Friday, December 27, 2019

Levels Of Decision Making Within A Business - 2192 Words

Contents Levels of Decision Making 2 Strategic 2 External 2 Internal 3 Tactical 3 External 3 Internal 3 Operational 4 External 4 Internal 4 Information Systems 4 Executive Information System 4 Decision Support System 5 Transaction Processing System 5 Legislation 5 Data Protection Act 1998 5 Computer Misuse Act 1990 5 Communication Systems 6 Local Area Network (LAN) 6 Wide Area Network (WAN) 6 Intranet 6 Threats to Security and Security Procedures 7 Trojan Horse Virus 7 Phishing 7 Spam 7 Information Communication Technology Innovations 8 Touch Screen Technology 8 Web 2.0 8 Wireless technology 8 Levels of Decision Making There are three levels of decision making within a business: Strategic Strategic decisions are made at a high level, for example, CEO or owners. These decisions are long-term and will affect the future direction of Ice Queen. These decisions may occur once the company has conducted a SWOT Analysis to look at their strengths (internal), weaknesses (internal), opportunities (external) and threats (external). Once Ice Queen has evaluated these, they can then begin to make strategic choices to improve on these results. These choices maybe to explore other products, mergers or expansion of the company. External There are PESTEL factors that can influence the implementation of a strategic decision. The Economic factor that can influence the strategic decision is the demand for frozen food products. Ice Queen saw this is an opportunity to expandShow MoreRelatedThe Business Case for Technology Investments1499 Words   |  6 PagesThe business case for technology investments 1. The setting The modern day business environment is evolving at a rapid pace and the economic agents are forced to develop alongside, or risk the loss of their competitive position. 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Thursday, December 19, 2019

Analysis Of The Book Metamorphoses Of The Werewolf

Metamorphoses of the Werewolf is a book that charts the evolution, growth and changes of werewolf stories â€Å"from Antiquity Throughout the Renaissance.† Each chapter focuses on a tale or set of myths in different time periods, and analyzes them, comparing and contrasting, as well as theorizing the meaning behind them based on textual evidence, mainly from church and court documents. Through this method, Ms. Sconduto points out direct correlations between werewolves and the belief systems of the churches in power. Starting with Chapter One, the author introduces the reader to the first few accounts of werewolves, or what would be considered werewolves by our current imagery. She discusses the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh, which is the first tale of a werewolf and the first story of a man falling victim to, and being transformed by, a â€Å"wicked woman,† which is a theme that runs through many of the older stories. She also brings up Ovid’s retelling of the Meta morphosis, a Greek story about Lycaon, who attempted to serve human flesh to Zeus and was horrifically punished for his actions. Next is the Satyricon, written by Petronius. From the stories presented, we are able to start classifying the subjects as going through either voluntary or involuntary transformations. Obviously organized religion found a way to interject itself into the forefront of these stories, as it often did back then, and Chapter Two is dedicated to tracking the Church’s initial responses towardsShow MoreRelatedThings That Go Bump In the Night: Why They Are Scary2198 Words   |  9 PagesWerewolves are creatures that we find in many different cultures around the world. The most classically known origin story for the beasts comes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. In it’s first book, Jupiter goes to Earth to observe humans after hearing of their evil nature. He reveals himself to the Arcadians who immediately start worshipping, all except their king, L ycaon. He does not believe the god’s immortality and seeks to put it to the test. Lycaon kills a messenger from another city and cooks him

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Human Resource Management Theory of Purposeful Work Behavior

Question: Discuss about the Human Resource Management for Theory of Purposeful Work Behavior. Answer: Motivational Theory Motivational theory states the discovery about the individuals drive to work towards a goal. Motivated individuals are more productive and are high performers that lead to more economic use of resources. Most motivational theories differentiate between intrinsic and extrinsic factors: the former are concerned with an individual's interest, enjoyment and willingness to partake in an activity. People with higher self-confidence and beliefs that their own abilities will lead to success are more likely to have high levels of intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivations focus on the outcome of the activity i.e. individuals are driven by the outcome rather than the activity itself. Frequently-cited motivational theories include the escape-seeking dichotomy model, drive-reduction theory, cognitive dissonance theory, and motivations driven by Abraham Maslow'sHierarchy of Needs. Mono-motivational theories reduce the aspects that drive individuals to act into one term. Evolutionary psychology and economics both provide mono-motivational theories survival and self-interest respectively. Some theories break down motivational drive into conscious and unconscious factors, which both influence behaviour. Self-interest, for example, could be the unconscious factor influencing the desire to work, with duty to family the conscious factor. Hertzberg's two factor theory The two factor theory by Frederick Hertzberg also known as motivation hygiene theory. Hertzberg states that the factors that lead to satisfaction in the job are separate and easily distinguishable from those that leads to dissatisfaction in the job. The satisfying factors are known as motivation