Thursday, January 30, 2020

Context - historical, cultural or social Essay Example for Free

Context historical, cultural or social Essay The level of efficiency of a literary work does not depend solely on the story, but also on the context of that specific stories. Some stories are only powerful when they are set in a specific context, otherwise they would reach the effect that was wanted. This is exactly the case with Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Sadaawi, and The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The Crucible is set in a historical time different then that of the author and the reader. In the 17th century people thought in different manners, and believed in different things, in this case witchcraft. If the work wasnt set in this context it could not have been so effective since because witch trials are no longer present, and the whole story would be meaningless. Culturally it is important what people think, what and who people believe in. In the culture of Salem all the citizens were highly religious, and questioned everything not related to religion and beliefs. This is why they believed the girls when they were saying that the good spirits in their souls can detect the evil ones in other people, and never thought, even for a second, to question them. In a social sense this society was ideal, and perfect for the story. Their beliefs and their actions helped the development of the witch trials. In a smaller society the news of witch hunt would not have had been so important for other larger cities, then it was in the case of Salem. Albeit Woman at Point Zero is set in the same time period as the reader is, historically it recalls earlier version of European society, when women were ruled by men, as it is in the Arabian society in the present. This means that although it is hard to understand for someone living in a European society, if it was set in this society and the reappearance of an old historical period. The Egyptian culture is different then almost every outside of the Arab area, but it is necessary to make this work meaningful and powerful. It is clearly started from the beginning of the text that the men are always in charge, and never let the women make their own decisions. This only makes sense in a culture where it is the norm. In other areas it would be meaningless, which is why culture is extremely important. In conclusion it can be seen that story is not the only thing that make a work enjoyable and understandable, but also its context. Without them the whole book would become meaningless and no one would be able to make sense of it.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

The Love Story of Pyramus and Thisbe :: Cyprus

The Love Story of Pyramus and Thisbe â€Å"Pyramus was the most handsome of young men and Thisbe was the fairest beauty of the East.† ~Ovid in Metamorphoses Pyramus and Thisbe lived in Babylonia and from the time they were young, were neighbors. They played together daily as children and fell in love as they grew older. Although neighbors, their families were hostile to one another so the love between Pyramus and Thisbe remained a secret. They had a special meeting place at a wall between their houses. This particular wall bore a scar. A large crack marred its smooth surface as a result of an earthquake long ago. Pyramus and Thisbe communicated through this crack when it was risky to see one another. One particularly magnificent day, they arrived at their usual meeting place. The beauty of the day made them lament their situation all the more. They cried as they watched two hummingbirds fly over the wall together. Suddenly they came to the decision that they would not be stopped from being together any longer. They decided to meet that night outside the city gates under a mulberry tree filled white fruit. This particular tree grew near a stream next to the local cemetery. Thisbe, hidden by a veil, arrived at the appointed spot first and waited patiently for Pyramus to come. All of a sudden, a lioness fresh from a kill, her jaws covered in blood, slunk out of the brush to satisfy her thirst at the stream. Thisbe, frightened by this disturbance, ran to a nearby cave. In her haste, she dropped her veil and the lioness grabbed it and shredded it with her bloody jaws. Meanwhile, Pyramus had arrived at the meeting place. As he approached the tree he could not help but notice the large paw prints of the lioness. His heart beat faster. As he approached the stream, his fears were confirmed upon seeing Thisbe’s veil torn and bloodstained. Unable to find Thisbe and fearing that she was dead, Pyramus was unable to contain his sorrow. He drew his sword and plunged it deeply into his side. As he removed the sword from his side, blood sprayed the white fruit on the tree, turning it a dark purple color. Meanwhile, Thisbe, recovered from her fright, came back to the meeting place by the stream. There she saw Pyramus’ body lying in a crumpled heap on the ground. Racked with uncontrollable agony, she took his sword and threw her body onto it. The Love Story of Pyramus and Thisbe :: Cyprus The Love Story of Pyramus and Thisbe â€Å"Pyramus was the most handsome of young men and Thisbe was the fairest beauty of the East.† ~Ovid in Metamorphoses Pyramus and Thisbe lived in Babylonia and from the time they were young, were neighbors. They played together daily as children and fell in love as they grew older. Although neighbors, their families were hostile to one another so the love between Pyramus and Thisbe remained a secret. They had a special meeting place at a wall between their houses. This particular wall bore a scar. A large crack marred its smooth surface as a result of an earthquake long ago. Pyramus and Thisbe communicated through this crack when it was risky to see one another. One particularly magnificent day, they arrived at their usual meeting place. The beauty of the day made them lament their situation all the more. They cried as they watched two hummingbirds fly over the wall together. Suddenly they came to the decision that they would not be stopped from being together any longer. They decided to meet that night outside the city gates under a mulberry tree filled white fruit. This particular tree grew near a stream next to the local cemetery. Thisbe, hidden by a veil, arrived at the appointed spot first and waited patiently for Pyramus to come. All of a sudden, a lioness fresh from a kill, her jaws covered in blood, slunk out of the brush to satisfy her thirst at the stream. Thisbe, frightened by this disturbance, ran to a nearby cave. In her haste, she dropped her veil and the lioness grabbed it and shredded it with her bloody jaws. Meanwhile, Pyramus had arrived at the meeting place. As he approached the tree he could not help but notice the large paw prints of the lioness. His heart beat faster. As he approached the stream, his fears were confirmed upon seeing Thisbe’s veil torn and bloodstained. Unable to find Thisbe and fearing that she was dead, Pyramus was unable to contain his sorrow. He drew his sword and plunged it deeply into his side. As he removed the sword from his side, blood sprayed the white fruit on the tree, turning it a dark purple color. Meanwhile, Thisbe, recovered from her fright, came back to the meeting place by the stream. There she saw Pyramus’ body lying in a crumpled heap on the ground. Racked with uncontrollable agony, she took his sword and threw her body onto it.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

