Organizations face huge pressures

Organizations face huge pressures Factors forcing Change Organizations face huge pressures to change, from both internal and external sources, internal forces to change often as a result of long-term external forces. For example, Biggest Coal Mining companies internal pressure to expanding their activities to Coal mining and Energy plant Chemical industry, as a result of more and more other similar companies interested to engage with chemical industry. Internal Factors forcing change The factors internal to an organization that force changes can be identified through a formal analysis method. Most common among these methods is S.W.O.T. analysis. Strengths An organizations strengths, which help identify a competitive advantage or unique selling point, are of vital importance when deciding on changing the focus of the company. Weaknesses An organizations weaknesses are a real motivation to change. Weaknesses identified internally in a companys product or service, will require immediate attention and changing. The weakness would be resolved by a cultural change. Opportunities Opportunities that present themselves, like new contracts on other continents will force changes in the company, sometimes as simple as new working hours. With the differences in different customer expectations, modern companies need to remain flexible. Flexibility is a major cultural change that needs to be introduced. Threats Threats to an organization, usually in the form of competitors and substitution products force a company to react. To react effectively companies have to react quickly, which is a cultural change in a company. External Factors forcing change The factors external to an organization that force changes can be identified through the PESTELI acronym. Political Political factors would include the current and potential influences from political pressures such as unions and national pay agreements. Economic The local, national and world economy impact can force an organization into changing their work practices or even product prices. Social Changes in lifestyle absolutely force changes in organizations, but at a cultural level, socially changing attitudes towards work or ethical issues can also have effects on the culture inside an organization. Technical The ever-changing technical world in which we live has probably the most profound effect on organizational culture of all external factors. Technical improvement that allow employees to work from home, working teams to be separated by great distances and for customers to be located on the opposite side of the world from their suppliers. Anything that changes the day-to-day work of the employees has a profound effect on the organizations culture. Ecological The local, national and world ecological and environmental issues that have effects on culture at national levels filter down into the organizational culture within a company. Legislative The legal issues both locally and at an EU level, such as taxes and working time regulations also have effects on culture at a national level, filter down into the organizational culture within a company. Industry Industry changes have a huge effect on national culture. The move away from agriculture into industrial and now information economies has greatly changed the national working culture. WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE? Managers and employees do not perform their duties in a value-free vacuum, their work and the way its done are governed, directed and tempered by the organizations culture. Burnes, B. (2004) ‘Managing Change. There are three main factors affecting the culture of an Organization, These are: The Founders basic assumptions The national culture The task in hand. Gargan, D. (2005) ‘Change Management Lecture Notes The Founders basic assumptions In a typical company the founders set up small and grow the company from one basic good idea. These founders go into business to make money, pure and simple. However, depending on the nature of their work certain assumptions made by the founders will immediately set the culture for the initial and all future employees. For example, â€Å"Energy resource† companys founders found out powerful innovation Coal-to-liquid (CTL technology). This is going to be very huge project and founders working on it very precise. Thats why they push all employees, who will probably not be given too much freedom and all work would be carried out along strict guidelines and the basic idea of management not trusting staff may be in place. The Founders basic assumptions immediately set the working environment and culture within an organization. The national culture National attitudes to working determine the employees general attitude towards working. Now every employee is different, but when talking about culture at a national level there are some basic truths that always apply. Some national cultural behaviour will lead the company toward organizational change, while others will hamper it. National Cultures that help change: Mongolian people leaving work place at 6pm on Friday to go to pub. This helps change culture, Idea is it leads to more integrated working environment, where everyone ends up talking about work and discussing opportunities and threats. Society encouraging further education National Cultures that hinder change: Japanese people not leaving the office until their boss has. (Over tired and less productive staff) Lunchtime drinking culture Unions and their involvement National pay agreements The task in hand The task in hand it the major defining factor towards the culture of a company. If the companys job is mainly customer service, meeting and dealing with people, then the organizations culture should be focused to customer. However, if the company is an innovator, its culture should be one of exploration and give more individual freedom to the employees. In this case we need look at how cultural change turn mining company employees into power plant industry employees. At different levels within an organization there are usually different tasks. For example, in â€Å"Chemical industry† company, there may have 3 distinct groups. 