Abnormal Psychology Essay

Abnormal psychology is a branch of psychology that deals with psychopathology and abnormal behavior. Abnormal behavior is disruptive in classes unable to control tempers and loud. Abnormal Phycology is when someone’s thoughts are causing them discomfort and they act on it. This will then allow someone to be diagnosed mentally Ill. Normal Psychology: See more: Satirical elements in the adventure of Huckleberry Finn essay Normal psychology is the study of the human behavior and the mind. It is stereotype in way that judge’s criteria are normal or abnormal. Normal psychology is a common way to diagnose behavior by the ability to be Maladaptive. Two aspects make this flexible and common. Maladaptive to one’s self is the inability to reach goals, and to adapt to the everyday demands of life. Also there is Maladaptive to society, the interference in social functioning.(Spoor 1999) Being in either of these categories someone would be diagnosed mentally ill. Comparison of Normal and Abnormal Psychology: Normal Psychology and abnormal psychology works together because they both are decisions made that people chose to react to. In a normal setting someone can be sitting and reading a book quietly. Then another person comes along and makes loud distracting noises that the person either chooses to adhere to or ignore. Abnormal psychology has worked out more problems that were associated with normal psychology. Therapies and treatments are advanced, illnesses and disorders are common and frequent, and studies are in depth. The root of normal psychology has attached itself to abnormal psychology. The study of how a person feels, thinks, interprets, and behaves is the root of both of these psychological paths and they are intertwined. Abnormal Psychology Essay Jeffrey Dahmer was a sex offender and serial killer mainly between the years 1978 and 1991. He is well known for his severely atypical behaviors. Among his outward manners that are recognized as abnormal are paraphilia-specifically necrophilia and sexual sadism. Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims, whom were boys and men, suffered from rape, violence, dismemberment and finally their murders. Dahmer’s slow progression of killings soon turned into an obsession, which would later land him in prison with a sentence for fifteen life terms or a total of 957 years in prison. Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer was born to Joyce and Lionel Dahmer in Wisconsin, and eight years later moved with his family to Ohio. In his younger years, between the ages of ten and fifteen, Jeffrey became more and more antisocial; he was very quiet and socially distant from his family members and had signs of anhedonia (loss of interest in hobbies and interactions with people). Discovered later, this behavior may have been caused by peers at school consistently mocking Jeffrey without him putting up any defense for himself. See more:  The 3 Types of Satire Essay His fetishes and discoveries of unique hobbies began in a biology class in 9th grade where Jeffrey and his classmates dissected a fetal pig. At the end of the class, Jeffrey collected the remains of the pig and returned to the house, deciding to keep its skeleton. Dahmer’s fascination with this initial incident began to grow and carry over to other animals, such as dogs and cats. In an interview with Stone Phillips Dahmer says, â€Å"There may have been some violence involved, some underlying subconscious feelings of violence†¦ I just†¦ it was a compulsion, it became a compulsion. As this continued throughout his teenage years, Jeffrey Dahmer began to consume alcohol regularly. In the same interview he admits, â€Å"I was drinking a lot during that time and just, I don’t know, looking for some way to find some fulfillment, some pleasure and I acted on my fantasies and that’s where everything went wrong. † Soon, his alcoholism, too, got out of hand and he became an alcoholic while still finishing high school. Jeffrey Dahmer attempted to attend college at Ohio State University, but his lost of interest in attending classes combined with his heavy consumption of alcohol caused him to drop out after only a quarter of a semester. During this time, his parents, Joyce and Lionel got divorced. Jeffrey’s father made him join the Army after dropping out of Ohio State, but after a couple years, his alcohol problem again caused him to be removed. After being discharged from the Army, Dahmer decided against facing his father so he decided to live in Miami, Florida where the majority of his time was spent in a hospital. In 1981 Jeffrey Dahmer was first arrested for public intoxication. In 1982, Jeffrey went back to Wisconsin to live with his grandmother. Late nights, alcohol binges, and belligerent behavior characterized his time living there. His grandmother was tolerant of his peculiar behavior at first, which included several strange incidences: she had found a male mannequin dressed up in Jeffrey’s closet, a . 357 Magnum under his bed, and she could recall many instances where awful smells would waft from the basement. Dahmer once claimed that the terrible smell was from a squirrel that he had caught, killed, and dissolved with chemicals. (Dahmer’s father was chemist, and this claim was made from Jeffery to his father; it seems as though Jeffery told his father so that he would be proud of him). Jeffrey was arrested again in 1982 and in 1986, both times for indecent exposure. The second offense that he was arrested for in 1986 was for masturbation in front of two young males. It was only two years later that Jeffrey’s so-far-tolerant grandmother told him that he could not live with her anymore due to the many strange happenings. Jeffrey was arrested in the same year, 1988, for sexually fondling and drugging a young teenage boy (age thirteen); for this, he was put on probation for five years and for one year he was assigned to a work release camp where he was registered as a sex offender from the incident with the thirteen year old boy. Due to good behavior and a built up trust with the authorities, Dahmer was paroled from his work release camp two months early. Jeffrey Dahmer began killing at age eighteen, which was during the summer of 1978. Since this was after his parent’s divorce, Dahmer’s mother no longer lived at the same house and his father was away for business duties. Jeffrey had brought a man over to the house offering to drink alcohol with him, and when the man tried to leave, Jeffrey beat him to death with a ten-pound weight to the head. Dahmer did not murder again until nine years later where he killed a man randomly after picking him up; Dahmer said he could not recollect anything about this murder. After the second murder, Jeffrey Dahmer’s killings increased dramatically adding two more to the same year (1989), five the following year (1990), and several after that. On July 22, 1991 Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested for the alleged 17 murders (which would later be reduced to 15). Psychological Functioning: Jeffrey Dahmer is a unique human being who struggled with necrophilia, which is having sexual attraction to corpses. Upon arrest, officers found many severed heads, dismembered body parts, an altar made of skeletons, and several corpses. This makes Dahmer seem like a collector in a way, but I think that his collections go beyond what people might consider a just a fetish. Often, those who are diagnosed with necrophilia behave in this was because they strongly desire to have full possession of and control over someone without the person resisting or refraining from being with them. I think this is a lot of what Jeffrey Dahmer dealt with in his life because he confesses it himself in his interview with Stone Phillips saying, â€Å"The only motive that there ever was- was to completely control a person, a person that I found physically attractive and keep them with me as long as possible, even if that meant just keeping a part of them. † Another reason for necrophilia could be a person’s desire for increased self-esteem; being attracted to a corpse was the only way Jeffrey could avoid rejection. As we know that Jeffrey was teased and picked on when he was young and during his teenage years, I think that his murders and necrophilia are related to these difficult times in his life. I think that once he established that he could have control over his victims, he went on a power trip and began to obsess over the supremacy he felt when he was controlling someone. It is reported that during the times that Dahmer was picked on and mocked in school, he never stood up for himself and never fought back. I think this led to an internalization of his feelings. He most likely built up some hostility to those people who tormented him and took advantage of him. Jeffrey Dahmer also began his attraction to males in his teenage years as he reports going to gay bars and bath clubs. The combination of his withheld anger and aggression towards his tormentors and the frustration that came from being attracted to men could have very well led to his outward aggression and finally to his killing spree. When Jeffrey talks about the things that he would do to victims, especially evident in his first crime, his pattern began to develop and it is in direct correlation to these things: he would seek out men (doing whatever it took to draw their attention), he would get them alone one way or another (either by bring them to the house or drugging them), and after having sex with them or taking advantage of them in whatever way he found pleasurable he would kill them. While he found it enjoyable to partake in sexual encounters while them men ere still alive, Jeffrey Dahmer found himself even more attracted to the corpses of those men and he found it fascinating to dismember them and keep just â€Å"a part of them. † I believe that this is where his necrophilia came from. In Jeffrey’s first murder we can see the power struggle where he desired to have sex with the man who wanted to leave. Through his sexual desires, Dahmer channeled his anger that he was being rejected and he lashed out and beat the man to death in the head with a ten-pound dumbbell. This extreme behavior is what leads me to believe that he showed signs of sadism. A sexual sadist finds pleasure in inflicting physical pain on someone and watching him or her suffer. I also can see that maybe Dahmer was frustrated with his sexual desires toward men and he felt his only way to stop this was to destroy the root of the problem; unfortunately, Jeffrey saw the men he was attracted to as his problem and in his desire to eliminate his problem he began killing the men who made him feel this way. In some ways, I am also convinced that Jeffrey Dahmer was competent and could take full responsibility of the killings because of his strategic behavior. His victims and murders were not random. Dahmer was also able to recognize that he was not completely satisfied in his initial encounters with the male species and when those things were no longer enough for him, he started purchasing sleeping pills in order to first drug his victims so that he could then take advantage of them. If Jeffrey Dahmer was not sane and competent than this organized behavior would not be evident in his tendencies. In the interview with Stone Phillips, Dahmer says, â€Å"After the second time, it seemed like the compulsion to do it was too strong and I didn’t even try to stop it after that; but before the second time, things had been building up gradually: going to bookstores, going to the bars- the gay bars, bath clubs; when that wasn’t enough, buying sleeping pills using it on various guys in the bath clubs. It just escaladed slowly but surely and after the second time which was not planned, it was out of control—it felt like it was out of control. The way that he uses his words here implies that he does take responsibility and that he fully knew what he was doing; as he says, â€Å"it was out of control—it felt like it was out of control,† he recognizes that he had the ability to make a choice and he chose to sexually victimize the men he was attracted to and then kill them. I am convinced that all of the things mentioned above lend themselves to his atypical functioning, but one thing that was not addressed was his parent’s role in all of this. Although they were divorced and parted during a time in Jeffrey’s life where he was having difficulties in other areas, I do not think that this was an issue or trigger to any of his behaviors. In an interview Jeffrey actually defends his parents saying that it makes him mad when people accuse them of playing any role in his decisions because they were not even aware of the type of issues Jeffrey was dealing with. From what Dahmer admits, we know that it was a gradual escalation of compulsive feelings that led to his abnormal behaviors. On November 28, 1994 while in prison, Jeffrey was beaten