of the persons whom it proposes to appoint as members of the Commission, lays the guidelines in which the Commission is to work, decides the internal organization of the commission making sure it works as a body, appoints the Vice-Presidents from among the members of the Commission (other than the High Representative), he can resign Commissioners since they are individually responsible to him. Finally the President has an important role as representative. He represents the Commission at meetings involving the heads of Government and must account to other institutions when there is questioning of the general conduct of the institution or a particular issue raises broader questions. In the current Commission, there are forty Directorates-General (DGs) divided into four groups: policies, external relations, general services and internal services. The majority of the Commission employees work for the DGs. DGs in the Commission are compared to Ministers in a national government. Even though DGs’ work for Commissioners their responsibilities are to the Commission. The work inside the DG focuses on the development of programmes, administration of Community funding and bringing different public and private actors together. You can see the Cabinet as being between the College of Commissioners, representing the political part of the Commission, and the DGs representing the administrative part of the Commission. A Cabinet is composed of seven to eight officials and is appointed by the President. Each Cabinet is the office of a Commissioner and is a line between Commissioners and DGs allowing cooperation between them and helping Commissioner with formulating priorities and policies. They keep Commissioners informed of other happenings in the Commission and help prepare weekly meetings for the College of Commissioners in combination with other Cabinets The powers of the Commission can be broadly explained and interpreted, but the main points can be narrowed down to four specific points: legislative powers, agenda and budget planning, executive powers and supervisory powers. Legislative power as to making sure that the rules in Treaties are being complied with and determining how EU nationals may stay in other States after they have worked there. The Commission is also responsible the budget planning for each year and the making of the agenda. The Commission has executive powers responsible for collecting the revenue for the EU, coordinating the spending of the EU and administering the EU aid to third countries. The Commission has supervisory powers to monitor the compliance of the Member States to the rules of the Union. Does the Commission have â€Å"a vocation to further the interest of the Community as a whole? † I believe it does, by looking at its responsibilities in the Union itself proves this. And if you look at the statement made by the Court of Justice where it says that â€Å"Commissioners are required to ensure that the general interest of the European Union precedes at all times over national and personal interest†. In which I understand that a Commissions’ work should be emphasized on the whole Community (EU) instead of just one State Member.

Quintana Roo essays

Quintana Roo essays Quintana Roo, Mexico has become an internationally acclaimed tourist development area over the past six years. This may be a difficult concept to grasp considering the states economic condition at the end of the 20th, and the first decade of the 21st century. The current status of a tourism haven was not easily accomplished. It took many years of cooperative tourism planning amongst the state, national government officials, and most importantly, the local communities of the areas being developed. In the early 1990s, the country of Mexico was searching for untapped tourism resources. The purpose of this search was because popular tourist destinations, like Cancun, were reaching their saturation points and becoming commonplace destinations to the global tourism market. At this point in time, the countrys tourism industry was lacking direction and focus (Levin 5). Top tourism officials were beginning to realize that the traditional products of sun, sea, and sand were losing inherent value in a continually more competitive market (Levin 3). Essentially, the country was losing the upper-end of the consumer market, which had greater purchasing power. For a few years, Mexicos tourism officials tried to rejuvenate many of their popular tourist destinations through various marketing strategies and additional funding. This was an attempt to prevent decline in tourist arrivals. The rejuvenation process proved to be difficult as many of these areas had no additional land to buil d upon, and were experiencing environmental problems due to overdevelopment. High profile tourists began to seek other international destinations; and as overall tourist numbers began to drop, tourism officials and other multi-national corporations were searching for other areas to develop. The answer lied in the state of Quintana Roo. Quintana Roo is situated on the eastern side of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. &qu...

Touching Spirit Bear Character Essay Essays

Touching Spirit Bear Character Essay Essays Touching Spirit Bear Character Essay Paper Touching Spirit Bear Character Essay Paper Cole is a fifteen-year-old boy who gets into trouble a lot. His father abuses him, which causes a lot of anger. His mother is an alcoholic and did not care about Cole as much as she should. Throughout the novel, Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen, Cole learns more about his conflicts, while healing them at the same time. Cole has many internal conflicts including fear, anger, and loneliness throughout the novel. The first internal conflict is anger. Cole’s father abused him, which created stress and anger inside of him. This anger causes Cole to commit crimes. Cole robbed and trashed a hardware store. Peter, a boy at Cole’s school, found out that Cole did this act of violence. So, Peter told on Cole. Cole found out, in which he got very angry and mad. Instead of confronting Peter, Cole decided to smash Peter’s head against the sidewalk, very hardly. Once Cole was sent to the island of Drake in Alaska, Cole felt depressed and angry at the same time. Cole eventually burnt down his cabin. One last example of anger is dealing with the Spirit Bear. The Spirit Bear was calmly looking at Cole. Cole realized that this bear was not afraid of him. So, Cole let out his anger and tried to kill the bear. Instead of Cole hurting the bear, the bear mauled Cole. Cole was on the ground, almost dying for about three days. Even though Cole seems like a person who is not afraid of anything, there is actually some fear built somewhere in his body. Another internal conflict is fear. Cole was a little frightened by the Spirit Bear. So, he needed control and power and teased the bear. Instead of everything working out his way, the bear attacked Cole, leaving plenty of brutal scars and pain in almost every inch of his body. After the bear mauled Cole, he felt, and looked like he was dying. Cole realized he was afraid to die. So, Cole did everything he could do to stay alive. For instance, he ate grass, killed a mouse for food, and ate almost every moving bug he could see. Lastly, Cole had a dream while he was in the hospital. Cole’s dream was everyone was taking care of him. Including Garvey and Edwin. Suddenly, all of the people helping him turned into monsters and were laughing at him. Cole felt like there was a lack of others caring about him. Not only did Cole have fear and anger, but he also felt lonely. Garvey and Edwin taught Cole how to dance ‘animal dances’. These animal dances are supposed to educate people what animals can teach them. In once case, Cole danced the Whale Dance. After the Whale Dance, Cole learned that whales travel around, but have no home, just like him. During Christmas-time on the island, Cole felt like nobody cared about him. So, he cut down a tree and celebrated Christmas all alone. Cole always needed to have the attention. Since Cole felt lonely and depressed, he committed crimes to have the attention back on him again. These many internal conflicts, including fear, anger, and loneliness, happen throughout most of Cole’s life. Cole may seem like every other juvenile delinquent, but throughout this book, he overcomes these conflicts. Peter actually goes on the island with Cole. After a while, they become friends. The second time Cole goes back on the island, he takes extra precautions and does not burn down the cabin. In fact, Cole had to build a whole new one. Whenever he saw the Spirit Bear, he let go of his anger to the Spirit Bear. His anger, fear, and loneliness are still a problem to Cole, but he is now able to fight his difficulties.

