The Possible Mechanisms of Scrapie Contraction Essay -- Biology Medica

The Possible Mechanisms of Scrapie Contraction Scrapie was first discovered in Great Britain in the late 1900’s. The first case of scrapie in the United States was found in Michigan in 1947 when the flock owner had imported sheep of British origin several years prior. Since then scientists have researched to find the cause of the scrapie agent that are classified as transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. At the present, scientists have presented three main theories that explain why the scrapie agent holds a dangerous threat against its host and how it elicits its symptoms. Scientists are finding genetic alternatives to prevent and dampen the spread of scrapie within sheep and goat flocks. They use methods such as tatoing and genetic selection to regulate animals exposure to the pathogen. Scrapie is defined as a fatal, degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of sheep and goats. It is widely feared because of its uncertain origin and therefore its seemingly incurable status. It is closely related and often associated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE; also known as â€Å"Mad Cow† disease), as well Chronic Wasting Disease (found in deer and elk) all of which are classified as transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. (Q&A. July 2005 http://www.animalagriculture.org/scrapie/AboutScrapie/QandA.htm) Scrapie is usually transmitted from the mother to her baby sheep or goats, through the placenta or the placental fluids. Animals infected with scrapie experience the symptoms and effects of the disease after two to five years post infection. Scrapie can be transmitted to susceptible sheep and goats through contact with the placenta and placental fluids of infected animals. There has been no evidence of human trans... ...entists alike are trying to make up new procedures of prevention to dampen the further spread of scrapie throughout the population of sheep and goats. Such measures taken to prevent the spread of scrapie include the genetic-based flock clean up plan. Here, genetic selection is used as the primary means of scrapie regulation. The United State s Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service is using genetic testing to determine which exposed animals must be removed or restricted in affected flocks and which are free to move unrestricted. This genetic clean up plan calls for the removal or restriction of all exposed susceptible sheep and goats as well as a five-year cycle of strict monitoring for the breeding of all the livestock (The Genetics of Scrapie Susceptibility. July 26 2005: http://www.aphis.usda/gov/us/nahps/scrapie/scrapie_genetics.pdf).

Child Psychology Essay

Q1 what are the six sensitive periods? Write 7-8 lines on each of them. Answer. After working with children from all backgrounds, Maria Montessori concluded that despite their differences all children experience a time span when he/she acquires specific knowledge from his surroundings through his focused activities and that too without getting bored and tired. This time span or time periods are called as the sensitive periods. As and when the need of knowledge and understanding has been fulfilled, a child’s sensitivity naturally moves on to acquiring a new one. Thus, Maria Montessori observed six sensitive periods. They are as follows; 1. Sensitivity to Order 2. Sensitivity for refinement of senses 3. Sensitivity to Language 4. Sensitivity for walking 5. Sensitivity for small objects 6. Sensitivity to social aspects of life. 1. Sensitivity to Order: Appears in child’s 1st year and continues through the 4th year. Order is a sensitive period that exemplifies a child’s desire for consistency and repetition, along with established routines. The child has two different perspectives to order, the external order which relates to his/her environment and the inner order which makes him/her aware of his/her own external body parts and their relative position. A child who goes through this period can be extremely affected by disorder. The environment for this period should accommodate the need of order. During this period, the child desires to sort out and sequence everything that is appropriately placed for him/her to do so. Eventually this sense of order will become a permanent part of him/her. Stacking cups, resting stackers are great material to promote order. 2. Sensitivity for refinement of senses: It begins from the time a child crawls till the 8th yr. of his age. Refinement of the senses is a fascination with the five human senses i.e., the taste, sound, touch, smell and vision. In order to interact with the environment, children need to use their senses. The sharper the senses, the more information children can program in their mind. And it will stay so throughout their adult years. In this period the children also begin to co-ordinate the interaction between all the senses. Feel and touch books and boards, smelling bottles etc are good to enhance the sensing activity in children. 3. Sensitivity to language: This period lasts from the birth to 6yrs. A child begins his/her journey towards acquiring language by listening and observing others speak in their environment. And almost magically, a child babbles his/her first words. Soon he/she starts constructing grammatically correct phrases and sentences. All of this has developed as a result of the child’s inner need towards acquiring language. Dr. Montessori says that if for any reason a child is not exposed to language during sensitive period, he/she will suffer limitation in his/her intellectual growth that can never be totally compensated. First picture word books are good to promote sensitivity to language. 4. Sensitivity for walking: This period starts from 1yr. onwards. No other mammal has to learn to walk. Walking develops without it being taught. A child becomes frustrated when an adult impedes his motion by picking him/her up. A child walks to perfect his walking, whereas we walk to go someplace. Once the child has done perfecting to walk, it’s time to jump, hop, skip, climb, carry things, and balance objects etc. Balance beam, slides etc. are good to promote sensitivity for walking. 5. Sensitivity for small objects: From 1yr. till 4yrs. After perfecting to walk, a child focuses on using his/her hand. He/she wants to pick up small objects e.g. Small insects, pebbles, stones, grass etc. Thus he/she tries to refine his/her hand-eye co-ordination. The sensitive period for small objects also describes a child’s fixation on small things and tiny details. Thus, this is the child’s effort to build-up an understanding of the world. 6. Sensitivity to social aspects: It starts from about 21/2 yrs. Through 6yrs. At this age children starts understanding that they are a part of a group and thus begin to co-operate with others. This allows him/her to be safe and socially acceptable in his environment. Any deprivation of social interaction during this period will make him/her less socially confident and uncomfortable around others. Play dates, group activities are good to promote sensitivity to social aspects. All the learning that happens during the sensitive period of a child can happen quietly and unnoticed as long as the environment satisfies the child’s needs. Child’s learning during these stages is the foundation upon which much of their future gets built. Q2. What are the three stages of child development? Write two paragraphs on each of the two sub-phases of the first stage: 0 to 6 years. Answer: Child development stages are developmental milestones or specific achievement that children reach by a certain age. The three stages of child development are:- 1. First stage( 0 to 6years): – It has two sub phases: a. 0 to 3years b. 3 to 6 years 2. Second stage (6 to 12 years): This is a stage when a child is calm, happy, and self assured. They seek the company of their friends. 3. Third stage( 12 to 18years ): It has two sub phases: a. 12 to 15years(Puberty) b. 15 to 18years(Adolescent) There is a transformation in both physical and mental development of the child in this stage. 