My Visit to the Vietnam Memorial Wall & Monument in Washington, DC Essay

My Visit to the Vietnam Memorial Wall & Monument in Washington, DC - Essay Example Many lives were wasted; many hearts broke because of this war, even if it meant â€Å"protecting the liberty† of a country. Because of this significance, the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. was erected in 1982. This memorial is dedicated to all the people who lost their lives fighting for liberty in the Vietnam War. The names of the US armed forces that were also Missing in Action (unaccounted for) were also engraved in the wall. These walls are testament to the greatness of these people who would fight for their country’s cause however vain. The walls are majestic. They were designed by Maya Lin, an architect from Yale. There are two walls and it is long, at least 200 feet. She used special stone walls from India called gabbro. These stones were imported specifically because of their excellent reflective property. One can actually look at the walls and stare at his own reflection. This is one of the major features of the wall, which is actual ly clever because the idea behind it is that when a visitor looks at the wall and sees his reflection, he could also look at the names of the veterans which symbolically means that the past and present are together in the wall. There are 58, 267 names engraved in the wall.

Team, Groups and Diversity In the Workplace Essay

Team, Groups and Diversity In the Workplace - Essay Example Back in the old days, the big players were top management; however, business structures have changed placing emphasis on the crucial role of business units known as â€Å"teams† or groups†. Although we often hear these two words used interchangeably, it would be best for any leader to know the significant difference between the two. Group or Team: Why It Matters The most common definition of a group given by social scientists is that it is composed of two or more people that have social interaction which seems quite simple. So two or three people stranded in an elevator is already considered a group. However, Katzenbach and Smith (1993) defined group as â€Å" two or more people who interact primarily to share information, best practices, or perspectives and to make decisions to help each individual perform within his or her area of responsibility† ( qtd. from Kane,1998). There is no need to meet a performance need nor to share accountability, according to the aut hors. They simply have to share experiences and help one another. On the other hand, aâ€Å"  team is a group of people coming together interdependently and cooperatively by accomplishing a purpose and goal. We know that working in a team, they will be conflicts, but assisting each other, we can build a firm team. ( De Janasz-Dowd-Schneider, 2005,Pg.187)  . The description can be plainly seen in the workings of any athletic team who need to train together for one purpose: win a championship. A small group can become a valuable team to any business unit. Once the team members are collective in their purpose and action, the leader would just steer them in the right direction for success to follow. However, one of the challenges in the work place today is diversity because globalization makes people from different cultures to work together. It is expected that conflicts would arise because people have different opinions on a certain issue. Challenges To A Team Hofstede’s st atement is clear â€Å"Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy. Cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster†. A diverse workplace presents different cultures which cannot be avoided. Culture is inherent in a society, and that culture affects and influences the way that particular society conducts its business (Henry, 1999). Nonetheless, even teams composed of one nationality would always have conflicts because humans have different beliefs. Katzenbach and Smith (1993), write in an article titled, The discipline of teams, note â€Å"When individuals approach a team situation, especially in a business setting, each has preexisting job assignments as well as strengths and weaknesses reflecting a variety of talents, backgrounds, personalities, and prejudices† (p. 168). Hence, team leaders need to face the challenge of bringing talented people together who may often disagree on a issue. Team leaders can be effective un dealing with co nflicts by helping members cultivate trust and respect to other members of team. A team leader can place guidelines that can help the team achieve its objectives. Instead of criticizing a team member who is not performing well, assistance must be given first to enable that team member cope with the group. The Importance of Diversity While diversity may bring challenges to an organization, particularly to a team, it can also contribute to the success of an organization. First of all, diversity encourages creativity so people in a diverse team can come up with new products and services. Second, having a diverse set of team members would ensure you that your organization is attuned to global customers. Consumers are not only concentrated

