Friday, November 29, 2019
The Comparison Between the Two Different International Editions of Vogue Magazine
Due to the ongoing process of Globalization, the contents of the most popular media-products are now becoming increasingly uniformed. This simply could not be otherwise, because the earlier mentioned process presupposes standardization. In its turn, the latter allows companies to substantially increase the extent of their commercial effectiveness.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Comparison Between the Two Different International Editions of Vogue Magazine specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As Vrontis, Thrassou and Lamprianou pointed out: ââ¬Å"The experiences of a growing number of multinational companies suggest that there are potential gains to be obtained by standardizing marketing practicesâ⬠(480). At the same time, however, it is now becoming increasingly clear to marketing managers that, in order for a particular media-product to appeal to the targeted audience, it must be psychologically attuned to how the audience members tend to perceive the surrounding socio-cultural reality. This creates objective preconditions for the media-productsââ¬â¢ content to be semiotically consistent with what happened the specifics of an ethno-cultural affiliation, on the part of potential consumers. After all, todayââ¬â¢s psychologists are thoroughly aware of the fact that it is namely the particulars of how one positions itself, in the ethno-cultural sense of this word, which defines the concerned individualââ¬â¢s existential mode more than anything else does. Therefore, it does not come as a particular surprise that, as of today, marketing strategies utilized by the owners of transnational media-corporations in different parts of the world, do take into consideration the discursively relevant aspects of the targeted audiencesââ¬â¢ cultural uniqueness. In this respect, we can only agree with Sinclair and Wilken, who noted that: ââ¬Å"While the economic logic of globaliza tion might impel global marketers to seek the theoretical advantages of standardization, experience with the realities of linguistic and other cultural differences has obliged them to go some distance towards the ââ¬Ëglocalizationââ¬â¢ of their marketing campaignsâ⬠(147). In this paper, I will explore the validity of the earlier suggestion at length, while analyzing the discursive significance of the visual and textual messages, explicitly/implicitly conveyed by the covers of the UK and the US editions of Vogue Magazine (February, 2010). The most easily identified difference between the two covers is that, whereas, the US cover depicts a clearly Caucasian model (Jessica Biel), the UK cover depicts a model (Cheryl Cole) that can be best identified as a someone who has been born in the multiracial family. In fact, on the magazineââ¬â¢s cover, the latter appears to be at least partially Pakistani, in the ethno-cultural sense of this word.Advertising Looking for rese arch paper on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In its turn, this can be explained by the specifics of how the policy of multiculturalism is being implemented in the US, on the one hand, and in the UK, on the other. Whereas, in the US, the policy of the multiculturalism enjoys a rather semi-official status, in Britain it is in fact being enforced upon citizens. Moreover, whereas, in the U.S., the representatives of racial minorities do not exercise enough political influence, in order to be able to directly affect the process of the countryââ¬â¢s domestic and foreign policies being designed and implemented, this is far from being the case in the UK. After all, it does not represent much of a secret that, as of today, a growing number of British socially prominent intellectuals, as well as religious figures, does support the adoption of the Islamic Sharia Law, as the British jurisprudenceââ¬â¢s integral pa rt (Rodgers and Lindsey 8). This, of course, suggests that, due to the essence of demographic dynamics within the British society, the UK is on the path of becoming increasingly ââ¬Ëtraditionalââ¬â¢ country, where more and more citizens are willing to affiliate themselves with the values of the religion-based morality. Partially, this explains the apparent dichotomy between the postures of the depicted models on the covers of the US and the UK editions of Vogue. For example, the cover-photo of Jessica Biel implies that the depicted model is an intellectually liberated woman, who is thoroughly comfortable with taking an active stance in life. This is because, as it can be seen on the cover, she is being represented in the manner that stresses out her emotional comfortableness with what happened to be her existential self-identity of a person, unaffected by the conventions of the ââ¬Ëtraditionalââ¬â¢ morality. These conventions presuppose that women should present themselv es as essentially timid creatures, who can only realize their full potential while in the relationship with men. Yet, while understanding perfectly well the sheer power of her feminine charms, Biel does not seem to be willing to fetishize them, as if she wanted to say: ââ¬Å"I am an independent woman and I am proud to be what I amâ⬠. This is the reason why Bielââ¬â¢s image conveys the subtle message of ââ¬Ëliberationââ¬â¢ ââ¬â the woman in question clearly thinks that there so much more to her individuality than merely her good looks.