The Effect of Outsourcing on Public Sector Organizations Essay Example

The Effect of Outsourcing on Public Sector Organizations Essay The Effect of Outsourcing on Public Sector Organizations JOHN H HANNAH III UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX The Effect of Outsourcing on Public Sector Organizations This paper will examine the particular issues associated with the impact of outsourcing on public sector organization’s performance and employee commitment. As the move to outsourcing is part of a wider phenonom for flexibility in the organizational, structure, development and change paradigms of public sector organizations. This paper begins by examining the problems associated with an outsourcing strategy in public sector organization. Many counties within the US, have chosen to outsource the investment and operation of non-competitive public services, such as water and waste management, public transports, mail services, information and communication technology services, facilities management and road infrastructures. Outsourcing today has become an essential revenue and growth strategy for almost every existing corporation. It creates flexibility in the company, ensuring the maximum utilization of available resources within the company. It also offers corporations cost advantages and help free up their management resources. Orange county government-anywhere USA, requested the services of a Home Land Security Specialist to assist in the collaborative, assessment, development and strategic enhancement of it municipality’s Information Technology (IT) and Critical Facilities’ (CF) upgrades and security. Upon the completion of plan, expectations and deliverables, a series of introductions with Directors, Managers and Supervisors, it was apparent the federal dollars associated with the project was indeed the motive for the invitation. In my initial general assessment and development of a strategy, the organization handbook was the first critical reading which uncovered a mission statement, values, ethical guidelines and the organizational cultural premise. â€Å"The Mayor’s outline the vision, values and mission as simple – to serve. You have an important job to do as we work to meet the needs of our citizens. We will write a custom essay sample on The Effect of Outsourcing on Public Sector Organizations specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Effect of Outsourcing on Public Sector Organizations specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Effect of Outsourcing on Public Sector Organizations specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We ensure that roads are built and maintained; we protect environmental resources; we respond to crisis and emergency situations; we staff facilities that care for people; and we ensure that the quality of life of our citizens is protected our challenge is to build on the strengths of our diverse community so that everyone can enjoy the very best Orange County has to offer. We are committed to maintaining an organization where citizens are engaged in civic affairs, take ownership in their government and have input in the decision making process†. The following core values serve as our foundation: 1. FAIRNESS, 2. WORK ETHIC 3. INTEGRITY AND CHARACTER 4. EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION: 5. PROFESSIONALISM AND ACCOUNTABILITY (Orange County Government, 2012) . The role of the Security Specialist in this public sector organization is to examine the particular issues associated with the impact of outsourcing on public sector organization’s performance and employee commitment and develop a strategy to move this organization toward outsourcing initially in the areas of IT and CF. Provide an assessment and evaluation of the organizational readiness for change in the area of outsourcing. This paper begins by examining the problems associated with an outsourcing strategy in public sector organization in the form of an assessment. As public sector moves to outsourcing as part of a wider strategy to increase flexibility in the organizational, structure, development and change paradigms of public sector organization. Outsourcing helps organizations to be focused. Since the most valuable resource within management is time, once a process is successfully outsourced, the management gets more and effective time to explore new revenue streams, time to accelerate other projects and time to focus on customers. Traditionally executives spend 80 percent of their time managing details, and only 20 percent on planning and customer relations, in other words, a successful outsourcing process can help reverse this ratio. Outsourcing can also help companies to have access to new technologies that might not be used in their company. This is mainly because the outsourcers use the latest state-of-the art technologies to serve their private sector clients. And this might also increase the change paradigm shift and rapid migration of these companies to new technology. Outsourcing also helps multi functional areas and department of a public sector providing the benefit of 24-hour operational cycles and providing necessary services to their customer. The ever- growing pressure for increased productivity and profitability of city, county and state governments thus, the pressures to reduce costs and improve productivity are the main factors that influenced the beginning of offshore outsourcing. For example, the main advantages to move production to private contracting of products and services to reduce in-house human resources management cost. Hence, today outsourcing has become an attractive and powerful strategy for companies to reduce cost and improve performance. These models provide theoretical guidelines upon which valid and reliable organizational assessments should be based. All of these models provide value to management and human resource organizational leaders performing organizational assessments based on a internal aspects or a system theory evaluation approach (Erwin Garman, 2010). The McKinsey 7S Framework model is used as a tool to assess and monitor changes in the internal situation of an organization closed system assessment. The model is based on the theory that, for an organization to perform well, these seven elements need to be aligned and mutually reinforcing. So, the model can be used to help identify what needs to be realigned to improve performance, or to maintain alignment (and performance) during other types of change. The basic premise of the model is that there are seven internal aspects of an organization that need to be aligned if it is to be successful evaluation and assessment tool. The Seven Interdependent Elements of the 7s model are Hard elements (strategy, structure and systems) and the Soft Elements (shared values, skills, style and staff) (Waterman, Peters, Phillips, 1980) Burke Litwin Model (The Casual Model of Organizational Performance Change) – The Burke Litwin Model, suggests linkages that hypothesize how performance is affected by internal and external factors. It provides a framework to assess organizational and environmental dimensions that are keys to successful change and it demonstrates how these dimensions should be linked causally to achieve a change in performance. According to Burke-Litwin’s model, an organization may conduct a change intervention in stages as they relate to a specific focus in two stages â€Å"First order and Second order† changes. If an OD intervention is directed toward structure, systems, and management practice result, it can be considered a first order change, if interventions are directed toward mission, strategy, leadership, and organizational culture then result in second order change (Burke Litwin, 1992). The Marvin Weisbord-Six-Box Model (Weisbord’s Model) is designed to assess the functioning of organizations based mainly on the techniques and assumptions of the field of organizational development. The model represents a particular way of looking at organizational structure and design. It gives attention to issues such as planning, incentives and rewards, the role of support functions such as personnel, internal competitions among organizational units, standards for remuneration, partnerships, hierarchies and the delegation of authority, organizational control, accountability and performance assessment. The model also follows the basic systems approach to organizational functioning including the well-known inputs and outputs categories. The six-box model