Network And Internet Connections Essay Example For Students

Network And Internet Connections Essay The Internet is a network of networks that interconnects computers around theworld, supporting both business and residential users. In 1994, a multimediaInternet application known as the World Wide Web became popular. The higherbandwidth needs of this application have highlighted the limited Internet accessspeeds available to residential users. Even at 28.8 Kilobits per second(Kbps)the fastest residential access commonly available at the time of thiswritingthe transfer of graphical images can be frustratingly slow. Thisreport examines two enhancements to existing residential communicationsinfrastructure: Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), and cable televisionnetworks upgraded to pass bi-directional digital traffic (Cable Modems). Itanalyzes the potential of each enhancement to deliver Internet access toresidential users. It validates the hypothesis that upgraded cable networks candeliver residential Internet access more cost-effectively, while offering abroader range of serv ices. The research for this report consisted of casestudies of two commercial deployments of residential Internet access, eachintroduced in the spring of 1994: Continental Cablevision and PerformanceSystems International (PSI) jointly developed PSICable, an Internet accessservice deployed over upgraded cable plant in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Internex, Inc. began selling Internet access over ISDN telephone circuitsavailable from Pacific Bell. Internexs customers are residences and smallbusinesses in the Silicon Valley area south of San Francisco,California. 2.0 The Internet When a home is connected to the Internet,residential communications infrastructure serves as the last mile ofthe connection between the home computer and the rest of the computers on theInternet. This section describes the Internet technology involved in thatconnection. This section does not discuss other aspects of Internet technologyin detail; that is well done elsewhere. Rather, it focuses on the services that need to be provided for home computer users to connect to the Internet. 2.1 ISDNand upgraded cable networks will each provide different functionality (e.g. typeand speed of access) and cost profiles for Internet connections. It might seemsimple enough to figure out which option can provide the needed level of servicefor the least cost, and declare that option better. A key problemwith this approach is that it is difficult to define exactly the needed level ofservice for an Internet connection. The requirements depend on the applicationsbeing run over the connection, but these applications are constantly changing. As a result, so are the costs of meeting the applications requirements. Untilabout twenty years ago, human conversation was by far the dominant applicationrunning on the telephone network. The network was consequently optimized toprovide the type and quality of service needed for conversation. Telephonetraffic engineers measured aggregate statistical conversational patterns andsized telephone networks accordingly. Telephonys well-defined and stableservice requirements are reflected in the 3-3-3 rule of thumb reliedon by traffic engineers: the average voice call lasts three minutes, the usermakes an average of three call attempts during the peak busy hour, and the calltravels over a bidirectional 3 KHz channel. In contrast, data communications arefar more difficult to characterize. Data transmissions are generated by computerapplications. Not only do existing applications change frequently (e.g. becauseof software upgrades), but entirely new categoriessuch as Web browserscomeinto bein g quickly, adding different levels and patterns of load to existingnetworks. Researchers can barely measure these patterns as quickly as they aregenerated, let alone plan future network capacity based on them. The onegeneralization that does emerge from studies of both local and wide- area datatraffic over the years is that computer traffic is bursty. It does not flow inconstant streams; rather, the level of traffic varies widely over almostany measurement time scale (Fowler and Leland, 1991). Dynamic bandwidthallocations are therefore preferred for data traffic, since static allocationswaste unused resources and limit the flexibility to absorb bursts of traffic. .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab , .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab .postImageUrl , .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab , .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab:hover , .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab:visited , .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab:active { border:0!important; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab:active , .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: As We All Filled Up The Large Room To Watch The The Interview You Coul EssayThis requirement addresses traffic patterns, but it says nothing about theabsolute level of load. How can we evaluate a system when we never know how muchcapacity is enough? In the personal computing industry, this problem is solvedby defining enough to be however much I can affordtoday, and relying on continuous price-performance improvements in digitaltechnology to increase that level in the near future. Since both of theinfrastructure upgrade options rely heavily on digital technology, anothercriteria for evaluation is the extent to which rapidly advancing technology canbe immediately reflected in improved service offerings. Cable networks satisfythese evaluation criteria more effectively than telephone networks because: Coaxial cable is a higher quality transmission medium than twisted copper wirepairs

Screenplay Analysis The Proposal Essay Example For Students

Screenplay Analysis The Proposal Essay There are several events that mark the end of the beginning of the movie, The Proposal. A key event is the approaching expiration of Margarets Visa, which would lead to an immediate deportation back to Canada. Margaret thought the scheduled meeting was to discuss about her second promotion raise and is dumbfounded to be informed of the deportation plan back to Canada due to her expired Visa. As the meeting progresses, Andrew pops in the office to fetch Margaret for an interview that was awaiting her in an adjacent office. On the sight of Andrew, Margaret gets an idea of using him to remain legally in New York at least until her Visa issue is resolved. She calls Andrew and announces to her boss that they were indeed getting married (Pete 15). She enquires from her boss if getting married was not an adequate reason for her to stay alongside her future husband since soon they would be a married couple. Although Andrew is shocked by the unexpected happenings, he is in someway persuaded by the assurances made by Margaret. When the two return to their office, Andrew informs Margaret of his decision not to marry her and Margaret blackmails him with his job. The deal is sealed when Andrew is promised of a promotion and the publication of his manuscript. When they are refereed to the immigration offices to schedule their interview, they agree it would be at that weekend in Alaska at the ninetieth birthday party of Andrews grandmother. In my view, Pete Chiarelli set this scene in a comical way with a lot of anticipation to bring out the vagueness imagination of what would ensue to the audience (Walter 39). The Other event is the meeting with Andrews family in Alaska. Margaret is informed that her reservation at the local hotel had been cancelled as she was expected to stay with Andrews family. Typical for engaged couples, Margaret and Andrew are given a room to share and this is quite uncomfortable for Margaret. Andrew opts to sleep on the floor while Margaret sleeps on the Bed. Andrews grandmother decides to give them a surprise at breakfast and while knocking at their Room, Andrew rushes to join Margaret on the bed to pretend they slept together. Margaret likes Andrews family and realizes that she had missed a lot on family time since her mother passed on when was only sixteen years. She finds out that Andrewss family was rich and Andrew had problems with his family after eavesdropping on his conversation with his father. At night, she enquires from Andrew why he was arguing with his father and Andrew decides to change the topic by informing her, his father had thought of her as attractive (Kevin 2010). Another notable event is the faking of a heart attack by Andrews grandmother after Margarets confession at the altar that the wedding was a sham. Andrew had predicted this scenario and he knew if Gammie discovered the wedding was fake she would die. An ambulance arrives to take Gammie to hospital while Andrews mother Grace and his father Joe, accompany her to the charter. Before the ambulance leaves, she opens her eyes and tells Andrew and Margaret to makeup. She lies back telling her ancestors to take her spirit and then sits upright saying her time was not yet over. Gammie then orders the pilot to take her to the airport to meet Margaret before she left. Though they could not catch up with Margaret, Gammie tells Andrew that Margaret indeed loved him and that was why she made the confession. Andrew also came to the realization that he was indeed in love with Margaret (The Hollywood Reporter 248). Question What are Margaret and Richards goals at the beginning of the script? .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b , .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b .postImageUrl , .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b , .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b:hover , .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b:visited , .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b:active { border:0!important; } .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b:active , .