Modernity and theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Modernity and theory - Essay Example More specifically, the modern era is generally considered to have begun sometime between 1870 and 1970. Some further limit modernity to the 1910-1960 period, after which the post-modern era is said to have started. Modernity started as a prevailing popular social attitude in Western Europe during about the seventeenth century (which subsequently developed a world-wide influence). Modernity is characterized by changes in the economy-the advent of industrialism and capitalism, with social class as the main form of social division. Modernity is characterized also by urbanization, or the rapid birth and growth of cities. Modernity also means changes in government-the government is now centralized and, in effect, more powerful (although modernity also means generally more power to the individual).In modernity there is also a rise in general knowledge-society becomes more rational and scientific, and the dependence on religion and superstition is less. According to Peter Berger, among the characteristics of modernity are the disintegration of traditional communities, the broadening of individual freedom and choice, the diversification of beliefs, and the future-oriented or progress-centric attitude of society in general.

Questions to answer on Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Questions to answer on Management - Essay Example The patent right enables an individual to own the idea or invention for substantial period of time so that it can be developed sufficiently into a real invention or business. Patent rights provide protection for the idea or invention from being copied or reproduced by others. Firstly, the idea or invention has to be explained in brief through an application made to the Government Patent Office by an agent or lawyer. This will be reviewed and approved if original and new. Once the first application is approved, a date will be given to the application during which he/she can work on the idea; this date is referred to as the ‘priority date.’ Once approved, a plan for its development must be prepared and produced to the patent office for further approval within 12 months. During this period, the inventor can advertise or publish the idea. After one year, the inventor needs to produce a detailed plan for its development, which is referred to as the ‘Final Specification. ’ If this idea is completely new and does not match with any of the other patents, then it is approved. If it finds any similarities with others, it is rejected. Rejection is accompanied with sufficient explanation. The applicant can also modify it in case it resembles any other idea. If the inventor fails to abide by the confidentiality of the idea or leaks the idea in some way, the patent will be subject to cancellation. Hence, confidentiality is very important during the period when first application is sent for approval. Secondly, if the idea or invention resembles or already exists in the market, then patent rights may be rejected. Patents applied in the United Kingdom are valid only within that country. To obtain patent protection in different countries, separate patents must be filed according to the respective country’s regulations. Obtaining international patents are very expensive. However, the International Convention on Patents provides a common priority da te for all patents during which ideation and development in different countries can be prepared. One common committee governing European patents is the European Patent Office (EPO), which provides patent protection in all European countries at the same time. Hence, patents issued by the EPO are enforceable by individual nations within the European Union and few other countries that come in the purview of EPO. Moreover, the patents issued by the EPO are governed by laws related to various international committees. Patents are divided mainly into 3 categories namely utility patents, design patents, and plant patents depending upon the idea or invention. In the engineering sector, utility and design patents are more common ones. National patents issued within European countries are governed by national legislation and could include aspects related to filing the patents, examination, scope of grants, invalidation, breach and revocation. Patents obtained on methods or ideas related to pr ocedures and certain products are not same in all countries. For instance, patents approved in the United States for certain products or procedures may not be approved in the United Kingdom and other countries. Under an employment agreement, ideally all inventions that are made during the employment and related to the job during working hours and with the use of official resources are owned by the employer. Therefore, if an employee invents something related to his/her job, then the rights to that invention are with the

The Environmental Case Analysis Of Ryanair Commerce Essay

The Environmental Case Analysis Of Ryanair Commerce Essay In an organisation the most important feature is its strategy, because strategy is the feature which gives the means to the firm to be successful. This is an effective long-term method to conduct an organisation to reach its objectives and goals to stay put on its competitive edge The scope of this essay is to consult the strategic analysis of environment and the industry together with the companys present strategic choices, and also it is requested to recommend new strategic initiatives and areas for improving strategy implementation for the senior management team of Ryanair. This is conducted with the use of six strategic models (SWOT, PESTLE, Porters Five Forces, Strategic groups, Value Chain and VRIO) that are recommended to be used to analyse the internal and external environment of the company. Each model will be taken in to deliberation and discussed carefully to highlight what had begin the case for the negative perception and the positive perception of both the customers and the companies towards its growth and sustainability Therefore this case study will be analysed to pin point on what should be done for the future strategic management of the company. Out of all the low fare airlines in the European industry Ryanair takes the lead. This airline however is from Ireland and its head office is situated in Dublin. London Stansted Airport in UK is its main operational base. Ryanair is named as the largest low cost carrier and the is the third largest airline in the account of passenger numbers. To offer- secure, cost competitive and efficient in services in the aviation hauling and to retain their