Global Issues. Land Reclamation. What are the alternatives to Research Paper - 1

Global Issues. Land Reclamation. What are the alternatives to expanding a nation's economy rather than land reclamation - Research Paper Example ts in four categories which comprise of Draining of wetlands, Building of artificial islands, Floating platforms built out above the water, and Housing built on poles over water. The draining of flooded wetlands is frequently used to reclaim land for agricultural use, port expansions or industrial use. As the world develops, the population increases and the demand for infrastructures of business, commercial, and housing are on the rise. Countries like Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, used this method as a way of solving the land problems in their states. In the United States, all techniques of land reclamation have been applied, but the primary one is by irrigation. Under the 1902 reclamation act, the Bureau of Reclamation provides water that has been sponsored by taxpayers to agriculturalists in dry areas in seventeen western states. The aims of reclamation include flood control, recreation, and hydroelectric power generation. Moreover, Land reclamation is not the only way a nation can improve its economy. There exist numerous ways a nation can improve its economy rather than destroying the coastline. A country can decide to major in fish production to improve its revenues, or the rare species that exist in the oceans can be a tourist attraction that will improve a countrys econo my through tourism, among others. The purpose of this study is to find out why land refilling is a concern and its historical and global context. Also, we are going to look at the reasons we should act on the landfilling issue as soon as possible and the possible solutions. Lastly, we will relate this issue as it is with Bahrain. The paper will seek to answer the question of alternatives to expanding a nation’s economy instead of land reclamation (Zeballos and Yamaguchi, 690). Reclamation is not just a local issue, but also a worldwide issue. Due to this, it has an immense significance in the current days. The landfill has been shown to produce more wealth globally, through altering

Refelction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Refelction - Essay Example On the other hand, the situation asks teachers to arouse thought, outline examples, list probing questions for students to respond to, and counterexamples Other roles assigned to the teacher include highlighting genuine forms of application, carry out the role of the devil’s advocate, demand explanation, examine understanding, and seek justification. To justify this assertion, the author writes that, ‘teaching for understanding includes effective whole-class, small-group, and individual approaches.’ Evaluating approaches used in uncovering content require a bigger approach than the one applied in the article. In the same respect, the article delves into three methodologies of imparting knowledge in a manner that learners in an academically diverse classroom can understand the content. (Marzano, 2010, 21) The instructional techniques are six facets of understanding, crucial questions, as well as the WHERETO model. Applying critical questions as a technique of enhancing understanding starts at stage 3. It builds on activities that take place in the first stage where the teacher guides learners in developing questions that will help them in comprehending the concepts as the topic progresses. Questions are necessary teaching aids in making students grasp the concept from a close environment. The author of the article posits that ‘essential questions serve as doorways to understanding.’ This article aims at helping learners grasp crucial concepts and processes that rema in abstract always. The author proposes great modification in the allocation of the roles assigned to both teachers and learners with much emphasis on the roles of a teacher. It is at this moment that the article proposes that teachers must uncover the exact content to deliver. The article picks an image iceberg as an example to illustrate the point under discussion. ‘A certain portion is visible above the surface of the water,

Toyota Motor Corporation the effective management of people

Toyota Motor Corporation the effective management of people Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) Toyota Motor Corporation also known as TMC is a Japanese born company famous for its car making as well as providing financial services and participating in various lines of business including housing, IT and financial activities. Over the years, TMC has become the largest car manufacturing in the world (operating in America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania) after General Motors and is the biggest in Japan producing an estimated eight million vehicles per year. (Toyota Annual Report, 2009) Founded in 1937, its current name, TMC was incorporated in 1981. As of March 31, 2009 TMCs capital totalled to 397.05 billion yen, (Toyota Annual Report, 2009) and despite the current financial crisis, the company only announced its first annual loss in 71 years in May 2009. Importance of Project Management Many organisations use project management in order to survive in todays fast changing environment and it is part of the way things are done in businesses as described by Heerkens (2007). In using project management, companies translate both their strategies and objectives into action because this brings change to organisations and giving the fact that change is almost necessary if a company is to gain competitive advantage, this explains it multiple advantages including the following: Achievement of goal is made possible and decision making is based on more adequate information, thus making collaboration more focused and orientated toward gaining competitive advantage. Clear terms of reference allow employees understand their roles and responsibilities and how these can relate to the company i.e. objective, scope of deliverables, role, responsibilities, structure and schedule all give a clear path of progression in terms of what is expected from people, Dobson (2004) Forecast of revenues and expenditures is made possible by the allocation of budget. As a result, employees feel connected to the organisation from the corporate level where important decisions are made, thus facilitating an effective management. Time constraints (scope, time and cost) and specific expertise are used as measuring tools thus allowing the linkage of HRM to technology and the reduction of managers workload whilst increasing efficiency in the workplace by standardising HR processes. As a result, problem solving is made easy and fast, Harris et al (1996) In