Ethnographic and Community Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethnographic and Community Analysis - Essay Example However, with the changing nature of the world, education has become a prime reason for which people move from one place to other. Owing to this aspect, cultural and ethnic diversity can be apparently observed to be prevailing in educational institutions (Parvis 120-130). In order to depict their specific identity and main cultural heritage, students in educational institutions form clubs based on culture or ethnicity. The Saudi Students Club (SSC) is one of amid those cultural clubs which exist in various educational institutions. It has been noted that the mission and the vision of the club in Boise State University (BSU) is to promote knowledge along with awareness of culture and historical significance of Saudi Arabia. The sole aim of the group is to remove cultural and ethnic barrier between students from Saudi and students belonging to other community within the university (3Boise State University, â€Å"Enjoy Saudi Culture at Sept. 27 Celebration†). THESIS STATEMENT The principle intent of the paper is to analyze SSC at Boise State University (BSU). Contextually, the paper would present the sameness and the differences that exist between the members of the groups. This would be performed through practical understanding and research. THE SAUDI STUDENTS CLUB (SSC) IN BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY (BSU) As mentioned earlier, almost every university has clubs based on diverse culture or nationality. The Saudi Students Club (SSC) is quite common in this regard in various universities. Usually, these groups aim at promoting the interest and the welfare of the richness of culture and history of Saudi Arabia. Other cultural groups also set similar kind of objectives for their existence. The SSC in various universities also seemed to be inclined towards ensuring formation of greater affiliation amid the students and the faculties. In this regard, the group strongly believes that by forming greater association between the students and the faculties, the students o f Saudi and others belonging to diverse culture along with community can develop their overall performance and career by a considerable level. Apart from that, such cultural and ethnic groups also work towards maintaining understanding between two nations which further impacts beneficially on the welfare of overall community of the university. Correspondingly, the SSC of BSU also depicts their presence with similar kind of objectives. It has been noted that out of 579 international students in BSU, 262 of them are from Saudi Arabia. This aspect depicts the strong presence of Saudi students in the university. The SSC of BSU intends to develop an environment within the university wherein people from different cultures can recognize and respect each other’s culture and ethnicity. Contextually, the group celebrates Independence Day of Saudi Arabia, observe the festival of Eid within the institute and organize various other cultural events wherein each and every member of the univ ersity is heartily welcomed and their valuable ideas are greatly valued. Notably, the group also assists the newly joined Saudi students in the university every year by helping them to get acquainted with the prevailing atmosphere of the university and ensures a better future by forming greater association between them and BSU. In precise, it can be stated that the SSC in BSU intends to develop a strong affiliation between the Saudi students and students of other community in the same campus. The main principle of the club is to assist new and existing students of Saudi community so that they could be able to reap significant benefits both socially and academically. This aspect might permit the Saudi students to succeed in their academic career by a certain degree. Ahmad Almotairi, the President of the SSC

The EU Water Framework Directive Essay Example for Free

The EU Water Framework Directive Essay The EU Water framework directive was adopted on 23rd October, year 2000. This water framework directive aims at protection as well as management of the European waters. It also includes the adoption of plans to manage and appropriate measures that apply for each water mass. Through this water framework directive, the EU is able to manage inland surface, coastal waters, ground water as well as transitional waters with an aim of preventing and reducing pollution, promoting sustainable use of water, protecting of the aquatic environment, improving the aquatic ecosystem status as well as mitigating the effects of droughts and that of floods. The EU water framework directive has some demands that all the member states must meet. One of these demands is that of pricing. If water is adequately priced, it acts as a major incentive for sustainable and better use of the water resources. The member states are therefore required to see to it that the prices charged to the water consumers for example for the distribution of water is fresh or collection and treatment of dirty water, reflects or rather shows true costs. However, some EU member states have a very stiff challenge in meeting this demand. The EU water framework directive also demands that there should be full public participation so as to achieve the goal of having clean water. In order to port public participation in place, rallies and seminars must be conducted so as to educate the public on the need for having clean water. The EU member states should also exercise greater transparency during establishment of objectives, when imposing measures and when reporting standards (www. dhigroup. com/). If these things are practiced, then higher number of citizens tends to influence and participate in overall environmental protection. Most EU states however have had a challenge in engaging their citizens in participating or working towards having clean water. Lack of sufficient funds to hold conferences and seminars with the citizens so as to create awareness has been a major challenge. Another demand for EU water framework directive is that there should be coordination of objectives. These objectives include protection of the aquatic ecology, protection of water resources for drinking and protection of water used for bathing. All these are objectives that must be integrated as far as each river basin is concerned. However, most EU member states have a challenge in integrating these objectives for each river basin. The EU member states have also been faced with a challenge of business pressures. In meeting the demand of the EU water framework directive, most large water consumptive abstractors such as water companies, food as well as drink manufacturers. These firms are likely to be affected in the process of licensing the ground water, which may be identified as a chief cause of poor ecology. In addition, the EU member states face a challenge of maintaining clean water in rivers. This may occur if Environment Agency has water bodies that are small in the river basin, hence sewage treatment works that discharge into small rivers tend to be vulnerable. The EU water framework directive also should have a criteria against which ecological status have to be assessed. However, this criteria has not yet been achieved and hence it is a challenge to the EU member states to bring foist it is criteria. The member states are also having a challenge of ensuring that the methods that are adapted to measure impacts are comparable. The EU Water framework directive has a demand that the standards for water protection must be laid down as well as setting down the organizational aspect of water management. It also demands that the core objectives of the environment are to prevent aquatic ecosystems’ deterioration and restoration of polluted waters within a given timescale. The challenge to the EU member states is how to take into account the economic considerations so as to ensure that the improvements that are planned are not unnecessarily expensive as well as technically infeasible. EU member states are also faced with a challenge of cost uncertainties. In spite of thorough preparation and pilot testing that has taken place, many crucial decisions on how to implement and carry out the directive and measures as well as legal instruments that will be required have not yet been made. This uncertainty and short of information is shown in the wide range of values of the associated costs as well as benefits contained regulatory impact assessment that was published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Conclusion. The EU water framework directive is one of the most important directives adopted by the EU member states. It aims at adopting and maintaining way of ensuring that clean water is obtained through ensuring that all water masses are kept free from pollution. To achieve this, all the member states have to put I place all the necessary requirements as well as provide awareness to its citizens. It is through the awareness and cooperation of the citizens that water pollution can be achieved.

Comparison of The Judges House versus The Signalman :: essays research papers

I think that mystery stories are so popular with people today, and with the last couple of generations because they are so intriguing. The author tries to give the story an element of surprise and also put twists in the tails to keep the reader guessing. Rather than just watching a film it allows the reader to build up their own imagination and interpret the story in their own way. The author will also try to integrate a ghost or spirit into the story, whether it be physically there or just psychologically, this gives the sense of mystery and usually results in the protagonist of the story dying. During the Victorian era mystery stories were especially popular, this was due to television and cinema not being in existence, so people had enliven themselves in other ways, in this case with books. In Victorian times religion was cogent and people believed in God more than people today, this meant that people thought what happen in mystery stories was very plausible. However with the adva ncement of science, people regard mystery stories as fully fictional, conversely some individuals and groups do still believe in the existence of ghosts and spirits. The two stories, ?The Judges House? and ?The Signalman? have atmosphere built up through the setting of the story as well as other things including the characters and also the dialogue. First of all, the judge?s house has a very weird sort of setting. It is set in a large, old house with high windows and tall walls, basically a very stereotypical sort of house for a mystery story. However this decrepit house is situated in the middle of a community, with a wide array of people and vehicles there. This sort of area you would expect to be safe, however this could have given Malcolm Malcolmson, the protagonist, a false sense of security as the house has high walls isolating it from the rest of the community. The author describes the house as ?a fortified house than an ordinary dwelling? this suggests that it was not just a few fences around the house, rather iron bars on windows and large iron gates, these are the things you would stereotypically relate to this type of story. ?The Signalman? is not the kind of setting you would expect for a story of this nature, it is set on a railway cutting which is far from stereotypical however a railway cutting could be seen as an industrial area which can be associated with gloominess, fog and smoke. Comparison of The Judges House versus The Signalman :: essays research papers I think that mystery stories are so popular with people today, and with the last couple of generations because they are so intriguing. The author tries to give the story an element of surprise and also put twists in the tails to keep the reader guessing. Rather than just watching a film it allows the reader to build up their own imagination and interpret the story in their own way. The author will also try to integrate a ghost or spirit into the story, whether it be physically there or just psychologically, this gives the sense of mystery and usually results in the protagonist of the story dying. During the Victorian era mystery stories were especially popular, this was due to television and cinema not being in existence, so people had enliven themselves in other ways, in this case with books. In Victorian times religion was cogent and people believed in God more than people today, this meant that people thought what happen in mystery stories was very plausible. However with the adva ncement of science, people regard mystery stories as fully fictional, conversely some individuals and groups do still believe in the existence of ghosts and spirits. The two stories, ?The Judges House? and ?The Signalman? have atmosphere built up through the setting of the story as well as other things including the characters and also the dialogue. First of all, the judge?s house has a very weird sort of setting. It is set in a large, old house with high windows and tall walls, basically a very stereotypical sort of house for a mystery story. However this decrepit house is situated in the middle of a community, with a wide array of people and vehicles there. This sort of area you would expect to be safe, however this could have given Malcolm Malcolmson, the protagonist, a false sense of security as the house has high walls isolating it from the rest of the community. The author describes the house as ?a fortified house than an ordinary dwelling? this suggests that it was not just a few fences around the house, rather iron bars on windows and large iron gates, these are the things you would stereotypically relate to this type of story. ?The Signalman? is not the kind of setting you would expect for a story of this nature, it is set on a railway cutting which is far from stereotypical however a railway cutting could be seen as an industrial area which can be associated with gloominess, fog and smoke.

Company Analysis: Northwest Airlines :: Essays Papers

Company Analysis: Northwest Airlines Introduction Northwest Airlines is one of the pioneers in the airline transportation industry and is ranked at the fourth largest air carrier in the United States today. The success of the carrier depends on the quality and reliability of the service at a reasonable price. Close competitors force Northwest to innovate their services by increasing efficiency. This essay will try to examine different perspectives in the services needed to successfully complete the company’s objectives. The analysis will explain historical and financial perspectives that may give a better understanding of the current market trend of the organization. Services â€Å"Northwest Airlines is engaged principally in the commercial transportation of passengers and cargo.† (5) NWA is a complete full service air transportation carrier that is the forth-largest air carrier in the world that services over 750 destinations located in 120 different countries on 6 continents. They operate 2,600 flights daily around the world and operate more than 200 nonstop between the United States and Asia each week. Headquarters is based in Minneapolis/St. Paul. The main connecting hubs are located at Detroit, Minneapolis, Memphis, and Tokyo. Northwest employs 50,600 employees nationwide as of Dec. 31, 1998. (6) NWA also has 1269 Stockholders as of Feb. 26, 1999. (6) Northwest continues to improve cargo shipping by proudly dedicating 12 Boeing 747 aircraft and easily becoming one of the largest cargo airlines in the world. (4) Cargo is very profitable for Northwest because â€Å"Northwest has predicted cargo revenue will top the 900 million mark in 2000 †. (3) The enormous fleet of aircraft contains 400 airplanes. (1) Northwest has subsidiaries wholly owned (Unless otherwise indicated by NWA) by Northwest Aircraft, Northwest Aerospace Training corps, MLT Inc, Express Airlines, and Express Airlines I. (6) History Northwest Airlines began service on October 1, 1926, flying mail between Minneapolis / St. Paul and Chicago. (2) They started passenger transportation in July 7, 1927. (2) Throughout the years Northwest has grown steadily by acquiring new system routes in the northwestern region of the USA. The year 1930 was a landmark in history because Northwest moved their home base operation to their present headquarters in St. Paul. The air service grew overnight with the acquisition of Southern Airways in 1936. Northwest’s famous red tail was introduced for the first time on February 1948.