factors or intrinsic factors and the dissatisfying factors are known as hygiene factors or extrinsic factors. The two factors are described below in brief (Yusoff et al. 2013). Motivational factors Job satisfaction is involved when an individuals higher level needs are fulfilled like advancement, recognition, responsibility, achievement and opportunity for growth in the job. If the above mentioned factors are not present in the job then there will be NO SATISFACTION. If present there is SATISFACTION (Pegler 2012). Hygiene factors The hygiene factors include the administration and the policy in the company, supervision, relation with supervisor and peers, conditions in the work place and salary when exist adequately in a job leads to NO DISSATISFACTION. If not present adequately in a job it will cause DISSATISFACTION (Sheth et al. 2014). Wells Fargo Financial is taken as an example and how the two-factor is applicable in this firm is explained. In this company, money and bonus are the most motivating factor for the employees. Some employees considered a pat on their back, recognition, etc. It actually depends on the employees attitude. By comparing with the Herzberg theory, salary is one of the factors that effect the dissatisfaction one feels whereas the recognition which is the second best motivator effects the satisfaction. Another important thing is that employees are working hard for promotion. This firm encourages the people for reaching to the top level and an employee working for more than two years have the knowledge, skills to become a branch manager in this firm which is very encouraging by this company. (Carpenter and Charon 2014). Process theory The process theory of motivation describes the working procedure of the process that is the behavior of an individual and strengthen over time that determines how much effort is applied, the continuity of the effort and the whether the effort is modified or not (Miner 2015) Goal setting theory This theory states that specific and tough goals with constructive feedback leads to better performance in the job. Edwin Locke states that the intent to do the task to achieve a goal is the main source of motivation at work. A goal helps the employee what type of work the employee has to perform and how much effort is required to complete the task. The tougher the goal, the better will be the performance as the goals which are challenging helps to keep us focus in our work. The tough goals will inspire us to work more hard in a strategic way to get it accomplished. Employees will perform better if they receive feedback as it will help for introspection of the work of the employees and can work in a methodical way to get the task done. Some factors like commitment to your goal, traits of the work and the culture in the workplace influences the goals performance relation (Pervin 2015). Equity theory The theory explains that the wages or salaries and the work culture are not the main cause for motivation. Rather employees want to maintain equilibrium between the inputs such as time, effort, loyalty, adaptability in the workplace, tolerance, commitment, trusting the superiors, etc they bring to the work place and the results they get from the workplace like perks, salary, social recognition, self-esteem, security and responsibility. Some ways to maintain equity are: An employee getting his or her inputs as well as the outputs altered, distorting both the inputs and the outputs in a cognitive way and leaving the job (Greenberg and Cohen 2014). Mary has been working at Albury Design Group in Australia for the last ten years. It is an advertising firm. She has gained a lot of knowledge, skills and knows the work place better who is a new entrant in this company. John, a new employee has been teamed with Mary to do a research project. They spend long nights for researching. She noticed that John as a new employee have settled in this firm very quickly decorating with memorabilia from his college years and fraternity house. She got information that John earns more salary with little work experience. While discussing about this matter with her supervisor Mark, she noticed that in Marks office it has similar memorabilia and fraternity dcor and she learned that John and Mark were from the same colleges and John knew Mark a long time ago. She got frustrated and tensed as she has high work ethics, more experience and knowledgeable. By applying the equity theory she should stop comparing with John and have spoken to John about his w ork ethics so that John doesnt distract employees from their work. By removing the ego, she should have cooperated with John in a friendly way and have a discussion to sort this issue which will be beneficial to both of them. She needs to change her way of attitude and thinking style when comparing with others. The worst thing she can do is to leave the job ( Faludi 2013). Characteristics of positive work environment: Motivation The top management like the CEO, Directors, Vice-president, etc are basically the mentors and the role models for their juniors. The leaders who have a strong expertise in their fields should help the employees by sharing the knowledge and the information to improve the performance of the employees. By listening to their problems and cooperating with their ideas, a positive work environment will flourish. Open minded and trusted leaders can create the trust factor among the employees (Pinder 2014). Work life balance Having a balanced work life culture helps to have a productive environment in the office as the employees can fulfill the demands of both house work and office work. Flexible timings are an asset for the employees who can juggle both the professional and the personal work in peace. Gym membership, rest rooms, frees nutritious foods, spa facilities to foster a good work life balance. As a boss you need to describe to the juniors by balancing the professional and the personal work with ease (Chan et al. 2015). Work climate The work climate can be defined as the atmosphere