the organisational context, a hierarchical structure including the necessary step for achieving the objectives contribute in reaching the end. Different efforts are appreciated and team members recognise the importance of project management by pioneering it main focus. This ultimately leads to success and a drive toward effective management of people which is a critical component of organisational competitiveness as stated by Kerzner (2009). Because the success of any project depend on the leadership and motivation styles of sponsors who are experienced and ensure effective delivery, a sense of achievement is created for both employees and the organisation. Project management has served as tool to many big organisations in terms of innovation and when dealing with changes in the business environment, both employees and managers are able to witness the achievement of their respective goals and that of the organisation all in the same aim to gain competitive advantage, Larson et al (2006) The next sections of this report discuss some of these advantages in the context of TMC. Recruitment, Selection and Training of Personnel in TMC towards Market Advantage The concept of employee resourcing is aimed at employing people with the right skills and attitudes for the organisation. This appears to be acceptable in principle. But there is a tendency to interpret it because managers tend to recruit people who have the same characteristics as themselves. Most of TMCs senior executives are Japanese men, whereas most successful western corporations employ more diversely at the corporate level. In todays modern organisations, key issues include flexibility, innovation, creativity and the success of organisation is not likely to result from those who display similar characteristics to those already in the organisation. It can therefore be argued that organisations which perform better are those who employ people that think for themselves and have ideas and behaviour that are different from others While this suggests the usual selection methods which require evidence of continuous and verifiable employment actually works against the organisation that is seeking innovation, TMC with its The Toyota Way of lean product development and management principles illustrates otherwise. (Liker et al, 2004) So far TMC has been able to achieve market advantage by keeping up with it technology and more importantly being ahead of its competitors. In 1997, the company launched the Prius as the world first mass-produced hybrid car which was achieved through their people system. (Toyota Annual Report, 2009) TMCs system is centred on people from their recruitment and selection as well as their training and development in the company. The Toyota Way, as discussed by Liker et al (2004) must be part of their DNA. This concept has so far helped TMC achieve it organisational competitiveness. However, many overseas managers and engineers working for TMC have admitted working under too much pressure, Liker et al (2004). Others have embraced this and felt at home in an organisation where they feel valued. Either way, the question remains whether TMC is an employer of choice. TMC has recently been accused of weak designed practices with relation to the human resource as a result of the recent failure to spot technical issues, Sullivan (2010) In Sullivans view point, reward and recognition, training, hiring, the performance management process, the corporate culture, leadership development, staff retention and risk assessment all contributed to TMCs downfall. The company certainly has a very rigorous hiring process and often only recruit those who have had higher grades and are smart. But it can be argued that intelligence isnt always the key, particularly in an industry that is influenced by changing technologies and competition. The aim of recruiting should include making the organisation attractive to potential candidates by being the employer of choice where people are not only valued but want to be part of the organisation. This may be difficult for TMC as being a Japanese company involve adopting a culture of bureaucracy which ultimately affects the structure of the company as a whole. Introducing flexible working hours in the UK for example and where mostly men are employed, hiring women could all assist in this sector. Still, it remains managers job to examine the situation and identify alternative options in order to achieve market advantage. Armstrong suggested that learning programmes and training schemes should be developed in order to increase employability both inside and outside the organisation. To deal with the challenges faced by training, TMC introduced lean training where all team leaders work together to produce a new model. When producing Corolla for instance, TMC brought a team leader from each of their operating regions and together, they worked in 12 different assembly points around the world which reduced the number of working hours by 30%. (Toyota Annual Report, 2009) In addition, the company has a website that allows all its team members to take part in self training sessions which include weekly and location based trainings locations. (TMC Sustainability Report, 2009) However effective and efficient is this process of recruiting and training, the relationship between individuals who are brought to work together is crucial to the intended success. Teamwork Teamwork is an important aspect of an effective management of people and therefore represents a critical component of any process of project implementation. It defines the relation between individual and other external parties as well as being dependent on each other in their particular tasks. There is reliability on the individual capability. (Tarricone et al, 2002) More importantly, team members all have different skills and each contribute toward the organisations social culture and vision. (Gibson et al, 1980) Theories and Concepts of Teamwork Tuckman (1965) presented a theory of four different stages of group development that he further developed by adding a fifth stage after its popularity in 1970. The first four stages are represented by the guidance in the development and behaviour of the team members. Performing Performing Norming Focus on the Task Forming Storming Storming Figure 3.1: The Different Stages of Group Development Source: Adapted from Tuckman (1965) In the organisational context, the success of teamwork will depend on peoples ability to communicate within the team as well as their commitment to achieving the tasks in question. Contrary to this view, a project team might have different characteristics which allow them to accomplish their task in accordance with the given time and budget. As well as being fully involved, team members