by an inmate and died from head trauma. Abnormal Psychology Essay As many know Psychology is the study of the human mind, consciousness, and behavior. Psychology is also an enormous field of study and contains many sub divisions that pertain to more specific areas of the human psyche. One of these subdivisions is the study of Abnormal Psychology. Abnormal psychology focuses studies on an atypical region of any particular society, as to find out why these abnormalities occur. These conditions can vary in how abnormal they are from barely noticeable to extremes that require special needs. Examples of these could be a mild case of depression (not as noticeable) to a severe case of Schizophrenia (extremely noticeable). Various examples will be addressed and explained but first, in order to fully understand the process of abnormal psychology one must know the difference between normal and abnormal. (Mcleod) As individuals one decides what one likes or dislikes, but not what â€Å"normal† society is to like or dislike. Defining what normal is can be harder than one may think. See more: Is the Importance of being earnest a satirical play essay Researchers have worked for years to clearly define normal with no luck in getting a precise definition to relate human behavior to. Normal psychology is defined by the time, place, and people involved, thus making it difficult because culture changes with evolution and values. In order for one to define abnormal psychology, an individual must first define normal psychology. Understanding that normal psychology is outlining what are acceptable actions helps one understand abnormal psychology is dependent on the situation for a definition. Abnormal psychology is best defined as a deviation from what a group decides is acceptable or unacceptable. Psychologist use synonyms for abnormal, such as unusual or maladaptive, to define characteristic traits on a scale with normal in the middle and barriers on each side of normal to compensate for the recurring abnormal behavior, any behavior past those barriers is considered extremely opposite of the norm and rare. There are few true experiments done on abnormal psychology because it is not ethical to manipulate an experiment to control certain conditions. Determining if something or someone is presenting normal or abnormal behavior depends on the object or the person. There are a few mental disorders and illnesses that better compare and contrast aspects of abnormal psychology to normal psychology; a somewhat common disorder is Bipolar Disorder. Bipolar Disorder, many wonder about what this illness is. This disorder was once described as manic depressive disorder; symptoms of this disorder include but are not limited to periods of deep depression which may alternate with mania. Mania is described as a unique state of mind in which a person may feel invincible or that anything in the world is possible for them to accomplish (Abell & Ey, July). Individuals who suffer from bipolar disorder can go long periods of time without sleep or have the polar opposite and have extreme amounts of energy. There are approximately 1-2% of adults in the world diagnosed with bipolar disorder; while scientists do not yet know what causes the chemical changes in the brain they do know that this disorder does have a genetic component. Some scientists believe that bipolar disorder is linked with network connectivity in the brain, it has been shown with neuroscience that neurocognitive abnormalities, particularly in executive function tasks which link to the frontal cortex. However studies have shown that there are no major losses of grey matter in the cortex but there are several changes in the white matter (Ferrier, April). Another fairly common disorder amongst abnormal psychology is Down syndrome. Down syndrome is a genetic condition which causes delays in physical and intellectual development. It has been studied and found to occur once in every 691 births. A person who has Down syndrome has an extra chromosome so instead of having 46 they have 47 chromosomes. Down syndrome is usually detected at birth or very shortly after, it is a disorder that can also be detected by genetic testing while the child is in utero. This disorder is confirmed by a chromosome study called a karyotype. A karyotype provides a visual study of the chromosomes grouped by their size, number and shape they are studied by examining blood and tissue cells. Scientists believe the cause of Down syndrome is that there is an error in the cell division this is called nondisjunction. Psychologists and scientists alike do not know why this occurs but it is known that this phenomenon occurs at conception and there is nothing the mother could have done during pregnancy to avoid such from happening (National Association for Down Syndrome, 2012). These two disorders are caused by actual chemical and genetic differences in the brain where as the next two examples are illnesses that are linked to more subtle differences that are much less noticeable at first glance. Schizophrenia is a mental illness that makes it hard to tell what is real and what is not. People with this illness hear voices in their heads and often times think people are plotting to harm them in some way. For this reason, they will seem agitated or will tend to separate themselves from society. About one percent of Americans suffer from this mental illness. People with this illness do not make sense when they talk and can sit for hours without moving. Family’s that have loved ones with this illness are largely affected by this, because people with schizophrenia often times have difficulty maintaining a job and become very dependent on close relatives. Dyslexia is a reading disability that happens when the brain does not process or recognize certain symbols. People that suffer from dyslexia have a brain that takes longer to make connections and does it in more steps. Often times people with dyslexia have trouble matching the letters with the sounds and combination the letters make. When these individuals struggle with this step, it makes the remaining process of steps for the brain even more difficult. A majority of people with dyslexia are really intelligent and can often times retain a lot of information but reading poses a real challenge for them. Dyslexia is actually very common today but is still widely considered a mental illness because of the brains connectivity issues. These four examples show that abnormal psychology not only focuses the rare or uncommon disorders but includes even many of the vast common illnesses of today. Each of the disorders and illnesses listed have several approaches for healing and therapy, this is because of the different views and thought processes from each of the schools of thought give several alternatives. Each school of psychology has a different theory of how the mind works and where mental disorders originate. Thusly, each school has its own way of addressing psychological problems. The most common schools of thought used in therapy are: psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, cognitive, humanistic and biological (Mote, 2013). In psychodynamic theory, it is believed that mental disorders originate from tension between your conscious and unconscious mind. This is usually caused by some kind of trauma, physical or emotional, from childhood. Psychoanalysis, a lengthy form of therapy that attempts to bring awareness to the unconscious elements of a person’s mind, is the preferred form of treatment in the psychodynamic school (Mote, 2013). Cognitive-behavioral theory focuses, â€Å"on the person’s life as it is now – the current and conscious thought patterns and behaviors† (Mote, 2013). Basically, this school of thought focuses on what we are going through now and how that is affecting our mental health rather than trying to find a reason from the past. Therapy from this school focuses on how to change behaviors and will usually give â€Å"homework† to do before the next session (Mote, 2013). The theory behind cognitive therapy is that problematic thinking patterns, called cognitive distortions, are the stimulus for psychological disorders (Mote, 2013). These are considered to be automatic thoughts rather than unconscious like in previous schools. Therapy in this school consists of identifying and altering the cognitive distortions in order to bring a resolution to the disorder (Mote, 2013). Humanistic therapy focuses on the individual and their defining qualities, what makes them special and unique. Therapists of this school try to make their clients aware of their emotions, values, and motivations to bring about change to their psyche (Mote, 2013). One of the most important parts of therapy in this school is the relationship between the therapist and their client. The goal is, â€Å"establishing and maintaining a sense of acceptance and respect for the client† (Mote, 2013), this is considered a hallmark of the school and is one of the most valuable techniques a therapist can use. Biological theory believes that mental disorders are caused by the brains pathology, essentially saying that the brain itself is flawed and causing the problems (Mote, 2013). The most common therapy for this is the use of medications, called pharmacotherapy; only a physician can prescribe these medications. Most of the medications focus on neural transmitter points and work to either increase or decrease the amount of activity in these sites (Mote, 2013). Even though each school of psychology approaches mental disorders differently, each method of therapy is affective against psychological issues. Every school may not be best for everyone though; finding a therapy that works for the individuals needs is key. In conclusion abnormal psychology is yet a small branch of the vast tree that is â€Å"psychology†, yet still provides extremely important studies which help ociety define that what is â€Å"normal†. Abnormal Psychology will always be a changing field as is normal psychology; it is defined by what society sees as abnormal and normal. A recent example of this could be homosexuality vs. drunk driving, the two as seen in societies eyes have switched from being accepted and unaccepted in the last 60 years. Whichever way society progresses will help better define what truly abnormal behavior is, and with the several schools of thought at its disposal hopefully society can continue helping those in need. Abnormal Psychology Essay The authors of this study were Sarra Hayes, Colette Hirsche, and Andrew Mathews. It was published in the August 2008 issue of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology. These researchers administered a questionnaire to measure the degree one worries to several students at staff at King’s College London in the United Kingdom. Among these participants, 32 people were selected for the study. This group was divided between those who worried often (high worriers) and those who rarely fretted (low worriers). The groups were then given a key pressing task in which they had to hit any key as soon as they heard a beep. These participants were also asked to fill out a thought rating scale to find out what kinds of positive thoughts they were having during the task. Finally, the groups were also given a filler task to reduce any carryover effect a previous trial of the key pressing task may have had. The researchers concluded that those who worried the most were more distracted from even the simplest task of hitting a random key when one hears a beep. Positive thoughts, however, did not seem to be as distracting. In the end, the researchers found that working memory is negatively affected by worrying. See more:  Social Satire in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay This study struggled with a major weakness of an exceptionally small sample size, but it remains valuable because it surveyed a nonclinical sample. The participants represented a sample of people who worried, but did not demonstrate levels of anxiety that disturbed their everyday functioning. While I do not believe any of the participants in this study were harmed or endangered, I would not have wanted to participate in this research. I do not enjoy tedious tasks and I am quick to identify the role of filler activities in a study. The key pressing task seems relatively boring and I prefer research that has a more direct and positive impact in the lives of others. Since I think that the findings do contribute to our understanding of how humans are able to balance worrying with their other cognitive tasks, I do see the value in this study. I would be interested to hear how the researchers might propose preventing worrying or helping those chronic worriers utilize their memories more effectively. Works Cited Hayes, Sarra, Hirsch, Colette, and Mathews, Andrew. â€Å"Restriction of Working Memory Capacity During Worry. † Journal of Abnormal Psychology August 2008: 712-717.