A Critical Analysis Of Techno Change Information Technology Essay

A Critical Analysis Of Techno Change Information Technology Essay This report offers a critical analysis of the article A Techno-cultural Emergence Perspective on the Management of Techno-change written by Stephen Jackson and George Philip. The principal purpose of this analysis is to identify and criticise the original contribution of the authors in the study, to discover any deficiencies in the proposed perspective, to propose any improvements and to look for any future research in this field. A brief overview is provided at the first. Part II, III and IV outline the definition of techno-change, importance of techno-change and techno-cultural emergence perspective. This is followed by the comment on originality and contributions; adopted research method, its appropriateness and limitations; and theoretical argument made by the study in Part V, VI and VII respectively. Key findings and their implications are provided in Part VIII. Finally, Part IX and X provide the deficiencies of the study and some recommendations for future research in this field. I. ABOUT THE ARTICLE The article in press, A techno-cultural perspective on the management of techno-change, published in the International Journal of Information Management in 2010 by Stephen Jackson and George Philip, explores the function of culture in the management of techno-change or technological change applying Cultural Theory originated from Anthropology as a hypothetical lens. The current three foremost viewpoints on organisation culture in relation to the management of technological changes namely technological determinism, cultural determinism and techno-cultural emergence, have been examined in this paper. The innermost precept of this article as proposed by the authors is that first two of the three approaches the technological determinism which pays less importance on the organisational culture and cultural determinism which provides   few thoughts on the technology would not be appropriately thriving in the technological change management arena; rather the authors put emphasis on the techno-cultural emergence approach in the facilitating contours of hierarchism, individualism/market and egalitarianism that promotes an atmosphere which can effectively manage the technological changes. II. WHAT IS TECHNO-CHANGE? The phrase Techno-change relates to the organisational changes for technological drives and encompasses a wide variety of features that are connected to and have effects for the changes contained by the organisations (Harison and Boonstra, 2009). When organisations adopt pristine technology which usually prompts or necessitates focal organizational changes, we can call it as Techno-change or technological change (Nilsson, 2008). The term Techno-change was first conceived by Markus in Technochange Management: Using IT to drive organisational change in 2004 (Markus, 2004) and from then the term techno-change has been widely applied in the technological and project management field along with various organisational circumstances.   TECHNOLOGICAL DETERMINISM: Technological determinism theory presumes that technological changes will drive cultural changes and social structure as well (Chandler, 2000). According to Chandler (2000), technological determinists usually try to account for nearly the whole thing in relation to technology: a perception is termed as technocentrism. CULTURAL DETERMINISM: Cultural determinism theory assumes that only culture determines our emotional and behavioural level. The supporters of cultural determinism view that culture is restricted, permanent, unitary and immobile over time (Jackson and Philip, 2005). III. IMPORTANCE OF TECHNO-CHANGE Now-a-days, techno-change is a critical incident and it is getting highly equal attention from both the profit and non-profit organisations (Harison and Boonstra, 2009). As innovations have been deluging in all aspects of businesses for the last couple of decades, the increasing introduction and implementation of large-scale information systems like the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems in business firms as well as higher education providing institutions have become a common phenomena (Chae and Lanzara, 2006; Harison and Boonstra, 2009). Although these wide spread applications of techno-changes, industry data revel that techno-change has high propensity to failure (Chae and Lanzara, 2006). A recent study by the Computer Associates (CA) in 2007 in the UK and Ireland reveals cheap visibility about the importance of IT projects and less management control over the project are costing more than  £256 million in the UK every year and one third of all the projects run-over of their actual budget by 10% 20% (CA, 2007). The KPMG (2005) survey of 600 organisations in twenty-two countries show approximately 50% of the participants experience at least one project failure in 2004 whereas KPMGs 2003 survey reveals 57% of the respondents had one or more IT projects failure in 2002 (KMGP, 2005) The Robbins-Gioia Survey in 2001 also states that 51% ERP implementations are unsuccessful (Basu, 2001). According to IT Cortex (available online: http://www.it-cortex.com/Stat_Failure_Rate.htm), the Conference Board Survey in 2001 also does not show happy results as only 34% ERP implementations are successful, 58% are moderate successful and 8% implementations are totally unsuccessful. The Chaos Report (1995) conducted by the Standish Group shows 31.1% IT projects are cancelled prior to their completion and 52.7% projects over run their original costs by 189%. The money spent on these collapses and overruns simply could be the apex of well-known iceberg. The gone opportunity cost could not be quantifiable but believed to be more than trillions of dollars in the USA only. According to the report, more than $250 billion are spent in the USA every year on nearly 175,000 IT based projects.   The above surveys outcomes substantiate that neglecting techno-change can cost considerable amount of money in terms of wastage and business failure.   IV. IMPORTANCE OF TECHNO-CULTURAL EMERGENCE PERSPECTIVE The authors have proposed to employ and create a new perspective the techno-cultural emergence perspective to manage the techno-change. What are the logic and influences behind this new perspective? According to Yates (2006), this emergent change is unanticipated and could be viewed as an opportunity rather than merely a hazard against the project. Equipped with resources, the actors could underpin and/or make way for the emergent change. The advantages and importance of this perspective is that it recognizes the unavoidability of unforeseen emergent and improvisation and admits those as possible optimistic events rather than a downbeat. As the authority of that project cannot always manage the change over the technology as is planned, they could employ resources to get benefit of the emergent development. The techno-cultural emergence perspective also critically examines the intricate connections among social, technical and interpretative issues that continuously put pressure on organisational contexts (Jackson and Philip, 2005). In their earlier paper which was published in 2005, these two authors argued that the techno-cultural emergence perspective incorporates human, social, political factors and the processes of techno-change that are ignored by the other two perspectives. V. ORIGINIALITY AND CONTRIBUTIONS Hereby the critique report has made an attempt to evaluate the originality of the study by comparing other researchers contributions and studies. From the study it is quite apparent that the authors have followed the central theme of Cultural Theory proposed by Douglas (1970). Lots of studies and researches have been conducted in both technological determinism and cultural determinism and it seems none of the approaches are quite successful in the management of techno-change. The third approach, the techno-cultural emergence, which incorporates both the technology and organisations culture, works in both ways, focuses on the emergency and approaches in the incremental line for the change, has got very little attention and understanding from the researchers. The authors made an attempt to solve this problem incorporating Cultural Theorys three cosmologies enabling forms (hierarchism, egalitarianism and individualism/market) in the techno-cultural emergence perspective. As organisation s culture is complex, ambiguous and authoritative in nature (Heilpern and Nadler, 1992), it has become difficult to implement techno-change easily and the authors have argued that enabling forms of hierarchism (fosters visionary leadership and coordination), egalitarianism (fosters teamwork, mutual confidence and information sharing) and individualism/market (fosters imagination, motivation and novelty) will be successful in the techno-change management. The authors have made significant novel contribution by proposing the enabling forms of Cultural Theorys three mechanisms for the effective management of techno-change. Other researchers also mention about these three enabling forms of Cultural Theory for intranet, development of culture and inter-firm relations but none of them have proposed for the total management of techno-change by these three enabling forms. For example, Ruppel and Harrington (2001) mention that flexibility and novelty (individualism/market); faith and interest for colleagues (egalitarianism); and strategies and knowledge management (hierarchism) will optimize intranet implementation (techno-change). Hendriks (1999) argues the elimination of fatalism for the development of culture in the organisations. Adler (2001) also shows three enabling mechanisms of Cultural Theory market/price, hierarchy/authority, and community/trust will improve inter-organisations relationship. VI. RESEARCH METHOD, APPROPRIATENESS AND LIMITATIONS The authors have implemented Case Study and Multiple Methods, a part of Qualitative research method, for proposing the techno-change management by techno-cultural emergence perspective in the facilitating modes of hierarchism, egalitarianism and individualism/market.   According to Yin (1994, p 20), a case study research should have the following components: Æ’ËÅ"   Development of research questions Æ’ËÅ"   Development of propositions, if any Æ’ËÅ"   Analysis Æ’ËÅ"   The rationale connecting the data to the propositions Æ’ËÅ"   The decisive factors for interpreting the findings. The main research question was how does Cultural Theory offer a novel insight for better consideration of techno-change and its successful management? Beside this, the authors raised another question which perspective(s)/cosmology(ies) would be suitable for proper management of techno-change. The authors developed a fourth proposition. The authors collected coded, constructed theories and conducted analysis through the use of multiple methods and software package (HyperResearch2.6).  Ã‚   As technological determinism (Case study A) and cultural determinism (Case study B) did not achieve the expected changes; were unsuccessful in context of change outcomes; did not respond to the unanticipated improvisations to the technology and did not address properly to the unanticipated cultural issues arose from the techno-changes as opposed to the techno-cultural determinism (Case study C), the authors built their rationale for the fourth proposition on the basis of these comparisons. The decisive factors were enabling forms of Cultural Theory, namely hierarchism, egalitarianism, and individual/market as proposed by Douglas (1970) for successful management of techno-change. Stake (1995) and Yin (1994) recognized six bases for substantiation in the case study research method as illustrated in Tellis (1997) and these are: a.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Documents (internal documents were analysed) b.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Archival records (company literature were analysed) c.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Interviews (total 46 interviews were conducted) d.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Direct inspection (Golds [1969] method was applied) e.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Users inspection (Golds [1969] method was followed) f.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Physical artefacts (company blueprints were analysed) The above discussion confirms the appropriateness of Case Study research method for this study. Overall, this type of research method has proved well-matched with the proposal as it provides the end to end analysis of the problem discussed and other researchers like Myers (1997) also supported case study research method in the IS field. However, there could be some limitations also recognised in this study. It seems the authors have applied Grounded Theory (Myers, 1997) which examined the initial evolution of cultural issues in the three different cases. A stage approach applying longitudinal or ethnographic method could be more useful in this type of research as both the methods examine the events and proceedings at every stage of techno-change life-cycle. As the project implementation periods were very lengthy in all the three cases, biasness of the participants could be a limitation in this study, which provided difficulties for the interviewees to recall the experiences throughout the project implementation period. Other researchers such as Orlikowski (1991) and Preston (1991) also support the use of ethnographic method in the IS field as illustrated in Myers (1997). VII. THEORETICAL ARGUMENT The authors proposed a techno-cultural emergence perspective to understand techno-change management, moving away from technological and cultural deterministic views of change, through the enabling forms of Cultural Theory proposed by Douglas (1970). According to Cultural Theory, individuals social situation can be identified by two principal dimensions grid and group, ultimately produce four means of life (cosmology). The cosmologies are: fatalism, hierarchism, individualism/market and egalitarianism. Each way of life possesses facilitating/enabling and or constraining/impeding characteristics. Fatalism produces apathy and fear, thus, it is regarded as constraining form in the techno-change management. The enabling form of hierarchism inspires leadership and coordination; individualism/market inspires creativity, motivation and inventiveness; and egalitarianism inspires teamwork, confidence and information sharing. The authors in this study make a theoretical argument that because o f technological determinisms negligence in organisational culture and cultural determinisms negligence in technology, these three cosmologies enabling forms will lead to successful management of techno-change. The authors claim that change should be viewed as continuous and emergent rather than planned and managers should take their endeavour to lessen constraining cultural attributes and construct such environment that will promote the enabling forms and as a result techno-change management can be done successfully. No research substantiation for this claim is clearly apparent in the study. VIII. THE KEY FINDINGS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS Several important findings can be obtained from this study.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A new perspective: Management should not follow top-down technological or cultural driven method for the successful implementation and management of techno-change. As an alternative, the authors proposed an incremental/evolutionary style along with continuous adjustments and improvements in culture and technology will lead successful techno-change management. Stakeholders in techno-change should keep in mind that change is an ongoing process and it is made up of uncertain, questionable and unavoidable issues of both the technology and culture. In terms of implications, this new strategy might be quite successful as both the technological and cultural determinism approaches have proved unsuccessful in the techno-change. This strategy might get higher success rate in the successful implementation of ERP which aims to get visibility on inventories around the world or placing one face to the customer (Markus, 2004, p 14), on BPR (Business Process Redesign) or on various innovative and contemporary measurements and amendments in organisation structures. This strategy might be implemented in Supply Chain Management (SCM) as well which aims to address on the different productions and deliveries schedules, greater information sharing within the associated organisations and the ways of procurements.   Ã‚ ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   More attention on techno-change process: Much concentration is needed in the field of software vendor and contract; training and encouragement of participation of the users; data transfer; interface development, system testing and coverage. In terms of implications, addressing these issues during the techno-change management process is vital. According to Markus (2004), although the management might know the need of a new system but might not be aware of huge variations between systems of the similar type recommended by various software vendors as well as the amount of flexibility around the softwares applications. She argues this superior awareness of the options will lead to successful techno-change. Sometimes, the management might decide to save money on software testing which can result buggy software, or on training of users which could result incompetent users who commit higher mistakes.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cultural issues: Organisations cultural issues must not be overlooked during the techno-change process. Constricting cultural cosmology must be minimised whereas facilitating cosmologies must be promoted within the organisations culture. Markus (2004) argues that every techno-change brings out probable provocation from human reaction which we term as resistance to change and any difference between the techno-change and organisations culture brings out conflict and chips in to resistance. She claims, because of their view to the devotion to the patients care, doctors and nurses usually resent those techno-changes which bring greater organizational competences. Individuals who like to work on their own might resent to the techno-changes which provide greater teamwork facilities. Markus (2004) also illustrates two national cultural misfits in the techno-change as well because of lacking in map culture, geographical information system (GIS) is not greatly used in India whereas ERP system is rarely used in China because managers have little confidence in their subordinates regarding the access in the business data. So managers should promote coordination among users (hierarchism); teamwork and confidence among users (ega litarianism); and inventiveness, motivation and creativity (individualism/market) whereas managers should try to minimise any apathy and fear to techno-change (fatalism). IX. DEFECIENCIES IN THE STUDY 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The authors proposed perspective is totally based on Douglass (1970) Cultural Theory which is not away from criticisms as well. According to Caulkins (1999), the first drawback is the outline of this theory has not been done through comprehensive cross-cultural testing. He also proposed for further testing of this group-grid framework. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the study, it appears techno-change and IT projects are the same although there is substantial difference in between these two processes. According to Markus (2004) IT projects aim to improve technical performances whereas techno-change heavily affects the users such as people, process and organisation performance. She also argues that although both IT projects and techno-changes heavily rely on IT but IT projects bring organisations success through improved functionality, reliability and cost of technology with no considerable amendments in the organisations operations whereas techno-changes generally improve organisations outcome measurements considerably like the process efficiency and cycle time. The authors did not distinguish techno-changes and IT projects in the study. 3.  Ã‚   There is no cross-case analysis for the same private sector enterprises. For example, the authors could select a retail business to compare with the business/technology solution provider. A further cross-case analysis could be done for public sector by including and analysing a health care service provider and a government organisation. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Case study research method is a multi-perspective analysis method (Tellis, 1997) which means the study does not count just the voice and perspectives of the actors but also needs to consider various relevant groups of actors and the relations among them. The cases in this study only considered actors within the organisations but ignored the external stake-holders and users like the students, customers and investors. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The proposition is not tested on different sectors like the NGOs and not-for-profit organisations. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The proposition is not tested on different countries culture as well. We cant get any idea in which country/location this study was conducted. Different countries have different cultures and cultures vary for the locations as well, the disclosure of location/country of the study would provide some idea about the perception and successful management of techno-change in the same geographic location. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Insufficient information can lead inappropriate implications. For example, we can find none of the cases in this study reveal the actual cost or the total cost of the techno-change. As cost is a major consideration for implementing IS project or techno-change, the information on cost for the organisations could provide insight for other similar types of organisations. 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Social, economic and environmental factors have not been analysed in the cases. None of the cases shows the social advantages, benefits or disadvantages of the employees/users for a techno-change. Economic benefits of the organisations have not been discussed. Every techno-change has impacts on its surrounding environment and that has not been mentioned anywhere in the study. A classic example was illustrated by Markus (2004) for Cigna. The firm launched its new CRM for the cost of $1 billion which ultimately laid off its customer service personnel department but the new system at the end could not handle 3.5 million customers complaints and eventually Cignas share price fell significantly. 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The authors have not outlined how to implement emergence perspective throughout the organisations and the factors are needed to be considered while implementing it. The authors also have not mentioned how the organisations can create, support, maintain and promote the enabling forms and how organisations can avoid and discourage the constraining form.   11. The authors have not critically analysed the role of IT specialists and other internal staff specialists like the industrial engineering and strategic planners as they play vital roles in the implementation of techno-change (Markus, 2004). Besides the performances of organisational managers, internal and external change consultants and technology performances have not critically analysed in the study. The techno-change life cycle chartering, the IT project, start-up and shakedown (Markus, 2004) of the described three cases has not been properly stated as well. 12. According to the authors, an individuals membership in the cosmologies is not fixed or permanent and it is dynamic in nature. Our concern is possessing three cosmologies at the same time for an individual cannot it create confusion, conflict and overlapping situations in the individuals which might impede the process of techno-change? X. RECOMMENDATIONS Action Research could be applied instead of Case Study research method as it is now attracting more attention for researchers (Myers, 1997). Although action research is generally ignored in information systems aside from some notable experiments, for example, Checkland (1991) as illustrated in Myers (1997). Ethnographic research could be applied as it puts emphasis on social and cultural context. As ethnographic research encompasses a greater area including the study of the development of IS to the study features of IT management, multiple perspectives can be incorporated and has widely been used in the study of information systems (Myers, 1997), this type of research would be more accurate for the investigation and management of techno-change. Cross-case analysis can be applied. This type of technique examines pairs of cases, categorizes resemblances and dissimilarities in each pair which will lead to a certain type of pattern which may provide specific support or evidence in the case studies (Tellis, 1997). Although this study compared only one pair of public enterprises, it ignored other cross-case analysis in the private sector. Time and distance effects should be reduced as both of them affect the techno-change management (Markus, 2004). If we look at the Case B where TI/IS implementation time was 5 years (2001 2006) whereas Case A and C both took 2 years. This long period of implementation time could affect the users and members of IT/IS adversely where they may feel distant from the organisations and the ongoing operations of the organisations which might put question on the success of the techno-change. XI. REFERENCES Adler, P. S., 2001, Market, Hierarchy, and Trust: The Knowledge Economy and the Future of Capitalism, Organization Science, Volume 12, No. 2, Available online: http://orgsci.journal.informs.org/cgi/content/abstract/12/2/215 Basu, I., 2001, ERP implementation failures and the Philosophers Stone, Available online: http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20071105/management04.shtml Caulkins, D., 1999, Is Mary Douglass Grid/Group Analysis Useful for Cross-Cultural Research? Cross-Cultural Research, Volume 33, No. 1, pp 108-128, Available online: http://ccr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/33/1/108 Chae, B. and Lanzara, G. F., 2006, Self-destructive dynamics in large-scale techno-change and some ways of counteracting it, Information Technology People, Volume 19, No. 1, pp 74 97. Available online: www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-3848.htm Chandler, D., 2000, Technological or Media Determinism, Available online: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/tecdet/tdet03.html Harison, E. and Boonstra, A., 2009, Essential competencies for technochange management: Towards an assessment model, International Journal of Information Management, Volume 29, Issue 4, pp 283 294, Available online: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science Heilpern, J. And Nadler, D., 1992, Implementing TQM: A Process of Cultural Change, Organisational Architecture, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Hendriks, F, 1999, The Post-industrializing City: Political Perspectives and Cultural Biases, GeoJournal, Volume 47, Number 3, Available online: http://www.springerlink.com/content/pmtatt1umn2cej8t/ Jackson, S. and Philip, G., 2005, Organisational Culture and the Management of Technological Change: A Theoretical Perspective, Available online: http://is2.lse.ac.uk/asp/aspecis/20050109.pdf KPMG, 2005, Information Risk Management, Global IT Project Management Survey: How committed are you? Available online:   http://us.kpmg.com/Rutus_Prod/Documents/12/ITProjectAdvisorySurveyReport.pdf Markus, M. L., 2004, Technochange management: using IT to drive organizational change, Journal of Information Technology, Volume 19, pp 4 20, JIT Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Myers, M., 1997, Qualitative Research in Information Systems, Available online: C:Documents and SettingsuserDesktopQualitative Research in Information Systems.htm Nilsson, A., 2008, Management of Technochange in an Interorganizational e-Government Project, Proceedings of the 41st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Available online: http://www.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/doi/10.1109/HICSS.2008.240 Ruppel, C.P. and Harrington, S. J., 2001, Sharing Knowledge Through Intranets: A Study of Organisational Culture and Intranet Implementation, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Volume 44, Issue 1, pp 37 52 Tellis, W., 1997, Introduction to Case Study, Available online: http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR3-2/tellis1.html The Standish Group Report: Chaos, 1995, Available online: http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/docs/chaos-report.pdf The CA, 2007, Press Releases, Available online: http://www.ca.com/gb/press/release.aspx?cid=155480 Yates, J., 2006, Planned, Emergent and Opportunistic Change, Available online: http://icd.si.umich.edu/~cknobel/?q=node/41 Yin, R., 1994, Case Study Research: Design and Methods, Second Edition, Beverly Hills, California, Sage Publication.