Diversity in Organizations Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Diversity in Organizations - Research Paper Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that workforce is the basis of success of any given organization. Much as there are other factors of production to consider in determining the likelihood of success of any organization or business entity, human capital is the most significant. This is because; no operations can become successful regardless of the capital input, unless they are well managed and implemented. Thus, the need for adopting a flexible human resource program that integrates diverse cultures and personalities within the operations of the organization is paramount. The encompassment a different people, from different backgrounds in religion, socio-cultural activities, education, and exposure ensures that the organization can uphold variant ideas, opinions, and judgments. These are the basis of development. Owing to the fact that teamwork is the basis for success of any given organization, diversity comes in handy. Where diversity is non-existent, the individuals involv ed cannot interact and share ideas and opinions freely. This means that there is low or no chance of devising new ways of doing things. It is through the free interaction of individuals and their teamwork attitude that creates avenues for innovations and inventions. Various methods can be adopted to enhance diversity climate in an organization. Education that entails equipping the management team with relevant and diverse training skills is one such method. This serves to ensure that the management team is better placed to adopt different individuals and incorporate them in their labor force. Such training enhances the management ability of ensuring every member of their team feels appreciated and equally important, not withstanding their differences in personalities, cultures, religious backgrounds e.t.c. The establishment, enforcement, and implementation of a set of code of ethics is yet another method. The basic step in achieving this is through the recruitment of individuals fro m different spheres of life. Exposure, through establishment of equity and accountability, as a core value of the organization is another method that applicable in enhancing the climate of diversity in an organization. This ensures that all the individuals are treated equally, regardless of their gender, origin, race, religion e.t.c. any group, committee or panel formed to undertake different tasks for the organization should be representative of the different personalities in that organization. Each group or individual should feel well represented in that formation. This goes a long way to enhancing respect and cooperation from all the individuals in the organization. There are three procedures followed to establish diversity climate at a work place. The first is the moderate open- minded change, where some basic rules are established in work place to foster teamwork, flexibility, and diversity. At this stage, the workers are promoted solely based on merit and performance. Such rul es as those guiding promotions are established and implemented by the policy makers. However, the problem associated with this is that not all aspects of diversity are implementable through formal rules. The second procedure is the essential change stage, where the organization adapts measures beyond formal rules to guide the achievement of diversity in the organization. At this stage, even though two members of the same affiliation are better placed to be promoted based on their performance, an allowance for equity is created by promoting another individual of a different affiliation. The last procedure is the revolutionary change, where the short-run and the long-run needs of the organization come into play. Under this stage, the organization establishes equity and diversity in the short-run, while buying time to consolidate a system that will afford automatic flexibility and diversity

Lean Manufacturing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Lean Manufacturing - Essay Example A number of companies around the world use this technique. The main purpose for implementing this technique is to bring efficiency in the production process. This technique is often called as the production process of the twenty-first century. Today, almost every size of business makes use of lean manufacturing because of the fact that many large size businesses have achieved success by integrating this technique. In addition to this, many large sized organizations hire lean manufacturing experts in their organizations. Many companies begin the process of lean manufacturing through value stream analysis. It is an analysis in which each step involved in the production process is closely monitored and examined. After that, an analysis is made about the value of each step. Value stream analysis helps the companies in identifying those steps which needs improvement or which has no worth in the production process (Feld, pg 55). According to lean manufacturing, seven different types of wastes results in the inefficient production. These types of wastes include over-production, waiting, over-processing, inventory, defects, transportation, and moving. Among these, over-production, transportation, and inventory are related to the scarcity in the flow of material. All of these types of wastes are a source of increasing cost without creating any value for the final consumer. Some companies start their lean manufacturing process with the facility analysis in which determines opportunity areas in different sections such as service, production, shipping, sales, production, administration, engineering, quality, and maintenance. Besides this, there is sometimes a need of Six Sigma tools in the lean manufacturing process. In order to gain efficiency, lean team should be trained properly so that they can develop an understanding about when to use the lean tools and when to implement improvement (Davis, pg 23-44). It is essential that companies follow the road map

