Manging People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Manging People - Essay Example It depends upon the manager/ leader how he manages people. Most of the businesses now structure their employees in group and every group has a manager and in more general terms leader. Every group is given a project or a task which is to be accomplished. It is the responsibility of the manager that the project is completed before the deadline and the group is functioning smoothly. Thus the companies' owner or the people who appoint manager should keep several things in mind like the organizational skills of a person, his temperament and his communication skills. To evaluate the best choice amongst candidates the interviewers should conduct a detailed interview. Observation skills can be very helpful in determining the right choice thus the owner should appoint a manager on temporary bases and after the manger proves himself he should be made permanent. Another way of determining if the person appointed is capable is by having discussions with team members under that manager. The owner should ask team members if they are facing any kind of difficulties because of the manger. Thus after thorough evaluation it becomes quite obvious if the person chosen for the job is capable or not. Choosing the right person is so essential that if this decision is made wrong the overall performance of the company can get affected. Characteristics of an Ideal Manager Every characteristic which proves to create solidarity and harmony amongst the team members is an important characteristic. The manager should even have qualities which would enhance motivation and honesty of the team members towards the job and the team members. If a manager is very criticizing or points out tiny mistakes of his team members the effect of it would be that the employee would develop hatred for his manager. Thus instead of discussing projects with manger the team member would start hiding work. Another thing is that if a manger responds brusquely to questions and interruptions the team members would eventually leave you alone. They will not raise problems, they will not question your instructions, and they will struggle on bravely. Your behavior may result in a swamp of errors, unguided activity and absolute dissatisfaction. Then there is motivation a manager should be highly motivating he should have the quality to praise good work and should be habitual of highlighting god work of employees. A manger should always be their to support, encourage and help his team members. These qualities always give a team member an effect that the manager is his friend more then his boss thus loyalty towards work increases. Then there is setting targets a manger should have the capability of setting standards that is dividing a major task into sub tasks. The criterion on which a manger assigns these tasks is very important a manager should be aware of every team member's abilities hence if a manger assigns jobs according to personal capabilities the result would be very effective, quality of the job would be remarkable and all team members would feel satisfied with their jobs. Then there is advancements if a team members is working very hard and still getting no promotion he might get clumsy and the spirit of working would die therefore a

Is it over-ambitious to expect spatial planning to deliver better Essay

Is it over-ambitious to expect spatial planning to deliver better health - Essay Example started developing sewer systems in all cities in order to address the outbreak of epidemics such as cholera, influenza and tuberculosis (Jackson 2011, p 23). In the last two decades, there has been considerable interest in the relationship between the fields of urban planning and public health in order to address the major health concerns (Greed, 1999, p 9). Currently, the role of government in urban environment and city planning has been critical in enhancing the health of population since city planners issue built environment regulations and zoning laws that determine the design of the infrastructure, sewer systems, roads, public spaces and social amenities in the neighborhoods (Boone and Modarres 2009, p 30). Spatial planning leads to better health and sustainable communities. Planning concepts such as Spatial Urban Health Equity Indicators (SUHEI) allows the urban planning authorities to determine the relationship between exposure to health hazards and health effects. The initial goal of planning was to offer healthy living conditions for the growing urban populations, but recent planning efforts focus on the importance of space and place in the communities (Cullingworth and Nadin, 2006, p 9). According to environmental research, the surrounding social, biological, chemical and physical factors determine the quality of health of an individual since factors such as unemployment, unsafe neighborhoods, noise and radiation negatively affect the health and wellbeing of an individual. The Driving force-Pressure-State-Exposure-Effect-Action (DPSEEA) model outlines that driving forces push the environmental factors that that ultimately pressure the environment through human exploitation thus exposing human beings to conditions that turn out to be environmental h azards (Jackson, 2011, p 13). The Multiple Exposures-Multiple Effects (MEME) model outlines that contextual factors such as economic development, demographics and social conditions influence the exposure to

Innovation And Managing Innovation

