Thursday, October 31, 2019
Lloyd George Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words
Lloyd George - Case Study Example So, why did the Lloyd George Coalition fall The answer to this can ironically be found within his greatest triumphs. In the beginning of Lloyd George's career, he was a Liberal. It was a time when the Welsh were trying to regain national identity and confidence. He became a council member on the Caernarfon County Council in 1890. This was a seat he held for fifty-five years. He was a very active campaigner and supporter of land reform. Also, he was the youngest member of the House of Commons as a Liberal. In 1908, he was promoted to Chancellor of the Exchequer by Henry Asquith, the new prime minister. He was a very high profile politician, strongly opposing the Boer War. Even before becoming Prime Minister, George was innovatively creating ways to give support to Europe. He oversaw the Merchant Shipping Act of 1906, the Patient Act of 1907, and the Port of London Authority in 1908. He then became chancellor for the Asquith administration. In 1909, he created the 'People's Budget.' In 1911, he introduced Great Britain's National Health Insurance Program and made his famous speech. His speech warned Germany that they would not stand for intrusion in international affairs. He then became the first Minister of Munitions in 1915, further paving his way to becoming Prime Minister. .. He was often called "The man who won the war." Upon winning the war, in 1918, the coalition was formed between the conservatives and part of the Liberal party. They took a huge majority in the elections that year. However, there were some differences in opinion regarding the leadership within Liberal party and as Chris Cook argues, the conservatives wanted to see the Liberal party remain split between the followers of Lloyd George and the followers of Herbert Henry Asquith (the former prime minister.) 2 The conservatives readily carried on with the coalition after the war, since they had not won an election on their own in over a decade. They took the election with 70 percent of the votes. Noted, this was the 'coupon election' and the first election that allowed women over 30 to vote. The conservatives later decided that George owed his win to them and that they could take it back from him at any time. This left Lloyd George, in idea at least, without a party officially supporting him. George was a well-respected wartime leader, but the devastation from the war could prove to be the primary factor that cost him his position as prime minister. After all, he was the one to promise, "A land fit for heroes." After the war, Great Britain was left in a pitiful state of despair and heading towards a depression. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers died and over a million soldiers were left unable to work. Now Britain had to pay millions in war pension on top of the debt they had accumulated due to the war. This great economic decline was too big of a feat to overcome even for the 'Welsh Wizard.' Britain over invested in staple industries due to the war. This caused a boom in
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Analyze 4 Photojournalism Works Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Analyze 4 Photojournalism Works - Essay Example The picture’s most powerful concept is the wooden structure within which the person life is contained. A picture speaking a thousand words for a life of an individual. The photojournalism technique used in this is on creating the bigger portfolio depending on the different stages for the person. The other pictures follow the above shown person as happy, living in decency, and making only the optimal use of his life. Not creating major things he couldn’t protect, couldn’t make or waste his energy in making. The simple comprehensive base is set, the best friends are loyal (dogs) and continuity is on the go. The picture then depicts the adoption of simplicity in life rather than making it boggled down by creating tough events while a person can be easily happy with a limited amount of what he/she can have. The harsh reality of life is poverty. Millions and billions of people die every day due to lack of food. People such as shown above try everyday to find food, something that can provide taste to their buds to have them sleep at night. The nights for them then are very painful with only the survival to look forward to. The picture is very powerful showing a homeless man trying to find something to drink from KFS’s thrown garbage drink cups. The problems of a homeless is then very much concentrated toward just being able to survive with something in the stomach. This is because nobody trusts them, nobody hires them and nobody can help them. People don’t want to see them in pain but being scared to help them as they might remember and ask for more favors is what scared people to take the first step. The photographer is then trying to interpret that in such a harsh condition where even drinking is being such a problem, the homeless face pleads for help, nurture and care. The interpretation of the photo is through the eyes of the photographer, taking the point of the view from within the trash can. Emphasising on the phenomena of luck in
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Interpersonal communication Essay
Interpersonal communication Essay                Interpersonal communication is defined as the interaction between two or more individuals. Where this is the case, the tendency for conflicts to take place is almost inevitable. This is because most people do not have the same opinions, needs and/or mindsets. The effects of conflicts can be disruptive to relationships. However, if handled well, conflicts can contribute positively by improving understanding and tolerance among people, as well as strengthening the bonds between them. Thus, the style that one employs in expressing and managing interpersonal conflicts plays a crucial role in maintaining and improving the quality of communication in his/her relationship.                The movie Parenthood features several conflicts between its characters. The nature of conflicts varies, as well as the style characters adopt in reacting to and resolving conflicts which arise. Gill and Karen, the main characters of the movie, often face disagreements like every married couple does. However, the greatest argument between them arises when Gill comes home angry after quitting his job one day and having Karen inform him that she is pregnant. Being in an easily irritable state at that time, Karens pregnancy did not bring joy to him. Instead, he reacts to her negatively, making her feel as if he did not want the baby. This created a disconfirming communication climate between them. Karen feels that she is underappreciated and the defensive mechanism in her is activated. They begin arguing about the severity of each others lost because of the unexpected baby. They both react to the situation with direct aggressio n; verbally attacking and insulting the other partys position. As a result, the issue was not resolved but amplified.                In actual fact, the impact of the conflict could have been reduced if a different style of expression was used. For example, having known that Gill had just lost his job and was in a foul mood, Karen could choose to withhold the news of her pregnancy until later when Gills emotional turbulence has settled. This non-assertive style may be more appropriate in view of the situation at hand. Also, she could be more supportive and understanding towards his decision. According to Jack Gibb, empathy contributes greatly to a positive relational climate. Being able to accept anothers feelings and putting oneself in their place would make them feel valued and cared about. This encourages them to open up to the other party, making communication much more effective.                However, non-assertion should only be used sparingly because it does not go to the root of the problem. In order to achieve a satisfying resolution, Gill and Karen should discuss the issue later in a calm and peaceful manner, adopting the assertive style of communication. They should allow each other to express their thoughts and feelings directly about the issue and then coming up with a win-win solution. Both parties should respect each other and their discussion should be problem oriented- finding a way in which both parties needs are satisfied and working out some arrangement which makes everyone feel like a winner (Adler, 2003, p.229).                Another instance of conflict also occurs between Suzan, Gills sister, and her husband, Nathan. Their problem revolves around the upbringing style of their daughter, Patty. Nathan insists that Patty should be given strict education in all aspects, despite her young age, in order for her full potential to be utilised. Suzan, on the other hand, feels that her daughter should be given a normal childhood. Besides that, she also feels that her husband is being too uptight and controlling, always behaving as if he knows best. This is seen when Nathan insists that they should only have one child despite Suzans attempt to re-discuss the issue with him. However, instead of confronting the problem, Suzan chooses to be passive aggressive. She pretends to put up with his practices such as power-eating but secretly chows down sweets and chocolates as a symbol of anger and discontent. Eventually, her approach no longer calms her anger and she finally tells Nathan that she is leaving him.                There are several factors which contribute to the aggravation of their conflict. Primarily, Nathans controlling and always certain behavior often causes Suzan to feel that her opinions and feelings are unimportant. He often imposes his way of life on her with little regard to her needs. In addition to that, he also rarely accepts and acknowledges her suggestions and ideas. For instance, when Suzan tells him that Patty should be allowed to behave more like a normal child instead of constantly being strictly guided, he ridicules her frustration and rejects her concern. In another context, Suzans method of handling her unhappiness- passive aggression- is also not an effective manner. It not only does not allow Nathan to know his mistakes, it creates an illusion which shows as if she is happy with her situation.                The resolution of the conflict, as seen in the ending of the movie, was when Nathan finally realises his fault after having Suzan leave him. This indirect communication used by Suzan is nonetheless effective, even though there could be a possibility of Nathan misinterpreting her intentions. Her extreme measures lead Nathan to re-evaluate his behavior and discover that his methods in handling their relationship are inappropriate. Finally, he apologises to her sincerely and receives her forgiveness. Since then, his behavior changes for the better and their relationship becomes stronger.                Aside from marital conflicts, there are also conflicts between parent and child in the movie. For example, the relationship between Gill and his son, Kevin. Kevin is a very sensitive and emotional child. As a result, Gill has to be extra careful in handling him. Conflicts often arise when Kevin becomes upset by something trivial. For example, when Kevin thinks of himself as being abnormal because he was seeing a psychiatrist, Gill has to comfort and ensure him that things were alright. In this situation, Gill adopts an indirect communication approach. He tells Kevin that he was seeing a psychiatrist not because he was sick or abnormal, only more prone to worry than others and that the doctor was there to help him conquer this anxiety. He then shifts Kevins focus from the topic to his upcoming birthday celebration. This lights up Kevins mood and resolves the tension between them. Gills method, in this case, is effective beca use any other method may have irritated Kevin further. Also, as a loving and supportive father, Gill often tries to maintain a confirming communication climate between them. He displays great levels of empathy and equality when interacting with Kevin. He tries to understand his sons needs and emotions instead of dictating them based on his personal experiences. Thus, because of his efforts, the conflicts that arise between them each time is resolved appropriately.                In conclusion, conflicts will always be prevalent in any interpersonal relationships. Be it between husband and wife, parent and child or friends, conflict is sure to arise because of the unique difference between every individual. It is how people manage and express the conflicts that would determine whether the resolution is satisfying for all parties. Thus, it is crucial that one be able to adopt the proper style in expressing his/her dissatisfaction based on the situation at hand in order to reduce the impact of conflicts and maintain healthy interpersonal relationships. Bibliography: Adler, R.B., Rodman, G. (2003) Understanding Human Communication. New York: Oxford University Press.
Friday, October 25, 2019
The Organisational Structure, Culture and Management Style of Sainsbury
The Organisational Structure, Culture and Management Style of Sainsbury A1.How the organisational structure, culture and management style inter-relates in the business and evaluate their impact and that of ICT on the performance of the business. The organisational structure in which Sainsbury’s uses is how Sainsbury’s move the ranks from highest to lowest. For Sainsbury’s to not have levels of different hierarchy then it would not give anybody a rank, which would make the aims of Sainsbury’s not do well in terms of not having someone to be a manager and manage all the staff and make decisions. Without the chain of command workers would be lost and would not know what to do. The way in which the hierarchal structure works for Sainsbury’s is that they have one Manager who looks after all of the operational staff by making the decisions of what they should do and guiding them with any queries or problems. The hierarchal structure in which Sainsbury’s has yet not been put down in terms of not working as they are very good in their selling of products and fails not to impress by being one of the most popular product chains in the UK as well as making a lot of profit on there way to success. The management style in which Sainsbury’s uses is autocratic where as explained before that there is only one manager on the store floor who watches over the other operational staff who are making orders from customers and serving the customers at the tills, also f...