have to keep their manager aware of the issues, changes, risks and quality improvement. Gibson et al (1980) were adamant that communication and involvement are two different characteristics and that all that matters was the target or task that was required to be achieved by the team. The following attributes were discussed by Tarricone et al (2002) in the same interest of finding out what represented a successful teamwork. Attributes of Team Work TeamWork Interpedently Individual Skills Liberty of communicat-ion and suggestion feedback Commitment To team Team size Commitment to team and shared Goals Figure 3.2: The Six Attributes of a successful Teamwork (Adapted graph) TMC and Teamwork TMC refers to each of its employee as team member. To them, making customers happy is directly linked to how well they work together as a team. While this partly relate to Tarricone and Lucas (2002) six attributes of teamwork, particularly where team work and commitment are concerned, people have different competencies and as mentioned by Francis et al (1979), wouldnt it be easier if everyone focused on their given tasks? Or maybe TMC has found that taking care of each other, Critchley et al (1986) and respecting each other is primordial. We can still question TMCs communication and feedback standards because of the guidance they use from their recruitment to the training where strict rules are used. Harris et al (1996) outlined this in saying that members must have the right to express their feeling with regard to the work being carried out. Again, it is the managements job to not only give adequate direction, but also divide the job among the members while making sure they are not just following set rules but contributing individually. It is clear that TMC challenges its employees. For example, the company believes that respecting and trusting it people will ultimately mean that they will give 100% of output. They also agree that everything cant be done through machines and therefore human force is important. Thats why the company motivates it team members by trusting them and given them responsibility in order to fulfil their objectives. However, being a corporate company involves having low tolerance in terms of mistakes. TMC is currently at the centre of massive allegations regarding quality issues involving their recent cars. They have taken actions to correct these issues but could this be related to team members working under too much pressure? Is TMC too consumer driven? Or maybe the culture of the company which evolve around the Toyota Production system is in need of restructuring. The 5th stage of Tuckmans (1965) theory particularly represents this as being the split of the group after fulfilment of their purpose. In Tuckmans (1965) view, moving on is helpful to the team members as it creates a sense of recognition. What is obvious is that TMC understands teamwork and refers to it as its foundation. The next figure represents an example of how teams are formed in TMC. Team Size Team Member 5-8 Team Leader 3-4 Group Leader 5-8 5-8 Asst. Manager 4-10 Smallest Group 4TLs 18 TMs Largest Group 5 TLs 23 TMs Manager Figure 3.3: Typical Toyota Organization Assembly Operation Source: Bill Constantino, former group leader, Toyota, Georgetown. While other organisations use highly skilled employees to find solutions to day to day issues such as quality of products, maintenance of equipment etc, TMCs system (see figure 3.3) allows employees to do thing differently. Work groups are responsible for solving problems that occur and have many responsibilities including carrying out monthly planning in advance for quality production, scheduling etc. Another example of teamwork in TMC is where experts select two or three members depending on how many people are needed for the task and each member has to learn every job to allow rotation. The company believes that this way no member gets the load of work and the system runs smoothly while motivating employees. TMC and Change Management The management of TMC spotted the need for change from an early stage and has ever since been improving the companys productivity, quality, customer service etc. The company cultivates the leadership and teams styles change culture as well as growth to devise the strategy of what they refer to as The Toyota Way or the 14 Principles of Management. (Liker, 2004) This is also explained by the 4P model of The Toyota Way (Liker, 2004), where he highlights the Philosophy, Process, People and Partners and Problem Solving as a way of improvement and uniqueness of TPS. These 4Ps also constitute the 14 principles of management. Fig: 3.4: A 4PModel of The Toyota Way Source: Adapted from Liker (2004) However, change has its issues and most organisations begin to realise this when they are hit by competition or often bankruptcy. TMC experienced this in 1950 when the company encountered bankruptcy and began changing its culture. As recognised by Bridges (1995) with his transitional model of change, often dramatic change is needed in order to survive in a competitive market place. TMC accepted the challenge to survive in the US market and started working towards the companys vision by motivating and inspiring its employees. As a result of leading the global market, the company introduced the Prius in 1997. Change is part of TMCs leadership as well as being environmentally friendly when making cars and despite the current crisis facing all automobile makers, TMC remains a leader deriving from change as their main culture. Leadership and Motivation Both leadership and motivation have emerged as some of the most important aspects of an effective management of people and referred to as two elements that complement each other. In the 21st century, organizations are seeing leaders as those who set direction, has clear vision, inspire and motivate teams in achieving tasks. Once motivated, employees begin to prioritize organizational goals and culture, thus encouraging change and it adherence. TMCs Leadership Approach TMC doesnt follow a set of rules but rather exercises very unique values and approaches that set them apart from others. They believe in building employees strengths as well as building car. (Liker, 2004) Chemers, (1997) referred to leadership as a common task where people support one another. Hiebert et al (2001) on the other hand associated leadership with interpersonal relationship and corporate strategy. At TMC, Managers involve their subordinates into the thinking process which also reflect part of McGregors (1960) Theory-Y (participative style), and adjust themselves to situations depending on the project, or resources available which is reflected in Fiedlers (1967) approach. Fiedler (1997) further highlighted the environment as being