Innovation And Managing Innovation There are different types of innovation. Joseph Tidd and John Bessant describe in their books four broad categories of innovation. (Tidd Bessant, 2009) Following these categories are referred as the 4Ps of innovation: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ product innovation changes in the things (products/services) which an organization offers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ process innovation changes in the ways in which they are created and delivered à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ position innovation changes in the context in which the products/services are introduced à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ paradigm innovation changes in the underlying mental models which frame what the organization does For example, the new version of a car, a new bank account offer and a new home personnel computer are all examples of a product innovation. In comparison to a product innovation a change in the production process and machines used to manufacture the car or the home computer these examples are process innovations. Similar the example of the new bank account offer if this came up by changing procedures and sequencing in the bank office. Characteristic for services is the merge of a process and product innovation. For example a new weekend trip package could be combination of both types of innovations. The third type is the position innovation. In this context an innovation changes the perception of the customer through repositioning of the established product or process. For example, to use shower gel also to wash and clean clothes is a good example of a position innovation. Sometimes innovation opportunities emerge when people start to think outside the box. A very good example of a paradigm innovation is Henry Ford. He fundamentally changed the way of transportation people. He archived this neither by inventing the motor car (Invention of the motor car was 1999) nor because he changed the way of manufacture and produce an automobile (also the inventor of the conveyer production). His idea was to change the underlying model for the automobile production in this time. He changed the perspective of producing automobiles from handmade specialist product to a few wealthy customers to a mass product with a price a normal household could afford. The ensuing shift from craft to mass production was nothing short of a revolution in the way cars (and later countless other products and services) were created and delivered. This example shows that a paradigm innovation also requires intensive product and process innovation for example, in component design, in mach inery building, in the layout of the factory and in the social system around which work was organized. (Edelhoff, 2009) Not only Henry Ford changed an industry. In the last decades the shift to low-cost airlines and the increasing numbers of goods sold in the internet are recent examples of paradigm innovation changes in mental models. From Incremental to Radical Innovation Every Innovation is new, but the question is how new. So we can divide innovations between incremental and radical. (doing the same, better à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..) For example, a new version of a car model is incremental while coming up with a completely new electric driven concept car which is made out of new light weight carbon fibre is radical. Similarly, further development of the accuracy and speed of a saw mill is not the same as replacing it with a computer-controlled laser cutting process. This example shows there are degrees of new innovation, running from minor, incremental improvements to radical changes which changes the way things are done and we use them. These changes are often present to a particular industry, but sometimes they are so radical and extensive that they are able to change the core of society. The major steps in todays communication and information technology have affected almost every person on this planet and will continue to gain importance. Figure : Dimension of innovation from incremental to radical from component- to system level Mapping Innovation Space In the figure below each of the 4Ps of innovation can take place along an axis. Hence the blue circle indicates the potential innovation space within a business can operate, the innovation is able to run from incremental to radical change. Whether the innovation utilizes all the space is a question of the innovation strategy. The way day-to-day change is approached within an organization differs from the approach how to handle a radical step change in products or processes. Here it is essential to keep in mind that the perceived stage of novelty is the important part and that this novelty is in the perspective of the observer. For example, in a giant, technologically advanced organization like Volkswagen or Siemens the tracking of goods from suppliers by RFID and GPS is used and implemented in day to day business while such an expensive process might be totally new and innovative for a small car dealership or food processor. (Kern, 2006) Figure : Innovation space Sustaining or Disruptive Quite a lot of innovations involve a discontinuous shift but very few bring something completely new which changes a market conditions dramatically. Most of them usually are incremental. In recent time lean thinking came up in the production and service sector, which underlines the huge possibilities of continue improvements within a firm. (Kohlstedde, 2007) However this continues improvement idea is hampered through the new approach of the platform concept or robust design. This idea bases on the development of a future general design which will dominate the market as well as used by the competitor. A good example for such a robust design is the Walkman originally developed by Sony. This first design of a portable cassette and radio player system dominated the market for the whole product lifetime of cassettes. Also car makers tend to change their development process from each single model to a platform strategy. (Wallentowitz, Freialdenhove, Olschewski, 2009) The Volkswagen AG int roduced platforms which are used for different brands of the company group. This not only saves costs but also helps them to dominate the market with faster model updates and exchanges. The platform and robust design strategy of firms is a powerful way of recover the high initial investments such as Research and Development as well as market analysis. The Challenge of Discontinues improvement The common innovation process happens in a set frame, following certain rules and ways of thinking. This game played by competitors is to innovate by doing what has been done before like product- or process innovations or even position- and paradigm innovations, but doing it better. In this competition of playing the same game some firms manage to do better than others and can gain a competitive advantage through these innovations, but the set of the game is accepted and do not change. Very rare something happens that breaks up this framework and changes how the game is played. This will not happen every day but when this arises the rules and boundaries of a market change