AutoZone’s Stock Essay

AutoZone’s shareholders had enjoyed strong price appreciation since 1997, with an average annual return of 11.5%. Over the previous five years, AutoZone’s stock price has increased dramatically. On February 1. 2012 the stock price was $348 compared to the $125 on February 1. 2007. The strong price appreciation resulted from several occurrences; some of them are U.S. economy recession and share repurchase program. Auto-part business was somewhat counter-cyclical. Company’s growth and stock price were directly related to the economy and number of miles a vehicle had been driven. As the age of car increased, more repairs were required. Because of these reasons, AutoZone’s stock price was significantly improving from 2008. AutoZone’s financial statements reflect the stock price performance. Net sales have increased for 30.85% from 2007 to 2011. Cost of sales also increased during that period, but at lower rate of 27.30%, what helped in additional improv ement of gross profit. AutoZone’s increasing operating profit indicates the efficiency and profitability of the company. Further, the increase of operating profit led to the slight increase of operating margin, from 17.10% in 2007 to 18.52% in 2011. One financial measure that is strongly related to the stock price performance is EPS. EPS, a key driver of stock price, have been increasing at an extremely high rate. From 2007 to 2011, basic EPS have increased for 131%, and diluted EPS have increased for 128%. Another important financial measure is PEG ratio. PEG ratio is been constantly decreasing, which is a good sign for the company and investors. Decrease of PEG ratio signals a greater value for AutoZone’s company, because its investors are going to pay less for each unit of earnings growth. How does a stock repurchase work? Why would a company use this tactic? What impact does it have on: EPS? ROIC? Stock repurchase is one of the methods of returning cash back to its investors. A company buys back its own shares either from marketplace or from their own shareholders who want to sell their shares. Buying a shares back, company is reducing the number of shares outstanding, increasing the shareholders’ value and raising the price of the stock. Company can also use this method to: prevent a hostile takeover cover up poor performance create more attractive financial ratios signal the market that the company is strong create tax efficient way to return investors’ money The biggest impact of share repurchasing program is evident in EPS of the company. EPS is calculated as Net Income divided by the average outstanding shares. Since buying back its own shares is reducing the number of shares outstanding, it automatically increases the EPS. In 2007, AutoZone’s Net Income was $595,672 and the number of shares outstanding was 69,844. This resulted in $8.53 EPS. If we suppose that the income is going to stay the same, but the number of shares outstanding is going to decrease for 5,000, then we get a higher EPS of $9.19. This is how a share repurchase work. It reduces the number of shares outstanding, resulting in improved EPS. Share repurchase also affect the ROIC, which is one of the best metrics to evaluate corporates performance. ROIC eliminates much of the non-economic accounting noise and impacts of financial leverage. AutoZone’s management was very focused on this measurement, because ROIC was a primary way to measure value creation fo r the company’s capital providers. On the balance sheet, a share repurchase will reduce a company’s cash holdings, and therefore reducing the total assets and total shareholders’ equity. As a result, ROIC will improve subsequent to a share repurchase. It is noticeable that the growth was accelerated from 2008, when the economy recession occurred. Together with share repurchase program, this two effect had a large impact on creating a desirable ROIC. Taken all of these into account, AutoZone’s ROIC is indicating that the company offers a strong returns for its investors. How much of AutoZone’s stock price performance should we attribute to the share repurchase program? Share repurchase program is strongly related to