Why Did Men Continue to Fight in Ww1?

Why did men continue to fight in WWI? The Great War was fought between 1914 until 1918. It took the lives of millions of men and it is said to have had horrible conditions, the question still remains. Why did men continue to fight in the Great War? Was it because of their discipline in the army? Did they fight because of their friends in the army? Or were the conditions in the trenches not as bad as people say they were? This essay will argue that, even though all of these reasons were very important, the main reason men continued to fight was army discipline and comradeship.Army discipline was definitely an important factor for why men continued to fight. The army aimed to keep soldiers as disciplined as possible, therefore they made severe punishments for misbehaviour. For example, if soldiers refused to walk through â€Å"no mans land† the punishment would be to be shot by a firing squad, the firing squad would be your own battalion. This would be done to increase the disci pline of the rest of the battalion. They knew that if they were to disobey orders their friends and comrades would shoot them.However, around five million men served in the British army during the war; out of all these men, 3080 men were sentenced to death but only 364 were actually executed. This evidence suggests that perhaps army discipline was not the most important factor, however, 364 men might have scared most men enough to not disobey orders. The conditions of the trenches were said to be horrific and devastating, however the British army had very high standards of cleanliness and they were aware of what the soldiers needed to keep on fighting.They aimed to keep morale as high as possible and therefore provided more than sufficient amount of food, very good medical care, and tried to generally make the soldiers’ living conditions better. Efforts were made to keep the trenches cleaner; for example, rats were a big issue at the beginning of the war but as the war progre ssed, they were quickly eliminated from the trenches. Lice were also a problem so they fumigated, washed and ironed soldiers’ uniforms when they came out of the line. Since soldiers got taken care of, this was definitely one of the reasons they continued to fight, or at least made ighting more bearable. The men who fought in the war would often make friends in their battalions. This would definitely keep the men strong and able to fight. The soldiers did not want to let their friends down, and they all wanted to fight for their fellow soldiers. None of them wanted to die, but it was worst to die alone without their friends. They fought to keep their friends and themselves alive, so they could bear the war in the company of people they cared for. Sometimes, soldiers became such good friends, they went mad if their friend died, or they would continue to see each other after the war.Comradeship was a very important factor that helped them get through the war. You cannot generali ze why men continued to fight. Different men fought for different things. But most men probably fought for various reasons. The fact that the conditions were not so bad probably helped men a lot, as well as being able to fight with their friends. But the fear of death by the hand of their friends was probably what drove most people to keep on fighting in the war. It probably also helped other soldiers encourage their friends to keep on fighting, and therefore army discipline and comradeship are the most important causes.

Why College Students Drop Out

College costs a lot of money. Going into college most students do not understand the expenses that come along with it. Tuition increases year by year but the majority of students either do not of black women said financial problems are the reason for them leaving school (â€Å"Money,† 2012). A job can be obtained by them to maintain but in today’s economy it can be hard for college students to find jobs because people that may have already gone to college or not are now accepting jobs that kids in college are trying to be hired for because so many of their jobs have laid everyone off.According to Yen H. , many older people, immigrants or college graduates that are in debt are taking on teenage jobs as they search for jobs within their careers (Yen 2012). Once these kids have figured out they cannot support themselves and their parents cannot or will not support them for one reason or another, they then find themselves with no other option than to leave school. realize i t or are not concerned because they are aided financially by some kind of assistance. Along with tuition, room and board, books, etc. students need personal items for their rooms. Those with cars need gas and they will also need money for all other activities they wish to participate in. 33% of black men and 26% Another reason many students drop out of school is grades. Coming straight out high school some kids do not know the severity of maintaining good grades and a satisfactory standing GPA. Students begin school enjoying the freedom of being on their own and get caught up having fun instead of focusing on their school work.Some students on the other hand may not receive bad grades because of partying but because they are not good test takers. Opponents of No Child Left Behind say standardized tests, â€Å"promotes a narrow curriculum and drill-like â€Å"teaching to the test† (â€Å"Standardized,† 2011). Unlike high school there is not as much homework or extra cr edit to fall back on if one does not do well on tests. There are many students that can obtain course information but do not excel in standardized testing for reasons such as test anxiety or the limitation of the presentation of information.This is why so many students go to class, study the information and then fail the tests. Yen, H. (2010, June 12). More than seven in 10 U. S. Teens Jobless in Summer. USA Today. Retrieved from http://usatoday30. usatoday. com/money/economy/story/2012-06-12/teen-jobs-disappearing/55555506/1 (2012, September 7). Money is a Major Factor in Why Black Students Drop Out of College. Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (Online). Proquest. Retrieved from http://0-search. proquest. com. sheba. ncat. du/docview/1038376120. (2011, July 8). Standardized Testing Pros and Cons: Latest Research Analyzed on New ProCon. org Website. Economics Week. 160. Retrieved from http://0-linksource. ebsco. com. sheba. ncat. edu/FullText. aspx? linkout=http%3a%2f%2fwww. lex isnexis. com%2fus%2flnacademic%2fapi%2fversion1%2fsr%3fshr%3dt%26csi%3d337799%26sr%3d(%2522Standardized%2520Testing%2520Pros%2520and%2520Cons%3a%2520Latest%2520Research%2520Analyzed%2520on%2520New%2520ProCon. org%2520Website%2522)%2bAND%2bDATE%2bIS%2b2011

Assess competing theories of the causes of financial crisis against Essay - 1

Assess competing theories of the causes of financial crisis against evidence from one of the countries impacted by the Asian financial crisis - Essay Example One of the theories established by Corsetti et al (1999) attribute the contagion effect in the Asian economies implying that the economies geographically located adjacent to each other normally follow the other countries in the region for the rise and fall in their economies. Alon and Kellerman (1999) substantiate this theory in that they state that the crisis was a reminiscent of the ‘Domino Theory’ of 1960’s. There are other view points attributing different reasons for the financial crisis in Asian economies. This paper analyzes the competing theories that examine the causes of the Asian financial crisis in the light of several theoretical models established by research studies on the crisis and its causes. Before discussing the causes and effects of the Asian financial crisis, it is important to study the background for the evolution of the financial crisis in the Asian economies. The default of a large amount of debts by Hanob Steel Corporation of South Korea started off the financial crisis in the region. This default by the steel major was followed by many business failures in the country. (Amitava Chatterji 2003) Following this there was an uneasy feeling for the speculators about the economic and political developments in the region. Hence in May 1997 they initiated heavy capital outflows from Thailand putting the baht – the currency of Thailand under pressure. Though there were assurances from the Thai government that there would be no devaluation of baht, Bank of Thailand in July 1997 announced the free float of baht which virtually devalued the currency by 20 percent. (Amitava Chatterji 2003) This had triggered the suspicion in the minds of the investors on the Asian regional capital and currency markets and the investor confidence suffered a marked deterioration. Following the act of Thailand, countries like Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore allowed free float of their respective currencies and the values of all

