Academic development Essay

Continuing education is always a means of empowering oneself towards being able to offer more as a professional and as an individual sincere in making a difference in this world. In this era of technology and modernization many young people become immediately satisfied with the monetary benefits of a college or a master’s degree and only few see the value in aiming for a doctor’s degree. Personally, I believe that many of these young people are correct in saying that even with a college and master’s degree economic benefits can already tide one over the laps of luxury because the world is in need of technology experts and specialists. However, I also consider pursuing a doctor’s degree in the spirit of paying it forward. While I already have a masters degree and can easily enrich myself economically, I am at the point in my life where I am more concerned with what I can give to society and the world, and not with what I can take from it. I am a dynamic and detail-oriented young professional aiming for more opportunities to be able to change and make the world a better place for all of us. I used to work at the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City where I was recognized by the management as a professional and dedicated employee. See more:  Manifest Destiny essay I earned my bachelor’s degree in Computer and Information Sciences from the King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2007 after which I immediately proceeded to earn my Masters Degree in the Science in Management Information Systems from the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom. This particular master’s degree had special focus on Business Process Management based on the SAP System, Strategic Information Management, Information Systems Development, and Financial Management. My dedication and diligence in my academics paid off as I graduated from my master’s degree with Merit. Now, I seek to proceed and earn my doctors degree to finally seal my educational journey and become more capable of making significant contributions to the field of information technology. My experience in the field is varied. I personally handled and conducted demonstrations on a new ERP project for automating HR processes in a 400-bed rehabilitation hospital & medical center. This particular project helped the beneficiaries of the project a lot and it made me feel contented with being able to extend my technical knowledge in the service of others. In terms of knowledge transference, I was also involved in presentations on Tesco electronic channels as well as electronic commerce and ERP systems. I always feel like I am doing something important when I am able to share knowledge with other people and enable beneficiaries to appreciate the importance of technology. I am also an advocate of improved government systems as well as the enhancement of basic services. In the past years, I have completed a dissertation on E-Government, titled, â€Å"Evaluating User Acceptance of Electronic Government in Saudi Arabia†. In keeping with my advocacies, I have also written critical analyses on business comparisons for Dell and EasyJet Airlines and BMW’s recession strategy. To add to these, I have composed reports on the use of SAP in the ERP system of Porsche as well as on artificial intelligence and operating system security. All these I did in the spirit of making basic services more efficient and more user-friendly. I have also collected requirements during strategic meetings with HR and finance senior managers, built plans to improve business processes with automation, facilitated re-engineering business processes for a new ERP system implementation for finance and human resources, and created an education institute website with a team; wrote an evaluation report. On the outset, I do not consider what I have done as academic, professional, or personal achievements because I am more concerned with the changes that I am able to effect. In all these things, I had in tow my acquired excellent communication and human relations skills which I found very useful especially in explaining technological innovations to my clients and beneficiaries in very simple and understandable terms. Apart from being diligent in trying to improve myself my true passion is in seeing the changes that I effect significantly influence the organizations that I have worked for and with. My doctor’s degree will therefore help me do more of what I had already been doing and build my capacities more in my advocacy of seeing better governments and improved basic services. The ultimate beneficiaries of all these are of course the public at large who are at the end of the receiving chain. So, while pursuing a doctor’s degree is in fact a means of academic development, I view it as an opportunity for each of us to improve ourselves with the focus of improving the lives of others. At a time when technology is almost everywhere and when technology seems to be the basis for many of our daily activities, it is very important that each individual acquire a deeper and richer appreciation for technological innovations and advancements which are instrumental not only in making our lives convenient but also in raising the standard of living for society. It would be my great pride to be part of the wave of technology that is currently sweeping all over the globe. I am confident that with a doctor’s degree I would be able to leave behind a legacy of difference with all the people who have benefitted from my tutelage as well as with all those who enjoy the conveniences of technology in areas where technology was previously unheard of. My desire to pursue my doctor’s degree is done in the sincere dedication to the welfare of all and to the advancement of technology in the service of man.

Conceptual Foundations of Social Psychology

Conceptual Foundations of Social Psychology University of Phoenix Conceptual Foundations of Social Psychology Often one hears the question, what is wrong with the people in the world today? This question could be asked after watching a news story about a mother murdering her children, gangs terrorizing neighborhoods, terroristic acts committed against large community locations, and riots after a soccer game, or even hate crimes committed due to discrimination. Each of these subjects always brings up questions about why acts such as these occur. Social Psychology can attempt to answer some of these questions.In effect, social psychology seeks to answer many questions. Social Psychology is very different in that this field tries to understand all characteristics of social behavior and the significance on the individual both positive and negative. Some research would suggest that anyone might act in a similar fashion as the person who commits a terrorist act, or the mother who murders h er children if he or she were in the same situation and that the behavior has little to do with the character of that person. This concept is situationism and while it does appear extreme, situationism plays a role in social psychology.In the following pages, what situationism is and how it pertains to social psychology is addressed. In addition, a definition of what social psychology is as well as the main characteristics of it. Last, an explanation of the five core social motives is offered and how they too affect the field of social psychology. Social Psychology Social Psychology covers so many topics that one could not possibly list them all at one time. These topics range from interpersonal relationships to group behavior, from prosocial behavior to discrimination and prejudice and everything else in between.The broad coverage of topics generates difficulty in narrowing the subject down to a strict definition. However, according to Fiske, (2010, p 4) â€Å"Social psychology is the scientific attempt to explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of other human beings. † Of course as stated by Fiske, this is the traditional definition of Social Psychology. This definition dates all the way back to one of the fathers of Social Psychology, Gordon Allport (Fiske, 2010). In essence, Social Psychology is about how people influence each other.If one can imagine each way, another could possibly influence a person then he or she may achieve a better understanding of how broad this subject is. Because Social Psychology covers a broad scope of topics, broad scope by definition is one of the key characteristics of Social Psychology. The broad scope of topics is only one of the characteristics of Social Psychology; another and very important characteristic is Cultural Mandate. Just as any of field of Psychology needs to stay current so too does Social psychology need to stay curren t.Because of the ever-changing world and the populations within it, cultures change. Because culture affects individual behavior, it is important to keep up with the changes. These changes occur from town to town within the United States, to larger cultural structures across the globe. For Social Psychology to stay current, an accommodation to the changing cultures is mandatory. One reason it is important to keep up with changes in cultures and how they affect individual behaviors is the research involved. This research helps build credible scientific knowledge (Fiske, 2010).Most people today depend on science to present the facts instead of relying on the traditional methods of understanding, which is often only common sense knowledge. Fiske, (2010, p. 34) tells us, â€Å"Social psychology goes beyond common sense to build a scientific understanding of human social behavior. † Therefore, the Scientific Method is the third key characteristic of Social Psychology. What can be more important than proper â€Å"techniques, procedures, analyses, and standards that create scientifically reliable knowledge? † (Fiske, 2010, p. 34) Maybe, one other characteristic is more important, or maybe just as important.The search for wisdom may be the last key characteristics of Social Psychology but being last in this instance does not mean that it is less important. This characteristic is probably the most compassionate aspect of Social Psychology. This characteristic is the search for ways to help improve the circumstances of individuals in certain situations. One already knows that knowledge is important such as that gained from the scientific method, but without compassion and understanding of morals and intellectual concerns Social Psychology would not be the field of study that it is.Perhaps Fiske states it best when she describes it like this, â€Å"Wisdom comprises knowledge about people and the world, combined with enduring moral, intellectual, and societ al concerns that together make sense in the social context of people’s lived experience† (Fiske, 2010, p. 34). Again, it is all about making sense of how individuals influence each other in every way imaginable. Situationism Situationism is a controversial topic. For instance, someone walking down the sidewalk drops money on the ground; the person behind them picks the money up and returns it to the owner.According to situationism this return of the money to the owner is not due to any type of personality trait the person possesses but simply because the situation calls for it. According to Sabine and Silver, (2005, p. 3) â€Å"virtue is not a general disposition to act in a certain way, but a disposition to act in a certain way under quite specific circumstances. † Therefore, the person returning the money may well behave honestly in that particular circumstance but may not necessarily be honest in all aspects of life.This does leave an opening for some broad in terpretation but that is a different point altogether. An individual’s orientation to social contexts, always consist of other people, many researchers even say life is dependent upon social interactions. According to Fiske â€Å"our responsiveness to social situations and therefore their considerable impact results from evolutionary pressures for individuals to survive in groups† (2010, p. 14). If one has doubts about the power of situations all that is needed is some time to revisit the Stafford Prison Experiment.It is possible that given the same situation anyone would behave in a similar manner no matter his or her personality type. Core Social Motives In order for individuals to survive in groups there must be something that drives this need for individuals to be a part of groups. While there are many needs that individuals have, researchers have narrowed down these needs to five core social motives. The most prominent motive is one most people can surely relate t o and that is belonging. Most people are motivated to belong to a group of some type of another.Life is much easier when others are around for many reasons, making the group work easier is one of them, not to mention the feeling of safety one has when they are around others who they believe they can trust (Newman, Lohman, & Newman, 2007). Many people are so motivated to belong they will often change their behavior to become a part of a group. Those who are more socially adaptive and feel a strong sense of belonging, whether that belonging is strong family ties, friends , community, state or nation, belonging is crucial, and has been proven to have some health benefits and those who feel a sense of belonging are happier also.In one study using adolescents and peer relationships â€Å"adolescents who viewed peer group membership as very important to them and had a positive sense of peer group belonging had significantly fewer behavior problems than those who viewed peer group members hip as very important but did not have a positive sense of peer group belonging† (Newman, Lohman, & Newman, 2007, par. 2). While this study used adolescents as subjects, those who feel more pressure to fit in than most other groups the need for belonging is not inclusive to this group.Although belonging is the core motive and a powerful one, it is not the only motive. Another important motive is, understanding. How one understands his or her environment is crucial to the group dynamic. One uncomfortable feeling that accompanies an individual and stops them from feeling as if they are a part of a group is doubt. When people do not understand the environment or situation occurring around them they often believe that other people do have understanding of the situation or at least some knowledge of it.Nothing is more frustrating than feeling that sense of being the only one that does not know or understand or as if one has no control over a situation. Control is the third core mot ive and closely related to understanding. People who understand what is going on in the environment have a firmer sense of control over the situation and are thus happier healthier people (Fiske, 2010). The last two motives neither are cognitive motives nor are they fundamentally the most important but do serve a purpose. A long held belief is that self-esteem is important to the daily lives of individuals.It is true that most people like to hear praise from others for a job well done or be complimented on his or her good qualities but self-enhancement is more about improvement of the self not just the perception of it. Aside from feeling good about the self however self-enhancement is good for the group because those who feel good are more sociable. People who have low self-esteem are more often withdrawn and want to have nothing to do with others. In addition, those who have a low sense of self tend to behave in destructive ways, which in turn creates group dysfunction.Most people in a group do not want to be around someone who commits to negative behaviors. The last motive is trust and although it is last on the list, it would appear to be one of the most important although it does not rank that high. Trust is everything in a group. Who would want to belong to a group if everyone was on guard because no one trusted the other? By trusting, one believes in others to do what is right and not bring harm to those that believe in them, much like faith. There are no guarantees that one may not get hurt but it is important to not live life in a paranoid state.Fiske sums up trust this way, â€Å"Trust facilitates daily life. It makes people both liked and likable, and with good reason. Trusting people deserve trust; they are unlikely to cheat or steal. They are more successful socially, being less suspicious, vindictive, resentful, and lonely than distrusting people† (Fiske, 2010, p. 24) In short trusting people create a trusting environment for others around them. Conclusion Everything people do has social motives. Some researchers believe that life is dependent on social interactions. Without the help from others, life would be incredibly difficult and boring.People often depend on others for love and support. Social rules, help keep individuals on a more positive track and out of trouble, of course there are exceptions to the rule as with anything else. Social Psychology attempts to explain how every interaction affects individuals. With such a broad range of topics, it is amazing that Social Psychology focuses so much on the Scientific Method. However, because the topics are related to human behavior Social Psychology also deals with the more compassionate side as well, and looks to improve the human condition.References Fiske, S. T. (2010). Social beings: Core Motives in Social Psychology (2nd ed. ). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Newman, B. , Lohman, B. , & Newman, P. (2007). Peer group membership and a sense of belonging: their relationship to adolescent behavior problems. Adolescence, 42(166), 241-263. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database. Sabini, J. , & Silver, M. (2005). Lack of Character? Situationism Critiqued. Ethics, 115(3), 535-562. Retrieved from SocINDEX with Full Text database.