rapidly. This will result in upcoming new opportunities and challenge the existing players in their way of working, thinking and doing business. A discontinues improvement occurs out of a technological and conditions stable market, where is a long period of continuous improvements and variations around a basic product or service. The strategy, before the discontinues improvement was, doing what we do, but better. When such an innovation happens one or more of the basic conditions like technology, markets, social, regulatory etc. change rapidly. Now the time of doing different begins and the rules of the game change so the opportunity space for new innovations appears. Such a rapid technology change is happening right now with the development of LEDs in the light market. From the invention of the originally light bulb in the late nineteenth century by Edison and Swan the light market gets more and more restricted by the government. Furthermore the development of the LED light was a major step for the whole market and will influence our daily life in the future. With this upcoming technology new enterprises emerge in the market as well as the inventor Shuji Nakamura with the company Nichia Corporation. This discontinues improvement faces the market dominating companies very hard. Either they adapt to the new light technology or they will lose market share very rapidly. In the process the underlying rules of the game change and a new opportunity space for innovation opens up. Do different conditions of this kind occur, for example, when radical change takes place along the technological frontier or when completely new markets emerge. An emerging example of this could be the replacement of the incandescent light bulb originally developed in the late nineteenth century by Edison and Swan (amongst others). This may be replaced by the solid state white light emitting diode technology patented by Nichia Chemical. This technology is 85% more energy efficient, has 16 times the life of a conventional bulb, is brighter, is more flexible in application and is likely to be subject to the scale economies associated with electronic component production. In their pioneering work on this theme Abernathy and Utterback developed a model describing the pattern in terms of three distinct phases. Initially, under discontinuous conditions, there is what they term a fluid phase during which there is high uncertainty along two dimensions: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The target what will the new configuration be and who will want it? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The technical how will we harness new technological knowledge to create and deliver this? No one knows what the right configuration of technological means and market needs will be and so there is extensive experimentation (accompanied by many failures) and fast learning by a range of players including many new entrepreneurial businesses. Gradually these experiments begin to converge around what they call a dominant design something which begins to set up the rules of the game. This represents a convergence around the most popular (importantly not necessarily the most technologically sophisticated or elegant) solution to the emerging configuration. At this point a bandwagon begins to roll and innovation options become increasingly channeled around a core set of possibilities what Dosi calls a technological trajectory.38 It becomes increasingly difficult to explore outside this space because entrepreneurial interest and the resources which that brings increasingly focus on possibilities within the dominant design corridor. This can apply to products or processes; in both cases the key characteristics become stabilized and experimentation moves to getting the bugs out and refining the dominant design. For example, the nineteenth-century chemical industry moved from making soda ash (an essential ingredient in making soap, glass and a host of other products) from the earliest days where it was produced by burning vegetable matter through to a sophisticated chemical reaction which was carried out on a batch process (the Leblanc process) which was one of the drivers of the Industrial Revolution. This process dominated for nearly a century but was in turn replaced by a new generation of continuous processes which used electrolytic techniques and which originated in Belgium where they were developed by the Solvay brothers. Moving to the Leblanc process or the Solvay process did not happen overnight; it took decades of work to refine and improve each process, and to fully understand the chemistry and engineering required to get consistent high quality and output. The same pattern can be seen in products. For example, the original design for a camera is something which goes back to the early nineteenth century and as a visit to any science museum will show involved all sorts of ingenious solutions. The dominant design gradually emerged with an architecture which we would recognize shutter and lens arrangement, focusing principles, back plate for film or plates, etc. But this design was then modified still further for example, with different lenses, motorized drives, flash technology and, in the case of George Eastmans work, to creating a simple and relatively idiot-proof model camera (the Box Brownie) which opened up photography to a mass market. More recent development has seen a similar fluid phase around digital imaging devices. The period in which the dominant design emerges and emphasis shifts to imitation and development around it is termed the transitional phase in the Abernathy and Utterback model. Activities move from radical concept development to more focused efforts geared around product differentiation and to delivering it reliably, cheaply, with higher quality, extended functionality, etc. As the concept matures still further so incremental innovation becomes more significant and emphasis shifts to factors like cost which means efforts within the industries which grow up around these product areas tend to focus increasingly on rationalization, on scale economies and on process innovation to drive out cost and improve productivity. Product innovation is increasingly about differentiation through customization to meet the particular needs of specific users. Abernathy and Utterback term this the specific phase.