Performance appraisal Essay

Performance appraisal has been one of the most-debated management practices for several decades. It has generated a wide variety of viewpoints. There are those who see performance appraisal as making an important contribution to human resource management, in that organizations require systematic information on how well employees are performing in their jobs as a key element in ensuring that human resources are used as effectively as possible. Employees at all levels experience a need to know clearly what they should be doing and what is expected of them in terms of quantity and quality of output. In addition most people want to be in a position where they can perform better next time around. A number of writers, especially during the 1970s, expressed pessimistic views about the future of performance appraisal schemes, and the assumptions on which they are based. Some have tended to write off conventional versions of performance appraisal as backward, simplistic and even counterproductive, arguing that conventional appraisal processes often lead both the manager and employee to approach the performance review with dysfunctional role stereotypes. The employee expects to hear what is wrong with his or her performance, while the manger expects to have to well the evaluation to a reluctant and possibly hostile member of staff. (Gordon Anderson 1996) In this case study, it present the issues that caused Xerox Company emerged as a result of their research. In a word, it is all about change. It is talking about the linked issues of visibility and growth, and the compelling need for a process or model to deal with the problems of increasing effectiveness in the midst of all the change. I discuss changing attitudes and HRD political relevance, and present evidence of concern for HRD effectiveness. In Xerox appraisal new system they use â€Å"Mulit-appraisal† which is 360-degree Appraisal. The limitations of conventional performance appraisal in placing considerable, and sometimes total, emphasis on the judgment of the employee’s manager have been identified and discussed by a number of  writers. A pioneering study carried out a number of years ago in Gulf Oil, and described by Stinson and Stokes (1980), highlights an alternative, multi-rater method, which overcomes a number of the deficiencies of conventional, manager-orientated appraisal. Probably the most significant development likely to influence the nature of performance appraisal in the future is the shift away from conventional appraisals undertaken typically by line managers towards the concept of 360-degree appraisal. The concept builds on multi-appraisal and refers to a situation where appraisal data is collected † all around† an employee, from his or her manager, subordinates, peers and c ustomers, internal and external. A number of factors are encouraging organizations to introduce, or to seriously consider the introduction of, 360-degree appraisal. These include: ØFlatter, less hierarchical, more flexible, team-based organization structures; ØAwareness of the limited perspective of managers; ØRecognition of the value of contributions from other sources; ØThe advantage of a range of perspectives, given the increasingly complex roles many people play in organization. In research identified the need for building and maintaining close relationships with line and staff management as essential for a successful HRD organization. It is really depend on the organization and communication processes. A wide range of methods and criteria for appraising performance is used by organizations. The various ways of measuring performance stem directly form the different components of performance. We can see in the new system of Xerox, they are: Simple ranking, using this system the appraiser is called upon to make a judgment about the general level of the performance of each employee. Based on the appraiser ranks each employee from best to worst. Alternate ranking, this process involves a number of stages. While this approach may have some advantages in determining the ratings, it suffers from the same defects as the simple ranking approach. The HRD Function In effective HRD functions, staff development is built in to the annual operating plan as a requirement. It is not only supported by management, but also seen as essential to the continued effective operation of the HRD function, and adequate funding supports it. Another one is Feedback, It tells employees, â€Å"How am I doing?† and â€Å"Where do I go from here?† How would you like to be a member of a bowling team and go bowling every week, but only get your scores once a year? Coaching is the day-to-day effort to review work, answer questions, discuss progress (or lack of it) toward meeting standards, develop skills, and provide positive guidance. Is the supervisor the only person who can provide coaching to an employee? Coworkers, other supervisors, and even customers can often be in a good position to compare the employee’s performance to established standards and then give helpful feedback. As the articles shown that the core of any organization is its staff. Without workers, who is going to do the job? How come the goal is going to achieve? How effectively an organization maintains a quality team of employees is linked to its ability to manage its staff and recognize the contributions of each player. Effective performance management systems enable an organization to objectively and systematically rate employee performance, while providing the tools necessary to take that performance level and equate it to compensation actions. Employees have always expressed the desire for open feedback regarding their performance. More and more companies are embracing the pay for performance concept and its tie to compensation. A well-executive performance management plan enables an organization to achieve critical goals: ØRecognize the efforts and contributions of current staff ØReward staff with compensation directly linked to performance ØMotivate staff to improve performance ØOrient staff towards goal achievement ØRetain key employees through the use of competitive compensation programs ØAttract quality employees with an effective performance management system A necessary condition for the effective management of performance appraisal systems in any organization is the need to clarify and communicate to all concerned the objectives which the system is intended to achieve. Typically, performance appraisal schemes are expected to serve multiple objectives. This can often be strength in that several purposes can be achieved, but I can also prove to be a disadvantage if it leads to a dissipation of effort and lack of focus. It is obviously of crucial importance, and everyone in an organization especially the key decision makers should be fully aware precisely what objectives the system of performance appraisal is expected to achieve, and the priorities within these objects. Performance appraisal should lead to the identification of the training and development needs of employees. Indeed, it can be argued that without an appraisal scheme, it would be only accidental if training and development efforts were aimed in the right direction (Anderson 1980). Performance appraisal, by providing feedback to employees on job performance, creates a basis for improvement and development. The developmental function of appraisal is concerned with improving the performance of people by identifying areas for improvement, setting performance targets for the future, and agreeing plans for follow up action. This aspect also involves developing the capacity of people through formulation plans to develop their skills and careers, and helping individuals to reconcile their job and career aspirations with opportunities available in the organization. Furthermore, there is certain amount of overlap between the evaluative and development functions, in that the evaluation of past performance will often be an important influence upon the setting of future targets. Brinkerhoff  and Kanter (1980) contend that this function is both backward looking in the sense of evaluating past performance so as to establish standards and forward looking in that the established standards serve as incentives for future performance improvement through generating peer competition and the desire to best one’s won past record. The argue further that an additional overlapping, but also overarching, purpose for performance appraisal is to ensure that managers are performing a critical management function. Managers should be paying careful attention to the assessment of the past performance of their staff against organizational requirements, and to the development of greater productivity of the human resources available. This function of performance of performance appraisal of encouraging careful and systematic approaches in assessing the performance of employees is of great importance for practicing managers, and they often recognize its value. The possible conflict between the evaluative and developmental dimensions has been much discussed in the appraisal literature. The central issue appears to be: can the manager, acting as appraiser, effectively be both judge and helper without experiencing role conflict? Since future decisions must be based, at least in part, on evaluations of previous behavior, it could be argued that this conflict is superficial rather than real, and that an effective manager should be about to cope effectively with both roles. When we looked further at the issue of growth. The Conference Board, in a study of trends in corporate education and training, found that the number of training professionals had increased in nearly two-thirds of the firms surveyed. The board cited the following as evidence of the enhanced role and status of HRD in many companies: ØManagement has become convinced that education drives the business. ØA stepchild until recently, the training function is now seen as essential to the company’s strategic goals. ØDeveloping our people is now the heart of our business strategy. ØTraining departments used to be wiped out by recessions, but few were in the recent one (Lusterman, 1985, p.2). Affecting the growth of HRD is the increase in the overall number of jobs and the shifts from sectors such as manufacturing to service organizations. Newly created jobs require new skills training and workers being displaced need retraining. In addition, more workers are coming to expect training as part of the normal job environment, and will demand it if they don’t see it. This is especially true in high technology, where employees want to stay on the leading edge-they can’t afford not to. The negative factors are: ØPossible distortion due to popularity factors influencing peers; ØPossible negative reactions towards those who irrespective of this performance, are seen as unorthodox, inclined to challenge existing practices, and therefore perceived as threatening; ØFriendship rating; ØDistortions due to fear of retaliation; ØReliance of peers on stereotypes in making evaluation. Despite the risks evident from the number of possible negative factors, peer review may well have an increasing role to play in performance appraisal systems of the future, especially in non-hierarchical, team-based organizational structures in which peers are willing to give objective evaluations of one another’s performance, and where peers interact sufficiently frequently to be able to develop an informed view of the performance of colleagues. Conclusion Appraisal of employees tasks place whether a formal appraisal system is in operation or not. In small companies, formal systems are probably unnecessary; in larger companies, a formal system goes some way towards ensuring that decisions based upon judgments of employee performance are fair and just. However, the mere installation of an appraisal scheme does not ensure that appraisals are well founded. There are a large number of human tendencies towards error that must be recognized by those conducting appraisal. This recognition and ways to overcome the problems are best achieved through training. The appraisal of performance is useless unless the results of the appraisal are translated into action. This is the purpose of the appraisal interview. It is a mechanism for feedback of information to employees, and an opportunity for employees and their superiors to sit down and plan remedial action. Appraisal interviews involving problem solving, counseling and joint objective setting are essential components of a successful appraisal scheme. REFERENCE French,W. Human Resources Management 4th Edition, Houghton Miffin co, Boston, 1998. Graham, H.T, Human Resources Management, recruitment and selection, Britain ,1983. Leslie W. Rue, Ph.D., Lioyd L. Byors, Ph.D, Management skills and Application recruitment and selection, Australia,1997. Pearson, R., The Human Resources , Managing people and work, Australia, 1990. Kramar, R, Mcgraw, P& Schuler, R. S., Human Resources Management in Australia. Longman. South Melbourne, 1997. Parry, K. W., Smith, D., Human Resources Management. USQ Press. Queensland, 1998. Dessler, Griffiths, Lloyd- Walker, Williams, Human Resources Management, Prentice Hall, Australia, 1999.

The Impact Of Computers Essays - E-commerce, Free Essays

The Impact Of Computers Essays - E-commerce, Free Essays The Impact Of Computers THE IMPACT OF COMPUTERS Computer technology not only has solved problems but also has created some, including a certain amount of culture shock as individuals attempt to deal with the new technology. A major role of computer science has been to alleviate such problems, mainly by making computer systems cheaper, faster, more reliable, easier to use. Computers are forever present in the workplace. Word processors-computer software packages that simplify the creational and modification of documents-have largely replaced the typewriter. Electronic mail has made it easy to send messages worldwide via computer communication networks. Office automation has become the term for linking workstations, printers, database system, and other tools by means of a local-area network. An eventual goal of office automation has been termed the paperless office. Although such changes ultimately make office work much more efficient, they have not been without cost in terms of purchasing and frequently upgrading the necessary hardware and software and of training workers to use the new technology. Computer integrated manufacturing is a relatively new technology arising from the application of many computer science sub disciplines to support the manufacturing enterprise. The technology of CIM emphasizes that all aspects of manufacturing should be not only computerized as much as possible but also linked together via a computer communication network into an integrated whole. In short, CIM has the potential to enable manufacturers to build cheaper, higher-quality products and thus improve their competitiveness. Making a telephone call no longer should conjure up visions of operators connecting cables by hand or even of electrical signals causing relays to click into place and effect connections during dialing. The telephone system now is just a multilevel computer network with software switches in the network nodes to route calls get through much more quickly and reliably than they did in the past. A disadvantage is the potential for dramatic and widespread failures; for as has happened. The downside of this technology is the potential for security problems. Intruders can see packets traveling on a network and can perhaps interpret them to obtain confidential information. Computer technology has had a significant impact on retail stores. All but the smallest shops have replaced the old-fashioned cash register with a terminal linked to a computer system. The terminal may require that the clerk type in the code for the item; but more and more frequently the checkout counter include a bar-code scanner, a device that directly reads into the computer the UPC printed on each package. Cash-register receipts can then include brief descriptions of the items purchased, and the purchase information is also relayed back to the computer to cause and immediate adjustment in the inventory data. The inventory system can easily alert the manager when the supply of some item drops below a specified threshold. In the case of retail chains linked by networks, the order for a new supply of an item may be automatically generated and sent electronically to the supply warehouse. In a less extensively automated arrangement, the manager can send in the order electronically by a dial-up link to the suppliers computer. These developments have made shopping much more convenient. The checkout process is faster; checkout lines shorter; and the desired item are more likely to be in stock. Computer technology has been incorporated into automobiles. Computers are involved (CAD systems) not only the design of cars but also in the manufacturing and testing process, perhaps making use of CIM technology. Todays automobiles themselves include numerous computer chips that analyze sensor data and alert the driver to actual and potential malfunctions. Although increased reliability has been achieved by implementing such computerization, a drawback is that only automotive repair shops with a large investment in high-tech interfaces and diagnostic tools for these computerized systems can handle any but the simplest repairs

