Why, if at all, is freedom a good thing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Why, if at all, is freedom a good thing - Essay Example The Anti-Terrorism Act 2001 has already made privacy and freedom to conduct political manifestations of the Freedom of Speech a thing of yesterday.We have accusations of hate speech and incitement everywhere.. All this has left us wondering whether Freedom can exist with law or Voltaire said we are in the shackles of law,regulations and even democracy everywhere we go.Are we actually free or have we been led to believe that we are free in the trap of the legal norms of this society The so called modern British Citizen is not free from the nuances of being controlled by the Government.Many recent developments would indicate that the modern British citizen despite being domiciled in a free country is still subject to draconian laws like the Regulation of Investigatory powers Act 2000 which allows public authorities to access communications data, of British citizens for investigation. Furthermore these public authorities can also obtain communications data from operators of telecommunications or postal services. Therefore now the police, the National Criminal Intelligence Service, the National Crime Squad, the Commissioners of Customs and Excise, the Commissioners of Inland Revenue and any of the intelligence services all have access to an individual's private information which is indeed a scary prospect.It is also true that the word freedom has become a concept much played by political bias and historical arm twisting.Consider the situation post 9/11 where Mrs M ary Robinson,1 once stated "Unfortunately, what I saw and heard was undemocratic regimes using the tragedy in the United States of 9/11 to pursue their own repressive policies, secure in the belief that their excesses would be ignored. New laws and detention practices were introduced in a significant number of countries, all broadly justified by the new international war on terrorism. The extension of security policies in many countries has been used to suppress political dissent and to stifle expression of opinion of many who have no link to terrorism and are not associated with political violence." Of course then all the atrocities in the Iraq and Afghan war were carried out in the name of Freedom.The media responded by taking "freedom of speech" for granted by showing its own versions to the audience and shamelessly selling its credibility as many "fair and balanced" members of the media chose to become "embedded" journalists. Today there is no concept of paid political advertising on television and radio. This is a flagrant breach of the freedom of speech and expression. Moreover this ban on political advertising does not just apply to political parties, but anyone with political views. All is not lost however. The saving grace comes from the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Human Rights Act 1998 which have aided the judiciary in upholding the notions of Freedom of speech and privacy. Taking the example of the Data Protection Act 1998.This act compels data controllers to erase information like patients details or telecoms customers call records etc. Data controllers can be anyone from a doctor to a telecom company. Moreover the Human rights Act 1998 has played a large role in strengthening the

History of Global Warming Essay Example for Free

History of Global Warming Essay The succession of exceptional years with record high temperatures, which characterized the 1980s, helped to generate widespread popular interest in global warming and its many ramifications. The decade included six of the warmest years in the past century, and the trend continued into the 1990s, with 1991 the second warmest year on record. All of this fuelled speculation especially among the media that the earth’s temperature had begun an inexorable rise and the idea was further reinforced by the results of scientific studies which indicated that global mean temperatures had risen by about 0. Â °C since the beginning of the century. Periods of rising temperature are not unknown in the earth’s past. The most significant of these was the so-called Climatic Optimum, which occurred some 5,000-7,000 years ago and was associated with a level of warming that has not been matched since. If the current global warming continues, however, the record temperatures of the earlier period will easily be surpassed. Temperatures reached during a later warm spell in the early Middle Ages may well have been equaled already. More recently, the 1930s provided some of the highest temperatures since records began, although that decade has been relegated to second place by events in the 1980s. Such warm spells have been accepted as part of the natural variability of the earth/ atmosphere system in the past, but the current warming is viewed in a different light. It appears to be the first global warming to be created by human activity. The basic cause is seen as the enhancement of the greenhouse effect, brought on by rising levels of anthropogenically-produced greenhouse gases. It is now generally accepted that the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have been increasing since the latter part of the nineteenth century. The increased use of fossil fuels has released large amounts of CO2, and the destruction of natural vegetation has prevented the environment from restoring the balance. Levels of other greenhouse gases, including CH4, N2 O and CFCs have also been rising. Since all of these gases have the ability to retain terrestrial radiation in the atmosphere, the net result should be a gradual increase in global temperatures. The link between recent warming and the enhancement of the greenhouse effect seems obvious. Most of the media, and many of those involved in the investigation and analysis of global climate change, seem to have accepted the relationship as a fait accompli. There are only a few dissenting voices, expressing misgivings about the nature of the evidence and the rapidity with which it has been embraced. A survey of environmental scientists involved in the study of the earth’s changing climate, conducted in the spring of 1989, revealed that many still had doubts about the extent of the warming. More than 60 per cent of those questioned indicated that they were not completely confident that the current warming was beyond the range of normal natural variations in global temperatures (Slade 1990). The greenhouse effect is brought about by the ability of the atmosphere to be selective in its response to different types of radiation. The atmosphere readily transmits solar radiation which is mainly short-wave energy from the ultraviolet end of the energy spectrum allowing it to pass through unaltered to heat the earth’s surface. The energy absorbed by the earth is reradiated into the atmosphere, but this terrestrial radiation is long-wave infrared, and instead of being transmitted it is absorbed, causing the temperature of the atmosphere to rise. Some of the energy absorbed in the atmosphere is returned to the earth’s surface, causing its temperature to rise also. This is considered similar to the way in which a greenhouse works allowing sunlight in, but trapping the resulting heat inside hence the use of the name ‘greenhouse effect’. In reality it is the glass in the greenhouse which allows the temperature to be maintained, by preventing the mixing of the warm air inside with the cold air outside. There is no such barrier to mixing in the real atmosphere, and some scientists have suggested that the processes are sufficiently different to preclude the use of the term ‘greenhouse effect’. Anthes et al. (1980) for example, prefer to use ‘atmospheric effect’. However, the use of the term ‘greenhouse effect’ to describe the ability of the atmosphere to absorb infrared energy is so well established that any change would cause needless confusion. The demand for change is not strong, and ‘greenhouse effect’ will continue to be used widely for descriptive purposes, although the analogy is not perfect. Without the greenhouse effect, global temperatures would be much lower than they are perhaps averaging only ? 17Â °C compared to the existing average of +15Â °C. This, then, is a very important characteristic of the atmosphere, yet it is made possible by a group of gases which together make up less than 1 per cent of the total volume of the atmosphere. There are about twenty of these greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide is the most abundant, but methane, nitrous oxide, the chlorofluorocarbons and tropospheric ozone are potentially significant, although the impact of the ozone is limited by its variability and short life span. Water vapour also exhibits greenhouse properties, but it has received less attention in the greenhouse debate than the other gases since the very efficient natural recycling of water through the hydrologic cycle ensures that its atmospheric concentration is little affected by human activities. Any change in the volume of the greenhouse gases will disrupt the energy flow in the earth/atmosphere system, and this will be reflected in changing world temperatures. This is nothing new. Although the media sometimes seem to suggest that the greenhouse effect is a modern phenomenon, it is not. It has been a characteristic of the atmosphere for millions of years, sometimes more intense than it is now, sometimes less. Three of the principal greenhouse gases—CO2, methane (CH4) and the CFCs—contain carbon, one of the most common elements in the environment, and one which plays a major role in the greenhouse effect. It is present in all organic substances, and is a constituent of a great variety of compounds, ranging from relatively simple gases to very complex derivatives of petroleum hydrocarbons. The carbon in the environment is mobile, readily changing its affiliation with other elements in response to biological, chemical and physical processes. This mobility is controlled through a natural biogeochemical cycle which works to maintain a balance between the release of carbon compounds from their sources and their absorption in sinks. The natural carbon cycle is normally considered to be self-regulating, but with a time scale of the order of thousands of years. Over shorter periods, the cycle appears to be unbalanced, but that may be a reflection of an incomplete understanding of the processes involved or perhaps an indication of the presence of sinks or reservoirs still to be discovered (Moore and Bolin 1986). The carbon in the system moves between several major reservoirs. The atmosphere, for example, contains more than 750 billion tones of carbon at any given time, while 2,000 billion tones are stored on land, and close to 40,000 billion tones are contained in the oceans (Gribbin 1978). Living terrestrial organic matter is estimated to contain between 450 and 600 billion tones, somewhat less than that stored in the atmosphere (Moore and Bolin 1986). World fossil fuel reserves also constitute an important carbon reservoir of some 5,000 billion tones (McCarthy et al. 1986). They contain carbon which has not been active in the cycle for millions of years, but is now being reintroduced as a result of the growing demand for energy in modern society being met by the mining and burning of fossil fuels. It is being reactivated in the form of CO2, which is being released into the atmospheric reservoir in quantities sufficient to disrupt the natural flow of carbon in the environment. The greatest natural flow (or flux) is between the atmosphere and terrestrial biota and between the atmosphere and the oceans. Although these fluxes vary from time to time, they have no long-term impact on the greenhouse effect because they are an integral part of the earth/atmosphere system. In contrast, inputs to the atmosphere from fossil fuel consumption, although smaller than the natural flows, involve carbon which has not participated in the system for millions of years. When it is reintroduced, the system cannot cope immediately, and becomes unbalanced. The natural sinks are unable to absorb the new CO2 as rapidly as it is being produced. The excess remains in the atmosphere, to intensify the greenhouse effect, and thus contribute to global warming. The burning of fossil fuels adds more than 5 billion tones of CO2 to the atmosphere every year, with more than 90 per cent originating in North and Central America, Asia, Europe and the republics of the former USSR. Fossil fuel use remains the primary source of anthropogenic CO2 but augmenting that is the destruction of natural vegetation which causes the level of atmospheric CO2 to increase by reducing the amount recycled during photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is a process, shared by all green plants, by which solar energy is converted into chemical energy. It involves gaseous exchange. During the process, CO2 taken in through the plant leaves is broken down into carbon and oxygen. The carbon is retained by the plant while the oxygen is released into the atmosphere. The role of vegetation in controlling CO2 through photosynthesis is clearly indicated by variations in the levels of the gas during the growing season. Measurements at Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii show patterns in which CO2 concentrations are lower during the northern summer and higher during the northern winter. These variations reflect the effects of photosynthesis in the northern hemisphere, which contains the bulk of the world’s vegetation (Bolin 1986). Plants absorb CO2 during their summer growing phase, but not during their winter dormant period, and the difference is sufficient to cause semi-annual fluctuations in global CO2 levels. The clearing of vegetation raises CO2 levels indirectly through reduced photosynthesis, but CO2 is also added directly to the atmosphere by burning, by the decay of biomass and by the increased oxidation of carbon from the newly exposed soil. Such processes are estimated to be responsible for 5-20 per cent of current anthropogenic CO2 emissions (Waterstone 1993). This is usually considered a modern phenomenon, particularly prevalent in the tropical rainforests of South America and South-East Asia (Gribbin 1978), but Wilson (1978) has suggested that the pioneer agricultural settlement of North America, Australasia and South Africa in the second half of the nineteenth century made an important contribution to rising CO2 levels. This is supported to some extent by the observation that between 1850 and 1950 some 120 billion tones of carbon were released into the atmosphere as a result of deforestation and the destruction of other vegetation by fire (Stuiver 1978). The burning of fossil fuels produced only half that much CO2 over the same time period. Current estimates indicate that the atmospheric CO2 increase resulting from reduced photosynthesis and the clearing of vegetation is equivalent to about 1 billion tones per year (Moore and Bolin 1986), down slightly from the earlier value. However, the annual contribution from the burning of fossil fuels is almost ten times what it was in the years between 1850 and 1950. Although the total annual input of CO2 to the atmosphere is of the order of 6 billion tonnes, the atmospheric CO2 level increases by only about 2. billion tonnes per year. The difference is distributed to the oceans, to terrestrial biota and to other sinks as yet unknown (Moore and Bolin 1986). Although the oceans are commonly considered to absorb 2. 5 billion tonnes of CO2 per year, recent studies suggest that the actual total may be only half that amount (Taylor 1992). The destination of the remainder has important implications for the study of the greenhouse effect, and continues to be investigated. The oceans absorb the CO2 in a variety of ways—some as a result of photosynthesis in phytoplankton, some through nutritional processes which allow marine organisms to grow calcium carbonate shells or skeletons, and some by direct diffusion at the air/ocean interface (McCarthey et al. 1986). The mixing of the ocean waters causes the redistribution of the absorbed CO2. In polar latitudes, for example, the added carbon sinks along with the cold surface waters in that region, whereas in warmer latitudes carbon-rich waters well up towards the surface allowing the CO2 to escape again. The turnover of the deep ocean waters is relatively slow, however, and carbon carried there in the sinking water or in the skeletons of dead marine organisms remains in storage for hundreds of years. More rapid mixing takes place through surface ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream, but in general the sea responds only slowly to changes in atmospheric CO2 levels. This may explain the apparent inability of the oceans to absorb more than 40-50 per cent of the CO2 added to the atmosphere by human activities, although it has the capacity to absorb all of the additional carbon (Moore and Bolin 1986). The oceans constitute the largest active reservoir of carbon in the earth/atmosphere system, and their ability to absorb CO2 is not in doubt. However, the specific mechanisms involved are now recognized as extremely complex, requiring more research into the interactions between the atmosphere, ocean and biosphere if they are to be better understood (Crane and Liss 1985). Palaeoenvironmental evidence suggests that the greenhouse effect fluctuated quite considerably in the past. In the Quaternary era, for example, it was less intense during glacial periods than during the interglacials (Bach 1976; Pisias and Imbrie 1986). Present concern is with its increasing intensity and the associated global warming. The rising concentration of atmospheric CO2 is usually identified as the main culprit, although it is not the most powerful of the greenhouse gases. It is the most abundant, however, and its concentration is increasing rapidly. As a result, it is considered likely to give a good indication of the trend of the climatic impact of the greenhouse effect, if not its exact magnitude. Svante Arrhenius, a Swedish chemist, is usually credited with being the first to recognize that an increase in CO2 would lead to global warming (Bolin 1986; Bach 1976; Crane and Liss 1985). Other scientists, including John Tyndall in Britain and T. C. Chamberlin in America (Jones and Henderson-Sellers 1990), also investigated the link, but Arrhenius provided the first quantitative predictions of the rise in temperature (Idso 1981; Crane and Liss 1985). He published his findings at the beginning of this century, at a time when the environmental implications of the Industrial Revolution were just beginning to be appreciated. Little attention was paid to the potential impact of increased levels of CO2 on the earth’s radiation climate for some time after that, however, and the estimates of CO2 -induced temperature increases calculated by Arrhenius in 1903 were not bettered until the early 1960s (Bolin 1986). Occasional papers on the topic appeared, but interest only began to increase significantly in the early 1970s, as part of a growing appreciation of the potentially dire consequences of human interference in the environment. Increased CO2 production and rising atmospheric turbidity were recognized as two important elements capable of causing changes in climate. The former had the potential to cause greater warming, whereas the latter was considered more likely to cause cooling (Schneider, 1987). For a time it seemed that the cooling would dominate (Ponte 1976), but results from a growing number of investigations into greenhouse warming, published in the early 1980s, changed that (e. g. Idso 1981; Schneider 1987; Mitchell 1983). They revealed that scientists had generally underestimated the speed with which the greenhouse effect was intensifying, and had failed to appreciate the impact of the subsequent global warming on the environment or on human activities.