the increase of AutoZone’s stock price. Share repurchase program, as mentioned above, reduces the number of shares outstanding, and therefore, creates a strong EPS and increases the price of the stock. EPS is one of the most important measures that investors look at because EPS measures company’s performance. In 2007, AutoZone had 69,844 shares outstanding, while in 2011 the number of shares was reduced to 43,603. This led to an increase of 128% in EPS, from $8.53 in 2007, to $19.47 in 2011. Next, the stock price increased from $120 to $298 in the same time period. Given the same capital value for AutoZone Company, more shares outstanding will result in lower share price, while reduced number of shares outstanding will impact the price of a share to grow. Q#4. Assume that AutoZone is planning to stop its share repurchase program. What would be the best alternative use of those cash flows? Why? If we assume that AutoZone is going to quit its share repurchase program, the best alternative to use the cash flows would be to expand its business,  either by opening a new stores or by acquisition. The first proposition considers opening a new stores in domestic and foreign markets. The expansion is necessary to override the competition and to keep its position of leading retailer of automotive replacement parts and accessories in the United States. Leading retailer position in the U.S. gives AutoZone more motivation to expand overseas. AutoZone already owns some stores outside the U.S., in Puerto Rico and Mexico. Those stores have been operating successfully, giving a company more reasons to continue with its overseas investments. Next AutoZone’s target is Brazilian market. Company’s plan is to expand there over the next several years. Overseas investments can be very profitable for AutoZone, but they also bear a lot of risk. All investments should be developed very carefully, with a high level of cautions and with expertise person for targeted markets in their management. The second proposition is growth by acquisition. U.S. market became oversaturated with auto part stores in the last couple of years. Even though AutoZone’s management was not seeing any signs of oversaturation at that time, that doesn’t mean that they will not see it in the near future. I believe there are still some free attractive locations in the U.S., but at some point, most of the good locations will be covered by the auto parts retail stores, and the remaining locations would not be a profitable investment. Another reason for acquisition is that such stores would be profitable much more quickly than it would be opening of a new stores. The return time for AutoZone would be shorten. So far, AutoZone has acquired over 800 stores from competitors.   What should Johnson do about his holdings of AutoZone shares? Johnson had one of his largest holdings in AutoZone’s company. The fact that Johnson was concerned about is that Lampert, AutoZone’s main shareholder, was rapidly liquidating his stake in the company. Johnson was concerned about the future performance of the stock price. He was not sure what the Lampert’s reason for liquidating his stake was. This can also have a negative influence on other investors. Lumpert’s liquidation is not necessarily a bad sign. The reason for his liquidation might be the need for funds or some other personal reasons. I believe that Johnson should keep his  holdings in AutoZone’s company. AutoZone’s financial measures indicates that the company is been constantly improving. The most important measures for investors, EPS, ROIC and stock price, are been increasing at a desirable rates. AutoZone’s investors have been enjoying strong price appreciation, and I believe they will enjoy it also in the future. Lumpert’s liquidation should not affect the share repurchase program. Company should continue with its share repurchase program even after Lampert liquidates all his stake. There is no signs in financial statements that the company is going to have a decrease in the stock price. AutoZone has created a desirable value for the company over the long time period and I believe in the continuing future growth of this company.