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u16eab453dfecd177cfcd175c87a9548b:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Colomber Analysis EssayResponse As the chief editor at a New York Publishing firm, Margarets main goal is to be successful in her career and to get a huge promotional raise for her efforts. Margaret is a tough woman who after losing her parents at the tender age of sixteen grew up to become independent and determined. She does not allow anything to prevent her from achieving her goals and develops a very authoritarian character. For this reason, employees working under her hate her because they think she is too rigid on them and unnecessary strict (Lally 2009). Andrew, Margarets secretarys goals is to become an editor. Margaret has refused to promote him even after his dedicated service for three years. Andrew who comes from a wealthy family abandoned his familys wealth to chase after his dream of becoming an editor to publish his articles. At the beginning of the script, his dream appears bleak as his boss does not recognize his efforts. What obstacles, internal or external, prevent Margaret and Richard from reaching their goals during the script? The script highlights several obstacles that prevent Andrew and Margaret from reaching their goals. Margaret is faced with a deportation because her Visa is expired. She knows her departure would significantly affect her work. Andrewss obstacles are mainly from his boss Margaret who is very strict and even fires an employee (Bob) for failing to secure an interview with a prominent client (Pete 8). Margaret is very tough on all employees in the office and for some reason she does not recognize Andrews dedicated service for the last three years. Thus, she does not see the need to promote him. By refusing to publish Andrews articles she derails his dream. The writer has used real characters that the audience identifies with, and this brings out the concept of the comedy in a sensible manner (Walter 311). Question How do their goals change as the script progresses? Response When Margaret is faced with an imminent deportation, her plans take another shift and she has no choice but to blackmail her secretary Andrew into marrying her in exchange for a promotion. Andrew turns down her request and only agrees to her request when she threatens him with his Job. Eventually, they strike a mutual deal that would see Andrew agree to the marriage and Margaret agree to the promotion and the publication of his book. It is only later in Alaska that Margaret confesses the truth about their proposal to the congregation that had turned up for their sham wedding. This changes their goals as they both realize they had fallen in love with each other. This is evident when Andrew shows up in Margarets office to officially propose to her (The Hollywood Reporter 249). Three examples of actions and dialogue employed by the screenwriter to convey either Margaret or Richards personality. Every screenwriter should be in a position to bring out certain events that reveal the personality of the actors in the script (Casinghino 11). In The Proposal, Pete Chiarelli revealed the character of Margaret in the following actions; Margaret has managed to become independent through her hard work despite losing her parents at a tender age. Employees alert each other as Margaret enters the office and they send each other messages to show how they hate her because of her strictness and tough laws (Pete 4-5). Margaret is determined to remain in New York to pursue her dreams while using Andrew as her solution to her deportation problem. She advances this idea until she has managed to convince the immigration officials (Pete 15). Chiarelli also portrays Margaret as truthful and sincere. This is because even after rejecting the sham wedding by making the confession and leaving Alaska she still fulfils her promise of promoting Andrew and publishing his manuscript (Pete 98). Question How supporting characters used help us better understand the main characters? Give three specific examples. Response Pete Chiarelli uses the employees to illustrate to the audience the character of Margaret and how she is feared and loathed because of her strictness. The employees enmity towards Margaret is also evident from how they behave whenever she is around. .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00 , .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00 .postImageUrl , .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00 , .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00:hover , .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00:visited , .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00:active { border:0!important; } .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00:active , .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00 .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ue1ac2915c806f45801f232d78fbe9f00:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The native Cambodians EssayChiarelli also uses Joe, Andrews father to bring out the character of Andrew to the Audience. Father and son are having a difficult relationship as the father can not understand why his son left a huge empire to chase after a dream in New York City. Andrewss childhood sweetheart refused his marriage proposal because she did not want to accompany him to New York. Gammies request for Andrew to marry Margaret before she died was agreed upon because they were compassionate towards her, and they feared rejecting her proposal would send her to her grave. Bibliography: Casinghino, C. Moving Images: Making Movies, Understanding Media. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2010.Print The Hollywood Reporter, Volumes 409-410. Los Angeles: Hollywood Reporter Incorporated, 2009. Print Larry, Kevin. The proposal: Film Review. 2009. Web. 8 July 2014. http://www1.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/the-proposal-film-review-1003984186.story Kevin. The proposal Film analysis. 2010. Web. 8 July 2014: http://www.sexandgender.net/2010/06/30/the-proposal-film-analysis/ Synopsis for the Proposal. 2009. Web. 8 July 2014: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1041829/synopsis Pete Chiarelli, (2006), The Proposal. Walter, Richard. Essentials of Screenwriting: The Art, Craft, and Business of Film and Television Writing. New York, N.Y: Plume, 2010. Print.

Strategy Implementation Barriers

Introduction Organisations identify their objectives and goals, which they seek to achieve through a course of action that they draft out. This course of action, the strategy, can only be achieved as intended if every participant acts as required in executing his or her roles (Clemens Bakstran, 2010, p. 393).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Strategy Implementation Barriers specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As Beer et al. (2005, p. 446) assert, organisations have to ‘fit’ themselves with the environment, including the strategies, leadership skills, as well as capabilities if they seek to achieve effective operations. This research carries out an extensive analysis of all possible barriers to strategy implementation and offers a remedy for each of the barriers. It borrows from theories and models suggested by scholars, including the silent killers of strategy implementation, organisational fitness, and critical questions that can help managers to address the barriers (Beer et al., 2005, p. 446). Literature Review Critical Questions to help in the Attainment of Objective Business Model Is the interaction within the organization effective? Within the organisation, the leadership plays a critical role in providing direction, offering protection, managing conflicts, as well as shaping norms and conducting orientation (Heifetz Laurie, 2001, p. 131). However, the most important role of leaders in an organisation should be to enhance adequate interaction through practicing strategic leadership to ensure that barriers to strategy implementation are overcome. As Beer et al. (2005, p. 450) point out, the organisational commitment, as well as purpose is lost when there is poor interaction within the organisation. Managers must promote dialogue with the rest of the organisation’s members to develop common purpose, which is needed for instilling the necessary commitment required to co nvert purpose into action. This should purposely be geared towards encouraging commitment from every participant in the organisation (Malewicki, 2005, p. 141).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Effective strategic leadership that promotes interactivity should focus on five hierarchical levels. These levels include highly capable individuals who make their direct contributions through knowledge, talent, work habits, and high-level skills. The second level should comprise of contributing team members that target achieving the objectives of the group and working effectively within the group. The third level of the hierarchy should include competent managers (Kerr Werther, 2008, p. 112) whose main ability and contribution are in organising people and resources of the organisation, while the fourth level hierarchy should involve effective leadership. This mainly targets the adhere nce to the vision of the organisation, as well as the maintenance of the needed performance standards. The fifth and final strategy level involves the executive, with the specific quality being an endurance of greatness by way of professional will and personal humility (Watson Wooldridge, 2005, p. 147). The organisation’s leadership must have these characteristics as contained in the five hierarchies enumerated. Collectively, these qualities and values enable the management to develop a common purpose of communicating downwards to their subordinates, who are the actual executor of the strategic requirements (Allio, 2012, p. 24). The sufficient vertical communication provides the employees working in the department with the understanding about the actual organisational strategy and the directions that are needed concerning the daily decisions that are expected of them. It also enables them to understand about the exact priorities that will be needed by them as they collective ly work towards ensuring that the organisation achieves its objectives. Organisational Power Games and Politics: Are they Useful? All organisations have their unique internal politics and power games, which consequently affect the likelihood of the organisation to implementing its strategy as intended (Peng Litteljohn, 2001, p. 360). Managers are particularly responsible for this kind of barrier, mainly because their overriding personal interests and ineffective resource allocation on their part or respective departments. Adequate resource allocation is an important strategy implementation aspect because lack of resources eventually impedes successful strategy performance and activity (Brauer Schmidt, 2006, p. 205). Strategies are actually implemented by means of operational budgets and capital in general.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Strategy Implementation Barriers specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However , internal politics threaten to derail this because it mainly involves a clash between the manager’s personal interest or that of his respective department, on the one hand and the interests of the organisation, on the other hand. The structural arrangement of the organisation plays a contributory role in fanning the internal organisational politics as departments or functions may begin to view themselves as exclusive entities that are in competition with the other departments or functions (Stuart, 1998, p. 469). It, thus, results in resistance, power struggles, and even a pursuance of non-fitting interests, which eventually affect the achievement of strategic objectives. The most critical question for managers in a bid to address the issue of politics and seeking to determine answers to the question is to establish whether there is a clear understanding when it comes to resource allocation. Apart from the allocation of monetary resources, managers must also be aware of the i mportant role of allocating physical resources, including equipment, plant, geographic location, as well as raw materials in general (‘Business Policy and Strategy Conference Paper Abstracts’, 2004, p. 1). Managers should constantly realise and appreciate the fact that the availability of resources is often scarce to effectively and fully cater for the entire needs of the organisation. Thus, self-interest should never contribute towards the allocation of resources. Managers must not commit themselves too quickly in allocating resources as they target projects and goals that deem to satisfy their own interests or personal performance (‘Business Policy and Strategy Conference Paper Abstracts’, 2004, p. 1). The decision-making role of managers concerning resource allocation must, therefore, be done in a way that purely seeks to front the organisation’s interest and agenda.