Misconceptions About Working at Hollister :: Work Job Experience Essays Papers

Misconceptions About Working at Hollister I am employed at Hollister Company, a clothing store that targets young adults, which is located in Colonial Mall Bel Air. When I tell people that I work there, they automatically assume that I fit the description of a dense, snobbish prep. Some people believe that I have a glamorous, easy job or that I am lucky to have a job that allows employees to dress very casually. However, these are a few of many misconceptions portrayed about this popular retail store. It is true that a few of my coworkers carry the ‘holier than thou’ attitude, but for the most part, we are just an ordinary and down-to-earth group of people; in fact, a lot of us are downright dorky and are not the perfect models that we are portrayed as. Some people think that the employees at Hollister have no common sense or are slower-minded than the average person. I find this to be quite offensive, and I am sure that my coworkers agree because the opposite of this misconception is true. Most, if not all, of the employees are either in high school or college and are incredibly intelligent individuals. Despite what some might think, this job involves more than just folding clothes. It takes skills and practice to learn how to fold the merchandise correctly while greeting every customer who enters the store. Many people think that we do not work hard and all we do is play and fool around. However, on a slow business day, like Monday, or a very busy day, like Saturday, we are folding constantly and if the managers catch us not working, they will find something for us to do or send us home. Some of the responsibilities that we have when working the dressing room make us feel like we are intruding on the customers’ privacy and make us very uncomfortable. For example, we are required to remove each item from the customer’s hands as they enter and leave thedressing room and shake each item for clues of hidden merchandise. Hollister also has what is called a jean goal, which means we are required to greet and ask all customers if they would be interested in trying on a pair of our jeans. The customers usually cannot hear us over the loud music, so we have to ask them a few times before they are able to understand.

Lan Topologies

LAN Topologies IT240 10/14/12 1. Case Project 2-1 With a network of 50 computers I will use the Ring Topology to upgrade this network. With this type of topology all the devices are connecting in a loop form and the information travels in one direction, thus avoiding collisions. Here the cabling doesn’t terminate, it continually goes from one device to another till it gets back to the original device. It is also easier to manage the network since all the information is passed around the ring in the same direction. . Case project 2-2 With that many computer and four servers, I will use an Extended Star Topology. As pointed out in the case project that there are a few switches available here, I will use a central switch and connect the rest of the available switches to it and connect the 200 PC’s to those switches. Switches are good for determining each individual packet’s destination and ensuring that they are delivered to the right device.Note Even though they mi ght have two different uses in some cases, the hubs in my diagram represent the switches. 3. Case project 2-3 * Physical versus logical topology: A physical topology defines how the devices on a particular network are physically connected; logical on the contrast tells us how the systems on the physical topology communicate. * Bus Topology: In this topology all the devices are physical chained to one another through a single cabling system.This form of topology works better when the numbers of computers on the network are limited. * Star Topology: This is the form of topology where all devices connect to central unit through a hub, switch or even a router. One of the biggest advantages here is; in the event one of the devises failed, it does not bring the entire network down. * Ring Topology: In this form of topology all the devices are directly connected to the next existing device in a ring form.This kind of works like the bus topology, however, there is no termination here, as th e devices connect from one to another all the way back to the original device. * Ethernet and CSMA/CD: This is the type of technology networks use to sense if there is an ongoing transmission. In the event where there is one, the system goes into wait mode till the channel is free for it to begin its own transmission. This is one of the ways to avoid collision.