is comprised of the following components (boxes): (1). Purposes, (2). Structure, (3) relationships; (4). Rewards, (5). Leadership, (6). Coordinating technologies. The only disadvantage to this model is it s design to only address internal environments (Weisbord, 1978). An open system organizational development theory and (Burke Litwin) model will be utilized to conduct a diagnosis analysis planned change assessment to the organization. These changes are usually designed to address an organization problem or to help an organization prepare for future. It is the one method of quickly bringing change, which focus on human and social aspects of the organization as a way to improve organization’s ability to adapt and solve problems. The best theory is developed from practice; the best practice should be grounded in theory (Seeger, 2006; Brown, 2011). The Burke Litwin Model hypothesizes’ how performance is affected by internal and external factors. Public sector management occurs within a complex, dynamic system involving stakeholders, coupled with informational and resource material flows and behaviour that is characterized by interactions related to internal and external environments. According to Burke-Litwin’s model, an organization may conduct a change intervention in stages as they relate to a specific focus in two stages â€Å"First order and Second order† changes. If an OD intervention is directed toward structure, systems, and management practice result, it can be considered a first order change, if interventions are directed toward mission, strategy, leadership, and organizational culture then result in second order change (Burke Litwin, 1992). The theory of Organizational readiness for change is considered a multi-level, multi-faceted construct. From and organization-level construct, readiness for change refers to organizational members shared resolve to implement a change (change commitment) and shared belief in their collective capability to do so (change efficacy). Organizational readiness for change varies as a function of how much organizational member’s value the change and how favorably they appraise three key determinants of implementation capability: task demands, resource availability, and situational factors. When organizational readiness for change is high, organizational members are more likely to initiate change, exert greater effort, exhibit greater persistence, and display more cooperative behavior (Weiner, 2009). References Bateman, T. S. , Snell, S. A. (2007). Management: Leading collaboratiing in a competitive world (7th ed. . New York, NY: McGraw Hill Irwin. Boland, T. , Fowler, A. (2000). A systems perspective of performance management in public sector management. The International Journal of Public Sector organizations, 13(5), 417-446. doi:10. 1108/09513550010350832 Brown, D. R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th ed. ). Boston, MA: Prentice Hall. Burke, W. W. , Litwin, G. H. (1992). Causal model of organization performance and change’. Journal Management, 18(3), 523-545. doi:10. 1177/014920639201800306 Erwin, D. G. , Garman, A. N. (2010). Resistance to organizational change: Linking research and practice,. Leadership Organization Development Journal, 31(1), 39-56. doi:10. 1108/01437731011010371 Harrison, M. I. , Shirom, A. (1999). Organizational diagnosis and assessment: Bridging theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Kotter, J. (1995). Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail. Harvard Business Review, 59-67. Retrieved from http://89. 248. 0. 102/upload/Topplederprogrammet/Kotter. pdf Lewin, K. (1951). Field Theory in Social Science. London, England: Harper Row. Orange County Government. 2012, April). Employee Handbook. Fl. Retrieved from http://www. ocfl. net/Portals/0/resourcelibrary/employment-employehandbook. pdf Waterman, R. , Peters, T. J. , Phillips, J. R. (1980). Structure is not organization. Mckinsey Quarterly, 2-20. Retrieved from http://www. tompeters. com/docs/Structure_Is_Not_Organization. pdf Weisbord, M. (1978). Organizational Diagnosis: A Workbook of Theory and Practice. Addison-wesle y. Wiener, B. J. (2009). A theory of organizational readiness for change. Implementation Science, 4, 67. doi:10. 1186/1748-5908-4-67 The Effect of Outsourcing on Public Sector Organizations Essay Example The Effect of Outsourcing on Public Sector Organizations Essay The Effect of Outsourcing on Public Sector Organizations JOHN H HANNAH III UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX The Effect of Outsourcing on Public Sector Organizations This paper will examine the particular issues associated with the impact of outsourcing on public sector organization’s performance and employee commitment. As the move to outsourcing is part of a wider phenonom for flexibility in the organizational, structure, development and change paradigms of public sector organizations. This paper begins by examining the problems associated with an outsourcing strategy in public sector organization. Many counties within the US, have chosen to outsource the investment and operation of non-competitive public services, such as water and waste management, public transports, mail services, information and communication technology services, facilities management and road infrastructures. Outsourcing today has become an essential revenue and growth strategy for almost every existing corporation. It creates flexibility in the company, ensuring the maximum utilization of available resources within the company. It also offers corporations cost advantages and help free up their management resources. Orange county government-anywhere USA, requested the services of a Home Land Security Specialist to assist in the collaborative, assessment, development and strategic enhancement of it municipality’s Information Technology (IT) and Critical Facilities’ (CF) upgrades and security. Upon the completion of plan, expectations and deliverables, a series of introductions with Directors, Managers and Supervisors, it was apparent the federal dollars associated with the project was indeed the motive for the invitation. In my initial general assessment and development of a strategy, the organization handbook was the first critical reading which uncovered a mission statement, values, ethical guidelines and the organizational cultural premise. â€Å"The Mayor’s outline the vision, values and mission as simple – to serve. You have an important job to do as we work to meet the needs of our citizens. We will write a custom essay sample on The Effect of Outsourcing on Public Sector Organizations specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Effect of Outsourcing on Public Sector Organizations specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Effect of Outsourcing on Public Sector Organizations specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We ensure that roads are built and maintained; we protect environmental resources; we respond to crisis and emergency situations; we staff facilities that care for people; and we ensure that the quality of life of our citizens is protected our challenge is to build on the strengths of our diverse community so that everyone can enjoy the very best Orange County has to offer. We are committed to maintaining an organization where citizens are engaged in civic affairs, take ownership in their government and have input in the decision making process†. The following core values serve as our foundation: 1. FAIRNESS, 2. WORK ETHIC 3. INTEGRITY AND CHARACTER 4. EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION: 5. PROFESSIONALISM AND ACCOUNTABILITY (Orange County Government, 2012) . The role of the Security Specialist in this public sector organization is to examine the particular issues associated with the impact of outsourcing on public sector organization’s performance and employee commitment and develop a strategy to move this organization toward outsourcing initially in the areas of IT and CF. Provide an assessment and evaluation of the organizational readiness for change in the area of outsourcing. This paper begins by examining the problems associated with an outsourcing strategy in public sector organization in the form of an assessment. As public sector moves to outsourcing as part of a wider strategy to increase flexibility in the organizational, structure, development and change paradigms of public sector organization. Outsourcing helps organizations to be focused. Since the most valuable resource within management