Free Essays on Voice Of America Programing

Voice of America Programming Assignment What music embodies the spirit of America? One could say it was the original genres, blues and jazz. One could say it the folk music of our early immigrants. One could say it’s the unique way that Americans change international musical styles to suit their lifestyles. To me it is all of the above. America is unique in the way we are allowed to so thoroughly express ourselves in our music. Political views, religious values and societal issues are fair game without fear of government persecution. I think that if one is to show the true Voice of America all aspects of American music must be represented. The best way to do this would be to divide the entire broadcast into segments. I will discuss some sample program segments and why I believe they are an important part of the American Voice. When most think of American music their first thought is usually of the modern music we hear on the radio everyday. Pop. Rhythm and Blues. Modern Rock. I would devote a 2-3 hour segment to each of these genres. These songs generally have love themed topics, something that in itself is universal and non-controversial. They tend to reflect the ideals of teens and young adults (13-23). This would also, from a marketing standpoint, be a hook. This is music that is not filled with overtly political themes (in most cases), but does reflect some of the Mass’ ideals. It would be impossible not to acknowledge jazz and blues. Throughout the jazz era, slavery was in full gear in the south. Within a few years, the civil war broke out. Jazz was not only played for listening pleasure, jazz was played as a way to express feelings and tell stories, since in some areas it was illegal for slaves to converse at large. From jazz grew the blues, blues was a form of jazz in which there would be a slow beat and a rhythmic story being told in sync with the beat. These genres are also entitled to at least 2-3 hours api... Free Essays on Voice Of America Programing Free Essays on Voice Of America Programing Voice of America Programming Assignment What music embodies the spirit of America? One could say it was the original genres, blues and jazz. One could say it the folk music of our early immigrants. One could say it’s the unique way that Americans change international musical styles to suit their lifestyles. To me it is all of the above. America is unique in the way we are allowed to so thoroughly express ourselves in our music. Political views, religious values and societal issues are fair game without fear of government persecution. I think that if one is to show the true Voice of America all aspects of American music must be represented. The best way to do this would be to divide the entire broadcast into segments. I will discuss some sample program segments and why I believe they are an important part of the American Voice. When most think of American music their first thought is usually of the modern music we hear on the radio everyday. Pop. Rhythm and Blues. Modern Rock. I would devote a 2-3 hour segment to each of these genres. These songs generally have love themed topics, something that in itself is universal and non-controversial. They tend to reflect the ideals of teens and young adults (13-23). This would also, from a marketing standpoint, be a hook. This is music that is not filled with overtly political themes (in most cases), but does reflect some of the Mass’ ideals. It would be impossible not to acknowledge jazz and blues. Throughout the jazz era, slavery was in full gear in the south. Within a few years, the civil war broke out. Jazz was not only played for listening pleasure, jazz was played as a way to express feelings and tell stories, since in some areas it was illegal for slaves to converse at large. From jazz grew the blues, blues was a form of jazz in which there would be a slow beat and a rhythmic story being told in sync with the beat. These genres are also entitled to at least 2-3 hours api...

Diversity management Essay Example

Diversity management Essay Example Diversity management Essay Diversity management Essay The talent pool of the organizations is undergoing a dramatic change and advent effect of this Is faced by the Managers who have to deal with a diverse working force. Such an event raises the importance of diversity management which includes recruiting and retaining the diverse talent and managing them effectively mining maximum productivity. It is to be understood that the definitive objective of implementing an effective diversity management strategy is to increase customer satisfaction, Improve communication between teams and eventually enhance organizational performance. Any multinational company at a point of expanding and scaling Its operations can use the Ideas and concepts discussed In this report. To keep up with the competition in global market a solution addressing diversity at its work place is of great significance. As a report from a consultant, this document aims at throwing light on several key concepts and theories that has to be addressed when developing a diversity management strategy for a Multinational Company (NC). The report further will try to generalize the principles and challenges that would be faced by a multinational company In Introducing a diversity management scheme. This document will also Inform the policy makers regarding the hurdles In Implementing such a change and helping them find possible solutions for the same and thereby increasing the competitiveness of the company in the global market. The report recommends a basic method for the company for managing diversity based on the findings from previous case studies of Macs that are referenced from journal articles or books. Table of Contents Executive summary 2 1 . Introduction 4 2. Introducing Diversity 5 3. Implementing Diversity Management: A Systematic approach 6 4. Diversity priorities 7 5. Benefits of introducing diversity 9 5. Competitive advantage: Measurable benefits 9 5. 2 Competitive advantage: Immeasurable benefits 10 6. Challenges in diversity management 11 7. Conclusions and Recommendations 12 Bibliography 13 1. Introduction Setting Introducing diversity in an organization is regarded as a long term investment that unsurprisingly involves complexity and constructive conflict (Holding et al. 2004). However diversity drives organizational behavior and will lead to customer satisfaction. One immediate effect of diversity is it drives creativity, when people from ideas. The targeted audience for this report is supervisors and managers who are he key drivers of change. It is important that they realism the importance of this factor to equip themselves and other people in the organization on the fact that every employee/customer would expect to be treated with respect and dignity. Katharine Est., in her book Workplace diversity, defines diversity as Diversity is generally defined as thoughtful, acknowledging, valuing, celebrating and accepting differences, among people with respect to sexual orientation, race, physical disability, status, masculinity, femininity, traditions, family situation, hierarchy, class, and religion. (Est. et al. , 1995). . Introducing Diversity Introducing diversity involves a great deal of effort for implementation and requires care. The first step is including diversity in the company vision and making sure that it aligns with company strategy and values, this will in turn give an assurance to employees and customers that the organization has made a long term pledge to diversity rather than limiting it to a pilot project across the organization (Egan et al. , 2003). It is important to pull the matchless offerings of people from diverse backgrounds and experience to help the company serve an equally diverse customer ease for this we need to come up with an action plan. The approach towards diversity management is modeled in two ways, a multi-domestic approach which concentrates on individual demographical areas and tailor diversity strategies taking into consideration the social, political, legal and cultural differences across countries and the second model of global approach which concentrates on extent of globalization in its operations (Egan et al. , 2003) . But it is agreed and argued that a stand between multi-domestic approach and global approach is ideal for company planning to enhance the competitiveness in the global economy (Nisei et al. 007). The brave feat of maintaining the diversity management schemes relies with the corporations Human resource management team (HARM). The relevance of setting up a corporate business culture is significant to be able to work efficiently in the global scene. A corporate culture involves convening multiple cultures represented by a number of employees from different backgrounds converging to work in a m ultinational enterprise (Manhandle et al. , 2003). 3. Implementing Diversity Management: A Systematic approach Diversity Management is a disciplined approach across the company. In an organizational culture that promotes fairness and inclusiveness; diverse perspectives are merged in the core business practices. According to Michele (Moor Bark, 2005), the diversity management has 3 characteristics. Firstly, Diversity management is and is not coerced over any one. Secondly, the policy makers use a very broad definition for diversity management the main objective of this is to make the diversity programs inclusive and acceptable to the larger section of the community. Thirdly, it aims at providing strategies to tap maximum potential out of the employees and averaging outputs helping the organization gain competitive advantage. The systematic approach aims at viewing the company as an inclusive workplace, which refers to companies that realize that they constitute of not only the employees and the customers by also the communities in which they live and interact with collectively (Moor Bark, 2005). The organizations that implement strategies are to be bound by four levels of the inclusive workplace (Moor Bark, 2005). Level: The Company has to take initiative in conducting training and assessments and interventions that would mould organizational culture. This is important as the company has to value the individual and inter-group differences within the organization. Respect individualism and open doors in recruitment. It was identified that there was a discriminatory attitude at the managerial level which affected the lower employee behavior at Dynes restaurant chain (Lebanon, 1994). But as a result of organizational initiatives to improve culture among employees the group emerged out of allegations (Anon. 2002). Levels: The Company has to take initiative in contributing to the community in which it resides, more like community building. The multinational Shell Co. Trained children aged 14-18 on understanding the work environment, being in the office on time etc leaving a positive impact on the community (Moor Bark, 2005). Level 3:- The Company at this level is matured well and aims at helping and reaching out to the wider section of the area company resides in and helps the unfortunate individuals who are on welfare. Level 4:- Organizations at this level will restrain itself from exploiting local workforce or depleting resources of the community without check. They work with the local community to foster a culture hat benefits the community services, encouraging the downward groups of the society to contribute hence the organization abides with their corporate social responsibility. The case of Body shop where the company supports community fair trade by sourcing cocoa and shear butter from Ghana and helping the local artisans lead a stable life (typhoons, 2012). This can be utilized as a marketing strategy attracting global attention and hence giving a competitive edge and advantage to the company. 4. Setting diversity priorities One key dimensions that need to be addressed as a part of diversity management initiative of the company is age. In current scenario the importance of employing mature age employees is high. Increase in life expectancy results in community working longer. For the organization to become successful it needs to utilize the experience and responsibility the mature aged workers bring with them. For instance the roll out of Reconciliation Action Plan by Woolworth in June 2011 has seen widespread acceptance from the community. The plan realizes the efficiency of diverse work force and implements measures to employ mature aged workers providing them adequate training. Strengthening your business through diversity A guide for employers highlights that mature aged workers are loyal, more productive and they bring life experiences into business (Reconciliation Australia, 2012). The emphasis on the fact that disabled employees who are referred to as differently abele employees bring with them reliability, better than average attendance and productivity (Graff et al. , 2002). The Journal also highlights that retention rates of disabled workers are also very high. Opening doors for long term unemployed, this is an untapped resource as they would have multiple transferable skills. This category of work force is vulnerable to discrimination due to their employment status, once they are on board their skills can be used across any number of positions in the organization (Reconciliation Australia, 2012). Gender equality is another area which organization has to account, currently over 53. 1% of employees in Woolworth are women and the number is increasing in managerial roles (Anon. , 2014). Hence it is important for organizations to include the women employee count and motivate them. Higher career involvement, or employing women in executive positions is at rise across all organizations. Including employees of different sexual orientations has always been a highly sensitive area for organizations. Recent developments of mainstream companies like Apple Inc. Openly supporting LIGHT communities have helped ease the tension (Crook, 2014). A very high percentage of Top level executives declaring their LIGHT statuses has strengthened the community and has drawn way for many to follow (diversifying. Com, 2014). Rewarding diversity role models improves the diversity management efforts in an organization; resources that are making a positive impact on the workforce should be recognized. For example physically kissable employees can serve as a motivation for other employees and these small changes can drive organizational culture betterment (Hubbard, 2004). Employment of people from different race, ethnicity, and nationality in an organization has to be an integral part of diversity strategy. Not biasing with any perspective employee based on their religion is a trait that has to be exhibited by organizations willing to adopt diversity strategies for getting into global economy. Diversity management is still in an ambitious state when considering implementing policies against racism as a diversity priority. Since its an underlying issue collective long term efforts are required to reduce racism and prejudice in any form. This is particularly an area of concern as currently a very good percentage of employees in a company are from diverse back ground and if proper action plan to safeguard their respect and honor is not in place the organization might end up losing employees to competitors. 5. Benefits of introducing diversity As an NC scaling up its operations worldwide it is important to clearly understand successful diversity management strategy Figure 1 Direct benefits of diversity management strategies (Miners, 2011) . Competitive advantage: Measurable benefits A well managed diversity management will nurture the bottom line of a company and give the company a competitive advantage. The company can gain competitive advantage in the following ways. Increase in productivity: In a working community that feels respected, cared, valued, involved and included the individual productivity will start increasing. Increasing marketing capabilities: Diversity in the talent pool will attract customers from di fferent backgrounds and geographies. It helps them identify their values and goals with the company values. Attracting new clients can be the seceding factor between surviving and going out of business completely. It definitely gives a chance to the organization to thoughtfully highlight its diversity values. Reduction in the number of Lawsuits: The grocery chain lucky Stores faced legal action due to gender bias. It later lost the case and was fined $107 million (Est. et al. , 1995). When in a work culture the employees are respected for what they are, there will be fewer lawsuits. Keeping the business: Several organizations these days employ attention in demographics of organizations or teams with which they conduct business with. A number of cases has been raised by clients where they are not convinced about the diversity policy of the organization. A Midwestern company refused to do business with a tech company whose entire team was white (Est. et al. , 1995). Employer of choice: This gives a spear edge to the company as the word of mouth would spread about the company that is good for women, the company that provides paid leave for pregnancy. Or a company that openly recognizes the LIGHT community, or even for example is being a company that employs disability. On the other side the word also spreads on which company is tough for blacks or for working arenas. Most importantly introducing diversity in the Company creates a large pool of resources Hiring top quality employees has become easier with the access to diverse talent pool. 5. 2 Competitive advantage: Immeasurable benefits The competitive advantage generated by the companies by employing diversity strategies are not limited to measurable benefits, these are the benefits that are hard to quantify Self-esteem is boosted and morale is lifted when the workplace you indulge is diverse, people tend to be more active and involved. Creativity improves in an environment where there are people from different backgrounds. They differ from one another in several other aspects, and are often successful in coming up with innovative solutions and ideas to problems. Improved decision making Decisions are improved when decision makers are from varied back grounds as they think and pursue different things differently in their own viewpoint (Est. et al. , 1995). 6. Challenges in diversity management Every workplace will have some agents resisting change; it is a challenge to manage the individuals who do not take diversity strategies seriously. These few can affect the employee morale adversely (Holt, 2010). The need to open up the labor pools of the organization is inevitable but a diverse workforce also means the resources has to managed more carefully that otherwise would lead to organizational tension, the companys commitment towards equal opportunities, there can be cases in an organization where fair treatment is missed (Maxwell et al. , 2001). The main challenge in diversity management is finding a balance between the global initiative and domestic diversity initiatives. Managers may be challenged with legal action against the company or loss of productivity due to discrimination or prejudice (Devote, 1999). They are the drivers of change; the difficulty of finding a manager who can work with diverse teams is also a challenge in diversity management. Negative behaviors in the company like racism, discrimination, racial bias and stereotyping should never be used by senior management for retention, recruiting or for termination as these can lead to legal action by the employee and might prove costly for the company (Green et al. 2002). Since diversity management is voluntary, it might not survive in the event of an economic crisis as the benefits of diversity management takes time to materialize (Moor Bark, 2005). . Conclusions and Recommendations The globalization of economy and the fact that most Macs are making diversity management a standard part of their strategy is driving more and more companies to adopt robust diversity management strategies (H olding et al. , 2004). Making diversity an unambiguous target in the recruitment strategies seems to be an effective solution. Any amount of measures to promote diversity will be effective only when proper education or information is provided to the employees. It is essential that diversity management is based not only on the physical benefits but also on a throng moral and ethical commitment towards diversity (Moor Bark, 2005). The emphasis on the business advantages of diversity management and the success stories of companies gaining competitive advantage through adoption of diversity management strategies is a good motivator for companies to include it in their vision (Moor Bark, 2005). Being said that the primary responsibilities of the company and other ethical missions should not be overlooked. Another observation is that the implementation of diversity in organization and successful management of it would lead to the system becoming less determinant, less standardized and hence more laid. This improves flexibility within the organization and among its teams to react to any changes; henceforth the reaction would be faster and saves money (Cox Blake, 1991). In todays context organizations should recite the diversity slogan over and over again as the young generation which is a fresh talent pool is no longer homogeneous, its heterogeneous and therefore diversity management is very significant to position your company as the preferred employer. One primary recommendation for a company is to create a Diversity team. The team would include employees ranging from CEO to the administrative assistant. Each team member from different backgrounds, their role as a team would be as change agents identifying areas of action. The team would be responsible for formulating measures and methods and reporting it to top management. Reporting the progress and impact of diversity management is very significant to remodel the strategies after evaluating if its effective or not. Benchmarking the company with a company sharing similar interests will ensure that the new policies and processes were inclusive. Lastly, since the managers are the change agents as decision makers its their moral eave to make sure the diversity goals are merged into the company culture and the diversity management initiatives are correlated to other changes of the company like reengineering or communication. The last observation leaves us with the scope of a future research which would be enabling managers to effectively adapt to the demanding diversity within his team and organization in a broader perspective.