1) Research and Development This group will have brain storming culture and scientific research for innovative technology. 2) Professional Services This group works directly with customers, culture will be more customer focused as they are under more pressure. 3) Sales The sales group will have a â€Å"Yes† culture, never turning down any opportunity, and putting pressure onto the other two groups to deliver. Organizations structure effects on Culture â€Å"Energy Resource† company organized with Matrix organization structure. Its resources are shunted around the organization to meet the demand for attention that tasks require. Employees work less in fixed groups for long periods and so no pockets of different cultures can grow, but rather if Employees are unhappy with their work, the chances are that they can be easily moved, so as to maintain good working culture. Factors forcing Change Organizations face huge pressures to change, from both internal and external sources, internal forces to change often as a result of long-term external forces. For example, Biggest Coal Mining companies internal pressure to expanding their activities to Coal mining and Energy plant Chemical industry, as a result of more and more other similar companies interested to engage with chemical industry. Internal Factors forcing change The factors internal to an organization that force changes can be identified through a formal analysis method. Most common among these methods is S.W.O.T. analysis. Strengths An organizations strengths, which help identify a competitive advantage or unique selling point, are of vital importance when deciding on changing the focus of the company. Weaknesses An organizations weaknesses are a real motivation to change. Weaknesses identified internally in a companys product or service, will require immediate attention and changing. The weakness would be resolved by a cultural change. Opportunities Opportunities that present themselves, like new contracts on other continents will force changes in the company, sometimes as simple as new working hours. With the differences in different customer expectations, modern companies need to remain flexible. Flexibility is a major cultural change that needs to be introduced. Threats Threats to an organization, usually in the form of competitors and substitution products force a company to react. To react effectively companies have to react quickly, which is a cultural change in a company. External Factors forcing change The factors external to an organization that force changes can be identified through the PESTELI acronym. Political Political factors would include the current and potential influences from political pressures such as unions and national pay agreements. Economic The local, national and world economy impact can force an organization into changing their work practices or even product prices. Social Changes in lifestyle absolutely force changes in organizations, but at a cultural level, socially changing attitudes towards work or ethical issues can also have effects on the culture inside an organization. Technical The ever-changing technical world in which we live has probably the most profound effect on organizational culture of all external factors. Technical improvement that allow employees to work from home, working teams to be separated by great distances and for customers to be located on the opposite side of the world from their suppliers. Anything that changes the day-to-day work of the employees has a profound effect on the organizations culture. Ecological The local, national and world ecological and environmental issues that have effects on culture at national levels filter down into the organizational culture within a company. Legislative The legal issues both locally and at an EU level, such as taxes and working time regulations also have effects on culture at a national level, filter down into the organizational culture within a company. Industry Industry changes have a huge effect on national culture. The move away from agriculture into industrial and now information economies has greatly changed the national working culture. WHO CAN CHANGE CULTURE? Changing the culture of an organization is an extremely difficult task, but it may be necessary to get the results required. If an organization were thought of as a restaurant, and the employees as the waiters, content and well looked after waiters would go about their jobs in a pleasant manner and as a result tips would be high and the restaurant turnover would be high, as customers would enjoy eating there. However, on the other hand, if working at the restaurant was made difficult for the waiters, with an unpleasant working environment and impersonal culture, they might not go about their jobs with such enthusiasm, a lack of motivation would become obvious in their demeanour, tips would be low and restaurant business would suffer. So its in an organizations best interests to maintain a healthy and productive working culture. Changing an organizations culture can be done at the three distinct levels with an organization: Executive Management, Middle Management and regular employee level. Lets look at them in turn and consider two very different football clubs (Manchester United and Arsenal) as differing organizations. At an Executive Management level Executive management are the group that direct the organizations goals. So, in order for them to effect cultural changes, they may have to change the organisations direction. The organisation may need to be streamlined in order to make provisions for the desired changes. Inspiring and motivating staff through vision and mission statements as well as overall policies would be a common approach taken at this level. Changes introduced at the executive management