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Leaving the decisions and behaviour of managers unchecked is detrimental to the organisation because while it may ensure that their personal objectives are met, the organisation may end up suffering in the process (‘Business Policy and Strategy Conference Paper Abstracts’, 2004, p. 11). Eliminating this barrier requires that the decision-making process be made a collective function such that managers from all the departments and functions of the organisation make their individual contributions. This way, the collective responsibility would put a check in their irregular decision-making even though individual managers may still have the urge to pursue their personal agenda (‘Business Policy and Strategy Conference Paper Abstracts’, 2004, p. 18). How important is Organisational Learning? Organisations must continually remain and promote learning as a way of sustaining new ideologies and methods. However, managers and employees might feel the urge to resist ch ange and new working procedures at some point. This often occurs as a result of the individuals feeling threatened. Employees, therefore, devise defensive mechanisms that they feel would comfortably protect their old practice of doing things. For organisational learning to occur, healthy communication in all directions must be encouraged and tolerated (Và ¤nttinen Pyhà ¤ltà ¶, 2009, p. 47). Managers must feel free to communicate among fellow managers and to the senior executive management concerning the overall running of the organisation. Downward and upward communication must also occur such that no one in the organisation feels left out in the strategy implementation plans (Và ¤nttinen Pyhà ¤ltà ¶, 2009, p. 47). Encouraged communication provides managers with the chance to notice challenges in strategy implementation and raise the matter early enough to help in finding solutions. Managers do not also feel threatened because they understand the fact that it is not their pe rsonal objective they are protecting, but that of the organisation (Forman Argenti, 2005, p. 245). Thus, they do not view their colleague managers as competitors, but as important partners whom they can learn from as they also are a valuable source of knowledge to their other colleagues. Employees, who are very important because of their role in implementing strategy, also participate actively in the organisational learning process if the organisation promotes and allows free communication (Olson, Slater, Hult, 2005, p. 47). They would be able to notice challenges within the system and quickly act by raising the issue with their immediate supervisors or managers, who would in turn act by providing a solution to the impediment or barrier. Where an organisation does not promote free and easy communication, the general learning process is also affected. People may not feel comfortable in pointing out at mistakes, especially where they believe or know that the mistake is contributed b y their superiors (Olson, Slater Hult, 2005, p. 47). For fear of being vilified, the employees would better maintain their silence and wish that their supervisor or manager discovers it on his or her own. Thus, an impediment to strategy implementation that would have otherwise been discovered and dealt with at an opportune time is allowed to continue wrecking damage to the entire organisation, thereby slowing its resolve to achieve its set objectives (Hendry, Huang Stevenson, 2013, p. 69). In addressing this aspect of organisational knowledge and learning, employees must be skilled and educated enough to enhance their ability of implementing strategy. It is not enough for information to be allowed to flow freely only, but that it should also flow freely to people who understand and realise how to put it into good use (Ramanigopal, 2012, p. 17). Without learning, it is not possible for change to be experienced or witnessed in the organisation. Increased knowledge through learning h elps the actors in their effort to engage successfully in the overall implementation process. Individual experience, though it is a critical aspect of goal achievement within the organisation, should not be confused with learning. Should Resistance to Change be encouraged? The external environment influences the way in which organisations operate in their quest to achieve their objectives. The environment acts as a barrier, particularly when the internal management of the organisation fails to realise some of the best strategies required to address the external environmental challenges. Decisions need to be made almost immediately to reflect on the changing external environment condition (Barton Ambrosini, 2013, p. 721). However, this is a challenging area because the changing environmental conditions can never be easily anticipated. Experienced management is required to determine the way forward on what steps the organisation should take. The major mistake that managers often comm it while facing external environmental challenges is making decisions that rely on an old mental form. This mainly occurs where the management is also ill experienced to tackle and address such challenges. This is further worsened by the inexistence of honest feedback as well as discussion. This is itself an impediment when it comes to learning about similar models. Resistance to change particularly occurs where managers feel threatened by a certain phenomena and focus their attention on fighting it, instead of seeking for solutions (Barton Ambrosini, 2013, p. 723). Although experience is important in addressing such challenges that arise from external business environment, organisations must also work towards making themselves as centres of knowledge. In other words, solutions to external business challenges must be formulated from within the organisation itself to give it adequate ability to respond (‘Organization Development Change Conference Paper Abstracts’, 2005 , p. 1). The organisation is directly affected by the changing circumstances and it understands uniquely how best to react. Internal understanding and knowledge is promoted and sustained by allowing all participants in the organisation, including employees, to contribute towards providing suggestions on the way forward. The collective contribution by participants offers a wide range of alternatives from which the management can pick the best. This gives continuity to the organisation, especially in the face of new challenges that cannot be compared to past challenges. Because managers have a large pool from where they can obtain fresh ideas and suggestions, their unique solutions to challenges ensures that barriers to strategy implementation are effectively addressed. The quality of the ideas and management plans is also effective as it is provided by the actual implementers of the strategy, who understand all the challenges that they face in the process (‘Organization Develop ment Change Conference Paper Abstracts’, 2005, p. 6). Organisational Fitness and Silent Killers Beer and Eisenstat (2000, p. 29) have introduced a new phenomenon that seeks to empower managers even more as they participate in ensuring that their organisation fits with the strategy. The Strategic Fitness Process (SFP) comprises of high-potential managers that sit in a task force aimed at enhancing value-addition in the running of the organisation. The task force operates in coordination with the management of the organisation through issuance of feedback messages. In general, the SFP reveals up to six common barriers that hinder organisations from attaining their objectives and goals (Beer Eisenstat, 2000, p. 9). The barriers include unclear strategy that comprises of conflicting priorities, a top management team that is ineffective, a style of leadership that is too rigid in its top-down framework or one that is too laissez-faire, and lack of coordination across functions, geographic regions or businesses. Other common barriers identified include poor vertical communication and an inadequate leadership skill that also affects the nurturing of down-the-line leaders (Eisenstat Dixon, 2000, p. 52). What are the causes of unclear strategy? An unclear strategy implies a course of action that does not clearly identify an objective or one that identifies an objective, but fails to enumerate clearly the needed set of actions by the workers and management. Lack of clarity of a strategy may result from various causes, including a senior management team that is ineffective in its operations and a too disengaged or too controlling leader. While it is possible that the strategy of the organisation will be well designed and targeted towards achieving specific objectives, the leadership may lack a common focus towards attaining (Ketzenberger, 1998, p. 84). Communication is also paramount in this regard as it determines the quality of information flow. If the strate gy intent is constantly communicated, all the participants will realise what their role is and will work towards making it actual. On the other hand, poor flow of information denies the workers the ability to determine what their actual role and contribution should be (Ketzenberger, 1998, p. 84). Remedy for unclear strategy Addressing unclear strategy, therefore, requires that information flow within the entire organisation is improved to a greater extent. The senior teams must be able to issue relevant instructions to the lower level managers and subsequently to the employees who engage directly in executing the strategy (Ketzenberger, 1998, p. 84). Consequently, feedback information must also flow freely from the employees through the lower-ranked managers all the way to the top management. This way, all the participants are constantly reminded of the actual strategy that they are pursuing. It also empowers everybody to notice early enough and signal the senior management of any u nderlying barriers that could be working against the organisation and its resolve (Ketzenberger, 1998, p. 84). What are the influences of Ineffective Management? The management of an organisation is considered ineffective, particularly where it is unable to make quick and accurate decisions concerning the organisation. Additionally, ineffective management arises as a result of functional or departmental managers operating as though they were competing against each other. This leads to lack of cooperation between the managers, with vital information that would have otherwise helped the entire organisation to speed up its performance being kept away from individual managers (Majer Bell, 2011, p. 62). The top management of an organisation must get involved in all the decision-making processes and steps in order to develop fully and test the whole processes sufficiently. Because of the top management’s usefulness in the entire process of making strategy, any ineffectiveness on t heir party is likely to result in unclear