Discuss character development in Everyday Use Essay

Discuss character development in Everyday Use - Essay Example She even decides to change her name, though its history may be traced back to the Civil War â€Å"I couldnt bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me†. Instead, she chooses name Wangero, which her mother finds difficult to pronounce. What Dee desires is to become a new person. It becomes obvious that Dee’s mother and sister worship her. It is noticeable from the first lines. â€Å"Sometimes I dream a dream in which Dee and I are suddenly brought together on a TV program of this sort† acknowledges her mother. What she wants is to achieve her daughter’s approval. At the same time, Dee is unlikely to desire it. What she seeks seems to be attention and personal meaning. Even more, she seems to behave like a selfish, arrogant, and insensitive person. The story is told on behalf of Mama, that is why readers are not given an opportunity to trace the way Dee thinks. Instead, readers are offered to judge her by her actions, words, and relations to others. For example, these lines â€Å"At sixteen she had a style of her own: and knew what style was†. It says a lot about a girl who comes from a family which leads a labor-intensive life. â€Å"In real life I am a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands† that is how Mama describes herself. At the very beginning readers understand that Dee is totally different. She wants to be a part of idealistic Africa. Consequently, she rejects actual experience and severe realities that Afro-Americans face. That is what unites her with Hakim-a-barber. This couple stands in stark contrast to Dee’s mother and sister. At the same time, readers may only guess what kind of relationships Dee has with this man. â€Å"They didnt tell me, and I didnt ask, whether Wangero (Dee) had really gone and married him† comments Mama. It is clear that Maggie and Mama cannot let themselves live in a world of illusions. At the same time, rustic realism of their world becomes a

Human resources management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human resources management - Case Study Example In higher developing countries like China, customers are facing late deliveries and bad services because of the dealers. Apart from few verified dealers, majority of others are inefficient and incapable of proper servicing. As a result, high end customers often get distraught due to these lazy and inefficient deals. Considering the current issues in China as the foundation, the case study will evaluate the establishment and milestones achieved by Benz in China. Then the case will move on to describe the incidences which led to the overall decrease of sales performance in China (Barchan, 1999). The evaluation of experiences and evidences and analysis of the case will lead to various future strategies. These strategies as well as those selected for the long term growth and development of the automobile company will also be discussed. Behind the Scenes: The Firm Mercedes-Benz is a German brand known for its high quality motor vehicles for business and private customers. Their era starte d in the year 1886 when Karl Benz created the first petrol-powered car. Right now Mercedes-Benz is an international company with factories all around the globe and employs more than 100 000 people. The company is also involved in providing associated primary services. It is currently headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. The company is famous for its sports and lifestyles vehicles. The organization provides a supportive work environment for its employees. In order to ensure that, employees consider the brand as best place to work, the company engages in various developmental programmes, performance appraisals, insurance and health care benefits programmes, outdoor activities tec. Being in automotive sector, the overall organizational structure of Benz is complex. A separate team handles every region around the globe. Constant communication is required between the marketing and production team. Thus, overall structure of the organization can be considered as lateral and open. Section 2 The Story The year 2012 proved to be bad year for Mercedes Benz. The German carmaker slipped from numero uno to further to third position in the luxury car segment. The performance in China had deteriorated further. In spite of the sharp increase in sales of luxury cars, Benz posted a meagre growth of 4 percent. Further research into the matter exposed two critical factors. First was the poor quality of the cars. After complaints from consumers regarding faulty vehicle parts and hazardous interior materials, the company had to recall many of its vehicles. Another issue which came into light was low quality of customer service. This was evident from the huge number of customer complaints posted over internet in the past two years. The after sales service of the German car maker did not meet its expected brand image. Customer complaints were also found in case of imported Benz cars and the poor quality of the C and E class Benz cars. As a result, the overall rating of Mercedes-Benz in customer service fell way beyond industry average. This was more so in case of China, where it fell below local Chinese brands such as Geely, Roewe and Chery. As the company failed to

Many corporations are over managed and underled

Many corporations are over managed and underled Differentiate between management and leadership in the context of the statement many corporations are over-managed and under-led. (15) Management and leadership are two notions that are often used interchangeably. However, it describes two different concepts. Here, we shall first define management and leadership. Second, we will focus on the leadership styles and how they affect the managerial task. Jones and George (2009:5) define management as planning, organizing, leading and controlling of human and other resources to achieve organizational goals efficiently and effectively. According to Saha (2006:2) management is the conscious effort to form the environment by effectively utilizing the available resources. She further states that management is the skill of efficiently organizing the present scenario from a past viewpoint in order to shape the future. Leadership has been defined in many different ways, but most definitions share the assumption that it involves the process of influence that is concern with facilitating the performance of a shared task. Jones et al. (2009:494) defines leadership as the process by which a person exerts influence over people and inspire, motivates and directs their activities to help achieve group or organizational goals. Saha (2006:289) in her definition believes leadership is getting people to do things they never thought of doing, do not believe are possible or that they do not want to do. The definitions available, all describe management and leadership a two different ways of organizing people. Ehlers and Lazenby (2007: 220) believe that leadership and management complement each other, and expertise in both is necessary for successful strategy implementation and survival. A company that is well-led will not do well without effective management; similarly a company that is well-managed will also not do well without effective leadership. Managing organizations is therefore a complex activity. Managers must possess a wide range of skills, knowledge and abilities to enable them to make the right decision even in difficult situations. Leadership is one of the assets a successful manager must possess. However, a manager cannot just be a leader; he also needs authority to be effective. Following is Kotters distinction between Management and leadership