present in the workplace as experienced by the people working in the office. The climate depicts about the sense of satisfaction or dissatisfaction while working with others. The working climate is influenced by an enterprises successes, failures and the reputation it have among others. The work ethics, values, traditions also depicts a working climate. The structure and the strategy of the management, specific roles and responsibilities of the employees, hr policies for promotion and the rewards also influence a work climate. The external environment like the political, social, economic, cultural, the skills of the workforce is also related to work climate. If the employees have the energy, empowered, full of excitement, inspired, passionate, eagerly waiting to work next day then, these are the indicators for a positive working climate (Schneider et al. 2013). Training and development based A work environment which is inclusive requires ones awareness skills about diversity and organizational structures that are efficient that support diversity as well as inclusion. Diversity training is one of the techniques to make the employees aware and increase their knowledge and become sensitive to issues related to diversity. It helps the workers with a certain skills that help them to tackle the issues related to diversity in the workplace. The areas that describe how the differences in culture impact the working and the interaction of the employees with one another are the time concept, the way of communicating with one another, ones self identity, how one deal with conflict, etc. Mentoring is a very vital step for integrating, developing and retaining the employees. Mentoring is the collaboration of an employee who is more skilled or experienced with a new trainee where ideas and information are shared. This program will be more help to the foreign skilled workers to understand the norms, traditions, values of a workplace. The mentors are benefitted by sharing the skills and the knowledge with others which can help them to improve their interpersonal as well as analytical skills, get to understand the issues from other people, the differences in the culture, values related to professional as well as personal affecting the work environment (Craig et al. 2013). Recognition The various wins and the milestones achieved by an employee should be recognized by the management to show that they care for their employees as each employee is important for the success of a company. The employees contributions to the company should be honored and celebrated with other employees. Work anniversary, birthday, marriage anniversary should be celebrated so they feel important in the company as most of the life they spent is in the office only. When the employees are recognized they have a sense of satisfaction and will strive to work harder and feel more motivated and engaged. Promotions, awards, increase in salary, providing tickets for a holiday destination are some ways employees can be appreciated at the workplace (Maslach and Jackson 2013). Hackman and Oldham job characteristics model - There are total five characteristics of this job model. They are variety in the skills, identification of the task and significance of the task, independence and feedback from the employer. In the workplace, every team needs to be identified for doing a specific task and can manage independently. Next is the attitude and the behaviors which describe asking for information, providing suggestions to other, listening to others and helping others. Managers task is to regroup for optimum performance and consultation with others. There should be some systems for rewarding the top performers in an effective manner like developing transparent ways where performance is measured, training the supervisors for appraisal of the performance, the goals should be much higher to perform, etc (Barrick et al. 2013). Core job characteristics - Physiological state This state describes the work which has some meaning or value, a sense of responsibility and what will be the outcome related to knowledge. The work which we are performing has some value which is a fundamental rule for intrinsic motivation. A sense of responsibility should be there while performing the tasks which include the capacity to make some changes in the work routine and to get the task accomplished while learning something from the task. The outcome related to knowledge is very vital as to get an idea about the performance of the work he has completed and can help him to learn from the errors he has done (Piccolo et al. 2012). Outcome After completion of the task, feedback is received from the boss whether the performance is optimum or not. By receiving constructive feedback, one can judge ones work performance and he can improve by not doing the errors again or if his performance is good then he should aspire for higher goals to be achieved. How it helps to design the job Job specialization Specialization in a job refers to perform a task which a person have a strong expertise on a particular field. By doing the task several times his work will be efficient and it will save a lot of time as he has become expert and know all the tricks of the work. For a specialized worker, there will reduction in the cost of production and the work will be accurate as he is doing it on a daily basis. Job rotation - It is a management procedure where an employee is trained in different departments to get accustomed about the working style in every department over the years. The job rotation helps the employees to not get bored by doing one kind of work. It helps the employees to apply their knowledge, abilities and the interests in every department they are working. Job enlargement - It refers to the increase in the tasks and responsibilities performed in the job. The tasks are added in the same position only. It involves the loading of the job in a horizontal way. Due to job enlargement, ones skills related to physical and mental are better utilized for performing the