1. First stage: This stage is between 0 to 6years. It has two sub phases. The sensitive periods are the strongest in this stage. The sub phase 0 to 3years is also called as the unconscious absorbent mind. The child has a mind that cannot be taught by direct methods of teaching. Thus, there are no schools for this age children. Whatever the child learns is unconsciously from his environment by using his sense of seeing and hearing. Provision of a suitable environment greatly helps a child in this stage. The sub phase 3 to 6years is also called as the conscious absorbent mind. Child becomes receptive to adult influence. The child starts developing a personality by remembering and using what he learnt in first 3years of his/her life. The sense of touch is coordinated with the mind. Hands become a main tool of learning. This stage is also a time for social development and making friends. Q3. Write a short note on: A) Natural laws of development B) Characteristics of child development A) Natural laws of development Child development refers to the physical, mental and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the end of adolescence, as the individual progresses from being dependent to being independent. According to the laws of growth and development â€Å"Man creates himself†. The child is the constructor and maker of the adult or as to say father of the man. In the prenatal period the child has established all the vital organs which after birth are developed enough for survival. Nature has its own laws regarding what the human being should achieve, when and how. Genetics also plays its critical part. It is difficult for us to decide when we adults can and should take over the tasks hitherto done by nature. For example: a child cannot be forced to start walking before the right stage. Thus it’s for the parents and educators to provide a suitable environment, where a child will be free to develop, to learn to walk and explore and thus growing within the laws of natural development. The natural development of children proceeds through several distinct stages of development, each one having its own unique conditions and sensitive periods for acquiring basic knowledge in the developmental process. We cannot interfere with these laws of growth. We are facilitators and observers only. And each child has their own stages of learning and understanding the world around. B) Characteristics of child development Human development has two aspects- physical and mental or psychical. Dr. Maria Montessori identified certain human characteristics and they are- self preservation, orientation to the environment, communication, order, exploration, work or purposeful activity, exactness, repetition, abstraction etc. These human characteristics are the driving behavior in every stage of development of a child, and education should respond to and facilitate their expression. A well prepared environment is what is needed so that specific characteristics of a child at different ages are given a free expression. Its function will be to allow a child to develop wholly and independently in all areas. Education is not about a certain curriculum to be completed in a certain class and age; instead it is about developing a child into a whole human being by letting the child learn without force. The child will be stimulated to develop to his/her full potential as per his/her innate characteristics because of this prepared environment.

Lean Thinking Model and Its’ Positive Effects on Manufacturing Processes

Running Head: Lean Thinking Model Lean Thinking Model and its' Positive Effects on Manufacturing Processes June 11, 2009 Table of Contents Introduction4 Steps of the Lean Manufacturing Process5 Step 1:Identify the Value to Customers in Specific Products and Services5 Step 2:Identify the Business Processes the Delivers this Value to Customers8 Step 3:Organize Work Arrangements around the Flow of the Business Process8 Step 4:Create a Pull System that Responds to Customer Demands9 Step 5:Continuously Pursue Perfection in the Business Process10 Summary12 References14 Abstract The lean thinking model has many positive effects on the manufacturing process. The model aids companies in the significant reduction of both human and natural resources by removing waste from all aspects of the manufacturing process. Establishing sound processes will in turn help to eliminate waste in production, workforce, and management resources. The lean thinking model is a process with multiple steps involved to ensure effectiveness for a company. These steps are guidelines that do not fit every organization exactly since there are so many differences between businesses. The function of lean is to seek and find the value of your business. This process will determine the customer’s needs, allow for the removal of non-value added functions and tasks, and materials to become a lean business machine. Henry Ford and the Toyota Company depict an example of the lean thinking model. They invented, re-invented, and added to the lean thinking model over the years and have demonstrated that the model does elp create an efficient business. Introduction The Lean Thinking Model (or lean) falls directly in line with expectations of customers needs for a particular product line by totally reducing excess waste out of the process. A company using lean must optimize the flow of production processes in order to make it cost effective and an efficient process. The philosophy of lean is to remove all waste in the manufacturing process, prov ide reasonable pricing to the customer, which in turn will result in company profits and stability. Toyota is the forerunner of the Lean manufacturing process and has been utilizing, improving and perfecting this method since 1902 (Becker, 2009). Toyota’s hourly wage including benefits such as health care and pensions plans is significantly less in comparison to their other competitors. Toyota’s rate is $48. 00 dollars an hour where GM’s rate is $69. 00 dollars an hour (Hirschfeld Davis, 2008). With both the current economic crisis and government bailouts, some of Toyota’s automobile competitors obviously did not follow the lean manufacturing process. Therefore, Toyota is one of the top automobile companies today. The Toyota Production System is credited for Toyota because of their â€Å"sustained leadership in manufacturing performance† (Johnsoton, 2001). Toyota has adapted to changes within the automobile industry with excellence. They drive towards â€Å"continuously improving the micro levels of manufacturing processes through identification and systematic reduction or elimination of non-value adding activities† (Sullivan, 2008). Dennis Sowards stated it very well when he said, â€Å"For lean construction to be truly successful, it requires a cultural change in the company, not a few random uses† (Sowards, 2009). Not only must a company participate in a cultural change, they must develop a plan to change their processes and their way of thinking. Company programs lacking support and participation from employees’ typically are unsuccessful. There are five management steps contained within the Lean Thinking Model. This management step approach works well when applied to organize a company’s resources such as equipment and personnel. These resources are incorporated â€Å"†¦around the flow of business processes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and the products are â€Å"†¦pulled through this process in response to customer orders† (Garrison et al. , 2008, p. 13). A company will see many benefits from this process, which could include â€Å"lower inventories, fewer defects, less wasted effort, and quicker customer response times† (Garrison et al. , 2008, p. 13). Shown below are the five lean steps along with descriptions of each demonstrating the significant of how these steps contribute to the success of a company. Steps of the Lean Manufacturing Process Step 1:Identify the Value to Customers in Specific Products and Services In order to sustain business, a company must identify what the customer values in a product and service which will bring that customer back to buy again. A prime example where customers were disappointed by a product change is when the Coca Cola Company © released their new product called The New Coke ©. This occurred in 1985 after the Coca Cola Company © researched and marketed a new product formula, which they initially intended to replace their orginal Coca Cola © Classic formula. Have you seen New Coke © product invending machines or on the grocery shelves anywhere today? No. Because customers hated the new product and wanted their original Coca Cola © back. The Coca Cola © company did not find out what their customer wanted prior to changing their formula and their customers were highly offended. Lessons learned: The organization found out very quickly that their customer found absolutely no value in their new product. Coca Cola Company © spent four hundred million dollars for research, development and marketing of the new formula (Unknown, 2009). After 87 days of bad press, customer letters and phone calls with complaints against the new