the principal factor that influences leadership. He referred to this as contingency theory and placed leadership styles in two categories, task-oriented or relationship-oriented and situations in high-favourable and low-favourable. He came to the conclusion that task-oriented leaders perform more effectively and that when the level of situation favourability was intermediate, relationship-oriented leaders performed better. The leadership philosophy at TMC can be represented by the 2-dimentional leadership matrix of The Toyota Way, (Liker, 2004) where leadership styles have been divided into four types: Bureaucratic Manager, Group Facilitator, Task Master and Builder of Learning Organizations. Again we can distinguish similarities here to that of the Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid (1964) where the organization man manager shows the ability to balance between organizations goals and peoples needs. John Adairs (1973) Action-Centered Leadership Model proposed that a good leader must perform following 3 main responsibilities. Figure 4.1: The Action-Centered Leadership Model Source: Adair (1973) A good leader in Adairs (1973) point of view is the one who create balance between these three circles. TMC achieves performance by giving importance to both production and people (team), but in doing so people and production needs are left unfulfilled. This is almost a subtle way of telling people what to do as represented by the next graph. Figure 4.2: The TMC Leadership Model Source: Liker (2004, P. 196) Liker (2004) associated The Toyota way with that of the organisation that is building a learning organisation which nurtures the abilities and motivation level of its team and plans ahead in order to get the maximum out of employees. This has so far resulted in them setting example to many organisations by adding values to their existing culture. The 4P model of The Toyota Way studied by Liker (2004) put people on the third level from the bottom up along with long-term vision of the companys goals and adequate knowledge of technical and management skills. This is all well but we can argue that the primary goal as well as injecting that vision and knowledge to people should also include putting people at the very top since without them nothing is possible. Such an approach will allow employees to feel even more part of the company, motivates them further and enables them to put a maximum effort in order to achieve a longer-term success. However, at TMC, leaders encourage and respect position and decision making capabilities of their people working from the very bottom as many of them recognized having started at the bottom. (Gertner, 2007) Deriving from Fiedlers Theory (1967) and Adairs Model (1973), development of mutual trust and respect are very important to TMCs management relation which is the primary key to HRM practices in the 21st century. (Toyotas CSR Initiatives, 2010) TMCs Motivational Approach For most organisations, the ultimate goal is to make the employees work at their full potentials and this cannot be achieved easily as every individual is motivated differently. The concept of motivation has been developed by many scholars over the years. Fritz Heider (1972) developed two concepts of motivation which were Intrinsic and Extrinsic and which he believed were driven by the factors including employees attribution, beliefs and desires. Similarly, Maxwell (2008) discussed motivation factors where he associated needs, values and goals to peoples level of production. Figure 4.3: Employment Motivational Factors Source: Maxwell (2008) TMC is constantly committed to making improvements rather than just responding to problems that occur. The management develops friendly relationship within the teams and recognises their improvement. As a result, 94% of ideas in the company are adopted. For a Japanese company which guaranties life time employment, this is an obvious expectation because it allows internal promotion and develops motivation. However, motivation is a concept that changes with time and research on dynamic motivation carried out by Herzberg (1987) in his Dual Structure Theory pointed out that the diversity of motivation distinguishes between motivators (challenges) and hygiene factors (job security). But how important is job security in the 21st century? It is clear that being made redundant is no longer a threat and bigger organisations like TMC need to work harder in motivating and retaining their employees particularly in an age where competition and changes in the environment are part of their day to day lives. Heider (1972) believed that intrinsic motivation was driven by employees own self-esteem rather than financial reward which is often short lived and costly, while the extrinsic concept was influenced by the outside. Other factors were studied by Maslow (1954) in his Need Hierarchy Theory where he highlighted human needs as being very important and need to be satisfied if advancement was to be made possible. Agreeing with McGregor (1960) and Heider (1972), Maslow found money the least important. TMC recognises employees participation and money isnt used as motivator. At least not from what we have seen from their recruitment, selection and training strategies and team work structure. For any project implementation purposes, managers will need to further develop the process of working together by perhaps understanding employees needs rather than those of the organisation. This can assist in promoting motivation and therefore adhere to the organisations cultural implications which are becoming more homogenous in todays business environment. This also presuppose an understanding of employees own culture and context. TMC and Cross-Cultural Issues Taylor in the 20th century, studied how employers can increase their workers efficiency and decrease waste, later referred to as Muda by Japanese. TMC with their Toyota Production System champions this culture as well as what the company refers to as Kaizen which means team. Although Kaizen happens to be the improvement of Toyotas culture, it differs from the philosophy of Command and Control. The methodology of Kaizen is based upon monitoring results and making changes. TMC employs the very best people and trains them on cross training issues. By doing so, managers believe they are removing any problems from the root. But people are different and being a global company implies employing people who are culturally different. This therefore raises another concern about how diverse TMC really is. As earlier discussed, TMC is a global company still mainly run by its Japan headquarters. Its top leadership does not include foreign executives. This has resulted in slow problem solving of recent crisis of product defects. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently stated that the heart of Toyotas issues lies in its secretive corporate culture in Japan. (Financial Times, 3rd March 2010, P. 22) The interesting debate on these recent quality issues which is linked to the cross-cultural training and consultation factors is that TMC focuses on their Kaizen concept, which is eliminating problems; whilst Americans and other Western consumers focus on the transparency concept which is based on the freedom of information. Either way, organisations can hardly avoid mistakes. It is how managers address these issues that determine their future. So far TMC has proven its success deriving from its leadership culture which has resulted in: Promoting innovation and creativity as well as developing new ideas which are recognised by the management. Continuous expansion allowing TMC to explore foreign markets and achieve stability in the global economy. Efficiency and uniformity of the workforce allowing the maintenance of a respectable level of stability and competitiveness in the business environment. However, limitation of promotion prospect TMC might lead to a need to consider using more Total Quality Management (TQM) which results in rising cost for the company. This can also create inner conflicts considering the current rise in competition. Also, TMC should be mindful of the fear for disappearance of personal identity on the employees side; because the majority of ideas are adopted from employees. They are treated as a team which limit their recognition as individual. TMC and Diversity Since the early 1990s, large organisations including TMC have recognised Diversity as being an important aspect of managing people and declared themselves as being committed to equal opportunities. (Cockburn, 1991) Diversity is reflected in TMCs famous respect for people and continuous improvement. Reichenberg (2001) referred to this as a perspective that made business sense and the United Nations in particular has embraced this philosophy which further proves the companys efforts. However, being a Japanese company involves certain level of collectivism, which raises concern about TMCs diversity policy. Morrison et al (1991) used Hofstedes (2001) international cultural diversity study to demonstrate organisations relationship with their suppliers and customers and how these can be affected by diversity. For instance matching customer diversity to that of the service offered will imply considering ethnic differences which will lead to parties speaking the same language. This fits TMC because as stated by Lichtenthal et al (2001), the company benefits from matching its sales people to demographic attributes of buyers since buyers are more trusting of those who share similar cultural attributes to themselves. Managers often need something to go wrong in order to decide that change is necessary and prepare employees to cope with it. Claiborne (2001) discussed Toyotas racist advertisements and this lead the company setting out a $7.8 billion, 10-year diversity program. Conclusion We have seen that successful people management comes through a process of selection, training, teamwork, leadership, motivation, involvement and participation such that employees feel their needs and interests are being appropriately addressed. When combined with the organisations own requirements for achieving efficiency and effectiveness, this emphasises the need for managers to provide leadership which is characterised by both strong task and relationship orientations. Both leadership and motivation go hand in hand because for any form of task to succeed, a leader with motivational skills is needed in order to get results. TMC is an excellent promoter of Diversity and contributes in areas such as education, safety among young people and programs such as Toyota Teen Driver, Mothers against Drunk Driving (MADD), sponsors events for non-profit organizations like YMCA, National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) etc. However, in the 21st century, managers are faced with many other challenges including uncertainty and constant changes in technologies which all affect the implementation of projects and human resource development. One ought to ask if TMC has remained stock in the 20th century with the classical thinking where division of labour, span of control and line of authority were pioneered by Fayol et al. This is certainly reflected in the companys team work strategy earlier discussed. Also, although employees have a massive input in TMCs success, how far are they allowed to disagree with the proposed goal of the organisation as discussed by McNabb et al (1995)? Perhaps the structure and success of TMC shows a different picture which promotes a learning organisation with their Lean Training and The Toyota Way. But how flexible is TMC when it comes to employees? And are the companys leaders born or manufactured? The answer ultimately lies somewhere in the middle as TMC has had mixed success stories and the management is able to provide the environmental support needed to motivate employees toward the achievement of their vision. To lead an adequate change as proposed by Kotter in 1995 with his eight stage model, managers are faced with understanding the importance of employees need, vision, communication, empowerment and culture. Implementing project will therefore involve the identification of the micro-processes that affect the day to day formal and informal life of employee, Cornelius (2003). Or with regard to change management, there need to be a clear line between people and the organisation as proposed by Fisher,2005. Recommendations As discussed, managers are faced with several issues when dealing with implementation of projects in general. Making these issues manageable will require TMC to rethink its structure and level of control when it comes to team work. It could be that the Japanese culture which is often too reliant on employees efforts needs a different leadership style which will allow the company to meet international competitive requirements as they affect the organisations overall success. In terms of coping with the turbulent external environment, TMC should perhaps consider recognising individuals for themselves rather than the group. They can begin this change in African countries where they have a small percentage of market shares. TMC promotes many of its current employees from inside the company. While this is good for keeping the companys visions and values, employing managers from outside might facilitate obtaining more open minded and goal oriented employees. This is particularly needed now when questions are being raised about TMCs public relation and image due to the companys recent defect issues.