Child Abuse and Neglect in the State of Ohio Assignment

Child Abuse and Neglect in the State of Ohio - Assignment Example Child abuse is regarded as a national tragedy that is annually affecting more than three million children and causing the death of three children every day. Statistics indicate that, in the state of Ohio alone, the practice is quite prevalent and it is reported that about 20 children are reported as neglected or abused every hour and with the total number of reported neglected or abused children averaging at around 480 cases per day. It has been noted that most cases involving the neglect and abuse of children in the state are not reported (Congressional Record, 1999). Children are increasingly being maltreated, neglected or even abused in many different forms of ways in the different communities, countries or even social strata. The types and nature of child abuse and neglect can be subdivided into five basic broad categories, these categories are sexual abuse, physical abuse, abuse for commercial purpose, psychological/emotional abuse and neglect (Deb, 2006). In the state of Ohio, the term â€Å"child abuse† refers to exposing a child to victimization via sexual activity. This activity can be informed of enticing, compelling, hiring, permitting, employing allowing a child to act or even model or participate in any production, photograph, presentation, advertisement or any other presentation that the offender knows to be sexually oriented or obscene (Lau, Krase & Morse, 2009). A caregiver or parent committing an action that causes nonaccidental death or physical injury to a child is regarded as having physically abused the child. Physical abuse can be defined as any nonaccidental injury occurring to a child as a result of the actions of a caretaker. The abuse includes the frequent, punching, slapping, beating shaking, burning, biting and kicking of a child (Deb, 2006).

Tourism and the environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Tourism and the environment - Essay Example The relationship between environment tourism on climate change means how the environment and tourism are both interrelated and interdependent. The changes that are brought by climate change affect both tourism and environment. Tourism provides a link between economic development and the environment. Tourism being an industry earns or generates income. This income can be converted to protect and conserve scenic and biologically valuable areas. It can further generate visitor payback into the management of these areas thus economic fragile communities.The success of tourism depend on environment. When the environment deteriorates due to climate change tourism also decline. Overtime the relationship between environment and tourism has developed. Tourism industry impacts environment both negatively and positively. The environment is impacted negatively by the release of untreated liquid waste from the activities of hotels and restaurants. Further air and noise emissions produced from tourism industry impact the environment. The noise is generated from the coastal constructions which are used to host tourists. Once these constructions are on dust is emitted which eventually settles on coastal waters affecting the marine environment. However, tourism industry as well contributes to the environment positively. The development of appropriate and new technologies has been a result of tourism-environment interaction. For instance beaches and hotels have to develop new technology of hygiene so as to meet the internationally accepted environmental standards. Further revenues and taxes derived from tourist related activities provide for the preservation and protection of natural resources like forests. Tourism can sometimes provide impetus for the conservation of natural resources. For example the development of Graeme bird sanctuary in Barbados. 6 Nature heritage tourism contributes to the conservation of natural resources and promotes socio-economic advancement of local communities. This may drive a sense of ownership and empowerment among the nationals.7 Therefore tourism and environment play a key role in the development and growth of a nation. In the recent years tourism has become the main industry that earns large income to those nations that maintain this industry. It also contributes to the maintenance of our environment. However, tourism and environment can only contribute to sustainability if all measures are taken to curb climate change which negatively impacts the two. Section 2: Background Information Global climate change is probably the most severe threat to our environment and tourism industry. In particular tourism is the largest

Rumelt's evaluating strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rumelt's evaluating strategies - Essay Example Whereas the strategies have the same objective of ensuring business success, they also draw various differences. In this short essay, I seek compare and contrast two of the criteria, advantage, and feasibility. One significant distinction between the advantage criterion and the Feasibility criterion is their approach with regard to company or organization’s mission. The competitive advantage strategy, unlike the feasibility approach, focuses on the differences among other organizations rather than on the firm’s common mission (Crouch 85). The criterion’s approach is not so much on how can this function be achieved but rather how the company can execute it either higher than, or at least as a substitute of the firm’s rivals (Crouch 86). On the converse, the feasibility criterion focuses wholly on the firm’s core mission, and therefore does not overburden the available resources, but rather focuses in appraising whether a strategy can executed within the available human, and financial resources (Windham, n.d). There is no comparison between firm’s available resources with other competing firms as it is with the advantage criterion, but keeping the focus on early appropriated resources. However, both Advantage and feasibility criteria correspondingly embrace innovative advances to financial expansion can both extend the definitive limitations and offer a competitive advantage, though it might be only temporary. Another difference between feasibility and advantage is that, feasibility tends to focus its evaluation on long-term strategies whereas an advantage aims at what can be invoked right away to bring positive change specifically. Through feasibility, an organization has to be evaluated to see that it demonstrates competencies necessitated by the strategy. Honestly, from such an approach, it cannot give details of each action demanded to be initiated by the strategy. Therefore, the purpose of the

James Nachtwey Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

James Nachtwey - Research Paper Example I have chosen to research about James Nachtwey because he is a war photographer, which is also my career path after successfully accomplishing my studies (Fussman 206). In addition, this will equip me with the necessary and adequate information concerning his work besides knowing what makes him appear unique compared to other global photographers. Figure 2: Kosovo 1999; Picture showing a mans imprint after Serbs exterminated him. Accessed on 29Th Otcober 2012 from Figure 3: The picture reveals the utter reality of a new weapon of "mass extermination" - Famine experienced by South Sudans citizens and other people residing in wore torn states. Accessed on 29Th October 2012 from All the above images exemplify the same thing and none alters their readings. Mainly, the overriding theme entails the reality of human injustices, which characterize war torn states globally despite their location. There are certain similarities found between my images and those of James Nachtwey’s, since I am taking after him. The significant similarity is the preference of utilizing black and white colors meant to mild the images’ horrific effects as a war photographer (Webb 64). Since, viewing images especially to some audiences it may be uncomfortable besides influencing others opting not to view them. Photographer by utilizing this image intended to convey to his viewers the downright reality of famine experienced by the southern Sudanese. This is evident from the victim’s emancipated body where he is unable to walk but crawl from the tent behind him. Hence, this creates a mood of despair, which is evident from the person’s condition, temporary worn out tent and the absence of any vegetation in the

Fitness Assignments Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Fitness Assignments - Coursework Example The client is a complete beginner to exercise and have not attended any fitness program before. In addition, the client possesses an active lifestyle with high intake of junk food. No cardio respiratory diseases or blood sugar abnormalities were identified to relate with the family history of the client. The client’s secondary motive is to remain fit and healthy. On the other hand, the primary goal of the client is to become a basketball player. A detailed information about the client has been presented below in a tabular format. Basketball is recognized as a ‘non-contact’ sport, wherein body contact is commonly witnessed among the players. Hence, basketball players usually require muscular strengths as well as body mass to maintain their position against the opponents. In this regard, certain qualities are extremely important for the basketball players to acquire a competitive edge over the opponents. Speed, agility and quick recovery are a few major fitness components that are essential for developing the performance of the individual players as well as team. The goals of the client behind attending training are to become a basketball player and keep self-fit and healthy. Hence, in line with these goals of the client, certain specific methods of testing by which further assessments can be gauged against for effective training have been designed. These testing methods will include ‘test of jumping’, ‘test of agility’, and ‘tests of strength’ (Sporis, Naglic, Milanovic, Talovic, & Jeleskovic, 2010). On each exercise, 20-30 sec work will be performed with 20-40sec recovery after the completion of each exercise. At the same time, warm up before starting exercise and cooling down after exercise will also be performed. The following exercise circuit has been set up for conducting a resistance-based circuit so that the fellow students work in each body part. The session is divided

Media represent females at a particular sporting event-wimbledon event Literature review