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Art Paper
Formal Analysis: The Metropolitan Museum of art boasts an impressive collection of art, among many other things. One piece that stood out the most was Saint John the Baptist Preaching, by Mattia Preti. Though the work has seemingly faded a bit over the last 360 years, it remains in superb condition, which leads one to believe it has been restored over time. It is this condition that caught my attention, surprisingly as dull as the piece appears; it stills pops when you make eye contact with it. Why does is pop? What about this work has my attention? My first thoughts were the artist’s ability to capture the human form with the amount of detail Mattia Preti had, was the drawing factor that brought me to choosing this as my focal point on my museum trip. The title is Saint John the Baptist Preaching, yet there are no subjects being preached to in the composition. Saint John is making direct eye contact with you as you are staring at him, which gives the sense of actually being in his presence, and listening to him preach. It seems Mattia Preti wanted the viewers to all feel like they were the ones being preached to from the arrangement of this piece of art. Saint John is situated in the middle of the canvas, slouched and leaning to his left in a sort of lazy posture, with his left hand over his heart. This to me says he is speaking of something in which he truly believes, or loves. Situated below him is a white lamb, which is apparent in many religious paintings, the relevance though escapes me. The human form is captured flawlessly, the artist’s ability to capture proper muscle tone and shape is uncanny, only if for a moment it seems this is a photograph taken in the 16th century. No small detail is over looked, looking closer you can actually see veins in the forearm and hand of the subject.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Activity Based Costing †Glaser Health Products Case Essay
Introduction Glaser Health Products manufactures medical items for the health care industry. Production involves machining, assembly and painting. Finished units are then packed and shipped. The financial controller is interested to introduce an activity-based costing (ABC) system to allocate (or distribute) indirect costs to products. Indirect costs, as distinct from direct costs, cannot be unambiguously linked to specific products. The controller would like to calculate product costs based on ABC for planning and control, not inventory valuation. Under an ABC system, the allocation of costs to products is achieved through at least four analytical steps. Firstly, costs are grouped into activity levels. Secondly, cost drivers are selected for each activity level to link activities with costs. Thirdly, for each activity level, a cost function is defined to arithmetically describe the relationship between cost drivers and costs. Finally, a unit allocated cost is calculated for each product (Schneider, 2012). This paper outlines a process for introducing an ABC system at Glaser. The paper is divided into six sections. The first section groups cost categories identified at Glaser by division. The second section groups cost categories by division and activity level. The third section identifies specific cost drivers for each activity level. The fourth section explains preliminary stage allocation. The fifth section explains primary stage allocation. The final section summarizes the main conclusions. Cost Categories by Division Glaser is organized into three functional divisions – Operations, Sales, and Administration. Operations is the only cost or activity center. Glaser recognizes 22 cost categories. These cost categories are grouped by division in Table 1, shown in the appendix. Cost Categories by Division by Activity Level The second step in an ABC system involves grouping costs based on the level of activity at which they are generated. An activity involves the movement or handling of any part, component, or finished product within the relevant organizational unit. The rationale for this grouping is that costs at each activity level are determined by different cost drivers. Four levels of activity are commonly recognized – unit, batch, product and facility level. Unit-level activities are the most granular level of activity. They are performed each time a sub-unit is produced. Unit-level activities are on-going and reflect basic production tasks. Direct labor or direct materials are examples. Costs of these activities mainly vary according to the number of units produced. Batch-level activities are relevant to batch (rather than continuous) production processes. They are performed each time a batch of product sub-units is produced. Typical examples of these costs relate to machine setups, order processing, and materials han ¬dling. Costs of these activities vary mainly according to the number of batches produced, not the number of units in each the batch. Product-level activities support production of each product. The costs of these activities vary mainly according to the number of separate product models. Examples include maintaining bills of materials, processing engineering changes, and product testing routines. Facility-level activities are common to a variety of different products and are the most difficult to link to individual product-specific activities. These activities sustain the production process at an overall production plant or facil ¬ity. Examples include plant supervision, rental expense and other building occupancy costs. Some firms, including Glaser, choose not to allocate facility-level costs to product costs. Based on these activity level distinctions, the 22 Glaser cost categories may be grouped by division and activity level as shown in Table 2. By way of digression, it is worth mentioning that as a broad generalization, unit-level activities tend to generate mainly variable costs while and facility-level activities tend to generate mainly fixed costs, although there can be exceptions. Activities in the other two activity levels tend to generate a mixture of variable and fixed (Hansen & Mowen, 2006). Cost Drivers by Activity Level by Division Cost drivers can be identified for each activity or cost category based on observation, discussions with management, simulations and statistical studies. The key is to determine the behavior of indirect costs with respect to activity or resource usage in each activity center (Leslie, 2009). These efforts have identified the eight cost drivers shown in Table 3. Direct labor assembly costs are, by their nature, directly traceable to individual products. Therefore the relevant cost driver for this cost is the number of Direct Assembly Labor Hours. The other 21 cost categories are indirect costs. At the unit activity level, electricity assembly costs are likely to vary with Direct Labor Hours, Assembly. Similarly, the three machining costs grouped at the unit-activity level are likely to vary with by the number of Direct Labor Hours, Machining. Secondly, at the batch activity level, paint cost is likely to vary mainly with the Number of Batches Processed. Painting activity is the only batch activity at Glaser. Thirdly, at the product activity level, the two Operations costs are likely to vary mainly with the Number of Units Produced and the three Sales costs are also likely to vary mainly with the Number of Units Produced. Finally, at the facility-level, the five Operations costs are likely to vary mainly with the Number of Units Produced, the Square Feet of Building Space Used, Payroll Costs, the Number of Employees, and the Change in Number of Employees. The three Sales costs are also likely to vary mainly with the Number of Employees. The three Administration costs are likely to vary mainly with the Number of Employees, the Change in Number of Employees and the number of Square Feet of Space Used. In summary, eight separate cost drivers may be used by Glaser to link activities with indirect costs and finally allocate those costs to individual products. These cost drivers are summarized by activity level by division in Table 3. Preliminary Stage Allocation Direct costs can be linked immediately to a product without the need for a cost driver. This is not true for indirect costs. An indirect cost requires a cost driver to link that cost with an activity and finally a product (Kimmel, et. al., 2010, Chapter 5). The first step in allocating indirect costs to products is to complete a preliminary stage allocation. This involves allocating the support center costs to the activity centers. In the case of Glaser, there is only one activity center, Operations. The Glaser controller has decided that the ABC system implemented at Glaser should allocate all indirect cost categories to products except for the three Sales and three Administration categories classified as facility-level costs. The only non-activity center costs that need to be assigned are the three product-level Sales division costs. This allocation may best be demonstrated with an example as summarized by Table 4 provided in the appendix. The table assumes Glaser produces two products, A and B, with 30,000 units of each product produced during the period. It also assumes that product-level Sales division costs total $300,000. Allocation of these non-activity center costs result in unit costs of $5 for Product A and $5 for Product B. These unit costs are identical at $5 because the number of units produced is equal at 30,000 units for Product A and 30,000 units for Product B. These non-activity center unit costs need to be added to unit costs derived from the primary stage allocation. Primary Stage Allocation In the primary stage allocation, activity center (that is, Operations division) costs are assigned to each of the two products. In the example summarized by Table 5, the 13 costs assigned to Operations totaled $2,041,000. Allocation of these costs based on the various cost drivers results in unit costs of $40.60 for Product A and $27.43 for Product B. Once the $5 non-activity center unit cost is added to each product, the total allocated unit cost is $45.60 and $32.43 for Product A and B respectively. Conclusions Accounting provides information about the financial health of a firm. That information is used by a variety of stakeholders and other interested parties including managers, investors, investment analysts, employees, suppliers, customers, financial journalists, and regulators. At the broadest level, the information is used to improve resource allocation. ABC is a good example of accounting data being used to raise resource efficiency. ABC allows management to methodically identify activities and resources used to produce a product. The system distributes indirect costs to individual products and in that way improves product costing and pricing which ultimately affects buying decisions by consumers and investment decisions by management and investors (Edmonds & McNair, 2012). Finally, the Glaser controller decided that the ABC system at Glaser will not allocate all indirect cost categories to products. The three Sales and three Administration division cost categories classified as facility-level costs are excluded from the allocation process. To that extent, costs are not fully distribute or allocated to products. The excluded sales and Administration costs must be recognized at some stage during the product price setting process otherwise those costs will not be recovered by the resultant product prices. References Edmonds, T.; Olds, P. & McNair, F. (2012). Fundamental financial accounting concepts. Kindle Edition. Hansen, D. R. & Mowen, M. M. (2006). Cost management accounting and control. Ohio: Thomas South-Western. Kimmel, P.D., Weygandt, J.J. & Kelso, D.E. (2010). Financial accounting: Tools for business decision-making (5th ed.). John Wiley Sons: Hoboken, NJ. Leslie, C. (ed.)(2009). Management accounting: information for creating and managing value. McGraw-Hill Australia. Schneider, A. (2012). Managerial accounting: Decision making for the service and manufacturing sectors. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
The Opening Shot in Touch of Evil by Orson Welles essays
The Opening Shot in Touch of Evil by Orson Welles essays In the opening shot of Touch of Evil, Orson Welles can create tension and suspense by effectively using the off frame aspect of the mise-en-scene. By allowing the scene to move outside the focus of action, at particularly untimely moments, Welles places the audience in short but effective moments of unresolved tension and suspense, effectively luring the spectator psychologically further into the opening shot and the rest of the film. At the very beginning of Touch of Evil, the scene begins with the bomb. The bomb is a main focus of the entire first shot. It will never leave the spectators memory. The audience sees someone activate the bomb, then suddenly, after a woman laughs, the camera swings away showing a couple walking. The scene continues as the man with the bomb moves outside the frame. At this moment, the camera is moved to slightly follow just behind the man with the bomb. We see shadows, but he is not allowed back into the frame. This short moment creates the foundation of the rest of the continuous opening shot. The audience gets its first sense of tension at the very second the bomb moves outside the frame. "Where's the bomb going? Follow him!" Before long, the man is back in the scene placing the bomb in the trunk. In order to avoid summarizing the entire plot of the first scene, please allow plot gaps. The couple seen earlier are now in and driving the car. The second separation of a spectator to bomb occurs rather quickly. The car passes behind a building, and the camera attempts to follow where presumably the car drove. To be fair, there are things that could distract the audience from this separation and the off frame car. There are credits, music, and sound effects all during this shot. However, during some moments the music is carefully structured throughout the shot to add MORE suspense. Welles doesn't allow the spectators' attention to ever fully stray away from the danger of the bomb. The bomb is off the fra...