formula, the Coca Cola © Company pulled the New Coke © product off the shelves (Unknown, 2009). The organization could have prevented this issue. They could have sent out Coca Cola © samples to millions of customers rather than the initial two hundred thousand of taste testers (Unknown, 2009). The reason for this anology is that the target group of Coca Cola © lovers is in the millions, not in the thousands. To keep prices as low as possible, and create a sustainable competitive advantage, waste must be removed from the manufacturing process (Baker, 2006). This includes the office worker who wastes time with two hours of cooler talk, the shop worker who is standing idley by waiting for the production line to gear back up, or there are missing steps to the design flow process. For an organization to be lean, the idea must be implemented from top down, not from the bottom up. It must include support from all levels. When individuals are standing around and others are working excessively, there is an imbalance in the work flow process which could be corrected by implementing cross-training throughout various departments (Baker, 2006). Part of the waste reduction process is identifying all pocesses or business elements that create waste and then modifying them to reduce that waste. Most organizations think that the lean process is to clean and organize an office, for example, or shift personnel around without any thought to reduce non-value added functions. By pulling out those steps that do not add value from the customers point of view and by removing waste, a company may just have a sustainable product on their hands (Baker, 2006). A business that understands the customer’s values will be able to provide that customer with a product that they need. Remember, the lines of communication must remain open. Customer’s feedback for products is extremely important. The customer feedback provides an invaluable tool to maintain existing quality and steps to improve a product line if needed. The customer interaction is a part of the lean process. This step in the lean process takes constant maintenance and interaction between both parties on regular bases (Baker, 2006). Company’s that value their customer opinions helps the organization improve product lines, reduce waste, and adds value for success. What causes a customer to remain loyal to a particular brand and purchase it repeatedly? It is often that a customer finds value in a specific brand name, not just the item. For instance, some people will only wear Nike © tennis shoes, this is specific brand loyalty. The value of a reasonable priced item is typically a good second indicator, but not always. Product price versus the quality of the product is another comparison the customers will make prior to buying. It has been my personnel experience that a cheaper product of lesser quality will often need to replaced because it worn out too soon. If the quality of the product lasts as long as the customer feels it should based on the price of the item, then when it is time to replace it, they are more likely to venture back to the same brand. What the customer values in a particular product must be identified to meet their budgets need and keep them coming back as a repeat customer for the company. Customer loyalty is free advertising for the manufacturer. When customers are happy about the products or services that they receive from a business, they brag about the product and the organization. Bragging is free advertising of products or services. By acknowledging the value of customer feedback, making the customer feel good while using a particular product, the company may gain a loyal friend for life. Step 2:Identify the Business Processes the Delivers this Value to Customers After a business identifies what products and services the customer wants, needs and values, their business processes that deliver these products and services must be identified as well (Garrison, et. al, 2008, p 14). The next step is to lean out those processes to make them more efficient. During this step of the lean process, there are no departmental boundaries in the company’s organizational chart when determining what business process will deliver the identified value to the customer (Garrison, et. l, 2008, p 14). This element removes waste from both manufacturing and human resources. This ensures effective processes. Each business department has the opportunity to be lean. Step 3:Organize Work Arrangements around the Flow of the Business Process Effective layout for business flow is essentional to an efficient production line (Sullivan, 2008). The Lean Manufacturing system organizes process and p laces them in manufacturing cells based on the product that they are creating. The cellular approach takes employees and equipment from departments that were previously separated from one another and places them side-by-side in a work space called a cell† (Garrison, et. al, 2008 p 14). Every aspect from the equipment process line to the employee running the machines is organized in a cell. Training the employees to perform all the steps in their manufacturing cell ensures accurate and consistent skill training. This step ensures that the manufacturing of the product is completed in a sequential manner that follows detailed process steps. By applying this step, time reduction for an employee in the overall process will take place. For example, the employee would no longer have to run clear across the two-mile plant to obtain the nut for the bolt that was produced in their cell. The bolts and nuts would be in the same cell since it is part of the new process cell. This is a significant cost savings for the company, which is passed directly to the customer. Step 4:Create a Pull System that Responds to Customer Demands Creating a pull system to respond to customer demands starts by a customer placing a product or service order. A company reduces inventories to bare minimum levels because production will only occur after the customer orders something from the organization. â€Å"In an ideal situation the company would only purchase the raw materials needed for each day or shift of operation, with none left at the end of the day and immediately ship the finished goods to the customer† (Garrison, et. al, 2008 p 14). This sometimes can cause a problem. This type of workflow pattern can cause work stoppages because when orders are not coming in, workers are waiting for customer orders to perform work (Garrison, et. al, 2008 p 14). This problem can be alleviated by ensuring that cross training is conducted with those employees that may have to wait for orders. Just-in-Time (JIT) is another example of a pull system and is used at many large manufacturing companies such as Northrop Grumman, Ford and Toyota. When the JIT System is applied to a manufacturing process, materials are purchased for what is needed, when they are needed, and the quantities produced are based specifically on what customers order. The JIT system made Henry Ford and Toyota famous in their efforts to minimize waste and organize their manufacturing process successfully. For example, Toyota to this day does not start production on their vehicles until there is an order from a customer for a vehicle. Another excellent example of a company that uses the JIT process is Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. They are located on the James River in Newport News, Virginia and are the only manufacturer of nuclear aircraft carries for the United States Navy. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding developed the Nimitz class carrier for the Navy with the famous slogan of 90 tons of steel. The painting of all that steel is amazing to witness. In 1990, the Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding environmental department estimated the waste paint volume at nearly 60% of the paint purchased. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding decided that something needed to change to reduce this double cost of extra paint purchased and waste. They began working with paint manufacturers and applied a JIT system with all paint purchases. The paint manufactures signed teaming agreements with Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding to supply all paints JIT. The environmental department estimated a 25% reduction in waste from this JIT application. Only 25% reduction was seen as a great feat, but it was also disturbing. The environmental department with Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding was concerned that there was not a 60% reduction. This led the company to further investigation of the painting application process. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding discovered that the paint distribution and application process was the culprit for the missing 35%. Their next lean step after discovering this problem was to eliminate it and they have since created processes to do just that. Step 5:Continuously Pursue Perfection in the Business Process A company must continuously review all aspects of their business in order for it to improve in the pursuit of perfection. This is not just production line review (Garrison et al. , p. 14). Quality control is a vital attribute in this step as well. Raw materials and parts are inspected for defects, including finished products manufactured in the shop and raw materials received from supplies to produce those products. Business and suppliers must work together to ensure each has a quality program that will enhance their product line, not hurt it with inadequate materials or products. The company’s production workers will inspect a second time since they are directly responsible for spotting defective pieces. A worker who discovers a defect immediately stops the flow of production and start working on trouble shooting a solution to correct it. Supervisors and other workers in the area will assist in determining the root cause of the problem and correct it before any further defective units are produced (Garrison et al. , p. 14). This way of thinking allows the company to ensure quick problem identification and solutions in their business process. It is not a common philosophy in manufacturing processes where the production line worker can stop the production line because they found an error in a part. Typically, the worker is required to inform their supervisor, the supervisor will inform the shop production manager and then perhaps senior management all while the production line is still running and generating defective parts. This entire succession of informing all those in the management chain can take hours or even days to accomplish. With lean manufacturing and the Jidoka system, the worker would stop production immediately, resolve the issues before any more defective parts are produced and subsequently scrapped as waste (Brodek, 2009). A very interesting aspect of lean is that the process relies on those working the deck plate to find defective or wasteful processes and solve the problem. Traditionally, an individual would go up the chain of management and those in upper management would make the corrective action decision. The Jidoka system is a process established by the Japanese that provides front line workers the ability and responsibility to stop the production line immediately when they find a problem (Brodek, 2009). They are then required to alert their fellow workers and problem solves the situation. If they are inexperienced in this problem solving process, other works or supervision may make suggestions for correction, but not before the individual that stopped the process attempts to solve it. This forces the new employee to acquire learned problem solving skills, which is invaluable in a manufacturing process line. Permanent and perfect solutions are expected result of the Jidoka system. Employees must understand that the Band-Aid approach is not acceptable in correcting company production or process problems. The entire company must pull together and problem solve, because by using the lean process, repeat defective parts are not acceptable. In 1926, Henry Ford could manufacture a car in four days and at that same time, Toyota and General Motors needed ten weeks to produce just one vehicle. Henry Ford’s Jidoka system vehicle manufacturing process is a great example of how reducing waste worked for Ford. Toyota studied the Ford process and applied lean manufacturing to their processes and reduced their vehicle manufacturing process from ten weeks to just two days (Brodek, 2009). That is impressive for any company. Another Application for the Lean Thinking Model â€Å"The lean thinking model can also be used to improve the business processes that link companies together. The term supply chain management is commonly used to refer to the coordination of business processes across companies to better serve end consumers† (Garrison et al, 2008, p 14). For example, Costco teams with their suppliers to ensure materials and products that they need are available based on customer demand. Both Costco and the supplier understand that their mutual success is highly dependent upon them working together as a team. Summary The significant benefits of the Lean Manufacturing Model include many different aspects. The first is the reduction of resources, human and natural. By removing waste from work scopes, production lines and management, the company will save money. Another significant benefit is the reduction of time for an employee and a given product on the production line will result in additional cost savings. By leaning out an organization’s processes, human resources, and materials in the production process, this elimination of non-value added steps would add the benefit of saving the company time and money. Other examples of the reduction in resources used include electricity, natural resources (metal, gas, electricity, and fabric) and personnel. Truly honing in on what the customer wants, needs and values will help create a process that defines those values. This is a key function of lean manufacturing. References Baker, W. H. (2006, May). Profit Online. Retrieved June 7, 2009, from Five Steps to the Lean Enterprise; creating a sustainable competitive advange: http://www. oracle. com/profit/features/p26lean_3. html Brodek, N. (2009). Mold Making Technology. Retrieved May 13, 20069, from Five Rules to Problem Solving in Your Shop: http://www. moldmakingtechnology. com/articles/010508. html Becker, R. M. (2009). SAE International. Retrieved May 16, 2009, from Lean Manufacturing and the Toyota Production System : http://www. sae. org/manufacturing/lean/column/leanjun01. htm Garrison, R. H. (2008). Managerial Accounting (12th edition). New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill COmpanies, Inc.. Hirschfeld Davis, J. a. (2008, December 11). USA Today. Retrieved June 7, 2009, from Auto bailout talks collapse in Senate over union wages : http://www. usatoday. com/money/autos/2008-12-10-house-approves-auto-bailout-bill_N. htm Johnsoton, S. J. (2001, November 26). Working Knowledge, Harvard Business School. Retrieved May 13, 2009, from How Toyota Turns Workers Into Problem Solvers: http://hbswk. hbs. edu/item/3512. html Sowards, D. (2009, March 01). snips Magazine. Retrieved May 15, 2009, from Lean and Mean: http://www. nipsmag. com/Articles/Feature_Article/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000539426 Frost and Sullivan. (2008, January 3). Frost and Sullivan Market Insite. Retrieved June 7, 2009, from Cellular Manufacturing : http://www. frost. com/prod/servlet/market-insight-print. pag? docid=116843703 (Sullivan, 2008) need to fix this one. The authors are Frost and Sullivan†¦no first names, but the citation is wrong Unknown. (2009 , June 9). Building Brands. Retrieved June 7, 2009, from Cost-effective promotions can build the brand too: http://www. buildingbrands. com/didyouknow/08_new_coke. php

Organization and Management_theories Essay

Organization is a complex and intricate framework whose nature, behavior, effects, consequences and incidents are broad and ambiguous. It is not automatically comprehensible and manageable as any person dealing with it remains uncertain of what the organization is all about. This is so simply because the behavior, conditions and status of the organization is contingent or dependent upon individual members. Hence, one must first have to determine the basic traits, behavior, disposition, aims, and positions of each member before one can truly have the rudimentary idea of an organization which could guide and lead towards its dealings for a better and more effective management policies. Managing an organization requires a basic framework, plan, strategy or principles on how the manager will deal to his or her subordinates. These framework, plan, strategy or principles should be possessed by the manager, and should be well defined with a sense of concreteness and direction, before he or she can deal with his or her subordinates. The success of the manager’s plan or the fulfillment of his or her objective is basically determined on how efficacious and sustaining is his methods of management towards the subordinates. The manager must devise and establish such a framework, plan, strategy or principles which would best fit to the basic