Media represent females at a particular sporting event-wimbledon event upcoming one for this year - Literature review Example Research Hypothesis The above mentioned research questions, in a broader sense will be explored and analyzed to test and validate the below mentioned research hypothesis: The media representation of females in the sporting events is biased and prejudiced. Justification for Using the Qualitative Approach to Test the Research Hypothesis The given research will exploit the qualitative methods and approaches to test the proposed research hypothesis. A qualitative approach is highly suitable for testing the proposed hypothesis owing to a variety of reasons. Not to say, that a qualitative approach towards research has its specific advantages and flaws. Qualitative research has primarily to do with the qualitative phenomena that are the phenomena that have to do with quality or kind (Newman & Benz 1998). For example, in the research under consideration, the qualitative research undertaken will have to do with the quality or kind of the media representation of women in sporting events. Quali tative research is a valid form of scientific research. Qualitative research tends to sort out answers to questions. It adheres to s systematic and predefined procedure used for testing a research hypothesis. ... the undertaken research is not only to test the proposed hypothesis but also to cull out insights that are of relevance to the future research in related disciplines. In the context of the research topic under consideration, a qualitative approach will be highly suitable in exploring the values, behaviour and attitude of media towards the representation of women in sporting events. This qualitative research will provide the research scholar with the complex textual information regarding how people experience the representation of women in sporting events and what do they think about it. Besides, it will solicit information regarding the human side of the issue under consideration (Phillimore & Goodson 2004). It will help the research scholar better understand and interpret the complicated reality pertaining to the media representation of women in sporting events and its implications for further research in varied disciplines. The nature of the research hypothesis to be tested is such that it defies all attempts to quantify or accurately measure the type and nature of media representation of women in sporting events, and hence a quantitative approach will not be suitable and appropriate (Lankshear & Knobel 2004). A qualitative approach towards the proposed research offers varied advantages over a quantitative approach. The first and foremost advantage of qualitative research is that it accords a great degree of flexibility to the research scholar (Bowling 2002). The quantitative methods are usually inflexible and are mostly not appropriate for testing the type and kind of research hypothesis under consideration. When it comes to quantitative research, the common methods it uses to collect data such as questionnaires and surveys do tend to pose the same questions to all

Principles of Economics.Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve Essay Example for Free

Principles of Economics.Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve Essay Investment and consumption decreased during the 2007 and 2009 recession. Government expenditure can increase Aggregate demand because it increases liquidity in the market. The government may operate below full employment when job seekers are more than available job hence end up accepting low wages. The multiplier can have a negative effect when people lose jobs as a result of government cut spending. This causes initial decrease in national income. The relationship between marginal propensities and multiplier is that an increase in MPC leads to an increase in multiplier. Similarly, increase in MPS causes a decrease in the multiplier (Farmer, 2008). 2. Fiscal Policy                9/11 attack led to decrease in aggregate demand, in United States. An example of a sector that was hit hard is entertainment and travel sectors. It also led to decrease in personal consumption. The attack caused an increase in equilibrium price levels. This is because there is an inverse relationship between Aggregate demand and equilibrium price levels.An Expansionary fiscal policy and Contractionary fiscal policy is used to increase aggregate demand. Expansionary fiscal policy is a policy used during the recession to increase AD by increasing government spending or decreasing taxes. Contractionary fiscal policy is used during inflation in order to decrease AD by decreasing government spending or increasing taxes (Farmer, 2008). After September 11’s attack, the government increased expenditure in different sectors such as national defense. 3. Money and Banking                Factors that led to the mortgage default crisis is much borrowings and flawed financial modeling majorly based on an assumption that prices of homes only go up, greed and fraud. Mortgage defaults affected lending banks in that their loans were not repaid leading to huge losses. In many cases, they got real estate that was valued far below what mortgage was when borrowers had a note. Default of bonds income backed by mortgage loans was interrupted banks were left with unwanted real estate (Friedman, 2010). Securitization is pooling different types of contractual debt. TARP is a program formed by the government of US to buy assets and equity from institutions that offer financial services in order to strengthen the financial sector. TARP opened a window of opportunity for banks to pay their own debt and acquire other businesses instead of lend money to private sectors. The Federal Reserve injected funds into the credit markets in order to help them lend again. It also reduced the target federal funds rate. Major provisions in the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act include Office of Insurance which creates Federal Insurance Office that monitors aspects of the insurance industry and Consumer Protections that creates Consumer Financial Protection Agency which protects Americans from unfair financial products and services. 4. Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve                The Federal Reserve System refers to the central banking system of United States. Fed was launched in response to a series of financial panics. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta covers the states of Alabama, Georgia and Florida, 74 counties in Tennessee, 38 parishes of Louisiana, and 43 counties of Mississippi. William H. Rogers, Jr is the current Chairman of this Fed. This fed should remain politically independent because its rate is determined by market and is not explicitly determined by the Fed. The target for federal funds is adjusted by 0.25% or 0.50% at any given time. Fed give liquidity to banks to enable them gives credit in times of recession. Federal Open Market Committee is a committee in Federal Reserve System that is charged with the responsibility of overseeing the country’s open market operations. Fed should decrease their rates to help spur the economy of US. This is expansionary monetary policy (Axilrod, 2011). 5. Free Trade                I support free trade and the NAFTA. They are based on comparative advantage. Countries produce what they can export cheaply. US exports goods like corn and meat to Mexico. Some of goods imported into USA include snacks and processed fruits. However, despite the having the benefit of increasing growth and collaboration between countries, free trade has the cost of dumping goods into the country and destroying infant industries. Free trade should be restricted on some goods like natural resources. 6. Foreign Exchange                US dollar is currently losing value against the euro. This is because the European Union is finding solution to Euro crisis. Dollars are supplied by the Central Bank of USA. A dollar loses value when its demand goes down. For example, whenever US citizens buy products from Germany, the demand for Euro goes up against the Dollar. A falling US Dollar increases ones travel expenses. This is because has to use more dollars to buy a foreign currencies which are expensive. However, a cheap dollar is bad for the US economy because it discourages exportation. A free floating exchange rate refers to a monetary system whose exchange rates are free to move due to forces of the market without intervention by the government (Friedman, 2010). References Axilrod, S. H. (2011). Inside the Fed monetary policy and its management, Martin through Greenspan to Bernanke (Rev. ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. APA formatting by BibMe.org. Farmer, R. E. (2008). Aggregate demand and supply. Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research. Friedman, M., Heller, W. W. (2010). Monetary vs. fiscal policy. New York: Norton. Starr, R. M. (2011). General equilibrium theory: an introduction (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press. Source document

Examine and comment on Christian and Hindu beliefs about life after death Essay Example for Free