Monday, October 21, 2019
Depression essays
Depression essays Depression describes feelings of sadness, emptiness, and grief which most people experience at some point in their lives. There are hundreds of treatments. The severity, type, and treatment are as different as each individual. Clinical depression is a form of mental illnesss which unlike normal sadness or grief, is of longer duration and significantly impairs the individual's ability to lead a normal life. Reactive depression occurs following a traumatic life event, such as job loss, divorce, or death of a loved one. The depression is more intence than would be reasonable for normal grief of unhappiness. Post natal depression is a serious disorder affecting about 10% of mothers after childbirth. Symtoms are more severe and last longer than in baby blues, bipolar disorder ( manic depression) involves periods of mania involving extreme happiness hyperactivity, rapid speech, a total lach of inhibition, and in more severe cases, delusions of grandeur. (Health Point Depression Pg. 1 ) Brain cells talk to each other by means of chemical messangers. When a person is exposed to too much stress, chemical communication in the brain begins to fail. When these messengers fail a person suffers from sleep disturbances, aches and pains, depression and anxiety. This condition is called overstress. Overstress runs rampant in certain families. Studies have shown that a persons' stress tolerance is determined by his inheritance. The levels of stress in our society will only increase. It is important for each of us to learn to deal with stress now. ( Health Education Stress , Depression, Anxiey, Drug use Pg. 2) Depression not otherwise specified some professionls portray this category as a garbage pail diagnostic category for depression. If someone is obviously depressed, but does not fit into any of the other categories, then this diagnosis is made. However, it is not a garbage pail, but provides a valuable way to cate...
Sunday, October 20, 2019
A History of the Eiffel Tower
A History of the Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower is the most visually famous structure in France, perhaps in Europe, and has seen over 200 million visitors. Yet it wasn’t supposed to be permanent and the fact it still stands is down to a willingness to accept new technology which was how the thing came to be built in the first place. Origins of the Eiffel Tower In 1889 France held the Universal Exhibition, a celebration of modern achievement timed to coincide with the first centenary of the French Revolution. The French government held a competition to design an â€Å"iron tower†to be erected at the entrance to the exhibition on the Champ-de-Mars, partly to create an impressive experience for visitors. One hundred and seven plans were submitted, and the winner was one by engineer and entrepreneur Gustav Eiffel, aided by architect Stephen Sauvestre and engineers Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier. They won because they were willing to innovate and create a true statement of intent for France. The Eiffel Tower Eiffel’s tower was to be unlike anything yet built: 300 meters tall, at that time the highest man-made structure on earth, and built of a latticework of wrought iron, a material whose large scale production is now synonymous with the industrial revolution. But the design and nature of the material, making use of metal arches and trusses, meant the tower could be light and â€Å"see-through†, rather than a solid block, and retain still its strength. Its construction, which began on January 26th 1887, was swift, relatively cheap and achieved with a small workforce. There were 18,038 pieces and over two million rivets. The Tower is based on four large pillars, which form a square 125 meters along each side, before rising up and joining into a central tower. The curving nature of the pillars meant the elevators, which were themselves a relatively recent invention, had to be carefully designed. There are viewing platforms at several levels, and people can travel to the top. Parts of the great curves are actually purely aesthetic. The structure is painted (and re-painted regularly). Opposition and Skepticism The Tower is now considered a historical milestone in design and construction, a masterpiece for its day, the start of a new revolution in building. At the time, however, there was opposition, not least from people horrified at the aesthetic implications of such a large structure on the Champ-de-Mars. On February 14th 1887, while construction was ongoing, a statement of complaint was issued by â€Å"personalities from the world of arts and letters†. Other people were skeptical that the project would work: this was a new approach, and that always brings problems. Eiffel had to fight his corner but was successful and the tower went ahead. Everything would rest on whether the structure actually worked... The Opening of the Eiffel Tower On March 31st, 1889 Eiffel climbed to the top of the tower and hoisted a French flag at the top, opening the structure; various notables followed him up. It remained the highest building in the world until the Chrysler building was finished in New York in 1929, and is still the tallest structure in Paris. The building and planning was a success, with the tower impressing. Lasting Impact The Eiffel Tower was originally designed to stand for twenty years but has lasted over a century, thanks partly to Eiffel’s willingness to use the tower in experiments and innovations in wireless telegraphy, allowing the mounting of antennas. Indeed, the Tower was at one point due to be torn down but remained after it began broadcasting signals. In 2005 this tradition was continued when Paris’ first digital television signals were broadcast from the Tower. However, since its construction the Tower has achieved a lasting cultural impact, first as a symbol of modernity and innovation, then as of Paris and France. Media of all sorts has used the Tower. Its almost inconceivable that anyone would try to knock down the tower now, as its one of the most famous structures in the world and an easy marker for films and television to use.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
The effect of insecurity on economic growth in Mexico Research Paper
The effect of insecurity on economic growth in Mexico - Research Paper Example This reduces the GDP of the country since employees are less productive when they are under stress and trauma when they are in their working stations. Violence and insecurity in Mexico is a cause of a number of mental illnesses among the citizens of Mexico. This reduces the productivity of the Mexican population and since mentally ill people who would offer personnel are under strain. The cost of insecurity in Mexico turns detrimental with the effect it has on the levels of sales. Business hours are short in societies where there is high insecurity. The Mexican business sector thrives under strenuous conditions with intense insecurity in the country. This reduces the level of sales and profits and, consequently, the GDP. According to the World Bank Group, 2011, heightened insecurity in Mexico, there is a most likely high expenditure in internal security. The high expenditure on the internal security reduces the level of investments that the country has on infrastructure and developme nt projects. Investment in human capital equally reduces with increased expenditure on security in Mexico. The cost of health care in Mexico increases with intense insecurity situations. The cost of policing is most likely to increase with high instances of insecurity in Mexico. All these costs have detrimental effects on the economy of Mexico. ... According to Rodgers, Beall and Kanbur, 2012, the violence-insecurity nexus poses detrimental effects to the local economy of most Latin American societies, Mexico included. Crime in cities of Latin American countries is among the greatest challenges to growth of businesses. The investment confidence of most investors in Latin American societies is low because of the high level of insecurity. Domestic investors in Mexico are reluctant to take risks involved in putting up businesses. Foreign firms are cautious to put up investment in insecure societies because of the high potential impacts of insecurity. Losses to business from the high incidences of burglary in Mexico are among the most detrimental challenges to investors. The cost of paying internal security officials to protect the Mexican society from violence continues affect the economy. The cost of compensation by insurance firms is high because of spreading incidences of robbery and burglary to businesses in Mexico. The net ef fect of insecurity to the Mexican economy is the loss of the potential revenues that accrue from domestic and foreign investments in the country. Sohnen, 2012, addresses the detrimental consequences that the high rate of crime, violence and insecurity has in Mexico and most of Central American society’s economic prosperity. The consequence of insecurity on the health of Mexicans is high and has related effect on the cost of health care expenditure. According to Sohnen, cooperation among different institutions in Mexico is under great challenge from the escalating insecurity conditions. Insecurity in the country compromises the efficiency of different government institutions to coordinate and promote economic growth in the country. The economy, therefore, experiences retardation
Friday, October 18, 2019
A Causal Relationship Between Imagination and Knowledge Essay
A Causal Relationship Between Imagination and Knowledge - Essay Example The power of imagination involves a number of aspects which include reasoning, reflection and thinking. It has often been said that what makes the difference between humans and other animals is the ability to imagine through reasoning. The reasoning is a process by which beings draw conclusions or reach decisions based on the strength of imagining. The imagination may be beliefs or observations. Being rational is understanding that forms facts or beliefs that make others follow, and using understanding to make decisions and judgments. Another ability that evidently belongs only to human animals is the ability to reflect. Reflecting is part of imagination which means giving deep, serious and total concentration when doing something. For example, when someone is thinking reflectively, she does not just make up her mind on impulse, but considers alternatives, thinks about consequences, weighs up available evidence, and so on (Ernst & Maureen, 103). Another aspect of reflective imaginati on is critical thinking and problem-solving. One very valuable form of imagination can be described as ‘thinking about thinking’ the reflective thinker does not just think about the problem to be solved, the decision to be made, or the argument to be won, but also the reasoning processes that go into those activities. Reflecting in the way we think allows us to evaluate how effective our thinking is, what its strength is, where it sometimes goes wrong and most important of all, how it might be improved.
