Laboratory Management- General Functions of a Laboratory Manager

MEDICAL LABORATORY MANAGEMENT (MLB 2120) BTECH: BIOMEDICAL TECHNOLOGY ASSIGNMENT 2: APPRAISE MANAGEMENT STYLES APPLICABLE TO THE LABORATORY DATE: 19 MARCH 2013 JJ. ROSSOUW S210034297 Contents:page Introduction3 What is expected from a manager? 3-4 What knowledge and skills do they need? 4 What training and qualifications do they need? 4 Five basic functions of a manager5 Roles performed by managers5-7 Skills required by a manager8 Conclusion 9 References10 Introduction In this assignment the general functions of a laboratory manager is being discussed.The laboratory(lab) manager is involved in organizing all aspects of the laboratory environment. They supervise general workflow; to ensure that the staff pertains to professional customer service. They do the maintenance of equipment such as the quality control, pricing, purchasing and the day-to-day functioning of the lab. The lab manager must have excellent customer service skills in order to liaise with photographers and designers. They must set up clear communication channels and develop systems and strategies to deal with fast-moving and sometimes unpredictable workload. Read this  Respiratory ActivityThey are also required to keep up with the latest development in technology and help improve productivity, profitability and client satisfaction (http://www. ceartiveskillset. org). What is expected from a Lab manager? * A lab manager must organize and manage the workflow in the laboratory. * They must co-ordinate activities throughout the laboratory. * It is expected that they delegate work amongst the various technicians and technologists. * They must monitor outputs and keep record of workflow and the usage of supplies. * They must supervise the ordering and delivery of new laboratory supplies. They must test and calibrate equipment to ensure optimum results, monitor chemistry in equipment. * A lab manager must perform quality tests and ensure the company meets its quality assurance standards. * They must oversee customer service to maximize sales. * They must promote the continuing professional development of staff and oversee the training of trai nees. * A lab manager must therefore make risk assessments for the laboratory and ensure that the company’s Health & Safety policy is observed. * The lab manager may also be involved in the development of new products and service to encourage the growth of the business. It is also required that a lab manager work long hours, however they are fairly well paid and enjoy the benefits of a regular salary, holidays and a company pension. What knowledge and skills do the need to have? The lab manager must possess excellent colour vision and have an excellent eye for colour, contrast, density and other graphic effects. They must also possess good analytical, problem solving and decision making skills. They must have a positive, pro-active attitude and pay close attention to detail. They need first class planning and time-management skills.They must also have the ability to motivate staff members. They should be a good listener and have the ability to communicate ideas and instructio ns clear and in a concise manner. They should be able to understand graphs and accounts, maintain accurate records, and put schedules and reports together. Lab managers need to have an excellent all round knowledge of all the equipment and processes used in the laboratory. They must have IT and Digital Imaging skills. They must always stay calm and level headed and be able to make racional decisions under stressful conditions. What training and qualifications do they need?Most laboratory managers first work as a technician or technologist before becoming a lab manager. Therefore it is required that they do some form of management training courses that may be useful. Employers usually place more value on applicants who have training and experience in the operation of most forms of processing, digital imaging and printing equipment. There are five basic functions of a Manager: 1. Planning- this step involves mapping out exactly how to achieve a particular goal. 2. Organizing- After th e plan is in place, a manager needs to organize the employees and assign work and granting authority. . Staffing- After a manager discerns their areas needs, they decide to beef up staffing by recruiting, selecting, training and developing employees. They often work with the Human resource department to approach this goal. 4. Leading- A manger must do more than just plan, organize to achieve their goals but they must also lead. Leading involves motivating, communicating, guiding and encouraging. It requires the manager to coach, assist, and solve problems with the employees. 5. Controlling- After the other elements are in place, a manager’s job is not finished.They need to continuously check results against goals and take any corrective actions necessary to make sure that their areas plans remain on track (http://m. cliffsnotes. com). Roles performed by managers: A manager wears many hats. Not only are they a teamleader but are also involved in planning, organizing coaching, problem-solving and decision-making. Manager’s schedules are usually jam-packed. Henry Mintzberg describes a set of ten roles that a manager fills. These roles fall into three categories: * Interpersonal: this role involves human interaction. * Informational: This role involves the sharing and analyzing of information. Decisional: This role involves decision making. Table 1 explains the category roles that a manager carries out. Table 1: Mintzberg’s set of Ten Roles Category | Role| Activity| Informational| Monitor| Seek and receive information; scan periodicals and reports; maintain personal contacts with clients. | | Disseminator| Forward information to nd phone calls. organization members via memos, reports | | Spokesperson| Transmit information to outsiders via reports, memos and speeches. | Interpersonal| Figurehead| Perform ceremonial and symbolic duties such as greeting visitors and signing legal documents. | Leader| Direct and