Case Study on Profitability Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Case Study on Profitability - Assignment Example Thus the decrease in operating profit margin indicates that operating expenses of Deutsche Brauerei rise faster than its sales, which can be clearly seen from exhibit 1: 48.4% increase in sales against 49.5% increase in operating expenses. In turn this means Deutsche Brauerei now has less flexibility in determining prices, and therefore less safety in tough economic times. The ratio of income taxes to earnings before taxes has also increased to 39.5% in 1999 and 39% in 2000 from 33.8% in 1997 and 34.5% in 1998. From exhibit 1 we can see that taxable income increase steadily over years (which can be explained by unstable economic situation in Ukraine), while earnings before taxes grow slower. Consequently return on sales, which shows the operational efficiency of the company dividing earnings before tax by total sales, has decreased from 4% in 1998 (before default) to 2.8% in 1999 leveling the breakdown to 3.2% in 2000. Still shareholders' equity continues to increase shifting the return on equity ratio up to 10.3% in 2000 - the highest measure for four years; the business looks good from this perspective. Return on net assets which is equal to net income divided by fixed assets and net working capital also shows signs of healthy performance increasing to 8.4% in 2000 6.9% in previous year. The return on assets ratio have returned to its value in 1998 - 4.7% - indicating that a company puts its assets to good use when restoring profitability after economic breakdown in former USSR region. As can be seen from the exhibit 1, sales in Germany have been increasing slowly over the last four years, while the main stake was made on the Ukrainian market. Therefore changes in profitability of DB are greatly affected by local economic climate, which was very unstable these years. Although experiencing difficulties in generating profit, DB has made a successful recover from economic difficulties of the year 1998. Leverage Leverage ratios determine the company's long-term solvency. "Financial leverage is the name given to the impact on returns of a change in the extent to which the firm's assets are financed with borrowed money." (Scott, 1998) For instance debt/equity ratio shows how much money the company can safely borrow over long-terms and it is measured with dividing the total debt with total equity. The debt/equity ratio for DB has fallen from 72.3% in 1997 to 66% in 2000. The company has borrowed funds in 1997 making investments into Ukrainian market, which is the reason of such high debt/equity ratio in 1997. It is decreasing along with debt/total capital ratio (long-term debt/ long term-debt + shareholder's equity), which was 39.8% in 2000 comparing to 41.9% in 1997. This is a good sign of increasing long-term solvency. EBIT/interest ratio, which shows how many times the company can cover its obligations was rather stable during the last three years (4.7 in 1999, 2000, 4.8 in 1998) increasing significantly from 3.8 in 1997. The company has significantly decreased its debt in 1998, which was reflected in the increased solvency in the last three years. Asset Utilization The efficiency of the business is measured by asset usage ratios. Asset utilization ratios are especially important for internal monitoring concerning performance over multiple periods, serving as warning signals or benchmarks from which meaningful conclusions may be reached on operational issues (Blok and Hirt, 2005). Asset turnover is one of the most important

IS MODERN SOCIETY RATIONAL Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

IS MODERN SOCIETY RATIONAL - Essay Example Evidence of their influence may be found in many features of modernization theory: the frequent use of dichotomous type constructions and concepts such as "social differentiation" and "social system"; an emphasis upon the ability to adapt to gradual, "continual change as the normal condition of stability; the attribution of causal priority to immanent sources of change; and the analysis of social change as a directional" process (Tipps, 1973, p 199-226). Tipps also notes that modernization has been employed mainly as an inclusive rather than discriminating concept. It is used to summarize a great many phenomena rather than to discriminate what is modern from other conditions. The level of analysis which is of crucial theoretical significance is that of society and culture--the national state is normally the focus of interest. Finally, Tipps classified modernization theories into two types, the "critical variable" and the "dichotomous" theories. The first type in volves a single kind of change, such as rationalization or industrialization, and the term modernization becomes virtually synonymous with the critical variable. The second type is more common, and involves the process of transformation of traditional societies into modern ones. The process, then, is defined in terms of the end goal, and the end goal is "often a nation very similar to those in the contemporary West" (Lauer, 1977, pp 304-310). The empirical critique argues that modernization theory contains empirical errors or lacunae. Thus, Tipps points out that the theories tend to ignore the impact of forces external to the changing society; to stereotype the meaning of "traditional"; to ignore the diverse kinds and diverse experiences of so-called traditional societies; and to overemphasize the dichotomous nature of tradition and modernity. Parkin states: "a recent critical shift has been away from explanation to description, while this is a matter of degree, the movement away from functionalism has lessened our preparedness to explain how the 'other' works in favor of describing it." (1982, pg. xiii). Finally, the metatheoretical critique offered by Tipps involves the choices made by the theorists in building their systems of thought. We have already noted the tendency to make modernization an inclusive rather than a discriminating concept. This choice toward inclusiveness, argues Tipps, has led the theorists to make the concept "unparsimonious and vague." The concept has lost contact with the empirical reality to which it supposedly refers, and at the same time it is used to refer to "an incredible number of changes at virtually all levels of social reality" (Lauer, 1977, pp 304-310). Thus, Tipps call for a redirection of modernization theory. There are, of course, some efforts in that direction. Frank himself, along with a number of other scholars, is viewing the process of modernization in Marxist terms. There have been other efforts to look at modernization at the individual level in terms of cognitive transformation. No theory has yet been

Features of poverty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Features of poverty - Essay Example It could be more effectively defined by looking at its cause and effect and association to other related aspects. Rather than just simply looking at the insufficiency of resources, we must focus on the efforts exerted and the conditions that brought about the insufficiency. There is also truth in saying that poverty should not be measured by money alone. Two people could obtain the same amount of money but one could be deemed poor in possessions because of misallocation. This also deals with how money is spent. In a study by Christophe Muller, he posed the question whether poverty measures are a real economic phenomena or only hidden consequences of methodological choices. He also stated that there is a difference between being poor in a poor community and being poor in a wealthy environment. Thus, it could be established that defining poverty lines is such a tall order. We cannot just simply apply the same measure everywhere and all the time. (3) One would be shocked at how many factors affect not only poverty but also our understanding of poverty. Technically, other factors such as inequality, taxation, and income distribution should also be considered in evaluating economic conditions. In his paper, Defining Poverty Lines and Identifying the Poor, Peter Sanders purports that the government has a stake on the people's welfare particularly in its policies on wages and social benefits. In reality, the government should not take on the burden of ensuring the people's financial welfare but the most that it could do is formulate sound policies to ensure equality and economic security. (5) Then, there is the question if poverty could be accurately gauged by a certain measure or statistics alone. Definitely, this is not so true since poverty could not be defined as something quantitative but more so qualitative. Poverty is also suggestive of the quality of life or living conditions. (6) Sanders further claims that in a so-called outcome-oriented perspective, poverty is not measured but rather experienced by those who fall to it. Poverty does not become potent when it is gauge but rather when it felt. History tells us that it is not only the poor who complain about life becoming more and more difficult but also those who are well off. The worst kind of poverty happens when the people and government could not afford to have or provide themselves good education. It could also be said that poverty in a nation is also indicative of its social and political system and the stability of its laws and policies. People really do have different notions of poverty and this is most times subjective. This is further elucidated in the study done on DSS clients. This further makes the idea of solving this social condition impossible especially if those stricken by poverty do not realize or recognize that they are poor. In addition, this disparity could happen on the other extreme, when the wealthy think that they are poor. A nation would have to be clear at establishing the poverty line or define the standards of living before it could effectively define poverty. Destitution does not just concern our needs and wants but also how we manage our resources or income. It was also discussed how poverty per se is not a single entity but something that could take different forms and just like every social issues, it has evolved. Now, in a paper entitled GLOBALIZATION AND POVERTY,

Discussing (Tata Steel) and its current approach to managing Essay

Discussing (Tata Steel) and its current approach to managing environmental drivers in their market. You should identify and an - Essay Example In this context, the discussion of this report critically examines the major influencing factors along with the responses made by TATA Steel while performing its steel manufacturing processes in the global countries. Additionally, the discussion would also incorporate the major drivers within the present steel making industry, their potential impact on TATA Steel and provide relevant theoretical implications in order to effectively address the key driving factors in the respective business industry. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 1. Introduction 4 2. Brief Description of the Company and its Exposure to Global Business 4 3. Introduction of the Chosen Framework and Evaluation of TATA’s Response 5 4. Analysing Major Influencing Drivers in the Steel Making Industry and TATA’s Response 6 4.1 Regulatory Process 6 4.2 Cost Reduction Strategy 8 4.3 Buyers’ Power 9 4.4 Suppliers’ Power 9 4.5 Competitive Rivalry 10 6. Conclusion and Recommendations 12 Referen ces 13 1. Appendix 18 1.1 PEST Analysis 18 1.1.1 Political Factor 18 3.1.2 Economic Factor 18 3.1.3 Social Factor 19 3.1.4 Technological Factor 19 1. Introduction The present business environment of global organisations is often identified to be influenced by various factors. In this regard, the influence of external environment is one of the major determinants for the modern business organisations, assisting them to successfully accomplish their desired business goals (Teodorescu & Costachie, 2011). Organisations are often recognised to highly comply with the influence of primary external environmental factors in performing various operational and corporate functions. In this regard, the political, economic, social along with environmental and legal aspects can be duly considered as the primary external influencing factors for any organisation, aiding it to build long-run sustainability in the competitive business market (Oxford University Press, n.d.). Keeping with the major influ ence of the external environmental factors in business, the primary objective of this report is to analyse the business operations of TATA Steel in the fiercely growing steel manufacturing and marketing business industry. In this regard, the report will identify the chief drivers of the steel industry and discuss how these drivers affect Tata Steel. Moreover, the report will also lay utmost focus upon evaluating Tata’s responses to the identified drivers along with providing appropriate actions to ensure sustainable success of the company. 2. Brief Description of the Company and its Exposure to Global Business Established during the mid of the year 1907, TATA Steel (TATA) is regarded as one of the leading steel manufacturing companies in the Indian and global business industry. It is one of the major subsidiaries of the TATA Group with a large number of market shares in producing and marketing of steel across overseas locations (Mahajan & Ives, 2003). The company attained gre ater success in the respective business industry due to its adoption along with execution of continuous diversification strategy in its various business fields. Currently, the organisation is involved in performing diverse operational functions that include motor vehicle manufacturing, steel production, chemical, financial service along with healthcare division and telecommunication