The Changing Interaction of Finance, Information and Technology Coursework

The Changing Interaction of Finance, Information and Technology - Coursework Example This has raised questions on the efficiency of the IT departments of companies in carrying out the requirements as stipulated in the act. There were also criticisms about the failure of SOX act in various aspects related to the IT. This paper discuss about the impact of S-OX act on the IT department and a review about the various aspects about the act. â€Å"IT supports the corporation’s drive to comply with SOX by securing and protecting financial data on the network.† (Networkinstruments.com, 2011) The Act requires the companies to impart the compliance process as an integrated business process. The Act also requires continuous risk management and also regular checks about the IT control measures that are put into place as per the Act. The act also put additional accountability on the officers or firm which attests that the companies’ financial reports are true and represents the present state of the firm. The relevant components for the S-OX are internal envir onment, Risk assessment, Control activities, Information and communication and Monitoring. (COSO framework) Sarbanes Oxley Act- Implementation and Impact upon IT departments In order to implement the act effectively, it is very crucial to keep the program cost effective and also sustainable. There should be a cost-effective process in place to provide a greater transparency into the infrastructure and control measures to assure the correctness of the financial reports. In order to keep a continuous track on the system it is very much important that all the processes must be automated and sustainable. When we try to understand the impact of S-OX on IT departments, we need to keep in mind that the act was primarily created for the detection of accounting fraud, make the higher management accountable for the malpractices if any in the organization. The IT comes into picture where it assists the financial practices undertaken in picture. Since all transactions would be recorded in the f ully computerized work environment and also all the audit processes would be recorded, the role of IT comes in. They are responsible for keeping a tab of all the transaction and audit and to retrieve these data when it is required. This essentially means that the pressure created on IT departments is not a direct result of the implementation of S-OX act, since the act is focussed on the accurate disclosure of the financial statements and making the people accountable for their actions. The pressure on the IT departments is coming from within the company as it is the only department which can realistically overview and keep a continuous track of the activities of a firm. â€Å"Companies are increasingly turning to technology in their Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance efforts in order to automate internal controls or streamline their activities, according to new research and interviews last week with corporate executives.† (Hoffman, 2005) Involving IT would help to reduce the time and efforts that needed to create the compliance reports at quarterly and annually. This would also reduce the costs involved in the process. Benefits to IT department while adopting the Sarbanes Oxley Act The benefits of the Act cannot be limited as benefit to IT department alone. Since the positives would finally impact the performance of the company.

Natural environment Essay Example for Free

Natural environment Essay History depicts that in the past, apartheid and Christian national education policies meant that races and cultures were segregated in schools and resources were unevenly distributed, making the role and the task of the teacher extra difficult in terms of balancing between the workload and catering for all learners needs. Education is inherently political as it involves values and goals in relation to such fundamental questions as what kind of individual and society are we trying to shape? These questions cannot be answered in a factual or technical way because they are questions of opinions, values and ideology and they are inevitably disagreements and conflicts (Carter, Harber Serfi, 2003). The nature and reality of educators is that, it places so much importance on the teacher to ensure that learners succeed at the end of the day, although there are some factors external such as the environment, socio-economic and resources issues and resources which disturbs or defeats the purpose of education. The teacher can either make or break the progress of the learner, meaning the teacher should cater equally for all the needs of the learners, as learners themselves are different in terms of race, gender and class. This means that the teacher should not be bias or discriminate towards a certain gender, race or class, as this will have a negative impact on the success or progress of the learners. In this essay I will discuss my experiences with the teachers who made a difference, the role they played in terms of perceiving gender, race and class in my life, and the reasons why they were significant and finally I will discuss the role I will play as a future teacher regardless of gender, race and class of the learners. The most features in class or school environment, is for the teacher to understand his or her learners and mostly interact with them on continuous basis, as problems learners encounter arise from time to time. These problems tend to distract learners and need the intervention of the teacher themselves. Sometimes learners struggle with the content required, a problem at home or moreover a personal problem. A good teacher must anticipate and have insight of foretelling and differenti ate amongst learners that are showing signs of encountering problem