strategy, as well as priorities and affect the top-down relation or interaction within the organisation (McGuinness Morgan, 2005, p. 1306). This ends up curtailing the ability and possibility of the organisation to achieve its strategy effectively as desired. Quick and accurate decisions can only be achieved when a wider team or group of members within the organisation participates in providing solutions to challenges that affect the organisation (Majer Bell, 2011, p. 62). It improves the quality of decision making because all the areas in the organisation get equal representation in the decision-making process. Equally, all the managers feel as though they are a part of the organisation, especially when they witness their contributions being integrated by their employer. Remedy for ineffective management All the senior management team must get involved in the strategy process. They should participate in strategy development, perform organ isational diagnosis together, as well as conduct action planning and participate actively in communicating and monitoring the change. In other words, the top management team must combine efforts and work together as one in their quest to lead the organisation towards achieving objectives (Dervitsiotis, 2007 p. 21). There should be higher interactivity, close discussions among the managers, and high tolerance within the group. This kind of arrangement will help in speeding up the learning process in the organisation. Individual managers will get to understand how exactly they can stop from being an impediment to the rest of their organisation through the solitary decisions that they make (Dervitsiotis, 2007 p. 21). It will help in creating a good rapport among the managers, thus increasing the participation of each individual. Collective decision-making eliminates the need for rushed conclusions that individual leaders may fall prey to, particularly when their departments or function s fail short of performing as required and expected. Limited Top-Down/Laissez-Faire Style of Leadership: How does it affect strategy? Managers may have their own preferred management styles. The styles might be critical in impeding the organisation’s achievement of strategy and objectives. Limiting interaction to a top-down kind of flow only provides for managers to issue directions and instructions to the employees. It does not support a more interactive kind of interchange where the employees may also contribute towards strategy formulation and implementation (Skogstad et al. 2007, p. 80). In essence, a strict top-down interaction only emphasises the fact that employees are ignored by their managers and their contributions are not really considered as being worth. This affects the entire process because employees play a critical role in implementing strategy. Employees know the areas that are challenging to them when it comes to implementation and ignoring them means that t he manager may never get to realise what kind of remedy may be required. On the other hand, a laissez-faire style of management is not important in helping in the implementation of the strategy. Managers, while they should promote participative interaction with their employees, also need to be at the forefront leading. A lenient kind of leadership does not rein-in the followers or employees. Instead, the employees may feel as though they have a lot of freedom and get the temptation to indulge in other activities (Skogstad et al. 2007, p. 83). This is in, itself, a barrier to strategy because the organisation needs to have a common purpose in its focus on achieving strategy objectives. A limited top-down or laissez-faire leadership style creates an environment where conflict thrives between the departments or functions. The top divisional heads only concentrate on issuing orders and instructions that affect their areas of jurisdiction, but they fail to recognise the importance of ope rating as a unit with the rest of the functional heads. Managers must work towards forming partnership with their employees in order to address this impediment effectively. Managers must realise and appreciate the fact that employees are important players in the entire process, instead of considering the employees as being an impediment or barrier to strategy. Their contributions are important and should help the management in the decision-making process (Fredberg Norrgren, 2012, p. 34). Poor Functional Coordination: How is it a barrier? Organisations ought to integrate their activities effectively around the consumers, markets, and even products across the diverse functions of the organisation. However, lack of functional coordination is a recipe for competition within the organisation, where functions consider each other as competitors and not as contributors of the same cause. It is difficult for proper coordination across the functions to be realised unless the organisation set s up initiatives that cover the entire organisation and require the collective responsibility of all the managers. Responsibilities for the managers must also be defined properly and in clear terms to avoid clashes between the managers. Each manager must understand the contributory role that he or she must play in the organisation to create the much needed functional coordination. Another important aspect that must be taken into account when seeking to address the challenge of poor cross-functional coordination should be the question of hiring the right people. Managers with the right skills will find it easier and possible to work with each other, irrespective of their varying functions, and help in implementing the strategy. The organisation’s traditional structure and approach to management could be the main reason hindering the cross-functional coordination within the organisation. In such an instance, the best remedy for the challenge should involve restructuring the org anisation to promote coordination. It is important that the management should transform its existing internal structures and model because the external business environment keeps changing, thus continually offering new challenges to the organisation. This transformation is necessary in order to fit properly with the existing environmental challenges. This would, in turn, result in the alignment of different organisational parts, thus providing an accurate mechanism for promoting effectiveness in the running of the organisation. What is the role of leadership skills? Organisations have varying management levels that are expected to work together towards making objective achievement easier and less demanding. While the top leadership of the organisation is directly responsible for formulating and determining strategy, the subsequent management levels play a critical role in enforcing and ensuring that the strategy is achieved as intended. However, organisations must have adequate lead ership skills to ensure that this objective is attained. New opportunities need to be continually created, especially by the top-level management, to offer a learning opportunity for the low-level managers. This will provide a practical experience from where the lower-level managers can build upon their skills. Apart from availing practical experiences, the organisation should arrange for just-in-time coaching, training sessions, as well as targeted recruitment. The idea is to continually help the managers to attain the appropriate knowledge and skills to enhance their contribution in strategy formulation and implementation. Although the top-level managers may formulate the best fitting strategy for the organisation, the lower level managers who participate in the direct implementation may turn out to be the actual strategy barrier. Their lack of knowledge and skills may end up hindering the organisation from attaining its goals and objectives. Having determined how important the co ntribution of the lower-level managers is, it is important that the organisation only acquires individuals who are capable of performing the role. Where a middle-level manager is not able to measure to the challenge, the organisation should move with speed and replace them with other qualified and able candidates. Appraisals can be conducted on a more regular basis to measure and ascertain how effective each of the middle-level managers are in performing their roles. Relevant Theories and Models Organisational Fit and Fitness: Integrated Analytical Framework The SFP identifies an effective diagnostic framework that allows managers to link their respective organisational business strategy together with the competitive environment with the capabilities of the organisation. As Beer (2002) notes, organisations must ensure that their strategies fit within the competitive environment in which they exist. Three basic areas define the organisational fitness model, which include the organisa tional levers, organisational capabilities, and the goals. An organisation must carefully align the three important aspects with specific consideration to the external competitive environment before seeking to implement it. Organisational levers The organisational levers mainly involve the internal systems that the organisation adopts in its effort to ensure that it functions effectively. They include the leadership team, which comprises of the senior executive management, and other managers within the organisation, including functional and departmental heads, as well as line managers (Dervitsiotis, 2008, p. 709). Leadership is a critical aspect because it determines, through the shaping of policies and opinions, the actual decision that the organisation will follow. Work systems consist of the actual methodologies that the organisation applies as it executes its roles and functions. Management processes, on the other hand, have a direct influence on the performance of the organisat ion because they determine the decisions and the course of action to be applied by the organisation. The quality of an organisation’s overall leadership and management depends on its management processes because it identifies the roles and participation of individual managers in making decisions (Kostopoulos, Spanos Prastacos, 2013, p. 1430). The human resource system identifies the quality of employees that the organisation acquires in terms of their skills, experience, and knowledge. It also determines the skill development path for the workers by integrating external business environment components within the training framework. The organisational principles and culture affect the entire operations of the organisation. It affects the way interactions within and outside the organisation take place. These organisational levers must be aligned such that they result in organisational capabilities that would enhance goal achievement. Capabilities Organisational capabilities co mprise of the ‘7Cs’, which include coordination, competence, commitment, and communication. Others include conflict management capabilities, creativity, as well as capacity management. Coordination results in effective cooperation between different individuals and functions or departments of the organisation, which need to combine efforts towards implementing goal realisation (Hanna, Crittenden Crittenden, 2013, p. 18). Competence focuses on developing and utilising the appropriate skills. This