level are the most difficult changes to resist, because employees are largely powerless against them. In the terms of the football clubs, the executive management would be the boards of directors, who can release certain amounts of funding for the operation of the team and/or make performance goals for league finishing positions. At a Mid-Management level Middle management is the level from which most organisational change comes from. These changes can take the form of new operations rules (e.g. Forced timesheet logging). Changing the working practice for employees, by making their working life more strict or more lenient, pushing more responsibility onto the individual employees or smaller changes like more frequent or earlier meetings. However, changes enforced or imposed by the mid-management are the most resisted. In the terms of the football clubs, the middle management would be the team managers. The managers can effect change by shouting at players and demanding results, as done by Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, or by talking through the current issues are working for a solution together with the players, as done by Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. As a regular employee Regular employees can change the culture in an organisation in the most effective manner. Through an observed work ethic or levels of professionalism or levels of â€Å"completeness† in their work, employees can pressure other employees to change how they work and this will filter around the organisation, effecting the change. Now there are two types of motivation that people respond to. One, the people who are shouted at and told what to do and told there will be consequences if they do not perform. This was the kind of tactic employed by Roy Keane at Manchester united. Two, the people who like to be told that they are doing a great job and encouraged to do a little more, but encouraged by someone who was obviously performing better. This was the kind of tactic employed by Patrick Viera at Arsenal. Guidelines for changing culture (Burns 2004) 1) Formulate a clear strategic vision. An organisation needs a clear vision with a well define strategy and values in place in order to be effective. 2) Display top-management commitment. Cultural change needs to be managed from the top down. Executive management need to agree to the plan and stick to it. 3) Model culture change at the highest level. Cultural changes need to be communicated through the actions of executive management. Management need to lead by example. 4) Modify the organization to support organisational changes. Cultural changes need to be reflected in organisational changes in order to back them up, if at all possible. 5) Select and socialize newcomers and terminate deviants. To really effectively change organisation culture, those who resist the change may need to be let go. People stuck in their ways that cannot adapt are of no benefit to the organisation going forward, sometimes this will manifest itself in the form of early retirement. The hiring of new people will be done with the new organisation culture in mind. 6) Develop ethical and legal sensitivity. Changing a culture then radically changing all the staff in a company may not only send out the wrong message, but actually be illegal or in breech of union regulations. Such plans need to be enacted very carefully. Conclusion Culture is a complex beast, derived from the personalities of all the current and previous employees of an organisation. As such, changing culture is equivalent to changing peoples thinking, which is a non-trivial exercise. The intricacies of culture and office politics are potentially huge and the initially obvious culture may just be the tip of the iceberg as regards the culture at large. The culture of an organisation does indeed determine its ability to change effectively, but this is a good thing. For small innovative organisations, where the company is based around a core nucleus of core staff, the attitudes and actions arising from those people will define the culture, usually into a vibrant and dynamic workplace, capable of changing quickly and often ahead of the times. On the other hand, in mature hierarchical structured organisations that have a large amount of management supported by a lower amount of staff, the culture will become more complex. Large organisations that have this structure (e.g. Financial Institutions), take time to change effectively, because not only does the structure of the company mean that it will take time for the changes to be propagated around the organisations, but the changes are more likely to be resisted at every level down the hierarchy from the executive management to the â€Å"real† works, who the changes will most likely effect the greatest

Perspectives on Divorce

There are many parts of the brain that effect the way we live and act every single day. There is the frontal lobe which controls planning, organizing, coordinating and controls movements, reasoning and the overall thinking process. I have used my frontal lobe today when I decided to write this essay, and how I was going to set it up. There is the temporal lobe which controls hearing. I used this today when I listened to my Ipod in the halls. There is the cerebellum which controls balance, movement, and coordination. I used this today when I tried to dance during lunch (key word tried†¦.. ). There is also the occipital lobe which controls vision. I used this today when I read a book during English. The possibly most important part of the brain is the medulla, which controls vital functions. I used this today when I had to go from the first floor to the third floor, and I had to catch my breath. When people say â€Å"your eyes don't see, your nose doesn't smell, your tongue doesn't taste, your ears don't hear, and your skin doesn't touch; your brain does it all† they are saying although we associate all of those senses with their respective body part really