motivate subordinates; counsel and communicate with subordinates. | | Liaison| Maintain information links both inside and outside the organization via mail, phone calls, and meetings. | Decisional| Entrepreneur| Initiate improvement projects; identify new ideas and delegate idea responsibility to others. | | Disturbance handler| Take corrective action during disputes or crises; resolve conflicts among subordinates; adapt to environment. | | Resource allocator| Decide who gets resources; prepare budgets; set schedules and determine priorities. | Negotiator| Represent department during negotiations of union contracts, sales, purchases, and budgets. | Skills required by a manager Not anyone can be a manager. Certain skills, or abilities to translate knowledge into action that results in desired performance, are requires helping other employees become more productive. These skills fall under the following categories: * Technical: This skill requires the ability to use a special proficiency or expertise to perform partic ular tasks. * Human: This skill demonstrates the ability to work well in cooperation with others.Human skills emerge in the workplace as a spirit of enthusiasm, and genuine involvement in interpersonal relationships. A manager with good human skills has a high degree of self awareness and a capacity to understand or empathize with the feelings of others. * Conceptual: This skill calls for the ability to think analytically. Analytical skills enable managers to break down problems into smaller parts to see the relations among the parts and to recognize the implications of any one problem for others. Although all three categories contain skills essential for managers, their relative mportance tends to vary by level of managerial responsibilities. Conclusion: A laboratory manager/general manager plays an important role in any organization or company. A manager has to have certain characteristics in order to be a successful leader. They are also required to possess certain leadership ski lls, in order to be a great leader. References: Lab manager (n. d). Skillset, viewed 19 February 2013, http://www. creativeskillset. org/uploads/pdf/asset_10118. pdf? 4. Functions of Managers. CliffsNotes. com, viewed from http://m. cliffsnotes. com/study_guide/Functions-of-Managers. topicArticleId-8944,articleId-8848. html.

Development and induction Essay

The origin of leadership training in the USA has its origin in the 19th century when the first university Programme was started. Since then academic community has played a vital role in the training of school principals. The development of the Standards was administered by the National Center for History in the Schools at the University of California, Los Angeles under the guidance of the National Council for History Standards with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the U. S. Department of Education. (Brundrett2001). In UK national standards were introduced in 1994-1997 for head teachers to be prepared for their increased demand in their roles. The national standards for head teachers in UK were first introduced by the minister for education. The minister believed that head teachers needed preparation and support in their responsibility and training of head teachers should be a must according to the central government and not the local government. Further, the concern for education minister was for the head teachers to gain practical experience important to their responsibilities. The relevant practical skills were more familiar to leaders and managers in the commercial sector than education sector For head teachers to receive relevant experience on their job they required practical skills. In the USA university education enjoy support from the government, although it faced challenges from the leadership development. There are only two public schools in the world that have adapted standards for school principal. These are the USA Inter state school leadership licensure consortium (ISLLC) in 1996 and the teachers training agency (TTA) in England. The reason for this is that traditional has tended to view head teachers responsibilities as leaders rather than resource manager. (Brundret, 2007). In the early 21st century there was great interest of leadership in education due to the widespread belief that the quality of leadership makes a considerable impact to school and student end results. There is also increasing recognition that schools require effective leaders and managers if they are to provide the best education for their pupils. Effective leadership in schools require committed and trained teachers but also support from other senior and middle managers. Though, the need for quality leadership is widely accredited, there is a reduced amount of assurance about which leadership behaviours are most likely to produce favourable results at the end of the day. Therefore, educational leadership and management, use different leadership models to ensure, relative efficiency in developing successful schools. (Bush, 2005). There are various models that were used in leadership in both USA and UK. They include; instructional leadership that focuses on pupil learning, moral style involves merging leadership with democracy and particular care for the young. Participative leadership focuses on shared decision making among all the stake holders in education sector. Managerial style focuses on supervisory ‘cold’ achievements on targets while contingent leadership is where the leader adapts his or her particle style of leading. Of all these styles, transformational is the most comprehensive as it offers productive approaches leader. Leadership training programme have emerged recently in the international field. In 2000 the national college for school leadership was established to provide training for leadership development and research (DFES, 2004). Initiatives for improving school leadership has taken place in the USA and UK. Leadership development in relation to internationalizing and globalization has made the UK and USA governments to promote leadership development