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Comparison Between the Two Different International Editions of Vogue Magazine specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The same, however, cannot be said about the photographic image of Cheryl Cole, featured on the cover of the UK edition of Vogue. After all, there can be only a few doubts as to the fact that the manner in whic h she has been photographed, implies her affiliation with the traditional virtues of womanhood, commonly associated with the notions of timidness, passiveness and shyness. The very defensive manner, in which Cole holds her hands (as if she wanted to protect its innate existential essence), suggests that on a subconscious level, she is aware of her own fragility, as an individual. At the same time, however, she appears to be simultaneously aware of the fact that it is specifically men, who can help her to realize the full extent of its existential potential ââ¬â hence, the strongly defined spirit of a sexual seductiveness, emanated by the UK cover of Vogue. In this respect, Coleââ¬â¢s cover-image does seem to be discursively consistent with Weiningerââ¬â¢s suggestion that: ââ¬Å"A woman does not value herself by the constancy and freedom of her personalityâ⬠¦ (she) can only value herself at the rate of the man who has fixed his choice on herâ⬠(123). It is needles s to mention, of course, that there are male-chauvinistic overtones to the above quoted suggestion. Yet, they resonate perfectly well with how monotheistic religions (such as Christianity and Islam) used to treat women. Given the fact that, as it was pointed out earlier, Britain is on the way of becoming nothing less of a quasi-Islamic state, it makes a logical sense for the UK-based publishers of Vogue to strive to appeal to the religion-driven aesthetic tastes of British Muslims, which will soon attain the status of the countryââ¬â¢s actual ethic majority. The legitimacy of this idea can also be illustrated, in regards to what appear to be the qualitative aspects of how both models are dressed. For example, as it can be seen on the US cover of Vogue, Biel wears a manââ¬â¢s shirt and a denim-costume. In its turn, this signifies even further the depicted modelââ¬â¢s emotional comfortableness with the idea that women are not restricted to wearing only ââ¬Ëgender-appropria teââ¬â¢ attires. The reason for this is simple ââ¬â denim-fabrics, in general, and jeans, in particular, have traditionally been associated with the masculine virtue of industriousness (Woodward and Miller 7). Therefore, by willing to wear clothes made out of denim, women unconsciously exhibit their subliminal desire to cease being subjected to a patriarchal oppression, the important element of which has always been prescribing the representatives of a ââ¬Ëweak sexââ¬â¢ to refrain from putting on these kind of clothes. Despite the fact that, as we have noted earlier, the religions of Christianity and Islam are equally oppressive towards women, in the US, the majority of Christians cannot be referred as ââ¬Ëtrue believersââ¬â¢, in the classical sense of this word. One of the reasons for that that, as of today, the religion of Christianity in Western countries has ceased affecting peopleââ¬â¢s lives de facto, because the sheer fallaciousness of this religionâ⬠â¢s dogmas is clear to even moderately bright Whites.Advertising Looking for research paper on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More One of the reasons for this is that, due to its outdatedness, the Christian code of behavioral ethics no longer correlates with what happened to be the cognitive aspirations of modern people (Rawls 95).à Because in the US, fundamental Christians consist of intellectually marginalized outcasts, they are not in the position to apply any pressure upon those women who refuse to share their male-chauvinistic religious nonsense. The same can be said about Islamic fundamentalists in the US ââ¬â the FBI is keeping them on a short leash. This is why, Bielââ¬â¢s decision to appear on the cover of Vogue, while wearing a denim-outfit, appears fully justified ââ¬â she never had a reason to be trying to appease conservatively minded citizens, in the first place. In Britain, the situation in this respect is quite different. Because this country can no longer be considered thoroughly secularized, non-religious British citizens are now being unofficially required to refrain from positio ning themselves as intellectually liberated individuals, as the growing population of Muslims in this country may find it offensive. The validity of this statement can be well illustrated in regards to the recent incident of the British soldier Lee Rigby having been decapitated on the streets of London by the Muslim believer Michael Adebolajo in broad daylight. In the aftermath, high-ranking officials from the British army advised British soldiers not to wear a uniform, when they are off-duty, in order not to anger Muslims (Shiv 9). In my opinion, the earlier described socio-cultural situation in Britain partially explains the particulars of Coleââ¬â¢s appearance on the cover of the UK edition of Vogue. After all, as it can be well seen on it, even though she wears a clearly feminine yellow dress, due to being ââ¬Ëloseââ¬â¢, it effectively conceals the modelââ¬â¢s bodily curves. Yet, this is exactly what Muslim womenââ¬â¢s traditional dresses are supposed to do, so th at when looking at women in these dresses, men do not get overly excited and consequently refrain from considering to commit the sin of adultery.à Nevertheless, it is not only the visual subtleties of the discussed Vogue-covers that hint at the specifics of the cultural climate in the affiliated countries, but the textual ones, as well. For example, in the left upper corner of the US cover, we can read: ââ¬Å"Not in the mood? The quest for a female Viagraâ⬠. It is needless to mention, of course, that the pharmaceutical term ââ¬ËViagraââ¬â¢ has the clearly defined undertones of masculinity, as the drug in question was designed specifically for enhancing menââ¬â¢s sexual potency. In its turn, the notion of male sexuality cannot be discussed outside of how men go about adopting a particularly active stance, while looking for female sex-partners and having sexual intercourses with them. Therefore, the combination of the words ââ¬Ëfemaleââ¬â¢ and ââ¬ËViagraâ⬠⢠implies that women who are cognitively comfortable with it, do not necessarily think that passivity/submissiveness accounts for the integral element of their lifestyles ââ¬â quite on the contrary. Given the fact that ever since the time of its founding, the US remained an essentially secularized state (the countryââ¬â¢s Constitution proclaims the separation between Church and State), it is not surprising that in this country, even moderately religious women do support the idea that it is fully appropriate, on their part, to explore their sexuality actively. In this respect, the situation in the UK is quite different. After all, the UK Constitution openly states that Protestantism is even today considered the countryââ¬â¢s state-religion (Madeley 275). Partially, this explains why, as compared to what it happened to be the case with American women, British women have traditionally been