Siemens Change After Corruption Scandal

Siemens Change After Corruption Scandal This change management report is intended to present the boundary condition of culture change efforts at Siemens after corruption scandal came to light on November 2006. Even prior to corruption scandal, Siemens had a system of rules, policies and procedures; however it had not done enough to entrench its values, policies and procedures into company practice. They lacked in subsequent leadership and culture, inconsistent communication, training and company did not take adequate measures to punish conduct in breach. Siemens understood that they have to make some changes to its business to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a one of Germanys largest publicly held corporations and Europes largest engineering conglomerate by sales. Siemens is a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, operating in the industry, energy and healthcare sectors. It activities include cross sector businesses and services, equity investments. The company has around 405,000 employees working to develop, design and install complex project and tailor a wide range of solutions for individual requirements. Siemens has built his reputation and world class with its technical achievements, innovations and internationality over 160 years, generating a sales volume in excess of â‚ ¬75 billion with communication division at the heart of business (Siemens, 2010). Up until 1999 bribing foreign officials to secure contracts was not only authorized but tax deductable in Germany. Siemens were allowed to pay legal fees for employees who got arrested or prosecuted abroad for bribery. Corruption is a part of a countrys culture, so is Siemens. It maintained a culture in which corruption was a likely business strategy to enter into emerging markets. In addition Siemens had grown closer to government (Rawi Abdelal et al., 2008). A culture of corruption in a dominant organisation does not occur accidently. Why would workers willingly commit an offence? The only likely explanation is if the organisation rewarded such behaviour. Siemens is not the kind of organisation where tens of thousands of slush funds gets unobserved. It is conceivable, certainly plausible, that Siemens top management knew anything about the bribes and corruption scandal. But as top officials they share responsibility for the widespread see-no-evil-hear-no-evil corporate culture in t heir organisation, which suggest that Siemens lacked a corresponding leadership and culture. So it is evident that culture at Siemens was illegal and unethical. Klaus Kleinfeld appointed as CEO of Siemens in January 2005-a conglomerate with 75 billion euros. He was called as wunderkind among shareholders of Siemens after turning the operation of communication division and making profits of 569 million euros or (3.2%) increase in sales. Later on November 2006, Klaus Kleinfeld announced that Siemens net income went up by 38% and sales growth were up by 16% from previous fiscal year (Rawi Abdelal et al., 2008). Leader will go wrong, if they jammed in single metaphor (Esther Cameron Mike Green, 2009) and this is what Siemens witnessed. Despite knowing the corporate culture of the organisation, he broke accustomed consensual management style, instead he threatened to sell or restructure if they didnt hit targets. Kleinfeld focused only on the colossal task of strategically restructuring the division and ways to improve the company growth. According to business daily Suddeutsche Kleinfeld gave lot of attention about the financial markets demand a nd restructuring the company. Spiegel particularly concentrated more on Klaus Kleinfelds tactical errors: Possibly his biggest failure was to underestimate the impact of bribery scandal (Rawi Abdelal et al., 2008). He seemed to not fully take control as bribery scandal kept whirling around the company. This shows that Kleinfelds recklessness and negligence. This body of work presents the boundary conditions of the Siemens change effort. It has been believed that organisational leadership and culture, with in the present organisations business environment, are the most critical aspects that determine the dynamics of organisational change. Siemens had policies in place, but they were not lived up to the expectation, the corporate values were not incorporated and leadership has failed miserably, resulting cost of â‚ ¬ 660 MM fines and â‚ ¬ 650 MM attorney and consultant fees (Frank Schmidt Kenny Mok, 2008). Reputation and trust were battered due to the series of corruption scandals which rocked Siemens. Siemens was blacklisted in Nigeria by Federal Government of Nigeria (Felix Onuah, 2007). As a result reputation and trust were battered due to the series of corruption scandals which rocked Siemens. So to keep hold of business, Siemens were in the position to change their culture and leadership style in order to get rid of corruption . Corruption Scandal: But one of the major concerns with Siemens was corruption kept escalating. Siemens has been at the middle of a very serious corruption scandal, since November 2006. Siemens officials have been investigated and scrutinized in a bid to clarify uncertain payments totalling some â‚ ¬1.3 billion ($2.07 billion). In 2006 Siemens was at the middle of one of the Germanys biggest corporate corruption scandal. In November 2006 around 270 police and other German officials ransacked Siemens offices. Six executives were arrested, including CFO of telecommunications division. German officials alleged that the suspects had diverted some 200 million euros through secret bank accounts in Liechtenstein, Switzerland and through shell companies, paying bribes for winning contracts in Iraq, Venezuela, Bangladesh, Italy, Israel, Russia, China, Argentina and Greece (Rawi Abdelal et al., 2008). Repercussions of the Scandal: Siemens identified the expenses of corruption as very high, through slowing down financial growth, rising levels of poverty, foreign investment misallocation, reducing tax revenues and additional government costs. Siemens concentrated on some of the key areas where they lacked quality in order to get rid of corruption. It is also very imperative to keep up their brand name and reputation to do good business and compete against their rivals. After the corruption scandals were unveiled at Siemens, the management started many initiatives to reinforce its compliance controls and corporate governance. New Governance Structure: One of the most important challenges an organisation faces, apparent leadership is crucial if an organisation is to make sure that the board and employees are not engaging in bribery and corrupt practices. It is really imperative that the board members do not transmit mixed signals; urge officials and managers to follow strict codes and high standards. Siemens supervisory board members Huber, Ackerman and Cromme were against their former CEO Kleinfeld, although profits had increased by about a third and sales by about 10%. As a result Kleinfeld was asked to step down because the image of the company was in tatters. For the first time ever in the history, board members turned to an outsider as chief executive officer-the Austrian Peter Loscher (Rawi Abdelal et al., 2008). Siemens implemented new managerial board position for compliance and official matters. Peter Solmssen, Hans winters and Andreas Pohlmann were appointed as General Counsel, Chief Audit officer and Chief Compliance off icer respectively (Dietrich G. Moller, 2009). Loscher was in a position to develop a power base for him and then make sure his acceptance. Unlike Kleinfeld, Loscher made sure to maintain co-operative relations with unions and employees. Understanding culture is desirable for leaders in order to lead and to make a successful change. For e.g., what the leaders pays more attention to, controls and measures on a regular basis, how do they respond to crises and critical situations, how do they assign limited resources, promotions, rewards and status, all these factors informs the culture that has been developed in an organisation. Training: Since Siemens was listed on New York Stock Exchange, it was expected that Security Exchange Commission (SEC) would interrogate the scandal and might impose higher fines than authorities of German, whilst the U.S justice department would launch a criminal probe (Rawi Abdelal et al., 2008). To meet the challenge, Siemens had restructured the Compliance and started a comprehensive compliance program. So Siemens hired a cofounder of Transparency International to consult on compliance and hired the well-known United States law firm of Debevoise Plimpton to investigate the bribery scandal. Top officials and divisional heads were asked to submit joint bids