aiming at school improvement and also exchanging school leaders’ experiences. (Brundret, 2001). School heads need to provide and seek for effective organization and management of schools. These can be achieved through organizational structure which reflects the school principles and also implement plans and policies for the development of school facilities Head teachers have also the duty to manage the school as a whole; in that they are accountable to the school community. That is pupils benefit from a high quality education and everyone work together to accept responsibilities of the outcome. Schools exist in social contest therefore; head teachers must build a culture and a curriculum that takes into account the diversity of the school’s community. Also ensure that the pupils learning experiences are integrated with the community. He should partner with other sectors in providing for the academic, moral, social, spiritual and cultural for the well being of the school community. Induction ensures head teachers make improvements in their jobs and the school environment. An efficient induction programme helps school leaders and the staff to settle in without being taken aback by lack of support. Induction into the schools involves orientation, personal introductions, understanding the job responsibilities, knowing where to find things and understanding the values and polices of the school. Preparations should reflect the diverse needs such as full-time, part-time, temporary and prior experience, and the level of contact with children. Generally, induction programme will depend on individual circumstances. A well implemented induction programme had rewarding benefits to the school. They include; ? Effectiveness in their responsibilities. ? Encourage more effective and dependable relationships with pupils and help raise standards of behavioural and attainment ? Reduces misunderstandings and breaches of procedures and rules ? Leaders feel valued and supported as it’s concerned with high morale ? Problems in learning can be identified and addressed in advance ? Schools can demonstrate they have fulfilled their legal obligation to explain health and safety, safeguarding procedures and other Government legislation ? Supports staff retention; the cost of induction is insignificant compared with the cost of recruiting and training replacement staff. In England ,national standards for head teachers were developed by Teacher training agency (TTA) and introduced in 1997 because they perceived the tasks of school heads were changing, they come up with standards that focused on shaping the future, leading, learning and teaching, working with others, managing the organization and securing accountability(DFES,2004) There is no appropriate leadership but there are qualities that are desirable. According to the government’s teacher training agency the main requirement is the ability to give a clear direction and purpose, make decision and adapt to the new ideas which entails understanding and keeping to date with current education and communication among all staff levels. These abilities are important to the task of school leaders as they define the vision, mission and objective of the school. Achievement and quality of teaching depends on leadership development. NCSL emphasized that the national standards for head teachers even should be both encouraging and target a range of users, including governors. The advice should be inspirational in that the standards convey the excitement of this important role and encouraging so that serving head teachers continue to work in a way that improves and transforms schools and contributes to the future development of the education sector. Inter state School Leaders Licensure Consortium acknowledges leader who promotes the achievement of all students by providing the development, performance, and stewardship that is shared and supported by the school community. The leader has knowledge and understanding of: learning goals in a whole society, the principles of developing and implementing strategic plans, effective communication, effective consensus-building and negotiation skills . A leader who promotes the success of all students by ensuring management of the organization, operations, and resources for efficient and effective learning environment. The leader has knowledge and understanding of: theories and models of organizations and the principles of organizational development and legal issues impacting school activities. Leadership that promotes the success of all students by partnering with families and community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilizing community resources. The leader engages in activities ensuring that: high visibility, active participation and communication with the larger community is a priority and relationships with community leaders are identified. A school leader who promotes the integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner. The leader believes in values and he is committed to: the ideal of the common good and the principles in the Bill of Rights (Bush, T. 2005) Well the quality of leadership is very important in school effectiveness. Participants receive input on aspects of leadership, opinion which they then use to examine their own work and that of their colleagues in the team. All fundamentals of this demanding programme are related to the needs of the particular team and will result in individual and team plans based upon necessary changes to improve performance. Even though different countries have significantly similar educational programme, for instance, the leader with strong emphasis in creating good practices including vision and mission. (Bush, 2005). Some countries have a programme for newly appointed school leaders like in England they have a budget to cater for head teachers personal professional development. This programme revolves around educational knowledge represented by research, participation in efficiency of schools and knowledge creation among the participants. Apart from school principals, deputy heads also undergo