Organisations and Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2
Organisations and Behaviour - Essay Example In an organization where such culture exists emphasis is given on trust rather than orders (Grint 2005). This type of organizational culture has the following advantage: it can help to keep communication and cooperation with organization at high levels. Still, there is always the chance that certain employees take advantage of this culture for ignoring their obligations, according to their position; b) Role: the specific type of culture is based on bureaucracy; emphasis is given on rules and orders of superiors while hierarchy is highly respected. In organizations with such type of culture it is quite difficult for severe failures to exist at the level that employees’ activities are fully aligned with the rules set by the top management team (Grint 2005). On the other hand, this type of culture can harm team-work and communication within the organization at the level that employees would not feel as members of a team but as followers who have not the right to state their view in daily business operations; they have just the obligation to follow the orders given to them. In such environment employee performance cannot be easily kept at high levels; c) Task; it is the organizational culture that promotes the use of project-type tasks within each organization (Grint 2005); this type of culture promotes decentralization, leaving room for employee initiatives, a practice that can significantly enhance employee performance; however, this type of culture can set the integration of a business in risk if roles are highly decentralized; and d) Person: it is an organizational culture that highlights the value of person, as member of an organization (Grint 2005); such culture is applicable in family-owned firms or small firms but it cannot be used in large businesses (Grint 2005). 1.2 In the context of a business, the term structure is used in order to show ‘the form of an organization meaning especially the hierarchy of positions and relationships’ (Kn ights and Willmott 2007, p.197). Organizational structure, as described above, can be divided into three categories: a) Tall structure; it is met in organizations where the levels of hierarchy are many (Christensen et al. 2007); such structure can be useful for ensuring the control by the top management team of all business activities but it can threaten trust and communication; b) Flat structure; it refers to organizations with just one or two levels of hierarchy (Christensen et al. 2007); such structure enhances communication and team-work but it is difficult to be applied in large organizations; c) Matrix; the term denotes the dependency of each employee by many superiors, simultaneously; such structure is more appropriate for organizations in the public sector while in the private sector it could not be applied at the level that in the private sector independent departments usually exist for covering business needs (Christensen et al. 2007). On the other hand, in small businesse s such structure could be possibly applied. 1.3 The ‘chain of command’ principle is based on the idea that within organizations the full independency of individuals is not acceptable, meaning that ‘each employee should necessary have a superior to whom he had to report’ (O’Fallon and Rutherford 2010, p.76). This principle is applicable in organizations since it does not set as a prerequisite the excessive power of the superior over the employee but just the like the dependency of the employee
The American Civil War as a period of killing and loss for the Essay
The American Civil War as a period of killing and loss for the American nation - Essay Example The paper tells that losses were incurred on the population of the South, North as well as the African Americans during the Civil War. The experience of death and suffering spread as a plague during the period of war. The concept of dying in honor and killing was changed and it is for this reason that the American society and the government today place high respect for those who die in civil service. Before this war, most of the Americans had died at home with their families. When this war started, men mainly had to go to the fields preparing themselves to die in honor as their religion suggested. This led to a psychological adjustment of finding someone on the battlefield who could pass their message to the kin if they were to die a good death. The Civil War resulted in a large number of deaths and altered many important aspects of the life of the North, South as well as the African Americans. The present research has identified that the consequences of the American civil war were u nimaginable for both the sides that are the North, as well as the South but the people from the South, suffered greatly. This is because the Southern side did not have much of capacity both in terms of wealth and power. Despite its reduced strength, the Southerners initially thought that they were strong enough to take over North and would be able to conquer it easily. As a result of this lack of judgment, South lost more of its people. Â
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Technology stratege Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Technology stratege - Term Paper Example It is in this context that technology can benefit business performance. The role of technology strategy in the development of business performance is analyzed in this study. The literature published on this subject is presented and critically discussed. Reference is made to the practical needs and implications of technology strategy as identified in Tesco and Waitrose, two major retailers in the British market. It is concluded that technology strategy can be used for supporting the growth of modern firms but only under the terms that it is carefully planned and monitored. The management of technology in modern businesses has many different aspects. In order to identify the most appropriate technology management polices for firms in different industries it is necessary to understand the role of technology within organizations. Technology has been characterized as a ‘business asset’ (Watkins 10); despite common business assets, technology is difficult to be evaluated (Watkins 10). This difficulty results by the fact that a specific technological tool, for instance, machinery, can be evaluated by referring to its ‘acquisition cost, book value or replacement value’ (Watkins 11). One of the most important characteristics of technology is its ‘re-useability’ (Watkins 11), i.e. its potential to be used in several operational activities. The above issues need to be taken into consideration by managers of organizations that have to introduce a technology strategy that will respond to all organizational needs. Particular measures should be also taken for the ‘flow control’ (Watkins 11) of the technology used across the organization. The term ‘flow control’ refers to all the tasks in which a specific business (technological) asset can be involved, either directly or indirectly. The ability of business managers to introduce appropriate
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Auditing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Auditing - Essay Example The employee had been steeling for years and covering her tracks by dividing the amount into very small amounts in the various accounts. Risks are more prevalent at the end of the year when there is a incase of an unusual transactions, when the companies performance is declining for no apparent reason, frequent change in business councillors and auditors, where there is a complex corporate structure and inadequate balancing of financial accounts. Audit risks include inherent risks, control risks and analytical procedure risks. Inherent risk is associated with auditor's assessment of material misstatement, it is associated with wrong information given on financial status of the various accounts. Accounts with low inherent risks include fixed assets accounts which are easy to observe and securities traded in the stock market whose price level is easily observed. Control risks are the risk that which misstatement is not easily observed and cannot be prevented or detected. The internal control system cannot detect these frauds. The assessment of control risks detects the effectiveness of the internal control to prevent and detect such misstatement. Analytical procedure risks is the risk associated with the auditor, it is a measure of the willingness of an auditor to accept the misstatement of financial statements. This risk will cause unqualified opinions on the current status of a company. The auditor can lower these risks by making sure that financial statements are not materially misstated. Both the inherent and the control risks are referred to as the risk of material misstatement. (http://www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/sep2000/prac_aud.htm) The analysis of Railway PLC Financial statements. According to the audited financial statements of Railway PLC the risks can be analyzed as follows: The profit and loss account for Railway PLC has two parts, the Railway and the River financial statements. This combination is not appropriate and the two sectors should be analyzed separately. In my previous discussion on the possible of the occurrence of frauds and errors, when an organization has a complex corporate structure then the risks of fraud are high. Therefore the two should be analyzed separately to reduce the occurrence of frauds and to determine their individual contribution to profits. The direct costs, depreciation and other expenses in the profit and loss account should be split into individual expenses so as to enable proper auditing in detection of any frauds. These accounts individual accounts should also be audited. Direct costs should contain fuel expenses and other accounts associated with cost of providing services. Depreciation should also be analyzed according to individual assets and this accounts forwarded for auditing. Another risk factor is the indication of revenues and expenses in thousand pounds. Each single cent should be accounted for and this is evident in the above case where an employee committed frauds through the division of a large sum of money
Technology stratege Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Technology stratege - Term Paper Example It is in this context that technology can benefit business performance. The role of technology strategy in the development of business performance is analyzed in this study. The literature published on this subject is presented and critically discussed. Reference is made to the practical needs and implications of technology strategy as identified in Tesco and Waitrose, two major retailers in the British market. It is concluded that technology strategy can be used for supporting the growth of modern firms but only under the terms that it is carefully planned and monitored. The management of technology in modern businesses has many different aspects. In order to identify the most appropriate technology management polices for firms in different industries it is necessary to understand the role of technology within organizations. Technology has been characterized as a ‘business asset’ (Watkins 10); despite common business assets, technology is difficult to be evaluated (Watkins 10). This difficulty results by the fact that a specific technological tool, for instance, machinery, can be evaluated by referring to its ‘acquisition cost, book value or replacement value’ (Watkins 11). One of the most important characteristics of technology is its ‘re-useability’ (Watkins 11), i.e. its potential to be used in several operational activities. The above issues need to be taken into consideration by managers of organizations that have to introduce a technology strategy that will respond to all organizational needs. Particular measures should be also taken for the ‘flow control’ (Watkins 11) of the technology used across the organization. The term ‘flow control’ refers to all the tasks in which a specific business (technological) asset can be involved, either directly or indirectly. The ability of business managers to introduce appropriate
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Computer Operating System Essay Example for Free