Life Means Life - Original Writing :: Papers

Life Means Life - Original Writing The sly shoves and kicks from policemen didn't bother me. It was the look on their faces. They turned up their noses as if the smell of me was too foul to endure. Their eyes seemed to darken at the sight of me. The first time it really hit me that I was going to spend the rest of my life in prison was only when they took away my personal belongings. Everything that gave me a sense of identity, of individuality was carefully listed and placed into that blue plastic box - a Mars bar which I have loved since I was a little lad; my keys that never worked first time you twisted them in the lock; my worn and familiar clothes that I refused to throw out just because they were old, and my wallet with the picture of - my girlfriend who says she no longer loves me. These small insignificant things that made me an individual were stripped away literally and all that was left was me. Me. It made me break down right there in the room while they were removing the laces from my shoes. "We don't want any hangings tonight do we?" said the surly officer. A humiliating, brutal and invasive search of my naked body followed amid sniggers and crude comments from the men in blue before being marched to my cell. By this point I was beyond caring. A switch in my mind was flicked and I stared straight ahead, silently following the instructions of the uniformed guards neither flinching nor responding to anything anyone said or did. The door slammed shut and I surveyed my new home with its hard bed and a bucket in a corner. I was placed in solitary confinement `for my own security' which meant I didn't have to face the other inmates immediately although I realised at some point that I would have to. Solitary confinement - time to give me think about the weeks and months leading up to this point and the crime they say I committed.