employees dedication and devotion to fulfil the objectives of the industry, to maintain minimum standard of on time performance rate while complying will all application regulations and to sustain an environments where dignity and family values are being utilized. Objectives To achieve revenue growth annually To aim on having a bigger market share To have a better customer service than their rival companies To have a stronger business image Reputations with clients than rivals To be recognized as a leader among airline industries To compete in the global market To have a stable competitive advantage (Marivic .B 2009) 3.0 Micro environment analysis (Internal analysis) Organisations create worth of customer value being measured by a product performance characterises and by the credits which customers are willing to pay, by utilizing the capabilities and resources that are found internally and reaching the demand of standard global competition . These particular collection of capabilities and resources which gives the exclusive advantages to the organisation are therefore measured as core competencies Carpenter, Bauer, Erdogan (2009) 3.1 SWOT analysis (Strength and Weaknesses) Strengths The lowest cost in contrast to all the other LCC in Europe The low cost leadership had made it stand out from the arena of LCC industry in Europe The worlds most profitable airline According to the case Ryanair was the most profitable airline in the world on the basis of its operating and net profit margin, on per airline and passenger basis. Brand recognition It is claimed according to the case that Ryanairs website was the largest travel website in Europe and the fifth most recognized brand in Google The attitude of No frill Low fare To overcome the weakness of low passengers the airline restyled the system with this attitude Compared to other LCC airlines Ryanair has the most passengers 42 million passengers in 2007 Most amount of bases with most amount of aircrafts According to the case study Ryanair has flown from 16 bases with over 100 new Boeing 737-800 ordering further 138 new air crafts doubling the size Highest control in the EU low cost market 29.9% from the entire Low cost market Being the youngest fleet of all the major airlines in the EU Replacing its fleet of old aircrafts with new, more eco friendly aircrafts, minimizing the average age of its fleet to 2.4 years. Weaknesses Wheelchair chargers Bad reputation and ethical issues reflected when ryanair charged 18 pounds to use a wheelchair and in response to the protest it reduced the charge to 50 cents wheelchair toll on every passenger ticket Poor service quality The little legroom and unfriendly staff being the worst part of Ryanairs know-how Extra charge for food and luggages Carryon luggages being limited and making them check in bags allowing the passengers to walk in with minimum of hold luggage Bad relationship with the pilots Ryanair has bullied pilots to force them to agree to new contracts wherer they would have to pay 15,000 francs for retraining on new aircrafts if they left the airline. Airports in the suburbs Away from the main city make the customers inconvenient Negative response by the passengers for the additional services According to the case not all ancillary services initiatives were successful in 2005, passengers were resistance to pay additional amount because they thought it is not a worthwhile investment for a short flight. 3.2 The Value chain Infrastructure of the firm Around Europe Ryanair has 16 bases having the main bases in Stanstead and Dublin. The chargers of Ryanair airports are low due to its use of airports that are significantly away from the congested main airports. As adaptation for surcharges are not included for fuel they have to cut costs of on other ways with implementing chargers for the use of wheelchairs ,food and extra luggages. Ryanair having one type of aircrafts (boeing 737) they only have to train the pilots to fly thos particular plane hence can cut down costs as they do not have to be sent to various courses.The hierachial structure of Ryanair is very effective as the managers have to report to the CEO to make decision from the information given. Human Resource management Having the employees sleep in the bases and not having them stay in hotels has made Ryanair reduce costs. Ryanair can make future plans since they have a good roster for most of their workers having 4 days on and 3 days off. Technological development Online booking was introduced by Ryanair for the first time and thus they became eligible to reduce their costs. Self-check service enabling to the passengers was also introduced too thus Ryanair was able to reduce staff and cost. Having the youngest fleets in the EU made Ryanair reduced in costs for the new airplanes. Procurement Ryanair only providing a service and having to outsource the material they need. in addition to that they have to buy fuel and equipment collectively with leasing planes. Inbound logistics Out sourcing of handling services is very common fir a business like this I.e. cleaning service, food, medical services and security/safety. Operations Before setting off it is a must to check out all the planes and equipments by the pilots and the airports used are not very congested and only make point to point trips Marketing and sales Having the biggest website in Europe and having large advertising boards made them increase in sales and marketing. However the attempt of introducing the entertainment facility onto flights where customers had to pay more was failed as people refused to pay due to short journeys Service Having tried to keep the fleet up-to-date and letting the staff go on course once a year to improve their knowledge and making sure they know all the new regulations made Ryanair powerful on services as well. 3.3 VRIO Analysis Resources and capabilities can be regard as things that an organization own. It is essential to narrow down and clarify the core competencies to understand the meaning of the different organizational performances. If an organizations resource and capabilities are valuable, rare, inimitable and organized then it will direct to a sustainable competitive advantage. The internal analysis can thus be analyzed through this base of VRIO framework. Carpenter. M, Bauer. T, Erdogan .B (2009) Analysis of the case Recourses Valuable Rare Inimitability Organized Competitive Implication (1) Human Resources No No No No Competitive disadvantage (2) Finance Resources Yes Yes Yes Yes Sustainable competitive advantage (3) Tangible assets Yes No No Yes Competitive Parity (4) Intangible assets Yes Yes Yes Yes Sustainable competitive