as presented in the Regent Business School Study Guide (2007: 136). Management Leadership Direction Planning and budgeting Keeping eye on bottom line Creating vision and strategy Keeping eye on horizon Alignment Organizing and staffing Directing and controlling Creating boundaries Creating shared culture and values Helping other grow Reducing boundaries Relationships Focusing on objects producing/selling goods and services Based on position power Acting as boss Focusing on people inspiring and motivating followers. Based on personal power Acting as coach, facilitator, servant Personal Qualities Emotional distance Expert mind Talking Conformity Insight into organization Emotional connections (heart) Open mind (Mindfulness) Listening (communication) Nonconformity (Courage) Insight to self (Character) Outcomes Maintains stability, creates culture and efficiency Creates change and a culture of integrity Table1: Management vs Leadership (Business Regent School Guide., 2007: 137) According to Gaddini (2010: 1-2) [online] many corporations are over-managed and under-led. If they are to have a sustainable future, they must develop the capacity of individuals across the organization to exercise leadership more effectively. In recent years, organizations committed a lot of financial resources towards enhancing information technology, improved systems and innovations. Leaders need to be much more than information or task managers. They need to engage the organization by involving people at every level. Over managing an organization has to do with the management style a manager is using in running the organization, how much time they spend talking with their people about why things must get done? Companies need to identify, train and develop employees with managerial skills. To successfully manage a company, managers also need to be self-aware and be able to build teams, crate global management and marketing practices, and interact and manage employees from diverse cultural backgrounds. Noe (2005: 10) believes that effective managers are important because they help retain employees as one of the reasons employees leave jobs is the working condition created by managers. Saha (2006:18) describe persons management style as a typical pattern of behaviour she shows in carrying out a management role over a period of time. Management styles are the ways in which a manager deals with the employees or subordinates. Cronje et al. (2000: 152) believe that leadership and its models are driven by the assumption that certain personality traits and behaviour patterns are crucial to a leaders success. Jones et al (2009: 497) believes that a managers personal leadership style shapes the way that manger approaches planning, organizing and controlling. There are different styles to leadership and management that are based on different assumptions and theories. The styles used are based on a combination of the managers beliefs and preferences as well as the culture and norms of the organization. Following are leadership styles as described by Jones et al. (2009: 497-500), Cronje et al. (2000: 152-) and Anonymous. (2010: 1-2) [online]: Participatory/Democratic leadership Style In a participatory management style the worker can make a contribution to the design of their own work. Managers who practice this engage in certain types of behaviour. Employees are encouraged to be part of the decision making process. To engage the workers, they establish and communicate the purpose and direction of the organization. This help in developing a shared vision of what the organization should be. The managers role therefore is that of a leader. By her actions and words, she shows the way to her employees. She is also a coach, evaluating the results of her peoples efforts and helping them use the results to improve their processes. In this regard, decision taking takes time and thus the organization cannot afford to make mistakes. Autocratic leadership Style The premise of the autocratic management style is the belief that in most cases, the worker cannot make a contribution to their own work, and that even if they could, they would not. This goes with the classical approach. The manager retains as much power and decision-making authority as possible. He does not consult employees, not are they allowed to give any input. Subordinates are expected to obey orders without any explanations. Bureaucratic leadership style Gaddini believed that lack of personal contact between different arms of an organization has reduced peoples understanding of important regional, national and cultural differences. Therefore, as a result, most non-value-added activities are caused by poor communication skills and bad decision making. Managers need to take responsibility for the people who work for them, rather than simply managing the tasks the people perform. In conclusion, there is no one good method as the leadership style followed will also depend on the mangers personal background, the subordinates background and the companys traditions The leadership will thus no longer focus on power but on achievement. Evaluate this statement by examining the sources of leader power and discuss whether such a leadership style can be explained in terms of any leadership model (theory). (20) There are many ways to understand how leadership works in an organization. From the different views available, there seems no single or simple answer to which leadership style is best. Some leadership perspectives are currently more popular than others; however, each helps us to understand this complex issue. We will look at the five sources of leader power and discuss whether such a leadership style can be explained in terms of any leadership theory. Leaders influence others because of the power they possess. Cronje, Du Toit and Motlatla (2000: 151). Defined power defined as a measure of a persons ability to control the environment around them, including the behaviour of other persons According to Luthans (2005: 558) in achievement-oriented leadership, the leader sets challenging goals for subordinates and shows confidence that they will achieve these goals and perform well. The five sources of leader power are legitimate power, reward power, coercive power, referent power and expert power. Effective leaders take steps to ensure that they have sufficient levels of each type of power and they use the power they have in beneficial ways (Jones et al., 2009: 500) Legitimate power According to Jones et al (2009: 500) this is the authority that a manager has by virtue of her position in an organizations hierarchy. The leader has the right or the authority to tell others what to do and employees are obligated to obey. According Cronje et al (2000: 151) legitimate power refers to the authority granted in a business to a particular position. Accordingly, a manager has the right to dismiss employees if they fail to comply. However, even though managers may possess legitimate power, this in itself does not necessarily make them good leaders. Power of Reward The power of reward relies on the promise of or the ability to deliver a reward in return for desired behaviour. This is also regarded as the power to give or withhold rewards (Jones et al., 2009: 501). Such rewards are for example, salary raises, bonuses and recognition. Effective managers use their reward power in such a way that subordinates feel that their reward signals that they are doing a good job and their efforts are appreciated. Ineffective managers on the other hand use rewards in a more controlling manner that signals that the manager has the upper hand. Coercive power Coercive power is the power that comes from a persons authority to punish (Jones et al., 2009:501). From the viewpoint of