Monday, January 6, 2020

Questions On Extra Credit Assignment - 1468 Words

Extra Credit Assignment In the United States, we encounter quite a bit of obstacles that we can’t seem to get rid of completely. We as a nation deal with inflation, unemployment, stagflation, recessions, depressions, and so much more. Reading these three articles opened my eyes to the world of economics, and even made me question the society we live in. I’ve learned that sometimes questions can’t be answered, and I learned that once we solve one issue, there is always another issue on its way. These articles made me analyze, and think about the future of economics, and what I can do to try and help the economy. These authors of these three articles make it very clear that there are issues in the United States, and they do an amazing job†¦show more content†¦HeilBroner explains that the lucky half to two thirds of the nation did not lose jobs, its apartments or homesteads or its life savings, but for his family the Depression was a series of frightening realities. One component of this article that I consider a major strength is that HeilBroner went to Harvard in 1936, and he took economics because he thought it would help him understand the obstacles they were encountering. I personally feel like this is a strength because he didn’t dwell on his unfortunate circumstances, but instead he went out and learned about what he could do to fix his situation, which I admire dearly. HeilBroner also explains that even his professors didn’t have the answers to the Great Depression, from this particular article I sense that not many people had a clue of what was going on, but they were trying their best to learn. Another strength of HeilBroner’s argument is the he discussed the money income in the United States. The total money income of the people in the United States was about $80,000,000,000 in 1929, and then in 1932 it fell to $40,000,000,000. Consequently, Keynes brought clarity to the subject of the Great Depression and unemployment, his argument suggested that unemployment may not be a temporary condition that the system could naturally recover. Keynes believed that unemployment could in fact reach equilibrium. In this article the Depression was seen as a condition of unemployment brought about aShow MoreRelatedThe 10 Steps Of Being A Successful Student848 Words   |  4 Pagesdown and review their progress on a regular schedule. 2. Managing Time - Students are very busy and in order to have success they need to organize their time each day. This can begin by having a planner or calendar that can be used to record all assignments and activities. The planner should be utilized daily, weekly, and monthly. When developing a schedule the students first priority is having enough time to study each day. School related business is also a high priority on the planner. In additionRead MoreAp Human Geography - Essay1398 Words   |  6 Pagesadministered at RHS. Class Website The class schedule, assignment due dates, and other useful information will be made available for students on SCORE. You are welcome to email me through SCORE or the RHS faculty Groupwise at panderso@hs.scs.k12.va.us â€Å"Learning Lunch† Each A-day lunch time has an optional â€Å"Learning Lunch† for geography students. Students may ask for a pass to come ask questions, work on assignments, get extra help, etc. during his/her A-day lunch time. The AP Exam Read MoreMissing Home so Much1011 Words   |  5 Pages strategies for test day, and general test taking strategies for answering all types of questions on the TOEFL. The nature and types of test questions will be reviewed and discussed during the course. Student Evaluation There will be several methods of evaluation utilized to assess student performance in the course. Students are expected to participate in class discussions, ask and respond to questions, read the text and complete activities in the text as outlined in the class schedule. ARead Moresyllabus1379 Words   |  6 Pagescoursework for Ch 7-14, the Diet Analysis Assignment, and the Final is due. Course work and the Final Exam will not be accepted/graded after December 14th. B. Assignments 1. Assignments Assignments for each chapter will be submitted only once. Once you have submitted your work, the system will not allow you to reopen them. They are not timed and students may use their books to complete them. Each assignment is worth 40 pts. All assignments must be completed following basic rules ofRead MoreHigh School And College Are Educational Grounds For A Student1368 Words   |  6 Pagesstudent is considered a child; parents and teachers are constantly reminding them of their responsibilities. Whenever a student is absent in a class a teacher will inform the student about their missing work and would often provide the missing assignments for them. Teachers also stress students daily about finishing classwork and homework. Parents are actively involved in a high school’s student life; they register their child for school by filling out a numerous amount of paperwork, have accessRead MoreThe Cost Of Attending Online Class913 Words   |  4 Pagesvery less social interaction and extra self-direction. The cost of attending online class is definitely expensive than taking class inside a classroom. It is very important for student to reduce the cost of education as much as possible because many students are self-financing student. Once the tuition fee increases then students will have hard time saving money and there are possibilities of this affecting their studies. According to dcccd.edu, the cost per credit for international student whileRead MoreTeaching Style Of The Instructor1019 Words   |  5 Pagesthe two teachers is more committed to helping the students succeed in this fast paced semester. With every assignment I get in my American government class, I can see how my knowledge blossoms and that is reflected on my grades. The interactive class makes everyone a part of the learning process which can be quite astonishing. This professor gives you many chances to participate, ask questions, and lead class discussions. For the shy students, he understands that some people get nervous when talkingRead MoreRachel Nemechek. Psy101. Psy Report 1. Dissecting A Scholarly1627 Words   |  7 Pagesincentive (in this case, extra credit) were to be offered during the first five days that the quiz is available, then there would be more quiz attempts within those first five days. McGuire and MacDonald (2009) also predicted that taking the quiz while extra credit is offered (within the first five days) would produce a larger number of total attempts on the quiz. Additionally, they formed a hypothesis predicting that higher quiz grades would result from taking the quiz while extra credit is offered, as opposedRead MoreDemand Curve Essay examples976 Words   |  4 Pages5:26 PM (CDT) Unit 4 - Individual Project Assignment Overview Go To: Type: Individual Project Unit: Market Structure and Firm Strategy Due Date: Mon, 3/14/16 Grading Type: Numeric Points Possible: 200 Points Earned: 0 Deliverable Length: 1000-1500 words Assignment Details Scenario Learning Materials Reading Assignment My Work: Online Deliverables: Submissions Assignment Details Assignment Description Weekly tasks or assignments (Individual or Group Projects) will be dueRead MoreMotivation Is Defined As The Forces That Account For The Arousal, Selection, And Continuation Of Behavior976 Words   |  4 Pageschance to go over information, ask questions, get homework help, get help reviewing for an exam, etc. Most students who have arrived to school early are in the halls socializing with friends, eating or just waiting for the first period bell to ring. During this time though many students took it upon themselves to come in during this zero period to seek group assistance and information. Many came in just to have a place to do homework and have the chance to ask questions as they went along. Some students