we cant see, touch, taste and so on without our brain first processing it and telling our bodies what is going on. 2) The psychoanalytical perspective says someone may get a divorce because their parents had gotten a divorce, so that's what the have seen is normal. This perspective says that many behaviors are based on childhood experiences. If someone grew up with divorced parents, they would see that that is an acceptable way to live their life and not see a problem with it. Also, the psychoanalytical perspective looks at the impulses and desires of a person, someone might get a divorce because their ID tells them they want to have multiple partners, and not want to be in a committed relationship. The behavioristic perspective is based on rewards and punishments. Based on this theory someone may get a divorce because they might be punished by staying in of the relationship. Their parents may not be a fan of their spouse, and may threaten to cut them off communications and write them out of the will if they stay in the relationship. The person may find this a deal they cant turn down, so they would divorce their partner in order to stay in the good graces of their family. The biological perspective looks at the brain as the reason people make decisions. They would say that there is a chemical imbalance in the brain, therefore the person cannot stay happily in their marriage. They could also say that the person has depression, due to an imbalance of serotonin, and could not be happy with their spouse, so they would need to get treated, or continue perusing the divorce. The cognitive perspective believes that divorce would be based on the individuals unique thinking process. The person may have unclear thoughts on their spouse, and cannot figure out what they want in their marriage. The cognitive perspective would not blame any external forces, they would simply say their brain told them to, so they did. They might also say their brain does not make good judgment, and at the time of the marriage there was a lapse in judgment. The humanistic perspective would say the person needed personal growth, and was tied down in the marriage. The person would see themselves happier without being with their spouse. They would say that the person simply wanted to get a divorce, so they did, and wouldn't add much more to it than that. The sociocultural perspective would say that the divorce rate in America is 51%, so the person sees it culturally acceptable to get a divorce. They would say they have seen so many of their peers getting divorced, it seems normal. So they might not work to work out their problems, they just get a divorce because that's what over half of America is doing. Eclecticism is an approach that uses more than one theory to explain how or why something happens. This idea would be beneficial to describing human behavior because there are many contributing factors in peoples decision making. They might do something for multiple reasons, using divorce as an example, a person might have grown up in a divorced home, but they also might have a cheating spouse, and a chemical imbalance in the brain. Their reason for divorce can't simply be explained by the psychoanalytic, behavioristic, or biological perspective. But when you use all of the perspectives together you can get a clear understanding of why they got a divorce. Human behavior cannot be explained with only one perspective because there are many contributing factors to the decisions people make.

Impact of Computers on Society Essay

Everyone knows that this is the age of computer and vast majority of people are using computer. Development of science and technology has direct effect on our daily life as well as in our social life. Computer technology has made communication possible from one part of the world to the other in seconds. They can see the transactions in one part of the world while staying in the other part. Computer development is one of the greatest scientific achievements of the 20th century. Computers are used in various fields as well as in teaching and learning. Computers are complex electronic devices. They can perform many operations at once, and make our daily lives easier. Almost every home, office, or school has a computer of some kind these days. It may seem at first that having a computer brings only benefits, but further consideration shows that it also has disadvantages. There are many pros and cons about computers (and technology in general). First of all computers are very useful at school. It helps students study for upcoming tests and makes subjects more interesting to learn about. Students can also learn new vocabulary and grammar. Furthermore it allows students to become familiar with operating a computer and gain basic computer skills. Many modern day jobs involve using a computer in one way or another. Also more people can save their valuable time by using computers. This is especially beneficial in the workplace where employees can do their work faster than they ever could before. In addition, storing information on a computer is one of the most efficient ways of keeping data. One flash drive, for example, can hold the same amount of information as numerous books. People can also communicate with other computer owners through the internet, which now offers everything from shopping to â€Å"video chatting† with a person in another country. On the other hand many jobs have been lost due to the fact that a single computer can do a lot of tasks more efficiently and cheaper than humans. This has led to high unemployment rates in many countries. The internet is also full of harmful materials; especially for kids. Some websites are not designed for educational purposes but for profit-gaining aims. There are even children who are so â€Å"addicted† to online gaming that they spend almost all day sitting before in front of a computer screen. As a result they do poorly at school. Also, a computer is just a machine; it can’t completely