Examine and comment on Christian and Hindu beliefs about life after death Essay Death is the most fateful experience of each individuals life. Whether it is the end of ones life, or the beginning of a new life, no one knows. Death for the Hindu is merely transition, simultaneously an end to a new beginning. Death for the Christian is destined and is a time of judgement that is made from their former performances in life. These are very different views from two major world religions that both question the different events that may take place after ones death. The Christian faith believes that the body is resurrected at death and the soul of an individual is immortal and continues after death. The doctrines of the church teach Christians that after one dies, they will rise before God and be judged. They believe that Christians who have been faithful throughout their life by worshipping Christ and helping other who are less fortunate. A quotation from Matthew 25: 31-46, One day we shall be called to account for the way we have used our gifts, our opportunities and our energies. Above all, we shall be required for the way we have behaved in relation to the poor, needy and the marginalised, supports the belief of the Christian faith and continues to teach these beliefs to mankind. This judgement that is made by God determines whether a persons soul will spend eternity in heaven or hell. Based on Jesus teachings and other sources of revelation, Christians believe that heaven is a place of eternal life, extravagance and luxury, The best and sweetest flowers of Paradise God gives to his people when they are upon their knees. Prayer is the gate of heaven, a key to let us in to Paradise, There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (Revelation 21:4), these quotations show Christians believe that heaven is a place for those who have worshipped God and have followed the teachings of Jesus. The bible has portrayed heaven as the kingdom of heaven, where kingdom refers to a place of monarchy and sovereignty, where people will be reunited with God. However, Christians can not just enter heaven when they die, but will have to show that they are worthy of entering heaven, For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:17-20), this quotation alternatively states that a person who thinks of themselves as higher than God, will never enter heaven. The question that then arises is, where do the unworthy of entering heaven, go after death? The complete alternative of heaven is hell, where people who have carried out immoral acts, such as murder and rape which are forbidden according to the sacred doctrines of the bible, along with people who do not believe in God and have not followed the Christian faith will live eternally in the brutal conditions that hell facilitates, The sword which shall pierce them with the greatest sorrow will be the thought of having lost God, and of having lost Him through their own fault, this quotation gives us a small insight of what hell is portrayed as by Christians. St. Augustine says that in Hell, the damned will be forced to think of nothing but God and that will cause them terrible torment. Biblical quotations such as and shall cast them into a furnace of fire, there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:42) and In Matthew 25:41, Jesus says Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, show that Jesus talks about hell as being a place of fire and where souls are burnt and tortured for eternity. Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon which was titled Sinners in the hands of an Angry God. This contained a passage with a quotation There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery, stating that if a person enters hell, there is no turning back, and they will suffer in the fiery flames of hell. The bible also describes hell as an endless torture scene, with angels and Jesus present either as observers or as officials who are directing the torture of the victims in hell. However, there are two different concepts about the duration of the torture, Annihilationism and traditionalism. Annihilationism is the belief that unsaved individuals will be punished in hell for only a period of time that is appropriate to pay for the nature and frequency of their sins which they were alive on earth. Annihilationists also believe that when a persons punishment has finished, and they have paid the full penalty for their sins, they will be exterminated and their soul will cease to exist in any form. This mean that the soul will not be tortured for any longer, however, they will never enter the kingdom of heaven, which consequently means that at that point, their life has come to an end. In contrast, traditionalism is simply a belief that unsaved individuals will be punished in hell not only for a year, or a decade, but for eternity without any hope of relief, moderation or cessation of the pain. There are many passages and quotations that appear to describe punishment in hell as lasting forever such as the fire that burns them will never be put out (Isaiah 66:24) and And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt (Daniel 12.2). These quotations from the bible clearly support the view of traditionalism which shows that even though Gods wish is for all to be saved, the ones who are not will be punished forever. Although this is the view for many Christians, others including Skeptics, Humanists, Atheists, Agnostics generally believe that there is no afterlife and accept that after death, there is personal annihilation. Roman Catholic Christians also have alternative but similar views as they believe that in between heaven and hell, there is purgatory. This is where people who have sinned within their lifetime, but have not sinned to the extent that they must enter hell and be tortured for eternity, are punished for their bad deeds until all penalties have been paid. This enables them to be cleansed from sin and can potentially enter heaven where their soul will rest for eternity. Roman Catholics also believe that people who have family and friends to pray for them after they die will be released from purgatory sooner than those who dont. This is why many Roman Catholics have an overwhelming fear of death as they feel they will certainly suffer, whether it is in hell or purgatory. Pope John Paul issued a piece entitled Incarnationis Mysterium which suggests that Roman Catholics visit certain holy sites to try and reduce the amount of time they will have to spend suffering after death. In this, there is was an appendix called Conditions for Gaining the Jobilee Indulgence which suggested ways for Roman Catholics to attempt to reduce the amount of time spent suffering after they die by carrying out good deeds during their lifetime such as visiting the elderly who live along, the sick, the handicapped etc. Some Roman Catholics carry out these deeds, but the question that has to be asked is, is this being done from the goodness of their heart, or for the goodness of themselves? It is clear that different Christians have different views on life after death, but are similar and can be linked together in some sense, for example, annihilationism is vaguely similar to purgatory in the way that people who have sinned are not punished eternally. However, can this be said for the views on life after death for Christianity and Hinduism? Certainly not, as Hindus have a completely different perspective of afterlife. For Hindus, death is referred to as mahaprasthana which means great journey. Hindus believe in reincarnation, which is the cycle of death and rebirth after a while in spiritual spheres into a new physical body, this is where the soul, which is the true self, remains the same, while the vehicle of the soul to make the needed learning experience changes. Death means nothing else but the loss of a vehicle the soul was using during its many reincarnations, which is a physical body. Saint Tiruvalluvar wrote that death is like falling asleep, and birth is like awakening from that sleep, this quotation shows that no Hindu should really fear death, as an individual is not the body in which they live, but the immortal soul which inhabits many bodies in its evolutionary journey. Samsara is the term referred to by Hindus and means wandering. They believe that the soul wanders from body to body in one lifetime to another. The Bhagavad Gita, which is the holy text for Hindus, teaches that death should not be feared and there is no reason to grieve, For sure is the death of all that is born, sure is the birth of all that dies: so in a matter that no one can prevent, you have no cause to grieve (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 verse 27). This quotation states that all are born again so there is no point grieving over something that cannot be avoided. However, the reason why all living things are continually reborn is based on the Hindu belief in karma. Karma means action and the law of karma is the law of cause and effect. Hindus believe that the life they are living may not be the first one, and they may have been born many more times before that. The law of karma states that any good or bad deeds than have been carried out in ones life will give an impression and will be carried over to the next life, for example evil and selfish actions will consequently results in a life of suffering. Therefore, it is said to believe that everything has a cause and purpose, What a man becomes in his next life will depend upon his karma (Brihad-aranyaka Upunishad. IV. 4.verse 3). For a Hindu, this belief could provide a strong incentive to live a good, moral life so the fear of suffering in their next life is overcome. The law of karma can also explain the differences in circumstances and inequalities between people around the world. Although many Hindus aspire to a good rebirth, the ultimate goal of any Hindu is for the atman (soul) to escape Samsara altogether and this is known as Moksha. Moksha can be described as perfect peace and happiness, or as the soul losing itself in Brahman. Brahman means God and moksha is a spiritual state of existence in which there is a union with God, When all desires that rest in the heart are liberated shall a mortal man become immortal and attain Brahman, which shows that when all thoughts are put to rest and when the atman is truly identified as the equivalent of the reality of Brahman, an individual will be able to make moksha their goal and achieve it. Yoga may be considered as a way of exercise to keep the body healthy and fit where as the true meaning of yoga is unity and integration, and is the means, methods and discipline that will enable an individual to bring union with a personal God, Brahman. There are three recognised ways of doing this and they are karma yoga, bhakti yoga and jnana yoga. By carrying out these, and using them as a guideline, moksha can be gained. Hindus see their religion as a way of life and many Hindus apply themselves and live their lives wanting to act to the best of their potential in hope that when they die, they will be released from samsara and gain moksha. Christianity and Hinduism are two major religions that are followed worldwide. They also have very contradistinctive views on life after death. However, both Christians and Hindus turn to their religion to find answers for existence along with death. They also hold tenaciously to the beliefs taught by their particular denominations as a way of comfort. One thing that Christians and Hindus have in common is that they both portray religion as a way of life and use scholarly teachings to influence them on which rightful path to follow in life. Death has been questioned for a very long time and no one has been able to answer the question What happens after death?, which means no one really knows what events will take place after we die, where we will go or what will happen to us. Although we try and answer all of these questions with religious beliefs, until one experiences death, the question that has caused distress to people for over 2 millennia still remains, is there an afterlife?