advantage (Table 1) The human resource of Ryanair is a competitive disadvantage as it highlights on bad relationship with pilots therefore it is not valuable it is not rare it is inimitable and it is not organized as it is not effectively arranged and deployed in the market. The Finance resources of Ryanair is valuable, it is rare, it cannot be imitated by other airlines and it is well organised and effectively arranged in the market thus it is a sustainable competitive advantage. The tangible assets of Ryanair i.e. the airplane types etc are valuable but they are not rare they can find them anywhere and the planes are imitable as any other company could have the same kind of flights. They are very well organized with the youngest planes and eco friendly with better airlines to come in to the firm in the future. Thus it has a competitive parity. The intangible assets of Ryanair especially the brand recognition are valuable they are rare and they are inimitable and they also effectively help the organisation to be organized. Thus it is a sustainable competitive advantage. 4.0 External analysis 4.1 SWOT analysis (Opportunities and Threats) Opportunities Sales increases due to credit crunch As a result of the recent recession the credit crunch made the sales increase as many customers wanted to reduce their costs. Can join the long haul market penetration by the possibility of taking over Aer Lingus As the result of losing the bid Miceal OLeary assumed that Aer Lingus can be bought over as it has no long term future. Most routes are being clear as other carriers start withdrawing As the clash increased with the routes of Ryanair other airlines such as My Travel Light are avoiding the routes all together. Threats Threats due to accidents If an accident happen in a LCC airline it will Marjory affect the firm as there are a very high percentage of significant reduce in demand Attacks of terrorists Attacks like 9/11 will reduce the demand for airlines. Increasing fuel price Ryanair limiting its ability to pass on increased costs to the passengers of low fare placing extra fare on the carriers as a policy to find cost saving in other spheres of its operations leading Ryanair for hedging. Possibility of taxation introduction Due to global warming there can be a environmental taxation Increased competition from developing countries Easyjet having and extra skyttax star For website booking and customer support Ryanair scored 1/5 in nine of the 16 criterias. (Bitterwallet nd) 4.2 The PESTLE analytical technique (Figure 1) The Macro Environmental analysis, What makes a good leader? Political One of the significant advantages to Ryanair is its political environment as the majority of its procedures are controlled within Europe. This region maintains political stability and it was a fact that we all knew. Even when there is government instability Ryanair does not experience issues as an apprehension regarding passenger volumes or flight destinations Economic For the airlines industry the increment of fuel price caused a major problem they had to cut corners if they did not hedge to accumulate cost on other areas. There can be seen a fall in demand for the flights due to the recent economic crisis. Hence job cuts increased and customers have low disposable income blocking them to spend on vacations. However this could be an advantage for other cheaper airline industries as there are people who are still able to afford a vacation as they are looking for lower cost alternatives. Social This factor has generally impacted Ryanairs business strategy. The prediction of Buyer behavior are becoming gradually more complex to forecast as loyalty are being shifted by the modern consumers from one brand to anther due to the differentiation of price and lack of basic buyer reliability. In addition to that the increasing competition among carriers with low cost fare is resulting in consumers mentally in which carrier to choose when traveling within Europe destinations. Technological The modern era is advance in technology which means that the entire industry is under change with more eco friendly and efficient. Online booking is one major improvement Ryanair has technological wise having the most visited travel website in Europe together with the fifth most recognized brand on Google Legal The heavily regulated industry with laws that are constantly adapting to new changers by not allowing liquid in the customers carry on luggages bring the legal aspect of Ryanair in to action. The new laws that implies to airline industries are the laws that are put across the industries to be more environmentally friendly. This will thus lead to companies fight ting to reduce carbon emission and make the industry less harmful to the environment to meet the terms of EU regulations. Environmental The external environment of Ryanair is somewhat stable. Nevertheless understanding the consumer behavior is Ryanairs biggest problem together with utilizing marketing applications to improve entire buyer patronage and sales performance. 4.3 Porters Five Forcers The case study will be discussed through the porters five forces analysis. This analysis is a very powerful yet simple technique to find out where the power stays in a business. This technique is used to comprehend the strengths of the present competitive position and the future where Ryanair is willing to go in. High Medium Low High Medium Bargaining power of suppliers In the airline industry there is a small number of low fare airlines, thus it shows a high threat according to the case Ryanair is being chosen by many customers for its lowest price. However by any chance if there is a price raise customers have a high potential of switching to another brand in brief customers have no loyalty towards one brand. Which gives the result as bargaining power of the suppliers is low. Bargaining power of buyers The potential of switching to other airlines are very common with LCCs since the customers are only looking for the cheapest. Therefore if Ryanair increase the cost under any circumstance there is a possibility of losing customer. In that case its evident that buyer bargaining power is high. Rivalry of competitors As a result of slow growth in the industry most carriers find it difficult to succeed the chance of succession is limited to a few firms because of the competition for market share. The high fixed cost and low product differentiation leads to high rivalry threat. This shows with Air Ligus, GlyBe and Easyjet following the similar path of Ryanair. Substitution Threat There are many substitutes for long trip i.e. Trains Buses, cars, ferries. However one cannot compare a plane with all of the above mentioned alternatives and a plane travel faster than any of them. Therefore substitute threat is moderate. The threat of new entry Airline industry is not the easiest to enter it has a lot of barriers. Ryanair is the market leader and with the implementations of new regulations and the pressure to reduce carbon emission makes it a moderate threat of new entry to the market. 