is time, once a process is successfully outsourced, the management gets more and effective time to explore new revenue streams, time to accelerate other projects and time to focus on customers. Traditionally executives spend 80 percent of their time managing details, and only 20 percent on planning and customer relations, in other words, a successful outsourcing process can help reverse this ratio. Outsourcing can also help companies to have access to new technologies that might not be used in their company. This is mainly because the outsourcers use the latest state-of-the art technologies to serve their private sector clients. And this might also increase the change paradigm shift and rapid migration of these companies to new technology. Outsourcing also helps multi functional areas and department of a public sector providing the benefit of 24-hour operational cycles and providing necessary services to their customer. The ever- growing pressure for increased productivity and profitability of city, county and state governments thus, the pressures to reduce costs and improve productivity are the main factors that influenced the beginning of offshore outsourcing. For example, the main advantages to move production to private contracting of products and services to reduce in-house human resources management cost. Hence, today outsourcing has become an attractive and powerful strategy for companies to reduce cost and improve performance. These models provide theoretical guidelines upon which valid and reliable organizational assessments should be based. All of these models provide value to management and human resource organizational leaders performing organizational assessments based on a internal aspects or a system theory evaluation approach (Erwin Garman, 2010). The McKinsey 7S Framework model is used as a tool to assess and monitor changes in the internal situation of an organization closed system assessment. The model is based on the theory that, for an organization to perform well, these seven elements need to be aligned and mutually reinforcing. So, the model can be used to help identify what needs to be realigned to improve performance, or to maintain alignment (and performance) during other types of change. The basic premise of the model is that there are seven internal aspects of an organization that need to be aligned if it is to be successful evaluation and assessment tool. The Seven Interdependent Elements of the 7s model are Hard elements (strategy, structure and systems) and the Soft Elements (shared values, skills, style and staff) (Waterman, Peters, Phillips, 1980) Burke Litwin Model (The Casual Model of Organizational Performance Change) – The Burke Litwin Model, suggests linkages that hypothesize how performance is affected by internal and external factors. It provides a framework to assess organizational and environmental dimensions that are keys to successful change and it demonstrates how these dimensions should be linked causally to achieve a change in performance. According to Burke-Litwin’s model, an organization may conduct a change intervention in stages as they relate to a specific focus in two stages â€Å"First order and Second order† changes. If an OD intervention is directed toward structure, systems, and management practice result, it can be considered a first order change, if interventions are directed toward mission, strategy, leadership, and organizational culture then result in second order change (Burke Litwin, 1992). The Marvin Weisbord-Six-Box Model (Weisbord’s Model) is designed to assess the functioning of organizations based mainly on the techniques and assumptions of the field of organizational development. The model represents a particular way of looking at organizational structure and design. It gives attention to issues such as planning, incentives and rewards, the role of support functions such as personnel, internal competitions among organizational units, standards for remuneration, partnerships, hierarchies and the delegation of authority, organizational control, accountability and performance assessment. The model also follows the basic systems approach to organizational functioning including the well-known inputs and outputs categories. The six-box model is comprised of the following components (boxes): (1). Purposes, (2). Structure, (3) relationships; (4). Rewards, (5). Leadership, (6). Coordinating technologies. The only disadvantage to this model is it s design to only address internal environments (Weisbord, 1978). An open system organizational development theory and (Burke Litwin) model will be utilized to conduct a diagnosis analysis planned change assessment to the organization. These changes are usually designed to address an organization problem or to help an organization prepare for future. It is the one method of quickly bringing change, which focus on human and social aspects of the organization as a way to improve organization’s ability to adapt and solve problems. The best theory is developed from practice; the best practice should be grounded in theory (Seeger, 2006; Brown, 2011). The Burke Litwin Model hypothesizes’ how performance is affected by internal and external factors. Public sector management occurs within a complex, dynamic system involving stakeholders, coupled with informational and resource material flows and behaviour that is characterized by interactions related to internal and external environments. According to Burke-Litwin’s model, an organization may conduct a change intervention in stages as they relate to a specific focus in two stages â€Å"First order and Second order† changes. If an OD intervention is directed toward structure, systems, and management practice result, it can be considered a first order change, if interventions are directed toward mission, strategy, leadership, and organizational culture then result in second order change (Burke Litwin, 1992). The theory of Organizational readiness for change is considered a multi-level, multi-faceted construct. From and organization-level construct, readiness for change refers to organizational members shared resolve to implement a change (change commitment) and shared belief in their collective capability to do so (change efficacy). Organizational readiness for change varies as a function of how much organizational member’s value the change and how favorably they appraise three key determinants of implementation capability: task demands, resource availability, and situational factors. When organizational readiness for change is high, organizational members are more likely to initiate change, exert greater effort, exhibit greater persistence, and display more cooperative behavior (Weiner, 2009). References Bateman, T. S. , Snell, S. A. (2007). Management: Leading collaboratiing in a competitive world (7th ed. . New York, NY: McGraw Hill Irwin. Boland, T. , Fowler, A. (2000). A systems perspective of performance management in public sector management. The International Journal of Public Sector organizations, 13(5), 417-446. doi:10. 1108/09513550010350832 Brown, D. R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th ed. ). Boston, MA: Prentice Hall. Burke, W. W. , Litwin, G. H. (1992). Causal model of organization performance and change’. Journal Management, 18(3), 523-545. doi:10. 1177/014920639201800306 Erwin, D. G. , Garman, A. N. (2010). Resistance to organizational change: Linking research and practice,. Leadership Organization Development Journal, 31(1), 39-56. doi:10. 1108/01437731011010371 Harrison, M. I. , Shirom, A. (1999). Organizational diagnosis and assessment: Bridging theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Kotter, J. (1995). Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail. Harvard Business Review, 59-67. Retrieved from http://89. 248. 0. 102/upload/Topplederprogrammet/Kotter. pdf Lewin, K. (1951). Field Theory in Social Science. London, England: Harper Row. Orange County Government. 2012, April). Employee Handbook. Fl. Retrieved from http://www. ocfl. net/Portals/0/resourcelibrary/employment-employehandbook. pdf Waterman, R. , Peters, T. J. , Phillips, J. R. (1980). Structure is not organization. Mckinsey Quarterly, 2-20. Retrieved from http://www. tompeters. com/docs/Structure_Is_Not_Organization. pdf Weisbord, M. (1978). Organizational Diagnosis: A Workbook of Theory and Practice. Addison-wesle y. Wiener, B. J. (2009). A theory of organizational readiness for change. Implementation Science, 4, 67. doi:10. 1186/1748-5908-4-67