structure and environment in which he is managing, and one that is acceptable, favorable and bearable by all subordinates. This paper concerns the need for a manager to have an instrumental and conceptual knowledge in everyday practice. This includes the assessments of various frameworks critically analyzing some management and organizational methods and theories that may be utilized and applied as a management policy. The manager may not contend only to use one method, but resort to various methods could before practical and efficacious in reaching for the intended output. The manager therefore, must possess a sound and rational discretion, this being the condition sine qua non, in order for him to make use of the various management theories and methods which he may deem fit, convenient and effective within the premises and circumstances of the establishment or enterprise which he or she is managing or dealing. Critique on the Classical Models The classical thinkers like Plato waxes some ideas though profoundly and abstractly laid down in his The Laws and The Republic. He advanced the idea that a leader must necessarily possess a general idea of everything to the extent that he or she must know the basic function of each unit in the community. Plato would suggest that managers must be acquainted to his or her subordinates, especially their strengths, talents, skills, ability and capacity so as he may designate and assign them to such a job where such subordinate or member of the community is best fitted and productive. The explicit theory of the one best way to organize is normally ascribed to the â€Å"classical† theorists, notably Frederick Taylor and Max Weber, but it is, as we have seen, much older, even if it then only concerned social organization. Taylor’s model sprang from factory production and Weber’s from the offices of public administration, but they had a lot in common—notably a reliance on standardization of work, control of quality, fine-grained division of labor, and a strict hierarchy. They both strongly believed that the organizational models they proposed would prevail and eventually supplant all others because they were the most efficient. Weber’s interest was not in organization per se, but in the role it played in politics and economics in general. His discussion of bureaucracy therefore centered on its legal and political ramifications, as well as its part in the general rationalization of society—a result of the growing hegemony of rational means-ends relations. Weber viewed bureaucracy as the epitome of this development, working with supreme efficiency, and believed it would supersede all other organization forms. In Weber’s eyes, this development was not necessarily in humanity’s interest—on the contrary, he saw in the efficiency of bureaucracy a frightening potential to lock us into an â€Å"Iron Cage† of machine-like existence. With Weber’s own definition of sociology in mind, it is difficult to understand how he could be so sure of the inevitable and total domination of a single organizational structure. In that definition, he bases sociology squarely on an understanding of individual action and interaction, based on individuals’ subjective understanding of their situation and the purpose of their own actions (Fivelsdal 1971). Supra-individual concepts such as structure, function, and system are rejected as causes. One should think that human variation would make room for more than one structural form, and at least that its grim advances could be blocked by a pervasive tendency among disgruntled individuals to choose (for subjective reasons) other solutions. Henri Fayol and later Luther Gulick and Lyndall Urwick emphasized formal authority and the role of direct supervision (Mintzberg 1979), but the spirit of their work was the same as Taylor’s. You might even say that they were not really presenting theories of organization at all, but recipes—indicating the best solution for every type of activity, just as Plato did in the meticulous details of The Laws. The early theorists’ belief in the existence of final, superior solutions and their inescapable triumph can be viewed as an expression of their times—of the rapid progress of science and technology; the immense success of the mass-producing factory, the general increase in rational attitudes; and a rather naive belief in the simpleness of human affairs and their resemblance to physical systems. Buckley (1967) has suggested that such theories represented a continuation of the â€Å"Social Physics† the central notion of which was that man was a physical object, a kind of advanced machine; that behavior and social relations were subject to natural laws of the same kind as the laws of physics; and that man and society could be analyzed and managed accordingly. In politics and history the Marxian visions of inevitable social transformations embodied much of the same spirit, even if the underlying analysis was more sophisticated. The belief in the rationality and inevitability of things was thus a reflection of the contemporary beliefs in progress and technology, and the notion of the one best solution also appeals to our natural thirst for simplification—a faith in a â€Å"one best way† is much more reassuring than the acknowledgment of a bewildering array of optional solutions. As such, this view lingers on today—both in the minds of managers and in the offerings of consultants. Implied in this view is a notion of technological determinism—if there is a one best way of organizing, there must also be a one best way to utilize any new tool. Such a one-to-one relationship between a tool and its optimal use means that the tool itself will, by necessity, have strong bearings on organizational design. It is quite obvious that Taylor included tools and machinery in his designs for factory organization, and that the properties of those tools and machines were important determinants for the design of jobs and the relationships between them. The connection may not seem just as plain when we look at Weber and his theories of bureaucracy—there do not seem to be so many tools in use. However, the most important organizational tool in history (at least before the computer) has probably been the art of writing, and Weber’s bureaucracy is explicitly based on written procedures and written information. In other words, if bureaucracy is the one best way to organize administrative work in a literate society, and it presupposes the use of writing, the properties of writing (as a tool) must be regarded as one of the most the most important determinants of bureaucratic organization—maybe even the most important. In Scott’s (1987) classification of theoretical schools, both scientific management and Weber’s theory of bureaucracy are closed, rational system models. They presuppose that organizational actors are fully rational in all their decisions, that they always strive to achieve the organization’s expressed goals, and that the structure and functions of an organization are independent of its environment. Simon’s Bounded Rationality In the development of organization theory, the belief in the â€Å"one best way† and the closed, rational model of organizations (Scott 1987) gradually came under attack after World War II. One of the early attackers was Herbert A. Simon, who developed a new theory of decision making, opposing the reigning concept of unbounded rationality in organizational and economic matters. Simon attacked both the economists’ image of â€Å"economic man† and the â€Å"rational manager† of the earlier management theorists. Although he seemed to accept the notion that there was an objective, theoretical â€Å"best way† in a given set of circumstances, he denied the possibility of finding this solution in practice. Simon’s great common-sense realization was that humans operate with limited information and wits in an exceedingly complex world, and that they have no choice but to simplify, to operate with a bounded rationality, to satisfice—not maximize. The basic realization of an objective â€Å"best way† is not a practical possibility, even if it may exist in theory. The objective, practical goal of organizational members is therefore never to find the optimal solution (even if they may think so themselves), but to find one that is good enough for their ends—which usually also means good enough for the organization to survive. It also follows that there must be many such solutions, and that different people and different organizations will more often than not choose different solutions. Scott (1987) also classifies the theory presented in Administrative Behavior as belonging to the