Sunday, December 29, 2019

A Trial Marriage by Living Together Relationship Issues Free Essay Example, 1000 words

Living together before marriage is a controversial topic. Some people have expressed strong support for the traditional observance of complying with the sanctity of marriage and should, therefore, stress the relevance of living separate ways prior to making matrimonial vows. On the contrary, young people from contemporary generation have believed in an arrangement promoting a trial marriage by living together to test the waters and determine compatibility issues. Pre-marital arrangements have drastically changed since the last generation. It is one s contention that couples should live together before marriage to confirm and validate relationship issues. Couples opt to decide on living together for diverse reasons such as trying to validate compatibility, consideration for economic, practical and financial issues, diverse beliefs in the institution of marriage, dislike for commitment and the fear for consequences of divorce. By living together, these couples satisfy their personal b eliefs and contentions for convenience and companionship without sacrificing an acknowledged vow that legally binds them through marriage. Young couples believe that the option to live together prior to marriage is a right that they could express to achieve their goals. We will write a custom essay sample on A Trial Marriage by Living Together: Relationship Issues or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now On the other hand, those who support marriage refute that couples who spent time living together run the risk of falling out of love eventually and not being able to sort out differences in their relationships. Couples eventually develop psychological problems that lead to depression and anxiety due to the possibility that they are really not meant to be together in the long term. The lack of commitment accorded by cohabitation without the institution of marriage could be perceived as a lack of solid foundation and structure to build a family and a future together. Despite the arguments, living together before marriage has more benefits in the long run. The cost of divorce, in terms of financial, emotional and psychological effects is minimized. An understanding that living together is the arrangement to determine if couples are really right for each other could appropriately be tested, as needed.

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Why We Should Be A Feminist - 1279 Words