* Finally the stage is set for change the scope for innovation becomes smaller and smaller whilst outside for example, in the laboratories and imaginations of research scientists new possibilities are emerging. Eventually a new technology emerges which has the potential to challenge all the by now well-established rules and the game is disrupted. In the camera case, for example, this is happening with the advent of digital photography which is having an impact on cameras and the overall service package around how we get, keep and share our photographs. In our chemical case this is happening with biotechnology and the emergence of the possibility of no longer needing giant chemical plants but instead moving to small-scale operations using live organisms genetically engineered to produce what we need. Table 1.2 sets out the main elements of this model. Although originally developed for manufactured products the model also works for services for example the early days of Internet banking were characterized by a typically fluid phase with many options and models being offered. This gradually moved to a transitional phase, build- ing a dominant design consensus on the package of services offered, the levels and nature of security and privacy support, the interactivity of website, etc. The field has now become mature with much of the competition shifting to marginal issues like relative interest rates. The pattern can be seen in many studies and its implications for innovation management are important. In particular it helps us understand why established organizations often find it hard to deal with discontinuous change. Organizations build capabilities around a particular trajectory and those who may be strong in the later (specific) phase of an established trajectory often find it hard to move into the new one. (The example of the firms which successfully exploited the transistor in the early 1950s is a good case in point many were new ventures, sometimes started by enthusiasts in their garage, yet they rose to challenge major players in the electronics industry like Raytheon.39) This is partly a consequence of sunk costs and commitments to existing technologies and markets and partly because of psychological and institutional barriers. 40 They may respond but in slow fashion and they may make the mistake of giving responsibility for the new development to those whose current activities would be threatened by a shift.41 Importantly, the fluid or ferment phase is characterized by co-existence of old and new technologies and by rapid improvements of both.41,42 (It is here that the so-called TABLE sailing ship effect can often be observed, in which a mature technology accelerates in its rate of improvement as a response to a competing new alternative as was the case with the development of sailing ships in competition with newly emerging steamship technology.43,44 Whilst some research suggests existing incumbents do badly, we need to be careful here. Not all existing players do badly many of them are able to build on the new trajectory and deploy/leverage their accumulated knowledge, networks, skills and financial assets to enhance their competence through building on the new opportunity. 42à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚   Equally whilst it is true that new entrants often small entrepreneurial firms play a strong role in this early phase we should not forget that we see only the successful players. We need to remember that there is a strong ecological pressure on new entrants which means only the fittest or luckiest survive. It is more helpful to suggest that there is something about the ways in which innovation is managed under these conditions which poses problems. Good practice of the steady-state kind described above is helpful in the mature phase but can actively militate against the entry and success in the fluid phase of a new technology.46 How do enterprises pick up signals about changes if they take place in areas where they dont normally do research? How do they understand the needs of a market which doesnt exist yet but which will shape the eventual package which becomes the dominant design? If they talk to their existing customers the likelihood is that those customers will tend to ask for more of the same, so which new users should they talk to and how do they find them? The challenge seems to be to develop ways of managing innovation not only under steady-state but also under the highly uncertain, rapidly evolving and changing conditions which result from a dislocation or discontinuity. The kinds of organizational behaviour needed here will include things like agility, flexibility, the ability to learn fast, the lack of preconceptions about the ways in which things might evolve, etc. and these are often associated with new small firms. There are ways in which large and established players can also exhibit this kind of behaviour but it does often conflict with their normal ways of thinking and working. Extensive studies have shown the power of shifting technological boundaries in creating and transforming industry structures for example, in the case of the typewriter, the computer and the automobile. Such transformations happen relatively often no industry is immune (see Box 1.3 for an example). Worryingly the source of the technology which destabilizes an industry often comes from outside that industry. So even those large incumbent firms which take time and resources to carry out research to try and stay abreast of developments in their field may find that they are wrong-footed by the entry of something which has been developed in a different field. The massive changes in insurance and financial services which have characterized the shift to online and telephone provision were largely developed by IT professionals often working outside the original industry.6 In extreme cases we find what is often termed the not invented here NIH effect, where a firm finds out about a technology but decides against following it up because it does not fit with their perception of the industry or the likely rate and direction of its technological development. Famous examples of this include Kodaks rejection of the Polaroid process or Western Unions dismissal of Bells telephone invention. In a famous memo dated 1876 the board commented, this telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.