A reflection on the book `Krik?Krak`

1. What is the significance of writing in CHILDREN OF THE SEA? This is where the narrator recollects about her past. Writing the Children of the Sea was deemed significant for the flow of the book because all the rest of the story were just products of the memories or records of the life of the character as she was on board a ship to Miami. It was a contrast of life and death as the main character writes about her life while a girl of fifteen gives birth to a baby and the baby eventually dies. 2. In NINETEEN THIRTY-SEVEN, why do the women travel to the river so often? A quote from the book says â€Å"The River was the place where it had all begun† (41) answers the question on why women travel so often to the rivers. They go to the river to escape the horrors of their own land. To escape death and seizure her mother swam the river that crosses between the Dominican Republic and her native country, the Haiti. Her grandmother on the other hand, being too weak to swim was caught and killed in Haiti. 3. Explain the significance of the list at the sugar mill in THE WALL OF FIRE RISING. Why doesn`t the mother want his son`s name on the list?  In The Wall of the Fire Rising, a couple is trying to raise their son without tainting his soul with poverty and hopelessness.   This is the main reason why his mother doesn’t want his name to be signed at the sugar mill. The Childs parents don’t want the boy to serve as slave in the Mill. The child however grew fascinated in the works of Boukman, a declaration of freedom and slave revolution. 4. How does (social) class become significant in BETWEEN THE POOL AND THE GARDENIAS? To further stress the importance of class in Between the Pool and the Gardenias, I quote an excerpt from the book which says â€Å"Her lips were wide and purple, like those African dolls you see in tourist store windows but never could afford to buy.† The character is that of a young woman who have had many miscarriages before since she can’t afford better healthcare for her baby. She is now in denial of her child’s death and is drawn to a dead child that she has seen on the streets. Though the corps is decaying, she can’t seem to take her eyes of the child and continues to visit her. She wants to give the child proper burial but such would require money. 5. Reread the conversation between the girl and her grandmother on page 107 in THE MISSING PEACE. Why does the grandmother feel hostility toward the visitor? In the Missing Peace, two desperate women where brought together amidst the chaos of the fall of the old regime. The narrator, Lamort, helps an American journalist named Emilie in finding her mother. Lamorts grandmother feel hostility toward the visitor for the simple reason that she was American in a foreign country and she fears that their quest for the journalist mother would put her grandchild in danger. 6. Both death and life function as major themes in SEEING THINGS SIMPLY. How does painting work with those two ideas? According to the character, the painting serves as a memoir for her as shown by the excerpt, â€Å"to have something to leave behind even after she is gone.† Through her paintings life was preserved but as her real reason for making the painting unfolds, it foreshadows death. 7. Danticat places the traditions of Haiti and Haitian culture at odds with Americans and American customs in CAROLINE`S WEDDING. Offer an example of this relationship and its significance to the story. In Caroline’s Wedding, clash of   Haitan and American culture was portrayed as Caroline is not having a church wedding which is very important to their tradition.   The difference between the American and Haitan culture was further illustrated when Coroline said to her mom in one of their arguments that they don’t want to spend money a single day just to please the rest of the crowd while leaving them bankrupt. It is cheaper to get married in court than in the church, the way all Haitan Weddings are held. They said that her husbands’ friend who is a judge will be the one to wed the couple in his office and not in the church. 8. The text closes with writing once again in the Epilogue. What is the significance of writing for this author? What does the Epilogue reveal about Danticat? The Epilogue provides substance and unity for the rest of the story as one would get to understand that she is writing of different generations of women who are bounded by struggles. When asked what the essence of writing for her is, the author said in the last part that the act is pretty much like braiding ones hair; you take a clump of rowdy stands and try to unify its strands to make it bigger and stronger.      

Buddhism and the three kingdoms essays

Buddhism and the three kingdoms essays Early Korean settlements developed south of the Han River relatively isolated from the Asian continent. Because of this, the early Korean people were able to develop independently without early involvement with events on the continent, at least for the earlier periods of Korean development. Around the middle of the third century A.D., the Chinese began to become a serious threat which became a powerful force in unify much of the tribes in the southern part of Korea. Using the Chinese form of the Centralized Government, the tribes began merging into kingdoms. The tribes in the southwest were the first to unite, calling the newly formed kingdom, Paekche. It was believed to have been created during the mid-third century A.D., after the attack from Koguryo became North-East Asia's strongest nation. However, Koguryo's rapid expansion brought it into conflict with China during the Sui Dynasty in the North, and Silla in the south. Though Koguryo had managed to fend off the Sui Dynasty, the combined forces of Silla and the Tang Dynasty of China eventually destroyed Koguryo. Koguryo's ally, Paekche, fell to Silla and the Tang Dynasty in 660 A.D. Silla and the Tang Dynasty then attacked Koguryo for eight years who eventually fell. Silla, which was established in 57 BC, was constantly being invaded by the larger more powerful neighbor to the north and west over a period of 1000 years. Around 540 AD King Chin-Hung called together the youth and patriots to form a military organization known as the Hawarang-Do. The Hawarang-Do was responsible for transforming and intensifying Sillas common method of foot fighting and added hand techniques which included a blend of hard and soft as well as linear and circular techniques calling this fighting art Tae-Kyon. The Hawarang-Do was a very unusual organization, for not only did the study the art of fighting, but also the arts of music and poetry as well, seeking always to unify body and spiri...