4.4 Strategic groups Quality 3 2 1 Cost According to the dimensions of quality and cost of the entire industry (Refer appendix 1) 1st group falls under the same strategic group as they have same strategy of low cost leadership. 2nd group mainly serving to the people with a moderate income levels and moderate cost therefore they have the same strategy of medium cost leadership strategy. 3rd group falls under the same strategic group, as they have the same strategy of high cost high quality. Profitability 3 2 1 Number of passengers According to the dimension of profitability and number of passengers of Budget airline industry (Refer appendix 1) 1st group falls under the same strategic group as they have low profit and lowest number of passengers 2nd group falls under the same strategic group as they have medium profitability and medium amount of passengers travelling 3rd group falls under the same strategic group as they have high profitability and the highest number of passenger 5.0 Strategic choices and the recommended strategy The strategic framework of change management This framework helps Ryanair to understand the substantial change over recent years and the importance of organisational culture to organizational analysis. It also can be used to identify the key steps that could improve the management of change. However according to the Ryanair case study management is up to a good standard and therefore change management is least important The strategic framework for advertising challengers This framework can be implemented to Ryanair as it had an incident with a customer where she was mislead by an advertisement, yet this framework is also a less important The strategic framework for Customer Relationship Management This framework is used to broaden the understanding of CRM. Negative response by the passengers for the additional services Bad relationship with the pilots Poor service quality These are some of the weaknesses Ryanairs CRM come across thus to fill the bridge of the gap between negative attitude towards Customer relationship and to make it more favourable it is a must for ryanair to focus on the CRM. If Ryanair take this strategic frame work in to action they will be able to Become The most favourable airline in the industry The most profitable budget airline The positive word of mouth The well recognized brand in the industry Moreover with Customer relationship management the internal market will be looked in to with a positive perspective when the employees are motivated and when there is a beginning for employment recognition thus employees will be treated well which will lead to an overall success of the airline 6.0 Conclusion Ryanair case study was analysed through six analytical techniques (SWOT, PESTLE, Porters five Forces, Value chain, VRIO and strategic groups). Based on the analysers the management can now understand that in order to improve the strategic implementation they must follow the strategic framework of Customer relationship management It helps to bridge the gap and to meet their objectives. Therefore when the recommended framework is implemented the vision of Ryanair can be reached easily. 7.0 Referencing Beamish. H.R, 2008 Strategic management, 3rd edition, Pearson Prentice Hall Bourgeois L.J, Duhaime.I.M, Stimpert J.L, (1999) Strategic Management: a managerial perspective, 2nd Edition, Dryden press, USA Bourgeois L.J, Duhaime.I.M, Stimpert J.L, (1999) Strategic Management: a managerial perspective, 2nd Edition, Dryden press, USA Carpenter. M, Bauer. T, Erdogan .B (March 2009), Developing strategy through internal analysis Principles of management, ,Retrived on 15th April 2010 from http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/pub/1.0/principles-management/29045 Carpenter. M, Bauer. T, Erdogan .B (March 2009), Developing strategy through internal analysis, Principles of management and Organisational Behaviour, ,Retrived on 15th April 2010 from http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/pub/1.0/principles-management-and-orga/32825 De Puget.G, 2003, French Accent Ryanair Slow on Emotion, Brandchannel, Retrieved on 11th April 2010 from http://www.brandchannel.com/brand_speak.asp?bs_id=72 Eerste. P de, (2008), Boeing 737-800 RyanAir Textures, Retrieved on 25th April 2010 from http://simviation.com/simviation/index.php?type=itemHYPERLINK http://simviation.com/simviation/index.php?type=itemID=60page=9HYPERLINK http://simviation.com/simviation/index.php?type=itemID=60page=9ID=60HYPERLINK http://simviation.com/simviation/index.php?type=itemID=60page=9HYPERLINK http://simviation.com/simviation/index.php?type=itemID=60page=9page=9 GRUNDY, T. (2006) Rethinking and reinventing Michael Porters five forces model. Strategic Change. Vol 15, No 5, August. pp213-229. http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/essays-and-dissertations/porter-5-forces.php Haberberg, A. and Rieple, A. (2001), The Strategic Management of Organizations, Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Johnson, G., Scholes, K. (1997). Exploring corporate strategy (4th ed.). London: Prentice Hall Johnson G, Sholes K, Whittington R, (2005) Exploring Corporate Strategy: text and cases 7th Edition, London: Prentice Hall Marivic.B, 2009,Ryanair financial objective, Thinking made easy, Retrieved on 11th April 2010 from http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/03/ryanairs-financial-objectives.html Mun.J, (2008) Analysis of Ryanairs Competitive Advantages Business HYPERLINK http://www.associatedcontent.com/business/?cat=3HYPERLINK http://www.associatedcontent.com/business/?cat=3 Finance , Retrieved on 17th April 2010 from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1159874/analysis_of_ryanairs_competitive_advantages.html Porters five forces, Mind Tools retrieved on 12th April 2010 from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_08.htm Ryanair,Airfearsflights nd retrived on 10th April 2010 from http://www.airfaresflights.co.uk/airlines/Ryanair Figure 1 http://www.whatmakesagoodleader.com/macro-environment-analysis.html 8.0 Appendixes

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury :: Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451