Angels Demons Chapter 66-69

66 Chinita Macri was mad. She sat in the passenger's seat of the BBC van as it idled at a corner on Via Tomacelli. Gunther Glick was checking his map of Rome, apparently lost. As she had feared, his mystery caller had phoned back, this time with information. â€Å"Piazza del Popolo,† Glick insisted. â€Å"That's what we're looking for. There's a church there. And inside is proof.† â€Å"Proof.† Chinita stopped polishing the lens in her hand and turned to him. â€Å"Proof that a cardinal has been murdered?† â€Å"That's what he said.† â€Å"You believe everything you hear?† Chinita wished, as she often did, that she was the one in charge. Videographers, however, were at the whim of the crazy reporters for whom they shot footage. If Gunther Glick wanted to follow a feeble phone tip, Macri was his dog on a leash. She looked at him, sitting there in the driver's seat, his jaw set intently. The man's parents, she decided, must have been frustrated comedians to have given him a name like Gunther Glick. No wonder the guy felt like he had something to prove. Nonetheless, despite his unfortunate appellative and annoying eagerness to make a mark, Glick was sweet†¦ charming in a pasty, Briddish, unstrung sort of way. Like Hugh Grant on lithium. â€Å"Shouldn't we be back at St. Peter's?† Macri said as patiently as possible. â€Å"We can check this mystery church out later. Conclave started an hour ago. What if the cardinals come to a decision while we're gone?† Glick did not seem to hear. â€Å"I think we go to the right, here.† He tilted the map and studied it again. â€Å"Yes, if I take a right†¦ and then an immediate left.† He began to pull out onto the narrow street before them. â€Å"Look out!† Macri yelled. She was a video technician, and her eyes were sharp. Fortunately, Glick was pretty fast too. He slammed on the brakes and avoided entering the intersection just as a line of four Alpha Romeos appeared out of nowhere and tore by in a blur. Once past, the cars skidded, decelerating, and cut sharply left one block ahead, taking the exact route Glick had intended to take. â€Å"Maniacs!† Macri shouted. Glick looked shaken. â€Å"Did you see that?† â€Å"Yeah, I saw that! They almost killed us!† â€Å"No, I mean the cars,† Glick said, his voice suddenly excited. â€Å"They were all the same.† â€Å"So they were maniacs with no imagination.† â€Å"The cars were also full.† â€Å"So what?† â€Å"Four identical cars, all with four passengers?† â€Å"You ever heard of carpooling?† â€Å"In Italy?† Glick checked the intersection. â€Å"They haven't even heard of unleaded gas.† He hit the accelerator and peeled out after the cars. Macri was thrown back in her seat. â€Å"What the hell are you doing?† Glick accelerated down the street and hung a left after the Alpha Romeos. â€Å"Something tells me you and I are not the only ones going to church right now.† 67 The descent was slow. Langdon dropped rung by rung down the creaking ladder†¦ deeper and deeper beneath the floor of the Chigi Chapel. Into the Demon's hole, he thought. He was facing the side wall, his back to the chamber, and he wondered how many more dark, cramped spaces one day could provide. The ladder groaned with every step, and the pungent smell of rotting flesh and dampness was almost asphyxiating. Langdon wondered where the hell Olivetti was. Vittoria's outline was still visible above, holding the blowtorch inside the hole, lighting Langdon's way. As he lowered himself deeper into the darkness, the bluish glow from above got fainter. The only thing that got stronger was the stench. Twelve rungs down, it happened. Langdon's foot hit a spot that was slippery with decay, and he faltered. Lunging forward, he caught the ladder with his forearms to avoid plummeting to the bottom. Cursing the bruises now throbbing on his arms, he dragged his body back onto the ladder and began his descent again. Three rungs deeper, he almost fell again, but this time it was not a rung that caused the mishap. It was a bolt of fear. He had descended past a hollowed niche in the wall before him and suddenly found himself face to face with a collection of skulls. As he caught his breath and looked around him, he realized the wall at this level was honeycombed with shelflike openings – burial niches – all filled with skeletons. In the phosphorescent light, it made for an eerie collage of empty sockets and decaying rib cages flickering around him. Skeletons by firelight, he grimaced wryly, realizing he had quite coincidentally endured a similar evening just last month. An evening of bones and flames. The New York Museum of Archeology's candlelight benefit dinner – salmon flambe in the shadow of a brontosaurus skeleton. He had attended at the invitation of Rebecca Strauss – one-time fashion model now art critic from the Times, a whirlwind of black velvet, cigarettes, and not-so-subtly enhanced breasts. She'd called him twice since. Langdon had not returned her calls. Most ungentlemanly, he chided, wondering how long Rebecca Strauss would last in a stink-pit like this. Langdon was relieved to feel the final rung give way to the spongy earth at the bottom. The ground beneath his shoes felt damp. Assuring himself the walls were not going to close in on him, he turned into the crypt. It was circular, about twenty feet across. Breathing through his sleeve again, Langdon turned his eyes to the body. In the gloom, the image was hazy. A white, fleshy outline. Facing the other direction. Motionless. Silent. Advancing through the murkiness of the crypt, Langdon tried to make sense of what he was looking at. The man had his back to Langdon, and Langdon could not see his face, but he did indeed seem to be standing. â€Å"Hello?† Langdon choked through his sleeve. Nothing. As he drew nearer, he realized the man was very short. Too short†¦ â€Å"What's happening?† Vittoria called from above, shifting the light. Langdon did not answer. He was now close enough to see it all. With a tremor of repulsion, he understood. The chamber seemed to contract around him. Emerging like a demon from the earthen floor was an old man†¦ or at least half of him. He was buried up to his waist in the earth. Standing upright with half of him below ground. Stripped naked. His hands tied behind his back with a red cardinal's sash. He was propped limply upward, spine arched backward like some sort of hideous punching bag. The man's head lay backward, eyes toward the heavens as if pleading for help from God himself. â€Å"Is he dead?† Vittoria called. Langdon moved toward the body. I hope so, for his sake. As he drew to within a few feet, he looked down at the upturned eyes. They bulged outward, blue and bloodshot. Langdon leaned down to listen for breath but immediately recoiled. â€Å"For Christ's sake!† â€Å"What!† Langdon almost gagged. â€Å"He's dead all right. I just saw the cause of death.† The sight was gruesome. The man's mouth had been jammed open and packed solid with dirt. â€Å"Somebody stuffed a fistful of dirt down his throat. He suffocated.† â€Å"Dirt?† Vittoria said. â€Å"As in†¦ earth?† Langdon did a double take. Earth. He had almost forgotten. The brands. Earth, Air, Fire, Water. The killer had threatened to brand each victim with one of the ancient elements of science. The first element was Earth. From Santi's earthly tomb. Dizzy from the fumes, Langdon circled to the front of the body. As he did, the symbologist within him loudly reasserted the artistic challenge of creating the mythical ambigram. Earth? How? And yet, an instant later, it was before him. Centuries of Illuminati legend whirled in his mind. The marking on the cardinal's chest was charred and oozing. The flesh was seared black. La lingua pura†¦ Langdon stared at the brand as the room began to spin. Angels & Demons â€Å"Earth,† he whispered, tilting his head to see the symbol upside down. â€Å"Earth.† Then, in a wave of horror, he had one final cognition. There are three more. 68 Despite the soft glow of candlelight in the Sistine Chapel, Cardinal Mortati was on edge. Conclave had officially begun. And it had begun in a most inauspicious fashion. Half an hour ago, at the appointed hour, Camerlegno Carlo Ventresca had entered the chapel. He walked to the front altar and gave opening prayer. Then, he unfolded his hands and spoke to them in a tone as direct as anything Mortati had ever heard from the altar of the Sistine. â€Å"You are well aware,† the camerlegno said, â€Å"that our four preferiti are not present in conclave at this moment. I ask, in the name of his late Holiness, that you proceed as you must†¦ with faith and purpose. May you have only God before your eyes.† Then he turned to go. â€Å"But,† one cardinal blurted out, â€Å"where are they?† The camerlegno paused. â€Å"That I cannot honestly say.† â€Å"When will they return?† â€Å"That I cannot honestly say.† â€Å"Are they okay?† â€Å"That I cannot honestly say.† â€Å"Will they return?† There was a long pause. â€Å"Have faith,† the camerlegno said. Then he walked out of the room. The doors to the Sistine Chapel had been sealed, as was the custom, with two heavy chains on the outside. Four Swiss Guards stood watch in the hallway beyond. Mortati knew the only way the doors could be opened now, prior to electing a Pope, was if someone inside fell deathly ill, or if the preferiti arrived. Mortati prayed it would be the latter, although from the knot in his stomach he was not so sure. Proceed as we must, Mortati decided, taking his lead from the resolve in the camerlegno's voice. So he had called for a vote. What else could he do? It had taken thirty minutes to complete the preparatory rituals leading up to this first vote. Mortati had waited patiently at the main altar as each cardinal, in order of seniority, had approached and performed the specific balloting procedure. Now, at last, the final cardinal had arrived at the altar and was kneeling before him. â€Å"I call as my witness,† the cardinal declared, exactly as those before him, â€Å"Christ the Lord, who will be my judge that my vote is given to the one who before God I think should be elected.† The cardinal stood up. He held his ballot high over his head for everyone to see. Then he lowered the ballot to the altar, where a plate sat atop a large chalice. He placed the ballot on the plate. Next he picked up the plate and used it to drop the ballot into the chalice. Use of the plate was to ensure no one secretly dropped multiple ballots. After he had submitted his ballot, he replaced the plate over the chalice, bowed to the cross, and returned to his seat. The final ballot had been cast. Now it was time for Mortati to go to work. Leaving the plate on top of the chalice, Mortati shook the ballots to mix them. Then he removed the plate and extracted a ballot at random. He unfolded it. The ballot was exactly two inches wide. He read aloud for everyone to hear. â€Å"Eligo in summum pontificem†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he declared, reading the text that was embossed at the top of every ballot. I elect as Supreme Pontiff†¦ Then he announced the nominee's name that had been written beneath it. After he read the name, he raised a threaded needle and pierced the ballot through the word Eligo, carefully sliding the ballot onto the thread. Then he made note of the vote in a logbook. Next, he repeated the entire procedure. He chose a ballot from the chalice, read it aloud, threaded it onto the line, and made note in his log. Almost immediately, Mortati sensed this first vote would be failed. No consensus. After only seven ballots, already seven different cardinals had been named. As was normal, the handwriting on each ballot was disguised by block printing or flamboyant script. The concealment was ironic in this case because the cardinals were obviously submitting votes for themselves. This apparent conceit, Mortati knew, had nothing to do with self-centered ambition. It was a holding pattern. A defensive maneuver. A stall tactic to ensure no cardinal received enough votes to win†¦ and another vote would be forced. The cardinals were waiting for their preferiti†¦ When the last of the ballots had been tallied, Mortati declared the vote â€Å"failed.† He took the thread carrying all the ballots and tied the ends together to create a ring. Then he lay the ring of ballots on a silver tray. He added the proper chemicals and carried the tray to a small chimney behind him. Here he lit the ballots. As the ballots burned, the chemicals he'd added created black smoke. The smoke flowed up a pipe to a hole in the roof where it rose above the chapel for all to see. Cardinal Mortati had just sent his first communication to the outside world. One balloting. No Pope. 69 Nearly asphyxiated by fumes, Langdon struggled up the ladder toward the light at the top of the pit. Above him he heard voices, but nothing was making sense. His head was spinning with images of the branded cardinal. Earth†¦ Earth†¦ As he pushed upward, his vision narrowed and he feared consciousness would slip away. Two rungs from the top, his balance faltered. He lunged upward trying to find the lip, but it was too far. He lost his grip on the ladder and almost tumbled backward into the dark. There was a sharp pain under his arms, and suddenly Langdon was airborne, legs swinging wildly out over the chasm. The strong hands of two Swiss Guards hooked him under the armpits and dragged him skyward. A moment later Langdon's head emerged from the Demon's hole, choking and gasping for air. The guards dragged him over the lip of the opening, across the floor, and lay him down, back against the cold marble floor. For a moment, Langdon was unsure where he was. Overhead he saw stars†¦ orbiting planets. Hazy figures raced past him. People were shouting. He tried to sit up. He was lying at the base of a stone pyramid. The familiar bite of an angry tongue echoed inside the chapel, and then Langdon knew. Olivetti was screaming at Vittoria. â€Å"Why the hell didn't you figure that out in the first place!† Vittoria was trying to explain the situation. Olivetti cut her off midsentence and turned to bark orders to his men. â€Å"Get that body out of there! Search the rest of the building!† Langdon tried to sit up. The Chigi Chapel was packed with Swiss Guards. The plastic curtain over the chapel opening had been torn off the entryway, and fresh air filled Langdon's lungs. As his senses slowly returned, Langdon saw Vittoria coming toward him. She knelt down, her face like an angel. â€Å"You okay?† Vittoria took his arm and felt his pulse. Her hands were tender on his skin. â€Å"Thanks.† Langdon sat up fully. â€Å"Olivetti's mad.† Vittoria nodded. â€Å"He has a right to be. We blew it.† â€Å"You mean I blew it.† â€Å"So redeem yourself. Get him next time.† Next time? Langdon thought it was a cruel comment. There is no next time! We missed our shot! Vittoria checked Langdon's watch. â€Å"Mickey says we've got forty minutes. Get your head together and help me find the next marker.† â€Å"I told you, Vittoria, the sculptures are gone. The Path of Illumination is – † Langdon halted. Vittoria smiled softly. Suddenly Langdon was staggering to his feet. He turned dizzying circles, staring at the artwork around him. Pyramids, stars, planets, ellipses. Suddenly everything came back. This is the first altar of science! Not the Pantheon! It dawned on him now how perfectly Illuminati the chapel was, far more subtle and selective than the world famous Pantheon. The Chigi was an out of the way alcove, a literal hole-in-the-wall, a tribute to a great patron of science, decorated with earthly symbology. Perfect. Langdon steadied himself against the wall and gazed up at the enormous pyramid sculptures. Vittoria was dead right. If this chapel was the first altar of science, it might still contain the Illuminati sculpture that served as the first marker. Langdon felt an electrifying rush of hope to realize there was still a chance. If the marker were indeed here, and they could follow it to the next altar of science, they might have another chance to catch the killer. Vittoria moved closer. â€Å"I found out who the unknown Illuminati sculptor was.† Langdon's head whipped around. â€Å"You what?† â€Å"Now we just need to figure out which sculpture in here is the – â€Å" â€Å"Wait a minute! You know who the Illuminati sculptor was?† He had spent years trying to find that information. Vittoria smiled. â€Å"It was Bernini.† She paused. â€Å"The Bernini.† Langdon immediately knew she was mistaken. Bernini was an impossibility. Gianlorenzo Bernini was the second most famous sculptor of all time, his fame eclipsed only by Michelangelo himself. During the 1600s Bernini created more sculptures than any other artist. Unfortunately, the man they were looking for was supposedly an unknown, a nobody. Vittoria frowned. â€Å"You don't look excited.† â€Å"Bernini is impossible.† â€Å"Why? Bernini was a contemporary of Galileo. He was a brilliant sculptor.† â€Å"He was a very famous man and a Catholic.† â€Å"Yes,† Vittoria said. â€Å"Exactly like Galileo.† â€Å"No,† Langdon argued. â€Å"Nothing like Galileo. Galileo was a thorn in the Vatican's side. Bernini was the Vatican's wonder boy. The church loved Bernini. He was elected the Vatican's overall artistic authority. He practically lived inside Vatican City his entire life!† â€Å"A perfect cover. Illuminati infiltration.† Langdon felt flustered. â€Å"Vittoria, the Illuminati members referred to their secret artist as il maestro ignoto – the unknown master.† â€Å"Yes, unknown to them. Think of the secrecy of the Masons – only the upper-echelon members knew the whole truth. Galileo could have kept Bernini's true identity secret from most members†¦ for Bernini's own safety. That way, the Vatican would never find out.† Langdon was unconvinced but had to admit Vittoria's logic made strange sense. The Illuminati were famous for keeping secret information compartmentalized, only revealing the truth to upper-level members. It was the cornerstone of their ability to stay secret†¦ very few knew the whole story. â€Å"And Bernini's affiliation with the Illuminati,† Vittoria added with a smile, â€Å"explains why he designed those two pyramids.† Langdon turned to the huge sculpted pyramids and shook his head. â€Å"Bernini was a religious sculptor. There's no way he carved those pyramids.† Vittoria shrugged. â€Å"Tell that to the sign behind you.† Langdon turned to the plaque: ART OF THE CHIGI CHAPEL While the architecture is Raphael's, all interior adornments are those of Gianlorenzo Bernini. Langdon read the plaque twice, and still he was not convinced. Gianlorenzo Bernini was celebrated for his intricate, holy sculptures of the Virgin Mary, angels, prophets, Popes. What was he doing carving pyramids? Langdon looked up at the towering monuments and felt totally disoriented. Two pyramids, each with a shining, elliptical medallion. They were about as un-Christian as sculpture could get. The pyramids, the stars above, the signs of the Zodiac. All interior adornments are those of Gianlorenzo Bernini. If that were true, Langdon realized, it meant Vittoria had to be right. By default, Bernini was the Illuminati's unknown master; nobody else had contributed artwork to this chapel! The implications came almost too fast for Langdon to process. Bernini was an Illuminatus. Bernini designed the Illuminati ambigrams. Bernini laid out the path of Illumination. Langdon could barely speak. Could it be that here in this tiny Chigi Chapel, the world-renowned Bernini had placed a sculpture that pointed across Rome toward the next altar of science? â€Å"Bernini,† he said. â€Å"I never would have guessed.† â€Å"Who other than a famous Vatican artist would have had the clout to put his artwork in specific Catholic chapels around Rome and create the Path of Illumination? Certainly not an unknown.† Langdon considered it. He looked at the pyramids, wondering if one of them could somehow be the marker. Maybe both of them? â€Å"The pyramids face opposite directions,† Langdon said, not sure what to make of them. â€Å"They are also identical, so I don't know which†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I don't think the pyramids are what we're looking for.† â€Å"But they're the only sculptures here.† Vittoria cut him off by pointing toward Olivetti and some of his guards who were gathered near the demon's hole. Langdon followed the line of her hand to the far wall. At first he saw nothing. Then someone moved and he caught a glimpse. White marble. An arm. A torso. And then a sculpted face. Partially hidden in its niche. Two life-size human figures intertwined. Langdon's pulse accelerated. He had been so taken with the pyramids and demon's hole, he had not even seen this sculpture. He moved across the room, through the crowd. As he drew near, Langdon recognized the work was pure Bernini – the intensity of the artistic composition, the intricate faces and flowing clothing, all from the purest white marble Vatican money could buy. It was not until he was almost directly in front of it that Langdon recognized the sculpture itself. He stared up at the two faces and gasped. â€Å"Who are they?† Vittoria urged, arriving behind him. Langdon stood astonished. â€Å"Habakkuk and the Angel,† he said, his voice almost inaudible. The piece was a fairly well-known Bernini work that was included in some art history texts. Langdon had forgotten it was here. â€Å"Habakkuk?† â€Å"Yes. The prophet who predicted the annihilation of the earth.† Vittoria looked uneasy. â€Å"You think this is the marker?† Langdon nodded in amazement. Never in his life had he been so sure of anything. This was the first Illuminati marker. No doubt. Although Langdon had fully expected the sculpture to somehow â€Å"point† to the next altar of science, he did not expect it to be literal. Both the angel and Habakkuk had their arms outstretched and were pointing into the distance. Langdon found himself suddenly smiling. â€Å"Not too subtle, is it?† Vittoria looked excited but confused. â€Å"I see them pointing, but they are contradicting each other. The angel is pointing one way, and the prophet the other.† Langdon chuckled. It was true. Although both figures were pointing into the distance, they were pointing in totally opposite directions. Langdon, however, had already solved that problem. With a burst of energy he headed for the door. â€Å"Where are you going?† Vittoria called. â€Å"Outside the building!† Langdon's legs felt light again as he ran toward the door. â€Å"I need to see what direction that sculpture is pointing!† â€Å"Wait! How do you know which finger to follow?† â€Å"The poem,† he called over his shoulder. â€Å"The last line!† † ‘Let angels guide you on your lofty quest?' † She gazed upward at the outstretched finger of the angel. Her eyes misted unexpectedly. â€Å"Well I'll be damned!†