replace humans so you are unlikely to find ‘moral support’ from chatting with strang people on the net. Besides, people tend to tell lies to their chatter. Also, if kids are left unsupervised they would spend all of their time playing games on the computer rather than using it for educational purposes. Furthermore computer usage can also take an emotional toll on people. When some people work from home on the computer are far more likely to feel cut off from the rest of the world. If children are sitting in front of the screen all day, they do not learn to share, wait their turn, or even something as simple as manners. Moreover children might be using the internet to access pornographic material. Children are also easy targets for sexual offenders who chat online with them and then make plans to meet them or slowly obtain information about them. Also frequent and prolonged computer session may pose physical health. One example of a health hazard could be a bad back. Pretty much everyone relies on a computer one way or another nowadays. These complex electronic devices can help us throughout our daily lives†¦.but they can also hurt. They pose physical and mental/emotional threats if you spend too much time glued to your computer or similar device. There are pros and cons of computer usage. You can communicate with someone in England while you’re laying in bed on your laptop in your pajamas. It can also hurt us just as much as it helps. If you go on one â€Å"suspicious† website and your computer could be infected with a deadly virus and mess up your computer or you could lose all of your personal data, like financial information. What you see depends on who you are and exactly how you see it. Works Cited Anil, Aakar. â€Å"Aakar Tech.† IMPACT OF COMPUTER ON SOCIETY. N.p., 12 Nov. 2007. Web. 05 Feb. 2013. Dutta, Pallab. â€Å"What Are the Benefits of Computers in Society?† EHow. Demand Media, 08 July 2009. Web. 05 Feb. 2013. Frisicaro, Adrian. â€Å"Cs4fn : Computer Science for Fun.† Computer Science for Fun. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2013. â€Å"The Impact of Computers on Society.† The Impact of Computers on Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2013. Joseph, Chris. â€Å"The Disadvantages of Computers in the Workforce.† Small Business. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2013.

What Causes Water Pollution in Our Rivers

About one-third of the nation’s rivers and streams are routinely assessed for water quality by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Out of the 1 million miles of streams examined, over half had waters considered impaired. A stream is categorized as impaired when it cannot fulfill at least one of its uses, which include a variety of functions like fish protection propagation, recreation, and public water supply. Here are the 3 most significant causes of stream and river pollution, in order of importance: Bacteria. Contamination of water by certain types of bacteria is certainly a human health issue, as we are particularly susceptible to disease-causing gut bacteria. Beach safety is routinely monitored through coliform bacteria counts. Coliform bacteria inhabit the gut of animals and are a good indicator of fecal contamination. When there is a high count of coliform bacteria, the odds are high that the water also contains microorganism that can make us sick. Gut bacteria contamination can come from municipal sewage treatment plants that overflow during heavy rain events, or from leaky septic tank systems. Abundant animals near the water, for example, ducks, geese, gulls, or cattle, can also result in bacterial contamination.Sediment.  Fine-grained particles like silt and clay may occur naturally in the environment but when they enter streams in large quantity, they become a serious pollution problem. Sediments come from the many ways soil can be eroded on land and carried into strea ms. Common causes of erosion are road construction, building construction, deforestation, and agricultural activities. Anytime there is a significant removal of the natural vegetation, the potential for erosion exists. In the United States, vast farm fields are left barren much of the year, and as a result rain and melting snow wash away soil into streams and rivers. In streams, sediments block sunlight and thus impede the growth of aquatic plants. Silt can smother the gravel beds necessary for fish to lay eggs. Sediments that remain suspended in the water are eventually carried off into coastal zones, where they affect marine life.Nutrients. Nutrient pollution occurs when excess nitrogen and phosphorus make their way into a stream or river. These elements are then picked up by algae, allowing them to grow rapidly to the detriment of the aquatic ecosystem. Overabundant algae blooms can lead to toxin build-up, oxygen level drops, fish kills, and poor conditions for recreation. Nutrie nt pollution and the subsequent algae blooms are to blame for Toledo’s drinking water shortage in the summer of 2014. Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution comes from inefficient sewage treatment systems, and from a common practice in large-scale farms: synthetic fertilizers are often applied in fields at greater concentrations than the crops can use, and the excess winds up in streams. Concentrated livestock operations (for example, dairy farms or cattle feedlots) lead to large accumulations of manure, with nutrient runoff difficult to manage. Not surprisingly, the most widespread source of stream pollution is reported by the EPA to be agriculture. Other important sources of problems are atmospheric deposition (usually air pollution that is brought into streams with rainfall), and the presence of dams, reservoirs, stream channels, and other engineered structures. Sources: EPA. 2015. Water Quality Assessment and TMDL Information. National Summary of State Information. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Control of Water Pollution from Agriculture.