Computer Operating System Essay The Windows series of operating systems produced by the Microsoft Corporation primarily make use of two file systems: the File Allocation Table (FAT) and the New Technology File System (NTFS). Additionally, some versions of Windows NT also support the use of the High Performance File System (HPFS), a result of Microsoft’s joint developer involvement with IBM to produce the OS/2 operating system. (Duncan, 1989; Custer, 1994) Initially released with DOS, FAT makes use of a table which indexes information on which sections of the storage medium are free, unusable or taken up by files. Disk space is partitioned into distinct units known as sectors or clusters. There is no real organization to the directory structure of FAT, and as such free disk space can become distributed across many different sectors, resulting in file space being allocated in discontiguous sectors. As such, data is highly fragmented and increases seek times. (Microsoft, 2007; Duncan 1989) HPFS was first introduced with OS/2. It improved over the core functionality of the FAT system by introducing additional room for metadata attributes. Allocation units were changed from clusters to physical sectors of 512 bytes each, optimizing the disk space used for each file. HPFS directory entries also hold more attribute data: they possess single sector FNODEs that serve as the control structure for each directory. Fragmentation is drastically reduced by allocating as much of a file in contiguous sectors. However, the HPFS is dependent on a Super Block which contains the control structures of the root directory – essentially the root FNODE. The Super Block is thus vulnerable to corruption or loss from a bad sector which can compromise an entire partition’s useability. (Microsoft, 2007; Duncan, 1989) NTFS was designed to meet the growing demand for network servers and file sharing capabilities and it borrowed many of its concepts from the HPFS. (Kozierok, 2001) It is a journaling file system which permits greater recoverability by reverting files back to a useable state in the event of power failures and system crashes that occur during file transactions. Additionally, it also makes use of an expanded meta-data system which allows administrators to set a wider variety of access and use controls to files. The NTFS also optimizes data by storing small files into the Master File Table of the NTFS itself. The larger system format limit provides means that allocation units are much more refined as well. (Microsoft, 2004; 2007) Memory management on Windows has an access limit of up to 4GB of physical memory, and as such, the allocation of memory to processes is limited by this cap. By using paging to transfer pages of data between main memory and an auxiliary storage device such as a hard drive, it can overcome some of the limitations of physical RAM and enable system processes to have their own 4GB logical address space. Additionally, Windows accords memory protection to process in such a manner as to prevent access to one another, which is crucial to ensure that processes can operate simultaneously without compromising their functionality. (Garg, 2008) Microsoft Windows is essentially an operating system that is built with multi-tasking in mind, which in effect, allows multiple programs to be executed simultaneously. Each application is composed of one or more processes, each of which provides the resources needed to execute a program. Processes are composed of threads, a discrete unit by which processor time is allocated and a single thread, called the primary thread initiates the process. Each thread may execute any portion of code in the process, including those already being executed by another thread. Virtual address space and system resources are shared by threads of a single process, though exception handlers, scheduling priority and other components that determine a thread’s importance and role within the context of a process. (Microsoft Developer Network, 2008) Windows possesses many of the essential features crucial to basic security such as authentication and access control, encryption schemes and protection profiles. However, the API for cryptography is easily compromised by the fact that it easily trusts multiple keys in certifying authority of access. As such, only one code key is necessary to render a system vulnerable. Such a compromise is possible either through accidental disclosure of the private key or when the certifying authority mistakenly issues a certificate. On the level of network security protocol, Windows makes use of IPSec, a cryptographic IP-level protection system which is an open standard in the industry, which functions not only through data encryption and verification of hosts but by detecting modifications made to data during network transit. (Quardt, 2004) Windows security is at its most problematic with regards to applications and non-operating system products. Part of the problem is that for the purposes of consumer convenience, Microsoft Windows continues to be reliant on legacy applications that contain security threats that were of trivial matter during their initial release. Furthermore, the signature architecture of Microsoft programs is to mix application code and data, such as ActiveX for example, can allow untrusted data from outside the system to activate code. (Quardt, 2004) Also, Windows approves digitally signed code even if it is supplied from outside of the system, which means that a system administrator must implicitly trust whoever has signed the code to have subjected it to appropriate code review. In essence, the problem with Windows security is that trust and certification is so decentralized as to deny systems administrators total control and authority over the trustworthiness of code.  REFERENCES Microsoft Corporation. (2007, May 7) Overview of FAT, HPFS and NTFS File Systems. Retrieved August 9, 2008 from: http://support. microsoft. com/kb/100108 Microsoft Corporation (2004, May 5) Local File Systems for Windows. Retrieved August 9, 2008: http://download. microsoft. com/download/5/b/5/5b5bec17-ea71-4653-9539-204a672f11cf/LocFileSys. doc Duncan, R. (1989, September) Design goals and implementation of the new High Performance File System. Microsoft Systems Journal, 4, 5, 1-13. Custer, H. (1994) Inside the Windows NT File System. Washington: Microsoft Press. Kozierok, C. M. (2001, April 17). Overview and History of NTFS. PCGuide. Garg, P. â€Å"Windows Memory Management. †Intellectual Heaven. Retrieved August 10, 2008 from: http://www. intellectualheaven. com/Articles/WinMM. pdf Microsoft Developer Network (2008, August 7). â€Å"About Processes and Threads. †Retrieved August 10, 2008 from: http://msdn. microsoft. com/en-us/library/ms681917(VS. 85,printer). aspx Hart, J. M. (2004) Windows System Programming, 3rd Edition. Boston: Addison-Wesley Professional. Quandt, S. (2004, May 25) â€Å"Linux and Windows security compared. †Linux. com Retrieved August 11, 2008 from: http://www. linux. com/articles/36273? page=2
Monday, October 14, 2019
An Over View Of The Restaurant Industry Marketing Essay
An Over View Of The Restaurant Industry Marketing Essay A food catering establishment known as a Restaurant offer food and drinks to the customer in return for money. Restaurants also offer take-out and delivery options. There are large variety of restaurants and restaurant chains in the world that specialize on the main chefs cuisines or specific service models. Modern age restaurants were established during the 18th century in Europe where the business is mainly serving of food as per the order given by the customer. The first restaurant was established in France in 1765 by the name Restaurant that offered soups to customers. It was opened by A. Boulanger, a soup vendor. The first luxury restaurant was opened in France by name La Grande Taverne de Londres in 1782. Paris was the cultural and commercial hub during the time of evolution of restaurants. There was demand from customers for individual tables, individual orders and flexible lunching times and payment based on the item ordered. The kind of menus also segmented the restaurant bu siness. The main advantage of restaurant pattern is that the restaurants can serve the customers what they want. Restaurants as we see in the present form have supposed to be originated during the time of French revolution. Both revolutionaries and counter revolutionaries were attracted to the restaurants. Revolutionaries claimed restaurants as a means for breaking the traditional common meals, while counter revolutionaries called restaurant lunching to be an uncivilized way of living. The system of printed menu appeared in 1770. Penalty was levied for guests stealing food from the hosts of the restaurants or hosts stealing food from the guests. The penalty for theft from a restaurant was 8 years of forced labor. The most famous restaurant in Paris during the 19 the century was Cafà © Anglais which served classic dishes like sole Duglere and potage Germiny. Many of the worlds finest chefs were from France including Georges Auguste Escoffier who organized kitchen teams consisting of trained experts. One of the worlds finest restaurants was established during the 20th century called Resturant de la Pyramide in Vienna. French restaurants today are usually in one among the three categories, the bistro and inexpensive establishment, a medium-priced restaurant and the classy and elegant ones. In other European countries, also restaurants emerged during the same time. IN Italy Botteghe originated in the 16 th century for serving coffee. Many Austrians had their own steady restaurants called Stambeissi. The casarda in Hungary limits to meat dishes and fish stews. The Weinstube in Germany had a large wine selection and weinhauss offered food and wine to the customers. The economic reasons for the development of restaurants were those associated with income growth, population and commerce. There are a large number of events throughout the year that can influence the business of the restaurants. Seasonal food and that made from local produce has a big trend in the restaurant business in Europe. Another trend is offering special food on special days for example, Mothers day, Valentines Day, etc. There has been special food offered even during the time of events like Wimbledon, Rugby or school holidays. Sundays are often the busiest days and Mondays and Tuesdays find very low business. There is an increase of 40% annual revenue during Christmas and New Year. Restaurants range from simple lunching spaces to costly establishments serving classy food and beverages served in a formal setting. Usually the orders are taken at the tables by the waiter where the customer sits and when the food is brought to the table when it is ready and customers pay the bill while leaving. There are restaurants which offer specific type of food such as seafood restaurants, vegetarian restaurants, etc. Restaurant guides help to rate the restaurant which provide information on customer opinions on the restaurants. The Michelin series of guides are used for rating the culinary skills of restaurants in Western Europe. A rating of 1 to 3 stars is provided and more the number of stars, higher are the price of the food. Another rating guide is the Gault Millau where the restaurants are ranked based on the quality of food, rather than the dà ©cor and the service. Here the restaurants are rated in a scale of 1 to 20 with 20 being the highest. These days, internet sites are available where the restaurant reviews are put up by customers. Chain restaurants offer a familiar menu and dà ©cor irrespective of its location. Earliest chain restaurants originated in Germany called automats. Restaurant chains account for nearly 14% of UKs total catering expenditures. According to Technonomics 2010, Leading 100 U.K Chain Restaurants report fast casual restaurants are growing at a faster rate than limited service restaurants. Food service industry continues to be growing with revenues on a fast growth track. LITERATURE REVIEW. Restaurants in Europe According to the Market Research firm Mintel UK restaurant market is more than  £ 25b a year. Standalone restaurants contribute around  £ 5.4b a year where as the fast-food restaurant sector accounts to  £ 6.7b a year. The U.K restaurant industry employees more than 5, 00,000 staff with over 5, 00,000 restaurants spread across Europe. According to the British Hospitality Association, 70% of the restaurants in Europe are owner operated contributing to a great share in Britains economy. Mc Donalds has the biggest presence in UK market with more than 1250 outlets in Europe. This is followed by Burger King, White Bread, and TGI Fridays. Further players include Garfunkels, Caffe UNO, Frankie Bennies brands. Food sales out-of home has grown to 84% since the last decade. In 2005, the out of home food consumption was 10.6% ahead of 2002 statistics. Statistics show that the leisure spending in eating out is more than in-home grocery bill in U.K. TOP 20 UK RESTAURANT GROUPS IN 2009 (by number of outlets) Owner 2009 outlets 2008 outlets Selected brands 1 Mitchells Butlers 775  728  Harvester, Toby, All Bar One, Vintage Inns 2 Gondola 585 575 PizzaExpress, Ask, Zizzi 3 Whitbread 372 398 Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table 4 Punch Taverns  362 344 (Spirit)  Chef Brewer, Two For One, Millers 5 The Restaurant Group  350  336  Frankie Bennys, Garfunkels, Chiquito 6 Tragus  270  267  Cafà ©Ã‚ Rouge, Bella Italia, Strada 7 Nandos  213  190  Nandos 8 Bay Restaurant Group 190  381  La Tasca, Slug Lettuce, haha Grill 9 Little Chef  180  179  Little Chef 10 Famous Brands  176  178 Wimpy 11 Greene King 155  238  Hungry Horse, Loch Fyne 12 Prezzo 141 135  Prezzo, Ultimate Burger, iMMO 13 Clapham House 79  74  Gourmet Burger Kitchen, The Real Greek 14 Paramount Restaurants 75 75  Chez Gerard, Caffà ¨Ã‚ Uno  15 Town Centre Restaurants 57 58 Auberge, Cafà ©Ã‚ Giardino, Azzurro 16 Wagamama 56 59 Wagamama 17 Ispani Family 55 Pontis, Caffe Alba 18 Carluccios  42  39  Carluccios 19 YO! Sushi  41  33  YO! Sushi 20 Orchid Pubs 40 44  Oriental Restaurant Group, Contemporary Carvery 21 Individual Restaurant Group 34 30 Piccolino, Zinc, Bank 22 Regent Inns*  31  Old