Why Everyone Should be a Feminist At Troy High School, 57 percent of students do not identify as a feminist, much of this percentage claiming that feminism is irrelevant as females already have equal rights and that the fight for equal gender rights is a â€Å"thing of the past† (Troy High Feminism Survey); but do these students actually know what feminism is? Feminism is a global movement to empower women of every age, economic standing, sexuality, and culture through gender equality. Often confused with misandry, or the hate of males, feminism simply wants to make both genders equal. Misogyny, or prejudice against females, is the main bane of feminism, a force so deeply embedded in our culture that feminists have had to fight it for centuries, and continue to fight it to keep our current rights while aiming for new ones that would ultimately achieve gender equality. Everyone should be a feminist to stop misogynistic standards and to create a safer more productive future. The school dress code is a set of rules that are common to the everyday student but is based on misogynistic ideas and is a form of inequality that females have to endure since the moment they begin their education. That shirt shows too much shoulder, and those shorts show too much leg, are you trying to distract your male peers? That sounds pretty ridiculous, doesn t it? But that’s exactly what most schools dress code is. 57% of public schools within the U.S. enforce a strict dress code, and almost all ofShow MoreRelatedI Don t Need Feminism936 Words   |  4 Pagesentirely sarcastic. I identify as a feminist and you should all consider yourselves feminists as well. I would like to begin this speech first by addressing an issue that is gaining heat in today’s society. Words like feminazi and man-hater accompany the word feminist, and thus have equated feminists to disgruntled women whose sole purpose is to blame men for everything. As a result, many people – both men and women - have hesitated to associate themselves with the feminist movement. I want to ease people’sRead MoreFeminist Theory : A Feminist Perspective1558 Words   |  7 PagesBased on the texts that we have covered so far, feminist theory is defined as the construction of feminist theoretical discourse which aims to understand and support the nature of gender equality. Unfortunately, â€Å"in its early analyses, the focus of much feminist theory was on the characterization of the feminine as less than fully human† (Price and Shildrick 1999, 2). During the Colonial Era, especially, the cult of domesticity was a way for men to control women. Women would stay home and participateRead MoreFeminism And The Feminist Movement910 Words   |  4 Pagesin, but I think there’s a way it should be done. Feminism is something that I have questioned a lot and have looked into. I am completely for women feeling empowered; however, I find many things that I disagree with when it comes to the feminist movement. I’ve listed five of them: 1. Feminists tend to paint the picture like men are the only problem. It seems as if it s easier to put the blame on men. Why do we have to bash men who are doing their jobs? As women, we find it disrespectful when menRead MoreI Propose We Do Something About The Underlying Problems1246 Words   |  5 PagesI propose we do something about the underlying problems in feminism, it has poetical to do amazing things but certain stereotypes and problems have caused the idea of feminism to be twisted. Many women who are in fact feminists are clouded on what an actual feminism is. Many scholars and writers have written on certain issues on â€Å"What is wrong with feminism† or even how bad one side of other feminist are. Some feminist/scholars have said that the racism, sexism, and gender hate discrimination isRead MoreGay s Book Bad Feminist912 Words   |  4 Pagesbecause then you’d look desperate. Why is it so challenging to just start a conversation? Maybe because if you are a female you must act a certain way to be a proper feminist and if you are a male somehow you would be offending her right to be a woman. A possible solution is to change the feminist beliefs and their judgmental ways while also believing in gender quality instead of feminism. In Roxane Gay’s book Bad Feminist, she quotes another woman saying â€Å"†¦feminists are, ‘Just woman who don’t wantRead MoreFeminism Is A Political, Cultural, Or Economic Movement?1542 Words   |  7 Pageswomen. People believe that feminism is over and done because feminists have accomplished all of their first, second, and third wave goals. Therefore, we don’t need feminism. Some people on the other hand, think people do need feminism. They believe that women are not treated fairly and aren’t discriminated. They ask questions like, â€Å"Why hasn’t the Bill of Rights been passed yet? Why are there still unfair pay wages in workplaces? Why are women looked at as if women are weak if women wear ‘girly’Read MoreFeminist Theory And Feminist Theory901 Words   |  4 Pagestheme has emerged from the past readings. Feminist theory and intersectionality. I have taken some Women’s studies courses before so I am familiar with feminist theory. Intersectionality is trickier for me as I am a white, female, privilege Canadian woman who has not faced any oppressions for what I look like. The only oppressions I face are for being a woman and there is no intersectionality with having only one oppression. I will explore both feminist theory and intersectionality and finish offRead MoreThe Importance Of Being A Black Woman Essay1632 Wo rds   |  7 Pagespoet, author, feminist, and civil rights activist. Most of her works explored the concept of being a black woman in this society; therefore her literature and theories were based on her experiences. Race, sexuality, and gender were her main focal points throughout her career. When speaking from a feminist perspective, Lorde based her thoughts on the â€Å"theory of difference, which focuses on the binary differences between males and females, which is the opposite of traditional feminist theory (the thoughtRead MoreWhat Does The Word Feminism?856 Words   |  4 Pagessocial, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men† (). I personally identify as a feminist, for women can do anything as well as a man and should be granted the same rights as men. Both the feminism of the 1970s and the feminist extremists of today are responsible for the stereotypical view of a feminist; the majority of the population has associated the appearance of a f eminist to that of a â€Å"hairy, angry lesbian.† Writer, Elana Levine, delved into the controversial topic of feminismRead MoreGender Equality And The Equal Rights1314 Words   |  6 Pageshope for is a country that has equal balance of such roles and is rid of the stereotypes placed on genders today. In the Catholic church, they believe that men and women were created equal but different; everything that God created is good and so we are called to treat each others as equal. Pope francis addressed the situation of gender equality in calling the church to female machismo. Machismo is a term described as being self-reliant and is often associated with men, however, Pope Francis re-defined