Commercial law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Commercial law - Case Study Example States and the UK are different, and nowhere is this more exemplified than by the respective responses by these two Government following major incidents of corporate fraud. This Case review compares some of the differences between the corporate environments operating in each of these jurisdictions, and explains how they may have contributed to such divergent responses. One can characterise these responses as legislative and/or regulatory. Legislative responses refer to legal changes that are made, which force businesses to change their practice if they are to remain compliant. In this instance, legislation is an externally enforced means of changing corporate behaviour. Regulations on the other hand can be externally or internally generated, and can promote a desired change of behaviour through legislature or through Codes of practice developed by industry bodies such as the group representing licensed auditors. Whether the regulations are internally or externally generated, one important aspect in which they differ from legislative regimes is the higher degree of importance placed on monitoring of entities within regulatory regimes. Legislative regimes primarily depend on the sanctions to foster compliance. Immediately, following the corporate governance crisis that occurred in the United States in 2002, the federal government implemented far reaching legislature, to protect investors from such levels of corporate fraud. On the other hand, when the U.K experienced a similar crisis in its corporate governance system in 1991, the response was much different. What followed was over a decade of Commission reviews which each provided best Codes of Practices for agents within the corporate governance regime. Eventually legislature on corporate fraud was only enacted in the Fraud Act of 2006. The analysis in this review points to some of the reasons that these government undertook such different responses. Firstly, prior to the crises, there was significant

Journal Article Critiques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Journal Article Critiques - Essay Example Thus, critiquing a research work, therefore, involves a careful examination of all aspects of the study, to assess its strength, limitations, meanings and relevance, in a bid to gain adequate up to date knowledge and provide essential information necessary for further studies. Holosko (2005, pg17) opined that irrespective of the aim of any research study, before taking an in-depth look at the different sections of the research, it is important to first examine the title, abstract, author’s affiliation and writing style. The purpose of title in a research study is to serve as identification, to provide information and to concisely describe the content of such research paper. Holosko (2005, pg19) argued that research titles need to be accurate, properly written and should avoid rhetorical questions. The title of the study under review sufficiently satisfies these criteria. It gives an insight into what the study is about and after reading through the report, one can say that the title accurate described the content of the research. The writing style and language of the research article also merits commendation. The language is simple enough for everyone to understand without necessarily undermining the technical nature of the research. The writing style also complies with the APA writing styles, both in referencing, citations and format. However, the sections of the report did not follow the format described by Holosko (2005) as the basic sections of any research study. The Introduction/Purpose subsections: Introduction, Purpose/Objective of the study, Rationale of the study and Literature review, was either completely missing or not correctly itemized. Although, this did not take away from the overall validity of the research effort, it however, is an unpleasant omission. An abstract is supposed to provide the surface reader with in depth information about a research study, without taking too

Nurse as Educator Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Nurse as Educator - Essay Example In today's healthcare arena, the unique holistic perspective of nursing practice mandates that nurses possess the knowledge and skills necessary to educate various audiences in a variety of settings with efficiency and effectiveness. The fundamental ideas related to person as caring and nursing as a discipline and profession that serves as the perspective grounding for the theory Nursing as Caring. A new generic understanding of caring or of discipline and profession, but to communicate some of the ideas basic to Nursing as Caring. Caring is an essential feature and expression of being human. The belief that all persons, by virtue of their humanness, are caring establishes the ontological and ethical ground on which this theory is built. Persons as caring are a value which underlies each of the major concepts of Nursing as Caring and is an essential idea for understanding this theory and its complications. Being a person means living caring, and it is through caring that out being and all possibilities are known to the fullest. The concept of nursing situation is central to every aspect of the theory of Nursing as Caring. ... Being a person means living caring, and it is through caring that out being and all possibilities are known to the fullest. NURSING SITUATION AS THE LOCUS OF NURSING The concept of nursing situation is central to every aspect of the theory of Nursing as Caring. The nursing situation is both repository of nursing knowledge, the context for knowing nursing, shared lived experience in which the caring between the nurse and the one nursed enhances personhood. It is to the nursing situation that the nurse brings self as caring person, expressing unique ways of living, attends to calls for caring, creating caring responses that nurture personhood, in the fullness of aesthetic knowing. The nursing situation comes into being when the nurse actualizes a personal and professional commitment to the belief that all persons are caring. It should be recognized that a nurse can engage in many activities in an occupational role that are not necessarily expressions of nursing. When a nurse practices nursing thoughtfully, that nurse if guided by his or her conception of nursing. The concept of nursing formalized in the Nursing as Caring theory is at the very heart of nursing, extending back into the unrecorded beginnings of nursing and forward into the future. Remember that the nursing situation is a construct held by the nurse, any interpersonal experience contains the potential to become a nursing situation. In the formal sense of professional nursing, the nursing situation develops when one person presents self in the role of offering the professional service of nursing and the other presents self in the role of seeking, wanting or accepting

Assignment 2 BA1010 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

2 BA1010 - Assignment Example (Invalid) c. Purchasing decisions are influenced by a consumer’s self-image and desired lifestyle. So, advertising influences purchasing decisions since advertising influences self-image and lifestyle. (Valid) d. Advertisers must try to make potential customers perceive some problem. This is so since problem-solving is the first step in the consumer decision-making process and the first step is probably the most important. (Valid) d. Describe a scenario in which the following sentence is false: Barb retired if and only if she had not saved adequately for retirement. For instance, a mother of three who works as a banker who receives $40K annual income but spends more than what she earns in order to sustain the needs of her family. 8. Symbolize the following arguments then check for validity using a truth table. To simplify, leave the parenthetical parts out of your symbolization. All of the arguments are based loosely on arguments in Chapter One of The Branded Mind by Eric Du Plessis. A. If your client’s purchase was motivated by emotion then it was related to attention. Your client’s purchase was not related to attention. So, your client’s purchase was not motivated by emotion. [You can leave out the parenthetical parts in your symbolization.] B. Either we make decisions in order to feel good or the brain is not in control of our decisions. The brain is in control of our decisions, so we make decisions in order to feel good (and marketers should develop brands accordingly). C. Humans can avoid dissatisfaction in the future (hunger, boredom, loneliness†¦) if and only if consumers plan for future problems. So, either humans can’t avoid dissatisfaction in the future or they don’t plan for future problems. D. Brand choice decisions are based on how a consumer would feel if they decided to buy. If that’s true then the marketer’s job is to manage the feeling that the brain associates with the brand. It follows that the

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

Generation Limbo - Essay Example In this respect, my intention is to explore ways of becoming an employer myself. I intend to explore investment avenues for small and/or medium enterprises, thereby creating jobs and employment opportunities to other people. In case this plan fails, I will consider alternative jobs that directly or indirectly utilize my knowledge and skills within or without my area of specialty. At a personal level, business future is undoubtedly worrying. The number of graduates is consistently outmatching job creation efforts. At the same time, the disparity between the rich and the poor is growing at an alarming rate, thereby making it harder for fresh graduates to realize their personal and career goals. In light of the â€Å"Generation Limbo† issues, college is a helpful institution. College exposes me to diverse personal, academic, and professional experiences.in so doing, college life prepares me for more than just job search and employment. It equips me with the knowledge and skills to pursue survival opportunities, over and above career growth and

Assignment 2 BA1010 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

2 BA1010 - Assignment Example (Invalid) c. Purchasing decisions are influenced by a consumer’s self-image and desired lifestyle. So, advertising influences purchasing decisions since advertising influences self-image and lifestyle. (Valid) d. Advertisers must try to make potential customers perceive some problem. This is so since problem-solving is the first step in the consumer decision-making process and the first step is probably the most important. (Valid) d. Describe a scenario in which the following sentence is false: Barb retired if and only if she had not saved adequately for retirement. For instance, a mother of three who works as a banker who receives $40K annual income but spends more than what she earns in order to sustain the needs of her family. 8. Symbolize the following arguments then check for validity using a truth table. To simplify, leave the parenthetical parts out of your symbolization. All of the arguments are based loosely on arguments in Chapter One of The Branded Mind by Eric Du Plessis. A. If your client’s purchase was motivated by emotion then it was related to attention. Your client’s purchase was not related to attention. So, your client’s purchase was not motivated by emotion. [You can leave out the parenthetical parts in your symbolization.] B. Either we make decisions in order to feel good or the brain is not in control of our decisions. The brain is in control of our decisions, so we make decisions in order to feel good (and marketers should develop brands accordingly). C. Humans can avoid dissatisfaction in the future (hunger, boredom, loneliness†¦) if and only if consumers plan for future problems. So, either humans can’t avoid dissatisfaction in the future or they don’t plan for future problems. D. Brand choice decisions are based on how a consumer would feel if they decided to buy. If that’s true then the marketer’s job is to manage the feeling that the brain associates with the brand. It follows that the