The Terrorist Threat Essay -- Analysis, Ulrich Beck

The paper â€Å"The Terrorists Threat World Risk Society Revisited† written by Ulrich Beck, the author analyses how risk has changed overtime and he focuses on the idea of new risk, and that is world risk. Ulrich Beck breaks down this idea of world risk into three different types, spatial, temporal and social. As well, he also names three different types of conflict, he discusses the effects of risk on the center and the periphery and he examines the use of language. In this essay the main focus will be on how the main points of Ulrich Beck can all relate to the three different types of risk otherwise known as the de-bounding of risk. Also, I will look at how the de-bounding of risk has dissolved the idea of nation-states. One of the many ideas of risk in this topic is that risk has become de-bounded. Beck explains this by saying that risk is not the fact that life is becoming more dangerous, but the fact that the types of risks have changed (Beck 2). The de-bounding of risk means that risks have surpassed their territorial limits; they are not longer restricted by time and space boundaries. Beck argues that there are three new types of risk that emphasize this de-bounding. The first is called spatial, spatial risk refers to the fact that new risks in society are not staying within traditional boundaries; those are the boundaries of the states (Beck 2). The next type is temporal, this category of risk means that new risk does not have time restrictions, the consequences of a risk can last longer then we are able to communicate them (2). Lastly there is the social risk, the social risk no longer has one central cause, and you can no longer blame one person or society for that problem (3). Beck goes on to describe â€Å"[the de-bounding ... ... argument is too centered on America; this is because he is talking about dealing with the risks as a united world but he seems to be claiming America will be the center. His most compelling idea is the issue of the de-bounding risk. This is important because all of his other main points can be put into the three categories that he sets out for risk, spatial, temporal and de-bounding. The de-bounding of risk is also the reason for why states are slowly starting to focus more on risks and the world rather then risks and their society. In this essay I summarized Beck’s main points then examined how they could be categorized by the aspects of de-bounding as well, I also examined Beck’s idea of the nation-state disappearing. Overall Beck’s argument is one that should be taken into consideration when understanding where modernization is taking the future of the world.