The Temporary Guide Base Engineering Essay

The Temporary Guide Base Engineering Essay After the drilling units anchors have been deployed on the new location the first item lowered is the temporary guide base (the TGB). This serves as a foundation for all the other subsea equipment that will follow, and as an anchorage for the guideline cables on which that equipment will be run down to the sea-bed. The TGB is a circular, octagonal or square, flat, steel frame of about 100 square feet in area which has compartments in which ballast materials can be placed. The unit alone usually weighs about four tons, but it is heavily weighted with bags of cement, barite or other heavy materials before being lowered to the sea bed on the end of a string of drill pipe. A special tool for releasing the TGB when it is in position is fitted to the drill pipe string, and this connects with a slot in the steel guidebase frame. On the underside of the frame four spikes project to dig into the sea bed and firmly anchor the unit. Four wires are attached to the edges of the TGB, and when it has been landed these are tensioned up and used for guiding other items of equipment down to their locations above the TGB. There are also two smaller lines for running TV cameras down for monitoring operations from the doghouse on the drill floor. The guide line tensioners are large cylinders, installed in the cellar deck on the rig, that contain pistons which are positioned by air pressure. The amount of tension required on the guide lines is simply set by adjusting the air pressure. In the centre of the TGB frame is a wide circular aperture with a funnel shape projecting above it into which the bottom of another frame the permanent guide base will fit. The drill bit will commence drilling and all subsequent downhole operations will be conducted through this aperture. 3.0 THE PERMANENT GUIDE BASE The permanent guide base (PGB) is another heavy steel frame, about 3 tons in weight and square in shape, that has a wide central aperture and a tall post on each corner through which the four guidelines run. The PGB serves as a landing seat for the wellhead and as a guide for drilling tools and the blow-out preventer stack which is eventually located above the wellhead. The posts are used to locate the stack, which has arrangements to accept them within its own frame. The PGB is run down the guide lines to connect with the TGB, and there is a funnel-shaped projection around the aperture on its underside that inserts into the TGBs funnel-shaped top aperture and ensures an accurate fit. Beyond about 400 m water depth the guidewire system does not work too well so for deepwater a guideline less system using a capture funnel system is utilised. 4.0 THE WELLHEAD/CASING HANGAR SYSTEM The wellhead is a large, cylindrical device housing several internal fittings called casing hangars that are designed to suspend the required number and sizes of casing and tubing strings that will be used in the well. The wellhead/casing hangar locates through the holes in the two guide bases and fits into the top of the conductor casing after this has been run. It projects above the PGB, and is designed to connect with the BOP stack which is later run above it. The Subsea Wellhead is the main structural component which supports the loads generated during drilling operations and during production Operations. It is connected (welded) to the inner conductor (18  ¾) and is locked into the outer conductor, which itself is attached to the guide base. Over recent years two connection profiles have become the most frequently used. These are proprietary designs known as Vetco H-4 and the Cameron Clamp Hub profiles. Most UK drilling rigs are equipped with a single high pressure stack, though two stack systems were previously in use, to provide a low pressure connection at the 20 and high pressure for the 13 5/8 inch casing. The three main functions of a wellhead can be considered as :- To provide a location for suspension of casing strings. Each of the casing strings which run up through the well are physically suspended within the wellhead housing. Should the well be used for production, the production tubing is additionally supported and locked in position in the wellhead via the tubing hanger. To provide Sealing and Pressure Containment This sealing and containment takes place on two distinct areas, between the well and the environment and to provide isolation from between the casing and downhole structures. During drilling operations a Blow Out Preventer (BOP) is installed on the wellhead at the base of the Marine Drilling Riser. The BOP is mandatory and used to protect the rig and the environment at the seabed level in case of gas kick from the well, to avoid a Blow Out. Allows the installation of Flow Control Equipment Should the well be converted from an appraisal well into a future production (NORMAL CASE) or water injection well, the subsea Xmas Tree can be installed to provide flow control from the well or from the injection line or manifold. . For subsea wells, the wellhead is supported through the 30 inch housing/conductor which is cemented into the first/primary soil formation. The 30 inch housing then supports the internal wellhead housing with the subsequent internal casing strings, each one supported via a casing hanger at the wellhead with a seal mechanism. The 30 inch housing supports the permanent guidebase which forms the main guidance mechanism for equipment being deployed subsea to the wellhead, during drilling and completion operations. Four Guide Posts and guide lines are used down to 400m. For deeper waters guide lines are not practical and funnel down or up systems are deployed. The BOP stack and subsequently the Xmas Tree are connected to the wellhead by a hydraulically operated connector. The primary environmental loading on the wellhead occurs during the drilling phase, when a high varying bending moment is transmitted through the riser onto wellhead housing and then to the 30 inch housing/casing/formation through current, wave loads and drilling vessel movement. The wellhead housing is locked into the 30 inch wellhead and loads on the wellhead are transmitted into the 30 inch conductor. 6.0 OVERVIEW OF SUBSEA OPTIONS; SHALLOW AND DEEP WATERS The challenges to subsea production in the future are considerable, with solutions required to the economical extraction of oil and gas from ever deeper waters in remote locations. Deep water options are illustrated in Figures 19 A 19 B. There are a number of options currently open in the movement of oil and gas from well to shore, and there are some limitations. Availability of investment capital to achieve a profit from the expectation of sales of gas or oil in a depressed and volatile market. The adverse effects of hydrostatic pressure on sensitive subsea equipment. The limiting effects of hydrostatic pressure on the means of maintenance and intervention with subsea equipment. Mechanical limitations on the type of host. The limiting factors of distance between well and host. Surface climatic conditions affecting the host annual storm patterns, ice, etc. Subsea production equipment used to be much more expensive than land-based equipment, adapted for use on offshore platforms. This was by way of specification, manufacturing quality, complexity etc., as well as the requirements for specialist tools with which to run the equipment. Nowadays costs of subsea developments are very competitive to platform based systems. This is due to more than 15 years of operational experience, fabrication simplification, and competition coupled with the use of more simple functional specifications. An additional feature of subsea production systems is their designed ability to operate in deepwater (diver less) areas. The development of deepwater systems, the installation and operational support systems using ROVs has been a major set in recent years. In earlier years such diver less systems were more expensive that diver assisted systems, but the advances now make then very similar in cost. In fact diver less operations using ROVs can be more cost effective than the use of very costly divers (requiring all the life support systems and complex DSV). The purpose of subsea wellhead is To support BOP and seal with well casing during drilling à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To support and seal the subsea production tree à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To support and seal the well casing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To support and seal the production tubing hanger The three main functions of a wellhead can be considered as; i)To provide a location for suspension of casing strings; Each of the casing strings which run up through the well are physically suspended within the wellhead housing. Should the well be used for production or injection, the tubing is additionally supported and locked in position in the wellhead via the tubing hanger (T.H.) when conventional dual bore trees are used. (ii)To provide Sealing and Pressure Containment; This sealing and containment takes place on two distinct areas, between the well and the environment and to provide isolation from between the casing and the down hole completion structures. During drilling operations a Blow Out Preventor (BOP) is installed on the wellhead at the base of the Marine Drilling Riser. The BOP is mandatory and used to protect the rig and the environment at the seabed level in case of gas kick from the well, to avoid a Blow Out and the riser is mandatory to return the drilling fluids, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ to the rig. Refer to additional figures in Lecture L 5 B. (iii)Allows the installation of Flow Control Equipment; Should the well be converted from an appraisal well into a future production (NORMAL CASE) or water injection well (or gas injection well), the subsea Xmas Tree can be installed to provide production flow control from the well or into the well from the injection line or manifold. In these notes, the emphasis is on the subsea wells drilled from a semi submersible or a drill ship. In the southern North Sea and in water depths generally up to 100 m, jack-up rigs are also used. These provide a fixed platform from which to drill the wells and the well can be directly tied back into the rig. During drilling operations, a high pressure riser system connects the well with the jack-up and no subsea B O P system is necessary. For subsea wells, the wellhead is supported through the 30 housing / conductor which is cemented into the first / primary soil formation. The 30 housing then supports the internal wellhead housing with the subsequent internal casing strings. Each one is supported via a casing hanger at the wellhead and with a seal mechanism. The 30 housing supports the Permanent Guide Base which forms the main guidance mechanism for equipment being deployed subsea to the wellhead, during drilling, completion operations and work over operations. Four Guide Posts and guide lines are used down to 500m .For deeper waters, guide lines are not practical and other guidance systems are in use with exploration drilling now reaching -2800m. Refer to section 6. The BOP stack and subsequently the Xmas Tree are connected to the wellhead by an hydraulic operated collet connector. Over recent years two connection profiles have become the most frequently used. These are proprietary designs known as Vetco H-4 and the Cameron Clamp Hub profiles. Most UK drilling rigs are equipped with a single high pressure stack, though two stack systems were previously in use, to provide a low pressure connection at the 20 and high pressure for the 13 5/8 casings. A single connection of the BOP stack to the wellhead is the generally accepted method. The primary environmental loading on the wellhead occurs during the drilling phase, when a high varying bending moment is transmitted through the riser onto wellhead housing and then to the 30 housing/casing/formation through current, wave loads and drilling vessel movements. It is now common policy to run the two top joints of 1  ½ wall thickness joints of 30 to provide the resistance to the anticipated loads, when previously, only 1 casing was considered. The wellhead housing is locked into the 30 conductor and loads on the wellhead are transmitted into it. In addition to the drilling loads the wellhead may be subjected to impact and snagging loads associated with construction activities and accidental incidents such as fishing trawl board impacts and pull over forces. These loads are transmitted through the production tree into the wellhead connector and through into the 30 conductor. SUBSEA XMAS TREES FUNCTIONS; 7.1 General; The Xmas Tree is the primary flow control system for fluid flow from or into the well. The flows which can be considered include the following :- (a) Production, produced fluids from the oil/gas/condensate bearing formation pass-up through the well tubing and the Xmas Tree. (b) Injection, treated, inhibited seawater is pumped from the host facility into the well to provide pressure support for the reservoir. Gas injection/disposal excess gas is pumped into an adjacent reservoir for temporary storage or in limited cases, pressure maintenance. Oil production with Gas lift, gas is pumped from the host facility, through the annulus to subsurface injection points in the tubing. The inclusion of gas into the produced fluid reduces the column density to allow the reservoir pressure to flow the well. It is a flow boosting technique but with a low efficiency.

The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood :: essays research papers fc

James Fils-Aime The Handmaid’s Tale Fact or Fiction The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel in which Atwood creates a world which seems absurd and near impossible. Women being kept in slavery only to create babies, cult like religious control over the population, and the deportation of an entire race, these things all seem like fiction. However Atwood's novel is closer to fact than fiction; all the events which take place in the story have a base in the real world as well as a historical precedent. Atwood establishes the world of Gilead on historical events as well as the social and political trends which were taking place during her life time in the 1980's. Atwood shows her audience through political and historical reference that Gilead was and is closer than most people realize. Atwood closely scrutinizes Colonial America, back in the 1700's it was a society founded on religion and ran as a theocratic order. Puritans who had just fled Europe for religions freedom settled in the Americas where they could run their society in the way they saw fit. Especially in New England, religious freedom was not allowed, and people were punished by the courts for failing to uphold the common religions requirements. Those who were not of a specific type of Christianity were considered heathens. Men who controlled the society enforced rules on others based on their interpretations of the bible. They believed that "as God's elect, had the duty to direct national affairs according to God's will as revealed in the Bible." (3) Later on puritanical control faded but in the South there was the enslavement and resulting racism toward blacks. Again so called male leaders of society promote injustice and oppression in order to benefit themselves. Atwood also uses her novel to comment briefly on the issues of race, those not of a specific type of Christianity or skin color were sent away to the colonies, or killed. The "children of Ham", which in the bible represent the descendants of the black race, are relocated outside of Gilead. Even the location in which she places Gilead is reminiscent of early American for Boston, Massachusetts was a puritan center. The world of Gilead which Atwood is a society controlled by power hungry men who use religion as a means of control. Atwood also references the oppression of Jew's during the holocaust in her novel. Under Hitler's rule 6 million Jews were killed, and many more sent to concentration camps where they were mistreated by their captors.

Analysis on the novel The Hours :: essays research papers

QUESTIONS ON THE FILM â€Å"THE HOURS† 1) â€Å"The Hours†, based on the novel written by Michael Cunningham, is more than a biographical movie about Virginia Woolf. How can you discribe the importance and co- relation between the three female main characters: Virginia, Laura Brown and Clarissa Vaughan? The novel is essentially about women. Women from different periods, of different ages, and oddly the same in various aspects. We get to know women that apparently lead perfect lives, considering the external aspect, and all of them come to a moment in their lives when they stumble upon the superficiality of their days and face their disturbed inner selves. The fates of the three characters cross because of the fact that Laura is reading exactly the book Virginia wrote, while Clarissa Vaughan appears to be a kind of living breathing Clarissa Dalloway. 2) It is known that the movie tells a lot about the feminine universe in its various aspects. How were men inserted in this universe? What feelings could they represent in the movie? Men were shown as elements that were on the verge of the story, but, at the same time, they were essential to the development of the plot, as well as remarkable influences to the states the women are in in the movie. That is, though their presence in the lives of the three characters is of great importance for us to understand what they’re going through, they always seem to be kind of unaware of what great tempests are occurring in the women’s heads. 3) Relationship between women is also largely explored in the movie, as well as in the writings of Virginia Woolf. Considering that the movie is based on a literary book and is full of metaphors, what could the three kisses highlighted in the film mean, beyond the images shown (the kisses between female characters)? As the film tells a lot about the feminine universe, the fact that they highlighted these three specific kisses between the main characters could be an attempt to show another way through which different feminine universes can interact, and they didn’t necessarily mean â€Å"sexual involvement†. The first kiss, for instance, between Laura and Kitty, could be easily taken as a statement that the former â€Å"was in love† with her female friend. That could really be the case, but the metaphorical nature of the movie can also provide us with other interpretations when we’re willing to dig deeper.