As I Lay Dying (book) Essay

The character Addie Bundren is portrayed in many ways throughout the novel As I Lay Dying. The whole story revolves around the fact that Addie is dead and her wish to be buried near her blood relatives rather than her own family. The impression the reader gets of Addie is developed through many different characters’ views and descriptions of Addie. One character that helps us understand Addie’s personality a little more is Cora Tull. Cora Tull, Vernon Tull’s wife, expresses Addie’s voice and personality through her memories of Addie. Cora stood with Addie during her final hours. Cora disapproves of Addie’s behavior and lack of religion. Cora dislikes the fact that Addie’s love for Jewel is greater than her love of God. Another character that helps us understand Addie is Minister Whitfield. Addie had an affair with the minister and had a baby. This affair shows how Addie sees marital love and motherhood as empty concepts and are just there to fill empty voids. Addie doesn’t have an affair with the minister solely on lust, but she does it for self-gratification and self-expression also. Vardaman, the youngest of the Bundren children, compares his mother’s death to a fish he recently caught and cleaned. Vardaman compares his mother to a fish because the fish and his mother have both died. The fish and his mother have changed because of death. Both Addie and the fish no longer have essence, which could be interpreted as an existentialist view. In a chapter where Addie seemingly speaks from the dead, Addie’s personality is truly shown. We learn that Addie is a pessimistic and unfulfilled woman, who marries her ignorant husband Anse. She admits to only caring for two of her children and the rest she calls or labels as â€Å"Anse’s children†, who were born out of an obligation. Addie’s personality is put together by the views, comparisons, and descriptions of her youngest son Vardaman, her neighbor Cora Tull, The affair she had with Minister Whitfield, and her own personal voice. Through these views, we could conclude/interpret that Addie was a strong-willed and intelligent woman who dislikes the obligations put on women during that time period. Cora Tull shows her as some who lacks religion. The affair with the minister shows that she is a woman who needed gratification. Her youngest son shows how she is a mother who was completely lost in death and no longer has essence. Her own voice shows that she is a person who feels like women are obligated to fit into the roles of being a mother and a wife.

American History X - Nurturing Hate essays

American History X - Nurturing Hate essays Derek Vinyard, the central character in the movie American History X, is a naturally violent person whose upbringing and environment have increased his tendency to be violent. All people, by nature, are violent, but the degree to which they express their violence is determined by outside factors such as their surroundings, family dynamics, and the things they were taught while growing up.How I interpret [a] situation will determine my readiness to strike back in hostility. . . or to simply smile and accept an apology? (May 184). All people have different interpretations of similar situations and the determining factor of how they react in these situations is dependent on previous influences in their lives, as we can see with Derek, who's reactions to certain circumstances are that of a person who has been blinded to act a specific way towards people unlike himself. We can see the effect of an authority figure on Derek through a drastic change in his attitude towards black people. During the flashback where Derek, his father, and the rest of the family are at dinner, Derek is trying to defend Dr. Sweeney and the black literature course he teaches while his father gets more and more violent with his words about how he feels towards black people and their culture. In this time of Derek's life he is still very young and easily influenced, especially since he looks up to and respects his father very much. If the events are followed chronologically, the next scene is that of Derek talking with a reporter after his father was shot by black gang members. Here, Derek is a completely different character than the one we saw at the dinner table. His whole attitude towards black people has changed because he has accepted what his father said as true and is now expressing the emotions that come with feelings of hate. From this point on, we see Derek's hate for black people grows not on its own, but with the nurture of Cameron.[Cameron] [is] a vil...

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aldjsf essays Throughout this memorandum I will demonstrate why I am the best candidate for the position of Executive Assistant to the President and CEO. You will be informed of my qualities through these three main ideas: Problem solving, Team skills and Initiative. With these three qualities I can insure you that I will meet and exceed all you expectations for someone in this kind of position. The ability to problem solve is a very important quality when it comes to an executive position and I am sure that I will be able to make a step towards solving every problem I am confronted with. This is so easy for me to say because at one point in my life I was involved in Corvallis Philomath leadership, a group for high-school leadership students. The group meet weekly at different businesses around Corvallis and we would be given a problem that dealt with the business we currently were at. Some of the problems that we encountered involved things like Logging, poverty and the crime. This way we got experience solving many different kinds of problems. Some thing else that helped me become a better problem solver was when I was a counselor for Outdoor school. In this case I was placed in a cabin with eight 7th grade boys. During my time as an outdoors school counselor I was forced to deal with many problems that I had never dealt with before. I few of the problems I dealt with whe re things like fights between kids, bed wetting, and steeling. Even though I think this was one of my most difficult moments I stayed calm and got through every problem that was brought to my attention. As you can see through these two circumstances I possess an enormous amount of experience in solving many different kinds of problems. In a business environment teamwork is key to the businesses success. One of my first experiences with teamwork was when I got involved in my schools leadership program. My role in leadership stayed mostly as just another team player, until my j...