leadership development because some might seek school leadership roles. Another group of people that has to undergo leadership development programme are the middle managers, because they are mostly in classrooms. Some middle managers may be reserved about exercising leadership in what has been traditionally an idealistic profession and other members of staff may be unused to seeing them exercising this role. They then consider the impact they are making upon the various people they are responsible for leading and determine strategies for coping with the different demands by different people. Drawing from a survey carried out in North Carolina, training and learning increases experience and one must do the job to learn the job (Bush 2005) Leadership development requires action learning where individuals learn with and from each other and reflecting on their own experience. Mentoring is also important as the less experienced leaders learn from experienced this has been used in USA, Australia and England. Although, they make one to dependent on the mentor and time consuming leading to inefficiency in the long run. Coaching is also important in leadership development as it ensures commitment, good relationship, higher performance and good relationship. For school improvement leadership preparation is essential but as a result of globalization what worked well in a particular country might not be successful elsewhere. (Bush T 2005) National standards are useful as they ensures effectiveness in schools, pupils leave school when they are well fit, reduces mistakes, time management and the end result is quality service delivery. The value of standards also assumes quality leadership, consistency, good teaching practices, and the end product is pupil success. Consequently, standards reflect the mistaken idea for good leadership bringing about quality leadership but in reality it depends on the education values (orchard, 1994) Good leadership provides skill for the right strategies that lead to good performance in schools where practical skill among stakeholders are encouraged and responsibilities are shared. National Standards for head teachers were formulated following a meeting with teachers, head teachers, professional and subject associations, local authorities, higher education institutions and others from both inside and outside education. The Standards recognizes the main role that head teachers play in the development and delivery of government policy and in raising and maintaining levels of achievement in schools in order to meet the needs of every pupil. The National college school for leaders (NCSL) in UK has worked closely with school leaders in various schools to create a series of focus on how the national standards for head teachers have been put into framework by school leaders. The focus is anticipated to be a helpful resource for school leaders, offering ideas and possible ways to promote for schools trying to go with the National Standards with their individual framework. National standards for head teachers are applicable to school heads . They are intended to provide a context of professional development and action to serve aspiring head teachers. Therefore, standards have a range of uses. They assist in recruitment of school heads, provide guidelines to all stake holders as to what is expected from the head teacher and identify level of performance. Although, standards reflect wrong ideas about the quality of education. Different people have varying ideas about how to make education successful but in real sense for education to be worthwhile there must be formulated guidelines and good leadership in place. Also, standards can be educational idea rather than a value to quality leadership. (Orchard, 1994). Standards in schools do not portray the balance between professional qualities and leadership actions and it will be hard to measure goals and objectives. Standards have also portrayed a bad idea about experts in the educational sector; they assume that experts can judge educational achievement by the kind of leadership in place and also can take up positions from the experience they have from the industry. Standards also fail to differentiate responsibilities of good school leaders. In a democratic society justifiable leadership has to go hand in hand with productive decision making mechanisms. Use of standards is badly chosen at it assumes that all trained school leaders exercise good leadership. But standards cannot capture the all leadership qualities that are right or wrong for instance, in 2000 UK developed its national curriculum and all schools had to follow and you cannot suggest that its quality is right as all leaders in school have to be consistent with them. Therefore, this challenges standard because qualities and skills required for school leadership would be flexible to cater for individual school and pupil needs. Leadership at national level uses their efforts to improve education. Schools often function efficient where leaders serve the interest of the pupil are best served by less guidelines and therefore school leaders should be left to operate schools individually with limited set of rules. However, the key difference between the two counties is the continued existence and influence of the local education authorities in UK compared to USA where no existence of such, management of schools is influenced by the head teacher (DFES 2004) Unlike the National Curriculum in UK, their core subjects are: English, mathematics and science; USA follows a similar framework; however, schools can develop additional curriculum to meet individual pupils’ needs and circumstances. In UK school principal have the overall responsibilities and can be held accountable of any problem in schools unlike in the USA where the responsibilities are shared among all the stakeholders in the education industry (Orchard, 1994). Unlike in USA which provide leadership teams through its school leadership learning teams (SLLT) which involves ten sessions spread over two years, the national college school for leadership(NCSL) in