Acorn Industries Essay

It is the rare corporation that can recognizes the need to integrate its resources, policies, people, assets and procedures with changing business strategies. Rarer still is the organization that acts on this need. Yet, in today’s competitive global market, an integrated strategy is increasingly necessary. Given the speed with which change occurs in the global business environment, standard planning techniques and asset allocation methods have become woefully outdated. Indeed, achieving new levels of business sophistication is a never-ending process, requiring Acorn to rapidly a strategic organizational transformation to meet changing conditions. To effectively accomplish this transformation the company needs a system that provides continuous evaluation and improvement, ensuring effective use of both business (hard) and organizational (soft) assets. In particular, what is required is a balance and alignment between customer, organizational and business investment. In today’s market, organizations not taking such an approach run the serious risk of failing to meet the expectations of shareholders. The case of Acorn Industries highlights the lack of strong leadership, the need for a transformation in its organizational structure, the need for a balance scorecard system, the need for a programme manager and the effective operation and utilization of such a structure. Among the distinguishing characteristics of companies achieving sustainable shareholder value is that the management in these organizations constantly evaluates the key operational drivers of the business and, in response to changes in the business environment, strategically transforms the company’s resources among those drivers, whether they are in marketing and sales or in some area of production. This process must occur every time the business changes marketing strategies, experiences a merger, acquisition or spin off,  or moves to a new level of sophistication and globalization maturity. The result is a company experiencing an ongoing process of active, bottom line-oriented self-assessment and growth. When a company’s organizational and business assets are in alignment, adjustments occur naturally. For this alignment to occur, however, the business must measure its organizational and business assets differently than it did at previous levels of maturity. It also m ust be able to transform organizational assets rapidly to meet changing conditions. PROBLEMS AND CAUSES Many new projects implemented within organizations either partially or fully fail because the intervention does not adequately address the enabling environment within which the organization operates (UNDP, 1993). For example, Acorn tried to keep the commercial and government contracts separate. They were also managed as separate entities based on marketing and the resources from the functional departments. Any effort to diagnose and improve the performance of this organization requires an understanding of the forces inside and outside the organization that can facilitate or inhibit that performance (Savedoff, 1998). Enabling environments support effective and efficient organizations and individuals, and creating such environments is becoming an increasingly important aspect of developing this organization towards one that can operate on a programme organizational structure. The organizations natural resources, human resources, financial resources, infrastructure and technology together form what is call â€Å"capabilities.† They combine with rules and institutional ethos to create an enabling or inhibiting environment for organization’s growth and development. This point illustrates the overriding influence of rules and, as noted earlier, the interdependence of the various components of an enabling environment. Acorn embarked on launching ambitious programs to develop capabilities but neglected the importance of conducting a thorough institutional analysis. It involves mapping the institutional environment in terms of politics,  administrative capacity, culture, leadership, organizational structures, etc. in a manner that includes all stakeholders and measures their level of ownership and commitment to reform. Acorn had numerous projects underway with no formal project management process in place to effectively manage successful outcomes. They have not embraced programme management as the discipline to hold people accountable and execute the implementation of strategic change initiatives. Acorn had failed at the process to effectively manage all their projects. Projects emanate from the strategic plan, therefore to increase project success at the strategic level a process must be established to select and monitor projects and ensure projects and resources are in alignment with the strategic plan. For success to occur, synergy is required from all project participants at all levels. RECOMMENDATIONS Strategic leadership is associated with the organization’s vision, as well as with the ideas and actions that make the organization unique. It is the process of setting clear organizational goals and directing the efforts of staff and other stakeholders toward fulfilling organizational objectives (Mintzberg and Quinn, 1995). In essence, therefore, strategic leadership has to do with the organization’s ability to influence its internal and external stakeholders so that they will support organizational directions. Strategic leadership needs to empower its members to create the changes that are necessary for an organization to perform and survive (Byrd, 1987). It goes beyond simple planning, in that it creates ways of clarifying and obtaining organizational goals by looking within and outside the organization. It sets the stage for organizational action and the methodologies the organization will use to produce the results required. Thus, an organization’s strategic leadership involves developing ways of inspiring organizational members and stakeholders to perform in ways that attain the mission, while adapting to or buffering external forces. Strategic leadership consists of three main dimensions: leadership, strategic  planning and niche management: LEADERSHIP _Leadership is basically the process through which leaders influence the attitudes, behaviors and values of others towards organizational goals_ (Vecchio, 1995). Indeed, no one can deny its critical importance to the success of any organization, no matter where the organization is located or what it does. Salopek (1998) outlines four fundamental qualities of leadership, each of which has several specialized and associated competencies. These qualities relate to the ability to become and act as the following: Collaborators skilled at facilitating, coaching and fostering dialogue; Innovators skilled at visioning, championing and diffusing; Integrators skilled at organizing, improving and bridging; Producers skilled at targeting, improving and measuring. The need for leadership qualities is not restricted to executive senior managers, but extends to workers at all levels of the organization. Leadership exists at many places inside the organization, both formally and informally. Formal leadership, exercised by those appointed or elected to positions of authority, entails activities such as setting direction, providing symbols of the mission, ensuring that tasks are done, supporting resource development, and modeling the importance of clients. _STRATEGIC PLANNING_ Strategic planning entails formulating and implementing activities that lead to long-term organizational success. It is essentially a decision-making process that involves a search for answers to simple but critical and fundamental questions: What is the organization doing? How is it doing what  it does? Where should it be going in the future? What should it be doing now to get there? Strategic planning encompasses issues spanning the entire spectrum of the organization, from introspective questions of what the organization’s personality is or ought to be, to strategic operational issues connecting the focus on the future with work to do to move the organization forward. The strategic plan itself is a written document; setting out the specific goals, priorities and tactics the organization intends to employ to ensure good performance (Kaplan and Norton, 1996). Thus, strategic planning must typically include a scan of opportunities, threats and constraints presented by the environment. This means that the organization must repeatedly ask itself what potential or pending actions are likely to influence (positively or negatively) what it does and plans to do? How can the organization forestall or mitigate the negative influences, as well as take advantage of the potential opportunities? Another strategic issue for the survival of an organization is the acquisition of resources in the vital areas of funding, technology, infrastructure and personnel. Strategic planning must adequately pursue these resources by anticipating and capitalizing on opportunities in the external environment that might yield or support them. It also means predicting threats to organizational resources and intervening (politically, in general) to ensure that organizational performance and survival are safeguarded (Korey, 1995). This level of leadership and intervention generally transpires between the senior executive of the organization and the organization’s directors. Resource acquisition entails constantly being on the lookout to create opportunities that will augment the organization’s resources. For strategies to become operational, they need to be communicated, processed and revised according to feedback from stakeholders, both internal and external. All members of the organization need to work toward making the strategic plan a reality, from senior management down to the most junior worker (Mintzberg  and Quinn, 1995). ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE The ability of an organization to structure and restructure itself to adapt to changing internal and external conditions is important for maximizing organizational performance. Unlike other capacities, the structuring and transformation of an organization does not formally occur on a constant basis; however, adaptations of structure are always occurring. Organizational structure is defined as the ability of an organization to divide labor and assign roles and responsibilities to individuals and groups in the organization, as well as the process by which the organization attempts to coordinate its labor and groups. It is also concerned with the relative relationships between the divisions of labor: Who has authority over whom? How and why should an organization divide labour individually and by grouping people? How should organizations coordinate their work to maximize the benefits of the divisions of labour? What do people look for to indicate that problems are structural in nature rather than some other type of problem, such as one of leadership? OPERATING STRUCTURE The operating structure of an organization is the system of working relationships arrived at to divide and coordinate the tasks of people and groups working toward a common purpose. Most people visualize an organization’s structure in terms of the familiar organizational chart. The task of creating appropriate and manageable work units or departments has challenged managers and students of organizational development for decades. In looking at structure, we are interested in the extent to which  individuals, departments or other groupings understand their roles in the organization; whether they have the authority to carry out their roles; and whether they are accountable for their work. Structure also includes coordination issues (Mintzberg and Quinn, 1995). Coordination is the process of linking specialized activities of individuals or groups so they can and will work toward common ends. The coordination process helps people to work in harmony by providing systems and mechanisms for understanding and communicating about their activities. In organizations where innovation and productivity is key, interdisciplinary project teams are a competitive advantage. Entire networks are formed where the best minds collectively tackle difficult projects, with each contributor bringing his or her special perspective and expertise. The ease with which the programme office facilitates interdisciplinary approaches to projects is an indicator of organizational health. Many variables influence organizational structure, including history, size, technology, organizational goals, strategy, governance, funding and other pressures from the external environment, the specific fields of research, and technology. HUMAN RESOURCES The human resources of any organization are its most valuable assets. In the view of many top-level executives, employees are the key source of an organization’s competitive advantage (Brown and Kraft, 1998; Chilton, 1994). Critically important to effective human resource management is to develop and instill core values throughout the organization (Down, Mardis, Connolly and Johnson, 1997). These values include integrity and honesty, commitment to the organizational mission, accountability for and pride in one’s work, commitment to excellence, and building trust. They form the basis for developing cohesiveness and teamwork, as well as for developing policies, procedures and programs that focus on meeting the needs of customers or clients. In the case of Acorn Industries, human resources management functions is  charged with planning and controlling human resources to make sure that people’s needs are met so they can work to achieve organizational goals. Commitment to meeting employees’ needs is not merely an altruistic function-it is highly likely that staff who are reasonably comfortable with working conditions, and stimulated by the environment, will be productive (Miron, Leichtman and Atkins, 1993). From an organizational perspective, control over human resources is critical to hold managers accountable for organizational performance. Nevertheless, progress in this area has been slow. HUMAN RESOURCES PLANNING Human resources planning involve forecasting the human resources needs of the organization, and planning the steps necessary to meet these needs. This planning is the first step in any effective human resources management function. Human resources planning should be closely linked to the organization’s strategic objectives and mission. Even in