Translation Issues 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Translation Issues 1 - Essay Example But the transmission of the correct information from the source language and its expression in the target language, to a great extent, pivots on the good command of lexical relations of the both of the languages, as they assist the translators to decode the meaning of a text properly. It is also unquestionably true that when the intention and goal of the author behind the original text and its aesthetic purpose are taken into concerns, the task turns into a form of art that is intended to attain the highest possible level of excellence. This paramount importance of the knowledge of lexical relationships of words in a linguistic system is mainly due to the fact that words convey different connotations and denotations in different lexical positions of words in a sentence, therefore utterly changing the meaning of the words. As in most cases a translator has to perform text analysis, semantic explorations, other meaning related investigations of the languages, an in-depth analysis of th ese languages helps greatly. Qualities of a good translation have been assessed by different scholars in different ways. But the web of relations of the words in a sentence and even in whole of the text is important for all of the good qualities of a successful translation. A translation has certain qualities for which it can be marked as a good translation. Scholars have suggested some factors that are to be maintained for the sake of good translation. According to the French scholar Dolet, â€Å"word for word† translation is detrimental for a good translation. Such type of translation may spoil the beauty of both of the content and the forms of the text. It is because that every language has its own sets of words that are especially unique in nature and consequently they have certain annotations and connotations and are interrelated through several lexical relations with the assigned meaning. Very often these

Tall tales Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Tall tales - Essay Example cted that there will be similar increase in the demands for the implementation of healthy and natural environment, that is based on green and healthy environment. To maintain equilibrium between the two dominant factors i.e. to mange the concentration of population, and at parallel to cater for their environmental needs the Japanese construction company Takenaka has evolved a design proposal for constructing Sky City 1000, ‘a super high-rise, huge multilevel city with a height of a kilometer’. The design concept of Sky City 1000was introduced in 1989, and the concept has gained worldwide popularity, and many urban developers and planners are looking forward towards the success of the plan, ‘lot of expectations are around, planners are highly optimistic about the success’. As the 21st century is in progress, there are increasing expectations for the implementation and execution of the plan. Sky City 1000 is based on total floor area of 2000 acres, and has an elevation of 1,000 meters, the structure of the Sky City 1000 comprises of 14 concave dish-shaped, aerial bases called Space Plateaus piled one upon the other, and viewed as perfect super high-rise city. The structure has been conceptualized to adjust and support residences, offices, commercial facilities, schools, theaters. The tower has the capacity to offer accommodation to 35000 people, and more than hundred thousand people as employees will perform their respective task. Different systems have been employed by the construction authority to ensure the safety and protection of the city, and in this regard latest security focused technologies have been used to maintain the comfortable state of the city, and offer maximum possible cover to residents. The technology employed by Takenaka has attracted many investors and commercial giants. The concept of Sky City 1000 was launched by Takenaka with the cooperation of Shizuo Harada of ESCO Co Ltd. The Sky City 100 is innovative and modernized version of

Critical debates in planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Critical debates in planning - Essay Example Therefore, an important framework in planning should emphasize the importance of all forms of combination of policy monitoring within a spatial analytical structure, the allowance of combining different types of indicators across different themes and the application of a collaborative approach among key stakeholders (Wong & Watkins, 2009: 481). Carmona, M. and Sieh, L (2008) in Judging Performance Measurement in Planning argue that the planning process can be reliably measured despite the fact that performance measurement across public sector in the UK is data rich and information insufficient (Carmona & Sieh, 2008:428). The authors argue that performance measurement is a complex process including developing a framework for that purpose. They state, â€Å"Attempting to understand this complexity, let alone develop a framework for how performance can be measured, is therefore always likely to be a major challenge† (Carmona & Sieh, 2008:428). To handle this issue effectively, policy needs and measurement tools must be included in the overall framework. Houghton (1997) in Performance Indicators in Town Planning argues that the current planning speed performance indicators in planning are of questionable value and has an undue stress on efficiency as compared to effectiveness. Unlike other analysts who argue that development and sustainability are antithetical, Houghton argues that in the use of resources, development needs to be the same as growth and goes on to state, â€Å"Central to this new stress on effective and efficient management in local government has been the introduction of performance measurement (Houghton, 1997:2). Wong & Watkins (2009) argument’s strength is that the authors introduce the readers to the debates that exist in planning, the challenges, and possible working framework for spatial planning. They have included

Christian Ethics in A Complex World Essay Example for Free

Christian Ethics in A Complex World Essay In 2002 the book entitled â€Å"Choosing the Good: Christian Ethics in A Complex World† was by Dennis Hollinger was published. It gives an overview of the Christian ethics in today’s complicated world. It is indeed a precious and unique book that assesses the framework and perspective of Christian ethics in relation to social issues. The approach is designed to widen initial ideas about relations among different races, policies, human sexualities, economics and many more. The approach of the author is very unusual that made the book more likeable. Hollinger wanted to connect his beliefs to his readers in a way that he wanted to imply something in choosing to do what is good and right. In every social issue at hand there is always an equivalent step by step framework to be followed. The book’s weakness are the lengthy statements that bores readers easily, It may mislead readers since comprehension may be hard to acquire. It would be better if the author wrote it in a direct to the point manner. There are cases presented in the book that aids readers how to carefully analyze a real life scenario. It would be better for people not to complicate things as it is better if problems are looked down easily. In general the book is awesome since it tackles about foundations of ethical theories. Hollinger outlines much of the essential data needed so that readers will understand the areas of pastoral care, Christian ethics and its interconnection with public policy. An overall generalization is also given to see what does the author wanted to imply in this beautiful book. There were also judgments and ethical commitments presented in the second chapter of the book. The issues involving postmodernity and modernity treatment s discussed. But this is the chapter that lacks focus because vague explanations were given on how the society operates in modernity but does not make t in academics. The enticing part is that third part of the book presents figures about history tht guides readers on deciding in this contemporary world. A survey of recent Christian Ethics by Edward LeRoy is part of the book for readers to see an accurate statistics of the public’s opinion. Biblical ethics is also presented that shows a deeper connection of choosing to do the good things in life. The best reference is still the Holy Scriptures. Talking about culture and its relation to faith is also presented by Hollinger in this book. He cited examples like the delineation of Christ and Culture by Niebuhr and how the church is placed in the center of a more organized society. Christ should still stand up amidst the complexities of things I every culture. As the author concludes the book â€Å"the moral task before the Christian church today is immense. But God has called us, as he called Esther long ago in Persia, to be a divine presence for such a time as this† (Hollinger, 2002). For good to succeed it is our duty to devote our moral commitments against the complex world. It is in humility that people can find goodness and it is God who is the true foundation of everything we do (Hollinger, 2002, p. 272). The book is designed to let readers be aware that choosing good should incorporate a broad and deep understanding of the word goodness. Having reflections on the book made it easier for readers to understand what he is trying to point out. It is recommended to discuss a book like this in the classroom scenario so that all students ma practice the ethics of goodness inside the classroom and spread it outside as they grow. References: Hollinger, D. (2002). Choosing The Good: Christian Ethics in A Complex World. USA: Baker Academic

Importance of Human Resource Development (HRD)