UK has no such team and come up as a result of training head teachers from other members of their staff. Standards have dominated training and development of head teachers in UK and USA. Leading and managing schools is obligatory because these are public duties. Furthermore, from a professionally developed programme that reflect education on practical skills and qualities leaders are likely to be appreciated. Therefore, for them to be successful they should integrate academic programme, take account of their responsibilities and work together with the entire education industry. The development of more effective leadership for performance in schools should include; developing a customs where teachers and head teachers feel confident and empowered to participate fully in performance of school, the acknowledgement of professional responsibility to be involved in effective, sustained and relevant professional development throughout their careers and to contribute to the professional development of others, and the creation of an effective, sustained and relevant professional development as part of a wider review of teachers’ professional duties. For school effectiveness, improvement and providing culture within which teaching and learning will excel educational leadership has been viewed by many as an important element. Hence, training them has been of great importance especially, in UK where teachers aspiring to become head teachers, those newly appointed those head teachers who have been in post for some want to continue with their own professional development. The national standards for head teachers reflect education in schools. The main aim of head teacher is to provide professional leadership and management in schools through ensuring high quality teaching and learning opportunities for all pupils. For these to be viable the head teacher must have certain attributes like: knowledge and skills to actively participate in reflective learning to gain greater understanding his professional roles and management principle. Personal qualities and value are also important in a school leader; such qualities include commitment, integrity, consistency and confidence. Professional characteristics that clarify the diverse professional capabilities that help in understanding frameworks of accountability, promote social diversity and equal opportunities. (Brundret, 2001) REFERENCES Bush, T and Glover, D. (2005). `School leadership: concepts and evidence. London: Routledge. Brundrett, M. (2001). Development of school leadership preparation course in UK and America comparative analysis. Northampton: University of Leicester. Dfes, (2004) National standards for head teachers. London: Penguin. Hay, (2001). Management consultants. Leadership Programme for serving head teachers, London: Oxford University Press. Orchard, J. (1994), Are national standards for head teachers in England helpful? London: Institute of education

What Does a Rigorous High School Schedule Look Like?

We at frequently use the term â€Å"rigorous† to describe course loads and course schedules. That’s because rigorous studies in high school are something that admissions committees look for specifically during the application process. They want to know that applicants are capable of difficult, college-level work.    It’s not surprising then that we often hear from students asking, â€Å"How can I make sure my course load is challenging or rigorous enough?† If you’re wondering how to assess if your classes are up to snuff and how to choose a course load that’s challenging without being overwhelming, this post is for you. Rigorous is a vague term, but it can be more helpful to think of your course load as it compares to the course loads of other students at your high school. Admissions committees understand that not all high schools offer a full suite of challenging course options. While some have dozens of AP classes or an IB program to choose from, others have only college placement or honors tracks available. Luckily, you don’t need to worry too much about how many options are available at your high school, since this is out of your control. Instead, you need to focus on choosing the most challenging options available to you. You can think of a rigorous course load as the one that represents the most challenging track available at your high school. To learn more about how your classes will impact your college applications, check out our post Should I Take AP/IB/Honors Classes? . Being the most challenging track available, a rigorous course load can sometimes be a little overwhelming, especially at first. You should start by easing into a challenging course load. During ninth grade, select classes that are rigorous enough to challenge you, but not enough so as to overwhelm you. Think of 9th grade as a time to test the waters and see what you’re capable of. Remember, it is always easier and looks better to add another class or transfer to a more challenging section than it is to drop a class or move down to a less challenging one.    In addition, balance your course selections with reasonable extracurricular commitments. Focusing on two or three extracurriculars is ultimately enough, especially if you stick with them consistently and work your way up to leadership positions or increased responsibility. Dropping an extracurricular after 9th or 10th grade is no big deal if doing so means that you can keep your grades up and take on more challenging classes. Our Early Advising Program helps students in 9th and 10th grade discover their passions and build strong academic and extracurricular profiles to succeed in high school. Admissions committees generally want to see well-rounded students insofar as having completed four years of coursework in each core subject area. This includes English, history, math, science, and usually a foreign language. In fact, many colleges require that applicants have completed four years of coursework in each of these subject areas just to meet application prerequisites. In these core subject areas, you should strive to take the most challenging courses that you’re capable of doing well in, and your primary focus in studying and achieving should be in these core subject areas. Taking any additional classes is not necessary, but it does represent an opportunity.    