Pacific Island Hopping in World War II

Pacific Island Hopping in World War II In mid-1943, the Allied command in the Pacific began Operation Cartwheel, which was designed to isolate the Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain. The key elements of Cartwheel involved Allied forces under General Douglas MacArthur pushing across northeastern New Guinea, while naval forces secured the Solomon Islands to the east. Rather than engage sizable Japanese garrisons, these operations were designed to cut them off and let them wither on the vine. This approach of bypassing Japanese strong points, such as Truk, was applied on a large scale as the Allies devised their strategy for moving across the central Pacific. Known as island hopping, U.S. forces moved from island to island, using each as a base for capturing the next. As the island-hopping campaign began, MacArthur continued his push in New Guinea while other Allied troops were engaged in clearing the Japanese from the Aleutians. Battle of Tarawa The initial move of the island-hopping campaign came in the Gilbert Islands when U.S. forces struck Tarawa Atoll. The capture of the island was necessary as it would allow the Allies to move on to the Marshall Islands and then the Marianas. Understanding its importance, Admiral Keiji Shibazaki, Tarawas commander, and his 4,800-men garrison heavily fortified the island. On November 20, 1943, Allied warships opened fire on Tarawa, and carrier aircraft began striking targets across the atoll. Around 9:00 a.m., the 2nd Marine Division began coming ashore. Their landings were hampered by a reef 500 yards offshore that prevented many landing craft from reaching the beach. After overcoming these difficulties, the Marines were able to push inland, though the advance was slow. Around noon, the Marines were finally able to penetrate the first line of Japanese defenses with the assistance of several tanks that had come ashore. Over the next three days, US forces succeeded in taking the island after brutal fighting and fanatical resistance from the Japanese. In the battle, U.S. forces lost 1,001 killed and 2,296 wounded. Of the Japanese garrison, only seventeen Japanese soldiers remained alive at the end of the fighting along with 129 Korean laborers. Kwajalein Eniwetok Using the lessons learned at Tarawa, U.S. forces advanced into the Marshall Islands. The first target in the chain was Kwajalein. Beginning on January 31, 1944, the islands of the atoll were pummeled by naval and aerial bombardments. Additionally, efforts were made to secure adjacent small islands for use as artillery firebases to support the main Allied effort. These were followed by landings carried out by the 4th Marine Division and the 7th Infantry Division. These attacks easily overran the Japanese defenses, and the atoll was secured by February 3. As at Tarawa, the Japanese garrison fought to nearly the last man, with only 105 of nearly 8,000 defenders surviving. As US amphibious forces sailed northwest to attack Eniwetok, the American aircraft carriers were moving to strike the Japanese anchorage at Truk Atoll. A principal Japanese base, US planes struck the airfields and ships at Truk on February 17 and 18, sinking three light cruisers, six destroyers, over twenty-five merchantmen, and destroying 270 aircraft. As Truk was burning, Allied troops began landing at Eniwetok. Focusing on three of the atolls islands, the effort saw the Japanese mount a tenacious resistance and utilize a variety of concealed positions. Despite this, the islands of the atoll were captured on February 23 after a brief but sharp battle. With the Gilberts and Marshalls secure, U.S. commanders began planning for the invasion of the Marianas. Saipan the Battle of the Philippine Sea Comprised primarily of the islands of Saipan, Guam, and Tinian, the Marianas were coveted  by the Allies as airfields that would place the home islands of Japan within range of bombers such as the B-29 Superfortress. At 7:00 a.m. on June 15, 1944, U.S. forces led by Marine Lieutenant General Holland Smiths V Amphibious Corps began landing on Saipan after a heavy naval bombardment. The naval component of the invasion force was overseen by Vice Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner. To cover Turner and Smiths forces, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief of the US Pacific Fleet, dispatched Admiral Raymond Spruances 5th US Fleet along with the carriers of Vice Admiral Marc Mitschers Task Force 58. Fighting their way ashore, Smiths men met determined resistance from 31,000 defenders commanded by Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saito. Understanding the importance of the islands, Admiral Soemu Toyoda, commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, dispatched Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa to the area with five carriers to engage the U.S. fleet. The result of Ozawas arrival was the Battle of the Philippine Sea, which pitted his fleet against seven American carriers led by Spruance and Mitscher. Fought June 19 and 20, American aircraft sank the carrier Hiyo, while the submarines USS Albacore and USS Cavalla sank the carriers Taiho and Shokaku. In the air, American aircraft downed over 600 Japanese aircraft while only losing 123 of their own. The aerial battle proved so one-sided that US pilots referred to it as The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. With only two carriers and 35 aircraft remaining, Ozawa retreated west, leaving the Americans in firm control of the skies and waters around the Marianas. On Saipan, the Japanese fought tenaciously and slowly retreated into the islands mountains and caves. U.S. troops gradually forced the Japanese out by employing a mix of flamethrowers and explosives. As the Americans advanced, the islands civilians, who had been convinced that the Allies were barbarians, began a mass suicide, jumping from the islands cliffs. Lacking supplies, Saito organized a final banzai attack for July 7. Beginning at dawn, it lasted over fifteen hours and overran two American battalions before it was contained and defeated. Two days later, Saipan was declared secure. The battle was the costliest to date for American forces with 14,111 casualties. Almost the entire Japanese garrison of 31,000 was killed, including Saito, who took his own life.   Guam Tinian With Saipan taken, U.S. forces moved down the chain, coming ashore on Guam on July 21. Landing with 36,000 men, the 3rd Marine Division and 77th Infantry Division drove the 18,500 Japanese defenders north until the island was secured on August 8. As on Saipan, the Japanese largely fought to the death, and only 485 prisoners were taken. As the fighting was occurring on Guam, American troops landed on Tinian. Coming ashore on July 24, the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions took the island after six days of combat. Though the island was declared secure, several hundred Japanese held out in the Tinians jungles for months. With the Marianas taken, construction began on massive airbases from which raids against Japan would be launched. Competing Strategies   Peleliu With the Marianas secured, competing strategies for moving forward arose from the two principal U.S. leaders in the Pacific.  Admiral Chester Nimitz  advocated bypassing the Philippines in favor of capturing Formosa and Okinawa. These would then be used as bases for attacking the Japanese home islands. This plan was countered by General Douglas MacArthur, who wished to fulfill his promise to return to the Philippines as well as land on Okinawa. After a lengthy debate involving President Roosevelt, MacArthurs plan was chosen. The first step in liberating the Philippines was the capture of Peleliu in the Palau Islands. Planning for invading the island had already begun as its capture was required in both Nimitz and MacArthurs plans. On September 15, the 1st Marine Division stormed ashore. They were later reinforced by the 81st Infantry Division, which had captured the nearby island of Anguar. While planners had originally thought that the operation would take several days, it ultimately took over two months to secure the island as its 11,000 defenders retreated into the jungle and mountains. Utilizing a system of interconnected bunkers, strong points, and caves,  Colonel Kunio Nakagawas garrison exacted a heavy toll on the attackers, and the Allied effort soon became a bloody grinding affair. On November 27, 1944, after weeks of brutal fighting that killed 2,336 Americans and 10,695 Japanese, Peleliu was declared secure. Battle of Leyte Gulf After extensive planning, Allied forces arrived off the island of Leyte in the eastern Philippines on October 20, 1944. That day, Lieutenant General Walter Kruegers U.S. Sixth Army began moving ashore. To counter the landings, the Japanese threw their remaining naval strength against the Allied fleet. To accomplish their goal, Toyoda dispatched Ozawa with four carriers (Northern Force) to lure  Admiral William Bull Halseys U.S. Third Fleet away from the landings on Leyte. This would allow three separate forces (Center Force and two units comprising Southern Force) to approach from the west to attack and destroy the U.S. landings at Leyte. The Japanese would be opposed by Halseys Third Fleet and  Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaids Seventh Fleet. The battle that ensued, known as the Battle of Leyte Gulf, was the largest naval battle in history and consisted of four primary engagements. In the first engagement on October 23-24, the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, Vice Admiral Takeo Kuritas Center Force was attacked by American submarines and aircraft losing a battleship,  Ã‚  Musashi, and two cruisers along with several others damaged. Kurita retreated out of range of U.S.  aircraft but returned to his original course that evening. In the battle, the escort carrier  USS  Princeton  (CVL-23) was sunk by land-based bombers. On the night of the 24th, part of the Southern Force led by Vice Admiral Shoji Nishimura entered the Surigao Straight where they were attacked by 28 Allied destroyers and 39 PT boats. These light forces attacked relentlessly and inflicted torpedo hits on two Japanese battleships and sank four destroyers. As the Japanese pushed north through the straight, they encountered the six battleships (many of the  Pearl Harbor  veterans) and eight cruisers of the 7th Fleet Support Force led by  Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf. Crossing the Japanese T, Oldendorfs ships opened fired at 3:16 AM and immediately began scoring hits on the enemy. Utilizing radar fire control systems, Oldendorfs line inflicted heavy damage on the Japanese and sank two battleships and a heavy cruiser. The accurate American gunfire then forced the remainder of Nishimuras squadron to withdraw. At 4:40 PM on the 24th, Halseys scouts located Ozawas Northern Force. Believing that Kurita was retreating, Halsey signaled Admiral Kinkaid that he was moving north to pursue the Japanese carriers. By doing so, Halsey was leaving the landings unprotected. Kinkaid was not aware of this as he believed Halsey had left one carrier group to cover the San Bernardino Straight. On the 25th, U.S. aircraft began pummeling Ozawas force in the Battle of Cape Engaà ±o. While Ozawa did launch a strike of around 75 aircraft against Halsey, this force was largely destroyed and inflicted no damage. By the end of the day, all four of Ozawas carriers had been sunk. As the battle was concluding, Halsey was informed that the situation off Leyte was critical.  Soemus  plan had worked. By Ozawa drawing away Halseys carriers, the path through the San Bernardino Strait was left open for Kuritas Center Force to pass through to attack the landings. Breaking off his attacks, Halsey began steaming south at full speed. Off Samar (just north of Leyte), Kuritas force encountered the 7th Fleets escort carriers and destroyers. Launching their planes, the escort carriers began to flee, while the destroyers valiantly attacked Kuritas much superior force. As the melee was turning in favor of the Japanese, Kurita broke off after realizing that he was not attacking Halseys carriers and that the longer he lingered, the more likely he was to be attacked by American aircraft. Kuritas retreat effectively ended the battle. The Battle of Leyte Gulf marked the last time the Imperial Japanese Navy would conduct large-scale operations during the war. Return to the Philippines With the Japanese defeated at sea, MacArthurs forces pushed east across Leyte, supported by the Fifth Air Force. Fighting through rough terrain and wet weather, they then moved north onto the neighboring island of Samar. On December 15, Allied troops landed on Mindoro and met little resistance. After consolidating their position on Mindoro, the island was used as a staging area for the invasion of Luzon. This took place on January 9, 1945, when Allied forces landed at Lingayen Gulf on the islands northwest coast. Within a few days, over 175,000 men came ashore, and soon MacArthur was advancing on Manila. Moving quickly, Clark Field, Bataan, and Corregidor were retaken, and pincers closed around Manila. After heavy fighting, the capital was liberated on March 3. On April 17, the Eighth Army landed on Mindanao, the second largest island in the Philippines. Fighting would continue on Luzon and Mindanao until the end of the war. Battle of Iwo Jima Located on the route from the Marianas to Japan, Iwo Jima provided the Japanese with airfields and an early warning station for detecting American bombing raids. Considered one of the home islands, Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi prepared his defenses in-depth, constructing a vast array of interlocking fortified positions connected by a large network of underground tunnels. For the Allies, Iwo Jima was desirable as an intermediate airbase, as well as a staging area for the invasion of Japan. At 2:00 a.m. on February 19, 1945, U.S. ships opened fire on the island, and aerial attacks began. Due to the nature of the Japanese defenses, these attacks proved largely ineffective. The next morning, at 8:59 a.m., the first landings began as the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Marine Divisions came ashore. Early resistance was light as Kuribayashi wished to hold his fire until the beaches were full of men and equipment. Over the next several days, American forces advanced slowly, often under heavy  machine-gun  and artillery fire, and captured Mount Suribachi. Able to shift troops through the tunnel network, the Japanese frequently appeared in areas that the Americans believed to be secure. Fighting on Iwo Jima proved extremely brutal as American troops gradually pushed the Japanese back. Following a final Japanese assault on March 25 and 26, the island was secured. In the battle, 6,821 Americans and 20,703 (out of 21,000) Japanese died.   Okinawa The final island to be taken before the proposed invasion of Japan was Okinawa. U.S. troops began landing on April 1, 1945, and initially met light resistance as Tenth Army swept across the south-central parts of the island, capturing two airfields. This early success led Lt. General Simon B. Buckner, Jr. to order the 6th Marine Division to clear the northern part of the island. This was accomplished after heavy fighting around Yae-Take. While land forces were fighting ashore, the US fleet, supported by the British Pacific Fleet, defeated the last Japanese threat at sea. Named  Operation Ten-Go, the Japanese plan called for the super battleship  Yamato  and the light cruiser  Yahagi  to steam south on a suicide mission. The ships were to attack the U.S. fleet and then beach themselves near Okinawa and continue the fight as shore batteries. On April 7, the ships were sighted by American scouts, and  Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher  launched over 400 aircraft to intercept them. As the Japanese ships lacked air cover, the American aircraft attacked at will, sinking both. While the Japanese naval threat was removed, an aerial one remained: kamikazes. These suicide planes relentlessly attacked the Allied fleet around Okinawa, sinking numerous ships and inflicting heavy casualties. Ashore, the Allied advance was slowed by rough terrain, and stiff resistance from the Japanese fortified at the southern end of the island. Fighting raged through April and May as two Japanese counteroffensives were defeated, and it was not until June 21 that resistance ended. The largest land battle of the Pacific war, Okinawa cost the Americans 12,513 killed, while the Japanese saw 66,000 soldiers die. Ending the War With Okinawa secured and American bombers regularly bombing and firebombing Japanese cities, planning moved forward for the invasion of Japan. Codenamed Operation Downfall, the plan called for the invasion of southern Kyushu (Operation Olympic) followed by seizing the Kanto Plain near Tokyo (Operation Coronet). Due to the geography of Japan, the Japanese high command had ascertained Allied intentions and planned their defenses accordingly. As planning moved forward, casualty estimates of 1.7 to 4 million for the invasion were presented to Secretary of War Henry Stimson. With this in mind, President Harry S. Truman authorized the use of the  new atom bomb  to bring a swift end to the war. Flying from Tinian, the B-29  Enola Gay  dropped the  first atom bomb  on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, destroying the city. A second B-29,  Bockscar, dropped a second on Nagasaki three days later. On August 8, following the Hiroshima bombing, the Soviet Union renounced its nonaggression pact with Japan and attacked into Manchuria. Facing these new threats, Japan unconditionally surrendered on August 15. On September 2, aboard the battleship  USS  Missouri  in Tokyo Bay, the Japanese delegation formally signed the instrument of surrender ending World War II.