The Evolution of the Microprocessor Essay -- essays research papers

The Integrated Circuit: The Evolution of an Electronic Miracle The microprocessor evolved over the course of many years of research, and people all over the world enjoy the benefits of this electronic miracle. It is difficult to think of anything that has affected modern life more than this invention. Cellular phones, wristwatches, calculators, automobiles, stereos, televisions, and computers are just a few of the thousands of electronic devices that have a microchip at the heart of its operation. Over the years, three major breakthroughs occurred to accelerate the birth of the microprocessor: the vacuum tube, the transistor, and the integrated circuit. The Vacuum Tube American physicist Lee De Forest invented the vacuum tube in 1906. However, one must look back to 1879 when Thomas Edison first revealed the incandescent electric light bulb to understand how De Forest developed his idea. Edison’s invention consisted of a conducting filament mounted in a glass bulb. Electricity passing through the filament caused it to heat up and created a vacuum that prevented the filament from oxidizing and burning up. In 1883, Edison detected electrons flowing through the vacuum from the lighted filament to a metal plate mounted inside the bulb. This became known as the Edison Effect, but he did not develop this particular discovery any further. However, British physicist John Fleming found that the Edison Effect also detected radio waves and converted them to electricity. In 1904, Fleming first showed off his two-element vacuum tube known as the Fleming diode that converted an alternating current (AC) signal into direct current (DC) (Kuphaldt). The Fleming diode consisted of an incandescent light bulb with an extra electrode inside. Electrons boiled off the surface of the metal plate and into the vacuum inside the bulb as the filament became white-hot. When the extra electrode became more positive than the filament, a direct current flowed through the vacuum proving that AC signals could be converted into DC. One of the first uses of the Fleming diode was to detect weak signals produced by the new wireless telegraph. Later, the diode vacuum tube was used to convert AC into DC for power supplies in electronic equipment (Kuphaldt). Many inventors tried to improve the Fleming diode, but the only one who succeeded was American inventor Lee De Forest. In 1906, De Forest int... ...light bulb. References Bellis, M. The History of Computers. Retrieved Mar. 03, 2005, from About.com web site: http://www.inventors.about.com/library/blcoindex.htm. Hoff, T. Fascinating Facts about the Invention of the Microprocessor. Retreived Feb 28, 2005, from Idea Finder web site: http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/microprocessor.htm IC Knowledge. History of the Integrated Circuit. Retrieved February 28, 2005, from IC Knowledge web site: http://www.icknowledge.com/history/history.html. Kuphaldt, T. R. Early Tube History. Retrieved Feb. 24, 2005, from All About Circuits Web site: http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_3/chpt_13/2.html. Lindberg, A. A. The History of the Integrated Circuit. Retrieved Mar. 03, 2005, from Nobelprize.org Web site: http://nobelprize.org/physics/educational/integrated_circuit/history Maxfield, C. and Brown, A. Retrieved Feb. 24, 2005, from The History of Computers Web site: http://www.maxmon.com. Riordan, M. and Hoddeson, L. (1997). Crystal Fire-The Birth of the Information Age. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company Inc. Sullivan, J. (Ed.). (1988). The Chipmakers. Alexandrea, VA: Time-Life Books. (Understanding Computers Series)

Industrial Sociology Essay

1) Europeans-particularly Germans have permanent `Voice `inside the firm, the company for which they work, while American workers have a `Voice` (When they have, hence not permanently) only outside the firm, the Company. Co-determination, practiced within Germany from 1951, implies the model where workers have a role to play in company management. Workers are entitled to playa role in workplace management as well as in the management of the entire firm through chosen board delegates. This principle also applies in Luxemburg, Austria and Scandinavia and involves worker involvement on both public and private organizations via works committees. Various laws related to worker representation on decision-making boards and works committees govern co-determination in Germany. 1972’s Works Constitution Act governs Worker participation and requires private firms with in excess of 5 permanent workers to have works committees. The firms’ managerial directors and employers are excluded from such committees with such committees coexisting with worker unions. Committee members’ numbers depend on the enterprise size with salaried workers, females and males, and income earners being represented in ratios similar to their respective numbers (http://www. allbusiness. com/management/business-process-analysis/339707-1. html). Employers and Committees work with cooperation and trust to benefit the firm and the workers. Committees as well ought to abide by the law plus defend employee interests. The issue in question determines relative powers. The committee ought to be consulted by the management regarding setting shift durations, rest and overtime periods, employing machines to track worker perfoamce or behavior, establishing performance-based motivation rates, establishing unique compensation plans called for by a restriction of processes, classifying, transferring, dismissal , and hiring workers , organization structures, manpower scheduling, staff management, worker training, and work setting. 