Critical Comparison of Websites Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Critical Comparison of Websites - Essay Example The expectations and satisfaction of customers are also of great importance to companies using the Internet for business development. For instance, the quality and effectiveness of Web sites have been associated with customers’ perceptions of the brand as well as their satisfaction and repeat purchase behavior (Chen and Wells 1999). Majority of companies provide extra effort in satisfying customers through the use of Web sites as their perceived quality and satisfaction towards a firm’s Web site have been linked to its productivity and performance within the service industry. In addition, the media has continually reported the role of electronic commerce for both consumers and organizations. In North America, for instance, Internet users were shown to look for online information before purchasing a product (eMarketer 2009) while 51% of them completed the purchase and business transaction online (eMarketer 2010). Although this innovative strategy is viewed to be fundamen tal, the quality of services offered through the Internet remains greatly unpredictable. According to Agarwal and Venkatesh (2002), there is a need for organizations to be aware of and completely understand the barriers and determinants on online purchasing; moreover, they should also be capable of establishing Web sites that can increase the likelihood of visitors to become purchasing customers. This is especially important as customers have been reported to increasingly seek online product information through Web sites although final purchases may not always be completed through the Internet. Nonetheless, Web sites should demonstrate quality in both the offered services and provided information (Parasuraman and Grewal 2000). The current paper will look into the similarities and differences between the Web sites of two fashion brands, H&M and Ralph Lauren. While H&M aims to offer fashion at a good quality along with the most reasonable prices, Ralph Lauren offers luxury through its clothing items. Owing to this difference with regards to the products and prices they offer, this paper will further examine whether they also exemplify variations with regards to their construction and use of Web sites, particularly their quality and effectiveness. Framework (NetQual scale) The use of the NetQual scale will allow the researcher to create a comprehensive view on the Web site quality and effectiveness of the two brands by looking into a number of variables- ease of use, information quality and quantity, visual design, and interaction personalization. Ease of Use The level of usability that is exhibited in a firm’s Web site plays a fundamental role for end-users. If an application is not easy to use and customers experience difficulties in interacting with it, it is most likely that the services and information provided through the Web site will be perceived to be important only by a small number of users. The purpose of usability is to reduce the complexities of Web sites and simplify their interface to ensure that all users are able to have a favorable experience when navigating the site (Welch and Panday 2007). Upon entering the H&M Web site, it was easy to understand the intentions of such application, which is to provide information and offer services, due to the fact that a wide range of specific links were available. For instance, ‘

Traditional Media Outlets Essay Example for Free

Traditional Media Outlets Essay Introduction The presence of media as a tool of information dissemination has increased largely because of the technological innovations consistently being introduced not only in advancing the productivity rate of media organizations but also in expanding the capacity of the various media outlets to include a wider range of topics (Hudson, 1986). With this expansion, the subjects incorporated into the mass media has also been augmented (Graber, 1980) such that former topics that were once rarely untouched have now been constantly infused with unceasing publicity such as those that tackle Information and Communications Technology (ICT) . The changes made by mass media are evidently found on a series of notions due to consciousness, certain perceptions on reality and the palpable alterations of the masses’ individual lives concurrent on what had reconstituted by the mentioned technological change (Palmer Young, 2003).   Technological or digital innovation dwelled on to by human beings had been observed to have been conducting a protective bubble of fixed racial, cultural and ethnic identity resulting to a sense of detachment which lies on the physical state of the screen persona as well as with the transcends in the reality of social culture (Barker Petley, 2001). Analysis Such innovations which transcribed on media analysis in accordance with meeting customer or audience satisfaction on the lame side had been a crucial issue of competition as well as with the question of product or service advantage (Orlik, Anderson, Day, Patrick, 2007).   These media offers are considerably getting the â€Å"just† amount of credit for whatever level of service they are able to offer, thus, the viewing masses seem to be unaware of the whole gist of the surfing censure and is actually following the hoax of the concern.   What becomes evidently floating in the scene lately, are the so-called â€Å"alliance† of participating media advertisers and the respective network.    Examples of these ‘participating’ network providers which are sought to be the most persistently visited sites are Google, yahoo, and Amazon Online (Beckwith, 2003). The efficiency catered by these online information providers also power the divergence of other web pages which also serves as an upgrade in the websites’ name.   Ã‚  Consequently, the more surfers sweeping on their site, the more money they are able to generate.   Considerably, a mutual benefit from that of the web provider and the viewer are being fulfilled (Beckwith, 2003). Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The exactness of the cost and the revenue generated by the aforementioned sites are but indefinite to be defined, for the reason that the scheme and the flow of the advertising differ dependently upon the ‘season’ or under the discretion of the contemporary society. It would seem quite hard to distinguish which of the sites are assumed to be the most significant or rather the one which is offering the best service for the majority (Beckwith, 2003).   Since that, those who are apt to surf actually depend on what they wish to find.   In addition to that, given the fact that each layer of the society hold different jobs or activity with diverse enthusiasm, it is evident that it is possible to shift sites which then give the argument abstain on conviction with regards to the matter (Seelye, 2005). References: Barker, M., Petley, J. (2001). Ill Effects: The Media/violence Debate. London: Taylor and Francis. Beckwith, S. L. (2003). Complete Publicity Plans: How to Create Publicity That Will Spark Media Exposure and Excitement. New York: Adams Media Corporation. Graber, D. A. (1980). Mass Media and American Politics. Political Science Quarterly, 95(4), 701. Hudson, H. (1986). New Communications Technologies: Policy Issues for the Developing World. International Political Science Review, 7(3), 334. Orlik, y. P., Anderson, S., Day, L. A., Patrick, W. L. (2007). Exploring Electronic Media. New York: Blackwell Publishing Limited. Palmer, E., Young, B. M. (2003). The Faces of Televisual Media: Teaching, Violence, Selling to Children. Mahwah N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Seelye, B. K. Q. (2005). AP plans multimedia wire aimed at younger readers (Publication. Retrieved July 14, 2007, from The New York Times: http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/14/business/ap.php

Criminology Essays Youth Crime Prevention

Criminology Essays Youth Crime Prevention Youth Crime Prevention Youth and Crime: The Need for a Prevention Strategy There is considerable debate over the issue of whether the level or the seriousness of offences committed by youth has increased in recent years. Those who feel it has point to statistical evidence of increased youth involvement in certain types of crimes. This position is also often supported by our personal experience of victimization, and our collective exposure to media reports of dramatic incidents involving young offenders. Others, however, argue that some of the apparent increase in official rates is a result of lower tolerance on the part of the public, and of an increasing tendency to use the formal justice system rather than community based or interpersonal solutions in response to offending by young people. In any case, there seems little doubt that there are increasing levels of concern among the public about the problem of youth crime and an increased understanding that most adult offenders start committing offences as youth and, thus, intervention must occur early to be beneficial. 3 The focus is on youth because research shows that early onset of delinquent and aggressive behaviour is the single best predictor of prolonged involvement with the criminal justice system.5 Thus, the intent of prevention focusing on youth is to reduce the occurrence and/or delay the onset of the initiation of delinquent behaviour. In other words, if a comprehensive crime prevention strategy for youth is developed and implemented, it would have the short-term effect of lowering the number of youth processed by the criminal justice system, thus saving both time and money, and the long-term effect of actually lowering the rates of crime and victimization, thus making the role of police less reactive. Crime Prevention The term crime prevention, in the broadest sense, encompasses any activity that has the effect of reducing crime.6 It includes a broad spectrum of activities, ranging from the social development approach to the prevention of opportunity through to deterrence. These include diversion of offenders prior to charging and dealing with offenders after sentence.7 A comprehensive strategy for crime prevention would include a complete range of activities covering all levels of intervention and elements of the crime event. 8 The problem of youth crime is complex and requires the involvement of the families, communities, schools, and often other agencies, to develop and implement prevention initiatives. Focus on the Causes of Criminal Behaviour In dealing with youth and children it is very important to understand the causes of criminal behaviour. Risk factors, such as early onset of delinquent behaviour, family violence, lack of support and supervision, substance abuse, etc., should become the focus for prevention programs. The social development approach is particularly well-suited for dealing with the causes of delinquency. Consideration of Victims’ Needs A lack of support for victims can result in continued victimization, causing further suffering for the victim. The provision of victim support services to deal with the effects of the crime are essential for responding effectively. The interests of other victims and potential victims need to be recognized and addressed as well. The use of alternatives to the traditional court system allows more involvement of victims in the process. If the victims wish to be involved in mediation or victim/offender reconciliation this should be actively encouraged. Tertiary prevention involves the full range of responses that occur after a crime has been committed. The vast majority of the activities of the criminal justice system are tertiary interventions. The objective is to rehabilitate or incapacitate the offender (deter recidivism), deter others who might consider similar behaviour, and repair some of the damage done to the victim. At present, most of the activity in this area concentrates on detecting, convicting, and sanctioning offenders. The major limitation of the public health model described above is the fact that it is grounded in the principles of pure science and implies that causes of crime are as identifiable as the causes of disease. Unfortunately, social science is not as exact a discipline as health science. It is based on associations and probabilities as opposed to certain specific causes. Further, there is often inadequate and sometimes conflicting evidence regarding the validity of specific causes.3 This raises the possibility of mislabeling a specific individual as a potential criminal because of his or her history and social circumstances or, on the other hand, mislabeling someone as unlikely to commit crime because of their positive social environment when in fact they are involved in crime. 4.1.2 Where The Focus of Prevention A prevention initiative must identify one or more specific targets upon which a proposed program can have an impact. The design of an initiative must consider the full range of target options. This requires a focus on all the aspects of a criminal event, which include an offender(s), a victim(s), and a situation(s) which brings these people together.4 The focus on the offender turns our attention to the issue of the motivation of a criminal act (e.g., Why is the individual tempted?; Are there social factors that place the individual at greater risk?), and to the ability of that same individual to exercise sufficient self-control over criminal motives. The thrust of offender-based strategies is to reduce the social conditions believed to contribute to criminal activity, reduce the levels of criminal motivation, or increase the capacity of individuals to exercise self-control. The focus on the situation shifts the attention to the opportunity to commit a criminal act, and to the levels of external control on individuals or groups. The main thrust here is on attempts to make 46 offending more difficult or less rewarding, or to increase the probability that an offender will be identified and caught. The focus on the victim raises the issue of the relative vulnerability of certain individuals or groups to criminal victimization. The thrust of intervention in this area is on improving the ability of potential victims to manage risk more effectively, and on providing the necessary support and assistance necessary to allow people to reduce their exposure to risk. A Conceptual Framework for Crime Prevention The discussion of the possible levels and targets of a prevention initiative can be combined into a typology of prevention options.5 The typology presented in Table 4.1 allows us to identify the range of elements and components that should be considered in the development of a comprehensive prevention strategy. Community Crime Prevention The objective of this strategy is to supplement the work and resources of the police by improving the capacity of a community to supervise and control potential offenders. The emphasis is on increasing informal social control, usually through programs such as Neighbourhood Watch, which recruit members of the community on a volunteer basis as the eyes and ears of the justice system. Tertiary PreventionThe assumption is that this will provide more information to the police and the courts, thus allowing them to improve their rate of arrests and convictions. The theory is that this will deter offenders and thus improve community safety. Unfortunately, the research on this type of programs is not always supportive or encouraging: there is little indication that crime rates are reduced, and it appears that these programs are extremely difficult to set up in the communities that need them the most.6 Traditionally, the criminal justice system has intervened largely at the tertiary level, that is, after an offence has been reported. The overwhelming focus of attention has been on the identification, arrest, prosecution and conviction of offenders. The shift to a focus on prevention of recidivism and the integration of the offender provides a context for the discussion of the general strategy of diversion as an option for dealing with the needs and concerns of victims, offenders, and communities in a more effective and cost efficient manner. A discussion of strategic options for the design and implementation of diversion programs can be found in Chapter 6.0 of this manual. In the area of policing, the problem is to identify and implement policing strategies that maximize the ability to reduce recidivism and ideally, to deter others from getting involved in offending. Traditionally, the role of the police has been to deliver prosecutable cases to the Crown prosecutor for processing the assumption being that successful prosecutions and sentences would have the best effect on both recidivism and general deterrence. However, the recognition of the broad range of risk factors associated with the development of persistent offending offers an alternative to this approach. The lesson from the research on persistent offenders is that success is most likely in situations where the full range of problems faced by the individual are addressed by early intervention. In practical terms, this means designing intervention strategies that reflect the knowledge we have of risk factors. (the above is not in my words just extra info! The assignment must be on one case study only! Thinking errors: Thinking errors involves young people (under the age of 18 years old) attempting to alter the truth and to ignore taking accountability for their actions and repercussions. There are many common thinking errors that young offenders may use. Blaming: a young individualperson who justifies their negative behaviour as being due to someone else initiating the incident they have committed. E.g. it was not my fault, she started it. Assuming: a young individualperson may assume they know what another person is thinking or feeling and will often act before verifying the details. E.g. he looked at me funny as if he wanted to fight so before he hit me I hit him. Minimising: the young individualperson will try to make what he or she did seem less bad. E.g. I didn’t crash the car that badly, it can still start. Telling lies: a young individualperson tries to lie about what he or she have done. E.g. I didn’t steal that lady’s handbag, she dropped it and I picked it up. Coming up with excuses’: a young person constantly making up excuses for their action. E.g. but I really didn’t see her there I thought it was my toy gun not a real gun that was loaded. Thinking errors are created through faulty understanding of facts. Everyone engages in thinking errors at some point in time and it doesn’t automatically render into a life of criminality but many young people engage in criminal behaviour, and will use thinking errors to validate their wrong doings or actions.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee :: Free Essay Writer