Acid Anhydride Definition - Chemistry Glossary

Acid Anhydride Definition - Chemistry Glossary Acid Anhydride Definition: An acid anhydride is a nonmetal oxide which reacts with water to form an acidic solution. In organic chemistry, an acid anhydride is a functional group consisting of two acyl groups joined together by an oxygen atom. Acid anhydride also refers to compounds containing the acid anhydride functional group. Acid anhydrides are named from the acids that created them. The acid part of the name is replaced with anhydride. For example, the acid anhydride formed from acetic acid would be acetic anhydride. Sources IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the Gold Book) (2006).Nelson, D. L.; Cox, M. M. (2000). Lehninger, Principles of Biochemistry, 3rd Ed. Worth Publishing: New York. ISBN 1-57259-153-6.Panico R., Powell W.H., Richer J.C., eds. (1993). Recommendation R-5.7.7. A Guide to IUPAC Nomenclature of Organic Compounds. IUPAC/Blackwell Science. pp. 123–25. ISBN 0-632-03488-2.

Child observation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Child observation - Essay Example One of the first things I was able to observe Luke doing was playing with Lego building blocks. Luke is a Lego maniac. He builds elaborate structures with these toys, but is always very careful to keep the â€Å"sets† of Lagos sorted out from one another. This way he can build them the â€Å"right† way by following the instructions. When he combines sets to build one structure, he is very careful to observe which set it came from so he can return it to its proper place. The idea of equilibrium is an important idea introduced by Piaget (Slavin). According to this theory, when something new is introduced to the child, a disequilibrium is created in the child’s understanding of how the world works. This disequilibrium is what causes learning. I was able to observe this when Mary introduced a new type of Lego set to Luke. I notice that Luke would follow a pattern in building his structures. He always used dark, sturdy Lagos for the base of his structures and lighter colored, thin Lagos at the top. This new set of Lagos, however, did not have any dark, sturdy Lego’s. I could tell that Luke was keen to use his new set, but could not reconcile the fact that the new dark Lagos would not work for the base. He dealt with the new situation by excluding the new Lagos from the building. Eventually, Luke may realize that it is not the color that makes for a good base, but the thickness of the blocks. When he does this, he will have assimilate new i nformation and will have learned something new. While watching Mary serve Luke and his younger sister some lunch, I was able to observe another hallmark of Piaget’s research, namely, Luke’s early ability to display the idea of conservation. Juice was being poured into two different sized glasses. Luke’s was tall and thin while his sister’s glass was shorter and broader. Luke’s sister began to cry because Luke got â€Å"more†. His glass did appear to have more due to the

Does data and analysis present a good argument Debating the research Assignment

Does data and analysis present a good argument Debating the research method of an article - Assignment Example The large size of sample is associated with biasness during presentation due to the work load involve, a confirmation that differences are as a result of size bias not mode selected. Sampling mistake arises in the sampling procedure itself as not all parties of the outline population are assessed (Easterby-Smith et al 2003). Normative model is used during web surveys as opposed to paper and pencil procedures. What I could have suggested for the authors of the article is to reduce the sample size. By using accommodating sample size it is easy to manage the sample bias. Normative model presents an opportunity for participants not to pay much attention as compared to face to face or telephone surveys (Easterby-Smith et al 2003). I would suggest combining normative model with instrumental model to improve sample bias and check ramifications of low response rate (Vieira et al 2002). The research relied mostly on qualitative research rather than employ mixed research method. Vieira, W., De La Tour, K., & De La Tour, S. (2002). Projectiology: a panorama of experiences of the consciousness outside the human body. Brazil, International Institute of Projectiology and

Critical thinking why guns wont make us safer Essay

Critical thinking why guns wont make us safer - Essay Example there are suggestions from the public that guns enable citizens to protect themselves, this is not the case because, guns continue to be used in domestic violence across the American society. To further prove the need for gun control, studies shows that countries implementing laws related to gun control have realized success in terms of reducing homicides, suicides, domestic violence and other gun related violence or crimes (Trotter 26). Sean Faircloth is correct in his argument that guns will not make the society safer. The infiltration of guns into the hands of the citizens in America, has done more harm than good. Statistics shows that gun ownership has resulted to an increase in homicide which often occur because of domestic violence. In addition guns are used to commit suicide and mentally or psychologically disturbed teenagers are using guns to kill fellow students. In essence, this statistics is an evident that there is need for gun control in the American society to protect c itizens from harm. As argued by Faircloth, it is true that most homicide committed in American homes is mainly contributed by ownership of guns by citizens. Citizens normally acquire guns for safety purposes; however, these guns pose a danger particularly in a spate of anger, either spouse can use a gun in case of an incidence of domestic violence. On the same note, it is true that domestic violence go hand in hand with gun violence and in most cases, it is women who are the victims of gun violence especially in American homes. Most people who own gun in the American society are not insane, the citizens who own guns are stable and their prior intention is to improve the safety of their homes (Faircloth). As reiterated by Faircloth: â€Å"Most citizens who own guns normally do not have an intention to turn against their wives or girlfriends, but in a spate of anger guns can become a tool of lashing out. Shooting another person only takes seconds and one only realizes after the damage

Personal Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 37

Personal Statement - Essay Example hieve the needed personal and professional in the absence of education, especially Higher Education that is known for setting the paradigm for organizations to be run. Personally, I have chosen marketing as a course and this is the area I want to penetrate with my academic studies at UCAS. My reason for choosing marketing is influenced by a number of factors, major among which is the need for me to take total advantage of booming oil and gas riches that is currently in place in Qatar. For me to take advantage of the oil and gas riches do not mean enriching myself through marketing but equipping my knowledge, skill and competence with the ever growing media and advertising popularity in Qatar. Because of the oil and gas riches, a lot of companies continue to spring up by the day. Because the companies are many, there is so much competition among them that they can hardly survive in the absence of media publicity and advertisement. This is where my professional knowledge in marketing will become useful. My ambitions as a marketer in Qatar are well laid out. In the first place, I am hoping to start from the relatively lower rank where I shall work for a number of up and coming multinational companies. As my experience grows, I would move on to higher grounds by taking state-oriented positions, especially towards the World Cup 2022. The World Cup is certainly a very big event that the government attaches so much importance to. The World Cup 2022 will bring Qatar closer to the whole world and thus the need to glorify the image of the country through a successful hosting. This is where the need for the tournament and country in general to be well marketed comes in. I therefore a person who can be described as very hungry for success since my ambition run very high into the long term. I currently have so many experiences, interests and background that make me very suitable for my ambition to go as far as marketing the World Cup 2022 in Qatar. For example I am a very

Organizational Buyer Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organizational Buyer Behavior - Essay Example A corresponding product specification is either developed or searched. Then Comes the step of searching for a supplier who can provide goods and / or services for the requirement. The suppliers are then sought for proposing the solutions for the needs of products or service. Based on Proposals a Supplier is selected. An Order routine is finalized. Performance is reviewed. Buying Center: There are often multiple decision makers involved in organizational purchases. This requires that the marketer is aware of the needs of the various Players involved in making decisions. Users: A user is the end consumer of a product. Influencers: An influencer is someone who has influence over what is purchased. Deciders: A decider is someone who ultimately has authority if or what to purchase. Buyers: A buyer is someone who arranges the transaction. Gatekeepers: A gatekeeper could include anyone in the organization who can control the flow of information. Factors influencing Industrial Buyer Behavior (Telecommunication) There are various factors which influence the Buyer Behavior. Following are the factors which primarily influence the selection of a Supplier for leading telecom companies in Telecommunication market: 1. Data on reliability of the product : Proof of reliability about the suppliers company and its transmission products is of utmost importance. 2. Technical capability: the kind of technical capabilities to accommodate future product developments and enhancements also plays an important role in deciding about the supplier. 3. Ease of Maintance: Most of the Telecom companies require pre usage steps to be done by the network providers (suppliers of the network) and therefore might have significant amount of... 4. Ease of Operation and Use: The supplier should be well equipped to provide the Know-how on operations and use and should also have inbuilt people and technical resources to accommodate any operations related request.