Friday, December 13, 2019

Organisational Change Management At Nokia- Booster Programme

Question: Describe about organisational change management at Nokia? Answer: Executive Summary For this project, The Company we have selected is the Nokia. Nokia is a world famous company into telecommunication, originated from Finland and was established in 1865. Nokia being a renowned mobile devices manufacturing company and holding a prominent market position was affected due to major technologies adopted by its competitors in the mobile communication industry. The aim of this project is to discuss how the Nokia undergone major strategic changes to regain its market position. Are You Daunted by the Thought of Due Assignments? Avail Our Services and Receive Assignment Help from Experts. Introduction Nokia has undergone a major organisational restructuring, in which it has revived its organisational goal, vision, mission and objectives into clear and specific new strategies as per the current market requirements or competition (Amanda, 2013). In the past recent years Nokia has lost its market throne to its competitors Samsung and Apple, because Nokia failed in adopting latest mobile technologies, because of which the company struggled to regain its profit and revive its market top position again. This project thus focuses on how Nokia has brought major organisational strategic change by adopting Windows Phone Platform (Muhammad, 2010). Organisational Change at Nokia Change is an unavoidable process or a phenomenon. An organisational change can be achieved only bringing behavioural changes in the individuals of the organisation. A change in the organisation cannot be achieved by bringing changes in the group, teams or company. An organisational change can only be achieved when individual changes (Kotze, 2006, p.17) At Nokia Company the major organisational change happened with the initiation of Booster Programme in the year 2008. The Booster Programme was introduced looking at the ever changing customer aspirations and development of latest technologies among the competitors. In the Booster Programme, the company restructured its nine business units into four business units. With the purpose to include rapid production and innovation, the company also restructured all its manufacturing and development processes into just three horizontal business units (Amanda, 2013). The Booster Programme came up as a daunting organisational Change programme for Nokia. This programme was brought in effective in just one week by providing 100 new jobs. With the onset of new jobs, the old Nokia employees jobs were saved and they were not required to switch other jobs. The only change these employees faced was that the teams to which they belonged were reconfigured. This reconfiguration of teams was done with a mindset of skilfully and rapidly reconfiguring its human resources so as to meet the ever changing customer needs and demands (v, 2010). With the implementation of team reconfiguration, the Nokias senior teams were totally committed to deeply involve the employees into organisational strategies and implementing the organisations structure based on projects. Now looking at the adoption of latest technologies by the various competitors, Nokia shifted its strategic change towards the development of technological platforms through which millions of people worldwide can join together easily and rapidly. Thus the companys long term success was seen in its capacity of bringing innovations. At the worst time of recession in 2009, the companys innovative ideas of involvement and constantly strategising were put on test. During this time the decision taken by Nokia was to actively involve all its employees worldwide into the business transformations. At this time the companys whole focus was on its Market business, which was a newly formed enterprise whose focus was on retaining the customers and creating new and prompt customer solutions. In the past years, Nokias major emphasis was on developing a flexible and adaptive organisation by using the talents of its employees present in the market business. This was the time when the Company Nokia entered its Booster Programme (Martin, 2010) The origin of the Nokias Booster Programme was marked in the year 2008. This programme began with a team comprising of Maximilian Kammerer and Ian Gee and two other designers, whose aim was to boost the awareness and skills of each Nokia employee by motivating the regional teams to work efficiently and effectively across various functions. Another aim was to enhance the capacity of utilising and acquiring the external resources so as to meet the organisational performance goals. The last aim was to transform the whole business units from line based structure to an organisation where all the competencies can be pooled through a pragmatic or a project structure. Nokia was very ambitious for this program and thus it ensured to cover all the 5000 employees and encourage the concept of cross-functional and cross-hierarchical working. Above all the budget and time for this programme to be rolled was very less i.e. just three months and Nokia successfully implemented this program within the decided timeline and budget. The Nokias design team was very clear with the point that if they follow top to down traditional approach in bringing the change then it will be a very slow process and will not allow the timely involvement of employees being a part of the solution by using emerging technologies. With the rapid onset of social latest network technologies a new environment has been created in which Nokia has to make a long term commitment for its employees by involving them to play at a faster rate and come out with innovative and critical thinking (Zell, 2003). The team for Booster Programme decided working on two streams of activities. One was two day face to face workshops with the team leaders and the second was creating online social network community which ensures the broader involvement of all communities. The two day workshops were designated to major location in the World like Beijing, New