deemed much more ââ¬Ëclassyââ¬â¢ ââ¬â that is, more passive and shy in thei r relationships with men. The latter presupposes that, as compared to American women, British women are much merely likely to overlook the discursively derogative sounding of a number of terms, to which they are being exposed, such as ââ¬Ëchicââ¬â¢, for example. Predictably enough, one of the topics, advertised on the cover of the UK edition of Vogue, features the word ââ¬Ëchicââ¬â¢ rather prominently: ââ¬Å"Office chic. New weekday wardrobeâ⬠. Even though that this term means ââ¬Ëstyleââ¬â¢, it clearly resonates with the word ââ¬Ëchickââ¬â¢, which is a slang-word that derived out of the notion of ââ¬Ëchickenââ¬â¢ ââ¬â hence, degrading women, as being somewhat less human. There is, however, even more to it ââ¬â because the mentioned topic features the word ââ¬Ëchicââ¬â¢ in conjunction with the word ââ¬Ëweekdayââ¬â¢, the combination of these two words implies that the physiological specifics of womenââ¬â¢s gender-affiliation, makes them less adequate, in the professional sense of this word. After all, this topic implicitly suggests that, even when addressing their professional duties (during the course of weekdays), women never cease remaining solely concerned with the matter of their physical appearance.à Essentially the same line of argumentation can be used, when it comes to discussing the discursive significance of other topics, mentioned on the covers of the UK and the US editions of Vogue. For example, one of the topics on the cover of the US edition of this magazine state: ââ¬Å"Clothing to borrow from your boyfriendâ⬠. Apparently, it never occurred to those who came up with this topic that there could be anything wrong about women wearing menââ¬â¢s clothes. The reason for this is quite apparent ââ¬â the very secularized realities of a post-industrial living in America naturally predispose women to think of the extent of a particular clothing-itemââ¬â¢s appropriateness, as such, that reflects its functional subtleties. Why not to wear menââ¬â¢s shirts or trousers, if the circumstances call for it?à The same thought, however, would probably never occur to British women. This is because, being traditionally minded, they tend to deal with life-challenges indirectly ââ¬â that is, they tend to rely upon men, when it comes to addressing these challenges. Therefore, as opposed to what it happened to be the case with their rationally minded American counterparts, the majority of British women believes that it is namely their feminine charms, which allow them to advance in life more than anything else does. Hence, the meaning of the question: ââ¬Å"Can you live without mascara?â⬠, featured on the cover of the UK edition of Vogue ââ¬â the fact that this question is clearly rhetorical, suggests that it is quite impossible for women to enjoy living, while sparred of the opportunity to apply a makeup to their faces. Apparently, the articleââ¬â¢s a uthor was perfectly aware of what happened to the innermost essence of British womenââ¬â¢s subliminal anxieties, in this respect. Given what has been said earlier in the paper, these do appear to be dialectically predetermined.à There is another topic, featured on the cover of the US edition of Vogue, which can be discussed, as such that reflects American womenââ¬â¢s tendency to indulge in pursuits, which have been traditionally been ââ¬Ëassignedââ¬â¢ to men: ââ¬Å"Close encounter. The tale of an almost adulteressâ⬠. This topic suggests that the publishers of the US edition of Vogue do realize what accounts for the actual nature of female sexuality, as such that is being physiologically rather than socially defined. This is because the suggestion that it is indeed possible for women to enter into the adulterous relationship with men implies that, contrary to what many women themselves tend to think, their sexual desires are being just as strong, as compared to th e ones of men. What it means is that a particular womanââ¬â¢s ability to enjoy sex as much as she wants, does not solely depend on whether she happened to possess good looks or not, but also on whether she is committed enough to end up in bed with the man she covets (Musser 23). It is needless to mention, of course, that this subtly conveyed suggestion parts away with the conventions of the religion-based patriarchal morality, which objectualize women. Therefore, we can well speculate that this topicââ¬â¢s prominent display on the US cover of Vogue signifies the validity of the idea that the American society is indeed more progressive than the British one ââ¬â at least in respect of how it treats women. Had this not been the case, the UK cover of Vogue would not feature topics that do advocate the legitimacy of womenââ¬â¢s willingness to objectualize themselves, as something fully appropriate. Yet, this is clearly not the case. For example, the topic seen in the UK cove rââ¬â¢s bottom right corner, states: ââ¬Å"What it takes to get a supermodelââ¬â¢s body?â⬠. This topic implies both: The measure of a particular womanââ¬â¢s de facto worthiness is solely concerned with her physical looks It is entirely appropriate for women to strive to be as thin, as possible, so that they would be in a position to successfully marry off, and to consequently attain the dubious happiness of pursuing the lifestyle of a pretty but brainless ââ¬Ëdollââ¬â¢ ââ¬â at the expense of being unable to give birth to healthy children. After all, it does not represent any secret for physicians that unnaturally skinny women (such as supermodels) do experience troubles at childbirth. Yet, male-chauvinistic societies could not care less about womenââ¬â¢s physical well-being, but only about whether women can serve men as sexual toys, which is why in these societies; women are encouraged to take part in the ââ¬Ëdiscourse of thinnessââ¬â¢ (Neff 10). Therefore, the earlier mentioned topic can well serve as an indication of the fact that, despite its formal affiliation with the dogmas of political correctness, the British society remains rather oppressive towards women.