for projects, a measure designed to remove corruption. (Andreas Pohlmann, 2008) Compliance program focussed on three important factors Siemens concentrated on providing training, propagating awareness and understanding and implemented a control system in order to overcome substantial deficiencies. Training is very imperative to make sure the exact implementation of the controls. To avoid unethical business practices, the Siemens provided anti corruption programs as a part of training for more than 15,000 employees. In addition, Siemens launched a web based anti corruption training program for more than 120,000 employees (Andreas Pohlmann, 2008) This graphs shows that training is gradually increasing from the year 2008 to 2009 and Compliance staff increasing from 86 in 2006 to 598 in 2009 (Dietrich G. Moller, 2009). Siemens thought, compliance is the common platform and the moral responsibility to sustain the mutual set of morals for which the firm stands: superiority, creativity and accountability. Detect: Siemens relied on the loyalty of their employees towards the company, to detect and Identify potential problems at the early stages. They motivated and encouraged their employees to actively participate in developing a culture of reliability by not allowing anybody to violate in the organisation. They launched a helpdesk with Tell us and Ask us functions, so employees were asked to inform the helpdesk if anybody violates the rules (Dietrich G. Moller, 2009). According to Ask me helpdesk, around 3000 questions were raised regarding particular compliance problems, and many individual violations have been reported at the helpdesk. Respond: Siemens has started responding to non-compliance, violation and misconduct through regular and proper sanctioning across each and every departments of the business. Siemens had enforced more than 550 penalizing measures in fiscal year 2007 (Dietrich G. Moller, 2009). Communication Communication is an imperative factor for Siemens to incorporate its new strategic direction of superior ethical behaviour, corporate social responsibility and transparency. Siemens has started concentrating on more direct discussion between the employees and Managing Board in both directions. Through this way, Siemens communication of morals and values can be sustained right through the business, without being lost in transformation. Siemens has placed tactical significance on making its anti corruption strategies and compliance guide easy to read, this would help the employees to understand better (Article 123, 2008). Approaching Change: Altering the culture of an organization may be the toughest job a CEO will ever take on. The culture in an organisation or department is shaped over years of relations among organization members. The change process requires statistics, cautious study and good consideration of results. Scheins Organisational culture model: Culture is the pattern of basic assumptions that a given group has invented, discovered or developed in learning to cope with its problem of internal integration and external adaption (Schein, 1990). Culture is not only about programmes and initiatives, it is everywhere in the company (Cameron Mike Green, 2004). Thus culture gives a sense of organizations norms, values, beliefs, rituals and language; the way in which things are to be done around. To understand organisational development, learning and planned change, culture is considered as primary resource (Schein, 1999). Though Scheins model has been criticised (e.g. Collins 1998, Hatch 1993, Parker 2000), it specifies the main aspects of culture, namely its partly learned and unconscious nature. Organizational culture, consequently, is not simply a single new entity which illustrates organizations and which can be also identified from the other entities that impact an organization performance. Scheins assumes culture as a set of shared postulations, which can examined at three important levels. The first level of Scheins culture model consists of perceptible organizational process and various artefacts that can be heard and felt by uninitiated observer. First of all, the fact that will shape the entity of this investigation is culture itself (Schein 1992). Artefacts consist of any physical or tangible elements in a company. Dress code, furniture, history and architecture all represent organizational artefacts (cf. Reason 1997). According to Schein, it is really difficult to understand the true meaning without detailed study, since it symbolizes the most superficial cultural phenomenon i.e. only reflections of the exact business culture The second level of Scheins model consists of the companys espoused values. These are very comprehensible in, for example, the companys objectives, declared values, operating philosophy and norms. However, espoused values do not always reflect an organisations daily functions and businesses. Most key and imperative in terms of functions is the in-depth culture level, i.e. its principal assumptions (Schein 1985, 1992). Actions and behaviours of a successful individual employee in the organisation become benchmarks on which other employees refer to. Such historical behaviours and actions become organizational key values. Third level of Scheins model consists of basic assumption and underlying values. The essence of culture is characterized by the fundamental underlying values and assumption, which are difficult to distinguish as they present at an unconscious level. Underlying values is a array of decisions that form the culture further. Therefore, they are not static (Schein 1985, 1992). Basic Assumptions are considered as an ultimate source of actions and values. Analysing culture: Assessment (What to look for) In order to assess the culture, Siemens has to identify their artefacts. Artefacts can be identified by conducting surveys, group meetings or personal interviews that asks the employees to list their reactions to various artefacts. A pattern for identifying artefacts include: level of formality in relations, working hours, dress codes, rituals, ceremony, myths and how decisions are made (Scheins, 1999). Secondly, espoused values should be examined. This can be obtained easily since every organisation has their written values. According to Argyris Schon, the best word is espoused values, since most of the organisations have written values but act out different values (Scheins, 1992). Finally, underlying assumptions should be identified. Possibly the best way to spot basic assumptions are through progression meeting where all the artefacts are listed, underlying values and assumptions are reviewed (Scheins, 1992). Analysing culture: Analysis (Congruence Test) Using the assessment Siemens can compare the cultural artefacts to the stated values to check if the stated values are congruent with physical materializations of the organisation. Second level is to compare the espoused with the actual value of the Siemens. Then, analyse the type of culture that enhances the mission of the Siemens. Find out the new value and implement it in order to accomplish the companys mission and goal. Finally, culture can be compared to the employees. Here, the employees would be observed in terms of personal ideas, values of what is significant, and personal decision making procedures. Analysing culture: Implementation (Finding changes Final step is to figure out the changes in the organisation to accomplish the mission. Whilst execution of cultural changes is a colossal undertaking that changes sensibly conceived, but conventionally fail (Bolman and Deal, 1997), the gaps between artefacts and espoused values, assumptions and espoused values, workforce and culture or culture and mission are identified in the analysis stage. Implementing Change: Kotters eight step model: Kotter established eight steps and he believed that these 8 steps would lead to successful changes. He has developed an 8 step model where the first four levels focus on unfreezing the organisation, the next three levels focus on what needs to be changed , and the last level refreezes the company with a brand new culture. When organisations need to make huge changes effectively and significantly, these are the eight steps to be followed in sequence. Establish a sense of urgency: For change to take place, Siemens really have to develop a sense of urgency. In order to do that Peter Loscher and other board members have communicated to their employees about the need for change and significance of acting without delay. They examined the market strategies, competitive realities, reputation, how to prevent corruption and potential problem of the failure. This is not merely a matter of just telling employees about the corruption, poor sales statistics or discussing about