Farenheit 451 Hello my name is Michael Clements, I attend Sout Gwinnett High School. In our English class we were assigned to read the book Farenhite 451. The book was verry unique unlike any other i have ever read. The author of Farenhite 451 told of much science fiction that became true over the present years. I think he is a verry good observer. In this paper the critics view, analysis of literacy device, and the revelance to society today. These topics will be mentioned and shared throught the paper. The critic that criticizes you, Mr. Bradburry is verry supportive of your book Farenheit 451. The critic Pauln A. Gilster shars his thoughts on your book clearly and freely. The quote I chose from Gilsters article stated, "The real power of the tale is the lean language Bradburry assigns his villains. (Document A) I chose this small part because i am interested in the make up of your characters. One good quote from your novel that supports this is stated by Beatty, "For everyone nowadays knows absolutely nothing will ever happen to me." (133) When beatty says this he is refering to everyones thoughts. This shows the smoothness of the novel and the realistic imagry of todays society. Throughout the book literary devices makes the writing exciting to read. A passage from a document shows the ritics response that i agree with. Gilster states "All of Bradburrys pieces of work are laced with extravagance, and airy chiffon's language."(Document A) Mr. Bradburry you are a brilliant. Imaginative writings are quoted to describe certain objects. "The police helicopters were rising so far away it seemed someone had blown the gray head off a dandelion flower. Two dozen of them flurried, wavering, indecisive, three miles off, like butterflies puzzled by autumn, and thy were plummeting down to land, one by one, here, there, softly kneading the streets where, turning back to beetles, they shreaked along the boulevards or, as suddenly, leaped back into the air, continuing their search."(226) This Writing From the novel Farenheit 451 was written with great similes metaphors and outstanding imagery. I in my imagination i could see the the helicopters as dandelion seeds. it also g ave me a sense of a summer afternoon, i can see the helicopters making a shadow over the sunset. Only can i see this with your great description. not only can i see the helicopter i can feel it feel like i am there watching.

New Political Dispensation in South Africa Black Economic Empowerment (Bee)

Pro forma 1. Aims of the Dissertation: Since the new political dispensation in South Africa black economic empowerment (BEE) has continually come under scrutiny (Leonard & Grobler, 2006). It has been seen as an ethically just initiative to compensate previously disadvantage individuals, and as a pragmatic strategy, which undercuts the nation of merit with a very strong undertone of racism. Increasingly, physicians, in both primary care and specialities form partnership of single or multi-specialty group practices as competition among physicians grows.The purpose of this dissertation would be to investigate challenges transformational leaders are facing within private pathology services in South Africa. Nationalization of medical funders and how it would affect the private business has long been a concern within the South African private pathology market. Focusing on change strategy and how the role of different leadership images can be applied in making multicultural knowledge sharin g work and eventually develop an organizational culture were people feel empowered.To quote Kotter and Heskett (1992), â€Å"When culture are our own, they often go unnoticed, until we try to implement a new strategy or program which is incompatible with their central norms and values. Then we observe first hand, the power of culture. † Culture and organizational structure dimensions relationship within private pathology have in recent years being influenced by advancements made in technology, regulation enforced by current political dispensation and the emerging characteristic of the 21st century corporations.The aim of this dissertation will be to determine whether the current leadership and culture in this fast changing social and economical environment will have an impact on sustainable growth of the pathology sector and whether current organisational structures will be able to address the internal and external impacts of a fast changing environment. In order to determine the impact of leadership and culture influence the researcher will concentrate on the four dimensions of organizational structures: Specialization – people with the necessary skills and knowledge that can contribute towards sustainable growth †¢ Standardization – technological development and advancements in the industry and their impact on private pathology industry sustainable growth †¢ Formalization – the way how current leadership formalizes rules, regulations and instructions and the impact current internal and external leadership and culture have on sustainable growth †¢ Centralization – the effectiveness of communication and the perception people develop around the centralization of certain core and supplemental servicesMany researchers have studied leadership impact and cultural differences in a fast changing environment. Hofstede’s four dimensions of organization culture such as individualism / collectiveness, power distanc e, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity / femininity within the four dimensions of organizational structure will play a significant role in the interpretation of the results.In answering these questions the researcher aims to deliver a dissertation paper which would concentrate on finding answers to the challenges leaders face in developing an organizational culture based on enhancing innovation, enhance competitive advantage, motivate staff, and increase quality and customer value. The Nadler and Tushman’s Congruence Model of change (Palmer, Dunford, & Akin 2009, pp. 126-128) will form the basis around which leadership dynamics will be developed in aligning private pathology practise (services) within the current South African context (regulations, technology, culture) of change.We all desire to feel self-worth and make contributions and be recognized for them. It is through this investigation that the research might develop a deeper understanding of the dynamics of change within private pathology practises. Challenging the status quo through the formulation of a strategy that would address the current inequalities (culture and knowledge) might result in an organizational culture that all can associate with. Organizational culture is a complex set of values, believes, assumptions, and symbols that defines the way an organization defines it business.The Nadler and Tushman’s congruence model will assist the researcher in conceptualized the dynamics of leadership and culture within private pathology. 