closed, rational system model. This seems a bit unjust, since several passages in the book discuss interactions with the environment (for instance, the discussions in Chapter VI, â€Å"The Equilibrium of the Organization†) and fully document that Simon does not believe that an organization is an island to itself. However, the theory of decision making that is developed in the book largely treats organizational decisions as something internal to the organization, and this may perhaps merit Scott’s classification. Because the environmental connection is more pronounced in the book coauthored with March (March and Simon 1958), the theory presented there is classified by Scott as belonging to the open, rational system models. These models represent organizations as predominantly rational systems, but they recognize that organizations are continuously dependent on exchanges with their environment and must adapt to it to survive. Transaction Costs Analysis Another approach in the open, rational systems category is the transaction cost analysis developed by Williamson. However, Williamson’s interest in organizational structure centers on questions of organization size and the degree of vertical integration. He argues that the cost of exchanging goods or services between people, departments, or organizations will decide whether or not a function will be incorporated into the organization. The primeval, â€Å"natural† state of business activities can be seen as a situation with individual producers exchanging goods and services through the market. If markets or tasks (or both) grow so complex that the cognitive limits of the producers become overloaded or if the transaction costs increase for other reasons, there will be a pressure to increase the level of organization in order to overcome these difficulties. Applied on the current situation, this implies that existing organizations will try to internalize transactions if they believe they can execute them more efficiently than the market or if they become so complex that market-based solutions become intractable. For instance, an auto manufacturer will develop or buy its own dealer network if it believes it can sell more cars or fetch a bigger profit that way; an aluminum producer will buy into bauxite mines if it believes that this will shield it from dangerous price fluctuations. Technology has a part in transaction theory insofar as it changes transaction costs in the market, inside the organizations, or both. Since information technology has a great potential for changing the conditions for coordination—both within and between organizations, it should be of great interest to the transaction cost perspective. The Several Best Ways: The Human Relations Movement The human relations school brought the individual and the social relations between individuals into focus. People in organizations were no longer seen only—not even mainly—as rational beings working to achieve the goals of the organization. It was discovered that they were just as much driven by feelings, sentiments, and their own particular interests—which could be quite different from what classical theory presupposed. Moreover, the new studies also showed that there was an informal structure in every organization, growing from the unofficial contacts people in the organization had with each other. This informal structure could be just as important as the formal one for predicting the outcome of decision-making processes—sometimes even more important. There were a number of main themes investigated by the different approaches within the human relations school, and most of them are still actively pursued by researchers. The most basic is the insistence on the importance of individual characteristics and behaviors in understanding organizational behavior. This easily leads to an interest in the effects of different leadership styles, as well as in the effects of race, class, and cultural background. Formalization in work is strongly repudiated on the grounds that it is detrimental to both worker commitment and psychological well-being, and participative management, job enlargement, or, at least, job rotation is prescribed. In fact, human relations theorists have always been eager to promote changes in organizations to produce what they see as more humane work places, and they claim that the less formal, more participative organization will also be the most productive. It is not unreasonable, therefore, to criticize at least the most ardent proponents of these views for prescribing â€Å"one best way† solutions just as much as the classical theorists (Mohr 1971). With their emphasis on humans and their psychological and social properties, the human relations theorists were not especially interested in tools and technology except as a source of repressive formalization. However, even if we might say that they inherited a belief in optimal solutions from the classical theorists, their theories implied that it was human needs and qualities, and not technology, that dictated the optimal organizational forms. In other words, it was in their view possible to design and operate organizations principally on the basis of human characteristics, and thus thwart what others viewed as technological imperatives. Woodward Among the new research projects were Woodward’s pathbreaking studies of a number of manufacturing companies in the southeast of England in the 1950s (Mintzberg 1979, Clegg 1990), in which she showed how three basic production technologies strongly correlated with a corresponding number of organization structures: Bureaucratization increased as one went from unit or small batch production via large batch or mass production to continuous-process production. First, this discovery led to renewed faith in technological determinism: there now seemed to be not one best way to organize, but rather a best way for each class of production technology—in Woodward’s case, unit production, mass production, and process industry. The Multitude of Ways: Sociotechnics In England a group of researchers developed a distinct framework, which in addition to â€Å"action† approach, they also proposed that â€Å"the distinguishing feature of organizations is that they are both social and technical systems† (Scott 1987, p. 108). The core of the organization represented, so to speak, an interface between a technical system and a human (social) system. This implied that, in order to achieve maximum performance in an organization, it did not suffice to optimize only the technical or the social system, nor to search for the best match between existing technological and organizational elements. The goal should be a joint optimization of the two—creating a synergy that yielded more than could be achieved simply by adding the two together. Their preferred organizational solutions emphasized co-determination, internalized regulation, and workgroup autonomy. They also discovered that changes at the workgroup level did not survive for long without compatible changes in the overlying structures—a discovery that was also made in a series of experiments with autonomous workgroups in Norwegian industry in the 1960s, inspired by the Tavistock group and directed by the newly founded Work Research Institute in Oslo (Thorsrud and Emery 1970). During their projects they also learned that the environment impinged on intra-organizational activities to a much larger degree than they had anticipated. Sociotechnics, for me is here taking a position that is particularly relevant for information technology, even if sociotechnics was established as a theoretical framework before computers started to make themselves felt to any significant degree. When working with information technology in organizations, it is of utmost importance to be aware of the intimate interdependence between the computer-based systems, the individuals using them, the manual routines, and the organizational structure. Any serious attempt to optimize the use of information technology must acknowledge this reciprocity. It is therefore quite remarkable that sociotechnical theory has remained so much out of fashion for the last decade, just the period when the use of computers has really exploded. One reason may be the general lack of interest in information technology that has plagued the social sciences overall; another is that those who were interested within the sociotechnical tradition tended to be drawn toward research on the cognitive aspects of computer use, especially the (literal) user interfaces of computer systems, neglecting the overlying question of the broader interaction of humans and computer systems in structural terms.