increasing competition. Board members explained about the drawback of corruption and why corruption has to be removed. It is really imperative for Siemens to spend significant energy and time to develop the urgency in order to lead the change. Form a powerful guiding coalition Team: Top management of Siemens should shape powerful corporate governance with enough leadership skills, authority, credibility, communication ability and energy to lead the change. Leaders should be able to convince the employees that change is necessary. So Siemens appointed Peter Loscher as their CEO in 2007. Siemens implemented new managerial board position for compliance and official matters. After joining the company Peter Loscher communicated both his and shareholders expectations, and to set comprehensible compliance targets based on values of responsibility and integrity for all firm departments, units and levels. Develop a clear vision and strategy: The mission is to create a culture of openness and honesty right through the business, evidently driven from the board. The first step will typically be for the CEO to make a presentation to the board, possibly after review by board committee or risk management function. The important lesson learnt at Siemens is that a cadre of managerial positions is necessary at organisations to make sure the reliability, operation and integrity of the organisation. The frequency and level of bribery and unprofessional behaviour had significantly increased until Peter Loscher took over; top management, board and employees realised that they wanted to change their culture when world largest corruption scandal came to light. Tone from the share holders after corruption scandal The tone from the shareholders is Only Clean Business is Siemens Business! Everywhere Everybody Every Time! Compliance as Part of Corporate Responsibility is 1st Priority! Peter Loscher and board restructured the corporate governance and enhanced the compliance department. Communicate the Vision: In this step the new vision and strategies should be communicated in every possible ways to employees. Make sure that everybody in the organisation understand and accept the strategy and vision. After identifying the strategies, Siemens communicated those strategies to the employees by the compliance department and anti corruption programmes. To avoid unethical business practices, the Siemens provided anti corruption programs as a part of training for more than 15,000 employees. In addition, Siemens launched a web based anti corruption training program for more than 120,000 employees. Training is very vital for altering the mindset and developing a culture of integrity and responsibility. Siemens vision is to remove the corruption and change the culture, because Siemens understood the cost and impact of corruption and were very desperate to get rid of corruption. Empower others to act on the vision: They motivated and encouraged their employees to actively participate in developing a culture of reliability by not allowing anybody to violate in the organisation. They launched a helpdesk Tell us function, so employees were asked to inform the helpdesk if anybody violates the rules. It is really imperative for Siemens in order to get rid of obstacles. So they enforced around 500 disciplinary measures in the year 2007, mostly the cases of violation, and corruption. Create Short term wins: Changing the culture, either good or bad, it is not going to happen overnight. Siemens achieved their short term goal when their employees began to realize that they were anticipated to do their duties in a professional and ethical manner. Siemens monitor the progress of the compliance program by conducting employee survey. Survey results include: Positive perception of compliance program, compliance communications understood and well regarded. Siemens thought that compliance issues have changed the economy and society and it has changed Siemens. Consolidate improvements and producing still more change: Siemens engaged in variety of co-operative initiatives with international organisations committed to fight against corruption and sustaining and establishing freedom of competition. Siemens continuously improved their compliance program by co-operating with international and non government organisations, such as World Bank institute by exchanging knowledge and vice versa. By monitoring the process and receiving the feedback continuously will help Siemens to improve change. Institutionalise the new approaches: Siemens needs to believe a leading role in integrity, transparency and compliance with the clear aim of becoming a respected international organisation in the fight against bribery and corruption. They needed to move towards a value based culture and to bench mark with the best. In order to achieve these objectives they have to inst ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­itutionalise the new strategies and approaches. Conclusion: The above study has looked at the context, content and process adopted by Siemens in order the change their culture after the bribery came into light on November 2006. This study will also give an overview of how Siemens has implemented detailed anti programmes policies on bribery and corruption, altered its management structure to fit its new values and policies, developed a new compliance department and has made changes to their communication with direct conversation between workforce and management. The Scheins model analysis helps us to understand the culture of the organisation and what changes needed to be done, while Kotters model helps us to understand how the change can be implemented. Unprofessional behaviour and violation of rules and standards are something all organisations must constantly be alert of. Eventually, the changes at Siemens have allowed the management to successfully meet its mission, which is an obligation to public safety. References: Andreas Pohlmann (2008) A New Direction for Siemens [online] http://www.enewsbuilder.net/globalcompact/e_article001149152.cfm?x=bd2Hd2m,bb6LfBj8,w [accessed 2 April 2010] Article 123 (2008) Integrating Transparency and Anti-corruption throughout the business [online] http://www.article13.com/UNGC/Siemens%20anti-corruption%20case%20study.pdf [accessed 4 April 2010] Collins, D. (1998). Organizational Change: Sociological Perspectives. London: Routledge. Dietrich G. Moller (2009) The Siemens Compliance Program -A Change Management Process [online] http://russland.ahk.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Dokumente/Events/Praesentation/09-11-18-Siemens.pdf [accessed 4 April 2010] Esther Cameron mike Green. (2009) Making Sense of Change Management: A Complete Guide to the Models, Tools and Techniques of Organizational Change, 2nd ed. London: Kogan page Esther Cameron mike Green. (2004) Making Sense of Change Management: A Complete Guide to the Models, Tools and Techniques of Organizational Change, 2nd ed. London: Kogan page Frank Schmidt Kenny Mok (2008) The Siemens Compliance Program -A Change Management Process [online] http://www.docstoc.com/docs/13221847/Compliance-Program-SlidesSiemens [accessed 4 April 2010] Felix Onuah (2007, December 5) Nigeria to blacklist Siemens after bribery scandal [Online] http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKL0539089320071205 [accessed 4 April 2010] Hatch, M.J. (1993). The Dynamics of Organizational Culture. Academy of Management Review, Vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 657.693 Parker, M. (2000). Organizational Culture and Identity. London: Sage Rawi Abdelal, Rafael Di Tella, Jonathan Schlefer. (2008). Corruption in Germany: Managing Germanys Largest Corruption Scandal. 9-709-006, p1-8. Reason, J. (1993). Managing the Management Risk: New Approaches to Organisational Safety. In: Wilpert, B. Quale, T. (eds.). Reliability and Safety in Hazardous Work Systems. Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum. Reason, J. (1997). Managing the Risks of Organizational Accidents. Aldershot: Ashgate. Schein, E. (1985) Organizational culture and leadership 1st ed, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Schein, E. (1992) Organizational culture and leadership 2nd ed, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Schein, E. (1999) The corporate culture survival guide: sense and nonsense about culture change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Schein, E. (2004) Organizational culture and leadership 3rd ed, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Siemens (2010) About Us [Online] http://www.siemens.co.uk/en/about_us/index.htm [accessed 29 March 2010] Siemens (2010) Compliance [Online] http://www.siemens.co.uk/en/about_us/index/corporate_responsibility/compliance.htm [accessed 29 March 2010]