2. Methodology: Centralization and standardization received high priority and specialization and formalization were exclusively the responsibility of power distance unequal distribution of power from top management. Culture, in organizational context, may be broadly defined as the sum of groups, or nation way of thinking, believing, feeling and acting and will inadvertently play a significant role in the restructuring process of any organization.Give n the nature and complexity of the issues to be examined, the research approach would be to conduct a multi-step study incorporating both quantitative and qualitative methods. Literature research for the dissertation will concentrate on the sense-making process of change and the leadership images involved in change processes within the private medical practice industry within South Africa (Kally, Wale, Soudien and Steyn, 2007). Change in private pathology within South Africa is technology and politically driven. The pressure current government places on private sector to comply have in recent years been intensified.Private industry in general had to comply with employment equity regulation or face strict penalties that will economically impact on the organization. The aim of this research will be to determine whether leadership could keep up to these fast changing environments and to what extent culture difference has an impact on the organizational culture. The research hypothesis relies on factual data in proving current hierarchy structure and current change leadership as well as the cultures characteristics, create a ‘tipping point’, where current sustainable growth will not be attainable.Quantitative research The researcher will collect factual data from Human Resources (HR) about employee turnover the past three to five years. This data will then be sorted according to employee turnover, training, disciplines within the different designted groups (Africans, Coloureds, Indians and Whites) and at the different professional levels throughout the organization. The aim of this process will be to identify areas of concerns and will guide the researcher to develop an initial impression of the general culture within the company.The researcher will be guided by literature on the subject of leadership, culture and the sense-making process of change in such a diverse working environment. Internal data or the triangulation ‘within-methods’ of information from the company with regards to employment, lay-off disciplinary actions, training and social activities will be collected from Human Resources (HR) in a process to understand the current organizational culture and develop an idea or hypothesis around these facets and the impact of current culture diversities within the company (Maxwell & Rijamampianina, 2002) will have on future sustainable growth.Qualitative research The research approach throughout this dissertation will rest on factual literature, observation and and non-random (non-probability) sampling of survey data. Purpositive sampling (White, 2000: 63) which will indicate why change transformation in the private pathology practice is important for future if sustainable growth is to be maintained. Managing such a diverse workforce is challenging but economically imperative. Thus asking question around perception and expectation will form the basis of interviews and questions.The researcher through these ques tion aims to understand the behaviour actions and perception people have developed which may have led to the current organizational culture: †¢ Are we moving towards a workforce that will be operationally focused and rely on technology advancement made in first world countries in maintaining sustainable growth? †¢ Has the focus of management shifted towards advancement made in technology and not on employment of a workforce with the necessary skills and knowledge? Is the vast amount of internal knowledge and skills residing within employees being utilized and are employees empowered to contribute towards sustainable growth? †¢ Did employment equity requirements to any extend result in the organization developing a strategy that would be less reliance on knowledge but on automation of routine analysis which as though would address the compliance issue towards current pressure to change? †¢ Will the current leadership and culture dynamics within private pathology l ead to sustainable growth?The challenge of the qualitative research will be to find answers relating to questions above through asking questions relating to knowledge management, job satisfaction, employee benefits and general relationship within the workplace. A combination of interviews and survey question will be designed around these issues. Holistic realistic sense-making process throughout the research will play a significant role in the recommendation of a change model that would incorporate the data from surveys, interviews and literature.Sense – making refers to implementation of change processes that would not place unnecessary strain on the existing infrastructure and profit margins of the organization. Greenhalgh & Todd (1989) observed that survivor sense making and the reaction to organization decline may be due to job insecurity as an attitudinal variable and will definitely influence the sustainability of private pathology on the long run. Whether current organ izational culture and the impact of fast changing external environments and work relationships will have an impact on sustainable growth needs to be confirmed.The researcher also realizes that true qualitative and quantitative data observation may revert back to sense – making process and literature justification too support any generalization of results and that this approach may be unique to the private pathology industry in South Africa. 3. Feasibility and Required Resources: The proposed research project will require certain data that might be sensitive to the organization. For the purpose of confidentiality, company names and places will not be mentioned.As highlighted in the method above literature research will mainly concentrate on publications generated in South Africa. Additional supportive literature with regards to leadership and cultural will be sourced in support of the information obtained through the method as described above. When required or necessarily, sup portive and additional information will be sourced from international literature in support of the findings.The initial data will be soured from HR and analysed as discussed in method. Qualitative and quantitative interviews and survey will be compiled in order to get a deeper understanding and feeling about the current organisational culture and leadership dynamics. 