Orleans Note: UK outlets only. Includes pubs whose food sales exceed 50% of turnover * Regent Inns went into administration in October 2009 Source: Horizon FS Restaurant Brands Branded restaurant chains are now on an increasing demand with more and more people enjoying the experience. The growth of branded food service and restaurant chains have been a significant feature of the growing market. Along with international brand names like subway and Mc Donalds there have been new home grown brands also such as Cafà © Rouge, Wagamama, Nandos, Cafà © Nero, Loch Fyne,La Tasca, etc. All these businesses continue to expand with increase in external funding from both private equity and public markets. According to the Peach Factory research in 2007, casual dining restaurants are top choice in London, where 72% of Londoners visit a casual dining restaurant at least once in every three months and 31% going atleast two times in a month. According to MC Report of February 2010, Pizz Express tops the top 20 brands in UK. The drivers of the brand value are three fold: estimate of the current and future earning of a specific brand, based on publicly available revenue, capital and profit numbers. The remaining top 10 included Frankie Bennys, Wagamama, Zizi, Ask, Bella Italia, Cafà © Rouge and Loch Fyne. Greater consumer demands are putting much pressure on chain restaurants to distinguish their products from others. Restaurant brands have a clear brand strageywhich requires attention, consistency and respect once executed. Brands are usually born from a single persons vision with the only motive to provide new experiences to the customers. For a restaurant brand to succeed its products and services should keep up the promises made through ads and communications. Once the trust of customers has been established existing customers will return to the same brand. Strongest performing restaurants generate more than 70% from repeat business. Restaurant executives use satisfaction and loyalty measures to assess the brand image. Other use brand awareness scores. Another approach is creating a perpetual map of a particular vertical market. The consumers may also be asked the restaurant usage habits like frequency, occasion and brand selection. The may also be asked to evaluate both physical and attitudinal characteristics like lighting, food quality, pricing, etc. It is also important to gather a lot of attributes rather than focusing on very few. The customers should then evaluate the attributes. Consumers can be given an option to choose between two restaurant brands, which is good when the attributes do not capture all aspects. According to Aaker (1997), brand personality can be defined as the set of human characteristics associated with a brand. Branding helps in creating a difference. It differentiates the product from just being one commodity against many identical commodities. People are generally willing to pay more for a branded product than for a largely unbranded product. It helps in creating a connection with people. Brand Challenges for 2010 Discount Vouchers: there will be an increase of 50% in the use of promotional vouchers by diners. This can affect the brand equity and pricing resulting in a lower shareholder value. Inconsistent Delivery: Rapid growth of brands has caused inconsistent delivery. National Local: Brands need to adapt to the local demands Healthy tasty: The consumers are more health conscious which forces brands to create healthy foods. Characteristics of Leading U.K. brands Following are the characteristics of the leading brands that contribute to the current and Future Success. Embedded strategy: A clearly defined strategy, well communicated, understood and performed by all employees, partners, suppliers and investors with main motive being the customer benefit. Consistency throughout all operations: 70% of the profit is contributed through repeat customers. This can be ensured by ensuring the promised services. Culture: A unique and strong organizational culture that holds all the stakeholders together and work towards a common goal Commitment to innovation: Consistently offering new services and products motivates the customer for more purchase. True people organization: An organization which takes care of the employees always gains customer satisfaction and loyalty Ongoing measurement: Measuring the performance through a balanced scorecard approach help analyze the drawbacks and make improvements Changing consumer interests Travelling and eating out are going to be the two leisure-spending activities by the British. Richest 20% spend significantly by eating out. The biggest spenders in eating out are adults in no children households. There is increased consumer emphasis on health, freshness, provenness, authencity and environmental friendly products. Food retailing and out of home market are definitely to benefit. Over half of the Britons want locally produced food and 53% feel that there should be more UK production. There has been a rise in New Puritans interested in health and lifestyle who advise others what to be done and what not to be done. Consumers want better quality, better service and less expensive items which has been reflected in UK casual dining scenario. People under 24 are the heaviest users of casual dining restaurants. The change in the demographics, economic growth, have-it-all society and experience economy all influence the casual dining out market. According to Peach factory repo rt 66% of the adults felt that the restaurants should be doing more to improve eating out experience. The quality of food, the type of service, food and the value for money are the main factors influencing the eating-out market. Women feel healthier eating options are more important. Food, service and value remain the key market drivers to the demanding consumers. Consumers say that most of them want cleaner restaurants efficient service, low prices and friendlier service. Younger customers are more interested in lower prices. Healthy food options and environmental concerns though not vital, but cannot be ignored. Public generally likes and understands branded chains General Classification of Restaurants Bistros -Bistros are relaxed and informal restaurants with 60 seats or less offering French food. Brasseries- These are large bustling restaurants with flexible dining experience. They often serve French food. Chinese food- In Chinese restaurants one can get dishes such as Beijing duck, Shanghai noodles, Sichuan soup and Guangdong dumplings. Country House hotels- Restaurants in British country side where ancestral homes are converted to restaurants. Fine Dining-restaurants with fine luxurious surroundings with linen covered tables and high quality tableware. Gastropubs- Restaurants in public house or coaching inn. They display huge British accent to the menu, but will also serve French cuisine Greek restaurants- Food is prepared using olive oil, grains and bread, wine fish and various meats. These are all complemented by wines or anise flavored liquors. Indian restaurant- Here food is characterized by herbs, spices and vegetables from India. International restaurant- Serves a wide variety of dishes representing different cultures. Italian restaurants -Serves Italian cuisine Japanese cuisines- The Japanese food is recognized as worlds healthiest food, low in cholesterol fat and high in fibre Malaysian Restaurants- Offer culinary diversity with fresh aromatic herbs and roots, lemon grass, ginger, garlic, shallots, kaffirlime and chilies. Modern British- Services quality dishes using local produce. Modern European- Seasonal style of cooking incorporating Mediterranean influences and ingredients Modern Scottish- Has both traditional and Scottish dishes along with international food. Seafood restaurants- Restaurants servicing fish and sea food Thai- the cuisine is spicy and served with strong aromatic ingredients Vegetarian restaurants- Food served without meat and fish Some of the brands in U.K are classified based on the brands owned by celebrity chefs and brands that propagate certain ideas. Jamies Italian by Chef Jamie Oliver, Rick Steins Padstow, Delia Smiths Delias Restaurant and Bar, Chef Heston Blumenthals Fat Duck, Antony Worall Thompsons The Grey Hound, Gordon Ramsay Holdings, Gary Rhodes W1 restaurant are some of the restaurant brands opened by celebrity chefs. Gordon Ramsay Brand Gordon Ramsay brands are one of the most celebrated restaurant brands throughout the globe. Most of the Gordon Ramsay brands are in United Kingdom, a few in America, Tokyo and Dubai. Gordon Ramsays restaurants are well known for its services and the great food. His restaurants have been awarded 3 Michelin stars and he himself has been awarded 10 Michelin stars. The Gordon Ramsay restaurants in U.K are Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Petrus, Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, Angella Hartnet at the Connaught, The Savoy grill, Banquet, Boxwood cafà ©, Maze, La Noisette. Gordon Ramsay restaurants offer a mix of French, European, American and Asian cuisines. In 1998 Ramsay quit Aubergine restaurant which he co-owned with A-Z restaurants. He won Aubergine restaurant three Michelin stars. In 1991 he opened the Petrus restaurant in London which later won a Michelin star. Amaryllis in Glasgows One Devonshire Gardens hotel was opened by Gordon Ramsay Holdings in April 2001, which was awarded a Michelin star in January 2002. In October 2001 the group opened Gordon Ramsay at Claridge and won a Michlen star in 2001 for London restaurant. In October 2002, the food and beverages operation at Londons Connaught hotel was taken over by Gordon Ramsay Holdings. In May 2003, Wareing took over Savoy Grill. Ramsay opened the Boxwood Cafà © in Berkeley Hotel. In December 2003 Wareing moves Petrus into the Berkeley. In December 2003, Wareing opened theBaquette above Savoy Grill. In May 2005, Gordon Ramsay Holding has opened Maze at the London Mariott Hotel Grosvenor Square in London. The total number of staff in Gordon Holdings is more than 900. Tragus Holdings Tragus Holdings is one of UKs largest independent restaurant operators. It serves more than 12 million meals each year with 160 mid- market restaurants. The company was formed in 2002, through the  £25m acquisition of the Pelican Group and Bright Reasons Group from Whitbread. The key brands are Cafà © Rouge, Strada and Bella Italia. Other brands include Mama Amalfi, Amalfi, Abbaye, Oriel, Leadenhall Wine and Tapas bar. The company rolled out Huxleys Bar and Kitchen at Heathrow. The company is backed by Blackstone Group private firm. In May 2010, the group opened 15 new sites across three key brands and plans to open around 20 new sites in the current financial year. The group considers the expansion of the brands as the key to profitability. Tragus wants to ensure the quality of the sites to ensure its brand image. Tragus found the recession period challenging due to the poor economic conditions and the poor consumer spend. There have been a strong promotional activity along with the quality of service which contributed to the growth of the brand. Tragus employs 7300 people and has an equal opportunities policy. Tragus invests a considerable amount in training and they have their own in-house training department. Trags encourages feedback on the menus from customers as well as from nutrition experts. The organization promotes healthy eating habits in joint with other industry players which cover procurement kitchen practices, menu planning and information. They provide nutritional information including calorific content to the customers. Trends A key trend for restaurateurs is the availability of external funding in the shape of venture capital firms resulting in large number of mergers and acquisitions, but at the same time there are plenty of opportunities for independent operators. The industry has to satisfy the increasing demand due to dual income households, increased number of working women, rise in the number of old consumers. London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol are the some of the hubs of the UK market scene. Future Prospects The restaurateurs are forced at increasing the levels of service, especially outside London. There is a prospect for increased market segmentation because of mergers and acquisitions. The main challenges going forward will be satisfying the changing consumer tastes and expectations. Consumers want cleaner restaurants, efficient and friendlier service, and low prices. Women opt for cleaner restaurants than men do. For the UK restaurant industry, understanding what the consumer wants and then delivering it is the biggest challenge with more attraction towards branded chains. Methodology The two brands Gordon Ramsay and Tragus have been considered for our analysis here. A questionnaire was created to estimate the brand awareness, the brand personality affecting the customer perception, major factors affecting the brand personality and the impact of these brands as a marketing tool for business. A simple random sample of customers of both brands was selected to whom the questionnaire was circulated. The various factors have been discussed in the analysis given below. ANALYSIS. (The below analysis of the comparison of the Gordon Ramsay brand and the Tragus group based on customer feedback. The questions and the feedback of the customers are discussed below.) What is the main problem you faced at a) Gordon Ramsay b) Tragus? For Gordon Ramsay Holdings 45% of the respondents mentioned, other problems that they faced while using the services. 