leads to the achievement of desired objectives and goals. Quality leadership entails competence as it requires individuals to understand how to relate and integrate with colleagues (Heide, Grà ¸nhaug, Johannessen, 2002, p. 217). As the organisation targets to achieve its set out objective using the available resources and within the stipulated period, it has to ensure that both the management and the employees are committed fully to realise the objective. The individual contri bution of each employee is critical in building and enhancing the commitment. Failure or lack of commitment, on the other hand, results in employees directing their efforts toward different directions. This makes it difficult for the strategy to be followed and the objective be attained. Communication is needed for relaying information, thereby improving the quality of interaction within the organisation. Managers must communicate with their employees, but they also need to communicate with their peers in the other departments (Heide, Grà ¸nhaug, Johannessen, 2002, p. 217). This improves coordination within the organisation, while also promoting learning. On the other hand, upward communication must also be encouraged to enable employees give their feedback details to the management for appropriate action to be taken. The focus of the management should be to devise appropriate ways of addressing conflicts because conflicts are inevitable in any society (Heide, Grà ¸nhaug, Johann essen, 2002, p. 217). Competition between individuals and their personal interests should be put in check as this is a major source of politics within the organisation. However, individual creativity should never be curtailed as a result. The competitive environment where the organisation operates demands the identification of unique ideologies that can attract the market and create a competitive edge against the rivals. The effective alignment of the organisational levers eventually results in the achievement of the capabilities (Heide, Grà ¸nhaug, Johannessen, 2002, p. 217). The organisation can direct its efforts towards goal achievement once the appropriate capabilities are achieved. The framework forms an important learning loop, which is a continuous cycle that can revert to the organisational levers or capabilities in case the objectives fail to be met. Summary and Recommendations The success of any organisation’s operations depends on how effective its strategy has been formulated and how efficient the implementation is executed. The organisational setup exists in a complex business environment. This requires that the fitness of the strategy is maintained all through to enhance the achievement of the objectives. However, several factors within the organisation act as barriers in the execution of strategy and they need to be addressed to enhance overall organisational performance. These factors include unhealthy internal power struggles and politics. These could see managers pursue their own personal interests at the expense of the organisation’s interests. They could also see managers allocate resources in an ineffective way, where the basis of their actions would be on their own interests and goals. Lack of organisational purpose also forms a barrier to strategy implementation, where the organisation lacks an effective communication system. The rest of the participants may lack the necessary commitment to push through the objective. Re sistance to change also occurs within the organisation, where managers resort to formulating defensive routines, while the employees in departments opt to remain silent even where they notice difficulties. Another barrier to strategy implementation involves the prevention of organisational learning by the managers. List of References ‘Business Policy and Strategy Conference Paper Abstracts’ 2004, Academy of Management Proceedings, pp. 1-98 ‘Organization Development Change Conference Paper Abstracts’ 2005, Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings, pp. 1-33 Allio, MK 2012, ‘Strategic dashboards: designing and deploying them to improve implementation’, Strategy Leadership, vol. 40, no. 5, pp. 24-31 Barton, L, Ambrosini, V 2013, ‘The moderating effect of organizational change cynicism on middle manager strategy commitment’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 721-746 Beer, M et al. 2005, à ¢â‚¬ËœStrategic management as organizational learning: developing fit and alignment through a disciplined process’, Long Range Planning, vol. 38, pp. 445-465 Beer, M, Eisenstat, R 2000, ‘The silent killers of strategy implementation and learning’, Sloan Management Review, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 29-40 Brauer, M, Schmidt, S 2006, ‘Exploring strategy implementation consistency over time: the moderating effects of industry velocity and firm performance’, Journal of Management Governance, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 205-226, Clemens, B, Bakstran, L 2010, ‘A framework of theoretical lenses and strategic purposes to describe relationships among firm environmental strategy, financial performance, and environmental performance’, Management Research Review, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 393-405 Dervitsiotis, KN 2007, ‘On becoming adaptive: the new imperative for survival and success in the 21st century’, Total Quality Management Business Excellence, vol. 18, no. 1/2, pp. 21-38, Dervitsiotis, KN 2008, ‘Guiding human organisations to climb the spiral stages of performance improvements’, Total Quality Management Business Excellence, vol. 19, no. 7/8, pp. 709-718 Eisenstat, R, Dixon, D 2000, ‘Building organizational fitness’, Health Forum Journal, vol. 43, no. 4, pp. 52-55 Forman, J, Argenti, P 2005, ‘How corporate communication influences strategy implementation, reputation and the corporate brand: an exploratory qualitative study’, Corporate Reputation Review, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 245-264, Fredberg, T, Norrgren, F 2012, ‘Enabling truthful strategic dialogue’, Strategic Communication Management, vol. 16, no. 9, pp. 34-36 Hanna, R, Crittenden, V, Crittenden, W 2013, ‘Social learning theory: a multicultural study of influences on ethical behavior’, Journal of Marketing Education, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 18-25 Heide, M, Grà ¸nhaug, K, Johannessen, S 2002, ‘Explor ing barriers to the successful implementation of a formulated strategy’, Scandinavian Journal of Management, vol. 18, no. 2, p. 217-231 Heifetz, R, Laurie, D 2001, ‘The work of leadership’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 79, no. 11, pp. 131-14 Hendry, L, Huang, Y, Stevenson, M 2013, ‘Workload control Successful implementation taking a contingency-based view of production planning and control’, International Journal of Operations Production Management, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 69-103 Kerr, J, Werther Jr., W 2008, ‘The next frontier in corporate governance: engaging the board in strategy’, Organizational Dynamics, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 112-124 Ketzenberger, KE 1998, ‘Six silent killers: management’s greatest challenge’, National Productivity Review (Wiley), vol. 17, no. 3, p. 84 Kostopoulos, K, Spanos, Y, Prastacos, G 2013, ‘Structure and function of team learning emergence: a multilevel empirical validation’, Journal of Management, vol. 39, no. 6, pp. 1430-1461 Majer, C, Bell, C 2011, ‘The silent killers of productivity and profit’, T+D, vol. 65, no. 2, pp. 62-67 Malewicki, DS 2005, ‘Member involvement in entrepreneur network organizations: the role of commitment and trust’, Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 141-166 McGuinness, T, Morgan, R 2005, ‘The effect of market and learning orientation on strategy dynamics: The contributing effect of organisational change capability’, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 39, no. 11/12, pp. 1306-1326 Olson, E, Slater, S, Hult, G 2005, ‘The importance of structure and process to strategy implementation’, Business Horizons, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 47-54 Peng, W Litteljohn, P 2001, ‘Organisational communication and strategy implementation – a primary inquiry’ 2001, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 13, no. 7, p. 360-363 Ramanigopal, CC 2012, ‘Knowledge management strategies for successful implementation in aerospace industry’, Advances in Management, vol. 5, no. 12, pp. 17-21 Skogstad, A, et al. 2007, ‘The destructiveness of laissez-faire leadership behavior’, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 80-92 Stuart, FS 1998, ‘The influence of organizational culture and internal politics on new service design and introduction’, International Journal of Service Industry Management, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 469-485 Và ¤nttinen, M, Pyhà ¤ltà ¶, K 2009, ‘Strategy process as an innovative learning environment’, Management Decision, vol. 47, no. 5, pp. 778-791 Watson, A, Wooldridge, B 2005, ‘Business unit manager influence on corporate-level strategy formulation’, Journal of Managerial Issues, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 147-161 This essay on Strategy Implementation Barriers was written and submitted by user Qu1nt1n to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The Future of Online Advertising essays

The Future of Online Advertising essays The growth and revenue that comes from online advertising will never change, but the ways and strategic process will. Along side the fact that visibility, portability, and impact of the message being portrayed will advance but the measure of Internet advertising will be dramatically be different. The commercial domain is by far the largest and fastest growing on the World WideWeb. It appears thatbusinesses are increasingly taking part in the new marketing forum available on the Internet. Yet, many companies that are growing disillusioned with thecommercial possibilities of online advertising, some have suggested that theInternet is better suited for advertising and commercial sitesrather than personal sites. Executives are questioning whether 'the potential of future Internet advertising is a risk to take due to the growing competition. Agencies areconsidering decreasing or removing their investment in online advertising but are considering the loss of consumers (Schumann 41). For bu sinesses, advertising on the Internet offers potential benefits that are not available through traditional advertising media. This new medium has caught the attention of advertising and marketing experts in several fields. The online advertising that will have the most dramatic changes in the future will be paid search, video advertising, and display advertising. As the search engine marketing continued to grow, the fast pace of paid search and its cost resulted in marketers having to think more about strategic application of search into a marketing plan. There are 3 types of paid search, Paid For Placement (PFP), allowing advertisers to bid for position and obtain a position at the top of major search portal listings by paying a penny more than their competitors regardless of the quality of their sites content for the search engine spiders. The future in the PFP will have affect on the quality of the top websites and the staring...