Franz Kafka and being an outsider in the society Essay

As the oldest child, after the deaths of his older brothers, Franz Kafka, however, has never reached the dominance and leadership character and failed to live a normal, human life – after his birth he had doubted in his human nature and grew as an outsider inside the community. His father, a successful shopkeeper with giant managing abilities and patriarchal, yet tyrannical, personality, had no other goals, except material stability and social recognition. It was him, who made Franz fail to live, who made him family-limited, unable to create his own household. Indeed, his father, Hermann Kafka, was the one, who broke his nature and drove him into literature. All of the pain, pressure, struggle and aspiration, Franz Kafka described in his writing, some of them depict the struggle between father and son, other between two worlds, yet, in any story, especially in the â€Å"Letter to His Father† (1919) and â€Å"The Metamorphosis† (1915), we can find incomprehension and longing for normal living. His earliest poems were published by Brod in 1908 in Hyperion. His first novel Der Prozess (â€Å"The Trial†) was written after another failure – he broke off an engagement with Felice Bauer – and has started it with the words of somebody’s false accusation against Josef K. Maurice Blanchot has observed that Kafka’s works are â€Å"not always only literary. Salvation is an enormous preoccupation with him, all the stronger because it is hopeless, and all the more hopeless because it is totally uncompromising. †(Banville, 2004). Most of his literary characters were animals: mole, mouse, beetle; seems like Franz was no other than a formless being, who was looking for a way out of tough obstacles, yet is ready to be tortured, punished, destroyed. His characters are seeking for salvation, but they realize how disgusting, insignificant, unimportant they are, along with their problems and hardships. â€Å"The Judgement† is viewed by Herbert Tauber as a â€Å"vital existence in which probability and reservation rule †¦ in which every step has an incalculable importance because it is taken â€Å"Franz Kafka and being an outsider in the society† â€Å"Page #2† under the horizon of an absolute summons to the road† (Tauber, 1948). For him, it is the clash of two worlds, which existed in total isolation from each other and have no points of contacts. That is why the conflict leads to destruction. On the other hand, this conflict between father and son can be considered as a general social state that degrades with every step forward. An early story â€Å"Description of a Struggle† â€Å"is not usually considered one of Kafka’s better works and it is often dismissed by critics turned off by its fragmentary nature and lack of polish† (Pawel, 1984), highlights Ernst Pawel in his â€Å"Nightmare of Reason†; this work will not attract the new reader, yet those, who dive in the philosophy of Kafka’s readings will be encouraged to read it. The character of this three-chapter work is a symbol of discrepancy and contrast of the single community. Franz Kafka’s helplessness to negotiate or get used to the community’s lifestyle is noted in his four stories in â€Å"A Hunger Artist†. Michael Lowy, the Research Director of the National Center for Scientific Research, has viewed Kafka’s symbolism as libertarian socialism or anarchical ideology. â€Å"The libertarian inspiration is inscribed into the heart of Kafka’s novels †¦ [The] state is an impersonal system of domination which crushes, suffocates, or kills individuals, where unfreedom prevails† (Lowy, 1997). The center of the story is a paradoxical notion – artist, who accepts his profession as honor, yet practices fasting, which has an artistic aspect. The system (i. e. people) refuse to recognize him, therefore, refuse to see the reality and truthfulness of life (Dorothy W. , 2006). There is nothing but emptiness in the world. â€Å"The Stoker†, â€Å"The Man Who Disappeared† (â€Å"Der Verschollene†), or â€Å"Amerika† was an American novel for Kafka himself. The variety of names shows the complexity and differences of the novel. It is the state, where â€Å"workers are not on the side of the authorities† (Kafka, 1956). In rather humorous style, Kafka represents the Statue of Liberty with a sword; American democracy, with a shadow of authoritarian policies, is combined with bureaucratic injustice and poverty. â€Å"Franz Kafka and being an outsider in the society† â€Å"Page #3† The fiction â€Å"The Great Wall of China† â€Å"deals (duplicitously) with an other-as-self from an inside which is really an outside† (Kelen). This is another Kafka’s work that deals with symbols and metaphors, internal and external struggle and his own life of an outsider. The wall is a symbol of fear, yet, the end of empire represents the erasure of boundaries between the Western and Chinese worlds. Kafka is using his technique of the narrator to describe relation to one another and what is happening nearby. â€Å"In â€Å"Country Doctor† we witness a second type of infiltration of literary production by theories or methods schooled on Freudian psychoanalysis† (Lecture Notes, conclusion). The work is filled with doubled words (horses, carriages, patent examinations, children songs, homes), and words that have different meanings (dilemma – problem or solution, shame, information’s and people’s mislaying). â€Å"The Castle†, a philosophical novel, depicts the castle’s authorities, bureaucratic attitude and man’s struggle against the existing system. â€Å"The novel’s aesthetic and interpretive complexity, it will be seen, underlines the multi-layered meaning of salvation itself, in a modern world in which salvation is not necessarily one of divine grace, of deliverance from sin and damnation† (Panichas, 2004). The totalitarian authorities, impersonal system that is built in hierarchical order are shown as apparatus that rules over the lay people, who must be subordinated to this machine. It is manipulation and control that is obvious in any modern society and the procedures it governs and inevitable for every citizen. â€Å"K. gains through her personality some insight into a possible solution of his quest, and, when he speaks of her with affection, he seems himself to be breaking through his sense of isolation† (Encyclopedia Britannica). Kafka, as a living example of outsider, who had made his way to live in the community, all through his works has depicted the world of contrasts, where everyone lives in isolation, trying, at the same time, to find his place in the community. Works Cited: 1. Banville J. (October, 2004). The Human Stain. The Nation. October 18 issue. 2. Dorothy W. Franz Kafka’s â€Å"A Hunger Artist† December 15, 2006 Retrieved from the website â€Å"Of Books and Bicycles† on February 25, 2008 http://ofbooksandbikes. blogspot. com/2006/12/franz-kafkas-hunger-artist. html 3. Encyclopedia Britannica. Franz Kafka. Works. Retrieved on February 25, 2008 from http://www. britannica. com/eb/article-3813/Franz-Kafka 4. Humanitas, G. (March, 2004). Kafka’s afflicted vision: a literary-theological critique. (Franz Kafka). Humanitas. 5. F. Kafka. (1956). Amerika. Frankfurt: Fischer Publishing House. pp. 15, 161. 6. Kelen, C. The Great Wall of China and Kafka’s Limitless Tropology. Queen: a journal of rhetoric and power. Vol. 2. 1. Power and Recolonization. 7. Lecture Notes: Franz Kafka, â€Å"A Country Doctor†. Washington Courses. Retrieved on February 25, 2008 from http://courses. washington. edu/freudlit/Doctor. Notes. html 8. Lowy, M. (1997). Franz Kafka and Libertarian Socialism. New Politics. Vol. 6. no. 3. 9. Pawel, Ernst (1984). The Nightmare of Reason: A Life of Franz Kafka. New York: Farrar-Straus-Giroux, p. 160-163. 10. Tauber, Herbert. (1948). Franz Kafka: An interpretation of his works. Yale University Press.