Comparación entre la visa K-3 y green card

Comparacià ³n entre la visa K-3 y green card Si eres un ciudadano americano y ests casado con un extranjero que se encuentra fuera de EEUU puedes reclamarlo con una K-3 o con una tarjeta de residencia,  ¿quà © es mejor? Si te has casado y no sabes cul es el camino ms rpido y conveniente para que tu esposo/a venga a los Estados Unidos a vivir contigo como residente permanente legal lee esta comparativa antes de decidir quà © hacer. Elementos comunes a la K-3 y a la solicitud de la tarjeta de residencia para un esposo mediante el formulario I-130 En ambos casos tà º, el ciudadano americano, tienes que enviar la solicitud al Servicio de Ciudadanà ­a e Inmigracià ³n (USCIS, por sus siglas en inglà ©s). Si la aprueba, contactar directamente con el consulado correspondiente.El consulado citar a tu esposo/a para una entrevista y ser el oficial consular el que decida si aprueba la solicitud de visa K-3 o de la tarjeta de residencia, segà ºn la peticià ³n que tà º le presentaste al USCIS. Quà © pasa si solicitas una K-3 para tu cà ³nyuge La K-3 una visa que permite al esposo/a de un ciudadano americano entrar en Estados Unidos. Una vez aquà ­ deber realizar un ajuste de estatus para conseguir la greencard.  A consecuencia de ello hay que dedicar unos seis meses a esta tramitacià ³n. Quà © pasa si solicitas una tarjeta de residencia Si en la entrevista el oficial consular aprueba la peticià ³n, entonces tu cà ³nyuge recibir una visa de inmigrante para entrar en Estados Unidos. Cuando llega a la frontera y le sellan el pasaporte se convierte en residente permanente legal. Y en unos meses recibir por correo ordinario la tarjeta de residencia. (pero residente es desde el momento en que entra a Estados Unidos).  ¿Cul es la ventaja y desventaja de la K-3 sobre la peticià ³n del permiso de residencia? Hubo un tiempo en el que las K-3 se tramitaban de una manera ms rpida y por eso habà ­a quien las preferà ­a para acortar el tiempo en el que los esposos permanecà ­an separados. Sin embargo,  hoy en dà ­a esto ya no es asà ­. El tiempo de demora de las tarjetas de residencia para los esposos de los ciudadanos que se encuentran en otro paà ­s varà ­a entre los seis meses y el aà ±o, en la mayorà ­a de los casos. Depende en gran medida de la oficina del USCIS que tramite la peticià ³n y del consulado en el que tiene lugar la entrevista. Otra desventaja de la K-3 que puede afectar a algunas parejas es que la entrevista consular ha de realizarse en el paà ­s en el que se celebrà ³ la boda (excepto si es Estados Unidos, en cuyo caso tendr lugar en el consulado del paà ­s en el que viva el novio extranjero). Por ejemplo, si una pareja donde la novia es de Estados Unidos y el novio de Colombia deciden casarse en Parà ­s durante un viaje romntico, tienen que saber que la entrevista para el visado no va a tener lugar en ningà ºn consulado colombiano, sino en uno francà ©s. Asà ­ que habrà ­a que viajar a otro paà ­s, con el consiguiente gasto.  ¿Cul es la ventaja de pedir directamente la tarjeta de residencia? Que el cà ³nyuge extranjero se convierte en residente nada ms pisar suelo de los Estados Unidos y ser procesado por un oficial de Inmigracià ³n en la aduana. No es necesario realizar un ajuste de estatus. Y como el tiempo de tramitacià ³n se ha reducido y se asemeja al de las visas K-3, realmente la opcià ³n ms ventajosa en la mayorà ­a de los casos es la de reclamar una tarjeta de residencia para el cà ³nyuge extranjero. A tener en cuenta Tanto en los casos de visas K-3 como de peticiones de tarjetas de residencia, la greencard ser condicional por dos aà ±os si los esposos llevan menos de dos aà ±os casados. Toma este test de respuestas mà ºltiples sobre la tarjeta de residencia.  ¡Te ayudar a evitar cometer errores! Documentos para realizar las peticiones En ambos casos necesitas rellenar la planilla (forma) I-130. Una vez que es aprobada por el USCIS (te lo notificar con un documento conocido como I-797), si deseas seguir el camino de la visa K-3 debers rellenar el formulario I-129F, incluir una copia del I-797 y enviarlo a la oficina de Dallas del USCIS.

Research Paper - Can we really trust our goverment , do we really have Essay

Research Paper - Can we really trust our goverment , do we really have privacy - Essay Example Therefore, governments should balance between the privacy protections whilst embracing technology development at the same time. This study focuses on the areas where the governments have failed to address privacy protection and the recommendations to settle the issue. Several studies have proved that, in the current world people cannot trust governments, as they have intruded into their privacy in the name of security until there is nothing confidential. Security is legitimately a matter of individual inner voice. It has a place with each person to choose what he considers a piece of his private life and how much of it he is eager to open to others. When you welcome a companion into your home, when you stroll on the road, when you post something on the Internet, or when you make a financial exchange, you are discharging some data about yourself (Bazelon 587). As it were, social life essentially includes a rupture of security, and it is or ought to be dependent upon every person to select which choice he is ready to make between the benefits of protection and the benefits of social communication. Yielding some social life for protection includes an expense; relinquishing some security keeping in mind the end goal to have to a greater degree, a social life does as well. Eventually, that is a matter for every one of us to choose (Barnes 1-7). As more of our social life appears to be going ahead in the virtual universe of the Internet, this is the sort of central guideline that ought to educate the open deliberation about protection on the web. Typically, this as on such a variety of different issues requires the administration to assume this liability and to settle for the benefit of every one of us (Oneill 1-41). For instance, there have been more assaults on the protection practices of expansive IT organizations, for example, Google and Face book as of late. Governments are examining Google for unintentionally gathering information transmitted to its

Cross Cultural Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Cross Cultural Communication - Essay Example Conceptually, the aspect of ‘cross-cultural communication’ can be apparently viewed as a mix of various other fields that include ‘cultural studies’, ‘psychological studies’, ‘anthropological studies ’and ‘communication’. Specially mentioning, cross-cultural communication acts as a push factor assisting the management of diverse organisations to follow appropriate communication based strategies (Tonnen, 2004). This type of communication has intense implications in the development of critical understanding about social relationships. Arguably, it is in this context that analysing social relationships along with the working styles of different cultures often acts as the foundation of successful global business associations (Jayakumaran, n.d.). This essay aims at critically evaluating the major facets of Hall’s high along with low context cultural models and analysing two nations falling into each category, i.e. Japan and India for high context culture and Australia and Germany for low context culture model. Moreover, the essay would also analyse four instances of business communication with illustration to particular corporations operating in the selected four countries in correspondence to each context cultural model based on Hall’s theory. Hall’s contextual model of culture describes how different cultures prefer the use of higher contextual messaging for making regular communication rather than using lower contextual messaging techniques. The model also helps in understanding the effects of culture on the communication process (Lange & Paige, 2003).The major facets of Hall’s high along with low context cultural model have been described in the following. Cultures belonging to higher context cultural model generally follow the notion of collectivism as they focus towards prioritizing the welfare of society rather than being concerned over individual benefits. It can be viewed that high context cultural model is

Participation Exercise #5 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Participation Exercise #5 - Assignment Example Calculation of a breakeven also aids the business owner in learning the different costs both fixed and variable to easily determine the much they need as capital and that aside to propel the business to profitability. These provide the advantages of calculating the breakeven point before starting a business. The point that aids the business owners realizes the returns from their efforts. The point that defines their real profits the business earns (Rodriguez). During the calculations if the resulting breakeven point indicates a performance below the needed breakeven point, a number of options may aid improve the position. The increase in the selling prices may allow the company to improve the position and increase in volumes of sales provides another option. The circumstances surrounding the business environment determine the action to take with the option to increase the selling price much determined by the competitor’s prices among other factors. An increase in volumes sold will provide a more viable option to improving the position on the breakeven point. Rodriguez, George. Is Your Business successful? 3 Indicators of Success. Powerhomebiz. Viewed on May 1, 2015 from

Transportation & Distribution Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Transportation & Distribution Management - Essay Example Transportation plays an important role in manipulating logistic. The vision of FedEx supply chain services is to become the world leader in global integrated logistics management, supply chain solutions and time-definite delivery (FedEx, 2014a). In the international market, FedEx faces competition from DHL, UPS, foreign postal authorities like Deutsche post and TNT N.V, freight forwarders, passenger airlines and all-cargo airlines. There are three important aspects of transportation management: Carrier selection, documentation and shipper carrier relationship. Carrier selection process includes the activities of identifying and procuring the best modes, the best carrier for each mode and best rates (Younkin, 2006). Companies tend to have a carrier mix like combination of aircrafts and road vehicles to order to have smooth operations, speed delivery at a low cost. Fed EX has a great air-and-ground network which facilitates the quick delivery of time sensitive shipments that deliver the shipment in one to two days with guaranteed delivery time. Its transports approximately 4 million packages and 11 million pounds of freight daily. For smooth functioning and fast delivery across the globe FedEx has mix of air and delivery fleet which consists of 650 aircrafts and 48000 motorized vehicles. FedEx has collaborated with more than 375 airports worldwide for the landing of its aircrafts without any difficulty. In October 2013, FedEx added first new Boeing 767-300 freighter in its air fleet. This is a major step in company’s strategic aircraft fleet modernization program as it is a more efficient and lower emission aircraft. 767 replaced MD 10 aircraft and is 30 percent more fuel efficient and incur 20 percent less unit operating cost (FedEx, 2014a). FedEx also provided a customized carrier to transport the skeleton of Wankel T-Rex dinosaur. In that customized lorry temperature was kept at 22C and each crate of bone was surrounded by

Commentary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Commentary - Essay Example He has argued that the modern day media has been inspired from radio serials of the past, which were under influence of sixteenth century play serials whose authors faced great criticism regarding the morality of their products. This way, media is continuing to affect the moral standards of its viewers. Professionals today must study history, and historians must understand the importance of modern day studies regarding media and communication. Dumas has concentrated upon the technicalities of how content is generated over the internet and is received by the access points. His net neutrality debate lucidly clarifies how net neutrality has become a public debate over the years. He has numbered a myriad of net neutrality drawbacks of modern times, which gives the reader an insight of how the whole process has prospered over the years. Both the texts are lucid in their own style, giving the readers an insight into how technology progresses over time and what are the pros and cons of mani fold technological and media

Not sure, make one for me Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Not sure, make one for me - Essay Example Even in the contemporary era and after various legal reforms, there are just a handful of solicitors enjoying the same position as that of barristers. A barrister defends their client in a court of law, whereas the profession of a solicitor is confined predominantly to drafting of relevant legal papers, of course barring exceptional cases. Mostly, the barrister carries out his profession independently, and the solicitor is employed by firms subsequent to partnership agreements. (2) Under the legal structure of the UK, solicitors provide advice to their clients, which are comprised mainly of various firms, in legal matters. In the event of the legal matters involving too many intricacies, they seek the guidance of barristers. In certain exceptional instances, as stipulated by the law, solicitors do have the right to defend their clients in the court. Barring these cases that can more or less be considered as rare ones, otherwise, the right of audience in a court is the exclusive privilege of the barrister. (1) When comparison is drawn between the legal profession and the medical one, the role of a solicitor can conveniently be equated to that of a doctor providing services in the realm of general medicine. Likewise, the barrister’s role is on par with that of a doctor specializing in their chosen discipline of medicine. (1) At this juncture, it would be highly relevant to be shifting the focus on to certain sections of the UK’s society strongly arguing in favor of combining the profiles of a barrister and a solicitor in a manner so as to enable the existence of just a single profile. In the event of the manifestation of such a scenario, the disadvantages would be way outweighing any advantages, much against the claims of the proponents of this fusion. At this point, it would be worthwhile to elaborate on the disadvantages resulting from the aforesaid scenario, as well as highlight the

Commentary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Commentary - Essay Example He has argued that the modern day media has been inspired from radio serials of the past, which were under influence of sixteenth century play serials whose authors faced great criticism regarding the morality of their products. This way, media is continuing to affect the moral standards of its viewers. Professionals today must study history, and historians must understand the importance of modern day studies regarding media and communication. Dumas has concentrated upon the technicalities of how content is generated over the internet and is received by the access points. His net neutrality debate lucidly clarifies how net neutrality has become a public debate over the years. He has numbered a myriad of net neutrality drawbacks of modern times, which gives the reader an insight of how the whole process has prospered over the years. Both the texts are lucid in their own style, giving the readers an insight into how technology progresses over time and what are the pros and cons of mani fold technological and media