4. Relationship to Existing Published Work: The power of servant leadership to transform health care organizations in the 21st century has been a point of discussion as well as a point of concern for many leaders within these organizations.Despite the fast changing market environment of health care services organization still practise an outmoded transactional style of leadership based on organizational hierarchies that are inherently stagnant (Schwartz & Tumblin, 2002). Leadership styles are not novel concepts but few physicians (leaders) have been introduced to transformational, situational and servant leadership styl es or combination thereof with the goal of creating an environment of learning that will be beneficial to the organization and the economy it serves.The article by Swartz and Tumblin (2002) managed to address the importance of change leadership and transformation as well as the influence that emotional intelligence and ethical behaviour has on the fast changing internal and external forces within the medical environment. Holistic sense-making process will be applied throughout this project. Introducing a generic conceptual and methodological process for the fast emerging social and intellectual patterns currently seen in the private pathology field and the impact leadership sense-making process will have on sustainable growth.Making-sense of our own reality and applying the knowledge gained through a process of sense making in understanding current situation within the private pathology practices is the initial approach the researcher has in mind. In the article ‘Making sense of executive sense-making’ by Parry (2003) the author has identified seven characteristics of sense-making that might be applicable and might form the basis of change strategies when addressing the leadership images appropriate in private pathology practises. Parry (2003) introduced the researcher to the possible epistemological problems that might be encountered throughout the studies.Throughout the analysis process of the article by Parry (2003) the researcher realized that sense-making process might be restricted to literature referencing as any deductions made from the literature will be qualitative. The new political dispensation in South Africa paved the way towards multicultural organizations changes. Together with current changes of global markets private pathology have been effected in ways were new cultures have changed and impacted on current values and behaviours of people within the organization.Rijamampianina and Maxwell (2002) believe that managing multicultura l organizations will be challenging and will call for a leadership style that recognizes cultural diversity and a willingness to share success, share mental models, share vision and share competence to the extend that people feel empower prior to changing or adapting to any dominant organization culture. Rijamampianina and Maxwell (2002) proposed a model of change, which focused on the creation of an environment of learning and interaction as the basis of accommodating a diverse culture.Making business decisions around leadership dynamics culture impact and change strategies is a crucial job and most properly one of the riskiest especially when external environments of change place significant pressure on private business to change. Bad decisions can ruin your company and are normally the result of distortion of biases, mental flaws and the sabotage of reasoning the psychological traps of the unconscious. Addressing the status quo in an environment was external and internal pressure s dictated the rationality and objectivity of decisions and the biases that influence the choices we make.Very often decision makers (leaders) display a strong bias towards alternatives that would perpetuate the status quo (Hammond, Keeney, & Raiffa, 1998). Then again, private pathology status quo may indeed be the best choice as they in general have developed dependence around service from developers of technology and analysis techniques. Hammond, Keeney, and Raiffa focused on decision making and the trade-off as well as the difficulties associated with flawed thinking as described in â€Å"The hidden traps of decision making. Over the years a number of publication that have addressed the concerns of culture and leadership in South Africa (e. g. Rensburg, 1993; Booysen, 2007; Coldwell & Moerdyk, 1981; Schwartz & Tumblin, 2002; Finestone & Snyman, 2006) all have studies certain relationships that resulted from the new democratic dispensation. Even if we find a solution to the diver sity within private pathology a realization that maintaining quality across the network of pathology services will be a priority through the project.The purposed model of change should stand the sense-making of transformational leadership and the following publications touched on the subject (e. g. Leonard & Grobler, 2006; Parry, 2003; Greehalgh & Todd, 1989; Labiance, Gray & Brass, 2000). Dombai & Verwey (1999) focussed on the impact of organizational culture as context of interpersonal meaning on the management of organizational diversity. The authors have demonstrated that affirmative action employment may develop perception among individuals or groups that previously disadvantage groups will be appointed without the necessary credentials, knowledge or skills.The authors empirical research managed to prove that individuals experience of organizational culture as a context for the construction of meaning, are more important to diversity management than individual value differences as result of diversity in term of age, gender or race. In conclusion, the researcher knows that literature survey will from the basis of the dissertation with the understanding to develop a model of change that could address current leadership and culture diversities in private pathology.The researcher almost through the evaluation of the article became aware of the vast literature available on this subject. The challenge however will be find relevant information, which will support and be supplemental to the research. 5. Why You Are Doing This Topic: Current political situation and the fast changing global environments as well as the current technology advancement made in the medical pathology practice and the effect these factors have on the sustainability of private pathology are but some of the reason of doing this project.