followers, its one of the most obvious types of power a leader has. This is the power to enforce compliance through fear, whether psychological, emotional or physical. Robbers often make use of such power through physical force or violence. In this regard, physical force is not a consideration in modern business, but psychological or emotional fear of being retrenched, or of social exclusion from a group, constitutes forms of power that may be exercised by managers to put pressure on employees. Jones et al. (2009: 501) believes that ineffective managers tend to rely heavily on this power and sometimes get them fired. Referent power Jones et al. (2009: 503) believes that Referent power is that that comes from subordinates and co-workers respect, admiration and loyalty. Subordinates obey leaders simply because they like or respect them, and identify with them. In other words, the leaders personal characteristics make them attractive to others as some even get to know their subordinates and showing interest in them. Expert power Jones et al. (2009: 501) believes that this power is based on the knowledge the leader possess. Their power gives them influence over subordinates. This is derived from expertise, knowledge and professional ability. A manager who commands all five kinds of power is a strong leader. But it is not only managers, or leaders who possess power, employees possess it occasionally too. For instance when a manager is dependent on subordinates for information, they are needed for their cooperation. Managers should therefore understand that their subordinates also possess power, and that they should use their own power with care, and only to the extent necessary to achieve their objectives. Effective managers will use their power in such a way as to maintain a healthy balance between their own power and that of subordinates. There are different approaches The following leadership theories have been looked at to establish whether the styles discussed above can be explained to any of the theories. Trait Theory The trait theory is described by Jones et al. (2009: 504) as one that describes personal characteristics or traits that contribute to effective leadership. Managers who possess these traits are regarded as not effective leaders and some managers who do not possess all the traits are nevertheless effective leaders. A manager under this theory will be exercising the expert power. Traits here would be knowledge and expertise. There seem to be many studies on leadership traits but they only agree in general qualities needed for be a leader. Behaviour Theory This theory described two kinds of behaviour that most leaders engage in, consideration and initiating structure (Jones et al., (2009: 505-506). For consideration, the behaviour indicates that a manager trusts, respects and cares about the subordinate therefore, the referent and reward power. For initiating structure, subordinates perform their jobs as expected of them and adhere to rules and regulations. A manager under this theory will be using the legitimate power. Contingency Theory This theory takes into account the complexity surrounding leadership and the role of the situation in determining whether a manager is an effective or ineffective leader. Relationship-oriented leaders are most effective in situations that are moderately favourable for leading and will be using the referent power. They develop good relationships with their subordinates and want to be liked by them. Task-oriented leaders are most effective in situations that are very favourable or very unfavourable for leading (Jones et al. (2009: 507-508). Task-oriented leaders will be using the legitimate and coercive powers. They want subordinates to perform at a high level and focus on task accomplishments. Path Goal Theory This theory describes how effective managers motivate their subordinates by determining what outcomes their subordinates want, rewarding subordinates with these outcomes when they achieve their goals and perform at a high level, and clarifying the paths to goal attainment. Managers can engage in four different kinds of behaviours to motivate subordinates: directive behaviours, supportive behaviours, participative behaviours and achievement oriented behaviours (Jones et al. (2009: 510-511). This theory can be used by the leader in different situations. Luthans (2005: 558-559) believes that using one of the four factors stated above, the leader attempts to influence subordinates perceptions and motivate them, which in turn leads to their role clarity, goal expectancies, satisfaction and performance. By doing that the leader attempts to make the path to subordinates goal smooth. The conclusion therefore is that the Path Goal Theory is perceived as the most favourable theory by subordinates as it exerts most influence over them when they behave in ways that closely match their needs and values and requirements of a specific work situation. A flattening of the hierarchy suggests the need to review the organizational structure. With reference to this, identify the factors that influence the choice of an organizational structure. (12) Organizing can be effectively carried out only if the organizational structure has been developed to optimize the execution of strategies and plans. In other words, plans can be successfully implemented only if the organizational structure makes this possible. (Cronje et al. 2000:152). Before identifying the factors that influence the choice of an organizational structure we defined what that is. According to Jones et al. (2009: 346) an organizational structure is a formal system of task and reporting relationship that coordinates and motivates organizational members so that they work together to achieve organizational goals. Jones et al. (2009: 656-659) and Cronje et al. (2000:152) identified the following four factors: The Organizational Environment The environment in which a business operates should be taken as a basis for designing an organizational structure, The more quickly the external environment is changing within it, the greater the problems facing managers in trying to gain access to scarce resources. Managers have to make organizing choices that result in more flexible structures and entrepreneurial cultures. This means they have to decentralize authority, empower lower-level employees to make important operating decisions and encourage values and norms that emphasize change and innovation. If the external environment is stable, resources are readily available and uncertainty is low, managers must make organizing choices that bring more stability or formality to the organizational structure and establish values and norms that emphasize obedience and team players. Less coordination and communication takes place among people and functions to obtain resources. The organizational climate therefore play an important part i n organizational design. The type of structure that leads to the successful implementation of tasks depends on the culture of the business. The structure of a business with a formal culture will differ from one with more informal cultures. Strategy The close relationship between the strategy of a business and the organizational structure, or the infrastructure to implement the strategy is very important. Ehlers et al. (2007: 247) believes that a change in the organizations environment often triggers a change in strategy so that continued success and wealth maximization for all the organizations stakeholders can be sustained. It is therefore important that the organizational structure remains aligned with the strategy at all times. Human Resources There is also a close relationship between an organizational structure and the competence and role of