Choosing a College Course Essay Example for Free

Choosing a College Course Essay Introduction Many students find it difficult in choosing what course to take in college. For seniors or graduating high school students, the pressure goes higher as the end of their term is coming because the time is running and decreasing for deciding what course they will take. Choosing a course is really a hard decision to make. Your future depends on it and the decision you will make would determine what life you will have in the future. This is the first step in your life as an independent person and this is the first step for your success. You should be careful in choosing a course because when you have started on it there is no way getting back. You can shift to another course but a lot of thing will be wasted: your effort, money and time. So from the start you should pick the right one and you should make up your mind that this is the course for you and this will lead you to success. Many would say that they haven’t chosen yet or they were not sure about the course they want to pursue. Some might have chosen before and decided what to take but in the end they want to change it because they weren’t sure or still confused. And the wide range of choices of college courses made it more difficult to choose. But you are not really â€Å"clueless† in choosing what course to take, there are some factors you would consider and this might help you pick the suitable and best course for you. Your Personal Interests The most basic consideration in the choice of a college major or college course is, of course, what you want. Is there something that you’ve always wanted to get into, something that resonates within the very fiber of your being? If so, that may be where you’re meant to go. The more interested you are in a subject, the more likely you are to study it and achieve a strong result. This is particularly important at college when you are responsible for your own study. List the fields of study that interest you, and come up with a list of courses you would consider studying based on these interests. Add the topics that you were most interested in during school as well as jobs that you envied others for. At some point, many students try to fit in a course or two based purely on personal interest. While their majors may reflect their primary interest, most people are interested in more than one intellectual pursuit, so a biology major who has a passion for movies might take a film course. This is not necessarily what are you good at, but what do you love doing? You might be great at math, but you spend your weekends fixing up bits of old computers. So don’t study math, focus on IT or computer engineering instead. Specialize in your passion. Cost Of Study Affordability is another aspect you need to consider while deciding on your course, as well as the additional costs that occur, such as text books, field trips etc. However, do not let cost hamper your career choice, as there are a number of financial assistance options available to complete the course. College tuitions soar each year, advancing far in excess of the inflation rate. The overall inflation rate since 1986 increased 115.06%, which is why we pay more than double for everything we buy. On the other hand, during the same time, tuition increased a whopping 498.31%. See chart below Many schools have increased tuition fees due to higher overhead costs. Fuel and labor costs continue to rise. Many older college buildings are in need of renovation or replacement. The demand for expanded libraries and new research and computer labs is at an all-time high. Some schools also need additional security measures. But Dont Let College Costs Scare You! These costs may seem overwhelming, but there are ways to keep expenses down. Remember that college educations come at all levels of cost, and that financial aid can reduce that cost. If a school is a great fit for you but seems too expensive, it makes sense to apply and then see whether your financial aid offer will bring the cost down. Dont give up on a college because of its sticker price. Financial Aids Grants and scholarships are the most desirable types of funding you can receive to pay for your college education, since they don’t need to be repaid. While any amount of free money will be competitive, especially in a tough economic climate, the sooner and more often you apply the more luck you’ll have. The list of reasons why a scholarship may be given to a particular student is quite long, although some of the more popular awards are given to students who achieve academically, are athletically gifted, choose to enroll in a particular program of study, are part of a certain kind of organization, or choose to enroll in the military and still further their education. A scholarship might cover the entire cost of your tuition, or it might be a one-time award of some cash. Either way, it’s worth applying for, because it’ll help reduce the cost of your education. Career opportunities Look at the career prospects of the course before selecting one. Consider various factors such as income, job security, stress, responsibility and other benefits while researching a profession. Not all courses are created equal. Yes, they all offer a diploma upon completion, but they dont guarantee a job. When you are choosing a major, it would be wise to check out the job placement statistics of others who have pursued this degree. There is no reason why you should be the guinea pig; if a specific career is your reason for choosing this major, investigate the success of others. If you want to avoid a data entry position, check out all of the opportunities available and your chance at landing one of those positions after graduation. Commitment, Time and Practical Considerations Choosing a college course requires you to look inwards and assess your commitment to your chosen path. Assuming that you have the issue of money and other practical considerations settled, do you actually possess the skills and the patience to go the distance? Moreover, do you actually want to do so? There’s also a chance that your parents may be expecting you to tread a certain academic path; will you have the strength and the will to stick it out against all odds? You should also be aware of what you’re getting into when choosing a college major. What will your college course require you to do? Are you willing to do it? As a case in point, if you’re squeamish about the sight of blood, why should you decide to go for a Nursing Degree? To be certain that you will be committed to your studies, find out the duration of your course. Taking double-degrees, full time or part-time depends on your personal choice. Ensure that you will be able to balance your other priorities along with education. Study flexibility varies amongst universities. Demand If your goal is to be employed immediately after graduation, base your choice not on popular courses, but on employable courses, or courses that are the most in-demand in the job market. Job seeking is becoming an increasingly competitive sport these days. With thousands of students graduating each year and limited number of job opportunities available to them, plenty of job seekers end up resorting to options they wouldn’t had to choose if they had other alternatives. These days, there is no time to get into a career and then decide if it is the right one for you. You should know right from the beginning what is right for you and what career you can excel in. Thanks to the very competitive nature of the employment sector, getting the right job or choosing the right career is not as easy as it once used to be. Everyone is looking for help in deciding what career should be chosen. Obviously, in todays competitive world, everyone wants a job or career that has high pay, job stability, and great future prospects. However, owing to the bad effects of the recently experienced economic recession, a majority of people are looking forward to changing careers. The careers that are being sought after are top jobs in demand for the future, which are mostly from the medical field. The main reason why medical jobs are and will be in demand is because they do not have any impact of the financial crisis arising in the economy. So if you want to secure a job in the future, pick a course that is in demand after you graduate. Conclusion Even you have known some things that you might consider in choosing a course, the choice is still yours and the one who will decide is no other but you. Choose on what you think is the best for you and what you think that will give you success. But remember that even you have chosen a course that is qualified for all the factors listed and will give great results, it not ends in there. The most important thing is in everything you do always give your best shot. Work hard for everything you want to achieve and accomplish. Don’t quit and never give up. And most of all ask God for help and guidance in everything you do. Pray for it. God has the best plan for you. When you do all these things, I’m sure that whatever course you will take, you will be successful and you will have a wonderful future.