To Kill A Mockingbird First impressions of people are often lasting impressions,especially in the minds of children. Unfortunately, these impressionstend to be negative, thus, discrediting the individual who conveys theimpression and causing the observers to inaccurately assess his truecharacter. Many times these impressions, aided by misunderstanding andprejudgment, cause unjust discrimination against an individual. Tokill a Mockingbird depicts the themes of misunderstanding andprejudice which portray Arthur (Boo) Radley as a villain. Through theprogressive revelation of Radley's character, the children realizethat their negative impressions and fears toward him were unfounded.Through gradual stages of change, Jem's, Scout's, and Dill'simpressions of Radley are dramatically altered, bringing them to therealization that he is not the evil man he was thought to be, butrather a caring individual of distinguished bravery, and truly, thehero of the novel. In the beginning of the novel many falsehoods portray Boo Radleyas a villain . These deluding opinions, very apparent in the adultcommunity, are well illustrated by Miss Stephanie Crawford. She helpsto mislead the children's impressions. Since Atticus, although ofteninterrogated, but not wanting to create a breach of etiquette, refusesto speak about the Radleys. Therefore, Jem receives most of hisinformation from Miss Stephanie Crawford, a neighborhood scold, whoinsists she knows the whole truth about the Radleys. It is fromCrawford that the children learn of Radley's scissor attack on hisfather and other such interesting rumors. Thus, Arthur Radley islabelled as a "hant", a possibly insane and dangerous man, and the"malevolent phantom." The latter, coming from the fact that Radley hadnot been seen for many years, and was believed to be responsible forpetty crimes around the neighbourhood. It is not solely Crawford whodisplays her distaste towards the Radleys, Calpurnia, also sharesthese feelings of hatred. Her dislike of Radley is well described inan offhand remark to the children: "T here goes the meanest man everGod blew breath into." (p.12) The children, aided by neighborhoodlegends, make their own conclusions about Radley. Based on prejudiceand myth, Jem compiles a very detailed description of Radley: Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained-if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time. (p.13) Dill, through his curious and innovative character, also helps toheighten and shed light on the mystery around the Radley house.

Rodeo State Finals Essay -- Descriptive Essay Examples

Rodeo State Finals This is what I had been hoping for the entire year. I had been to many that were quite the same to this one, but none that could give me the same enduring edginess and serenity that I was feeling right now. My eyes skimmed across the hundreds of people who were all there for the same reason as me. Striving to be out of the sweltering sun, but not out of clear view of what I came for, I lead myself in a mighty search for the spot for which I belonged. As I sat down, I prepared myself for the pain that I was going to feel about an hour later. I always forgot how sore I would get from sitting on the bleachers for so long, but every time I approached them, I would remember and smile. During, the whole rodeo season I looked forward to going to the State Finals. I didn't attend the finals as a participant, but as a spectator. As President of the "Saddle Bronc Fan Club" for my friend Cole, there was no way I would miss this experience. We both had been looking forward to this day for a long time. Everything about going to this rodeo was fantastic: the food, the fun, most of all, the rodeo grounds. The place that I fit in was in the stands of the arena. Sitting there for four days got a little old, and, going on the fifth day, I was a little tired. Nevertheless, tired or not, this was what I had been looking forward to--the Short Go. This is the round in a rodeo when the top 15 from each event compete for the title of State Champion. This day was different from the other days that I had come. I could feel the tension and hostility in the air from the contestants. Maybe it was from the stress and pressure of the day's rodeo, or maybe it was from the fact that they all were wearing long sleeve sh... ...addition, no one could beat the way I was feeling. This is where I belonged even though others thought different. I had never once thought about going to rodeos until I met Cole. He had led me to something that I will now look forward to going to for the rest of my life. Even with the blistering sun and even with the pouring rain, I found a sense of my own belongingness. Just because I didn't look the part of a usual rodeo fan, didn't mean that I wasn't one of the biggest fans of all. I was glad that I could be a supporter for my friend, but most of all I was glad for the new, thrilling experience. It was a feeling that no roller coaster ride could ever give me. My next journey was in a month, and I was on my way to the next big rodeo, Nationals. I expected the same response from people there as here, but I was hopeful for it. With this thought, I smiled.