staff. Structure influences both the choice of strategy and the preferences as to how things should be done. Most managers have a personal preference for a particular organizational structure, for the type of relations with subordinates and attitudes to formality and authority. However, they should also pay attention to the needs of the workforce and to the complexity and kind of work employees perform. In this regard, the tendency is to move away from the strictly formal bureaucratic structure and have a flexible structure that is characterized by decentralized authority and empowering employees. Technology Jones et al. (2009: 347) states that technology is the combination of skills, knowledge, machines, and computers that are sued to design, make , and distribute goods and services. As a result, the more complicated the technology that an organization uses, the more difficult it is to regulate or control it because more unexpected event can come up. The more complicated the technology become, the greater the need for a flexible structure and progressive culture to enhance the managers ability to respond to unexpected situations increase. However, the more routine the technology, the more appropriate is a formal structure, because tasks are simple and the steps needed to produce goods and services have been worked out in advance. The size of the business It is equally obvious that the structure also depends on the number of employees and managers to be coordinated. An increase in the size of the business also creates a need for greater specialization, more departments and more levels of management (Cronje et al., 2000: 152. In this regard, Mabey, Salaman and Storey (2005:247) believe that larger organizations would have more complex and formal structure. Nonetheless, even size is not a determining factor: some large organizations have managed to create informal arrangements while some smaller organizations have created more formal systems. Planning, leading and control are facilitated if management has an effective and dynamic organizational structure. Organizing is carried out amid many factors, each of which may provide input in the designing of the organizational structure. Some experts believe that the environment in which a business operates is a decisive factor. Others emphasize the connection between strategy and structure. The size and complexity of the business, the competence of its employees, organizational climate or corporate culture should not be ignored in designing the structure and informing departments and distributing tasks. Whatever is designed should be adaptable to changes in the business environment. With reference to the term devolution of power and authority, explain the need to decentralize authority. (8) Jones et al. (2009: 366) believes that decentralizing authority is giving lower-level managers and non managerial employees the right to make important decisions about how to use organizational resources. When leaders empower their subordinates, they take over some of the responsibilities and authority that used to reside with the leader such as the right to check ones own work and also take decisions that their leaders or supervisors use to make (Jones et al., 2009: 503) Decentralization of authority is need as employees at each level have different but related responsibilities for utilizing organizational resources to increase efficiency and effectiveness (Jones et al., 2009: 15-16). In order to understand decentralization of authority, one needs to understand the management processes and levels and managements. We looked at the levels of leadership as tabulated by Pearce and Robinson (2007: 372) hereunder. When the need for decentralization occurs, the size of the organization should be considered and the geographical location of its branches. If the organization is large and branches are located far from each other, then decentralization of authority should be considered. This will not only speed up the decision-making process and adapt to the local conditions, but importantly empower the employees. With the demarcation of Namibia into thirteen regions, the government has been trying to decentralize some of the authority to the Governors in the various regions. The process has been slow and although people welcomed the idea of allowing the Governors to take decisions based on the needs in their regions, they still feel that they do not all the authority they need. Due to that delays occurs in particular the recruitment processes. It is all still being done at a central place. Attracting resources and capabilities and developing the business RENEWAL PROCESS Developing operating managers and supporting their activities; maintaining organizational trust Providing institutional leadership through shaping and embedding corporate purpose and challenging embedded assumptions Managing operational interdependencies and personal networks INTEGRATION PROCESS Linking skills, knowledge, and resources across units; reconciling short-term performance and long-term ambition Creating corporate direction. Developing and nurturing organizational values Creating and pursuing opportunities; managing continuous performance improvement ENTREPRENEURIAL PROCESS Reviewing, developing, and supporting initiatives Establishing performances standards Front-Line Management Middle Management top Management Table 2: Management Processes and Levels of Management (Pearce et al., 2007: 372) Leadership is about coping with change. Discuss the relationship between organizational control and change, and explain why the management of change is a vital task. (20) The first question here is to discuss the relationship between organizational control and change. In order to that, we first look at the definitions. Organizational control is defined by Jones et al. (384) as the process whereby managers monitor and regulate how efficiently and effectively an organization and its members are performing the activities necessary to achieve organizational goals. Organizational changes on the other hand is defined as the movement of an organization away from its present state and towards some desired future state to increase its efficiency and effectiveness (Jones et al., 2009: 384). The relationship between organizational control and change is that there need to be balance between control which is the need to improve operations and change which is the need to respond to new events. Managers therefore must balance the need for an organization to improve the way it currently operates and the need for it to change in response to new unanticipated events as illustrated in figure 1 (Jones et al., 2009: 408). The second part of the question required an explanation as to why management of change is a vital task. Jones et al (2009:409) states that management of change is vital as there exist a need to constantly search for ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Managers have to develop the skills necessary like, political skills, analytical skills, people skills, system skill and business skills to manage change effectively. It is also vital for managers when managing change to follow the following steps as discussed by Jones et al (2009: 410-413). Assessing the need for change Deciding how to change an organization is a difficult task because change disrupts the status quo and poses a threat, prompting employees to resist attempts to alter work relationships and procedures. Assessing the need for change calls for two important activities that is recognizing that there is a problem and identifying its source. During the first step in the change process, managers need to recognize that there is a problem that requires change. Managers need to look at performance measures