How Writers Can Become Songwriters

How Writers Can Become Songwriters I am lucky to make a living as both a songwriter and a â€Å"regular writer.† When I tell other writers about my songwriting, they typically respond with, â€Å"I wish I could do that!† My response is always, â€Å"Why don’t you?† I hear reasons like, â€Å"I don’t know how,† or â€Å"I can’t sing.† These excuses seem reasonable, but I’m here to tell you that if you’re a writer, you CAN be a songwriter and you CAN get paid for it! Here’s a step- 1. Analyze your strengths If you’re someone who doesn’t use a lot of creative writing, you’ll want to start putting some work into this. Songwriting is all about emotion. Take your latest piece of writing and see how it could be a song. If you’re thinking, â€Å"nothing I write could be a song,† here’s an example: Let’s say you’ve written an article about online shopping. It’s a straight-forward, how-to guide. What if the person shopping is buying things to care for a sick loved one? What if they have a spending addiction and need to stop? Use imaginative stories to find your lyrics. 2. Practice lyric writing Having a great story won’t matter if you can’t make it fit the music. This is the biggest issue with new lyric writers. They don’t know how to write in a way that will fit into a song. Songwriting is largely math-based. If line one has 6 syllables, line two should as well (you can play around with this once you’re experienced, but for now just keep it simple). Use a metronome and say your words out loud. Can you clearly speak them to a beat? If not, make edits. 3. Meet cowriters Now you’re ready to put your words to music! If you already play an instrument, you’re a step ahead. However, you can easily meet potential cowriters at open mic nights. I saw a woman read a poem she wrote at an open mic. She was so good that several people asked her to co-write after she was done! Practice speaking your words and getting into a rhythm, then perform them in front of musicians. If you’re stage-shy, post them on your website and social media. Connect with other writers and offer your awesome lyric writing skills. 4. Get co-writing credit This is where the money is. When you write a song with someone, whoever’s name is on the track gets paid. Determine how you’ll split royalties ahead of time (before the song is finished or released). Typically, if two people write a song they’ll split it 50/50. Decide how you want to split it and go from there. Do not give away your credit unless you are offered some type of up-front pay! 5. Get paid Now you’re at the point where you’ll pitch your songs to publishers. You and/or your co-writers will attend pitching events or submit Hopefully these tips will inspire you to try songwriting. It can be a fun and creative way to earn income, and you might write the next big hit!

10 Companies Where Part-Time Jobs Can Mean Full-Time Benefits

10 Companies Where Part-Time Jobs Can Mean Full-Time Benefits Need to work part time, but don’t want to have to work all the jobs in order to scrape together health insurance and other necessary benefits? It’s not a great time to be in your position, given that a lot of companies are making their benefits threshold 30+ hours per week- often 40+ for retirement benefits, but there are still a lot of great companies that offer competitive benefits to folks working fewer than 30 hours per week. Here are some of the best.1. Whole FoodsIf you log 20 hours per week, you’re eligible for their full medical, dental, and vision coverage, once you’ve hit 400 hours total. These aren’t fixed or guaranteed- and management has the right to rescind, but they are out there. You’ll also be eligible for a 20% purchase discount in-store, as well as subsidized life insurance, paid sick and vacation time, stock options, and a 401(k). They also give bonuses to rank-and-file employees out of the unused leftovers of their annual labor budget.2. StarbucksAt Starbucks, you’re not an employee, you’re a â€Å"partner.† And if you average 20 hours per week, you’re eligible for competitive base pay plus health care. You might even get equity in the form of â€Å"Bean Stock.† You’ll also get PTO, a 401(k), and a 30% store discount. And their health benefits are pretty sweet, covering 100% of preventative care and women’s preventative health, as well as 70% of premium costs.3. Allegis GroupThe company formerly known as Aerotek employs nearly 10 times as many contractors and temp workers as it does full-timers. At 20+ hours per week, you’re immediately eligible for medical, dental, and vision, plus a matching 401(k) program, possible profit-sharing bonuses, disability insurance, a 529 college savings plan, and PTO.4. Lands’ EndDepending on your job, and your department, you might be eligible for dental, vision, and life insurance, plus access to the on- site medical clinic, fitness center, and day care. And, if you’re a seasonal employee willing to commit to the following year, your benefits might be extended.5. CostcoWork more than 24 hours per week, for a total of at least 180, and you’ll be eligible for their Choice Plus health plan, plus low-cost dental, a cheap in-house prescription plan, a 401(k), and an FSA, stock purchase options, disability, life, and long-term care insurance. There’s also the Care Network, providing free mental health counseling, and referrals to debt counselors and lawyers.6. LowesLowes offers part-time employees a limited medical plan, plus basic dental and vision- with no minimum hourly threshold. You pay full blast the first year, then Lowes subsidizes your coverage the next. There are also stock purchase options, a 401(k), and PTO available after 180 days.7. Trader JoesWork 30+ hours a week and get health coverage. Plus free basic dental and vision (at only 15+ hours per week!).8 . U-HaulPart time U-Haul employees don’t receive paid holidays or sick leave, or educational assistance, BUT part time workers do have access to limited medical, dental, 401(k), and stock ownership plans. Plus travel discounts through U-Haul and other companies.9. REIYou can’t do much better than REI. Average 20 hours per week, and the company will give you medical benefits, plus they pay the full cost of disability and life coverage. And there’s a sweet employee incentive plan available to all employees.10. UPSYou might need to wait a year for your full benefits to kick in, but you can get medical, dental, tuition assistance, adoption assistance, and smoking cessation support. The tuition assistance is immediately available to all new hires.