Evaluating a Website for Credibility Essay

A search for men’s health related website conducted using the public search engine Google.com. Men’s Health Network (MHN), http://www.menshealthnetwork.org, is a nonprofit organization reaching out to males and their families focusing on the growing health crisis that affect the premature mortality of men (Men’s Health Network, 2014). Approximately 50% of the population is male; evaluating the sites credibility is important when using it as an educational tool for male patients related to prevention and management of health. Evaluation of website MHN is comprised of spokespersons and advisory board. The website discloses a limited list of spokespersons with title and areas of educational focus. The site states, â€Å"†¦there are over 800 physicians, mental health experts, and other key thought leaders among the MHN Board of Advisors†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Men’s Health Network, 2014). The readability of the website is not technical, the average person will be able to read the information on the site and be able to understand the intent of the organizations message. The information that is presented is accurate but referencing to studies and citations are lacking or difficult to find. Brief explanations of diseases are summarized followed by links to outside sources such as the American Urology Association, National Institute of Health, or Journal of Men’s Health for additional information. MHN is sponsored by monetary donations from the public as well as internships to promote education to the public and policy makers related to men’s health (Men’s Health Network, 2014). Partnerships are publicly display at the bottom of the website and range from for-profit drug companies such as Glaxo Smith Kline, Bayer and Pfizer as well as nonprofit organizations such as Boy Scouts of America and Veterans Health Council. Since the number of for-profit partnerships with MHN supersedes the  nonprofit partnerships, one can view the information provided on MHN as favoring the for profit companies despite MHN having links to outside sources for information on diseases. MHN website navigation is user friendly with headings at the top of the web pages that are identical on every page. The font utilized is clear, easy to read, and not strenuous on the eyes. All links in headings are operational and link phrases are clearly described to target page. MHN security link states commitment to ensuring user privacy and that any information collected is used only in accordance to the November 2012 policy (Men’s Health Network, 2014). MHN informs that the website will request permission to place â€Å"cookies† on user’s computer. The term â€Å"cookie† is defined and gives the user informed consent. MHN clearly states that clicking links to partnerships and outside sources link takes the user away from MHN site and states, â€Å"we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement.† (Men’s Health Network, 2014). Empirical evidence Building credibility for a website requires providing links to reputable organizations which increase traffic, thereby increasing its relevance in search outcomes (Calabro, 2010). MHN achieves this with a banner containing links to other organizations for the reader to get additional information, but the sites that the reader is linked to do not always reciprocate a link back. Calabro (2010) suggests that updating the home page regularly with updated graphics, information, and testimonials are vital to enhancing the websites presence on the internet. MHN, compared to www.nih.org which publicly displays the sites last revision, information contained on the site doesn’t display last revision although there is updating to the site by evidence of seminar announcements, online flyers, and press releases. In a study of 1,442 acute care nurses employed in one large hospital system with readily available library sources, 43% reported starting a search with Google. Of that group 64% reported success in obtaining results using a general search engine such as Google. While 49% started a search using CINAHL or MEDLINE, a much smaller percentage reported successful searching (20% and 24% respectively) of these professional databases. (Miller, Graves, Jones, & Sievert, 2010, p. 3) Not having a subscription to CINAHL or  MEDLINE, according to (Miller et al., 2010), should not hinder knowledgeable nurses in using public search engines for credible information as a tool to educate patients and families. Application to nursing practice Evaluating information found on the internet is important to properly educate patients as MHN provides educational material for men, boys, women and families. The professional nurse can utilize the site resources to aide families to cope with ailments that affect their male loved ones. Nurses can resource MHN to provide information to families to co-pay card programs to curb the high cost of health insurance. Summary MHN demonstrates credibility by the use of expert advising board and links to creditable organizations which have done studies to support their mission. The site is easy to find on public search engines, easy to read for the lay person while giving links to more detailed information for the healthcare professional. References Calabro A 2010 Endhave your presensce on the internet with an improved website.Calabro, A. (2010). Enhance your presence on the internet with an improved website. O&P Business News, 19(12), 18. 201409201149291993026019 Mens Health NetworkMen’s Health Network. (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2014, from http://www.menshealthnetwork.org 201409161816071882827044 Miller L C Graves R S Jones B B Sievert M C 2010 Beyond Google: Finding and evaluating web-based information for community-based nursing practice.Miller, L. C., Graves, R. S., Jones, B. B., & Sievert, M. C. (2010). Beyond Google: Finding and evaluating web-based information for community-based nursing practice. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 7(1), 1-16. doi:10.2202/1548-923X.1961 201409201214161550333619