à Quite clearly, this is not being the case in America, where women are being encouraged to explore their existential uniqueness, without paying too much attention to what happened to their actual physical shape. As another topic, featured on the US cover (ââ¬ËThe refreshingly real Jessica Bielââ¬â¢) suggests, it is namely the depicted modelââ¬â¢s intellectual open-mindedness, reflected by the womanââ¬â¢s comfortableness with being who she is, which deserved her the right to appear in this particular edition of Vogue. It is understood, of course, that Biel is indeed sexy. However, what adds more than anything else does to the aura of sexiness, emanated by the model, is that, as it was mentioned earlier, her very posture implies that she has no psychol ogical complexes, whatsoever, in regards to being a thoroughly modern woman. In the UK edition of Vogue, however, the notion of modernity appears subtly ostracized, as one of the featured topics does encourage readers to adopt a cyclic outlook on what accounts for the essence of historical dynamics: ââ¬Å"The return of 60ââ¬â¢s glamourâ⬠.à Even though that as a ââ¬Ëthing in itselfââ¬â¢, this particular topic is best referred to as ideologically neutral, there are strongly defined discursive connotations to it, because it implies that it is possible for the ââ¬Ëpastââ¬â¢ to return. Because there are indeed a number of good reasons to believe that the British society is undergoing the initial phase of the process of deindustrialization/clericalization (induced by the ââ¬Ëinvasionââ¬â¢ of Muslims), we can refer to the mentioned topic, as such that is being metaphysically consistent with the societyââ¬â¢s ongoing qualitative transformation. As it was stat ed in the Introduction, in regards to the covers of the UK and the US editions of Vogue, there is indeed a good rationale in believing that Globalization does result in the standardization of the media productsââ¬â¢ content. The very laws of a historical progress predetermine this state of affairs. Nevertheless, the culturally defined specifics of how the members of targeted audiences tend to perceive the surrounding reality, do affect this contentââ¬â¢s societal implications. Therefore, even though that the US and the UK based editions of Vogue do feature themes and motifs that the magazineââ¬â¢s publishers consider being potentially appealing to women, the discursive significance the covered topics cannot be discussed outside of what account for the specifics of the socio-cultural climate in America and Britain. This once again exposes the fallaciousness of those sociological theories that treat humanity in terms of a homogeneous compound, consisted of the representatives of Homo Sapiens species. Apparently, oneââ¬â¢s ethno-cultural affiliation does affect the concerned individualââ¬â¢s cognitive inclinations rather substantially. I believe that this conclusion is fully consistent with the paperââ¬â¢s initial thesis. Works Cited Madeley, John. ââ¬Å"Unequally Yoked: The Antinomies of Church-State Separation inà Europe and the USA.â⬠European Political Science 8.3 (2009): 273-288. Print. Musser, Jamilla. ââ¬Å"On the Orgasm of the Species: Female Sexuality, Science andà Sexual Difference.â⬠Feminist Review 102 (2012): 1-20. Print. Neff, Jack. ââ¬Å"Study: Stick to Skinny Models for Fat Profits.â⬠Advertising Age 79.30à (2008): 4-28. Print. Rawls, Anne. Epistemology and Practice: Durkheimââ¬â¢s ââ¬ËThe Elementary Forms ofà Religious Lifeââ¬â¢. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Print. Rodgers, Melissa and Cheryl Lindsey. ââ¬Å"United Kingdom: Archbishop ofà Canterbury Advocates Sharia for Britai n.â⬠Off Our Backs 37.4 (2007): 8-9. Print. Shiv, Malik. ââ¬Å"Woolwich Aftermath: ââ¬ËI am a soldier,ââ¬â¢ Adebolajo Tells Old Baileyà Hearing.â⬠The Guardian 6 Jun. 2013: 9. Print. Sinclair, John and Rowan Wilken. ââ¬Å"Strategic Regionalization in Marketingà Campaigns: Beyond the Standardization/Glocalization Debate.â⬠Continuum: Journal of Media Cultural Studies 23.2 (2009): 147-157. Print. Vrontis, Demetris; Thrassou, Alkis and Iasonas Lamprianou. ââ¬Å"Internationalà à Marketing Adaptation versus Standardization of Multinational Companies.â⬠International Marketing Review 26.4/5 (2009): 477-500. Print. Weininger, Otto 1906, Sex Character. PDF file. Web. Woodward, Sophie and Daniel.Miller. ââ¬Å"Unraveling Denim: Introduction.â⬠Textile:à The Journal of Cloth Culture 9.1 (2011): 6-10. Print. 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Monday, November 25, 2019
Giving back to the Blacks And Native Americans essays
Giving back to the Blacks And Native Americans essays Should Caucasians Pay for the Racial Discrimination? America today is a great country for all different religions and nationalities. However this method has not always been the same way, what we enjoy in todays world is the result of people suffering in the past, losing their blood, families, and basically all they had in order to obtain human rights and human dignity. Many still believe that the rights given to people are still not sufficient, and we are still on the path of real freedom. African-Americans and Native Americans are the communities that have suffered in the past because of the racial discrimination and the greed of Americans for land. Although these people are human beings just like others, they were treated with brutality and without dignity. When the first explorers founded the new world, they encountered people that did not look or talk like them, at first they thought they had accidentally settled in Spice Islands, which is now present day Indonesia and India, yet they came across a new land, where they confronted people not used to European way of life. The explorers found this land with great opportunity and decided to make a settlement. The New Americans brutally went to war with the Native Americans: raping and killing the women and children, and forcing the natives to move westward. This in turn caused even more problems because of the new Native Americans moving westward were going into other claimed land, which caused war amongst the Native Americans. The text talks about Indian Country. Passed in 1834, promised the Native Americans that all the land west of the Mississippi was one big Indian Reservation. By the 1850s the story had changed, the government abandoned the one big reservation idea and divided the tribes into smaller tribes and assigned them smaller, individual plots of land. Both the whites and the Indians neglected to abide by the ru...
Friday, November 22, 2019