Communism and America :: Communism Essays

The word communism has always been a sort of taboo word to say. Even today we call people commies to make fun or tease people. Why did all this start? How did communism become a bad a word? Well communism has always been feared since the birth of our nation. It was the form of government that the majority of Americans did not want. Communism is basically a theory or system based on the ownership of all property and goods by the community as a whole. This system would destroy a lot of the liberties that we as Americans enjoy. There was a certain time period where extremely paranoid about the communist party taking control. Starting at about the 1920’s up until the 1950’s people really feared communism. The Cold War, Ronald Reagan, and the Red Scare were all major contributors in the unreasonable fear of communism during this time period. These three factors helped shaped America’s ideology about communism during this time period.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Cold War put us on the brink of war with the Soviet Union. This could have possibly been the one thing that started the fear of communism. Russian spies are everywhere. People suspected each other, even their neighbors. Since the soviet Union was a communist country that was spreading it’s influence in Europe. America had to do something about it. America felt that the people living in the Soviet Union were being oppressed and needed to be free. This so called war was basically seeing how far both the countries, (America & Soviet Union) could go without going into war. Examples of this would be the Truman doctrine, which was Truman’s way of making sure Greece and Turkey would not become a communist country (N.N.787). Another example would be the Marshall Plan, which asked the countries that needed help request it and the US would help. America did not want the Soviets to spread their ideas to other countries by exploiting the dissatisfaction of their country. So we helped because we thought that our country was in trouble from the communists (N.N.787). An even better example of clashes between the US and the Soviet Union would be the Berlin Airlift. Soviets blocked off all land into Berlin and we airlifted supplies into Berlin. Now during this at home, there were many people scared of communism also. Many were accused communists due to the Red Scare.

Advantages of Being Bilingual – Short Essay

Advantages of Being Bilingual Being able to speak two different languages is one of the best abilities to have in todays world. Especially living in the United States, which is such a diverse country, it really does come in handy. Benefits of being diverse in languages are that you have a greater change of getting that job that's extremely competitive, and you'll have a wider range of culturalism in your life. As someone who is bilingual, I can say that I have experienced certain advantages. Such as having a better ear for listening, and having a more positive growth for thinking.The workforce today as we know it is extremely competitive. Bilingual constestants have the automatically have the upperhand towards other competitors. Other contestants you may be dealing with for jobs range with people that contain different skills, and types of experience. For instance, if someone has a couple years on you of experience in a job that deals with tourism, than chances are they are looking f or people who can interact with more potential customers. Living in Orlando, Florida, one of the most popular places for tourism, being bilingual is a great advantage.There are job opportunities such as theme parks, and other tourist attractions that require bilingual employees. While switching on and off with your two languages, you are sure to have experienced much culturalism in your life. Opporunities arise such as making new friends, and even conversate with them on a wider range of topics. You have a certain bond with them, that you wouldn't normally have with someone who was limited to one language. Even visiting other countries who's main language isn't English can be more enjoyable. For instance, whenver I visit Puerto Rico, I have the opporunity to convert with locals and family.