York, London, Dubai and Paris where about 100 change leaders were allotted to each workshop. These workshops were designed to teach the employees about the major change the Company will be undergoing and to tell them why change is important and how they will be benefitted so that minimum resistance come at the time of implementation (Cameron, 2012) After the completion of the workshops, around 700 employees returned back to their teams and engaged themselves in the ongoing process of change. At this point the online social committee created came into the picture. The design team with the specialist partners or designers came up with an intranet site which was accessible to al the employees of the markets business and workshop participants. This intranet site helped the senior managers and change leaders to easily conversate and exchange ideas with the experts and community members. Thus the combination of traditional workshop and latest online community proved to be a success where 5000 employees joined the booster programme and made the communication and interaction among the employees, community members and senior managers a easy task. Resistance When the company announced for manufacturing windows based phone- Lumia, thousands of employees protested as they were shocked that they might lose their jobs. They also argues that Nokia Lumia phone is not capable of adapting different hardware. With this decision, there were waves of resignation by the top leaders like Chairman, vice president, CTO (Culcmsralte, 2012). Apart from employees Nokia saw the resistance from the market and customers too because they disliked the Microsoft and its offerings. Also the network operators were against the Windows phone because they got worried with the skype (Yarow, 2012) feature available at Windows phone which will risk their international calling business. The shareholders also showed resistance because their share price drastically dropped by 10% (Amanda, 2013) Managing Resistance to Change Nokia can manage the resistance by adopting various strategies. It could have educated the staff about the change and explained them why it is important and how they will be benefitted. The staff could have got the support from their managers who timely educate them about the change and help them to overcome their fear and anxiety. The resignations could have controlled by offering incentives and benefits after implementing the change. In case if employees are still not ready for change then forcefully they have to make accept the change by threatening them to loss of their jobs (ADKAR, 2013). Conclusion The Nokia is really working hard in connecting its people. The best example we discussed above is its Booster Programme. The company is bringing organisational changes to cope with the competition but the employees are affected with such changes. The effectiveness of change management is measured by how the stakeholders goals and interests are satisfied (Paton, 2000). Nokias decision to switch to Windows phone has been a controversial discussion. This decision has been logical but was not totally nonsense. This decision was made in a rush because of which all the stakeholders were shocked and lead to disastrous consequences (Wall Street Journal, 2010). Thus from the above project we can conclude saying that Organisation first should identify the reason for change. In an Organisation there are different people working together whose mindset and risk taking capacity is different. They have creative mindsets and when the ideas get insufficient then comes the entry of brainstorming sessions. Thus we can say that Organisational changes are good for the organisation if they are properly planned, managed and executed. Although Nokia started its Booster Program to eliminate the gap of communication at the time of change and initiated the workshop programs but still its decision towards Windows Platform mobile application did not proved to be a success. References ADKAR Change Management Model Overview. (2013). Change Management Learning Center. Retrieved from :https://www.change-management.com/tutorial-adkar-overview.htm Amanda H.C. Lam. (2013). Change Management at Nokia. Retrieved from https://dadablog.net/publications/ChangeManagementAtNokia.pdf CAMERON, E. and GREEN, M. (2012). Making Sense of Change Management : A Complete Guide to the Models Tools and Techniques of Organizational Change 3rd ed. 3rd ed. Kogan Page Ltd. Culcmsralte. (2012). Change and resistance to change. Leading in a changing world. Retrieved from https://culcmsralte.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/change-and-resistance-to-change/ Kotze, R. S., 2006.Performance: The Secrets of Successful Behaviour.s.l.:Financial Times Prentice Hall. Muhammad Habibullah Khan. (2010). Project of Change Management on Nokia. Retrieved from https://www.scribd.com/doc/27597324/Project-of-Change-Management-on-Nokia#scribd Martin. (2010). Inside Nokias Booster Programme. Maemo.org. Retrieved from https://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=42435 Paton, R and McCalman, J. (2000). Change Management: A Guide to Effective Implementation. 2nd Edition, London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Leading Change, Transition Transformation. (2013). Retrieved from :https://www.adelaide.edu.au/hr/strategic/leading_change_toolit.pdf The Wall Street Journal. ( 2011). Full Text: Nokia CEO Stephen Elops Burning Platform Memo. The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Company, Inc. Retrieved from: https://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2011/02/09/full-text-nokia-ceo-stephen-elopsburning-platform-memo/. YAROW, J. (2012). Nokia's CEO Talks About How Skype Affects Carrier Relations. Business Insider, Inc. Retrieved from: https://www.businessinsider.com/nokias-ceo-says-carriers-hate-skype-and-its-affecting-windows-phone-sales-2012-5. ZELL, D., (2003). Organizational change as a process of death, dying, and rebirth. The Journal of Applied Behavioural Science, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 73-96 ABI/INFORM Global. ISSN 00218863.