43% of the respondents found no problems with the service of Tragus. Which area do you think needs most improvement? The responses are as shown above. Majority of the customers have demanded for more variety for Gordon Ramsay brand. For Tragus, most customers demanded for low prices. What do you think the Unique selling Proposition of a) Gordon Ramsay b) Tragus? 26% of the respondents chose food as the Unique selling Proposition of Tragus Brand and for Gordon Ramsay; majority has chosen others, which is the chef himself as the brand image. How do you compare the services at Gordon Ramsay with Tragus? The respondents were asked to compare the services at Tragus and Gordon Ramsay. It can be seen that quality of food almost tops for both the groups. What in Gordon Ramsay brand attracts you more? The respondents were asked to choose the service that attracted more in the Gordon Ramsay brand. 6Which brand of Tragus attracts you more? The respondents were asked to choose the popular brands within the Tragus brand. It was found that Bella Italia was most popular among the customers. Do you think Gordon Ramsays personality has an impact on Gordon Ramsay restaurant brand? 68% of the respondents feel that the chef Gordon Ramsay has a direct influence on the brands image. Do you think brand name prompts you to go to Tragus? 54% of the respondents feel that the name Tragus prompts them to go to the restaurant. It is evident that the brand name has a direct impact on the minds of people. DISCUSSION Gordon Ramsay- The brand value Chef Gordon Ramsay is the force behind the 28 restaurants belonging to Gordon Ramsay Holdings. The Gordon Ramsay Holdings reported a pre-tax loss of  £4.3 million in 2008. He has published a vast array of cookery books and owns a catering school. Though the company has suffered in the recession hit economic climate and by the negative publicity about Ramsays public affairs Gordon Ramsay Holdings appear to be resilient and has reinforced a successful risk mitigation strategy. GRH had diversified the risk and helped to secure income streams through the opening of three pubs and several mid-priced maze grills. The organization forged strong partnership with a private equity firm in the global hotel and catering industry called Blackstone group. The critical element of GRHs internationalization is Ramsays television career since 2004 that has popularized the chef and the brand throughout the world. The passionate and aggressive leadership style in these shows gives the Gordon Ramsay br and a competitive advantage which represents the over all DNA of the group. Ramsay has been quick to find and nurture talent throughout his shows and this skill has proved to be the core capability of GRH. The sense of teambuilding and promoting from within has fostered a high level of loyalty among the staff. 85% of the staff from 1993 is still employed in the business. He has been able to inspire and engage with his tough but lovable approach to management. GRH recognizes the dream of its ambitious chefs by allowing them to open subsidiaries. The company lost  £850,000 when it closed the pengelley restaurant in Londons Knight bridge in 2005. The failure was aggravated when he employed a executive chef from outside GRH. In 2006, the GRHs London Hotel in New York suffered late opening due to delays, it received poor reviews and the head chef had to be replaced. Soon it was transformed and gained two Michlen stars. In 2008, Ramsay opened his first Parisian restaurant, Versailles at the Trianon Palace Hotel but suffered a loss of of  £1.78 million and was soon closed down. Ramsay is the face of the organization without doubt, and his actions in restaurant and televisions have impacted GRH. There has been nothing like Brand Ramsay in the world of cooking before. Ramsays position rest on two bases, the restaurant and as a media person. Tragus The brand value Tragus adopts a strategy of organic growth by opening new restaurants. It also aims at continually improving the existing brands through menu development and more investment into the group. It sees improved profitability through disciplined management and use of technology in its business. Tragus aims at providing more training and development programmes to its people and excellent customer service. It aims at acquiring groups of sites, which can enhance the portfolio. It looks at new opportunities and style of eating. The menu content has been regularly reviewed and has controlled the cost increases through regular retendering of the contracts. The company had adopted a good labour management system that can leverage the efficiencies. A new commercial and marketing structure was implemented in 2010 to improve the marketing activities of the group. The group also focuses on investing in the estate so that the best standards of presentation are meet. They have focused more on the Strada brand to maintain the contemporary image and the best quality of food. The group finds the brands, the pricing points and the value for money offerings as their competitive advantage. The group sees a growth potential for all the three brands Bella Italia, Strata and Cafà © Rouge. Tragus considers its people as the most important ingredient to its success. Tragus considers its corporate social responsibility as a priority. The group in relation with its suppliers tries to reduce the impact on the environment. They have promoted initiatives in mainly three areas -waste and recycling, energy saving, and food and drink. The company tries to find additional ways of recycling. The company has a central distribution center giving a single drop-off point for recyclable material. The trucks, which deliver food and drinks, while returning collect, used cooking oil, plastics and cardboard. The company tries to reduce their dependency on paper by using voice recognition technology. The company is working on a 100% recycling scheme for their restaurants. The company aims at energy saving by reducing the electricity use by 10% in the restaurants. All the Tragus brands run smart meters to view accurate usage of electricity. The company has undertaken multi disciplinary project to review the energy consumption across all the restaurants. The company supplies filtered tap water to all customers at Strada. The company uses Belu, UKs first carbon neutral water. The company also has served the community by working with organizations like Great Ormond street, Marie curie, children in need, etc. The company sees a brand risk through food scarce or a slow decline in a brands appeal to its customers, which can be met through efficient operations. The risk on the brands appeal can be met through continuous menu innovation, marketing campaigns and brand development. The company finds the market to be highly competitive especially in service offering, product quality and price. The marketing teams monitor the market offering and pricing on an ongoing basis. The group undertakes a regular mystery diner visits to all restaurants to ensure that the standards of the menu and customer service are met. There is a rolling renovation programme to all the present estates. Tragus has laid out the following aims as a part of its Brand building Creating a standout differentiation Establishing and delivering a compelling idea Focus and direction A clear proposition Tone of voice Compelling brand levers Defining customer segments Tragus wants its customers to keep dining, repeat business, try new dishes and menu items, trade up, and spread the message to others. Tragus wants to know more about consumers, wants to convert them to customers, Drive brand loyalty, not just voucher loyalty. Tragus believes that Brand development gives conversation rationale, but service execution is all. RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the analysis and the market study done for the both the brands of restaurants, the following suggestions can be recommended. Looking to the future the GRHs focus should be survival and selective growth due to the economic slowdown. Both Gordon Ramsay and Tragus groups should focus on the standard of goods supplied by third parties. Any suppliers who do not satisfy the minimum standards should be delisted. Both companies should try to retain the best talent at both restaurant and head office level The organizations should keep a check on the price of key raw materials and wages There should be strong financial and operational review and financial reviews There should be essential funding available for the operational purposes hence essential contracts needs to be maintained. The organizations should be careful about the risk of fraud existing in the misappropriation of assets, including cash banking. This should be mitigated through management structure, regular financial review and extensive use of business reviews. There should be regular financial audits carried out in the organizations There should be continuous monitoring of the marketing, brand strategies and pricing. The groups should regularly review the products and involve the customers in improving the value for money offering me
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Critical Thinking: The Ability to Think for Ones Self Essay examples --
Critical thinkers have the ability to think on a higher level. A process for thinking critically is required that will bring about decisions and ideas that will provide for a better life for ourselves and those around us. Most of us take thinking for granted. However, we develop as critical thinkers when we open ourselves to recognizing the strengths and weakness’ of our own thinking. Higher order thinking comes into play when choosing a presidential candidate, or sitting on a jury for a murder trial, or deciding if we need nuclear power plants, or when determining the effects of global warming. As a critical thinker, one becomes a more responsible, contributing member of society. (Schafersman, S.D., 1991). To put us on the road to being critical thinkers, we need to acquire the attributes of a critical thinker and to learn to be fair minded and recognize our own ignorance. Traits of a Critical Thinker In order to improve the thinking ability, one needs intellectual integrity, humility, sense of justice, perseverance, fair mindedness, a confidence in reason, intellectual courage, empathy, and autonomy. These traits allow one to use highly insightful thinking. Someone with a weak sense for critical thinking may become good at winning arguments but they do not develop a sense of fair mindedness. (Paul & Elder, 2006). Being a fair minded thinker can be hard. It requires one to consider views other than one’s own. A person cannot look for his or her own advantage or the advantage of friends. We cannot always be fair minded because our egos get in the way. However, striving to develop a brain that is fair minded will let us find the truth of a matter. All of the traits described above go into developing a fair minded thinking ... ... one to come to conclusions that are fair-minded. (Paul & Elder, 2006). Intellectual integrity, humility, a sense of justice, perseverance, fair mindedness, a confidence in reason, intellectual courage, empathy, and autonomy are all traits needed to create a critical thinker with a fair and disciplined mind. When one moves past their own egocentric thinking, one can become a nonconformist with the ability to think for ones self. This makes one a better thinker and decision maker and therefore, a better contributor to society. References Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2006). Critical thinking: Tools for taking charge of your learning and your life (2nd. ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ : Prentice Hall. Schafersman, S.D. (1991, January). An introduction to critical thinking. Retrieved August 1, 2008 from , Web site: http://www.freeinquiry.com/critical-thinking.html
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Essay --
John Dalton, J. J Thomson, Earnest Rutherford, Niels Bohr and Louis de Broglie are just a few scientists that have helped to create and shape ideas on what an atom and its components are. Dalton was the first to develop the modern atomic theory, although much of his theory is still true today, Dalton's theory has not proven to be one hundred percent correct. So what does that mean everyone who has been learning Dalton’s theory? That they are all wrong? That they shouldn’t learn from his theory anymore? Exactly. And why would you when Earnest Rutherford’s latest, improved and more precise atomic theory is what everyone is using now. John Dalton is the scientist credited for proposing the atomic theory, the law of constant composition and the Law of Multiple Proportions. This theory explains several concepts that are relevant to our knowledge of chemistry in today’s society. This includes what a pure gold necklace is made of, what makes the pure gold necklace different than a pure silver necklace, and what occurs when pure gold is mixed with copper. Dalton’s theory consists of: ...