Effects of financial crisis on Austria Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Effects of financial crisis on Austria - Essay Example Austriaââ¬â¢s products are struggling to compete with the products China and India like Asian countries because of the higher prices of the Austrian products. India and China are the most heavily populated countries in the world and they donââ¬â¢t have the manpower shortage problems. On the other hand, Austria is facing severe manpower shortage and hence the labour cost is comparatively high in Austria. Subsequently the products of Austria are heavily priced in the global market. ââ¬Å"Lending rates are a key element in the transmission of monetary impulses to the real economy even more so in bank-based financial systems such as the Austrian oneâ⬠(Jobst). Austrian banks were more particular in safeguarding the interests of their customers rather than the interests of the country. Austrian banks were not much particular in adjusting the interest rates even at a time when the Austrian economy fluctuated a lot. Banks miscalculated that the relationships with the customers are more important even at a time when the economy was in a unstable condition. Banks took a more relaxed approach to risk assessment and risk premiums decline even when the recession struck the economy hard. The economic expansion of Austria suffered a major setback when the recession entered the world quiet unexpectedly in 2007. The slump in world trade has affected Austria also very much. Unemployment and inflation were reached all time high during the recession period in Austria. Many of the Austrian firms forced to cut down their labor force in order to escape from recession. However, Austria is currently showing signs of the great recovery. While most of their European counterparts struggling to repair the damage, Austria seems to be succeeded in finding solutions for the damages caused by recession. Compared to other Euro zone counterparts, Austria was able to recover quickly even though the recession struck their economy severely. The current growth rates of Austria are more
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Discussion 1 Week 10 Protests, Disputes, and Appeals Assignment
Discussion 1 Week 10 Protests, Disputes, and Appeals - Assignment Example ts of both, agreement and disagreement; and (d) the ââ¬Å"statement of the contracting officerââ¬â¢s decision, with supporting rationaleâ⬠(OConnor, 2007, p. 234). Concurrently, depending on the type of claim (for money, for interpretation of contract terms, and for ââ¬Ëother reliefââ¬â¢), diverse conditions and requirements are to be complied. Each of the requirement is an independent critical component of a successful claim because all crucial ingredients to support the requirement need to be duly complied prior to proceeding to the claim process. 2. Evaluate the requirements for the Court of Federal Claims to hear a complaint and give your opinion on which requirements are justified, which are not, and which additional requirements would be advisable. Explain what, in your opinion, makes these requirements justifiable or not justifiable. (United States Court of Federal Claims, 2014). For instance, the reference to the exact terms of the contract where the claim or dispute originated need to be stated verbatim to extrapolate the validity of the complaint. As such, all the stipulated elements, by nature of evaluation and experience in processing claims, have already been scrutinized as to their necessity to be integrated in the claim process. In oneââ¬â¢s personal opinion, all the requirements are therefore justifiable to establish comprehensive validity in supporting the rationale for the
Monday, November 18, 2019
Leadership in Organisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Leadership in Organisation - Essay Example There is a growing presence of women in almost all aspects of employment, and particularly in top management positions, in recent years. The contribution of women, in executive level in organizational success over the years, is unprecedented, thus indicating their strong leadership skills and professionalism at the workplace. There is also a change in their social expectations, and their advocacy by various groups, to ensure equal opportunities at the workplace has further ensured honing of such skills. It is on account of these reasons, that the performance of women managers and leaders, that the case for a strong ethical leadership, irrespective of the gender, has gained momentum. Furthermore, the rise in complexity and composition of the global markets has expanded the scope of businesses as never before, thus leading to more pressure on the top level management to perform and excel in their respective fields. Such external factors have led to retention and promotion of skilled wo men in managerial positions, across all levels in the organizational hierarchy. Such an increase in female corporate leaders in recent times can be attributed to the changing dynamics of the industry, as well as the change in conventional definitions and practices of the concept of leadership in general. Contrary to the conventional definition of the concept, leadership in the post-industrialized era refers to the ability of individuals to motivate, empower and engage the employees and subordinates, and team members as well as empathize with them. (Hammer & Champy, 1994; Senge, 1994). Research suggests that there is still a vast difference between the leadership and management styles followed by male and female leaders. It is on account of this reason that the proverbial ââ¬Ëglass ceilingââ¬â¢ still exists in terms of appointment of women in top management positions particularly in fields such as finance and technology. According to Schein (2001) the ââ¬Ëthink manager, think maleââ¬â¢ approach to appointing individuals in top leadership positions, ex ists in various countries across the globe, despite the change in socio-cultural environment, and the advancement of policies advocating equal opportunities to women. It has also been observed that in the developed
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Stakeholders In Planning Of Change