regions of the world with a plentiful, well-educated workforce, such planning is a challenge because the needs of the organization are constantly changing and sometimes do not converge (Cockerill, Hunt and Schroder, 1995). The challenge is even greater if the pool of people from which the organization recruits is limited by such factors as brain drain, or because labor market wages in the private sector are more attractive (Colvard, 1994). Forecasting in these environments is quite difficult. PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT According to Booth (1998), the term â€Å"programme management† is used mainly by two groups of professionals in ways that are consistent. The first group, those involved with information systems, employs the term to describe the management of _big projects, especially system implementations._ The second group, corporate strategists, uses it to mean the _practical task of translating grand strategies into operational reality._ In many organizations, individual managers typically pursue their own  projects and cite their own successes. In fact, the link between their efforts and organizational performance is generally quite obscure. By coordinating and linking the cascade of corporate goals reflected in diverse projects into specific sets of common-goal actions, program management helps to avoid this problem. Programme management is regarded as â€Å"an additional layer of management sitting above the projects and ensuring that they remain pertinent to the wider organization† (Booth, 1998). In the context of funded organizations in developing countries, organizations often receive financing from different donors or funding agencies for different projects that are not necessarily congruent with organizational goals. In such a situation, there is a clear need for programme management to align different projects with wider organizational goals and coordinate them into common-goal actions. PROGRAMME PLANNING Programme planning ranges from working out what to do on a day-by-day basis to long-term strategic planning. It should be happening constantly within a project and program. Programme planning must take into account what an organization has to do to create its goods and services, as well as the resources it needs to do so. Program planning requires thinking ahead and, as such, involves several concurrent questions. Whom are we serving? What demand are we supplying and at what cost? What are our objectives? What must be done to meet these objectives? Who will do this? How will they do it? How long will it take? How much will it cost? How will we know whether we have met our objectives? Programme planning has many levels and is time bound, so it can be short, medium or long term. However, when conducting an assessment, the extent to which the organization’s plans are well communicated and used as management tools must be determined. This will require written plans. PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION The major task of the leaders of an organization is to put the organization’s program into practice. It is all well and good to have a great plan-making  it work is the hard part. Programme implementation requires organization and having staff that can put their skills to work. It requires integration of the management skills needed to allocate resources and the technical skills needed to do what has to be done (for example, to do several projects con-currently and with the sharing of resources). Programme implementation is the stage at which an organization integrates all its resources to concretely achieve its goals. PROGRAMME MONITORING AND EVALUATION Sound project monitoring and evaluation need to be built into projects during their planning stage and carried out throughout the project (IDB, 1997). For example, an assessment of the volubility of a programme or project ensures that it contains the basic elements required to monitor results and ultimately determine whether development objectives are being met. The planning section should have an increasing array of tools that help project planners develop quality projects. The logical framework can be incorporated into a project both for use as a planning tool but also to provide indicators for monitoring and evaluation (IDB, 1997). Similarly, outcome mapping (Earl, Carden and Smutylo, 2001) is used as a tool to support better planning, monitoring and evaluation. PROCESS MANAGEMENT Functional managers with many organizations today view their business as a series of functional silos concerned with their own requirements (Dent and Hughes, 1998). This perspective is particularly pervasive among managers accustomed to being rewarded for optimizing the performance of their functions relative to the rest of the organization. Although managers talk about â€Å"big picture† processes, their efforts are often focused inwardly on their own requirements and are measured accordingly. In such situations, there is an obvious need for common systems and operations that apply uniformly throughout the organization and, like a thread, sew the various functional parts together into a common purpose. There is also a need for compatible strategies to optimize organizational performance. In other words, process management is required. Taking a vision and making it a reality through smooth-flowing daily work in an organization is largely dependent on ongoing â€Å"processes.† These are the internal value-adding management systems and operations that cut across functional and departmental boundaries. They are the mechanisms that guide interactions among all groups of people in an organization to ensure that ongoing work is accomplished rather than hindered or blocked. Thus, _process management is the task of aligning and integrating the various practices and cultures of different segments of an organization through the introduction of common systems and operations that apply uniformly to all segments of the organization_. These common operations or processes include problem-solving, planning, decision-making, communication, and monitoring and evaluation. If the processes are all working, the outcome is that the organization is learning and accomplishing a great deal. Process management takes place at every level of an organization, from the board of directors to the line worker. The board and senior managers must know how to problem-solve, plan and make timely decisions. If they are deficient in these areas, organizational direction is often hampered. As with the case of Acorn Industries, programme units, departments and other functional segments of the organization must plan and set short- and medium-term goals, as well as solve problems, make decisions and generate strategies to carry out appropriate activities to achieve results. VISION AND MISSION The vision and the mission of an organization emerge from important social, economic, spiritual and political values. They are meant to inspire and promote organizational loyalty. Vision and mission are those parts of an organization that appeal to the heart; that is, they represent the organization’s emotional appeal. They motivate people and draw upon staff  and stakeholders’ hopes and aspirations. In this sense, the vision and mission of an organization provide inspirational motivation. Clarifying the vision and mission are important in private organizations. Private sector organizations often identify the importance of serving their customers, and have created visions and missions to support this theme. At issue for many organizations is not only to write but to then live the statements. When vision and mission statements are not lived up to, the result is not to enhance motivation but to foster cynicism. Assessing an organization’s motivation primarily involves looking at its mission, since this is more closely linked to what the organization wants to do. However, in examining the mission, the link to the larger vision, as well as more operational components, must also be assessed. DEFINITION _An organization’s vision defines the kind of a world to which it wants to contribute._ Visions lie beyond the scope of any one organization. They represent the hopes and dreams of organizational members. The vision describes the changes in the prevailing economic, political, social or environmental situation that the programme hopes to bring about. Missions, on the other hand, are a step in bringing about the operational aspects into the vision, an organization’s raison d’à ªtre. _The mission is an expression of how people see the organization operating._ In this context, the mission lays a foundation for future action (Bart, 1997) and guides the organization’s choice of strategies and activities. Some of the main reasons for an organization to have a vision and mission expressed in clear statements are to: Promote clarity of purpose Function as a foundation for making decisions Gain commitment for goals Foster understanding and support for its goals. Whereas the vision locates the organization within a cluster of organizations, it is the mission that answers the questions: Why does this organization exist? Whom does it serve? By what means does it serve them? Those responsible for the performance of an organization increasingly recognize the benefits of clearly and simply communicating the direction in which their organization is going. Such descriptions of the organization’s future, whom it serves, what it values, and how it defines success can have a powerful impact on the organization’s personality. ASSESSING THE MISSION Those seeking to diagnose and analyze the mission of an organization often find themselves dealing with multiple realities-those that are written down, and those that are perceived by organization members. One task in an organizational assessment is to determine the degree to which the formal mission statement is understood and internalized by members and stakeholders of the organization; that is, measure the congruence of the perceived and stated missions. CULTURE While the mission statement formally articulates organizational purpose, it is the organization’s culture that gives life to the organization and helps make the realization of its mission possible. The concept of organizational culture has been the focus of much attention, with analysts associating it with superior corporate performance (Peters and Waterman, 1988), increased productivity (Ouchi, 1981), improved morale, and high rates of return on investment. _Organizational culture is the collectively accepted meaning that manifests itself in the formal and informal rules of an organization or a sub-group._ The culture embodies the collective symbols, myths, visions and heroes of the organization’s past and present. For instance, culture finds expression in the collective pride (and even embellishment) of the accomplishments of individuals. Values important to the organization are illustrated through stories about past successes and failures; these form a living history that guides managers and drives members’ behavior. DIMENSIONS Diagnosing organizational culture helps you understand the relative levels of consistency or inconsistency of â€Å"meaning† that exist in an organization. In some ways, culture is like an iceberg; it has both seen and unseen aspects. From an anthropological perspective, culture has material and non-material dimensions. Culture has both physical artifacts-mission statements, policy guides-as well as basic beliefs that direct the thinking, feelings, perceptions and behaviors of the people in the culture. To know why some people are in trouble, are rejected or punished, or are not appreciated by an organization, you need to know the belief system and norms that underlie the organization’s behavior. In this context, four dimensions of organizational culture can be identified: artifacts, perspectives, values, and assumptions (Bloor and Dawson, 1994). _Artifacts_ are the most tangible aspects of an organization’s culture. These are the physical aspects of an organization: the type of office, the logo, dress, rituals (Christmas parties), stories, language and so forth. Artifacts are the physical manifestations of the organization’s culture. _Perspectives_ are the ideas that people hold and use to act appropriately. For example, a perspective includes how the organization handles customer complaints or, for that matter, employee complaints. In some organizations, people go to great lengths to help customers obtain the products and services they say they need. In other organizations, customers are ignored. _Values_ relate to the ideals held by the organization, including concepts of standards, honesty, quality and integrity. Underlying or basic _assumptions_ are â€Å"the taken for granted† beliefs of an organization. This refers to what members of the organization feel is appropriate behavior for themselves and others. Since assumptions are considered a given, they are rarely if ever questioned. The set of tacit assumptions helps form the uniqueness of the organizational culture (Denison, 1996). BALANCE SCORECARDS Balanced Scorecard is a popular tool for implementation of strategy (Kaplan and Norton 1996a). As the founders of the concept, they promote the concept primarily as a tool that can provide aid in the implementation of strategy. They argue that the main causes of poor strategy implementation are: Visions and strategies are not actionable Strategies are not linked to departmental team and individual goals Strategy not linked to resource allocation Feedback that is tactical and not strategic The name BSC reflects the need for a balance between short and long time horizon for goals, between financial and non-financial measure parameter, between lag and lead indicators and between internal and external perspectives (Kaplan and Norton 1996a). The author argues that _†what you measure is what you get†_ The measurements have a running effect. In order to accomplish a strategic effect, the organization must measure what is strategically important. This can be achieved in the Balanced Scorecard concept. Hence, the concept is not a control tool, but rather a strategic tool to help managers look ahead. In addition, the BSC shows how the results are achieved not only that they are achieved. With the four dimensions; the financial perspective, the internal business perspective, the customer perspective and the innovation and learning perspective, BSC combines a  number of flows that are going on in the organization. By understanding the organisation in this context, t he manager can learn what connections exist between the different perspectives. The common picture of the four dimensions is one of the contributions of the BSC concept. _ARCHITECTURE OF BSC_ Kaplan and Norton (2001a) describes the building of a BSC as a process to define a set of near term objectives and activities, the drivers that will differentiate a company from its competitors and create a long term customer and shareholder value, the outcomes. The process begins in a top down fashion, clearly defining strategy from the perspective of the shareholders and the customer. In other words, the scorecard is supposed to define the short term goals and activities. These are the strategic drivers that are supposed to differentiate the organization from the competitors and create long term value for the customers and the owners. The financial goals for growth and productivity are the most important. Causes of growth are to be defined. When the financial goals are defined, we must ask the question _†Who are the target customers that will generate revenue growth_ _and more profitable products and services? What are their objectives and how_ _do we measure success with them?