The Role of Technology In HSBC

The Role of Technology In HSBC HSBC is known as one of the largest financial and banking services industries in the global background. Background HSBC know largest industries in the global financial and banking services as a. The company is headquartered in London and has an international networks which composes of over 10, 000 offices in more than 82 states and territories within Asia-Pacific Region, Europe, United States of America, Africa and Middle East. HSBC Holdings Plc are regarded to have around 200,000 shareholders in over 100 nations as noted in listings in countries like New York, Bermuda, Paris and Hong Kong. HSBC Holdings Plc, the company is located in east London and an international network which composes the mid 10, 000 offices and more than 82 African states and regions within Asia Pacific region, Europe, United States of America are , counting the 100 countries around 200,000 shareholders in countries such as New York as mentioned in the listing, Bermuda, Paris and Hong Kong. Because of the globa l network connects by the implementation of advances technology like the internet and information communication technology, the company has been able to provide an intensive range and reach of financial services which includes commercial banking, investment banking and market personal financial services, and other banking and financial products and services. The business philosophy of HSBC gives important to values and principles in all aspects of everyday living. Because of the global network communications and information technology like the Internet by following links to technology development, corporate and other, has been to provide services worth an extensive range financial and personal financial services to reach including commercial banking, investment banking and markets, banks and financial products and services. HSBCs business philosophy in all aspects of everyday life and gives the principles of values is necessary. INTRODUCTION OF HSBC: HSBC Introduction: HSBC is one of the largest banking groups in the world today. HSBC todays worlds biggest banking group is one. It has been ranked fifth largest company in Forbes Global 2000 and the third largest banking company as well. Forbes Global, the company in 2000 was ranked fifth largest and third largest banking company as. HSBC head office is located in the HSBC Tower in Londons Canary Wharf. HSBCs head office tower in Canary wharf London, HSBC is located. The HSBC group is named after its founding member, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, a bank established by, a Scot, to finance British trade in the Far East in 1865. Member HSBC Group is named after its founder, Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, a bank founded by a Scot, in the 1865 Far East Finance business in the UK. HSBC has about 10,000 offices worldwide with 232,000 employees in 76 countries and territories. HSBC regions and 76 countries with 232,000 employees worldwide with about 10,000 offices. With its 110 million customers worldwide, a total of 16.5 million are e-based. 110 million from its worldwide customers, a total of 16.5 million is based on E. HSBC has really proven that it is The worlds local bank. HSBC has proved that it really the worlds local bank. The bank is the second largest corporation in the world in terms of assets. Bank assets in the world of words is the second largest corporation. It reports its results in US Dollars since 80% of its earnings come from outside the UK. This revenue comes from outside the UK in the U.S. results reported 80% of the dollar. Nearly 22% of its earnings comes from operations in Hong Kong. Before moving the headquarters to London in1991, it was headquartered in Hong Kong. Approximately 22% of the revenue operations in London, Hong Kong Kong headquarters before arrival. in1991, was located in Hong. Has the organization restructured recently? Recently reorganized company? If yes, why? 1) If yes, why? If no, why not? 2) If not, why not? What have been the consequences? 3) What results have been? Would most complex, large organizations have several functional grouping approaches? Does this matter? 4) is the most complex, large organizations view is planning several work groups? What? HSBC is a public limited company incorporated in England and Wales. HSBC Wales, a public limited company incorporated in England. Headquartered in London, the HSBC group operates in five regions: Europe; Hong Kong; the rest of Asia Pacific; including the Middle East and Africa; North America; and South America. Located in London, HSBC in five working groups in the region: Europe, Hong Kong, the rest of Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East including, North America and South America. The entities in which form the HSBC Group provide a comprehensive range of financial services to personal, commercial, corporate, institutional and investment, and private banking client. To more easily promote the Group as a whole, HSBC launched a campaign to differentiate its brand from those of its competitors by describing the unique characteristics which distinguish HSBC, summarized by the words The worlds local bank. A wide range of financial services for private corporation, as, commercial group s and investment institutions, and private banking clients. Promoting more easily provided in the institutions which form HSBC Group, HSBC brand difference between the start of the campaign for HSBC prominent features unique compared to those defined by, Proceedings of the words from The worlds local bank. Through the years since 2004, HSBC has gone through a lot of changes. Years since 2004, HSBC has gone a lot of changes. In 2004, the Bank of Bermuda joined the Group and minority stakes were acquired in Indias UTI Bank and Chinas Bank of Communications Ltd. In the UK, HSBC bought the retail financial services arm of the Marks and Spencer Group. In 2004, Bank of Bermuda joined the group and a minority stake in UTI Bank was acquired by India and China Bank of Communications UK Limited, HSBC group brought signs and Spencer retail financial services arm. The HSBC brand was adopted by its Mexican subsidiary, GF Bital, early in the year and in September the majority of the banks North American businesses, including Household International, were united under the name HSBC North America. HSBC North American brand business September of the majority of banks was adopted by Mexico, equipment and years GF, Bital skin, including Household International was the United Nations under the name HSBC N orth America. ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY HSBC: HSBC role of technology: Modern information technology (IT) is understood to be the result of a meeting between modern digital computing and communication technologies. Modern information technology (IT) and computing the modern digital communication technologies between the outcome of this meeting is to be understood. The significance of IT is as the core of an Information System which consists of a series of interactions between people, data, hardware and software, organizations and their social environment. The importance of this , is a foundation of information system which the social environment and their organization consisting of a series of conversations between people, data, hardware and software. Information and its connected technologies are now so vital to business success that information is regularly regarded as an independent issue of invention on a same level with capital, land and labor. Information and technology vital to business success now that information with the investors and workers, the level of invention on a routine matter as an independent count. In the twenty-first century every business manager must understand the role which information technology plays, not only in their organization but also in the wider society, within which their organization must compete. Competition, the twenty first century will be all business on their organization and understand the manager role should not information technology plays in society is widespread, organized them. A full understanding of information technology is impossible without considering its communication with the social world in which it has developed. A complete understanding of information technology has developed the world it is impossible without considering the social communication with him. Computer professionals who are ignorant of the social, political, and economic political aspect of their work are fated to be the put up of decision-makers who are. Computer professionals who work with them are ignorant, political, economic and political factor is social tolerance are lucky by which decision makers. In the real world a frequent cause of the failure of IT projects is an overlook of the human (including managerial and organizational) factors at work. No business or computing professional can, therefore, ignore the softer elements in Information Systems, which paradoxically, often prove the hardest to get right! Failure in the real world because of her projects is a continuous work in an organization), including the management of human factors and pass, any business or computing system, therefore, ignored information about business, can elements in Medium which, unlike, most of the right to prove the most difficult to achieve! THE COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT: computing environment: Linking together definitions of information and technology from the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, information technology means the systematic study of the industrial arts relating to the communication of instructive knowledge. Adding information with praise and English Dictionary Oxford technology from small, information knowledge of technology communication education means related art industrial training conducted. This definition includes studying printing, or, for that matter, smoke signals. Included in this definition, studied printing or, for that matter, smoke signals. However the general usage today, is more like the definition employed by (1988,) the application of computers and telecommunications to the collection, processing, storage, and dissemination of voice, graphics, text, and numerical information. However, general use today, storage is much appreciated by this work (1988, applied for) of telecommunications and computer storage, processing, and dissemination of s ound,, text, graphics, and numerical information . One famous development in recent years has been the convergence of communications and computer technology, with both becoming intensive users of data embodied in binary digital form and processed by microprocessors on silicon chips. Popular in recent years on developing a silicon processed by microprocessors and chips is in binary form with digital technology, computer and communications convergence was embodied both figures to be intense users. Therefore IT is normally used in the broad modern sense to encompass both computing and telecommunications technologies. In some books, IT is used more narrowly to refer principally to computing and ICTs to refer to information and communication technologies more generally. So this is the sense commonly used in modern comprehensive coverage of both computing and telecommunications technologies. Some books, usually it is used more narrowly refer technology and communications and for basic computing and information refer to the ICTs. If we consider the industrial and commercial implications of the employment of the new information technologies then we must take on board that the computer is a general purpose machine which mechanizes human brain-powered operations just as the Industrial Revolution mechanized human and animal muscle-powered operations . If we then consider the implications of new information technology jobs industrial trade and we must take on board power operation is a general purpose computer machine machine revolution muscular man and animals mechanizes the human brain only industrial strength operation. The impact of such a broadly applicable technology is inevitably widespread and far-reaching. Broadly applicable technology and its effect on reaching such a broad and excesses, yet. Computers have become a pervasive technology applied in all sectors of life, including industry, commerce, government, education and leisure activities. Computers have become leisure activities, and education, trad e, expanded a government, technology apply to all areas of life, including industry. For businesses, information technology is only a means to an end which is the use of knowledge to make and implement commercial decisions. For business, information technology, only a means to an end which is used in the decision to apply knowledge and trade. Efficient organizations require established systems to enable them to make the best possible decisions in the situations they are likely to meet. Organizations need to establish efficient and meet the systems potential to make the best decision possible situations are worthy of them. Thus an organizational information system should collect data, analyze, and present this as useful information that can be retrieved as the basis of expert knowledge at the point of decision. Thus, an organization information system should sum data analysis, and present it as a benefit that information can then decide based on expert knowledge. Once decisions are made they must be passed on to those who implement them, carried out, and the success or failure of the operation monitored. Decisions are carried by them for what they passed on, and success or failure of the surveillance operation outside a bar. Increasingly decisions can be automatically implemented using the technology, thus enabling organizational objectives to be achieved with maximum efficiency. Increase can be determined using techniques applied automatically, thus enabling organizational objectives with maximum efficiency can be achieved. DAY TO DAY BUSINESS: Business Day Day: Achieving Competitive Advantage to gain competitive Four alternative strategies for achieving competitive advantage: doing it better, marketing it better, doing it differently and making yourself indispensable. Better marketing, better four alternative strategies to achieve competitive advantage for doing, (it, are different and need to make yourself. Doing it better. First, the customer may be brought to think that your firm is doing the same thing better in some way than others either the product or service is better than others, or it is as good as others and produced more cheaply, or perhaps it is delivered more conveniently to the consumer. To do it better than before. , Customers may take more than cheap products that your firm is better at talking about what others some way either service or product is better than others or that, is as good as others, Or maybe it was more for the convenience of users is. The obvious way to do this is to deliver a better, cheaper or more convenient product. A higher specification product (eg a more durable one) can be produced to higher quality standards (eg fewer defective goods sold), with better production methods or cheaper sources of supply than competitors can find. Clear that the way to deliver more products feature a better, or cheaper.) A durable high specification products (eg goods at a cheap multiple, for example) can be produced (sold cheaper or higher quality standards, better production methods with more than competing sources of supply can find. The same product or service can be delivered to the door of consumers on demand rather than forcing them to wait for or collect the product. the product or products and services together to force them to wait to but the door may be asked to deliver users. Thus more sales and / or greater profits can be achieved. thus more sales and / or can benefit from. Marketing it better. On a suspicious note it must be sharp out that an other is to prove to your customers that they are getting some or all of these advantages without necessarily delivering them. Note that better marketing should be a quick one out of another dilemma that required them to prove the benefits without doing it all, or that your customer. A large sales or marketing effort may, to a degree, be a alternate for lead in the actual product. In the long term, though, it is probable that consumers in most markets cannot be fooled indefinitely. A big, try a degree in marketing or sales can, in fact led to product an alternative indefinitely long. In the term, though, is a fools also possible that users can not market the most. But, in any case, it must be said that many excellent products have failed to sell because the consumers did not know about them. But, no matter, they should be said about that many users did not know that the best selling product due to failed. In many cases effective brand management of a good product or service can effectively create a demand for, say, Coca-Cola which is different from the demand for soft drinks. In many cases very effective product or service brand management for a soft drink can effectively create a demand for, say, Coca application is different from the cola. Producers can create a sort of monopoly by establishing a difference between their version of the product and other versions. Manufacturers of other products and prescription versions of the difference between them established by a kind of monopoly can be. Doing it differently. An other strategy to achieve competitive advantage is to innovate, as we touched upon under the heading of intellectual property. Different from doing so. Another strategy to achieve competitive advantage to innovate, as we are touched upon the intellectual property under. If your product really is different in kind to the competition then a substantial competitive advantage may well result. If your product is different and in fact, how much competition competitive advantage may well result. Your new product will certainly be protected from competition by a time-lag before your competitors can invest in the necessary plant or skilled personnel to produce the new product. Will your new product to compete with a lag time necessary to secure required before products can your competitors or efficient investment in new staff ready to plant. You will probably generate a marketing advantage through being first in the field including free publicity in the media and per haps identification of the product with your brand name. You may benefit by creating a marketing area is being the first including the independent media and media in the name of their products with brand identity might. Additional protection may be available under patent law, design right and copyright. Additional security can be copyrighted and available right under design patent law. Making yourself indispensable. A more delicate strategy is to attempt to engineer a situation in which your service or product is taken for granted. Must make your own. A more delicate strategy is taken for granted is to engineer products or service status for what you. The customer does not stop to make comparisons but automatically re-orders your product or service. Customer service or product comparisons do not stop automatically re-order your. An example might be book or record clubs automatically delivering the current choice of the month. For example, maybe a month book club or record supply current selection automatically. At one stage IBM were happy to accept the myth that no one ever got fired for buying IBM. Corporate clients employees were trained in IBM technology, their managers were offered upgrades on existing equipment on favourable terms, and the effort required to move out of an assumption that the next generation of equipment would also come from the Big Blue was c onsiderable. An IBM platform for buying IBM was happy to accept the analogy is true that nobody ever got fired needs. Corporate clients employees were trained to IBM technology, according to upgrade their existing equipment manager had been offered terms, and was enough Blue moved to think that a big next generation equipment is coming too. SOCIAL ASPECT: social aspects: HSBC is being affected by the situation of the society in which they are operating. Along with this, HSBC tries harder to make sure that each society is given equal chances to take advantage of the resources given by the organisation. Work that is being affected social situation, with the HSBC HSBC tries hard to ensure that the organization provide to take advantage of every resource for society is given equal chances. The company hold fast to having good reputation and relations in the society that they belong. They hold fast to the companys good reputation and relationship that society. As you approach retirement you have hopefully created a retirement plan sufficient to maintain your lifestyle. Alternatively, you might look to start easing your way into retirement by working part time. As you near retirement, your life you hope to maintain adequate to create a retirement plan. Alternatively, you from working part time retirement easy way to start your can see. Your pension will pr obably be your main priority. Its important to think about whether it will be enough to provide income for a comfortable retirement at your desired retirement age. Your pension retirement age is perhaps his main desire. You prefer for a comfortable retirement, provided that income will be important enough to think about it. TECHNOLOGICAL ASPECT: Technical aspects: The appearance of information technology and internet affects how HSBC has been operating in the past years. Information Technology appearance and how the Internet affects HSBC has been operating in the past year. The company adopts different IT / IS systems and used internet to reach their customer all over the world and to know the latest trends in the global business. Different control company T / systems and Internet access in the world to reach their customers and businesses worldwide know the latest trends. Aside from these, the company also uses facilities which helps them improved their productions and operations.