Stakeholders In Planning Of Change Prior to implementing a companywide change, it is important to get stakeholders on board. Organisations take their stakeholders into confidence, just to ensure the smooth transition, since they are the one who will be affected by the change. For an organisation stakeholder can be its employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, managers, government, local community, creditors etc. n order to achieve this goal, stakeholder analyses are carried out. Stakeholder Analysis The process of identifying those who will be affected by the actions of organisation. It also enables the managers to analyze the attitudes of stakeholders towards the change. In order to carry out these analysis, following steps are taken: Identify the stakeholders in stakeholder analysis the first step is to come up with the list of any who will be affected by the organisational actions, this can include an individual, a group or an organisation. The possible stakeholders for Gill Construction can be: new Managing Director previous MD senior managers suppliers lenders / banks customers public future recruits, environment protection groups regulatory bodies Prioritize your stakeholders For organisations the list of stakeholders can be very long, in one case of university 20,000 stakeholders were identified. This doesnt mean that everyone is very important to the organisation. Hence the next step in stakeholder analysis is to prioritize stakeholders. This can be done using Power / Interest Grid. Using this grid, Gill construction can identify their key stakeholders, which can be: new Managing Director senior managers suppliers lenders / banks customers public environment protection groups and regulatory bodies existing workforce Understand Your Key Stakeholders this is the last step in stakeholder analysis. It focuses on understanding the key stakeholders, and defines the way they will be affected. It also highlights the interests stakeholders have with the organisation. It answers the following question: What financial or emotional interest do they have in the outcome of change? Is it positive or negative? What motivates them? What information do they want? How do they want to receive information? What is the best way of communicating with them? What is their current opinion? Is it based on good information? Who influences their opinions generally? Do some of these influencers therefore become important stakeholders in their own right? If they are not likely to be positive, what will win them around to support change? How to manage their opposition How they can influence others by their opinion? Convergence and Divergence Another model adopted by management gurus to analyze the stakeholders. It enables the managers to identify the factors which are opposing the stakeholders and which are supporting it. Divergence analysis of the factors which are opposing the change for stakeholders. The first step is to identify the basic change factors which are causing the opposition, these can be beliefs, values, and goals associated with the stake holders. Managers need to answers like What are their beliefs about change and which have led them to oppose it? What are the values being transgressed by change actions? Are their stress values being triggered? How is the change affecting their career social goals? Managers also need into their perception of the change, analyzing this can give them huge edge converting their opposition. They need to answer questions like What do they think about change? What do they think will happen? How do they look at other stakeholders? Convergence elements which are supporting the change. It is much focused on those who oppose the change. Managers need to understand who they are dealing with, what they are capabable how and how they can affect them. For-example A regulatory body or HSE will have permission to shut down the work in progress if they find anything in violation of the laws. Also in case of Supply chain, they may also ruin their relationship with the supplier. Banks and Lenders will have their leverage over the organisation since a loan was taken for the purchase of new machinery. Managers need to look into the following cases: How the stakeholder will be managed? Do they need any leadership or they will just follow? What made them follow the leadership How will they support the change? How prepared are they for the change? Evaluate the systems used to involve stakeholders in the planning of change Stakeholders Circle: A tool designed to gain stakeholder commitment and involve the key stakeholders in developing a change management strategy. This cycle has six steps and also known as Six Steps Stakeholders Cycle Identify the stakeholders The first step is to identify the key stakeholders, which can influence and have interest within the organisation. Prioritize the stake holders Managers need to identify the key stakeholder using the Power-Interest Grid. For Gill Construction these key stakeholders are : MD Employees Management Customers Suppliers Regulatory Bodies Map the Profile next step is to map the profile, how will they be affected, what is in the change for them, how they can be supported, what kind of support we can get from them, what are their culture and values. All the questions will be answered at this point Engagement strategy At this point a managers need to decide how they are going to address the issues of stakeholders in order to gain their commitment and support. New MD of Gill Construction need to hold a meeting with management of the company. Clearly define what He wants to achieve and what his goals are. Since his goal is to improve the quality of the work done and also expand the business. It will be then the job of Management to directly contact their respective staff members and explain the situation to them. Ideas for improvement will be taken. Meeting and Presentations will be held with suppliers and explain your objective to them. Also Management will seek advice from regulatory bodies to assists them in improving the H S at workplace. Banks and Lenders will also be taken into confidence. A clear business plan will be presented to them. Optimise their Support next step in this cycle is to optimise the support from stakeholders. Managers need to be very clear and specific about their objective to the stakeholder and try to get most out of them. They need to keep good relationships with their lenders/ banks and suppliers. Monitor the last and final stage is to monitor the strategy. They need to keep going back to their stakeholders and ensure their support