such as falling market share or profits, rising costs, or employees failure to meet their established goals or stay within budgets which indicate whether change is needed. Too identify the source of the problem, managers need to look both inside and outside the organization. Externally, they must examine how changes in environmental forces may be crating opportunities and threats that are affecting internal work relationships. Managers also need to look within the organization to see whether its structure is causing problems between departments. Need to respond to new events Need to improve operationsManagers must balance the need for an organization to improve the way it currently operates and the need for it to change in response to new unanticipated events. Figure 1: Organizational Control and Change (Jones et al., 2009: 408) Deciding on the change to make Once the source of the problem has been identified, managers must now decide what the organizations future would be and plan how they are going to attain that. Managers must also identify the obstacles of resistance and analyze these obstacles which can be at corporate, divisional, departmental and or individual level. It is important for managers to invite employees to participate in the planning for change as it will help overcome resistance and allay employees fears. Managers can also overcome resistance by emphasizing group or shared goals such as increased organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Implementing the change It is generally accepted that management introduce change from top down as they are the ones who identified the need for change, decided what to do and thus move quickly to implement the changes throughout the organization. With this approach, the emphasis is on making the changes quickly and dealing with problems as they arise, which is regarded as revolutionary in nature. This approach has the benefit of providing clear, sustained direction which is well resourced and coordinated, however, it also runs the risk of not being owned by a number of staff and may lead to some distrust. The bottom-up approach is regarded more gradual or evolutionary. Consultation takes place with middle and first-line managers about the need for change and develops a plan. The advantage of this approach is that it minimized uncertainty and resistance as employees participate and are kept informed of what is going on. Evaluating the change Managers need to evaluate how successful the change effort has been in improving organizational performance using measures such as changes in market share, benchmarks and profits. They also need to compare how well an organization is performing after the change with how well it was performing before. Finally, organizational control and change are closely linked because organizations operate in environments that are constantly changing and so mangers must be alert to the need to change their strategies and structures. With reference to the words the opening of existing communication channels and the recreation of new one Describe the communication process and outline the barriers to effective communication in the workplace. (15) Communication is the sharing of information between two or more individuals or groups to reach a common understanding. Good communication matters because business organizations are made up of people (Jones et al. (2009: 567). Communication process consist of two phases: the transmission phase where information is shared between two or more individuals or groups and the feedback phase where understanding is ensured. In both phases, a number of distinct stages must occur for communication to take place. (Jones et al., 2009: 569-570) (See figure 2). In the transmission phase, the sender who is the person or group wishing to share information with another person or group, decides on the message, what information to communicate. The sender then translates the message into symbols or language, a process called encoding. Noise is a general term that refers to anything that hampers any stage of the communication process. Once encoded, the message is transmitted through a medium to the receiver, who is the person or group for which the message is intended. A medium is just the pathway through which an encoded message is transmitted to the receiver. The receiver then interprets and tries to make sense of the message through a process called decoding. The feedback phase will then be initiated by the receiver, who now becomes the sender. The receiver decides what message to send to the original sender (who now is the receiver), encodes it, and transmits it through a chosen medium. The original sender determines that a common understanding has been reached, sender and receiver cycle through the whole process as many times as needed to reach a common understanding. Feedback eliminates misunderstandings, ensures that messages are correctly interpreted, and enables senders and receives to reach a common understanding. The encoding of messages into words, written or spoken, is verb

The QWERTY Phenomenon and the Game of Cricket :: Typing Technology Key Board Essays

The QWERTY Phenomenon and the Game of Cricket In "Darwin's Dangerous Idea", Dennett describes the QWERTY phenomena in biological and cultural evolution as an example of how "mere historical happenstance... restrict[s] our options" (6:131). Economists add a value judgment to this description, some using QWERTY as an example of market failure and inefficiency. However, the evolution of QWERTY, like cricket, follows rules that are enigmatic at first glance. Economists do not pursue the analogy with evolution and, as a result, do not detect the fundamental change in the system of production that rewrote the rules of efficiency. A historical retracing disentangles the reasons for QWERTY's continued dominance of keyboard systems. The integration of parts in the system of production demanded compatibility: the efficiency of the whole above the efficiency of the individual. QWERTY: Rise to fame In the first row of letters on your keyboard, the first six keys spell out a nonsensical string, QWERTY, that gives this layout its name. In the nineteenth century, it was found that if two adjacent keys on a typewriter were struck too quickly in succession, the type bars would jam. The alphabetical arrangement of keys proved to be problematic as it placed many commonly-used letters close together. Spacing these letters apart resulted in the somewhat arbitrary re-arrangement we see today. Given that computers have gotten rid of this mechanical problem, why does QWERTY continue to dominate keyboards around the world? First, a quick history. In the second half of the nineteenth century, typewriters with a variety of key layouts competed for commercial success, and the first to achieve it used QWERTY. Diamond argues, however, that the role the keyboard played in the typewriter's success was incidental rather than instrumental, crediting instead other advantageous components that the machine boasted, such as type bars, an inked ribbon, and a cylindrical paper carriage (2). But as this typewriter became more widely used in offices, more new users chose to train to touch-type using the QWERTY layout. As people climbed on the bandwagon, QWERTY experienced decreasing costs of selection: it became more likely to be picked over other key layouts (1). The "wrong" answer? Early dominance meant not only that QWERTY became the standard, but that it stayed that way too. The layout became locked in by the quasi-irreversibility of investments in training touch-typists and in equipment, and by the high costs of conversion (1). In fact, numerous attempts to implement improvements to the layout have met with failure.