Importance of Co-Curricular Activities in Schools Essay

Recognizing the importance of providing educational activities that enrich and broaden student experiences as an integral part of the curriculum as well as beyond the normal academic day, the School Committee supports the development of co-curricular and extracurricular programs in accordance with the policies established by the School Department. Co-curricular programs are defined as those activities that enhance and enrich the regular curriculum during the normal school day. Extracurricular programs are defined as those activities that broaden the educational experience which usually take place beyond the normal school day. Students who desire to participate on athletic teams shall do so on a volunteer basis with the understanding that it is a privilege and not a right to be a member of a school team. All students are invited to participate, but it is recognized that some students may not be capable of competing at the varsity level. At non-varsity levels, participation may be restricted based on safety and space restrictions. It shall be the policy of the School Department to compete in interscholastic athletics sanctioned by the Rhode Island Interscholastic League and to abide by that organization’s rules and regulations. Activities should be designed to meet the needs of and to stimulate interests expressed by students and should cover a broad range of abilities. There shall be equal opportunities for all students to participate in such programs. The expenses of voluntary activities may be covered by the students, the school, school-related organizations, and/or non-school groups. Elementary Level Recognizing the positive aspects of co-curricular programs that enrich and enhance the regular elementary school program, the School Committee supports the development of such activities in all areas of the approved curriculum. Middle School Level Recognizing the special needs and interests of students at the middle school level, the School Committee supports the development of both co-curricular activities as part of the regular school program and extracurricular activities based on the mutual interests and talents of students, teachers, and community volunteers. The Middle School Administration and the Director of Athletics and Student Activities shall be responsible for coordination of co-curricular and extracurricular programs at this level. Recognizing the importance of extracurricular as well as co-curricular activities in the total educational experience of high school students, the School Committee supports the development of programs that meet the needs and interests of a significant number of students, who come together to form organizations to pursue activities that are consistent with the educational goals of the School Department. Procedures for organizing such groups should be established and supervised by the High School Administration and the Director of Athletics and Student Activities. Recognizing that the variety and specialization of interests may preclude funding of all activities, the School Committee agrees to provide supporting funds and funds for advisors of approved activities insofar as these funds are determined by the School Committee to be available. The School Committee shall allow approved organizations to raise funds so that their programs shall be self-supporting. Procedures for fundraising should be established and supervised by the High School Administration and the Director of Athletics and Student Activities. No student shall be excluded from an activity because of an inability to contribute funds to support the program. The School Committee may sanction interscholastic programs supported in full by individuals and/or organizations under the following guidelines: †¢ The sport meets the â€Å"Criteria for Adding Interscholastic Sports† established by High School Administration. †¢ The funds identified by the Director of Athletics and Student Activities as necessary to support initial startup and annual operations must be on deposit with the School Department prior to scheduling competition. The School Committee and Administration shall have complete care and control of all activities associated with the particular sport. †¢ The use of students in fundraising activities shall be approved by the High School Administration and the Director of Athletics and Student Activities. †¢ Should the sport no longer be offered, all surplus funds shall be transferred to the High School Athletic General Account. http://www. cumberlandschools. org/website/Interscholastic%20Sports. pdf The term curriculum refers to the programme of study in various academic subjects (e. Maths, English, History, Science, Spanish) followed by students at various levels of education. The school or college’s teaching staff are employed to teach this curriculum, and students are periodically assessed (e. g. by exams and term papers) in their progress in each curriculum subject. As they grow older, students’ achievements in their curriculum subjects are seen as important in helping them get into a good university or college, and to find a good job when they leave education. Depending on which country you are in, schools and colleges may also be held accountable for their students’ results in the curriculum subjects. The academic curriculum has never been all that schools and colleges offer to their students. Often a range of other classes, clubs and activities is available to students, sometimes in lessons but more often in the lunch break or after school. These are referred to as the co-curriculum, or as extra-curricular activities, and they are mostly voluntary for students. Examples would include sports, musical activities, debate, Model United Nations, community service, religious study groups, charitable fundraising, Young Enterprise projects, military cadet activities, drama, science clubs, and hobbies such as gardening, crafts, cookery and dance. Because they are not examined in the same way that the academic curriculum is, and because most of them take place outside lessons, such activities have less status in education than the main curriculum. However, they are often held to be very important to the wider education of young men and women. This topic examines whether the co-curriculum should be given more importance in schools and colleges – maybe by giving academic credits for co-curricular activities, A distinction could be made between co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, although most of the time they are used to mean the same thing. The co-curriculum is sometimes seen as a non-academic, but formal part of education, with timetabled and compulsory sessions for all students – each student may get to choose what co-curricular activity they wish to pursue, but they are required to follow at least one. Staff are required to run co-curricular activities as part of their contract, and the co-curriculum is generally well-funded. This kind of co-curriculum can be seen in Singapore’s education system and also in private schools (especially boarding schools) in countries like the UK, the USA and Australia. By contrast, extra-curricular activities are less well organised and funded, being entirely voluntary for students and taking place outside the school timetable. School staff may be involved in running extra-curricular activities, but there is no obligation on them to do so and they do not normally receive extra pay for it. Clubs and societies in many UK and American state schools fit this definition, as do non-academic activities in most universities and colleges throughout the world. The arguments which follow can be used to fit either or both definitions.