Beyond the core subject areas, any elective classes that you take should reflect your interests. This is an opportunity to reinforce any potential career choices or college majors. Rather than worrying about taking especially challenging electives, think of them as a chance to explore and demonstrate your interests. Taking electives shows intellectual curiosity and might even allow you to discover a new interest. The balance between better grades and harder classes is always a delicate one. We hear from many students wanting to know if they should take a harder class and get a B, or an easier one and get an A. While there’s no universal answer that will impress every admissions committee, it’s important to know that admissions committees aren’t interested in easy A’s. In fact, a 4.0 GPA in regular college-placement classes may actually be a deterrent to some admissions committees who are looking for students who want to challenge themselves. In general, a good rule of thumb is that if you think you can achieve a B or higher in it, take the more difficult class. Admissions committees will appreciate that you have worked hard for that B, rather than pursuing a less rigorous track. Planning a rigorous track starts in 9th grade. To get off on the right foot, you should make a four-year plan. The simplest way to do this is by using backward design. Start with 12th grade—what classes do you need to be taking in 12th grade in order to get into the types of colleges you hope to attend? These classes are generally the highest level courses available at your school. They might be AP or IB classes if your school offers them, or they could simply be honors level classes if that’s all your school has available. Work backwards from 12th grade to ensure that your prerequisites are met each year. It is much easier to work backwards incrementally from your final 12th grade goal than it is to start with your ninth grade classes and try to imagine where they’ll take you. It’s a good idea to meet with a guidance counselor as you create your four-year plan. You’ll want to ensure that you’re meeting all graduation requirements and that it represents a course schedule that is rigorous as compared to others available at your school. Your guidance counselor will be able to lend some insight into which paths are commonly taken by students with the same goals as you. In addition, remember that the classes you enroll in aren’t the only way to impress admissions committees. You can also highlight your academic chops through options like independent studies, summer college courses, or online coursework. To learn more about these options, check out our post What To Do If Your High School Doesn’t Offer AP Classes . Lastly, if you’re looking for more personalized guidance through high school, consider the benefits of ’s Mentorship Program , which pairs each student 1:1 with a mentor from a top college who can help you develop the skills you’ll need for becoming a successful college student.

Coffee and ethical globalisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Coffee and ethical globalisation - Essay Example This paper is about how the coffee bean is changing the way organizations are doing business all over the world.We use as our basis an article about how a number of companies are working with Fair Trade,a U.S.-based socially-orientated group that lobbies companies to pay fair prices for agricultural products imported from third world countries.As a result, these companies are mobilising their customers, shareholders, and their competitors to behave differently. This transformation of organisational behaviour towards increased social consciousness somewhat goes against the traditional context of running capitalist-based businesses. Several thinkers - economists Karl Marx and Adam Smith, gurus Peter Drucker and Michael Porter, philosophers Friedrich Hayek and Alasdair MacIntyre, and Nobel Prize winners Milton Friedman and Amartya Sen - have opined that the business purpose of organisations drive their behaviour.What drives this behaviour at the centre of which lies the humble coffee be an How is this phenomenon exactly changing the way organisations do business globally This seemingly innocuous set of questions drives us to investigate: First, how do these changes in the purpose of running a business enterprise affect its profitability and, ultimately, its sustainability Second, how should we understand these organisations and the behaviour of the people who manage them so that we learn for our personal advantage. After all, whether these changes are right or wrong - thus falling within the realm of ethical studies - we can certainly learn for our own benefit, acquiring a deeper understanding of organisations that would help us comprehend the purpose and logic not only behind the workings of corporations but also of the global, political, and historical consequences of everyday events. Understanding how business organisations adapt to reality can teach us how to survive and thrive in any working environment and, should we so decide, discover ways of making a personal difference in the world. This paper will use three of five paradigms to analyse the behaviour of organisations and discuss four issues arising from the emergence of the coffee bean as a catalyst of change. The author has selected the classical, critical management studies, and evolutionary paradigms explained in the next section to discuss corporate governance and business ethics, globalisation and internationalisation, organisational change and leadership, and environmentalism and its national policy consequences. Our understanding of these three paradigms, based on the works of Crowther and Green (2004) and Whittington (2001), provide us with models to understand the culture of organisations and how they act and interact. Organisations transform