is still with them. If they have any kind of doubts they need to clear them out. Develop a change management strategy with stakeholders A strategy will be formed which will help management at Gill Construction to gain commitment from their stakeholders. A general change management strategy involves three steps: Situational awareness before a companywide change is implemented, everyone will be made aware of the change and what is going to happen in result of this change. A vision will be created Stakeholders will be informed that how this will effect. Suppliers will be notified about what will be expected of them. Employees will be taken into confidence to avoid panic. Supporting structures second step is to structure teams and sponsor coalition. They will be debriefed about who is going to do what. If they will be let go off, they will be informed at this stage. They will be informed that they need to trained to operate the new machinery. Bank or Lender will be informed about new purchases and equipment. New policy about H S will be sent to HSE and they will be informed about it. Suppliers will be contacted and new terms regarding JIT will be set, also material price will be revisited. Strategy analysis this stage involves risk analysis to be carried out. what degree of risk is involved in this change. What will happen if this strategy fails. In case there is no progress even after this change, what will we do, what if lenders refuse to pass a load. In case of resistance from stakeholders a resistance to change strategy will be required. Management will give their best to negotiate on good terms with the suppliers and use the bargaining power. Management also need to convince the bank and lenders to pass the load and take them into confidence. Create a strategy for managing resistance to change It is in human nature that whenever they are asked to move out of their comfort zone or change, they resist it. When organisations go under change it is very obvious that stakeholders will be afraid of its outcome. Hence it is very important to manage this resistance because this resistance can raise the risk factor during the change or transition process. Passive versus Active Resistance A framework adopted from Active Passive Being critical Agreeing verbally but not following through Ridiculing failing to implement change Appealing to fear Procrastinating or dragging one feet Using facts selectively Feigning ignorance Blaming or accusing Withholding information, suggestion, help or support Intimidating or threatening Standing by or allowing change to fail Manipulating Blocking Starting rumours Arguing Managing Resistance Before a change is implemented it is very important for managers to either eliminate resistance completely or bring it down to a very lower level such that it has a very minor effect. There can be number of ways for managing this resistance. Some of the ways adopted by Gill Construction can be: Communication everyone within the organisation should be made aware of the situation. Managers need to communicate openly with all the stakeholders and discuss the issues with them. Even if they are supporting the change management need to check with them back to back to ensure the full commitment. Management need to hold meetings, brainstorming session with the staff and communicate with them. Suggestions will be taken from the staff and their participation will be encouraged. Training staff will be provided with appropriate training to build up their skills so that they can operate the new machinery. This will help to eliminate the resistance put up by the operational workforce. Also work-shops will be held with other staff to ensure that they are not left behind. They will be provided with the information and steps involved in this transition will be explained to them. Feedback Taking feedback or suggestions from the stakeholders is always the best way to gain their commitment. This shows to them that management is still listening to them and they hold a value to them. Taking feedback about the training is also good to monitor the staff performance. Develop appropriate models for change In the current scenario, Gill Construction has newly appointed Managing Director, who is not very happy with the current operational situation of the organization .He wants to improve the internal situation of the organization as well as the product quality. In past there were a lot of incidents related to poor health and safety at work place, this was due to the fact that no one was following the policy. Also there were cases of project being delayed due to the lack of appropriate equipment and machinery. Since the management decided to go under a change they have faced a heavy resistance from Suppliers, and employees. Also there were concerns over H S policy. The appropriate change management model for Gill construction would be ADKAR model by Prosci. Awareness Management need to create awareness among all the stakeholders and communicate the vision to them clearly, this will help to get them on board. Meeting will be held with suppliers and explain to them about the Just in Time approach for the material in order to avoid storage costs and material wastage. Employees will be explained that what will be expected of them. They will be informed about the new machinery and equipment and their usage. They will also be debriefed about following H S policies or they will face fine. Desire next step is to get feedback from the stakeholders and see what they desire. Full stakeholder participation will be encouraged. They will also monitor the desire for the stakeholders to change. This will be done using meeting and brainstorming sessions Knowledge next step is to educate and train the staff. This will help to motivate the work force and gain their trust. A list will be made regarding the skills and knowledge needed to support the change. If the supplier can provide the stuff on time. Ability even if the stakeholders have the skills and knowledge to support the change but do they have the ability to support it. For-example Supplier has the complete knowledge of JIT and has skilled work force but do not have enough sources or ability to carry it out. Same is the case with employees they might have skills to operate the machinery but they might not have ability to work at a certain place Reinforcement