The dreams of Immigration and the harsh realities of Immigration Essay

The dreams of Immigration and the harsh realities of Immigration Itself - Essay Example The story explores immigration and its impact on people’s lives. Early man migrated from continent to continent in search of food, Balboa and Florinda migrated to the Northernish Empire for work. Crosthwaite uses many techniques to illustrate the parallel struggles of 14th century Latin America in comparison to 21st century Latin and North America, which is where the focus will remain. These struggles are comparative to all different cultures, through the adversities of immigration. The struggles for most immigrants merely begin with the concept of being accepted and understood. Moving from one country to another is a very scary and exciting thing. Even in the current culture that we live in, we are judgmental of others merely based on the color of their skin, as Florinda experienced when Balboa took her to the hospital in their first meeting (Crosthwaite, p 12). This is further disheartening considering that Balboa lost his job because of his meeting and helping Florinda. Thi s is only the beginning of the fears and anxieties that immigrants feel. Leaving behind everything they have known, friends, family, life itself for a dream instills an extraordinary fear. Although they know in their hearts and souls that what they are doing is for the best, it is still difficult to take this action because of the overwhelming fears involved. The fears that immigrants have when it comes to migrating to another country are only exacerbated by the people that they encounter both on the journey and upon arrival. How quickly the people forget that they, too, descended from immigrants looking for a better life in the Northernish Empire. It is not often that people migrate from one country to another for the sole purpose of the journey and the excitement of it. Often, the migration of people from one country to another develops over time. It generally begins when a country needs additional labor forces. Then, the laborer comes to, as an example, the U.S. through a guest w orker program. This allows the migrant worker to come and go freely across the border to work. Although work is a primary reason for many people to migrate, it depends on each individuals â€Å"characteristics and vary from person to person and place to place† (Rodriquez-Scott, 2002). Although the key reason for most people to migrate to another country is work, there are those that migrate for love, the dream of a better life, a better world, education and alienation. In â€Å"The Moon Will Forever Be a Distant Love†, Florinda and Balboa come together out of love and move out of necessity. They head to the Northernish Empire so Balboa can find work. This is a true parallel to the current influx of migrant workers from Mexico, but also other countries around the globe. The two flee together in love, but soon discover that their differences are stark. It begins with Florinda questioning Balboa’s religious beliefs, where they disagree and Florinda keeps at Balboa demanding a different answer than the one she keeps getting (Crosthwaite, p 50), and continues to the eventual end of the relationship. This parallel is a similar issue with immigrants to the U.S. as well. Although the U.S. is considered a melting pot, it still realizes promotion of illegal immigration and racism on a daily basis. In 2001, Tyson Foods Inc. recruited illegals from Mexico to work in their U.S. plants. They were paid a pittance

Public Schools vs Private Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Public Schools vs Private Schools - Essay Example This has led to the question as to why there are disparities between private schools and public schools. This debate is not limited to academic performance but also includes such factors as school funding, classroom quality, libraries, variety of programs offered, security, among several other factors. It is for some of the above reasons that parents usually find themselves in a dilemma when it comes to choosing schools. Parents now have more than enough schools to choose from than before. The government has however written off the performance debate. The United States Department of Education has come up with a report that shows that there is no big difference between the performance in private and public schools as it is believed. Comparisons There are various research and literature that have been written to draw these comparisons. McEwan (103) notes that apart from the very few exceptions, there is no sufficient evidence to make conclusions that are strong and enough to draw concl usions on these comparisons and review of disparities. He blames this on the fact that the nature of schools, the samples that are available and the students, including their selection and sizes, the families, schools and their communities, present so many variables that have not been measured. There are about 46 million students who get enrolled in the public schools in the nation through the various grades up to seniors in high school. About a sixth of the same are enrolled in the private schools Another difference between these two categories is significantly noticeable in the classroom. Despite this, public schools get the financing for their programs from the local, state or federal governments and sometimes from all of them. The admission rules are defined and they therefore have no choice in admitting students. Private schools on the other hand are governed by an elected board of trustees. Additionally, most of them are funded primarily through tuition, contribution from dono rs or endowments. It is for this reason that private schools seem to have enough finances to finance their programs and achieve higher and better standards as compared to public schools. The quality that is witnessed in the classroom is not only limited to the teaching but the environment that is presented. One other major factor is that of classroom discipline. In private schools, the rules are clearly stipulated and laid down when the student opts to attend such a school. The consequences of infraction against the code of discipline are dire. Public schools on the other hand present a different scenario. The constitutional rights in public schools are highly held, and the duration of time under which infractions are dealt with is long, cumbersome and usually complicated. It is no wonder that the quality of classrooms and teaching in private schools is usually high relative to that of public schools. The significance of classroom discipline is noted on the fact that proper discipli ne has a correlation to the atmosphere of learning and when a teacher has control in their classroom, he or she will have a higher power to give quality instructions. There are also very interesting differences between private and public with regard to school libraries. With regard to

Application Of Leadership Knowledge To Health Visitors Practice Nursing Essay

Application Of Leadership Knowledge To Health Visitors Practice Nursing Essay 1.1This report will provide evidence of the application of leadership knowledge to the role of the Health visitors practice. The report will look at my leadership style and skills in relation to developing and implementing an evening well baby clinic. When implementing this clinic I will aim to address and discuss past leadership experience and how I will use this within my team to achieve the best outcomes for families within my practice area. Attention will be made on relating this to improving the quality of care as highlighted in the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Standards of proficiency for specialist community public health nurses, 2004. The standards also state that I, as a Specialist Community Public Health Nurses (SCPHN) must work in partnership with all team members and clients. I will apply my existing and newly developed leadership skills when managing my evening well baby clinic (NMC, 2004 and DOH, 2009). This report will include a discussion on my best practice and the use of evaluation and reflection in learning from experiences. The report will also include issues related to the quality of care and how my leadership can maintain or improve it. The aims and objectives of this report are to provide a clear expression of the quality issues in clinical care. To analyse my understanding of the process of change and my leadership styles can influence the quality of care. I will then look at change theories, management and leadership styles within my practice area and consider what the strengths and weaknesses are. Consideration will also be given to conflict management and my style of leadership within the team in order to promote effective working. 2 Critical analysis and review of own individual knowledge and competence of leadership practice within health visiting practice. 2.1Whilst undertaking the SCPHN course I have had many opportunities and experiences to developed my leadership, and reflect on the kind of leader I aspire to be. There are two types of leaders, transformational and transactional. I feel that I am currently a transformational leader as I try to motivate staff members, encourage vision and ideas and inspire team members and clients to achieve the best possible outcomes. As identified by Huber (2010) Vision is a key aspect of any leadership activity. I feel that my evening well baby clinic has shown my vision through the ideas and implementation of activities within the group. I shared my vision with fellow team members, this promoted motivation and inspiration. Transactional leadership is a more direct approach setting out clear goals and offering rewards to staff members in order to meet objectives (Hartley and Benington, 2010). I adapted aspects of this approach but felt that a transformational approach was more appropriate for my t eam and my practice. Whilst the transformational model of leadership may be seen as dynamic and therefore appeal to change agents, in this scenario the proposed change is largely transactional. The evening clinic will not provide staff with new skills or knowledge and it is unlikely to be seen as a particularly innovative as it is simply expanding an already existing service within the practice area. However, it is important to recognise the need for transactional change, in this instance practical concerns of an evening well baby clinic are being addressed. The evening clinic will not only benefit service users, it will improve service delivery and help achieve both local and national requirements. 