Managing Organisational Change

International Journal of Public Sector Management Emerald Article: Managing organisational change in the public sector Lessons from the privatisation of the Property Service Agency Ron Coram, Bernard Burnes Article information: To cite this document: Ron Coram, Bernard Burnes, (2001),†Managing organisational change in the public sector – Lessons from the privatisation of the Property Service Agency†, International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 14 Iss: 2 pp. 94 – 110 Permanent link to this document: http://dx. doi. org/10. 108/09513550110387381 Downloaded on: 17-01-2013 References: This document contains references to 56 other documents Citations: This document has been cited by 14 other documents To copy this document: [email  protected] com This document has been downloaded 4884 times since 2005. * Users who downloaded this Article also downloaded: * Ron Coram, Bernard Burnes, (2001),†Managing organisational change in the public sector à ¢â‚¬â€œ Lessons from the privatisation of the Property Service Agency†, International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 4 Iss: 2 pp. 94 – 110 http://dx. doi. org/10. 1108/09513550110387381 Ron Coram, Bernard Burnes, (2001),†Managing organisational change in the public sector – Lessons from the privatisation of the Property Service Agency†, International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 14 Iss: 2 pp. 94 – 110 http://dx. doi. org/10. 1108/09513550110387381 Ron Coram, Bernard Burnes, (2001),†Managing organisational change in the public sector – Lessons from the privatisation of the Property Service Agency†, International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 4 Iss: 2 pp. 94 – 110 http://dx. doi. org/10. 1108/09513550110387381 Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by Edinburgh Napier University For Authors: If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service. Information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www. emeraldinsight. com/authors for more information. About Emerald www. emeraldinsight. om With over forty years' experience, Emerald Group Publishing is a leading independent publisher of global research with impact in business, society, public policy and education. In total, Emerald publishes over 275 journals and more than 130 book series, as well as an extensive range of online products and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 3 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. *Related content and download information correct at time of download.The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at http://www. emerald-library. com/ft IJPSM 1 4,2 94 Lessons from the privatisation of the Property Service Agency Manchester School of Management, UMIST, Manchester, UK Keywords Organizational change, Public sector management, Privatization, Government agencies, Public authority assets Abstract Whilst organisational change appears to be happening with increasing frequency and magnitude in both the public and private sectors, most of the major studies of change focus on the private sector and tend to derive their approaches to change from that sector.From a review of the literature, it is argued that there is no â€Å"one best way† to manage organisational change but that public sector organisations need to adopt an approach to change which matches their needs and situation. The article examines the privatisation of the Property Services Agency (PSA) in order to draw lessons as to how the public sector can and should manage change. It is shown that the privatisation was characterised by a lack of clarity, an over-emphasi s on changes to structures and procedures, and staff resistance.However, underpinning this was an inappropriate approach to change. The article concludes that the main lessons of the PSA's privatisation are that, in such circumstances, it is necessary to adopt an approach to change which incorporates both the structural and cultural aspects of change, and which recognises the need to appreciate and respond to staff fears and concerns. Managing organisational change in the public sector Ron Coram and Bernard Burnes The International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 14 No. 2, 2001, pp. 94-110. MCB University Press, 0951-3558 Introduction From Kurt Lewin's work in the 1940s to the present day, organisational change, as a systematic process, has moved from being a topic of interest to only a few academics and practitioners to one that is seen as lying at the core of organisational life (Senior, 1997; Stickland, 1998). However, whilst organisational change appears to be happenin g with increasing frequency and magnitude in both the public and private sectors, most of the major studies of and approaches to change  ± with some notable exceptions (e. g.Pettigrew et al. , 1992)  ± focus on the private sector and tend to derive their approaches to change from that sector (e. g. Kanter et al. , 1992; Kotter, 1996; Mabey and Mayon-White, 1993; Pettigrew, 1985; Smith, 1997). Not only does this underplay the enormous changes which have taken place and are continuing to take place in the public sector, but it also ignores the need to develop approaches to change which are in tune with the circumstances in which public service organisations now find themselves (Flynn and Williams, 1997; Salauroo and Burnes, 1998).Though there have been some well-publicised examples of public sector change projects which have gone badly wrong (Brindle, 1999), there is no evidence to show that public sector managers are, inherently, any less capable of managing change than their pri vate sector counterparts (Ferlie et al. , 1996). However, the challenges they face are different from those of their private sector counterparts, especially in terms of public accountability, demonstrating value for money, and in meeting the increasing expectations, regarding service levels and quality, of both the general public and politicians.Over the last 20 years, one of the most significant challenges that public sector managers have had to cope with, and one which has taken them into unknown territory, has been that the boundary between the public and private sector has become increasingly hazy (Crouch and Streeck, 1997; Flynn, 1993). In the UK, which has tended to be at the forefront of these developments, some public services, or parts of them, have been and are being put out to private tender (e. g. he management of some schools and local education authorities); in other cases, public bodies have been turned into quasi-independent organisations (e. g. the Benefits Agency); and, in other instances, some organisations have been and are being privatised in their entirety (e. g. public utilities). All these forms of organisational change throw up their own dilemmas and challenges, and they all require an approach to change which is appropriate to the circumstances involved. However, as Dunphy and Stace (1993) argued, there is no one approach which is suitable for all circumstances and objectives.This article examines one particular and major form of organisational change which continues to have a large impact on the public sector: privatisation. It focuses upon the Property Services Agency (PSA) which, until its privatisation in the early 1990s, was responsible for the construction, maintenance and management of all the UK government's buildings and property. By presenting a case study of the privatisation of the PSA, the article seeks to draws lessons as to how the public sector can and should manage change.The article begins by reviewing the literature on change management. In particular, it draws attention to the need to recognise that there is no â€Å"one best way† to manage organisational change. This is followed by a description of the background to our research on the PSA, and the presentation of the case study itself. As the subsequent discussion section shows, the privatisation of the PSA was characterised by a lack of clarity, an over-emphasis on changes to structures and procedures, and staff resistance.Underpinning this was an inappropriate approach to change. In conclusion, the article argues that the main lessons of the PSA's privatisation are that, in such circumstances, there is a need to adopt an approach to change which balances the structural and cultural aspects of change, especially the need to appreciate and respond to staff fears and concerns. Approaches to change management As Stickland (1998, p. 14) remarks: F F Fthe problem with studying change is that it parades across many subject domains under u merous guises, such as transformation, development, metamorphosis, transmutation, evolution, regeneration, innovation, revolution and transition to name but a few. Organisational change in the public sector 95 IJPSM 14,2 96 Especially over the last 20 years or so, as the pace and magnitude of organisational change appears to have accelerated, there has been a significant increase in the number of approaches to change management on offer (see Buchanan and Boddy, 1992; Buchanan and Storey, 1997; Burnes, 2000; Cummings and Worley, 1997; Dawson, 1994; Kanter et al. 1992; Pettigrew et al. , 1992; Senior, 1997; Stace and Dunphy, 1994; Stickland, 1998; Wilson, 1992). Nevertheless, most writers tend to fall into one of two broad camps: those who support the Planned approach to change and those who espouse the Emergent approach. The Planned approach originated in the 1940s from the work of Kurt Lewin (Lewin, 1947). Subsequently, it was adopted by, and became the central focus of, the Organiz ation Development (OD) movement (French and Bell, 1995).However, in the 1980s, as a result of increasing criticism of the Planned approach, the Emergent approach to change came to the fore. Its proponents argued that the Emergent approach was more suitable for the dynamic and unpredictable conditions faced by organisations in the late twentieth century. The following briefly examines, and attempts to put into perspective, both these approaches to change in order to prepare the ground for presenting and discussing the privatisation of the PSA.Planned change: summary and criticisms Planned change is an iterative, cyclical, process involving diagnosis, action and evaluation, and further action and evaluation. It is an approach which maintains that once change has taken place, it must be self-sustaining (i. e. safe from regression). The purpose of Planned change is to improve the effectiveness of the human side of the organisation by focusing on the performance of groups and teams. Cent ral to Planned change is the stress placed on the collaborative nature of the hange effort: the organisation, managers, recipients of change and change agents jointly diagnose the organisation's problem and jointly plan and design the specific changes. Underpinning Planned change, and indeed the origins of the OD movement as a whole, is a strong humanist and democratic orientation and an emphasis on improving organisational effectiveness. The main criticisms levelled against the Planned approach to change are, as Burnes and Salauroo (1995) point out, as follows.First, Planned change was developed specifically for, and in response to, topdown, autocratic, rigid, rule-based organisations operating in a somewhat predictable and controlled environment. However, an increasing number of writers argue that, in the turbulent and chaotic world in which we live, such assumptions are increasingly tenuous and that organisational change is more a continuous and open-ended process than a set of d iscrete and self-contained events (Garvin, 1993; Hatch, 1997; Nonaka, 1988; Peters, 1989; Stacey, 1993; Wooten and White, 1999).Second, and on a similar note, a number of writers have criticised the Planned approach for its emphasis on incremental and isolated change, and its inability to incorporate radical, transformational change (Dunphy and Stace, 1993; Harris, 1985; Miller and Friesen, 1984; Schein, 1985). Third, Planned change is based on the assumption that common agreement can be reached, and that all the parties involved in a particular change project have a willingness and interest in doing so.This assumption appears to ignore organisational conflict and politics, or at least assumes that problem issues can be easily identified and resolved. However, as Pfeffer (1981; 1992) showed, conflict and personal and group self-interest do play an important role in what changes take place and who benefits from them. Fourth, it assumes that one type of approach to change is suitable for all organisations, all situations and all times. Dunphy and Stace (1993, p. 905), on the other hand, argue that: Turbulent times demand different responses in varied circumstances.So managers and consultants need a model of change that is essentially a â€Å"situational† or â€Å"contingency model†, one that indicates how to vary change strategies to achieve â€Å"optimum fit† with the changing environment. Organisational change in the public sector 97 Leading OD advocates, as might be expected, dispute these criticisms and point to the way that Planned change has tried to incorporate issues such as power and politics and the need for organisational transformation (Cummings and Worley, 1997; French and Bell, 1995).Nevertheless, as criticisms of the Planned approach mounted, supporters of the Emergent approach gained ground. Emergent change: summary and criticisms There are many writers who have contributed to the development of the Emergent approach, notably Dawson (1994), Kanter et al. (1992), Kotter (1996), Pettigrew (1985) and Wilson (1992). Unlike the supporters of the Planned approach, the main proponents of the Emergent approach are a much more diverse group who are separated by both geographic and disciplinary divides. Nevertheless, they would, more or less, agree that the main tenets of Emergent change are as follows: .Organisational change is a continuous process of experiment and adaptation aimed at matching an organisation's capabilities to the needs and dictates of a dynamic and uncertain environment. . Though this is best achieved through a multitude of (mainly) small- to medium-scale incremental changes, over time these can lead to a major re-configuration and transformation of an organisation. . Change is a multi-level, cross-organisation process that unfolds in an iterative and messy fashion over a period of years and comprises a series of interlocking projects. . Change is a political-social process and not an analytic al-rational one. The role of managers is not to plan or implement change per se, but to create or foster an organisational structure and climate which encourages and sustains experimentation, learning and risk-taking, and IJPSM 14,2 . 98 . to develop a workforce that will take responsibility for identifying the need for change and implementing it. Although managers are expected to become facilitators rather than doers, they also have the prime responsibility for developing a collective vision or common purpose which gives direction to their organisation, and within which the appropriateness of any proposed change can be judged.The key organisational activities which allow these elements to operate successfully are: information-gathering  ± about the external environment and internal objectives and capabilities; communication  ± the transmission, analysis and discussion of information; and learning  ± the ability to develop new skills, identify appropriate responses and draw kn owledge from their own and others' past and present actions. Though not always stated explicitly, the case for an Emergent approach to change is based on the assumption that all organisations operate in a turbulent, dynamic and unpredictable environment.Therefore, if the external world is changing in a rapid and uncertain way, organisations need to be continuously scanning their environment in order to identify developments and respond appropriately. Though ultimately leading to organisational transformation, to be successful, it is argued, change needs to emerge locally and incrementally in order to respond to threats and opportunities thrown up by environmental instability. Because this is a continuous, open-ended and bottom-up process, the Planned approach to change is inappropriate.This leads to the first of three major criticisms of the Emergent approach: it is specifically founded on the assumption that all organisations operate in a dynamic environment which requires continuo us transformation. It is, by its own definition, not applicable to organisations operating in stable environments where fine-tuning is the order of the day, or those whose circumstances require major changes through the use of rapid and coercive measures.The second criticism relates to the difference between these two approaches. The Planned approach is attacked because of its advocacy of â€Å"Refreezing† organisations after they have been changed (Kanter et al. , 1992). However, if one examines the process of change advocated by, for example, Dawson (1994), Kotter (1996) and Pettigrew et al. (1992), though they argue to the contrary, they do speak of change as a â€Å"transition† process which does have a beginning, middle and end. Indeed, as Hendry (1996, p. 24) comments: Scratch any account of creating and managing change and the idea that change is a threestage process which necessarily begins with a process of unfreezing will not be far below the surface. The fin al criticism concerns the emphasis that advocates of the Emergent approach place on the political and cultural aspects of change. Though undoubtedly politics and culture do play a role in the change process, a number of writers have begun to criticise what they regard as the overemphasis placed on these aspects of change. Hendry (1996, p. 21), for example, argues that: â€Å"The management of change has become F F F overfocused on the political aspects of change†, whilst Collins (1998, p. 100), voicing concerns of his own and of other researchers, argues that: F F F in reacting to the problems and critiques of [the Planned approach], managers and practitioners have swung from a dependence on under-socialized models and explanations of change and instead have become committed to the arguments of, what might be called, oversocialized models of change. Organisational change in the public sector 99Therefore, though it has apparent advantages over the Planned approach, or rather i t is applicable to situations for which Planned change is not suitable, an examination of the Emergent approach reveals that it not free from serious criticism. Putting change into perspective In examining the Planned and Emergent approaches to change, what we can see is that they focus on different aspects of organisations and are applicable to different situations. The Planned approach is primarily aimed at improving group effectiveness, tends to have a top-down orientation and is most suitable for stable environments.The Emergent approach, on the other hand, tends to focus on organisational transformation through continuous change and seems more suited to turbulent environments. This means that, despite their other strengths and weaknesses, both are essentially situational approaches: suitable only for particular situations. In addition, it is also clear that, even taken together, the two approaches do not cover all the broad spectrum of change events which organisations encounte r. Senior (1997), for example, rawing on the work of Grundy (1993), identifies three categories of change: â€Å"smooth incremental†  ± covering slow, systematic, evolutionary change; â€Å"bumpy incremental†  ± pertaining to periods where the smooth flow of change accelerates; and â€Å"discontinuous change†. Cummings and Worley (1997) identify a continuum running from incremental change to quantum change. Dunphy and Stace (1992), in a similar but more detailed way, identify a four-stage change continuum that comprises: fine-tuning, incremental adjustment, modular transformation and corporate transformation.Storey (1992) offers a four-fold typology of change: (1) Top-down systemic change. This is aimed at transforming the organisation. (2) Piecemeal initiatives. These are devised and implemented by departments or sections in an unconnected fashion. (3) Bargaining for change. This is where a series of targets are jointly agreed between managers and workers, but are pursued in a piecemeal fashion. (4) Systemic jointism. This is where managers and workers agree a total package of changes designed to achieve organisational transformation.IJPSM 14,2 100 Kanter et al. (1992), addressing the issue of transformational change, have noted that it can be achieved either by a Bold Stroke approach (rapid overall change) or a Long March approach (incremental change leading to transformation over an extended period of time). In a similar vein, Beer and Nohria (2000) make an interesting contribution to the change debate. Based on over 40 years of studying the nature of corporate change, they identify two basic archetypes, or theories of change: Theory E and Theory O.The main objective of Theory E change is to maximise shareholder value. It is applied in situations where an organisation's performance has diminished to such an extent that its main shareholders demand major and rapid change to improve the organisation's financial performance. Typically this is a â€Å"hard† approach based on downsizing, divestment of non-core or low-performing businesses, and the heavy use of financial incentives. Theory O, on the other hand, is also aimed at improving an organisation's performance but his is more a â€Å"soft† approach which is based on developing the organisation's culture and its human capabilities, and promoting organisational learning. Beer and Nohria (2000) believe that both of these are valid models of change but that both have their flaws. Theory E can achieve short-term financial gains but at the cost of denuding an organisation of the human capabilities and organisational culture necessary for long-term survival. Theory O, whilst focusing on these, falls into the trap of not restructuring to concentrate on core activities, thus failing to deliver shareholder value.To achieve the gains of both these approaches, whilst avoiding the pitfalls, Beer and Nohria advocate using these in tandem by focusing on the ra pid restructuring elements of Theory E but following this with the human capability development offered by Theory O. Although similar to Kanter et al. ‘s (1992) â€Å"Bold Strokes† and â€Å"Long March†, this idea goes beyond most other writers by pointing out that it is possible and sometimes necessary to combine approaches to change, rather than arguing for some sort of universal approach.In concluding this review of the literature on organisational change, three issues need to be emphasised, which are as follows: (1) There are a wide variety of approaches to change, though some tend to be more popular than others. (2) As Burnes (1996) argues, there is no â€Å"one best way† to manage change. All the approaches on offer appear to be situational, i. e. limited in terms of the circumstances in which they are effective. Therefore, managers need to choose an approach which is suitable for their situation rather than assuming that what worked in the past will also work in the future. 