International marketing plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

International marketing plan - Essay Example In this report, the marketing plan of IKEA to enter into the Pakistani market has been presented. The external environment analysis shows that IKEA can find huge opportunities in the Pakistan furniture industry as currently no international furniture brand is operating in the country. Although economy of Pakistan is threatened by unstable political conditions, terrorism and weak economic conditions still, the changing patterns of people and their preference for western furniture products over weigh these threats. Porter’s five forces analyses show that furniture industry of Pakistan is a highly attractive industry. The market audit shows the strengths of IKEA which can help the company to ensure a successful presence in the Pakistani market. After identifying the corporate and marketing objectives of IKEA, this report also describes a preliminary marketing plan to enter into the market. Direct investment strategy has been considered as the most suitable strategy for IKEA to en ter into the industry. The report also describes the marketing mix of IKEA. The company will keep its IKEA concept to promote its products and services in Pakistan. INTRODUCTION TO PRODUCT Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd (IKEA) is a Swedish company. From 1954 to 2010, the number of stores of IKEA has grown from 1 to 316 stores (http://franchisor.ikea.com/showContent.asp?swfId=facts1). The company has been developed to offer low price and modern home furnishings to the consumers. Unlike other home furnishing retailers, IKEA focuses on providing a combination of low price and good design and functionality to the consumers which never goes out of fashion. Today, the company is printing its catalogue in 25 languages and circulate in 35 countries around the world (http://franchisor.ikea.com/showContent.asp?swfId=catalogue9). Moreover, the stores of IKEA attract around 600 million visitors (http://franchisor.ikea.com/showContent.asp?swfId=store9). IKEA is currently targeting countries f rom Europe, North America, Australia, Asia Pacific and Caribbean. In Asia Pacific, company has been able to enter into China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore. In this report, the marketing plan of IKEA to enter into the Pakistani market has been presented. Pakistan appears to be an attractive market for IKEA because the westernisation in Pakistan is increasing very rapidly and people are seeking to import western clothes, home furnishings and other products. Therefore, in this report, the plan of establishing IKEA store in Pakistan has been presented. The store will initially offer home furniture products in Pakistan. ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS PESTLE Analysis Political Pakistan is facing high political instability which influences both the consumers and businesses. The decline of exports of furniture since 2007 is because of the political and economic problems especially load shedding (Arifeen, 2010). However, direct political influence is very less on furniture retailer s. Government has very weak regulatory control in the furniture industry

Organizational Buyer Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organizational Buyer Behavior - Essay Example A corresponding product specification is either developed or searched. Then Comes the step of searching for a supplier who can provide goods and / or services for the requirement. The suppliers are then sought for proposing the solutions for the needs of products or service. Based on Proposals a Supplier is selected. An Order routine is finalized. Performance is reviewed. Buying Center: There are often multiple decision makers involved in organizational purchases. This requires that the marketer is aware of the needs of the various Players involved in making decisions. Users: A user is the end consumer of a product. Influencers: An influencer is someone who has influence over what is purchased. Deciders: A decider is someone who ultimately has authority if or what to purchase. Buyers: A buyer is someone who arranges the transaction. Gatekeepers: A gatekeeper could include anyone in the organization who can control the flow of information. Factors influencing Industrial Buyer Behavior (Telecommunication) There are various factors which influence the Buyer Behavior. Following are the factors which primarily influence the selection of a Supplier for leading telecom companies in Telecommunication market: 1. Data on reliability of the product : Proof of reliability about the suppliers company and its transmission products is of utmost importance. 2. Technical capability: the kind of technical capabilities to accommodate future product developments and enhancements also plays an important role in deciding about the supplier. 3. Ease of Maintance: Most of the Telecom companies require pre usage steps to be done by the network providers (suppliers of the network) and therefore might have significant amount of... 4. Ease of Operation and Use: The supplier should be well equipped to provide the Know-how on operations and use and should also have inbuilt people and technical resources to accommodate any operations related request.

Human Resource Learning and Development Term Paper

Human Resource Learning and Development - Term Paper Example Having an interest in this industry, I along with my group have chosen our topic (how to splice 35mm film) to explain that how the cinema's employees are trained to do that job with their other responsibilities. From the outset a layman would believe that this is a very easy job however when a person actually involves oneself into it, the job doesn't look easy anymore since any mistake will affect on the movies show. Therefore I believe this project requires more observation. In this workshop, our group tried to see how the employees who are working in this field get their training. In this paper, I will mention these employees by their names who work as projectionists. Before discussing the actual details of the training program that the projectionists will go through, the theories of training need to be discussed so that a proper comprehension of the case can be presented. First of all, let me discuss the content theories of training. The content theories stress the vitality of such training which makes the trainee learn things based on the experience of the previous learners and the context in which they have worked. Obviously, the context in which various trainees are trained is entirely different. Therefore, the context of the previous learners will not be taken into consideration. Only their knowledge and the experience that they share by the type of training they went through will be important and it will be applied to the new context of the new trainees. (Blake, 2003) The learner will be facilitated in a way which will help him relate the new knowledge being given by the knowledge that is already in his mind and then to have the process of unchanging by processing the old knowledge to become new knowledge and to be stored as such in the memory. There will even be material that the trainee can use even after the training is over and therefore, th is will reinforce the learning habits which were taught in the training session and will stay with the trainee for a long time. (Keeps, 2002) The cognitive system that is studied under the content theories of training emphasizes three factors which should be taken into consideration when a trainee is being trained. That kind of training which the projectionists' individual should be equipped with long term memory about a certain subject that is, he should be able to have a perfect understanding in the long term for a particular subject, in our case, it is slicing films and dealing with films in the projection room.   The processing skills of each individual, which is the extent to which they can use learning strategies to cope up with what they are being taught and to use the problem-solving skills to apply them to specific problems that they face at work. In this case, they must know how to deal with the different kinds of films that they encounter.

Little Red Riding Hood Essay Example for Free

Little Red Riding Hood Essay Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perrault is a story every child learns that is about a young girl with a red riding hood who goes into the woods to deliver some food to her very ill grandmother and in her journey she encounters a wolf who in the end wants to trick her into believing he is her grandmother. However children only enjoy a simple fairy tale for the fact of being imaginary, as when we were children we never sensed a double meaning to this story. In Charles Perrault version of this popular tale he adds a moral to this tale which is â€Å"Children, especially attractive well bred, young ladies, should never talk to strangers, for if they should do so, they may well provide dinner for wolf. I say â€Å"wolf,† but there are various types of wolves. There are also those who are charming, quiet, polite, unassuming, complacent, and sweet, who pursue young women at home and in the streets. And unfortunately, it is these gentle wolves who are the most dangerous ones of all† (Perrault). With this moral at the end of the story we can realize how he is using a gender based opinion by how he is directly stating young girls as defenseless and only assuming girls to be a target. When he mentions children he states rapidly the term â€Å"young ladies†, not realizing also that young males are also a target for predators. This story provides an incentive of paranoia for a child with his words of describing a wolf terrorizes the idea of speaking to a stranger which makes it seem he is describing a male. Even if his intentions are to raise awareness on the dangers that are out there this purpose fails since he makes the mistake of not alerting the audience of both genders, only referring to a specific one. I refer to children because he relates them with young women, the similarity he sees between them is of defenseless, naive and vulnerable in every way. The male however represents a wolf and it is easy to figure out once you see how Charles Perrault refers to women being the weaker gender. Needless to say stories sometimes withhold more meaning than mere words; the context of each story is what holds the real purpose of the writer’s words. That is why in this version Little Red Riding Hood is portrayed as a helpless young girl in need of protection. This story is very symbolical because the author feels the need to depict how vulnerable red riding hood was when in his story he wrote â€Å"Little Red Riding Hood took off her clothes and got into bed† (Perrault). We can also realize how graphic the scene gets after this when they confront each other in the bed and finally he ends up eating her up. Notice how in the end the author lets the wolf have his way and neither the grandmother or red riding hood made it alive. The story had no happy ending like every traditional tale did. Just think how can we have freedom when we are confining ourselves and others to have stereotypes that don’t allow us to think freely since it narrows our mindset to one thing? We can’t. It affects our young society to live with these stereotypes that limit their potential; a girl could grow up thinking she should aspire to only be a housewife and not anything else. I personally have been affected by these stereotypes because they still exist to this day. Sometimes I feel like my presence doesn’t make as much as an impact as a man would in the business world. Not only did this not end happily ever after, the main characters died and left the readers with a negative thought. The main audiences for this story are children and the plot ends a bit too harsh, we could agree that this isn’t really child appropriate. If we want to keep the children of our society innocent and teach them in a much healthier way not to trust strangers this story is not the way to do so. It encourages the thought of stereotypes and could give the wrong idea to what children should consider dangerous. The author describes the wolf as what we could call a sociopath. It is not a child’s duty to know everything since they are children and that is why parents should care for them to look out for their wellbeing. Furthermore it is not healthy to create so much doubt in a child since this could result in anxieties that can develop in a child’s mind creating traumas. Comparing a wolf to a stranger is not the best way to teach a child to not trust strangers and in addition to this; strangers are not always the bad guys giving the fact that most child abuse happens among those who aren’t strangers. Let’s teach our children regardless of race to be alert of any signs that they should consider dangerous strangers or not. In addition women should be respected by not being compared to children since this belittles them as a person. Women and men are created equal so it isn’t right to underestimate either gender because this can affect the person’s outlook on life in the long run.