2.2 I feel that in order to look at management and leadership theories, it is important to understand the differences between them. Warren (2005) differentiated between management and leadership by stating that the main difference is vision. Leadership is concerned with vision, communication and values whereas management is primarily concerned with analysis, planning and problem solving. Kotter (1990) also suggests that both leadership and management are needed within complex organizations in order for them to run smoothly. This is supported by Marquis and Huston (2006) who state that the roles of the manager and the leader can and should be integrated and that it is essential for both approaches to be present within nursing. I believe that it is vital for leaders to have the ability to be both managers and leaders at the same time in order for quality of care to take place. It is important to remember that management and leadership are very different but have overlapping functions ( Ellis and Hartley, 2005, Gopee and Galloway 2009). To have aspects of leadership and management skills are an essential part of the SCPHN role. Gopee and Galloway (2009) support Huber (2010) about the key importance of a visionary approach to leadership. It is important to reflect on the differences between leadership and management, to have the ability to utilise management in order to enhance my leadership and promote flexible, positive and appropriate team development. Christian and Norman (1998) build on this by arguing that management and leadership are so different that they sometimes can be conflicting. 2.3In my leadership experience I believe that having an effective working relationship with you team can influence the outcomes of a project this is identified by Hartley and Benington (2010), as being a key leadership quality. Kotter (1990) states that leadership is about setting directions, motivating people, inspiring people, having the ability to adopt a visionary position, setting a direction, and anticipating as well as coping with change. I have adapted this approach by undertaking regular team meetings where ideas and goals were set. Then time was given for the team to feedback there own personal vision which promoted self esteem and ownership of the project to enhance team motivation towards a common goal. Team members through this feedback time were able to identify there own strengths and interests to bring to the project, any areas of weakness that were identified were discussed and any relevant training was given. Cooperation and collaboration from other agencies was res ourced to provide the best quality service for staff and service users alike. This enabled learning from each other where any potential conflict would be avoided due to staff working within there capability within there role and recognising that each member of staff is accountable for there own practice. This links with Malcolm et al (2003) who argues that leaders within the clinical area should stay focused on quality of care and professional issues and not cross over to the other side, which is management. 2.4 I believe, as dose Mulally (2001) that leadership for nurses is essential for the success of the Department of Healths NHS plan (2000). Over the past decade accessibility has been a consistent factor in governmental policy. The white paper; The New NHS: Modern Dependable (DH, 1997) advocated improvements to the quality, range and accessibility of services available within the community. Shortly after the Acheson Report (Acheson, 1998) highlighted that within primary care it is important that services are not only effective but readily accessible. Acheson concluded that the NHS should be aiming to provide equitable access to effective health care for all. The project that I have implemented is aimed to improve the quality of existing services. Research into inequalities in health and anecdotal evidence from parents who have or are due to return to work has highlighted a current deficit in service provision. Service users have indicated general dissatisfaction at there being no cli nic available at a time accessible to working parents. When discussing inequalities it is easy to focus on disadvantaged families living in deprived areas, however, it is important to acknowledge that working parents experiencing difficulties accessing services only available during the working day are also experiencing inequality. Therefore as a leader I have identified a gap in service provision and an opportunity to reduce inequalities in health by providing this service. The NHS Plan continued the trend of encouraging a greater range of services and recommended that primary care providers offer services from shared modern premises (DH, 2000). Recently, Our health, Our care, Our say (DH, 2006) was published which aims to improve services in the community, it promised more co-ordination between services and greater consistency across the health service in order to reduce inequalities. It also advocated more flexible services to increase accessibility and recommended involving serv ice users and the local population in decision making. 3. Critically analyse leadership styles and apply them to the complexity of the delivery of care. 3.1 In the last year as a SCPHN I have been able to observe many different leadership styles, on reflection I believe that I have chosen aspects of these styles to develop my own style. One theorist suggests that leadership in a clinical setting influences followers to bring about improvements in care (Welford, 2002). Through research I have found that there are many different leadership styles, Hersey et al (2008) identified these styles as authoritarian, laissez-faire and democratic. Within my career I have encountered many of the leadership styles, this has enabled me to choose aspects of these styles within my own practice. I found the laissez-faire approach of no interference and lack of decision making and a lack of structure to be confusing and unclear. The advantages of this approach with groups are that they are fully independent and promote professionals working together (Huber, 2010). The authoritarian approach from previous leaders has been very directive and not team foc used. I found this approach did not encourage togetherness and therefore I would not want to promote this within my team. In conflict situations I can see how it would be an efficient approach. I aim to be a democratic leader who works with there team, sharing responsibility and decision making although this may be a long drawn out process I believe it will facilitate an improved project. Huber(2010) stated that the challenges of a democratic style are getting people with different professional backgrounds to work together and decide on a plan of action. To overcome this I ensured that the team shared common goals. I created motivation within the team to examine working practices. This was confirmed to me as many of the staff showed their interest by their offering of ideas to meet this challenge. By tapping into the moral dimension of a proposed change i.e. promoting the need to contribute in order to protect the safety and health inequalities for those children and families who wo uld not otherwise be in a position to attend a well baby clinic during the day. It was also recognised that there may be resistance to working unsocial hours. As two health visitors will be required for each clinic and there are currently in excess of 20 health visitors employed by the trust they may only be expected to cover one clinic every 10 months. Some staff may even volunteer to work more often providing relief for those staff who arent keen to cover the clinic while providing a benefit to themselves if they can start work later in the day, therefore demonstrating that the democratic leadership style further inspired staff to change by motivating followers to transcend their own self-interest for the sake of the team and organization (Bass 1985). 3.2 Situational leadership was developed by Hersey and Blanchard (1977) and assumes the leader adapts their style according to a given situation. Encouraging team input and facilitating problem solving are key features of the supportive behaviours exhibited by the situational leader (Northouse 2004). This style has two main types of intervention: those which are supportive and those which are directive. The effective situational leader is one that adjusts the directive and supportive dimensions of their leadership according to the needs of their subordinates (Northouse 2004).As most team members were highly motivated in the project, freely offering suggestions and ideas, a directive role was not needed. The supportive behaviours I employed encouraged a participative approach characterised by the use of finely tuned interpersonal skills such as active listening, giving feedback and praising (Marquis and Huston 2000) which can be likened to a Skinnerian approach of positive reinforceme nt. 3.3 I can identify my correct use of the democratic leadership style by working with and alongside team members encouraging participation. This is achieved by assessing workers competence and commitment to completing the task. The member of staff that appeared to take little interest and was not able to offer ideas displayed a lower developmental level compared to other team members and hence I directed her more using the coaching behaviours advocated by Hersey and Blanchard (1977). This coaching promoted inclusion and participation by: giving encouragement, soliciting input and questioning the participant on what they thought of the proposal and the changes they would like to see. This was done to increase levels of commitment and motivation (Northouse 2004) and thus integrate that team member into the change process. On reflection this can also be identified as an example of reducing the resisting factors to the change within the force field as by adapting to the needs of that team member, she was encouraged to take part and share ideas rather than hinder progress and potentially thwart the change. I aim to develop my leadership style further by gaining feedback from my team members and by reflecting on what have been positive and negative experiences, whilst maintaining a link with best evidence based practice. 3.4 When implementing my evening well baby clinic and introducing my new leadership style, it was important to remember that change would be needed. When proposing change it must be recognised that if a structured process is not used the process could easily fail (Keyser and Wright,1998). It is important therefore, to acknowledge the complexity of the process. Lewin (1951) identified three stages in the process of change, these were unfreeze, move and refreeze. Within this scenario, theunfreeze process would include communication and planning with both staff and PCT management in order to gain their backing and support for the evening clinic. The move process would involve trying the evening clinic for a period of six months, and observing its effectiveness during this time. If the evaluation of the service proved it to be successful it would ultimately result in the clinic becoming established concluding the refreeze process. Through implementing the clinic I gained peoples thoughts and opinions and what they felt was needed, in Kassean Jagoos study (2005), they identified the unfreezing stage as that of facilitating peoples thoughts on the current situation. Sheldon and Parkers (1997) research found that people can only be empowered by a vision that they understand and that it is paramount that strategies are used to foster inclusion and participation so that all team members are fully aware of the impetus for change. 