the last step is to reinforce the sources to retain change. Training should be provided to the staff to motivate them and make them feel empower. Also managers need to look if the current supplier cannot agree on the new terms than a new supplier might be required. Plan to implement a model for change Organizational Development A companywide effort to increase organizations effectiveness. It focuses to change the beliefs, attitudes, values, and structure of the organization, so that it can adopt the change e.g. technological or new market or competitor. OD involves process re-engineering and system re-structuring within the organization to increase the effectiveness. Business Process Re-engineering- the complete rethinking, redesigning and reengineering of the business process. The process of material delivery or supply chain will be redesigned. Supplier will be asked to adopt the JIT approach and supply the material at right time. The material will be kept in very low quantity, and if there is need of more material Mangers have to inform supplier prior to 3-days. They will demand for more stock when they have 20% of the stock left. Also Management will adopt a strict approach towards H S policies at work place. If anyone found in violation of these policies will be heavily fined. Customers will be in direct contact with the Project Manager and everything will be done through him. Project Manager will discuss the issues with senior management on weekly basis. Push-Pull Strategy In the current system, organization is following the Push Strategy, which means the stock is Supplier driven. The demand for material is sent to the supplier and it is then delivered but it is resulting in overstocking and in some cases delays which is unacceptable. Hence a new strategy is required, which will be Pull based supply chain. In this strategy the order is placed by the organization in the required quantity, and supplier has to deliver that on time. This will be a mix of Push and Pull. The demand will be given by Gill Construction when the stock reached the 20% mark, and then supplier will be required to deliver the material as demanded. Develop appropriate measures to monitor progress Once the change implementation strategy is planned, the next step is to put appropriate measures in place which will monitor the performance. This can be achieved with the use of following: Goal-based evaluation the aim of this evaluation is to monitor the performance of change and see if the desired goals have been achieved, this involves: Formulating clear goals, what we wanted to achieve. The goal was to improve the operational quality and supply chain. The next step is to align the organizational goals with the change goals. Gill Construction aim is to provide quality service to the client and gaining customer satisfaction, that will be aligned with the goals for change, the change was required to improve supply chain, and also service quality by using new equipment. Next step is to recognize if we have achieved our goals. The effectiveness of supply chain can be checked by measuring waste levels. Also work force commitment can be seen by appraisals and the percentage of accidents at work place. Process-based evaluation it is another tool which measures the effectiveness on the basis of process performance. This checks if the process redesigning has improved the service quality. It will focus on the supply chain process and see if the process has shown its effectiveness. Are the stakeholders happy with the process. The new process for customers to be in direct contact with project manager and not with head office, is it really helping customers or not. Feedback can be taken at this point, which can assists the managers in monitoring the situation.
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Kurt Vonneguts War Experiences and its Effects on the Barnhouse Effect :: essays papers
Kurt Vonneguts War Experiences and its Effects on the Barnhouse Effect Kurt Vonnegut's War Experiences how it contributes to my understanding of the "Barnhouse Effect" Kurt Vonnegutââ¬â¢s war experiences had a great impact on his life, which greatly contributes to the readers understanding of the "Barnhouse Effect." His war experiences are reflected quite vividly through his writing of the "Barnhouse Effect." This short story reflects "the human horrors during war, and the de-humanization of modern men and women, and the loss of humane values in a society dedicated to technological progress." (Modern Stories, p. 408) The Barnhouse Effect is a name that is created by the press. The press came up with this name from Professor Arthur Barnhouseââ¬â¢s character in the "Barnhouse Effect." They call the professorââ¬â¢s phenomenon the barnhouse effect. Professor Barnhouse, had come up with a different name for his phenomenon. He called it the "Dynamopsychian." "Dynamopsychian means force, and the power of the mind. In the story, the narrator explains, in more detail, how Professor Barnhouse relates his phenomenon to war. "As a weapon, then, Dynamopsychism has an impressive advantage over bacteria and atomic bombs, beyond the fact that it cost nothing to use: it enables the professor to single out critical individuals and objects instead of slaughtering whole populations in the process of maintaining international equilibrium." (p. 410). According to this quotation, Dynamopsychism is a very powerful weapon that only professor Barnhouse had. The professor had thoughts that would flash through his mind before they actually happened. His mind is a powerful weapon, which no one else possessed. In the story, Barnhouse says, "the same thought train had flashed through his mind just before he threw the dice." (p. 411). It was that thought train which aligned the professorââ¬â¢s brain cells into what had become the most powerful weapon on Earth. It began with a simple mental exercise during an army crap game, which soon escalates into a worldwide threat. At least, thatââ¬â¢s what the FBI thinks when they raid the Professorââ¬â¢s office and put him under investigation. Professor Barnhouse is asked to use his new power as the ultimate national defense weapon. War hungry generals, Russian spies and the FBI get into the act as Professor Barnhouse shows what the real power of his mind actually is.
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