Teenage Curfews Essay

Everyone has a different opinion when discussing the issues of curfews. Councils across Britain have tried to come up with a strategy for young teenagers to remain indoors between specified hours, typically at night. Police forces are trying to impose that teenagers must have a curfew. Teenagers themselves do not get to have a say in the matter. 90% of teenagers already have a curfew that has been imposed by their parents. Although every teenager is different, the local community, the local council and the police believe putting a curfew in place will stop a lot of crime, vandalism, underage smoking, drinking and sex. One of the worries for putting a curfew in place is how will the teenagers react? The police have knuckled down on teenagers. If they see people under the age of eighteen smoking, they have the right to take their cigarettes off them but have to break them up in front of the smoker. If people under the age of eighteen also are caught with alcohol (usually in a crowd) they also have the right to take their bottles but have to pour the alcohol out in front of them, but if there is a couple of youths drinking in the streets they can get lifted or even charged. The two types of curfews are complete curfews and partial curfews. First of all a complete curfew is in place constantly. So, for example, if police find a teenager out on the streets past a certain time they have the right to take them home or even to the cells if they had been causing bother. Secondly, a partial curfew is put in place when there are particular times where anti sociable behavior has taken place, for example when it is a weekend or school holidays and teenagers can be out all day and night with no adult guidance to keep them from starting trouble. Some people believe that a curfew should be put in action because it keeps teenagers of the streets and stops them from behaving antisocially. It is good for parents to know where their children are and for them to know they aren’t out on the streets causing trouble so it can make parents feel more relaxed. 75% of adults would agree that having a curfew in place is to protect their children and keep them out of troub le. A common saying coming from parents is â€Å"A lot of the worst activities teenagers can get involved in happen later at night, so if the teen is in at the time they are given it well help keep them out of trouble.† It’s stereotypical to think all the crime happens late at night but the majority of crime that does happen is at night so

Scaling Social Entrepreneurship

Social Entrepreneurship Should Address the Large Social Problems 53 VII- Scaling Social Entrepreneurship 58 VIII- The Conclusions 81 Footnotes 5 Many people stimulated my thinking on social entrepreneurship during my years at the non-profit foundation One Laptop per Child (OLAP). Their ideas may not be fully acknowledged in this book. I would like to thank Giuliani Atomic, Marina Cortes, Chuck Kane, Walter Bender, and Miguel Brenner for their friendship, patient explanations and insights that enabled me to hopefully better understand social problems and how social entrepreneurship can be applied to achieve solutions to such problems.Chuck also arranged for me to teach a course in social entrepreneurship each January in 2011-2015 at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Richard Bernstein of Greenberg Trauma should also be recognized for bringing me the opportunity to work for the first time In my career in the non-profit sector. As explained in the following Introduction, a single comme nt by Nicholas Negotiate led me to write this book. Another comment from Nicholas may be the basis for my third book. Any errors in this book are solely my responsibility.Many people encouraged me to write a book about OLAP. I elected not to do such a book but rather to more generally discuss the lessons I learned about how to scale a social entrepreneurship project. For more on the philosophy and history of OLAP I My favorite OLAP picture. West Bank 2010 8 Introduction From September 2009 until April 2013 1 served as the CUFF of One Laptop per Child Association. The mission of OLAP is to provide a modern education through a connected laptop to every child in the developing world.Nicholas Negotiate, Seymour Paper and several other professors and staff at the MIT Media Lab founded OLAP in 2005. Nicholas was the co-founder of the oral famous MIT Media Lab and Seymour, his colleague at the Media Lab, was one of the leading authorities in the area of how to facilitate child learning thr ough computers. When Nicholas founded the MIT Media Lab he adopted two principles that established the culture of the organization: 1. â€Å"Demo or die† 2. â€Å"Do the impossible† â€Å"Demo or die† basically determined the type of research that was desired.Rather than writing academic papers, students at the Media Lab were required to develop working prototypes, either physical working models or working computer code for computer-based solutions. Paper's views on constructionist and constructivism in learning probably contributed to this approach. Alan Kay, another MIT faculty member of considerable distinction, may have also influenced this tenet. â€Å"Do the Impossible† defined the types of problems that were acceptable to work on and was based on the thinking of the legendary MIT professor Marvin Minsk.Students were encouraged to work on large, difficult problems where the technology for a solution did not already exist. This focus on large problem s is consistent with the concept in entrepreneurship to focus on large market opportunities, although at the Media Lab it was understood that the sponsors of the Media Lab would license and commercialism the new technology developed. This orientation toward large, difficult problems guided the philosophy and development of OLAP Loop's mission is to provide a laptop to 1. Billion children in primary schools throughout the world. To achieve this end OLAP needed a solution that would scale on several dimensions. In one of our