Friday, October 11, 2019
Construction Case Study Essay
Resistance to organisational change is a natural reaction to those who want to protect their self-interests in the organisation. However, it is clear from the case study that the employees of XYZ Construction showed little resistance to the change implemented by the incoming managing director. The primary reason that change was welcomed was due to the former Managing Director’s management style which was not widely accepted in the organisation. Employees feared him and it was not acceptable to speak openly and honestly. Employees were aware that this behaviour was often counterproductive, and created a negative impression with the former Managing Director. As the newly appointed Managing Director had previously worked at the organisation, he was aware of certain of the issues and concerns of the employees. The experience gained from working at other companies, and the reputation he built from his career prior to returning to XYZ Construction ensured that the employees had faith in his leadership ability. The new Managing Director’s first step in developing relationships with managers and employees was to incorporate key employees into Senior Management Team activities. His actions made it clear that he was willing to retain the current workforce and promote from within the organisation. This created a positive environment which encouraged employees to work harder and produce results Employees and managers did not fear loss of employment with the new Managing Director, but rather felt included in the decision making process. The new Managing Director’s attitude and actions were clear and concise which addressed the problems within the organisation. His actions were collectively moving in the same direction, to achieve a clear goal of improving internal and external relations and improving the organisations performance. He correctly identified problem areas such as relationships, communication and the structure of the organisation. An incorrect diagnosis of the problems within an organisation may result in incorrect changes being implemented, which can lead the organisation into complete disarray. The new Managing Director identified two crucial activities to be performed in conjunction with each other to enable the transformation of the organisation. The two activities identified were: To introduce new practices and techniques to improve service to customers and thus improve the organisation’s performance. To change the attitudes and behaviour of employees By identifying the two activities above, the new Managing Director identified crucial steps to improve its performance. Only through improving services to customers can the overall organisation’s performance improve. A satisfied customer is likely to return and recommend the organisation to others. This is directly linked to the growth of the organisation. The new Managing Director is aware that to provide better service to customers, the employees will have to develop and learn new practices and techniques to ensure superior service quality is provided to customers. The implementation of the second activity is critical to the success of the overall goal of improved customer relationships. The employees and managers attitudes and behaviours are to be transformed to ensure the best results are achieved. Employees and managers who were unhappy under the former Managing Director are more willing to adhere to the recommended changes. The willingness to adhere also stems from the approaches presented being feasible and there is no fear for loss of employment. The changes bring new opportunities for employees and managers to develop in their current roles and possibly grow into new roles. The potential positive outcomes as a result of these changes are a contributing factor in the lack of resistance experienced by the Managing Director. The cost effectiveness of the changes implemented also contributed to the lack of resistance from employees. The new Managing Director introduced a small-scale Kaizen programme. The programme was introduced with the four goals namely (Burnes, 2009, p. 162); ï‚ · Improvements could be achieved on a quick low cost/no cost basis Promote teamwork Build manager’s confidence such that they can delegate work Empower staff The goals above are all positive resulting in the support of employees and minimises resistance to change. An additional contributing factor was the Managing Directors’ communication regarding his commitment to this initiative. This eradicates any confusion regarding the implementation of this change, and strengthens the â€Å"buy-in†of employees and manager. 3 Introducing a new management style This section will discuss the following statement and to what extent I agree or disagree with the statement; â€Å"the new Managing Director has not changed the culture of XYZ Construction but has merely introduced a new management style†. 3.1 Organisational Culture To understand the statement clearly, the term organisational culture needs to be defined and understood. Organisational culture is defined as â€Å"the collection of basic assumptions, values, norms and artefacts that are shared by and influence the behaviour of an organisation’s members†(Burnes, 2009, p. 600). Organisation culture is also commonly defined as â€Å"how organisations do things†(Watkins, 2013). 3.2 Management Style The management style of XYZ Construction changed from an autocratic management style to a participative style when the new Managing Director was appointed. The former Managing Director was feared by his colleagues, where open and honest relationships did not exist. Autocratic leadership is an extreme form of transactional leadership, characterised by a manager who makes decisions on his own without input from colleagues. This type of management style has the advantage that decisions can be made quickly and efficiently, however this approach is not suitable in all organisations and is limited in its application. The disadvantage of this approach is that it leads to high employee turnover, demotivated employees and poor performance (Unknown, 2013). The autocratic management style of the former Managing Director was not suitable for XYZ Construction and was identified by the parent company. The parent company’s view was that the company was underperforming due to the poor management and lack of cooperation within the organisation. Once the former Managing Director retired he was replaced by a new Managing Director with the primary objective to improve the overall managerial competency and improve the performance of the organisation. The new Managing Director displayed a Participative management style, which was required for the necessary operation, culture and structure changes in the organisation. A Participative management style is characterised by managers that â€Å"use various decision procedures that allow other people some influence over the leader’s decision†(Yukl, 2013, p. 115). This is clearly displayed in the New Managing Directors action of inclusion of key employees who were not directors to p articipate in Senior Management Team. This action has a significant impact on relationship building within the organisation and an impact on the structure. The organisation under former management was hierarchical conscious which hinders the development of relationship and the sharing of information and ideas. The new approach in management style results in a culture change in the organisation. 3.3 Discussion I agree with the statement, with the effect that a culture change has taken place in XYZ Construction under the new Managing Director, however this was achieved by the change in the managerial style rather by changing the culture. The new Managing Director’s participative managing style, has allowed for a culture change. Employees and managers are able to speak openly and honestly changing the norms within the organisation. The transformation is a long-term change with initiatives rolled-out in intervals. This allows for employees and managers to acquire and develop the necessary skills and characteristics at each level before moving to the next step of the transformation. The new Managing Director’s management style requires that the attitude and behaviours to be changed of both employees and managers to meet the demands of the initiatives aimed at increasing the organisation’s performance. My agreement with the statement is not significant, as the new Managing Director has brought upon a new management style however the initiatives that he proposed require a change in culture. A culture change of the employees and managers supports that new Managing Director’s management style. 4 South African context South Africa as a country has been transforming during the post-apartheid regime. The most significant transformation that is currently taking place in organisations is the implementation of various BBBEE initiatives, one of which is to increase in females in the workplace. The BBBEE initiative focusses on reconciling indiscretions of the past and allowing for the workplace to be balanced based on race, gender and disabilities. There are many examples of organisations in South Africa where this transformation has taken place. An example of this transformation is in PPC Ltd. which appointed Ketso Gordhan as the new CEO effective 1 January 2013 (Allix, 2012). Ketso Gordhan’s extensive experience in multiple industries such as his role as director-general in the Ministry of transport, serving in the Presidency and head of private equity in FirstRand makes him extremely capable and suitable for the position. His experience in the multiple he roles he has fulfilled has provided him with knowledge as to how to bring change to an organisation. The cement industry had faced a major fall in sales during the financial recession coupled with competitive forces. These factors had started to be addressed by the former CEO with the goal of growing the business and earning a significant portion of profits through operations in Africa (Allix, 2012). It was at this point that Ketso Gordhan was appointed with the crucial task of growing operations into Africa. The approach that was taken by Ketso Gordhan to achieve this goal is based on two key strategies of expanding business into Africa and to keep current operations in South Africa to operate efficiently (â€Å"keep the home fires burning†) (Allix, 2013). Ketso Gordhan made the goals and the direction taken very clear to ensure a collective drive from employees. His actions are the same actions taken by the newly appointed Managing Director of XYZ Construction. Ketso Gordhan made he’s commitment to PPC Ltd. clear through his actions as well as through the acquisition of PPC Ltd. shares summing a total of R30 million (Shevel, 2014). This action indicated internally and externally he’s commitment and faith in the organisation to achieve a significant improvement in the organisation’s performance (Hasenfuss, 2013). Ketso Gordhan’s management style has brought a culture change in the organisation. The culture change has included a more hands-on approach from the CEO with constant interaction with employees and managers. This once again reinforces his ideas and motivation in the workplace. Earlier in 2014, Ketso Gordhan reduced his salary by R1m in an effort to support the reduction of salary gap between the highest and the lowest paid employee in the organisation. He took grievances from the lowest paid employees and acted to resolve the items. He approached the top 60 managers, asking whether they would volunteer their increases to be distributed to the lowest paid employees. This approach enabled the organisation to increase 1 200 of the lowest paid employees salary by R10 000 per year and an interest related increase later in the year (Shevel, 2014). This initiative received great response from employees, which was primarily attributed to the feeling that grievances were heard and action was taken. The initiative allowed the CEO salary to reduce from 120 times the lowest paid employee to 48 times with the clear goal to reach 40 times in future. This was achieved through the decrease in the highest paid salary and the increase in the lowest paid salaries (Shevel, 2014). The initiative has an impact external to the organisation. In South Africa which currently is facing numerous problems, one clear problem in the large economic gaps that exists. The actions of Ketso Gordhan are an encouragement to fellow JSE-listed organisation’s CEO to follow suit and attempt to reduce the large salary gaps that exist in many organisations. Collective actions will enable the country to reach goals of social development at a faster rate. Ketso Gordhan is a participative leader which is clear through his engagement with the organisationâ€⠄¢s employees and through the initiative he has developed. He has initiated the â€Å"I Care, PPC Cares†programme coupled with the Kambuku philosophy in the organisation (PPC Ltd, 2014). This philosophy and initiative is aimed at addressing the following (PPC Ltd, 2014): Disparity between the cost of living and salaries of lower-level employees Substandard housing and access to housing for some employees Effectiveness of first-line managers and team members Individual development plans and organisational climate initiatives Improving the perception of employees in terms of job satisfaction The philosophy is aimed at not only improving the internal environment but also the external environment of the organisation, such as the assistance in providing housing for employees. The approach is very fitting in the South African context. References Allix, M., 2012. Ketso Gordhan to replace Paul Stuiver at PPC. [Online] Available at: http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/industrials/2012/10/11/ketso-gordhan-toreplace-paul-stuiver-at-ppc [Accessed 3 May 2014]. Allix, M., 2013. Safika deal to help PPC ‘keep the home fires burning’. [Online] Available at: http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/industrials/2013/08/08/safika-deal-to-helpppc-keep-the-home-fires-burning [Accessed 3 May 2014]. Burnes, B., 2009. Managing Change. 5th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Hasenfuss, M., 2013. PPC chief Ketso Gordhan splashes out on cement firm’s stock. [Online] Available at: http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/industrials/2013/09/12/ppc-chief-ketsogordha n-splashes-out-on-cement-firms-stock [Accessed 3 May 2014]. Investopedia, 2014. Definition of ‘Kaizen’. [Online] Available at: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/k/kaizen.asp [Accessed 16 April 2014]. PPC Ltd, 2014. Our People. [Online] Available at: http://www.ppc.co.za/about-us/our-people.aspx [Accessed 3 May 2013]. Shevel, A., 2014. Ketso Gordhan: Laying the foundations for a fairer workplace. [Online] Available at: http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/management/2014/03/23/ketso-gordhanlaying-the-foundations-for-a-fairer-workplace [Accessed 3 May 2013]. Stroh, U., 2005. Chapter 3: Approaches to Change Management, Pretoria: University of Pretoria etd. Unknown, 2013. Leadership Styles. [Online] Available at: http://ofd.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Leadership-Styles-1_11_13.pdf [Accessed 30 April 2014]. Watkins, M., 2013. What Is Organizational Culture? And Why Should We Care?. [Online] Available at: http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/05/what-is-organizational-culture/ [Accessed 30 April 2014]. Yukl, G., 2013. Leadership on Organizations. 8th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
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