The British Bill of Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The British Bill of Rights - Essay Example hout an enforceable Bill of Rights.6 "Great Britain was once a fortress for freedom. It claimed the great philosophers of liberty-Milton and Locke and Paine and Mill. Its legal tradition is irradiated with liberal ideas; that people accused of crime are presumed to be innocent, that no one owns another's conscience, that a man's home is his castle. But now Britain offers less formal legal protection to central freedom than most of its neighbours in Europe." Gordon and Wilmot-Smith argues that UK is not in a very satisfactory position when it comes to human rights-the elective dictatorship of the majority means that, by and large, the government of the day can get in its way, even if its majority is small.8 Gordon further explained- 'If its programme or its practice involves some derogation from huma... If it is a result of administrative practice, there may well be no basis upon which they can interfere. There is no higher law, no frame of reference to which they can properly appeal and none of this matter very much if human rights themselves are not thought to matter very much. But if the protection of its citizen's fundamental rights is genuinely seen as an important function of civil society, then it does matter. In saying this, I do not suggest-and I must stress this-that the present government or any of its predecessors has acted with wilful or cynical disregard of fundamental human rights.'9 The United Kingdom has endured for centuries with no written constitution, but absorbed a European regional Charter of Rights in 2000.10 An example of its consequence, because parliament has not authorised the British courts to provide remedies, victims of human rights abuses have to take the long and expensive road trips to Strasbourg to secure justice; and while the convention has been used to extend and protect some of the people's basic liberties in the face of increasing authoritarian state power, the decisions of the judges of the European Court are often disappointingly narrow.11 There is an ongoing debate about whether or not there should be a Bill of Rights for the United Kingdom.12 Thomas Jefferson opined that 'a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth'.13 Truly, bills of rights have assumed particular and renewed importance in an extraordinary number of countries in all parts of the world.14 Furthermore, Alston reasons that any bill of rights worthy of the name should express some basic principles of equality, human dignity and non-discrimination,

Organisation Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Organisation Behaviour - Essay Example It has an international division, the Joint Commission International (JCI), which works with health care organizations in over 80 countries worldwide since 1994 (Joint Commission Resources Inc., 2009). These include hospitals, ambulatory care facilities, clinical laboratories, care continuum services, medical transport organizations, and primary care services, as well as certification for disease or condition specific care (Joint Commission Website, 2011). Being accredited and certified by the Joint Commission is recognized as a symbol of the highest quality that reflects on a health care organization’s commitment to meeting the most discriminating performance standards. The Joint Commission’s mission is to â€Å"continuously improve the safety and quality of care provided to the public through the provision of health care accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in health care organizations† (Joint Commission website, 2011). The Jo int Commission provides the premium standards that health care institutions must comply with to ensure that patients are provided the utmost quality of care they deserve. Upon successfully passing the accreditation requirements, the health care organization earns the symbol of quality that reflects the organization’s commitment to excellence – the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval. ... It has been established to seek patient safety solutions (Joint Commission Resources, Inc., 2009). Metaphorical Analysis of Joint Commission Morgan (1997a) has conceptualized a way to analyse organizations with metaphors. This concept is aligned with the theories of Lakoff & Johnson (1980) as they explain: In all aspects of life ... we define our reality in terms of metaphors and then proceed to act on the basis of the metaphors. We draw inferences, set goals, make commitments, and execute plans, all on the basis of how we in part structure our experience, consciously and unconsciously, by means of metaphor (p. 158). The metaphors Morgan has chosen are machines, organisms, brains, cultures, political systems, psychic prisons, flux and transformation and instruments of domination. According to him, multiple perspectives are produced when organizations are analysed using more than one metaphor since a single metaphor will not be able to provide a holistic picture of the organization. F or this essay, the writer has selected machines and organisms to analyse the organization of the Joint Commission. The functions of the organization are very much likened to a machine’s in terms of â€Å"input- output† of performance and the standards used to measure its efficiency. The organism is also chosen to analyse the Joint Commission, being an organization dedicated to the respect and preservation of life. Morgan has used the metaphor of machines to describe organizations that are designed to achieve specific purposes using a standardized method. The metaphor of organisms is used by Morgan to describe organizations as living organisms that strive to adapt and survive in an environment that constantly

Vulnerability on Internet Essay Example for Free

Vulnerability on Internet Essay

Managing Effective Work Teams Essay -- Research Papers Work Essays

Managing Effective Work Teams Abstract Many organizations today believe that the use of work teams will allow them to produce better products and provide better services, faster, and at lower costs. Using a work team approach can reinvigorate productivity and service provider motivation, and better position an organization to deal with a rapidly changing environment. However establishing effective work teams is not something that comes easy. Though, the benefits of effective work teams within an organization are very substantial, it takes alot of hard work and dedication on the part of management and team members to develop, implement and maintain effective work teams. Work Team's Popularity in Organizations Some twenty years ago when organizations introduced work teams, they made the news because no one else was using teams. Today, it's almost the opposite. Companies that don't use some form of team approach in conducting business are those that attract attention. Look into almost any business magazine and you will see how teams have become an essential part of the way work is done in companies such as Honeywell, General Electric, Saab, John Deere, Honda, Boeing and Federal Express. One might ask, why is this? Research suggests that a team can usually outperform an individual. Especially, when the tasks being done requires multiple skills, judgment and experience. Also, as organizations restructure themselves to compete more effectively and efficiently, they have learned that teams are a better way to utilize employee talents. Management too, has found that work teams are more flexible and responsive to a changing environment than traditional departments or other forms of permanent work groups. In many situat... ...re to become effective managers in the field public administration or business, can do no wrong in subscribing to the management practice of managing effective work teams. References Cynthia Cantu, University of North Texas, Virtual Teams, 1998 http://www.workteams.unt.edu/reports/cantu.html , page 1 & 2 Greg Hendrix, UNT, The Importance of Goals To The Success of Work Teams, 1998 http://www.workteams.unt.edu/reports/ghendrix.html , page 1 Carole A. Townsley, UNT, Resolving Conflict In Work Teams, 1998 http://www.workteams.unt.edu/reports/townsley.html , page 1 & 4 Angelique Lee, UNT, Team Compensation: A Broad Overview, Nov. 24, 1997 http://www.workteams.unt.edu/reports/lee.html, page 1 Sarah L. Bodner, UNT, Experiential Training: A Stepping For Work Teams, Nov. 24, 1997 http://www.workteams.unt.edu/reports/bodner.html, page 1, 5, 7, 8, 9