Team Performance and Strategic Management Objectives

Team Performance and Strategic Management Objectives Assess the links between team performance and strategic Objectives. The fundamental aim of the strategic management is to generate strategic capability by ensuring that the organisation has the skilled, committed and well motivated employees which it needs to achieve sustained competitive advantages. It’s objective is to provide a sense of direction in an turbulent’s environment, so that the business needs of the organization, and the individual and collective needs of its employees, can be met by the development and implementation of coherent and practical Human Resource policies and programme. Team performance working involves the development of a number of interrelated processes that together make an impact on the performance of the firm through its people in such areas as productivity, quality, levels of customer service, growth, profits, and ultimately the delivery of increased shareholder value. This is achieved by enhancing the skills and engaging the enthusiasm of employees . The starting point is leadership, vision and benchmarking to create a sense of momentum and direction. Progress must be measured constantly and the main drivers, support systems and culture are: Development of people capacities through learning at all levels, with particular emphasis on self-management and team capabilities to enable and support performance improvement and organizational potential Performance, operational and people management processes aligned to organizational objectives to build trust, enthusiasm and commitment to the direction taken by the organization Fair treatment for those who leave the organization as it changes, and engagement with the needs of the community outside the organization. Team-performance management practices include rigorous recruitment and selection procedures, extensive and relevant training and management development activities, incentive pay systems and performance management processes. The fundamental business need the strategy should meet is to develop and maintain a high performance culture. The characteristics of such a culture are: A clear line of sight exists between the strategic aims of the authority and those of its departments and its staff at all levels Management defines what it requires in the shape of performance improvements, sets goals for success and monitors performance to ensure that the goals are achieved Leadership from the top which engenders a shared belief in the importance of continuing improvement Performance management processes aligned to the authoritys objectives to ensure that people are engaged in achieving agreed goals and standards Capacities of people developed through learning at all levels to support performance improvement. People valued and rewarded according to their contribution. Evaluate tools and techniques available to set team performance targets Tools and techniques to help companies transform quickly. Way back when (pick your date), team members in large companies had a simple goal for themselves and their organizations: stability. Shareholders wanted little more than predictable earnings growth. Because so many markets were either closed or undeveloped, leaders could deliver on those expectations through annual exercises that offered only modest modifications to the strategic plan. Long-term structural transformation has four characteristics: scale (the change affects all or most of the organization), magnitude (it involves significant alterations of the status quo), duration (it lasts for months, if not years), and strategic importance. Yet companies will reap the rewards only when change occurs at the level of the individual employee. 1.2.1. Performance Evaluations: As a supervisor, your role is to set expectations, gather data, and provide on going feedback to your employees to assist them in utilizing their skills, expertise and ideas to produce results. To provide this direction. The Annual Performance Evaluation should provide a comparison of actual on-the job performance to established performance measurement standards. The Annual Performance Evaluation encourages periodic and structured communication between supervisors and employees about the job, and should take place continuously. 1.2.2 . Feedback: Feedback is a process by which effective performance is reinforced and less-than-desirable performance is corrected. Feedback should be information that highlights the relationship between what is expected and what has been accomplished after the work is performed or the action is taken. 1.2.3. Development Planning: Development planning is the process of creating experiences for your employees that promote skills and knowledge related to the position, as well as to professional growth. Development plans draw from the Performance Evaluation: Performance goals or needs (deficiencies) to be addressed The employee, with supervisor assistance, identifies ways to achieve those goals and/or address performance deficiencies in systematic ways. Address opportunities for professional growth Agreement and/or commitment between employee and supervisor Planned follow-up Assess the value of team performance tools to measure future team performance The first step in getting organized is to establish the performance measurement team. The team should be made up of: 1. People who actually do the work to be measured2. People who are very familiar with the work to be measured. 3. It is important that each person understands the task before them and their role in its accomplishment. Guidelines for Teams When meeting as a team, consider these Guidelines for Team: 1. Focus on effectiveness of systems and the appropriate level of internal controls. 2. Maintain a balance between outcome (objective) and process (subjective) measures. 3. Develop measures that crosscut functional areas to better represent overall organizational performance. 4. Incorporate â€Å"Best Practices† and reflect management’s judgment as to the key elements for overall successful operation, including cost/risk/benefit effectiveness—ascertain that measures add value a improve effectiveness in support of the organizational mission. 5. Consider value-added criteria, including evaluating the cost of measuring and administering the measure, and the number of measures that can be effectively managed. Keep the number of performance measures at each management level to a minimum. For any program, there are a large number of potential performance measures. Develop clear and understandable objectives and performance measures. Performance measures should clarify the objective and be understandable Consider the cost of attaining the next level of improvement. Establishing a measure that encourages reaching for a new or higher level of improvement should take into account the cost of implementing such a measure against the value of the additional improvement. Consider performing a risk evaluation. Organizations developing performance measurement systems should consider performing a risk evaluation of the organization to determine which specific processes are most critical to organizational success or which processes pose the greatest risk to successful mission accomplishments. Consider the weight of conflicting performance measures. Organizations frequently have several objectives that may not always be totally consistent with each other. For example, an objective of high productivity may conflict with an objective for a high quality product, or an objective of meeting specific deadlines may conflict with an objective of providing the highest quality reports to meet. 2.1 Analyse how to determine required performance targets within teams against current performance High-performing individuals and teams should be the goal of any organisation. We are all now aware of the potential results of high performance in terms of organisational success and competitiveness. The perennial debate is around how to create that high performance and, more importantly, how to sustain it. Most companies find the organisational issues much easier to handle than the individual ones so they get the attention. Unfortunately this is only part of what needs to be done to create a successful high-performance culture: addressing high performance among individuals is also essential. 2.1.1 Know what it looks like It will be impossible to know when youre achieving high performance if you dont know what it looks like. From an organisational perspective, high performance means not only running a financially sound business, adhering to essential policies and ensuring regulatory demands are observed, but also understanding the capability of your workforce to deliver high performance. All too often, concerns about what they might find and the time it may take prompt organisations to adopt the three wise monkeys strategy dont see, dont hear, dont speak with the result that low performance goes unchecked for years until it is too late and competitors have overtaken you. Too often, individual high performance is defined as simply getting the job done in the short term rather than looking to the long term and focusing on behaviours. 2.1.2 Make a commitment Strong and active commitment from leaders and managers, and the pursuit of continuous learning throughout the organisation, are crucial to building a well-defined high-performance culture. Commitment means not leaving it to fate, but truly understanding what high performance looks like, trusting different approaches and working with all stakeholders, including the human resource 2.1.3 Define your starting point Knowing where your organisation currently stands will make it much easier to create a vision for the future and to secure buy-in. One of the most effective strategies is to define explicitly what creates high performance in your organisation. Ensure that these behaviours are distinct, while being comprehensive enough to cover different levels of the organisation. Include areas such as how people collect and make sense of information and how they influence and build confidence in stakeholders. 2.1.4 Put a stake in the ground Once you have agreed what the behavioural high performance indicators look like, it is essential to observe and measure them. The best way to capture current performance is through objective observation, such as work shadowing, behavioural event interviews and subjective feedback via online and facilitated 360-degree analysis. This should clearly distinguish between behaviour that: †¢ impedes performance †¢ helps to do the task in hand †¢ makes a sustainable and long-term positive contribution †¢ promotes beneficial and long-term behavioural change in teams and divisions. 2.2 Discuss the need to encourage individual commitment to team performance in achievement of organisational goals Individual understand how their work fits into corporate objectives and they agree that their teams goals are achievable and aligned with corporate mission and values. Team ground rules are set with consideration for both company and individual values. When conflict arises, the team uses alignment with purpose, values, and goals as important criteria for acceptable solutions. To enhance team commitment leaders might consider inviting each work team to develop team mission, vision, and values statements that are in alignment with those of the corporation but reflect the individuality of each team. These statements should be visible and walked every day. Once a shared purpose is agreed upon, each team can develop goals and measures, focus on continuous improvement, and celebrate team success at important milestones. The time spent up front getting all team members on the same track will greatly reduce the number of derailments or emergency rerouting later. Leaders can facilitate cooperation by highlighting the impact of individual members on team productivity and clarifying valued team member behaviors. The following F.A.C.T.S. model of effective team member behaviors (follow-through, accuracy, timeliness, creativity, and spirit) may serve as a guide for helping teams identify behaviors that support synergy within the work team. 2.3 Relate the application of delegation, mentoring and coaching to the achievement of the organisational objectives Coaching can take many forms, life coaching, business coaching, performance coaching etc. As with mentoring and counselling it is about helping the individual to gain self awareness, but it is goal focused and action is required so that the individual can move forward. The goal setting process has two components: skill development and psychological development. The outcome sought is that the coachee will achieve the goals set, and will thereafter feel able and confident to set personal goals for themselves. Developing a persons skills and knowledge so that their job performance improves, hopefully leading to the achievement of organisational objectives. It targets high performance and improvement at work, although it may also have an impact on an individuals private life. Mentoring happens in all organisations whether it is fostered as a development strategy; allowed or encouraged as an informal process; or is an activity that occurs below the consciousness of individuals. People are learning from others, adopting modelled behaviours and attitudes and absorbing the culture and perceived values of the organisation through their personal interactions with co-workers. Benefits to the