Importance of Human Resource Development (HRD) INTRODUCTION It is often debated and generally accepted that human resource development (HRD) activities are important in an organisation. But the question lies within to what extent and how much does it contribute. The reason may lie in the facts that it is not easy to show the direct link between the two activities and that it is both difficult to define HRD precisely and its effect may not be experienced in the short run (Torrington et al., 2005, p.357). The purpose of this paper is highlight on the question on the extent to which HRD contributes to the performance of an organisation. ORGANISATIONS AND HRD Swanson and Arnold (1996) asserted that HRD is a sub-system that operated in the main system; the organisation. In order for the organisation to be successful the objectives and goals of the subsystems must be aligned towards achieving the set goals of the main system. For example, the primary objective of the organisation would be to maximise return on shareholder investment. We may find that the objectives of training and development would be a level removed down, that is to maximise the capabilities of the employees, induce innovation, and produce high quality products and service. They may be different but a closer look at each of these objectives reveals that they serve a singular purpose; maximise the return (Swanson Arnold, 1996, p.15). HRD and Motivation Motivation is certainly the key for the people to keep returning to the job. However it must not be viewed through a single window which shows you that rewards and bonuses makes people motivated. In fact rewards and bonuses and all other financial and intrinsic benefits are classified as hygiene factors. These factors acts as motivators up to a certain level, beyond that they become satisfiers. Extrinsic factors such as the pure feeling of achievement, recognition, job enrichment, job enlargement and training and development are motivating factors. Achievement, job enrichment, job enlargement and training and development are essential elements of HRD and as we can see these elements dominate the motivating factors (Cohen, 2008). Training and development According to Mathis and Jackson (1999), Training is a process whereby people acquire capabilities to aid in the achievement of organisational goals. Simply put training facilitates individuals with the knowledge and skills that are required to perform the present job. It differs from development where, development has a broader impact in providing new skills that is required to perform both present and future jobs (Mathis Jackson, 1999). For example Tesco states that when they have well trained employees on the shop flow it benefits Tescos business image as customers are more confident in the competence and knowledge of staff they deal with. Tesco offers a wide range of training and development opportunities both on the job and off the job to its employees. Tesco takes both organisational objectives and individuals training objectives in account. Tesco believes that efficient and effective training and development programs, helps them to create the flexible and committed employees, delivering the highest standard of service, which is crucially required for their growth and success (TheTimes100, 2009). Organisational Learning CIPD defines learning as an environment where individuals learn to learn and possess the capabilities that enable them to do so to help their employers to build and retain competitive advantage (CIPD, 2008). According to CIPD a firm can achieve competitive advantage when individuals actively seek to acquire the knowledge and skills that promote the organisations objectives. In other words organisations must transform into learning environments, where continuous learning is experienced, thus transforming into a Learning Organisation. Learning organisation thrives for continuous improvement of its capacities in order to make the organisation ready to face the future. For example learning and development process at Corus; a Tata Steel company and Europes second largest steel producer with annual revenues of around  £12 billion, employing around 40,000 people worldwide, is moderated by structuring the learning process within their organisation through setting up a Corus Academy. The Corus Academy was based on sharing best practices and maximizing common approaches. Its main objective focus on Constant Improvement was achieved through the sharing of ideas across the entire company, where both individual and organisational learning occurred simultaneously becoming a learning organisation itself. (TheTimes100, 2009). Other Employee Development Approaches Development is the growth or realization of a persons ability and potential through the provision of learning and training experiences (Armstrong, 2006). Different Organisations adopts different activities in order to enhance their learning capabilities. According to Armstrong (2006), a balanced approach is required, making use of the various forms of learning and development to produce a coherent strategy that contains the plans for creating and maintaining a learning climate and developing and implementing complementary and mutually supportive learning activities both formal and informal. Coaching and Mentoring Coaching and mentoring are informal development activities that organisations practice to facilitate learning. Coaching is an approach based on a close relationship between the individual and one other person, usually their immediate manager, who is much experienced (Torrington et al., 2005, p.394). According to Kram (1983) mentoring benefits from two aspects; the career aspects that primarily enhance career advancement and the psychosocial aspects which enhance a sense of competence (Torrington et al., 2005, p.394). The continuously analysis and constructive criticism and guidance received from the coaches and mentors directly contributed to positive performance. Organisation also benefits, saving a great deal of cost using their own senior experienced staff to develop the junior staff. The Annual CIPD Survey Report 2009 on learning and development practices showed that in-house development programmes and coaching by line managers continue to be rated the most effective learning and development practices in UK (CIPD, 2009). This is perhaps why firms such as Baker Tilly, the seventh largest accountancy practice firm in the UK with a turnover in excess of  £200 million a year and 2,500 staff and its international network being the eighth largest accountancy grouping in the world, strategizes its people development activities to focus on more informal programs such as coaching and mentoring. The firm believes that formal training gives the building blocks for development and learning. However coaching and mentoring and other types of informal development schemes helps people understand for themselves what it is they can do to enhance their ability to meet their objectives all stages, and help them eliminate barriers for performance (CIPD, 2009). Talent management Career Development Talent management is often described as a future-focused activity, encompassing the identification, development, engagement and deployment of talent, with organisations using it to develop their workforce to meet the strategic needs of the organisation (CIPD, 2008). Swanson and Holton (2009) argue that career development theories that describe adult career development are important contributors to HRD practice because they describe adult progression through work roles. Charles Handy stress that employees today must look out for themselves to build their own career. He also notes that education will becomes an investment and varied experience will becomes an asset (Stone, 1998), that will eventually give advantage to employee in the form of employability. Although the traditional view on career development is no longer viable, its integration with talent management creates an opportunity for organisations to develop succession plans. Creating and managing talent and career development processes enables companies to nurture talent for the challenges of the future as well as the present (Eigenhuis Dijk, 2008). For example, when Jack Welch retired in 2001 from General Electric, after having served as the CEO and chair of GE since 1981, he was succeeded by Jeffrey Immelt. Immelt was enlisted for the post as early as 1994 including some 24 candidates to replace Jack Welch. GE identified the next best candidate who would replace Jack Welch on his retirement way ahead. Such capabilities of succession planning are rear unless organisations have competent stars who share the same set of objectives as the organisation. This saves the organisations from going into a cultural and psychological shock, yielding costs that are enormous. Having outs ide top managers to replace comes with disruption all across the board (Eigenhuis Dijk, 2008) creating a turmoil in the management. Net Geners: Learning Gets Social Tapscott in his book Grown Up Digital refers to the generation of individuals born between 1977 and 1997 as Net Gens. Tapscott argument was that whatever that applied to the generation before them in terms of management, training, learning and development would not apply to the Net Gens. For Net Gens technology is like the air we breathe. They are never scarce of information. For them social networking and information sharing sites such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube are both their mentor and coaches asserts Tapscott. He implies that organisations must change their ways of training and development to adopt this wave of informal learning into their mainstream learning programs. Organisations must encourage Net Gens to develop in their own chosen style; perhaps this will be the only way to capture their talent and capacity. These platforms give an enormous advantage with regard to developing the Net Gens and benefiting from their capabilities. Organisations can in other words make work and learn a fun experience for the fun loving Net Gens (Bingham, 2009). Knowledge management Perhaps the most important aspect of HRD is to retain the knowledge invested over the time on individuals. Employment has become more mobile, where individuals change their jobs in pursue of building their career. In other words, as an individual leaves an organisation the knowledge also leaves with him. Finding ways to retain this knowledge in a database or in retrievable form that is accessible by others in the organisation turns information into useful knowledge crucial to improve process and increase profits (Bogardus, 2004). For example Coruss information sharing network is backed up by databases that are shared by firms all over the world. A problem in a firm operating in Canada can get the solution and best practices that was applied for the similar problem in a firm operating in another country. Conclusion The bottom line is that HRD is directly related with improving and enhancing the performance of the employees, which is regarded by many organisations as the only competitive advantage that can be sustained. This competitive edge is achieved by organisations that discover the knowledge, skills and ability of their work force and build them to achieve unique differentiation. Empirical studies on business effectiveness and sustainability from all over the world suggests that, people are the key to the success of the business. For example, a study conducted to find the employee engagement level in pan-European employees showed that the human resource activities as a whole facilitated a 5 percent increase in engagement levels each year. The study also showed that human resource interventions aligned with customer satisfaction correlated by 72 percent and financial performance correlated by 68 percent (Ward, 2008).