occasional discussions said to Nicholas that OLAP, although it originated as a detonative non-profit, was a great example of social entrepreneurship. Nicholas spooned, â€Å"social entrepreneurship does not scale. † As was the case several times, Nicholas made a single statement that prompted me to go off and think about an issue-?sometimes for several years-? which resulted in this book. Note: Nicholas' view of the limitations of social entrepreneurship is based on a belief that to achieve scale in solving social problems an organization had to engage national governments around the world. Such governments were much more likely to â€Å"partner† with non-profits that did not have the profit motive of an entrepreneur. ] Prior to OLAP I spent 30 years working in the private sector and twenty of hose years I worked outside the U. S. I have worked in over forty countries, mostly in Asia 10 and Latin America, and I lived in Peru and Indonesia.One advantage of spending so much time overseas is that I was able to first hand observe a country's development over a significant period of time. With the exception of China, every country that I visited beginning in the 1 sass exhibited a significant improvement in the standard of living by the start of the 21 SST century through the capitalist system of free enterprise. The examples I would cite to demonstrate my point would include Mexico, Singapore, Korea,Taiwan, Peru and Thailand, all o f which were very undeveloped countries in the early 1 sass and today are vibrant economies with a significant improvement in the standard of living. While stable governments, democracy and globalization were all contributing factors in certain countries, see capitalism as the one common factor in the countries I cited and in many other countries. Based on my own experience I have great confidence in capitalist, profit companies as a way to improve peoples lives anywhere in the world and thereby address social needs.During the financial crisis of 2008 when the world economic system purportedly came close to collapse, the issue of the morality of capitalism re- emerged as a popular topic and encouraged the growth of social entrepreneurship. History often paints capitalism as fundamentally amoral, lacking a moral system. Milton Friedman's now famous dictum that the purpose of a corporation is to maximize shareholder returns did much to popularize the absence of morality in capitalism. However, to criticize capitalism for a lack of morality based on the egregious behavior of a few individuals is comparable to criticizing the social system of 11 â€Å"government† because of the behavior of Hitler or Stalin. It is the people pirating the social system that may be immoral and generally not the system itself. My belief that capitalism can behave morally and make a social contribution is in part based on the nine years spent working in Indonesia. Indonesia is one of the poorest countries in Asia with per capita income of $600 or about $2 per day during most of the time I lived there (1990-1999).With a lot of other people helping, I built a billion dollar retail company in seven years that purchased $700 million dollars a year in locally manufactured merchandise, created 20,000 new retail jobs, built out one million square feet of retail space ere year and was one of the largest private sector tax payers in the country. These activities had a positive social and economic benefit beyond just our employees for thousands of other workers and their families in Indonesia. No socially motivated MONGO, multi-lateral bank or non-profit organization improved the number of lives we benefited operating a for-profit company.Perhaps only the Indonesian government affected more people than this private retail company. The point here is not to toot my horn but rather to show the positive impact in a poor country of a large, private, for-profit many with no explicit â€Å"social† mission. This confidence in the capitalist system instinctively makes me suspect of the need for the adjective â€Å"social† to modify entrepreneurship. (This may be similar to the debate in microeconomics over whether â€Å"utility† needed the modifier â€Å"marginal†. â€Å"Social† to modify entrepreneurship implies that this form of entrepreneurship is 12 more focused on societal, economic and environmental problems than traditional entreprene urship. Also implied is the idea that creating social value is better or preferred to merely creating economic value. Setting aside he problem of how one might measure â€Å"social† value, would question the premise that we even need a distinction for the social value component in social entrepreneurship, particularly given my experience in Indonesia.Despite my reluctance to acknowledge â€Å"social† as a meaningful distinction in entrepreneurship, I have organized this book on social entrepreneurship to develop the following themes: Why social entrepreneurship emerged as a new â€Å"business model†, which includes an argument for how to combine capitalism and morality as an integrated approach (Chapter I-The Emergence of Social Entrepreneurship in he 21st Century) The government's defined role as the sole provider of â€Å"public good† has been relaxed, opening the door for the private sector to provide social services (Chapter II- Government and the Pub lic Good) The non-profit movement has influenced the development Of social entrepreneurship, resulting in social entrepreneurs erroneously electing non- profits status.Such an election restricts access to capital markets (in my experience) and deprives them of a key resource to scale their organizations 13 which we call â€Å"society' and the former [state] ought to provide merely a Hayes rotational entrepreneurship have made a significant contribution to addressing social problems worldwide. (Chapter VIII-The Conclusions) 15 Chapter I-The Emergence of Social Entrepreneurship in the 21 SST Century Many believe that social entrepreneurship emerged as an alternative form of entrepreneurship in the first decade of the 21st century because