Organisation Increase in morale and motivation Greater productivity Discovery of talent Development of leadership for future survival and prosperity Communication of values, goals and plans Demonstration of personal and professional standards Achievement of excellent service Implementation of equity initiatives Fostering of shared values and team work Enhancement of leadership and people management skills of managers Increase in staff satisfaction Building a learning organisation Managed careers Development of cross-organisational networks 2.4 Evaluate a team performance plan to meet organisational objectives As a Team Leader you will be required to ensure that Performance Plans are created for your team and its members. You should also ensure that you are involved in developing your own Performance Plan in conjunction with your Manager. Your Performance Plan ensures that you are clear on the levels of leadership and management performance that are expected of you and helps you to develop new skills as required. Performance planning should occur as: An Initial Performance Plan A Performance Improvement Plan Initial performance plan An Initial Performance Plan is a detailed plan for either an individual or a team and is used to: Identify the desired performance levels Identify how these performance levels will be achieved Provide guidance and direction Measure progress towards the desired performance levels Although there are no strict rules as to the format of a Performance Plan they normally contain the following information: Specific goals for development Performance measures Actions required to achieve goals An indication of how long goals will take to achieve Individual and team Performance Plans should align with the organisations overall objectives. This can be achieved by aligning the: Performance Plans with the Team Operational Plan Team Operational Plan with the Team Purpose Team Purpose with the organisations Strategic Plan Performance Plans might include the following types of goals: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Goals to improve competency levels Team building goals Whenever the performance levels of an individual or team are found to be below the levels indicated in the Performance Plan then a planning process to improve performance should be undertaken. Performance improvement plan When a performance deficiency is noted, it should be dealt with as quickly as possible. The following steps outline a process for handling poor performance. Collate the information regarding poor performance This information may be in the form of feedback, customer complaints, error rates, statistics and/or informal observation. Meet with the relevant team member(s) and discuss the issues During this meeting you will need to discuss the deficiency or inappropriate behaviour and identify the causes. Inadequate performance does not always indicate a problem on the part of the individual. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) may be unrealistic or the resources required to achieve the performance standard may not be available. Develop a Performance Improvement Plan A Performance Improvement Plan provides an outline of what is required by both the individual and their Manager. You may find that your company or organisation has an existing process for implementing Performance Improvement Plans. You should consult with your Human Resources department or your Manager to determine if this is the case. Follow up Ensure that you monitor, follow up and evaluate the performance improvement as set out in the plan. A Performance Improvement Plan should clearly convey: The area of performance that requires improvement or development The action(s) to be taken Any parties required to assist in the achievement of the set actions The timeframe for achieving each action 3.1 Assess the process for monitoring team performance and initiate changes where necessary How do we initiate change Often it is easier to carry out a job if there is a specific plan to follow. When major changes are to be installed, careful planning and preparation are necessary. Strengthening the forces promoting the change and weakening resistance to it are the main tasks. Create a climate for change How people react to proposed changes is greatly influenced by the kind of climate for change that the manager/supervisor has created in the department. How is the right kind of climate created? Supervisors and managers who have enthusiasm for progress and change build a healthy climate. Creating the right climate is more than just passing on changes. It involves: Encouraging employees to seek ways of improving their jobs. Seeking suggestions and ideas from employees. This requires the manager/supervisor to listen and seriously consider suggestions. It is easy to see that there is a great deal of ego involvement in coming forth with an idea for improvement. Change can become an exciting and dynamic way of life. Get ready to sell Much of the difficulty in getting co-operation stems from the employees lack of understanding of how the change will affect them. With a little effort, managers/supervisors can find most of the answers to employees questions before they are even asked. Answers to these questions would be useful. What is the reason for the change? Whom will it benefit and how? Will it inconvenience anyone, if so, for how long? Armed with the answers to these questions a manager/supervisor can head off many objections and can develop a plan to present the change. 3.2 Evaluate team performance against agreed objectives Implement the action plans and take corrective action when required to ensure the attainment of objectives Periodically review performance against established goals and objectives Appraise overall performance, reinforce behavior, and strengthen motivation. Begin the cycle again supervisors need to ensure that appraisal processes are congruent with objectives and goals. An MBO rating form needs to provide space to list staff member objectives in order of importance, as well as space for the evaluator to describe staff member performance using a mutually agreed upon scale. Categories of performance can include: distinguished performance, competent performance, provisional performance, and inadequate performance. Accountabilities and Measures approaches involve the supervisor and staff member agreeing on accountability and performance factors and including them in the job description. Performance is then forecast for each factor to enable quantifiable measures for each factor. An Accountabilities and Measures form can be created, with performance factor categories. 3.3 Evaluate the impact of the team performance in contributing to meeting strategic objectives Clear Expectations: Expectations for the team’s performance and expected outcomes are clearly known and understand why the team was created. The organization demonstrating constancy of purpose in supporting the team with resources of people, time and money. It work of the team receive sufficient emphasis as a priority in terms of the time, discussion, attention and interest directed its way by executive leaders. Commitment: Team members feel the team mission is important. Members committed to accomplishing the team mission and expected the outcomes. The team members perceive their service as valuable to the organization and to their own careers. The team members anticipate recognition for their contributions and the team members expect their skills to grow and develop on the team. The team members excited and challenged by the team opportunity. Competence: The team feel that its members have the knowledge, skill and capability to address the issues for which the team was formed. The team feel it has the resources, strategies and support needed to accomplish its mission? Charter: The team taken its assigned area of responsibility and designed its own mission, vision and strategies to accomplish the mission. The team defined and communicated its goals; its anticipated outcomes and contributions; its timelines; and how it will measure both the outcomes of its work and the process the team followed to accomplish their task. Control: Team have enough freedom and empowerment to feel the ownership necessary to accomplish its charter and at the same time, the team members clearly understand their boundaries. The limitations (i.e. monetary and time resources) defined at the beginning of the project before the team experiences barriers and rework? The team’s reporting relationship and accountability understood by all members of the organization. There is a defined review process so both the team and the organization are consistently aligned in direction and purpose. The team members hold each other accountable for project timelines, commitments and results. The organization have a plan to increase opportunities for self-management among organization members. Communication: The team members clear about the priority of their tasks and an established method for the teams to give feedback and receive honest performance feedback. The organization provide important business information regularly and the teams understand the complete context for their existence. The team members communicate clearly and honestly with each other and the team members bring diverse opinions to the table and all the necessary conflicts raised and addressed. Creative Innovation: It reward people who take reasonable risks to make improvements or does it reward the people who fit in and maintain the status quo. It provide the training, education, access to books and films, and field trips necessary to stimulate new thinking. The team members feel responsible and accountable for team achievements and are rewards and recognition supplied when teams are successful. The reasonable risk respected and encouraged in the organization. Team members fear reprisal. The team members spend their time finger pointing rather than resolving problems and the organization designing reward systems that recognize both team and individual performance. The organization planning to share gains and increased profitability with team and individual contributors. Coordination: The teams coordinated by a central leadership team that assists the groups to obtain what they need for success. Have priorities and resource allocation been planned across departments. The teams understand the concept of the internal customer—the next process, anyone to whom they provide a product or a service. The cross-functional and multi-department teams common and working together effectively. The organization developing a customer-focused process-focused orientation and moving away from traditional departmental thinking. Cultural Change: The organization recognize that the team-based, collaborative, empowering, enabling organizational culture of the future is different than the traditional, hierarchical organization it may currently be and the organization planning to or in the process of changing how it rewards, recognizes, appraises, hires, develops, plans with, motivates and manages the people it employs. 4.1 Determine influencing and persuading methodologies to gain the commitment of individuals to a course of action This is a unique approach to team leadership that is aimed at action orientated environments where effective functional leadership is required to achieve critical or reactive tasks by small teams deployed into the field. In other words leadership of small groups often created to respond to a situation or critical incident. The individuals should have the knowledge, skills and values required for todays and tomorrows jobs. One company clarified the usual definition of competence and framed it as right skills, right place, right job. Competence clearly matters because incompetence leads to poor decision-making. But without commitment, competence doesnt count for much. Highly competent employees who are not committed are smart, but dont work very hard. Committed or engaged employees work hard, put in their time and do what they are asked to do. In the past decade, commitment and competence have been the bailiwicks for talent. But my colleagues and I have found that next-generation leaders for an organization may be competent (able to do the work) and committed (willing to do the work), but unless they are making a real contribution through the work (finding meaning and purpose in their work), then their interest in what they are doing diminishes and their willingness to harness their talent in the organization wanes. Contribution occurs when employees feel that their personal needs are being met through their participation in their organization. 4.2 Discuss the impact of individual dynamics, interests and organisational politics on securing the commitment of individuals to a course of action Organizational behavior scientists study four primary areas of behavioral science: individual behavior, group behavior, organizational structure, and organizational processes. They investigate many facets of these areas like personality and perception, attitudes and job satisfaction, group dynamics, politics and the role of leadership in the organization, job design, the impact of stress on work, decision-making processes, the communications chain, and company cultures and climates. They use a variety of techniques and approaches to evaluate each of these elements and its impact on individuals, groups, and organizational efficiency and effectiveness. 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