Importance of science Essay

Before understanding the importance of science and technology, it is important for us to understand that science and technology are closely associated with our lives. They are closely linked aspects of society and the studies and developments in both of science and technology are essential for the overall progress of society. Why is technology so important? How does scientific development affect society? Let us find out. Scientific research comprises a wide variety of fields ranging from the study of different branches of science to relatively advanced fields like space exploration, human genetics and cloning. Scientific study attempts to explore and understand the working of the physical world. It tries to analyze the occurrences in nature and gain knowledge about nature through experimentation. As scientific research aims at gaining knowledge of the complexities of nature, it is important for the progress of mankind. The seemingly impossible feats have been made possible, thanks to the scientific research. Natural sciences deal with the study of nature and human life. The studies of natural and artificial sciences reveal the relationship between nature and human life. Research in science has paved a path to many brilliant inventions and discoveries. When it comes to science and technology, we cannot forget the automobile and the transport industries that have grown tremendously on account of the developments in science and engineering. Technological advancements have driven the developments in the different modes of transport. Bicycles have transformed into scooters and sport bikes. Four and six wheeled vehicles have started running on the roads, thanks to the advancing technology. The developments in air transport have winged the common man to soar high! The importance of technology lies in the benefits of technology on society. The positive effects of technology on society are many. The advancements in technology have revolutionized human life. It has provided a great impetus to the computer and the telecommunication industry. The developments in the communication technology have made the world a smaller place. The Internet  serving as an excellent communication platform has made the world flat! The World Wide Web has proved being an enormous information base, from which information can be retrieved by the means of search engines. Information from all around the world is housed on the web. Thanks to the development of the web technology, the information can be stored in an organized manner and relevant information can be retrieved on supplying search strings to the web search engines. Digitization of information has been a major breakthrough in the world of information technology. It has made possible the compaction of information, which in turn allows efficient information storage. The most important benefit of science has been the luxury it has brought to daily life. The mechanization of industrial processes has reduced human effort. Household appliances that are in the daily use of the common man are a result of scientific research. Machines have replaced human beings in monotonous and risk-bearing tasks. Scientific discoveries have made life easy.