more and more people were turning away from â€Å"big business† in order to â€Å"do good† and â€Å"save the world†. While true for some individuals, I believe that four factors explain the emergence of social entrepreneurship: 1. A Nobel prize for Muhammad Nuns . A renewal of the question of whether capitalism is moral 3.A wide spread recognition that government alone cannot solve social problems 4. The writings of C. K. Parallax and Clayton Christensen Muhammad Nuns and C. K. Parallax deserve much of the credit for the emergence of social entrepreneurship. The fact that Nuns is from Bangladesh and Parallax is from India is not a coincidence, but rather the basis for their more profound understanding of the dynamics of developing markets and their populations. Social entrepreneurship gained international acclaim when Muhammad Nuns on the Nobel Prize in 2006 for his micro-lending activities in Bangladesh. Providing loans to foster economic development for very poor people had never been done on a large scale prior to Nuns' Grahame Bank.Grahame Bank is now one of the largest companies in the world using social entrepreneurship as its business model, with 16 annual revenues in 201 1 exceeding $170 million. T om's Shoes, to be discussed in Chapter V, may indeed be larger, but I could not find any reliable information on annual revenues. The key factor to explain the success Of the Nuns' program was that poor people actually do repay their loans (despite life to the contrary by many). I learned the same lesson in Indonesia in the asses building a credit card program for customers that earned only $1000 per year. The economic crisis of 2007 re-opened the debate from the asses about the morality of capitalism and the reasons for renewed debate were the same.A period of high economic growth and significant wealth accumulation was followed by a period of major economic collapse. Such wide swings in the economy were perceived as the fault of the capitalists and their immoral behavior, as evidenced by all the average people whose lives were disrupted hen the economy crashed. Faced With such stern criticism and claims of immorality, a natural outgrowth was for everyone, including for-profit corp orations, to act in ways that were more socially responsible. One derivative idea was social entrepreneurship. Harvard Business School (HOBS) weighed in with several articles in support of capitalism and social responsibility.After all why do we need a business school if capitalism is doomed to collapse under the weight of its immoral behavior? Michael Porter, the world-renowned strategy professor at the school, described the situation after 2007: 17 The capitalist system is under siege. In recent years business increasingly has been viewed as a major cause of social, environmental, and economic problems. Companies are widely perceived to be prospering at the expense of the broader community. † porter's solution is the concept of â€Å"shared value†, which he defines as: creating economic value in a way that also creates value for society by addressing its needs and challenges†¦ He concept of shared value†¦ Recognizes that societal needs, not just conventional economic needs, define markets. It also recognizes that social harms or weaknesses frequently rate internal costs for firms-?such as wasted energy or raw materials, costly accidents, and the need for remedial training to compensate for inadequacies in education. † 1 A classic example of shared value is a company that should avoid polluting a river because the pollution kills the company's potential customers down river. If this example does not move you to reconsider the morality of capitalism, other professors at HOBS offered perhaps more persuasive arguments.Rebecca Henderson and Karachi Raman from HOBS produced a paper titled â€Å"Managers and Market Capitalism†. Long overdue, in my opinion, the authors introduce the need for morality in capitalism. The paper argues that businesses have a moral responsibility in addition to Milton Friedman's economic dictum to maximize shareholder returns. The authors argue that businesses have a moral 18 obligation to serve societ y by preserving free markets and capitalism and not just satisfy the self-interest of shareholders. Essentially if capitalism and free markets were to end, the shareholders would be harmed by a significant or total loss in the value of their shareholdings.Therefore, egregious behavior, such as the 2007 financial crisis, undermines the integrity of capitalism and ere markets and is therefore immoral. Although the authors did not extend the argument, I believe that they would agree that more socially responsible behavior by corporations fosters more confidence in capitalism and thereby benefits shareholders. Many argue implicitly or explicitly for the need for more social ventures, including social entrepreneurship, due to the lack Of a moral compass in for-profit ventures as a result of the underlying concept of self-interest. I believe that Henderson and Raman present a simple logic that shows for-profit managers a reason for moral behavior-?the reservation of the capitalist system. While it may not meet the standards of the Ten Commandments or other well-known moral systems, preserving the capitalist system does provide the basis to infuse capitalism with an easily understood morality-?act in ways which foster an appreciation and respect for capitalism by society. All but the most die-hard communist should see value in the argument. If not yet convinced about the role Of morality in capitalism, Herbert Simon, the 1978 Nobel Prize winner in economics offers support to introduce morality in capitalism. Simon developed the concept of bounded rationality– sections can only be optimal and never maximized. Bounded rationality offers for-profit managers the 19 â€Å"flexibility† for considerable moral and socially beneficial behaviors to perpetuate the capitalist system. Optimal decisions are by definition a matter of interpretation and not held to the more rigorous standard of minimization.