and are transformed, evolve and grow and, depending on how they manage this process, either bloom and continue their existence or otherwise stagnate and die. The manner by which organisations face complex issues depends on the men and women who own and manage them, which includes their shareholders, managers, employees, customers, and what Freeman (1984) refers to as stakeholders. Organisations, after all, begin and sustain their existence through humans, so understanding how organisations behave in the face of issues is a window to the minds of the humans within them. Using three paradigms, we investigate organisational behaviour and find out how coffee is changing the way we live, and how it may continue to transform our future. Paradigms as Analytical Tools There are five paradigms we can use to analyse organisations. This is by no means an exhaustive list, as there are many ways of introducing and discussing the theory of organisations, as Crowther and Green

Security Operations in the United States since September 11, 2001 Term Paper

Security Operations in the United States since September 11, 2001 - Term Paper Example This essay discusses the September 11, 2001 attacks, that led to the implementation of various security policies by the government. These policies were meant to improve the apprehension of terrorists and the prevention of more terrorist attacks and activities. These security measures have provided safety and security for Americans, ensuring that authorities can carry out security measures efficiently. However, these changes have caused various negative elements into play. Firstly, entry and migration into the US has become tighter and more difficult. Secondly, these security measures have caused violations of rights, especially those which relate to the rights of privacy, rights of the public to be informed about government actions, and the rights to due process. Finally, security measures have caused racial tensions in US. In effect, although we may be safer now, we have become less secured in our civil rights. These security measures have provided safer conditions for Americans all owing the government authorities to carry out security measures with minimal legal interference. However, the price for these security operations has been and is being paid for by the American public. Firstly, going into and out of the ports has become a very difficult and tedious process. Secondly, these security measures have also led to the violations of liberties and rights, especially those which relate to the rights of privacy, rights of the public to be informed about government actions, and the rights to due process.

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

Integration and Reflection - Essay Example I feel that couple of more complicated real life situations as usually encountered in the industries could help me sharpening my abilities. I am curious to know how increase and decrease in money supply dictates interest rates. For example, the US witnessed very high interest rates in 1980s due to low money supply but post 2008 financial crisis, the country experienced very low interest rates. The question important to me is that how far this is related to money supply? I know that it has more to do with economics rather than finances yet it appears to me that forecasting future interest rates is a way to settle discounting rates more appropriately as it largely dictates the present value of the future streams of revenue. It is absolutely clear to me that the learning in this course such as IRR, capital budgeting, importance and calculation of present value by considering most appropriate discounting rate, necessity of selecting appropriate capital structure for enhancing shareholders value and many other financial measures are critical for understanding and spearheading the growth of company under consideration. In short, the entire course has improved my worth a lot and I am pretty sure that the knowledge that I have gained in this course will help me in my professional and personal life, especially where finance-related decision making process is

Find a web site about a vernacular dance forms. It could be anything Essay

Find a web site about a vernacular dance forms. It could be anything to do with ethnic, folk, ballroom, jazz, or tap dancing - Essay Example Shopping is divided into videos, music, books, gift cards, and customer service. The classifieds section offers a partner search and a dancewear section, while the directory offers teachers, studios, dance locations, vendors, services, clubs and teams, organizations, and other dance sites. The forum, or message board, is comprised of just about any topic that the reader may think of, as well as some others that may not be imagined. People can ask anything about anything related to dance. The site itself is full of a wide variety of information, and the information is arranged in a useful and easy to navigate manner. While the content provided is clear and concise, the site itself leaves much to be desired in terms of design. The site itself tried to appear fancy, though the colors, the fonts, and the attempts at adding sparkles to the fonts just end up making it look tacky. The videos themselves attempt to show the dances in a professional manner, however, the people look cheesy and fake, instead of like people who are genuinely interested in dancing; the overlaid text at the beginning of the videos is the same tacky fonts that are in use on the homepage of the site itself. If the site used something other than XHTML and javascript, the site could be done in a far more professional manner. Likewise, if the forum was to use phpBB instead of javascript, it would offer a far more professional look and feel. Overall, the site itself has a host of valuable information, and it is presented in an easy to use and easy to navigate manner, however, the style of the site leaves much to be desired. Ballroom dancing is supposed to be elegant and beautiful, and a poorly designed site tends to not only detract from that, but also shows disrespect to the art