3) In some situations, it may be necessary to combine, either concurrently or sequentially, different approaches to change. Having identified the main issues with regard to the literature on change, we can now proceed to examine how the PSA managed change in practice. This will commence with a brief description of the background to our research, and the methods employed. Background and methods This article is based on research carried out between 1995 and 1998 by the authors into the process and consequences of the privatisation of the Property Services Agency.The research had two main objectives: (1) To identify the reasons for, and the process of, the privatisation of the PSA. (2) Post-privatisation, to examine the impact of the new arrangements on relations between government departments and the newly-privatised PSA. As mentioned in the Introduction, this article is concerned with the first objective, the process of privatisation. For a review of the imp act of privatisation on relations between government departments and the privatised PSA, see Burnes and Coram (1999).Looking at the design of the research and the methods used to study the changes at the PSA, the aim of the research was to construct a mainly qualitative case study of what took place. This was based on principles and methods of research advocated by writers such as Denzin and Lincoln (1998), Robson (1993) and Yin (1994). Though documentary evidence was collected, such as press reports, extracts from parliamentary debates, internal PSA documents and the National Audit Office reports into the sale of the PSA (NAO, 1995; 1996), the main source of data came from interviews with those most closely involved with the process.These fell into five groups: (1) Senior civil servants within the responsible for managing and privatising the PSA. (2) Senior civil servants responsible for managing and procuring property and property services for government departments. (3) Senior ci vil servants in the bodies responsible for advising departments on purchasing policy. (4) Directors and operational staff in the privatised companies, the majority of whom were former PSA employees. (5) The Civil Service trade unions involved in the privatisation negotiations.In total, some 50 individuals were interviewed. The interviews were taperecorded and transcripts sent to the interviewees for checking and correction. In addition, a draft of the final report of the research was sent to the interviewees for comment. These data formed the basis of the following description of the privatisation process. Organisational change in the public sector 101 IJPSM 14,2 102 The privatisation of the Property Services Agency (PSA) Background The origins of the PSA can be traced to 1962 when the Ministry of PublicBuildings and Works was made responsible for maintaining all the UK government's civil buildings. A year later, the Ministry was merged with the Works Directorates of the Admiralty, War Office and Air Ministry. The merger increased the Ministry's workforce to over 60,000. With the creation of the Department of the Environment (DoE) in 1970, it was decided that the responsibility for construction and maintenance services should become the responsibility of a separate agency and thus the Property Services Agency was born.Its role was to: F F F provide, manage, maintain, and furnish the property used by the government, including defence establishments, offices, courts, research laboratories, training centres and land (PSA, 1988, inside cover). In the 1960s and 1970s, few questioned whether or not such activities were best carried out by the public sector, but in the 1980s the tide of opinion began to turn (Crouch and Streeck, 1997). Claims of bureaucratic inefficiency and waste in the UK public services were nothing new (Chapman, 1978; Fulton, 1968; Plowden, 1961).However, what was new, with the election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister in 1979, was that tac kling â€Å"bloated, wasteful, overbureaucratic, and underperforming† public services became the centrepiece of government policy (Ferlie et al. , 1996, p. 11). Subsequently, successive Conservative governments attempted to deliver better value for money in public services through measures such as privatisation, outsourcing and compulsory competitive tendering (Flynn, 1993; Horton, 1996).Not surprisingly, given its size and importance, but most of all given the fact that it seemed to be carrying out a role that in other sectors of the economy was carried out by the private sector, the PSA became a prime target for reform. The process of privatisation In retrospect, it is possible to see that the process of privatising the PSA went through six key stages and began well in advance of the actual announcement that it was to be privatised: . Stage 1.In order to increase the commercial efficiency of the PSA, in 1986 the government appointed the consultancy firm Deloitte to develop and introduce new accounting and management information systems. These new systems were designed to allow the PSA to operate along private sector lines and to abandon public sector practices which were seen as uncommercial. . Stage 2. In 1987, it was announced that, from April 1988, civilian departments of government could take responsibility for commissioning their own construction projects with a value of over ? 150,000.The Ministry of Defence was allowed to follow suit in April 1990. In effect, . . . . this meant that the PSA was going to have to bid alongside private sector companies for government work. Stage 3. In 1988, the Secretary of State for the Environment announced that the PSA would in future operate on a commercial basis. This is to say that its income, and indeed its survival, would depend on gaining work from government departments in the face of private sector competition. To facilitate this, the PSA was restructured into a number of separate business functions.In addition, in order to promote a more commercial orientation, a Business Development Directorate was established within the PSA. The consultants Price Waterhouse were appointed to operate alongside the new Directorate to assist the PSA's commercial development by, among other things, training staff in business accounting, financial management, business planning, people management, customer care and marketing. Stage 4. In September 1989, the government announced that the PSA was to be privatised.In June 1990, the legislation necessary to enable this to take place was passed. Stage 5. In October 1990, in preparation for privatisation, the PSA was restructured into three main businesses: PSA Projects, PSA Building Management (which was eventually split into five separate companies), and PSA International (which, in the end, was closed down rather than sold). Stage 6. PSA Projects was privatised in 1992. This was followed in 1993 by the sale of the five companies which comprised PSA Buil ding Management. Organisational change in the public sector 103The above presents the privatisation of the PSA as a relatively straightforward and well-planned process. However, this is far from the reality of what happened. First, it must be recognised that most of the above actions were imposed on the PSA rather than arising from the decisions of its own management. Second, the six stages focused very much on changes to structures and procedures whilst paying little attention to the need for attitudinal, behavioural and cultural changes or, indeed, the reaction of the PSA's staff to the notion of privatisation.Finally, as the following will explain, the move to privatise the PSA was far slower and much messier than either the government or the PSA's management had allowed for. The pace of privatisation As the following quotation from a director of one of the privatised companies indicates, the privatisation of the PSA took longer, and was more difficult, than expected: The privati sation process was a very lengthy process.It was much longer than it was originally intended to be and meant that the natural unease and nervousness that occurs during such periods was prolonged. IJPSM 14,2 104 The main reasons for this slowness were twofold. Lack of strategic direction. At first, the PSA's Board appeared to treat privatisation as a standard public sector change programme which could be planned in advance, executed in a straightforward way with few unforeseen problems, and which staff would accept, even if they did not like it. However, this proved to be far from the case.The PSA's Board brought in a firm of consultants to help them to clarify the PSA's strategic direction but, as this remark by PSA's then Deputy Chief Executive demonstrates, the result seemed somewhat unfocused: For example, we did a lot of work on objectives. I don't think I can remember what we boiled it down to in the end, F F F something like: to preserve the maximum number of viable longterm j obs. Whatever the merits or not of the work the Board did, the middle and lower reaches of the PSA seemed more alarmed than consoled by developments.It was also the case that even where positive decisions were taken by the top, such as a commitment to provide retraining and outplacement support for staff, they found it difficult to put them into practice. One former PSA Director stated that: There were a few things like that [the training] where I think the best intentions at the top were weakened by people underneath, and I didn't know why. The difficulties faced by top management in developing a new strategy for the PSA and in pushing forward the pace of privatisation were threefold.The first was that though, as civil servants, they had been brought up in a stable environment which operated by well-understood rules, they found themselves having to transform the organisation into a commercial entity that could be successful whilst not understanding the nature of competition nor eve r feeling in control of the pace of change. The second was that, having been used to running a bureaucratic organisation with compliant staff, they found themselves attempting to construct a more flexible and entrepreneurial body with an increasingly disgruntled and worried workforce.The last was that, their actions were being dictated and judged by their political masters, whose sole concern appeared to be to privatise the PSA as quickly as possible, no matter what it cost or who was offended. Therefore, senior managers found themselves caught between the politicians' desire for speed and their staff's desire for job security, both of which clashed with their own cautious and ruledriven approach to change. Resistance by PSA employees. This was the second main reason for the slowness of the privatisation process.The majority of PSA employees did not want their organisation privatised. Not only did they value the stability and certainty that working for a government body gave them, b ut also most believed that the PSA had little chance of survival in the private sector. As one of their trade union officials put it: The implications of privatisation for staff, in respect of pensions, severance terms, general pay and conditions, were enormous. What happens if the organisation who took them over went bust at some later date?The result of this uncertainty and fear for their future was that staff sought to resist and delay privatisation. On an individual basis, many staff resisted by withholding information and slowing down the process wherever possible. For example, some staff basically gave up work and devoted all their time to searching for another job, whilst others fabricated rumours. There was also a general increase in union militancy. On a collective basis, the PSA staff trade union decided to oppose the privatisation.As one union official commented: F F F we felt and still feel that if you are providing a service for the public sector and using taxpayers' mo ney, that it's quite inappropriate to have this work carried out by organisations making a profit. Organisational change in the public sector 105 The official also went on to state that it was union policy to delay the privatisation: F F F the idea was that the longer it took, the longer people were in the public sector.There were issues about information, about negotiation over what the implications of the sale would be for staff, and obviously, from that point of view, the idea of slowing the process down wasn't one that we were objecting to. Eventually this resistance became overt and staff took industrial action, including working to rule and strikes. In a belated attempt to defuse staff opposition to privatisation, the government devised a staff choice scheme whereby PSA staff could choose to transfer fully to the privatised companies, to be seconded to them for a limited period, or to take early retirement.The staff choice scheme also protected employees' pension entitlements. Though this defused some of the opposition, it was not until after the 1992 General Election, when many people  ± mistakenly as it turned out  ± expected a change of government, that staff finally accepted the inevitability of privatisation. As can be seen, the PSA's privatisation was characterised overall by uncertainty, delay and a lack of any clear strategic direction (other than to privatise it). The entire process was driven by one unquestionable aim: privatisation.The process, cost and consequences of privatisation were all subordinate, and, in some senses, irrelevant to achieving that one aim. Though clear in itself, the aim provided no guidance as to how it was to be achieved nor, importantly, did it offer any direction for what was to take place afterwards. As for the PSA's strategy, instead of clarity and purpose, what developed was a stream of unplanned, ad hoc and muddled decisions made in reaction to events, rather than in anticipation of them.Discussion Though it is not the purpose of this article to evaluate the merits or otherwise of the decision to privatise the PSA, it is important to recognise that the wave of privatisation seen in the UK in the 1980s and 1990s was essentially based on a IJPSM 14,2 106 political belief that the private sector, driven by competitive pressures, was far better at delivering value-for-money services than the public sector (Crouch and Streeck, 1997; Ferlie et al. , 1996; Flynn, 1993).Consequently, the privatisation of the PSA, like other privatisations, was not driven by some form of rationaleconomic decision-making process, but by a political agenda aimed at transferring parts of the public sector to the private sector. Consequently, successive governments were less concerned with the process of change, or indeed its cost, than with ensuring that the transfer took place. It is not surprising, then, that the PSA's staff should have felt resentment and a sense of betrayal that, after many years of public serv ice, their careers and livelihoods were threatened by what appeared to them to be ideological dogma.This put the senior managers of the PSA in a situation for which they were ill-prepared and had little experience. They had to plan for, and get staff to comply with, a proposition for which they themselves seemed to have little sympathy and over which, in the final analysis, they felt they had little control. To achieve privatisation, they attempted to apply the sort of rational-planned approach to change which had worked for them when undertaking change in the past. But past changes had been undertaken within a relatively stable public sector environment, with a compliant workforce and with few potential losers.Unfortunately, the government's policy in this instance was driven by mainly ideology rather than rationality. It was designed to remove the PSA from the public sector, the workforce were afraid and hostile, rather than compliant, and there were a great number of potential lo sers. It was also the case that the senior echelons of the PSA appeared themselves to be apprehensive and lacking in support for the privatisation. Therefore, not surprisingly, senior managers found it difficult to devise and put their plans into practice when faced with an uncertain environment and a hostile staff.As time passed, three factors came to the fore which ensured that privatisation was completed: (1) In order to achieve its objective of privatising the PSA, the government eventually recognised it would need to be pragmatic as to how this was achieved and its cost. (2) The PSA management abandoned its planned approach to change and, basically, adopted a reactive and ad hoc approach to overcoming the barriers to privatisation  ± dealing with them as they arose and being prepared to be flexible in most aspects of the process. 3) After the 1992 General Election produced no change of government or policy, it became clear to staff that the privatisation of the PSA was inevit able. As can be seen, in terms of strategic change, this was an instance where there was a clear, though limited, objective, but no clear or consistent strategy for achieving it. It is highly debatable whether or not the privatisation of the PSA has produced any measurable benefits to the UK taxpayer. Certainly the government's own National Audit Commission (NAO, 1995; 1996) was critical of the cost and process of the PSA's privatisation.Also, whilst most organisations in the private sector appear convinced that closer, less hostile and longer-term working relationships between customers and suppliers are the way to achieve best value for money, this does not seem to be the case in terms of the public sector's relations with the privatised PSA or other companies in the construction industry (Burnes and Coram, 1999). As far as change management was concerned, what we can see is that the PSA's managers attempted to apply the sort of quick, top-down, mechanistic approach to change whic h had previously worked well in the relatively stable world of the public sector.However, the PSA was moving into unknown territory, the private sector, which was far more dynamic and unpredictable than it was used to. Also, it needed to achieve two forms of change at the same time: changes to structures, practices and procedures; and changes to attitudes, behaviour and culture. Whilst the traditional top-down public sector approach might be suitable to the former, provided the environment was relatively stable, it was not suitable to the latter, regardless of the nature of the environment.This meant that the PSA's leaders were attempting to take their staff into unknown territory, using an inappropriate approach and in a direction with which even they were apparently ill at ease. Conclusions As the literature review argued, there is no â€Å"one best way† to manage change. Just because an approach was deemed appropriate and worked over a period of time does not mean it will work in all situations or for all time (Burnes, 1996). A top-down, planned approach may well be suitable for a stable, public sector bureaucracy, but if a need arises to move the same bureaucracy into the private sector, the same approach is unlikely to work.As Dunphy and Stace (1993, p. 905) remarked: â€Å"Turbulent times demand different responses F F F† Although the privatisation of the PSA is now a past event, the nature of the public sector and whether further elements of it should be privatised, or required to become more market-orientated, still form part of the current political agenda in most countries. Consequently, the lessons of the PSA's privatisation are still very relevant to those who make public policy and to those charged with carrying out the changes which such policies require of them. The main lessons are as follows.First, to prepare services for privatisation, or to operate on a more commercial basis, requires both structural and cultural change. As All aire and Firsirotu (1984) showed, to achieve both requires different approaches with different timescales. A similar point was made by Beer and Nohria (2000), cited earlier, who call for a combination of Theory E and Theory O approaches to achieve such transformations. To focus on only one of these, as was the case with the PSA, is unlikely to achieve the benefits which policy makers expect, and taxpayers increasingly demand. Organisational change in the public sector 107IJPSM 14,2 108 Second, there is a need to win over staff, or at the very least to address their concerns and fears. A key element in this is the need for policy makers to move beyond basing their decisions mainly on dogma or political creed, and instead, as O'Toole and Jordan (1995, p. 190) recommend, to base them upon â€Å"a rigorous identification of weaknesses and a considered plan to remedy those defects†. As far as the PSA case was concerned, there was never really any attempt to win over staff or, unti l quite late in the process, to address their fears and concerns.The main reason for this was that the PSA's senior managers did not know how to promote a decision based on dogma, one which they had played no part in developing, and over whose consequences they had significant reservations. Third, it should also be noted that the PSA's management themselves did not possess the skills or experience to manage such a change process. 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