976’s Co-determination Act governs Co-determination within the decision making board. It stipulates that decision-making boards have equal stockholder and employee representation in firms with own official identity, and with not less than 2,000 workers. For Firms having 500-2,000 workers, 1952,s Works Constitution Act applies with firms with less than 500 workers exempt form such stipulation. Managerial boards mainly select management boards; they also oversee the running of the firm. Additionally, firm by-laws stipulate that managerial boards be consulted regarding venture decisions, choosing and maintenance of executive personnel, and loans over specific limits. Such managerial board’s sizes are dictated by employee numbers, with 2,000 worker firms having not more than 20 board members with equal stockholder-worker representative representation. Out of the 10 worker representatives, 7 should be the firm’s employees including a minimum of 1 income earner representative, 1 from paid workers, plus 1 senior executive worker. The other 3 positions are taken up by unions having representation in such a firm. American organizations were particularly worried whether such a principle could dictate future labor management relations could be handled. Such a topic is currently even extra crucial when regarded as a constituent of the push towards greater employee involvement and confirmed by the initiation of plans within America like labor-management collaboration, excellence circles, and work-life quality. Within the United States, the dominant impediment is the charitable character of group action where employees determine if they want a union to represent them. Employers may, and usually do, undertake actions to evade unionization. Despite the fact that employees could derive greater benefits from an employee committee, such employees may not want such a concentrated action. US laws do not call fro whatever co-determination features and it questions the validity of issues like work quality life plans. Works committees , unless set up as genuine collective negotiation mediators and set up by persons voting within representation polls, are likely to breach current US labor regulations (ueapme, 2000). In the US, if workers choose union representation, the function of such works committees is essentially displaced by such local unions. Through restricted union jurisdictions, either for whole workplaces or among employees with similar occupational interests, all equally situated employees get represented by one organization. Such, merged with the conventional local US labor union concerns, implies that issues tackled by works committees are usually topics of group bargaining. Local matters tackled by such works committees are like the ones embodied by the US labor pact, however such works committees are based on legally authorized provisions, like dismissals, hiring, pensions and medical insurance, plus union-negotiated financial advantages , from where dialogue on local matters may originate (http://www. llbusiness. com/management/business-process-analysis/339707-1. html). The likelihood of employee involvement ion decision-making boards within America is nearly useless to talk about, because works committees’ analog, is hard to determine. Only in unique circumstances has US management conceded to even a small labor official representation on management boards. Without legal compulsion, the executive is unlikely to consider the co-determination notion. In addition, majority of US labor union leaders do not like such a concept; they believe they are able to represent employees better via conventional bargaining systems (http://www. allbusiness. com/management/business-process-analysis/339707-1. html). 2) Write a review of Jeremy Rifkin, `The Jobs Letter – A Rifkin Reader` available in Google. In his 1994 End of Work , Jeremy Rifkin posits that the world is going into a new era typified by a steady but unavoidable lack of employment. He argues that current global joblessness is at an all time high. Unemployment or underemployment figures are sharply rising as many new candidates face an unusual high-tech revolution where sophisticated machines are rapidly substituting humans in almost all industries and sectors. Such machines include: computers, telecommunication and robotics. Numerous job opportunities, like secretarial, blue-collar jobs, receptionist, clerical, sales clerks, telephone-related, librarian, middle executives, and wholesaler, are gradually being forever lost. Despite the fact that new opportunities are getting created, they mainly are usually temporary and low-paying. The globe, rapidly polarizing into 2 potentially incompatible forces namely: Information Technology elite which manages and controls the ultra-modern world economy; and a growing population of permanently-displaced employees with limited hope and prospects for significant employment. At eh same time, in excess of 15% of US citizens are living under the global poverty line. Rifkin proposes that the world move past the illusion of re-schooling for imaginary jobs and urges for pondering of the absurd, that is getting ready for the reality of phasing out a lot of employment related to manufacture and selling of services and goods. Rifkin states that people should anticipate a novel, post-market period where new official work substitutes have to be invented. Fresh approaches to income plus purchasing ability provision should be applied. Greater emphasis ought to be placed upon the rising third segment to help restore societies and build sustainable nations. An end to work would imply the end of societies, or herald the commencement of some huge social makeover and a renaissance of the human will (http://www. jobsletter. org. z/art/rifkin01. htm). 3. List and explain the `Three Social Deficits` brought about by economic and structural changes Structural and economic modifications lead to social shortfalls such as: absence of economic progress and demand; absence of confidence; and structural issues. Regarding structural issues, unsettled structural issues result to increased costs, such as administration expenses and service costs, for firms, which hinder investment as well as generation of fresh job opportunities. This leads to issues like: increased structural financial plan shortfalls; reduced labor market reorganization development; unconstructive motivation from social security systems, which prevent workers from taking fresh jobs or staying employed; reduced advancement in the liberalization of community services such as postal services, power markets and transport; and shortfalls pertaining to the execution of internal markets (http://www. obsletter. org. nz/art/rifkin01. htm). Regarding absence of assurance, the reduced industry and consumer confidence rates result from: uncertainty pertaining to the additional stock markets progress; doubts regarding petroleum price developments; and constant debate regarding growth and stability agreement. Absence of economic progress and demand result from: great increases in share values , thus reducing the purchasing ability and creating losses for numerous firms; relatively high actual interest rates in comprising with economic dynamics as well as the productivity gap; large states have inadequate room for economic policy maneuvering because of elevated structural shortfalls; and increasing joblessness result to public income reduction plus public expenditure increases (UEAPME, 2002).

Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Briefing

Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Briefing Abstract The City of Detroit, founded in 1701, and incorporated in 1806, is in Wayne County, State of Michigan. Detroit is on an international waterway, which connects by means of the St. Lawrence Seaway to seaports around the world. Existing as the largest city in the State of Michigan, Detroit is notorious for its tradition in automotive and is a colloquialism for the automobile industry in the United States. Detroit is also known for its popular music legacies, which residents celebrate in several familiar nicknames, Motor City, Motown or simply the â€Å"D. In a city, whose population is likely at 951,270, Detroit is also known for its liquor distribution during the prohibition in 1920. Each year, government entities, such as the City of Detroit is required to compile a comprehensive annual financial report, or CAFR, complying with the governmental accounting standards board accounting requirements. Comprehensive annual financial re ports are detailed presentations of an entities financial condition, reporting on annual activities and balances.This official statement also includes a letter of transmittal, manager’s discussion and analysis, and has four sections: Introduction, financial section, statistical section, and compliance section. This briefing will review and discuss the comparison of governmental accounting and profit financial accounting. This briefing will also detail how to understand governmental reporting and reporting entities. Last, this briefing will outline management discussion and analysis reports for the state of Michigan. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report BriefingComparison of Accounting Practices Business reports, to include financial reports often refer to the terms nonprofit or not-for-profit, profit, and for-profit to describe an entity classification. These terms are significant as they determine the types of accounting transaction and activities covering a period. Althoug h accounting practices, and activities are most associated between operations of a business enterprise; those of profit, accounting is not restricted to businesses. It also deals with non-business operations.Government or nonprofit entities accounting, being a separate division of accounting, has various accounting practices of which they operate; however, have the same principles. These practices and principles are different from those of for-profit entities (businesses) such that for-profit entities focus on wealth creation, where governmental entities are budget-driven. Budgets’ are key fiscal documents and is the culmination of the political process. For example, according to â€Å"Comprehensive Annual Financial Report – City Of Detroit† (2010), the City’s 2010 General Fund Budget is $1. 8 billion.The city also reports that this budget is void of additions or material changes to existing taxes (Budget to Actual Comparison– General Fund). In a s imilar manner, businesses rely on annual reports to provide shareholders and other interested parties pertinent information about the entities activities and financial performance. Profit margins prove the financial health of a business, although budgets are internal communications to measure results. The key difference in the reporting for the two classifications is that the budget (nonprofit) is a forward communication, while the annual report (profit) is a historic communication.Government Reporting and Reporting Entity Government reporting entities are made up of organizations of which the government controls. The key point to consider about government reporting agencies is to ascertain which public sector the government controls. Reporting entities are the assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, and cash flow of a board, department, agency, and fund included in a government financial statement summary. Government entities are often made up of additional nonprofit organization, and for-profit organizations called component units.These units are legal and separate entities where the state is accountable. Exclusion of component units alters the state’s financial statement in such a way that it would present misleading or incomplete (â€Å"Office of Financial Management†, 2012). Just for clarity, according to â€Å"Governmental Accounting Standards Board† (2013), the financial reporting entity consists of (a) the primary government; (b) organizations for which the primary government is financially accountable; and (c) other organizations for which the nature and significance of their elationship with the primary government are such that exclusion would cause the reporting entity's financial statements to be misleading or incomplete (Summary of Statement No. 14 The Financial Reporting Entity (Issued 6/91)). With that in mind, governments are likely to construct separate legal entities to perform governmental duties. For example, the City of Detroit has nine legally separated organizations, which make up their component units.For instance, the Economic Development Corporation, and Museum of African American History are two of the nine component units included in the government reporting Comprehensive Annual Financial Report – City of Detroit. (2010). Considering reporting entities, the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 94 best defines and prescribes the recommended treatment. For example, the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards prescribes that consolidated reporting is the only appropriate method to report. Management Discussion & Analysis (MD)This section of the comprehensive annual financial report is required to summarize an organization’s annual results, providing a managerial opinion on the financials, addressing discussion of risks, comparisons to previous years, and a breakdown of financials according to sections and locations. Management discussion and analysis contains for ward-looking discussion paying close attention to uncertainties and the manager’s perception of opportunities and risks. The manager also highlights factors faced that are out of his or her control.For example, the comprehensive annual financial report: City of Detroit includes in its management discussion and analysis the financial position of the city, with the overview of annual activities ending June 30th 2010. The financial highlights include the government’s net asset totals with explanation of increases or decreases Comprehensive Annual Financial Report – City of Detroit. (2010). Reference(s): Comprehensive Annual Financial Report – City of Detroit. (2010). Retrieved from http://www. detroitmi. gov/†¦ /CAFR/2010%20CAFR%20draft%20122010%.. Copley, P. A. , & Engstrom, J. H. 2011). Essentials of accounting for governmental and not-for-profit organizations (10th ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Governmental Accounting Standards Board. (2013). Ret rieved from http://www. gasb. org/ Granof, M. H. , & Wardlow, P. S. (2011). Core concepts of government and not-for-profit accounting (2nd ed. ). New York, NY: Wiley & Sons. Office of Financial Management. (2012). Retrieved from http://www. ofm. wa. gov/policy/glossary. asp Wilson, E. R. , Kattellus, S. C. , & Reck, J. L. (2010). Accounting for governmental & nonprofit entities (15th ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.