†_ The customer perspective should also include a value proposition that defines how the company differentiates itself to attract retain and deepen relationship with targeted customers. The defined measurements in the customer and financial perspectives should not describe explicit how this should be achieved internally. It is the internal processes, like product, design, marketing development, sale, service, production that are about to define the necessary activities to achieve the goals in the customer and financial perspectives. The fourth perspective, learning and growth, should put pressure to execute internal business processes in new and differentiated way, based on the organizations infrastructure; the skills, capabilities and knowledge of employees; the technology they use and the climate in which they work, in other words what Kaplan and Norton (2001a) refers to as the learning and growth factors. _IMPLEMENTATION OF BSC_ Kaplan and Norton suggest implementing the BSC to overcome the strategy implementation problems: Visions and strategies are not actionable, strategies are not linked to resource allocation, and feedback is tactical and not strategically. However, when studying Balanced Scorecard, there is no common theory or model for implementation. Some use more perspectives than Kaplan & Norton’s initial four, others not. For example, some have added a human focus or an environmental focus. Kaplan and Norton do not include the human focus as they believe the human is contained in all of their focus areas. This might be a result from the stepwise development of the BSC. The first concrete model for building a BSC is presented by Kaplan and Norton (1993) where they use a system model in eight steps to create a BSC that should link the measurements to the strategy. In the article _†Using the BSC as a strategic management system†_ by Kaplan and Norton (1996b), the development of BSC is extended from the eight step to a ten step model. According to the authors, after the tenth step, BSC has been included in the routine part of the strategic management system. The communication within the organization follows the different units in the business plan and lies in line with BSC. Through follow up of BSC, learning in the organization is enabled through performance and deviation assessments. However, Kaplan & Norton (1996a) mean that this might not be as easy as it looks. This is probably an understatement. They show failures in several cases with structural and organizational problems. The step wise development by Kaplan and Norton is also influenced by other research findings. This also applies to the implementation of BSC system. Kaplan and Norton start out with an implementing model in eight steps, while the Kaplan and Norton 1996b article present another 10 step model. For all models, a common theory for building and implementing BSC is missing. Despite this observation, Kaplan and Norton have developed principles for  how to become a successful strategy focused organization. However, these principles do not tell _how_, but rather _what_ matters to implement strategy successfully. In the article by Kaplan and Norton (2001c) the authors show how organizations use their scorecard to align key management processes and systems to the strategy. Although each organization achieved strategic alignment and focus in different ways at different paces and in different sequences, each eventually use a common set of principles to become what Kaplan and Norton refer to as the principles of strategy focused organization. The five principles are: 1. Translate the strategy to operational terms 2. Align the organization to the strategy 3. Make strategy everyone’s everyday job 4. Make strategy a continual process 5. Mobilize leadership for change When Kaplan and Norton (2001c, 2001a) talks about the first principle _†TRANSLATE THE STRATEGY INTO OPERATIONAL TERMS†_ they mean that the scorecard creates a common and understandable frame of reference for all organization units and employees through the translation of strategy into a logical architecture of a strategy map and the Balanced Scorecard to specify the details of the critical elements for their growth strategies. The second principle _†ALIGN THE ORGANISATION TO THE STRATEGY†_ (Kaplan and Norton, 2001c, 2001a) relates to the organizational performance to become more than the sum of its parts. It must be linked and integrated. The Balanced Scorecard defines what is expected to create synergy and ensure that linkage actually occurs. This will prevent the strategies of different units to go in opposite directions. As many organizations have difficulties  communicating and coordinating across the different functions, suboptimal behaviours may become a major barrier in strategy implementation. The third _principle_ _†MAKE STRATEGY EVERYONE’S EVERYDAY JOB†_ means that the BSC should be used to communicate and educate the organization about the strategy. Scepticism towards unlimited communication to the entire organization risking leakage of valuable information to competitors is answered: â€Å"_Knowing the strategy will do little good unless they execute it. On_ _the other hand we have no chance to execute it if people don’t know about it†._ This is also in line with Kotter (1996) who argues that real power first occur when those involved in the enterprise or activity have a common understanding of goals and directions. The author argues that it is not a top down direction, but rather a top down communication. When Kaplan and Norton (2001a, 2001c) talks about â€Å"_MAKE STRATEGY A CONTINUAL PROCESS†_ they claim that the BSC introduce a new â€Å"double loop process† to manage strategy. The process integrates the management of tactics with the management of strategy using three important processes. First, organizations link strategy to the budget process where they use BSC as a screen to evaluate potential investments and initiatives. Just as the BSC attempts to protect long term objectives from short term sub optimization, the budget process must protect long term initiatives from the pressures to deliver short term financial performance. The second step is to make strategy a continual process by introducing a simple management meeting to review strategy. Information feedback systems are changed to support the new management meetings. Finally, a process for learning and the strategy evolves. The initial BSC represent a hypothesis about the strategy. At the time of formulatio n, it is the best estimate of the action expected to create long term financial success. The design process of the scorecard establishes the cause and effect linkages of the strategic hypothesis explicit. As the scorecard puts it to action and the feedback system start reporting actual results, an organization can test the hypothesis of its strategy. In the fifth principle _†MOBILIZE LEADERSHIP FOR CHANGE†_ also named  _†mobilize_ _change through leadership†_ (Kaplan and Norton 2001a); the authors claim that the first four principles focus on the BSC tool, the framework and the process to support it. They also argue that active involvement of the executive is the single most important condition. If the top management are not active leaders of the process – change will not occur, strategy is not implemented and the opportunity for breakthrough performance is lost. Over time, a new management system will evolve; this is a strategic management system that institutionalizes the new cultural values and processes into a new system for management. This is also in line with Kotter (1996) where he describes how transformational change occurs. By linking traditional processes such as compensation and resource allocation to a BSC that describes the strategy, they create a _strategic management system_. Furthermore, the author claims that the strategy must be a continual process that reflects shifts in opportunities and threats. Here, it is important that the integration of the new strategy into the organization does not create a barrier to future progress. CONCLUSION The relationship between organization and innovation is complex, dynamic and multilevel. The existing literature is voluminous and diverse. For Acorn to be a successful organization, I looked at the aspects of organizational structures, human resources, programme management, process management, their vision and mission, the organizational culture and balance scorecards. These are the potential different aspects of the relationships that form the coherent conceptual framework for understanding the phenomenon of ‘organizational innovation’. Executive Management needs to engage organizational functions in programme execution to obtain information evaluate progress and learn from failures regarding strategic change initiatives. If they don’t, they, like most projects, will fail. Committed leadership is required to provide the right environment for people to succeed when implementing change initiatives.  Projects are essential to the growth and survival of their entities because, when executed successfully, they help deal with changes in the environment, fiscal conditions and citizens’ needs. Directors must be held accountable for managing change and the best way to manage change is to employ a project management methodology that enables the Department to manage strategic project initiatives as a portfolio of budget investments and prioritize them in accordance with their importance to the Department strategy. Acorn Industries needs to focus on making change happen to improve their organizations performance!! Programme management is their ticket to that success. It will enable them to get on the road to quicker implementation of strategic initiatives and keep Acorn Industries moving forward. Organizations that want to be successful need to establish an integrated programme management process in order to execute strategic initiatives and enhance the organizational and individual’s project management capability. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bart, C. 1997. Sex, Lies and Mission Statements. _Business Horizons_ (November/ December): 9-18. Bloor, G., and P. Dawson. 1994. Understanding Professional Culture in Organizational Context. _Organization Studies_ 15(2): 275-95. Booth, R. 1996. Accountants Do It by Proxy. _Management Accounting-London_ 74(5): 48. 1998. Program Management: Measures for Program Action. _Management Accounting-London_ 76(7): 26-28. Brown, S. J., and R.J. Kraft. 1998. A Strategy for the Emerging HR Role. _Human Resources Professional_ 11(2): 28-32. Brudney, J., and S. Condrey. 1993. Pay for Performance: Explaining the Differences in Managerial Motivation. _Public Productivity and Management Review_ 17(2): 129-44. Byrd, R. E. 1987. Corporate Leadership Skills: A Synthesis. _Organizational Dynamics_ 16(1): 34-43. Cockerill, T., J. Hunt, and H. Schroder. 1995. Managerial Competencies: Fact or Fiction? _Business Strategy Review_ 6: 1-12. Colvard, J. E. 1994. In Defense of Middle Management. _Government Executive_ 26(5): 57-58. Denison, D. 1996. What Is the Difference between Organizational Culture and Organizational Climate? _Academy of Management Review_ 21(3): 619-54. Down, J. W., W. Mardis, T.R. Connolly, and S. Johnson. 1997. A Strategic Model Emerges. _HR Focus_ 74(6): 22-23. Earl, S., F. Carden, and T. Smutylo. 2001. _Outcome Mapping: Building Learning and Reflection into Development Programs_. Ottawa: International Development Research Centre. Inter-American Development Bank.1997. _Evaluation: A Management Tool for Improving Project Performance._ IDB, Washington, D.C. Kaplan, R.S. Norton, D.P. (2001 b) â€Å"_Transforming Balanced Scorecard from performance measurements to strategic management:_ Part 1†, Accounting Horizons, Mar, Vol 15, Issue 1, pp 87-105. Kaplan, R.S. Norton, D.P. (2001 c) â€Å"_Transforming Balanced Scorecard from performance measurements to strategic management:_ Part 2†, Accounting Horizons, Jun, Vol 15, Issue 2, pp 147-161 Kaplan, R. S., and D.P. Norton. 1996. Using the Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management System. _Harvard Business Review_ 74(1): 75-85. Korey, G. 1995. TDM Grid: An Effective Tool for Implementing Strategic Plans in Academic Institutions. _Management Decision_ 33(2): 40-47. Mintzberg, H., and J.B. Quinn. 1995. _The Strategy Process: Concepts, Context and Cases._ New York: Prentice Hall. Miron, D., S. Leichtman, and A. Atkins. 1993. Reengineering Human Resource Processes. _Human Resources Professional_ 6(1): 19-23. Ouchi, W. 1981. Theory Z: _How American Business Can Meet the Japanese Challenge._ Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Peters, T. J., and R.H.J. Waterman. 1982. _In Search of Excellence._ New York: Warner Books. 1988. _In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best Run Companies._ New York: Warner Books. Salopek, J. 1998. The New Managerial Mentor: Becoming a Learning Leader to Build Communities of Purpose. _Training and Development_ 52(12): 61. Savedoff, W. D. (ed.). 1998. _Organization Matters: Agency Problems in Health and Education in Latin America._ Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank. Vecchio, R. P. 1995. _Organizational Behaviour._ Orlando, FL.: Harcourt Brace and Co.