Van Gough Poet Garden vs. Monet Water Lilies

Art has been part of human lives for thousands of years. From the cave paintings to metal framework, people have gazed at arts while comparing and criticizing it. It is said that an art is representation of an artist’s lifestyle and events. Basically Artists paint on the events based on their lives. Such as Cloude Monet and Vincent Van Gough, their artwork was based on movements of Impressionism and Post Impressionism. Their interest shows outdoor environment to show effect of natural sun light or atmospheric light on day to day life scene.Claude Monet’s â€Å"Water Lilies† is the great example of outdoor paintings and Vincent Van Gogh’s â€Å"The garden of the poets† is based on two poets combining with the garden that he is referring to. Impressionist Monet was born in France while Vincent Van Gough was born in Germany. Both paintings are two dimensional and same medium Oil on Canvas is used. Water Lilies was painted in 1906 with size of 34 ? by 3 6 ? inches. Van Gough’s The Garden of Poets was painted in 1888 with size of 28 ? by 36 ? inches. Van Gough’s painting the garden of poets is based on two dimensions.The subject matter is landscape by using sunlight reflects from the leaves of the trees. Vincent Van Gough describes in his painting The Garden of poets, â€Å"a corner of garden with a weeping tree, grass, round clipped cedar shrubs and an oleander bush†¦.. There is a citron sky over everything, and also the colors have the richness and intensity of autumn†¦. † by writing a letter to his brother Theo after arriving in Arles, France. When Van Gogh took a refuge in the Yellow House and he continued to paint with quality and style.The garden of poets include a weeping tree and oleander, cypress, shrubs and bushes are colored lime green while the sky is colored citron yellow indicating at autumn season. In Monet’s water lilies, he uses alike colors green and blue. Water is colored blue while lilies are painted green. Although it does not seem real, he uses colors laid on top of each other to clarify refraction of the light and changing shades of the colors to show depth of the pond. What really separates both paintings from each other is the hidden meaning behind them.For example, when Van Gough painted the poets garden, he included the oleander to represent Boccaccio. Boccaccio was Van Gough’s younger friend and protage, the bush and the shrubs in the painting were for his other friends Donte and Petrarch. Weeping tree is the symbol for mourning or loss while the cypress symbolizes death or mortality. Even though Van Gogh included feelings for his friends and the poets he admired, the reason why he painted Garden of Poet’s was all because of Gauguin. In August of 1888, Van Gogh wrote a letter to Gauguin to come and work with him at Arles.His hopes were turned into a disappointment when Gauguin wrote back replying: â€Å"with his debts mounting by the day, his south seemed less and less probable† (Thames & Hundson, p 140, 2001). Van Gogh began to think that Gauguin would never want to come to Arles thus he became more frustrated with his life. While residing at Yellow House at Arles, Van Gogh said â€Å"If what one is doing gives a glimpse into infinity, and if one sees that one’s work has its own raison d’etre and continues beyond, then one works more serenely† ( Thames & Hudson, p 142, 2001).Van Gogh had a suspicion that Gauguin had postponed his trip to Arles was because of debt or the fact the he hated Arles but rather he had another goal in mind. With this suspicion, Van Gogh began painting the Garden of Poets. He represented his disappointment regarding Gauguin letter by weeping tree along with cypress. Van Gough painted based on his feelings while Monet painted random series of Water Lilies. Basically Monet did not have any hidden meanings behind Water Lilies.After acquiring ownership in Give rny, Monet decided to build Japanease Style Bridge over a pond and had the idea of painting water lilies where it is a random series of artwork unlike Van Gough. Another contrast between Water Lilies and The Poet’s Garden is the use of the colors. In Monet’s Water Lilies, he uses cool colors to paint water and the shadow of the skies in the water with source of sunlight and atmospheric light reflections. In Poets of Garden, green and yellow are the major colors used and the source of light is also sunlight and he uses warm colors for the skies to show the autumn season.Autumn season represents Van Gogh’s feeling towards the painting, Sadness and loss. Monet is only interested on Impressionist movement showing the effect of sunlight on outdoor objects. He does not show any feelings or hidden meanings behind his series of Water Lilies except for wealth and ownership. He paints to represent impression of objects similar to photography. â€Å"In 1893, a few years a fter acquiring ownership of the property at Giverny, Monet purchased a small pond fed by the river Ru, which he embellished as a water garden.Branches of weeping willow and silver birch hang over the water, grasses grew along undulating banks and the pond itself was planted with varieties of water lily†¦.. ’something for amusement and for the pleasure of the eyes’, Monet said. ‘It took me some time to understand my water lilies. I planted them for pleasure, I cultivated them without thinking of painting them. †(Judith Bumpus, p 37, 1991). Monet uses arc of the Japanease bridge as a frame to show different perspective of the pond as he observes it by changing light and weather. The water surface he draws has a reflective quality on the sea and rivers that had always intrigued him.He paints water as a still surface, mirror-like transparent. By viewing this painting it seems like we are standing on the edge of the water, where reflection of the atmospheri c light and trees are seen. The most visible difference between Water Lilies and The Poet’s Garden is that Monet uses impressionist mechanism to make his painting look like photography. Van Gogh on the other side uses more artistic formal style to finish his artwork. Both impressionist and post impressionist have similar point of view to describe their art work. By comparing two paintings the elements of arts are almost same.Both artists are using sun light as a light source. Van Gogh uses landscape as a subject matter and warm colors to show skies of autumn which he compares with his yellow house and long linear green grass. Monet uses cool colors to show water and light colors to show reflection. The mass of the water lilies are light, the trees in Van Gogh’s painting are heavy. The weight on the water lilies is not equally balanced; more water lilies are shown on the upper right corner than lower left corner. Lines are organic, curved, thin and soft edged in water l ilies. In the Garden of Poets, lines are organic curved, soft edged and light.The shapes are organic, actual, simple and regular in both paintings. The tones of colors are subtle, colors of paintings are realistic and both secondary and tertiary colors are used. The values of lightness are mid-range, high contrast value in Garden of Poets and chiaroscuro in water lilies are seen by viewing in atmospheric light. Monet uses colors in impressionist perspective to show shadow of the clouds. â€Å"his easel and canvases at the water’s edge he could study the play of natural colours and textures among the floating plants and among the fall and forth of overhanging trees†¦.Monet’s continuing concern with colour harmonies prompted as strongly emotive response. Foliage and flowers, seen in magical, silvery light, are transformed in glittering greens, blues, pinks and yellows. † (Bumpus, p 37, 1991) In water lilies, Monet plays with colors to show the effect of light , shadows and to show depth of the pond. He uses cool colors such as blue and pink Mass of the objects seem real, actual and light weight in water lilies, both paintings are two dimensional.The space is shallow in both paintings, Monet and Van Gogh are not interested in showing illusion in these paintings but they are painted in atmospheric and aerial perspective. Both artists use colors to show the effect of the seasons. Monet uses day light in high contrasting values. â€Å"he paints before the shadows disappear† according to A day in the country that Monet paints by using timing and he actually uses different day times to show the difference between lightness and darkness. Both painters are not interested in showing illusions. Monet shows the realistic point of view, Van Gogh on the other side uses artistic point of view. It becomes clear that the garden was really dedicated to Paul Gaugin, whose arrival he awaited and whom he expected to be ‘the new local poetâ€⠄¢. In his imagination this perfectly ordinary garden has been endowed with intensely personal and symbolic meaning. † (Bupmpus, p 39, 1991) Van Gogh shows personal intensity for Gauguin’s arrival. Monet on the other side uses his techniques to show impressionism, he uses paintings in circles and squares to try out different shadings of colors to show dusk and dawn timings in light to dark lights in his water lilies.Water Lilies is Monet’s experimental paintings â€Å"the subsequent twenty are much more experimental.. Only three continue the horizontal format. The others are square, circular, or vertical, suggesting monet was testing all of his options(Pls. 221-224). The vertical panels are more venturesome†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ these vertical scenes are sliced down the middle by a meandering trail of sky. † (Tucker, p 194, 1995) An art is representation of an artist’s lifestyle and events. Van Gogh painted The Garden of Poet’s with very deep passion and emotions.This painting was all about mourning, sorrow, sadness, hopes and dreams. Van Gogh dreamed of working with Gauguin for a while and had hoped that one day he would show up to his Yellow House and work with him. Monet on the other hand was intrigued with impression with outside world and how he viewed them. Even though these two famous artists lived very different life style, they both loved art and wanted to express and share their thought with outside world. They both conveyed their message through color, shades, brushstroke and transformed a mere art into a priceless piece.