3.5 When improving care, two potential obstacles have been highlighted by Tait (2004), these were limited resources and the pace of change. With these in mind, a force field analysis (Lewin, 1951) has been completed to try and identify potential barriers. The issues I have identified are that it must be established early in the process the arrangements for the remuneration of staff time. Possible options are overtime payments or time owing. Staff will display individual preferences depending on their individual perception of the benefit of each option. As the decision on how time will be paid will lie with the PCT management team it is important to establish their response early as this issue is likely to be raised by the health visitors very early in the change process. Another issue identified was Health and Safety. As the building is already used for a family planning Clinic, any health and safety issues are already likely to have been addressed. I however considered it to be good practice to revisit and review the risk assessment. I identified a training issue around securing the health centre at the end of the evening, these locking up and safety procedures could be addressed with a short in house training session. After identifying the above issues it was my responsibility as a leader to consider resources and budgets available in order to achieve all my aims and objectives. 4. Identify and evaluate areas of leadership that enhance and benefit the quality of client care. 4.1 The Government has clearly outlined the need for nurses to develop leadership skills at all levels within the workforce in order to deliver the NHS modernisation programme (DH 1998; DH 1999). The leadership role expected of community practitioners is evident in Shifting the Balance of Power (DH 2001a) and Liberating the Talents (DH 2002) with the expectation that health visitors will lead teams which will deliver family-centred public health within the communities they work (DH 2001b). I strongly believe that by collaborating with other agencies when setting up my evening well baby clinic I have improved the quality of care for clients within my practice area. 4.1When implementing my project I took into consideration the felt and expressed needs (Bradshaw, 1972) of service users, and in line with both local Primary Care Trust (PCT) and government policy (Sec 2.3) regarding accessibility to services, it is proposed that an evening clinic be introduced for a trial period of six months. I made this decision as a leader of my team to ensure quality care and provision was implemented. To enable ongoing quality and evaluation change will be audited and evaluated in order to inform future practice and service delivery. In health visiting I believe that the emphasis should be placed on quality of care, providing and promoting access to health information and helping people make sense of the information so that they are able to make informed lifestyle decisions (DH, 2000). 4.2 A study investigating parents preferred sources of child health information found that when parents required advice on their childs general health care needs, the child health clinic was the second most popular source of information and advice (Keatinge, 2005). Child health nurses were identified as a good source of information, parents felt comfortable talking to the nurse and advice was seen to be reliable. Attendance at the child health clinic was viewed as an opportunity to obtain regular information and advice (Keatinge, 2005). A study of parental satisfaction with the health visiting service found that approximately two thirds of health visitor contacts took place in the clinic and routine weighing and general advice accounted for a high percentage of recent contacts in one year old infants. Again the health visitor was viewed as an important source of advice (Bowns, Crofts, Williams, Rigby, Hall and Haining, 2000). The National Service Framework (NSF) for Children, Young P eople and Maternity services (DH, 2004), contains several standards. Standards 1-3 are particularly relevant when considering a well baby Clinic, they focus on promoting health and identifying needs, supporting parents and having services centred around the family. Each of these standards can be addressed in a well baby clinic. The NSF is intended to lead a cultural shift which will result in services designed around the needs of the family, not the needs of the organisation, thus resulting in quality of care for all (DH, 2004). 4.3As a leader it is essential to have an awareness of clinical governance to ensure health care organisations can develop cultures and ways of thinking in order to improve quality of care (Tait, 2004). I have considered the culture of the organisation within which the proposed change will take place as I felt it was important. In my experience of the health visiting service, individual health visitors cover individual caseloads and generally work independently. This is not to say that a team culture does not exist but communication is essential, and as a leader I can facilitate this as part of my role. In addition to this regular health visitor meetings and annual away days encourage communication and help foster the wider team spirit. Clinical governance attempts to provide joined up policy development (Tait, 2004) so it is important to note that the issues highlighted are high on both local and national agendas. As a result of this it is hoped that the proposal, attempting to impr ove service provision with minimal resource implications is likely to be given serious consideration by service providers. Initial consultation with the management team was sought to identify if there is managerial support for the proposed evening clinic. Once this was achieved the process of consultation with health visitors and administrative staff began. It is hoped that by encouraging shared governance and shared leadership the proposal will be both practitioner owned and organisationally supported (Scott and Caress, 2005). 5.Demonstrate a dynamic and flexible approach to leadership issues. 5.1Within the project there is a mixture of cultures that have proved beneficial when planning the expansion of the well baby clinic. Managerial support was established early in the process, so that the change would be less opposed. However in addition to this staff were encouraged to contribute their ideas and concerns the change process may progress more smoothly. The implementation of this strategy reduced the risks of potential conflict. Barr and Dowding (2010) state that by being a dynamic and flexible leader who is able to resolve conflict effectively, high quality patient care can be achieved. Change can sometimes be viewed as a negative thing. A percentage of the team who will be affected by this change are established health visitors. There can at times be apathy to change and a tendency to continue with a certain practice because it has always been done that way or because something has been tried and failed before. 5.2 If conflict was to arise within my team I would use a conflict resolution strategy as identified by Barton (1991). This approach can be adapted by leaders to help improve team moral and productivity (Huber 2010). I believe the important factors for the leader to implement are effective communication, assertiveness and empathy. If this technique is delivered effectively I believe can be resolved quickly and with minimal upset. If conflict arises and a leader avoids confronting an issue or withdraws from the situation this can be beneficial as it allows for a cooling off period between team members but I believe that this is not a solution as it will not resolve the conflict. Marquis and Huston (2006) support Hubers research by saying that a leader should address conflict but also needs to recognise and accept an individuals differences and opinions. Therefore a flexible leadership style should be adopted whenever possible. 6 Conclusion and Summery. 6.1 In conclusion I feel that a model which places great importance on the needs, values and morals of others is transformational leadership (Northouse 2004; RCN 2005) and elements of this could be identified in my leadership. The goal of transformational leadership is to create a vision change what is into something better. Although transformational leadership did not originate within the nursing profession, its usefulness is in its application towards implementing the proposed change in practice. Transformational leaders are accustomed to sharing power, using influence and developing potential and are seen as the only leader likely to implement lasting change (Marriner-Tomey 2004). 6.2 Before completing the process I was inclined to believe that a large proportion of change was dictated to staff by managers and that as an individual member of a large work population I had a relatively little influence over work practices and few opportunities to lead other staff. The positive outcome of compiling this report has been gaining insight into the process of change and that different types of change and leadership are equally important. I have also benefited from actually completing the process and analysing the potential problems that may occur when trying to introduce a change in practice. I feel that the knowledge gained has influenced and inspired me to strive to become a motivational and beurocratic leader. 6.3 The negative points have been seeing how much work is required to bring about a relatively small change in practice. This process has taught me that in my career I will be unable to change everything I want to. It has also been difficult gathering the evidence base which has been frustrating as this appears to be a fundamental indicator in ensuring a proposal within practice is taken seriously. In the future I hope my new confidence in my ability to lead and empower will make me a valuable contributor to the health visiting service. I will carefully study those working practices I would like to change, ensure there is a good evidence base for any proposals and follow a structured process in order to maximise the potential success of future ventures. 6.4 Evidence based practice- leadership-SCPHN. AND CONTINUING REFLECTION OF SELF AND SERVICES.adapability and flexability.values