The Factors Influencing Strategy Implementation Management Essay

The Factors Influencing Strategy Implementation Management Essay The aim of this module is to produce a 4000 word research proposal that would be capable for supporting the preparation of a Masters dissertation. The project report would include an introduction including a title, which would highlight the content of this business document providing a background, informing the reader of the problem / issue at hand and the context of the situation that would be discussed. The research issue would be provided highlighting the importance of the issue in todays ever-changing and competitive, cut-throat business environment. Adequate linkages would be provided to co-relate the research aims, research objectives, research questions and the hypothesis as such generated. A coherent and critical literature review would follow demonstrating the knowledge of the literature available and linking it to the situation which would be investigated. A research design and methodology would be adopted to investigate the concerned issue providing a rationale as to how the research objectives are to be accomplished explaining the selection of the research paradigm. The research design would include the methods of data capture, the data access issues, the analysis and the interpretation means that would be used to assess the situation and appropriate reasons would be provided for the choice of research tools used. Relevant ethical issues underpinning the research objectives would also be discussed along-with the resources required to complete the research proposal. The last part of this management report would include a timetable that would provide the time that it took to complete each part of the research proposal along-with a list of references utilized to complete the report. INTRODUCTION TITLE: FACTORS INFLUENCING STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION BACKGROUND The title of this research proposal is factors influencing strategy implementation. Before we discuss the issue and highlight the importance of the issue in the context of the report it is of prime importance to understand the concept of strategy implementation itself. It is the process by which the business strategy formulated is put into action. It includes the design and management of organizational systems to achieve the best integration of people and structure, allocating resources, managing human resources and developing information and decision processes to achieve organizational objectives. Pierce and Robinson  note that to effectively direct and control the use of the firms resources, mechanisms such as organizational structure, information systems, leadership styles, assignment of key managers, budgeting, rewards, and control systems are essential strategy implementation ingredients. After the creative and analytical aspects of the corporate strategy have been formulated the priority of the management is to convert the strategy into operationally effective action. A strategy is never complete, until it gains a commitment of the firms resources and becomes embodied in its organizational structure. Strategy implementation is an iterative process of implementing strategies, policies, programs and action plans that allows a firm to utilize its resources to take advantage of opportunities in the competitive environment (Harrington, 2006). There is no one definition of strategy implementation as seen from the above citations but for the purpose of this report, taking into consideration the definitions above we can define strategy implementation as an iterative, dynamic and a complex process, which comprises of series of decisions and activities by the management and the administration those affected by many interrelated internal and external factors, to turn strategic plans into reality in order to achieve the objectives of the firm. RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY This part of the report would highlight the aim and the objectives of the research, discussing the issue chosen and its importance by proposing a research question and providing an answer to it in the literature review. Many studies have acknowledged that business strategies often fail not because of inadequate strategy formulation, but because of an inappropriate implementation strategy. This report would study the factors that enable or impede effective strategy implementation. This report would highlight how strategy implementation has been researched so far and how this field may be moved forward so as to help in effective execution of a business strategy. As a result of the literature review undertaken, the report has found nine critical factors for strategy implementation that will be discussed further in the literature. Formulation of an effective strategy, making the strategy work and implementing it throughout the company is a difficult task (Hrebiniak, 2006). Many factors potentially affect the process by which strategic plans are turned into organizational action. Unlike strategy formulation, strategy implementation is more of a craft, rather than a science. After successful formulation of the business strategy, difficulties usually arise during the subsequent implementation process. If the business strategy formulated is not applied correctly to all the aspects of the organisational structure the business model would fail, thus harming the organisation in many aspects, the major being the financial capability of the firm, which would take a huge blow. It is of prime importance to get the implementation right otherwise there would be huge losses for the firm. Noble (1999b) notes, the best-formulated strategies may fail to produce superior performance for the firm if they are not successfully implemented. This issue is of utmost importance in todays day and age because of the cut-throat competition in the ever-changing business world where each firm needs to keep re-modelling their policies and procedures to keep up with the change in the external and internal business environment. There are combination of issues that influence the success of strategy implementation, ranging from the people who communicate or implement the strategy to the systems or mechanisms in place for co-ordination and control. How can we better understand these issues and their importance for successful strategy implementation? In this report we try to respond to this question by the critical analysis of the existing research on the factors that influence strategy implementation. An analysis has been conducted of the most widely used literature databases to identify key factors influencing the process of strategy implementation, to surface current areas of agreement and disagreement on the topic. LITERATURE REVIEW In the following section, the report would review the study sources and assess their research context, theoretical bases, their main results and the research methods used as well as the analytical techniques which are employed for the study. The examined organizational levels and organizational types are the two elements of the research context. The core of the literature review, would concentrate on the nine factors identified through rigorous analysis of the study sources, that play a role in influencing strategy implementation success, as well as the frameworks or models that aggregate or relate the relevant factors to each other. This is followed by the discussion of the theoretical bases of the reviewed studies. Finally, the research methods and analytical techniques adopted will be reviewed to see which methods are still underutilized in the context of strategy implementation. By carrying out a literature review of the existing studies, the report found two types of strategy implementation studies: one that highlight the importance of the individual factors for strategy implementation and the second that emphasize the big pictureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ of how the single factors interrelate and form a strategic implementation environment. The research would highlight nine recurring, individual factors that influence strategy implementation. They are namely the strategy formulation process, the strategy executors (managers, employees), the organizational structure, the communication activities, the level of commitment for the strategy, the consensus regarding the strategy, the relationships among different units/departments and different strategy levels, the employed implementation tactics, and the administrative system in place. THE NINE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE STARTEGY IMPLEMENTATION 1. Strategy Formulation If the corporate strategy drafted by the business is a poor or a vague strategy, then it can limit the implementation efforts dramatically. Good execution cannot overcome the shortcomings of a bad strategy or a poor strategic planning effort (Hrebiniak, 2006). Several studies mention the fact that the kind of strategy that is developed (Alexander, 1985; Allio, 2005) and the actual process of strategy formulation, namely, how a strategy is developed (KimMauborgne, 1993; Singh, 1998) will influence the effect of implementation. Alexander (1985) believes that the need to start with a formulated strategy that involves a good idea or concept is the most crucial and critical factor which helps promoting its successful implementation. As Allio notes, good implementation naturally starts with good strategic input: the soup is only as good as the ingredients (Allio, 2005). 2. Relationships among different departments and different strategy levels Many studies in the concerned field have stressed that the institutional relationships among different units/departments and different strategy levels play a major role in the outcome of strategy implementation (Walker Ruekert, 1987; Gupta, 1987; Slater Olson, 2001; Chimhanzi, 2004; Chimhanzi Morgan, 2005). Walker Ruekert note that marketing policies, inter-functional structures and processes, corporate-business unit relationships and processes are a major influence on business strategy implementation. In addition, allocation of resources, functional competencies, inter-functional conflict, decision-making participation and influence, and coordination also have different effects on the implementation of various kinds of business strategies. Implementation effectiveness is negatively affected by conflict and positively affected by interpersonal communication and not written. Such interdepartmental dynamics are affected by senior management support informal integration and joint re ward systems. Other relationships that have received attention to a lesser extent include finance, manufacturing, engineering, quality, marketing, accounting, and sales. 3. Executors Executors comprise the top management, middle management, lower management and non-management. Effectiveness of strategy implementation is, at least in part, affected by the quality of people involved in the process (Govindarajan, 1989). The quality refers to the capabilities, experience, skills, attitudes, and other characteristics of people required by a specific position (Peng Litteljohn, 2001). Findings indicate that strategy implementation effectiveness, critically depends on the human or people side of project management, and less on organization and systems related factors. Top management refers to the senior-level leaders including presidents, owners, and other high ranking executives (CEO, CFO, COO etc.) and senior-level managers. Hrebiniak and Snow (1982) report that the level of interaction and participation among the top management team typically leads to greater commitment to the firms goals and strategies. This, in turn ensures the successful implementation of the strategy. Gupta and Govindarajan (1984) note that greater the marketing and sales experience of middle managers, the greater would be their willingness to take risk and successfully implement the strategy. Heracleous (2000) also finds that if middle management do not agree with the strategy, or do not feel that they have the skill set to implement it, then they would sabotage its implementation. Middle managers expect the direction from the top management but frequently feel that they are in a better position to start and evaluate alternative courses of action. Also, the lack of shared knowledge with lower-level management and non-management employees would create a barrier to successful strategy implementation. 4. Communication Many researchers have emphasized the importance of adequate communication channels for the process of strategy implementation. Alexander (1985) notes that communication is mentioned more frequently than any other single item that promotes successful strategy implementation. Communication includes explaining what new responsibilities, tasks, and duties need to be performed by the employees in order to implement the strategy. It answers the why behind the changed job activities, and explains the reasons why the new strategic decision was made. Rapert and Wren (1998) find that organizations where employees have easy access to management through open and supportive communication channels outperform those with more restrictive communication environments. Effective communication is a fundamental requirement for any effective strategy implementation. Organizational communication plays an important role in training, knowledge acquisition and applied learning during the process of implementation. In fact, communication is vital in every aspect of strategy implementation, as it relates in to the organizational context, organizing processes and the implementation objectives. 5. Implementation Tactics Nutt (1986) stipulates four types of implementation tactics used by managers in making planned changes: intervention, participation, persuasion, and edict. Intervention refers to strategy adjustments made during the implementation stage by introducing new practices and norms. Participation includes formulating strategic goals and nominating a task force that can develop and propose the corresponding implementation options. Persuasion is the tactic which uses involved parties to convince the employees about the desired course of actions. The issuing of directives is the main focus of the implementation tactic edict. Lehner (2004) considers the implementation tactics as genuine organizational behaviour based on the assumption that implementation in general is dependent on the environment, and various strategic and corporate variables. 