23 Ideas for Science Experiments Using Plants

23 Ideas for Science Experiments Using Plants Plants are tremendously crucial to life on earth. They are the foundation of food chains in almost every ecosystem. Plants also play a significant role in the environment by influencing climate and producing life-giving oxygen. Plant project studies allow us to learn about plant biology and potential usage for plants in other fields such as medicine, agriculture, and biotechnology. The following plant project ideas provide suggestions for topics that can be explored through experimentation. Plant Project Ideas Do magnetic fields affect plant growth?Do different colors of light affect the direction of plant growth?Do sounds (music, noise, etc.) affect plant growth?Do different colors of light affect the rate of photosynthesis?What are the effects of acid rain on plant growth?Do household detergents affect plant growth?Can plants conduct electricity? Does cigarette smoke affect plant growth?Does soil temperature affect root growth?Does caffeine affect plant growth?Does water salinity affect plant growth?Does artificial gravity affect seed germination?Does freezing affect seed germination?Does burned soil affect seed germination?Does seed size affect plant height?Does fruit size affect the number of seeds in the fruit?Do vitamins or fertilizers promote plant growth better?Do fertilizers extend plant life during a drought?Does leaf size affect plant transpiration rates?Can plant spices inhibit bacterial growth?Do different types of artificial light affect plant growth?Does soil pH affect plant growth? Do carnivorous plants prefer certain insects?

Certainty vs. Doubt

I believe the dispute between the two virtues, certainty and doubt, is very controversial. Despite the clear sides that people have fixed themselves to, there are pros and cons to both. A person’s doubt can cloud their judgment. Yet it can also aid them in making the better decision, by questioning and eliminating the inferior options. On the other hand, a person’s certainty can blind them from seeing the truth. Regardless of these cons, both are necessary in the everyday choices of life. Isaiah Stock, an APLAC student at University of North Carolina, said, â€Å"Think of certainty and doubt as parts of an automobile. Certainty is considered to be the accelerator, while doubt is the steering wheel. You can get nowhere without driving certainty—but without steering through the impediments in your way, you will surely crash and burn. † I consider this to be a very acceptable metaphor of the balanced relationship between certainty and doubt. An excess of either, on the other hand, is detrimental to one’s wellbeing. I t is necessary to balance certainty and doubt in order to accomplish all of one’s life goals. But I believe that, because doubt is so highly misconstrued, doubt is more necessary in the process of making decisions. Doubt is often viewed as a negative idea in our modern society, but in reality is very beneficially, when used correctly. It is not completely contradictive of certainty, but more somewhere in between the two. The World English Dictionary’s definition of doubt is â€Å"a lack of belief or conviction about something. † We should accept the fact that doubt is a part of us, as a human race, because it is part of our nature. We are curious from birth, and to question anything and everything that we want to know more about is perfectly acceptable. I feel that it’s more in the levels of doubt that we use, that we should start to feel worried. Take building a house of cards, for example. Every card we add brings the risk of sending the whole tower tumbling over, but that is a risk we have to take, in order to achieve our goal. â€Å"I will doubt everything that can possibly be doubted, and if anything is left, then it will be absolutely certain†¦ Then I will consider what it is about this certainty that places it beyond doubt. (Descartes). Descartes, in my opinion, is yet another, if not extreme, example of the beneficial effects of doubt. He believed that man should not believe in anything that the smallest reason to doubt. In other words, anything that we believed to be true was untrue, until proven undeniable. His theory, dubbed the Doubt Theory, stated that everything we believe is true comes from our senses, which Descartes believed to be both unreliable and untrustworthy. So he claimed we should doubt everything because of this. In this way, I believe that there will be more qualified and non- defective results. In conclusion, doubt should be viewed as a virtuous idea. Of course, we must use it with caution and wisdom, so as not to abuse one of the many things we have been blessed with, as human beings. As is the case with most matters, we must be careful to balance out our doubt and certainty. Doing this will aid in the betterment of our human nature, and once we learn how to balance the two together, we will be closer to the quintessential being of which we wish to be.

Marketing Planing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Marketing Planing - Essay Example The objective of the company is to offer the employees a congenial atmosphere to work and customers a wide range of drinks which can satisfy their needs. Some of the main objectives of the company are to lay emphasis on the needs of the customers and develop innovative products. Presently, the company offers 3500 products in more than 200 countries (Coca Cola, 2013a). The company tries innovative methods to develop core products which can suit the taste buds of the customers and provide satisfaction (Coca Cola, 2013b). Presently, the company manufactures carbonated beverages in various flavours, juices, bottled water and sports drink (Coca Cola, 2013h). Marketing Planning Changes & Assessing Capability Marketing Planning is a method to develop plans which can identify and satisfy customer needs and wants. The main elements of market planning are to conduct a market research to understand the customer requirements. Understanding customer requirements is essential to develop products a s per customer preference and specifications. After 70 years of success in developing cola drinks only in singular flavour the company decided to manufacture drinks in varied flavours to diversify their risk and yield profits from varied products. This was one of major breakthrough market planning initiatives by the company to manufacture beverages for a diversified customer base. The company started selling juices under the brand Minute Maid to portray itself as a healthy beverage manufacturer. The company also increased its availability in remote countries like Cambodia, Paraguay, Macau, Turkey and Montserrat. The first television advertisement for Coke appeared in the year 1970 which related the brands with friendliness and good times. In the year 1980 during the tenure of the chairman Mr. Roberto C. Goizueta the company started focusing more on manufacturing healthy beverages which would suit the taste bud of the consumers. During the 1980’s the company started manufactur ing sugar free and low sugar content drinks under the brand names â€Å"Diet Coke†. This decision was made to strengthen the brand image of the company. Mr. Roberto C. Goizueta also introduced a drink with a relatively new flavour under a new formula which was popularly termed as â€Å"New Coke†. However, coke started manufacturing drinks under the original formula to regain the customer and critic’s confidence. During the 1990’s the company started formulating a different strategy by associating itself with sports. The company associated itself with leading sports which were popular among the common masses. The company became one of the sponsors of FIFA, Rugby, and National Basketball Association etc to connect with a larger audience. The advertising and various other marketing strategies had a profound impact on the company’s earnings. Traditionally the company served 9 drinks per day compared to 1.7 billion servings per day presently (Coca Cola, 2013e). Thus, we can observe that the company had adapted to the changing marketing environment and had changed the marketing strateg