Various History Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Various History Questions - Essay Example Passage into the American colonies during the period of colonization was only possible for the wealthy, and this prevented those from the lower economic rungs from booking passage into the colonies. In order to entice potential laborers into the colonies, the system of indentured servitude was conceptualized; and soon after, these individuals became an integral part of the colonial economy (PBS, 2011). An indentured servant’s life would come about due to skilled and unskilled laborers finding themselves without work. Due to the necessity of finding any type of work to support themselves and their families, indentured servitude came about. There are various advantages and disadvantages to this practice. It is advantageous because it provides immediate economic relief to jobless laborers (PBS, 2011). In effect, it gives them the opportunity to gain employment, even with their salaries being less than ideal for them and their families. It is a preferable choice for them as compar ed to their unemployed status, to which they credit more undefined hardships. Disadvantages to this practice are however also apparent. For one, it is a practice open to abuse because employers are paying these laborers less than what they deserve. Although the laborers are indeed able to fill in their temporary needs; in the long-run, they are not getting what they fairly deserve for their labors. Consequently, they are enriching employers who are only after their cheap labor and hard work. This is a practice which can be considered the precedent for slavery, and in the years which followed the transport of Black Africans to America and the British Empire, slavery eventually found its unfortunate place. But there is no denying the travails that these indentured servants went through with their work and accommodations being less than ideal; they were also treated harshly for their wrongdoings (PBS, 2011). These laborers also had difficulty in eventually gaining freedom from their se rvitude; however, it was still a better deal than the conditions seen among slaves who were not given the right to be free of their slavery. 2. How did life in the British colonies contribute to creating a unique American identity? How do you see that identity manifested in modern American society? The life in the British colonies contributed in creating a unique American identity. Originally, the colonies were fashioned by ideas of prosperity, literacy, and improvements in religion and thought (Teacher Web, n.d). Land ownership in the colonies was also seen as a means of becoming wealthy. In turn, wealth was seen as part of one’s social status, and the colonies were in the middle of these ranks. Land ownership was also associated with the right to vote, hence, land ownership was a highly sought privilege. It motivated many men to work hard and to seek improved lifestyles for themselves and their families (Teacher Web, n.d). The colonists felt united as Americans before the s tart of the revolution; however, they had a longer time in gaining their identity as a people. They were also highly suspicious of each other, and this caused delays in their identity as colonials. However, these delays were eventually resolved as they started to preserve their rights and to express actions seeking to gain their independence from Britain. It was important for them to put aside their differences, unite against

GerontologyAlzheimer's and Dementia in Las Vegas Essay

GerontologyAlzheimer's and Dementia in Las Vegas - Essay Example In "Intervention Strategies for Exit-seeking Wandering Behavior in Dementia Residents," a study done to assess Alzheimer's patients who wander away from their long-term care facilities, it is noted that the patients are often disoriented and "lack even the most basic safety awareness" (277). In D. Riccio et al's "Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment in Female Elderly Patients with Alzheimer Disease and Other Types of Dementia," current treatments aren't always effective because "in the elderly, chronic comorbidities are more difficult to treat for the incompatible therapies and the likelihood of adverse outcome, including increasing disability and death" (344). For these reasons (and many more), Alzheimer's is considered to be a serious illness, deserving of attention. As of this year, about 35,000 Las Vegas residents have been diagnosed with dementia. That number is expected to increase to 100,000 Southern Nevadans by the year 2010 (Kumler, para. 16). The same journal article reads that 5 million Americans suffer from the disease. It costs about $18,500 to $36,000 per year, per person, to care for an Alzheimer's patient for a total of $100 billion annually in the United States. With these staggering figures, and projected increase of dementia in Las Vegas, it is no wonder that the city is making serious strides to take care of Alzheimer's patients, track promising therapies, and keep the public aware. Since 2006, the 2008 opening of the Lou Ruvo Alzheimer's Institute has been touted. This 55,000 square-foot facility will house patients afflicted with the disease. The institute is situated on 61 acres of land in downtown Vegas, and will also include an Alzheimer's Research Center, an academic medical center, and a hands-on museum where patrons can learn about the brain and its activities. The undated news report "Local Alzheimer's Study Looking for Volunteers" reads that this year may also be a big year for an active research study. Since "more than five million Americans are living with Alzheimer's - a 10-percent increase from just five years ago a local study may help researchers find more effective treatments" (Local, para. 1). According to this report, University of Nevada School of Medicine neurologist Charles Bernick said the only way to come up with effective treatments for Alzheimer's patients is to find new and different ways to study them. With that in mind, 30 Las Vegas residents, ages 75 and older, will be studied for four years. Intel Corp., maker of computer chips, has teamed up with the Alzheimer's Association in Las Vegas and Portland, Oregon to measure how memory changes in older people. One third of the 30 volunteers receives a laptop, and will be initially asked to identify five to 15 people with whom they regularly interact. Each of those people will be given a badge that monitors their entering and exiting the volunteer's residence. When the volunteer logs onto the laptop, pictures of those people will appear. The purpose is to track how much interaction with others each volunteer is receiving. The reason, perhaps, is so it can be determined if lack of communication or interaction with others is related to increased memory loss. Another facet of the research is called "caller ID on steroids." This