6. Consensus Nielsen (1983) notes that firms must achieve consensus both within and outside their organization in order to successfully implement business strategies. The consensus about a firms strategy may differ across the operation channels within the company. If the employees of the company are not on the same information level or if information passes through many layers in the organization, a lower level of consensus would result. This lack of shared understanding may create obstacles to successful strategy implementation.(Noble, 1999b). Floyd and Wooldridge (1992a) label the gulf between strategies conceived by top management and awareness at lower levels as implementation gap. Strategic consensus is the agreement between the top, middle, and lower-level managers on the fundamental policies of the organization. Strategic decisions are initiated by a team of top managers and then mandated to the rest of the organization, overlooking the importance of securing consensus with and commitment to the organizational strategy with the lower level employees, which is a big barrier for effective strategy implementation. 7. Commitment Strategy implementation process may fail if the strategy does not achieve support and commitment by the majority of employees and the middle management. Shared understanding without commitment would result in counter effort and may negatively affect the organisational performance. The understanding between middle management and those at the operational level to that of the top management teams strategic goals is of prime importance to successful implementation. Noble Mokwa (1999) have put forward three dimensions of commitment that are central factors which directly influence strategic outcomes: organizational commitment, strategy commitment and role commitment. Organizational commitment is the extent to which a manager identifies with and works toward organization-related goals and values. Strategy commitment is the extent to which a manager comprehends and supports the goals and objectives of an implementation strategy. Role commitment is the extent to which a manager is determine d to perform his individual implementation responsibilities, regardless of his personal beliefs about the overall strategy. 8. Organisational Structure The type of strategy adopted could differ in many ways and have different requirements regarding an adequate organizational structure. Factors relating to the organizational structure are the second most important implementation barrier according to Heide Grà ¸nhaug Johannessens (2002) study. Drazin and Howard (1984) stipulate that a proper alignment of the strategy with the organisational structure is an important pre-requisite for successful implementation of a corporate business strategy (Noble, 1999b). They note that changes in the competitive environment require adjustments to the organizational structure. If an organisations realignment strategies are lacking, it may exhibit poor performance and be at a major competitive disadvantage. 9. Administrative Systems Roth, Schweiger Morrison (1991) study suggests that organisational business units make use of three administrative mechanisms which are formalization, integrating mechanisms, and centralization, to create operational capabilities of configuration, managerial philosophy and coordination, to support business strategy implementation. Some researchers have also focused on the control systems which are one of important ingredients of administrative systems (Drazin Howard, 1984; Nilsson Rapp, 1999). Drazin and Howard (1984) discuss about the role of formal control system in the process of strategy implementation, and suggest that the fluidity of control system contribute to strategy implementation (Noble, 1999b). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY This part of the project report would focus on the research design and methodology adopted to carry out the research of the issue chosen which is the factors influencing strategy implementation. The following literature would highlight the components of the research paradigm chosen to accomplish the study. This section of the project report would provide a detailed rationale on how the study would achieve the research objective put forth in the title. This part would explain the methods of data capture used and the issues which would arise in gathering the required information along with the analysis and the interpretation techniques employed to achieve the research aim. Limitations would be included in the following report to make the reader aware of the shortcomings of the chosen methodology; the relevant ethical issues would also be discussed in the proposed research design along-with the resources required to complete the proposed research. The choice for the research methodology adopted is in congruence with the strategic issue chosen for the research proposal. The selection criteria to choose articles for inclusion in the research analysis: The articles which contain the keywords strategy implementation or strategy execution have been included in the literature .From this; further articles were identified using the references sections of the previously retrieved articles. In this way, the report also includes the articles which treat strategy implementation as one of the major subjects even if their title or keywords did not include the terms strategy implementation or strategy execution. As a final selection criterion it was checked whether the articles explicitly discuss factors impeding or enabling strategy implementation success. Data Collection Secondary Sources In order to identify the factors that enable or impede effective strategy implementation, the report has analysed relevant academic, peer reviewed journals such as the Strategic Management Journal, the Academy of Management Journal, the Journal of Management Studies, Long Range Planning, Journal of Management, Academy of Management Executive, Human Relations, Sloan Management Review, Journal of Marketing, etc. using the literature databases of EBSCO Host, ProQuest ABI, Science Direct, JSTOR and Wiley Interscience. Information has also been sourced from Google Scholar and books, newspapers, trade journals, industry portals, government agencies, trade associations, monitoring industry news and developments. The research data would be collected in different organisations or units of an organisation. The organisations were mainly professional service organisations, from both public and private sector. For example, finance, insurance and telecommunications companies, and government departments would be included. The size of the units under study would be 100 to 500 employees. The study would be qualitative in nature, main research method being semi-structured interviews. Primary Sources and Sampling In each organisation or unit, representatives would form three groups, namely the top management, middle management, and lower level personnel, would be interviewed using the questionnaire provided below. Altogether twenty-five interviewees per organisation would be randomly chosen: 2-5 persons representing the top management level, 4-13 persons the middle management level, and 8-17 persons from the lower level personnel. The interviewees would be chosen randomly, ensuring however that different tasks, work groups, and departments were represented equitably. The general topic of the interviews would be strategy implementation. During the interviews, the interviewees would fill out questionnaires, in which they would evaluate the various problem statements. The questionnaire has been given below: Q1. How do you define the concept of strategy implementation? Q2. What kind of issues would you associate strategy implementation with? Q3. How do you participate in the strategy implementation process? Q4. How are the policies pertaining to strategy implementation communicated within the different levels of the organization? Q5. Describe your own role in the process of strategy implementation. Q6. Evaluate the degree of the strategy implementation problems in your organisation. Data Access Issues Some data access issues might arise in the research journey, which could be the unwillingness of the employees to participate in the planned interviews hampering the information gathering capabilities of the subsequent research report along-with lack of co-operation from concerned companies which might not give permission to carry out interviews with its employees fearing a possible leak of its corporate strategy to its competitors. Also finances required for the successful completion of the information gathering process might not be adequate. Data Analysis The results of the questionnaires would be assessed, as well as the comments of the interviewees for the statements would be analysed. The main data analysis method employed would be content analysis of the interviews. The transcribed interviews would be coded accordingly to the central issues of the research. The analysis method would include historical trend analysis and linear regression analysis using software tools, judgmental forecasting, and conjoint analysis. Limitations of the Research Design The approach in conducting the literature review has shortcomings which should be acknowledged. The following are the limitations in the methodology adopted. Collection of articles has been carried out by relying on the databases of EBSCO Host, Science Direct, JSTOR, Wiley Inter Science and ProQuest ABI and the report thus may have overlooked some critical viewpoints on strategy implementation included in monographs or specialists books. Some selective articles in the review, however, rely heavily on concepts from advanced books on corporate strategy thus making up for the shortcoming to a certain extent. The articles have been located using the keywords strategy implementation and strategy execution. This procedure of gathering articles may omit some important articles. The report also excludes some very specific strategy implementation contexts, such as post-merger integration implementation. The research has discovered that most of the conducted studies in the subject focus on the influence of middle managers on strategy implementation. There is no special research relating to lower management and non-management, even if several authors have stated that it is important to consider their effects on strategy implementation as well. Another major research challenge incudes, a lack of understanding between the relationships among the nine reviewed factors, for example, there are major disagreements about the relationship between the variables of communication, commitment and consensus which the report fails to highlight. Also a limiting factor is that there are very few studies that systematically examine how different organizational units and strategy levels can influence strategy implementation, which the report has not included. Strategy implementation involves many theories including agency theory, social learning theory, expectancy theory, organization theory and social system theory. Because of the limited word count it was not feasible to include such theories in the text presented which is also a shortcoming. The lists of journal articles selected are not comprehensive enough, as many other issues could potentially affect strategy implementation. Such other factors, however, are less mentioned or not analysed in-depth, as many of them are also hard to control and modify. Research Ethics For research to be carried out successfully there are many ethical issues that need to be taken into consideration. It is very important to secure the permission and interests of all the people involved in the study. The people involved would be given assurance that any information obtained during the interview process would not be misused as this is the moral responsibility which would be maintained towards the participants. It is the duty of this research to protect the rights of the participants of the study as well as their privacy and sensitivity. The confidentiality of those involved in the observation would be maintained at all times, keeping their anonymity and privacy secure. Resources required for effective research The resources required to carry out the proposed research would require the support and co-operation of the supervisor in charge so as to provide guidance for submitting an effective research analysis report. Also would require permission from the industries chosen for the study of the research issue and the co-operation of its employees for conducting interviews. Adequate financial support would also be required to assist in the completion of the proposed research analysis report to cover the cost of commuting and resultant transportation fares. TIMETABLE TASK SELECTION OF INDUSTRIES FOR RESEARCH FOCUS DAYS 1-5 6-10 10-15 16-20 21-25 25-30 LITERATURE REVIEW/ CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF SECONDARY SOURCES OF DATA INTERVIEWING PROCESS INDEPTH STUDY OF VARIOUS SOURCES ASSESSING RESOURCE FOR CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK COLLECTION OF SECONDARY SOURCES OF DATA DEVELOPMENT OF RATIONALE FOR STUDY FINALLY FORMULATED RESEAERCH PROPOSAL REFRENCES Saunders, M., P. Lewis and A. Thornhill (2007) Research methods for business students, Harlow: FT, Prentice Hall (4th ed.) Blumberg, B., D.R.Cooper and Pamela S. Schindler (2008), Business Research Methods, London: McGraw Hill (second ed.) Wilson, J. 2010, Essentials of Business Research A Guide To Doing Your Research Project London: Sage Allio, M.K. (2005). A Short, Practical Guide to Implementing Strategy. Journal of Business Strategy, 26, 12-21. Beer, M., and Eisenstat, R.A(2000). The Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning Sloan Management Review, Summer, 29-42. Bourgeois à Ã‚ ¨, L. J., and Brodwin D.R. (1984). Strategic Implementation: Five Approaches to an Elusive Phenomenon. Strategic Management Journal, 5, 241-264 Govindarajan,V., and Fisher.J. (1990). Strategy, Control systems, and resource sharing: effects on business-Unit Performance. Academy of Management Journal, 33, 259-285. Heracleous, L. (2000). The Role of Strategy Implementation in Organization Development Organization Development Journal, 18, 75-86. Higgins, J.M. (2005). The Eight à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Sà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s of Successful Strategy Execution. Journal of Change Management, 5, 3-13. Lehner, J. (2004). Strategy Implementation Tactics as Response to Organizational, Strategic, and Environmental Imperatives. Management Revue, 15, 460-480 Noble, C.H. (1999a). Building the Strategy Implementation Network. Business Horizons, 19-27. Nutt, P.C. (1986). Tactics of Implementation. Academy of Management Journal. 29, 230-261. Nutt, P.C. (1989). Selecting Tactics to Implement Strategic Plans. Strategic Management