Early Christian Architecture Essay

Early Christian Architecture We have spoken of how one style of architecture develops from another, and we are now to look briefly at a form which is chiefly important as being a link in the chain of styles. There are not many important buildings of the Early Christian style. It came into being at a time when not much building was going on that is, during the early centuries of Christianity, and what good examples there are, are nearly all churches. During the first three centuries of the Christian era Christianity was under the ban of persecution, and there was not much chance for it to manifest itself in great architecture. But, early in the fourth century, Constantine became Emperor and was converted to Christianity. He made Christianity the State religion. Constantine founded three large basilicas in Rome, all of which have been buried or destroyed. The chief objects to be thought of in these churches was to build without too much cost, to do it quickly, and to accommodate large congregations. A great structural principle which they used in roofing, or spanning spaces, is the truss. This is a frame of beams, or of beams and rods, so disposed and fastened as to make a continuous support or bridge across an open space. The truss was used by the Romans in roofing their basilicas. CHIEF FEATURES As the great Romanesque style grew out of this early Christian architecture, let us look at the main features of the earlier and simpler style. Some of the most important of these features are preserved also in the Gothic church and we shall wish to see, as we very easily can see, how they grew out of this first early Christian style. The buildings of this style were simple in form, but of noble proportions, and, though very plain without, they were often gorgeous within. A notable circumstance about the early Christian work is the fact that its monuments were built largely from ruins and fragments quarried from earlier Roman work. No doubt much beauty was ruthlessly destroyed in this way. Before the Christian era Cato borrowed from the Greeks their hall of justice; the first one being erected in Rome about 190 years before Christ. These basilicas usually had a large hall connected with a portico, and encircling galleries often enclosed the whole. When Christianity became a State religion these buildings came to be used for religious purposes. The basilica always had a central aisle; and this nave or central portion was usually separated from the side aisles by rows of columns. At the further end of the nave was the sanctuary or apse, in front of which stood the altar. In front of the whole was usually an atrium or fore-court, surrounded by a covered arcade. The exterior was extremely plain, and the interior resplendent with marbles and mosaics. A wooden roof covered the edifice. Figure 29 is the ground plan of a basilica which will show us the general arrangement, although this basilica does not happen to be an old Roman example. Above the columns that surrounded the nave there usually arose another story called the clerestory (clear story), the walls of which were pierced with windows. This is a feature which persists through later styles, and it is interesting to see its simple and plain beginning. Some of the Egyptian temples had clerestories, but the European examples date back only to early Christian architecture.

A Lesson in Life

A lesson In life I had not once learned valuable lessons in life. One of the life lessons that I learned is to be thankful and appreciate for those that around me. Maybe it is true that we do not appreciate what we had until we lost them and there are moments in life that when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them out from your dream and hug them. I did not experience these until my grandmother passed away. My grandmother was the one that watches me grow up and takes care of me when I was a little boy because my parents had to work and were away from home.She loved me so much that she would do anything for me but I did not realize this until she passed away. Since she was the only adult at home she had to do all the household chores and takes care of me at the same time. Everyday after school, she would wait for me at the doorway and asks me what I wanted to eat for lunch and she would cook the food for me immediately. Every times when I go out to play with my frie nds she would asks me where I was going and when I'm going to be home, so that she knows when to prepare the dinner for me.As I grow older, I started to hate the way that she waits for me everyday at the doorway and asks me where I was going. I told her that I am older now and that she doesn't have to treat me like a little girl anymore. However, she continued to act the same way as usual. One day when I came home from school and saw her standing there waiting for me, which I did not expected, I was very angry and had a big argument with her. I yelled at her and told her that I am older now and that I do not need her anymore. She did not say anything to me and I ran out the house. I came home very late that night and walk up to my room quietly.I was surprised to find a bow of rice and two plates of dishes on the table in my room. I did not eat the food and dump the whole thing into the trash can. The next morning I woke up early and went to school without saying anything to her. Two months later my parents decided to immigrate to Abha. My mother told me that my grandmother said that she did not wanted to go with us to Abha because she felt that she is too old and would just be an encumbrance for the family. I was depressed that I had to leave the place where I grew up but at the same time I was glad that my grandmother is not leaving with us. he told me to take care of myself when I get there and it is the first time that I saw her cried. I wanted to cry too when I saw the tears rolling down from her face, but I turn my head away and did not even say good bye to her. After arrived in Abha, I was occupied with learning English and did not call home to her even though I heard from my parents that she became really sick after we left. I remember that it was on a cold December day when I heard the news from my parents that my grandmother had passed away. After hearing the news, I can not help it and the tears continue to roll down from my face.In my heart, I felt that something that is always there is suddenly gone and I can not stop crying. Four years had passed since my grandmother passed away. Every time when I look at her pictures, the tears just begin to roll down from my face. I felt very regret for never apologize to her for the argument that we had and all the strong words that I had said to her. I felt very regret for never thank her for all the things that she had done for me. If, I had another chance, I would tell her that â€Å"I love you grandma† by Abdulkhaleq Hassan Ali