task. Job enrichment - This technique is used for the reduction of the same type of work done by the employees so that employees can be more satisfied and improve the productivity in the work place. The task should be challenging and they are motivated to do the work (DeVaro and Morita 2013). Application of this model in several firms Automobile firms like Volvo for higher productivity and employee and customer satisfaction through job enrichment believes in power of autonomy and getting feedback from employees and customers. Volvo focuses a little bit less on variety of skills, task identity and significance of the task. The executives in the Torslanda and Kalmar, A Sweden car assembly plants found it easier t provide individuals with greater responsibility for the total task and encourages feedback rather to change the essential nature of the task itself. Another example taken is Squeaky Clean. The firm is a manufacture of cleaning supplies. They try to match individuals with a job that corresponds to their overall work personality. Certain jobs are best suited for individuals with specific personality traits, values and beliefs. Since good job design is dependent on understanding a person's fit for the position, Squeaky Clean has decided to revamp their job design process. They have chosen to adopt theHackman Oldham job characteristic model. First one is the skill variety. At Squeaky Clean, workers who have personalities that enjoy variety and challenge find work with high skill variety meaningful. For example, marketing managers have to enjoy diverse skills, such as designing, promoting, selling and presenting. The end result of this type of job is high internal work motivation. Next is the task identity. Squeaky Clean allows their advertising and design department to work on all steps of the creative process. Workers start with an idea and are able to complete the process until the final results of a new package, ad or commercial. Third one is task significance. Squeaky Clean's legal department hires individuals who care about social responsibility and producing products that are good for the environment. The individuals are motivated to help protect the company, customers and the environment. This also provides high-quality performance. Maslow hierarchy of needs - Physiological At the workplace physiological needs are related to financial compensation, heat, air-conditioning and cafeteria facilities Safety and security Job security and fringe benefits are related to safety and security needs in the work environment. Love and belongingness This describes the amount of liking and respect from the boss, peers and customers. Self- Esteem This is related to the job title, responsibility, recognition and promotion. Self-Actualization It depicts the challenging job, creativity and achievement in work. Conclusion In an organization, motivation is required for the employees to give their best performance and to sustain in the work place. There are some motivational factors that is required for an individual to be successful at the work place. Here some motivational theories are discussed that are applicable in any organization. The first one is the Hertzberg's two factor theory. Next is the process theory. To be successful, a positive work environment is required where a proper work life balance, the organizational climate, proper recognition, training and development are required to enhance productivity. Hackman and Oldham is another job characteristic model which is very important model for the employees. The last one is the Maslow's theory which is one of the most important factors in an organization that determine the physiological needs, safety and security needs, love and belongingness, self-esteem and self- actualization. References Barrick, M.R., Mount, M.K. and Li, N., 2013. The theory of purposeful work behavior: The role of personality, higher-order goals and job characteristics. Academy of Management Review, 38(1), pp.132-153. Carpenter, M.J. and Charon, L.C., 2014. Mitigating Multigenerational Conflict and Attracting, Motivating, and Retaining Millennial Employees by Changing the Organizational Culture: A Theoretical Model.Journal of Psychological Issues in Organizational Culture,5(3), pp.68-84. Chan, X.W., Kalliath, T., Brough, P., Siu, O.L., ODriscoll, M.P. and Timms, C., 2015. Workfamily enrichment and satisfaction: the mediating role of self-efficacy and worklife balance. Craig, C.A., Allen, M.W., Reid, M.F., Riemenschneider, C.K. and Armstrong, D.J., 2013. The impact of career mentoring and psychosocial mentoring on affective organizational commitment, job involvement and turnover intention. Administration Society, 45(8), pp.949-973. DeVaro, J. and Morita, H., 2013. Multiskilling.Wiley Encyclopedia of Management. Faludi, A., 2013.A reader in planning theory. Elsevier. Geller, E.S., 2016. The Psychology of AC4P Behavior. Applied Psychology, p.45. Greenberg, J. and Cohen, R.L. eds., 2014.Equity and justice in social behavior. Academic Press. Li, L., Shengping, C., Jueheng, W., Ruilin, Z. and Dan, X., 2013. Effective motivation system of experimental technical team based on Needs Theory and Equity Theory.Experimental Technology and Management,3, p.059. Maslach, C. and Jackson, S.E., 2013. A social psychological analysis. Social psychology of health and illness, 227. Miner, J.B., 2015.Organizational behavior 1: Essential theories of motivation and leadership. Routledge. Pegler, C., 2012. Herzberg, hygiene and the motivation to reuse: Towards a three-factor theory to explain motivation to share and use OER.Journal of Interactive Media in Education,2012(1). Pervin, L.A. ed., 2015.Goal concepts in personality and social psychology(Vol. 23). Psychology Press. Piccolo, R.F., Greenbaum, R.L. and Eissa, G., 2012. Ethical leadership and core job characteristics: Designing jobs for employee well-being. In Work and Quality of Life (pp. 291-305). Springer Netherlands. Pinder, C.C., 2014. Work motivation in organizational behavior. Psychology Press. Schneider, B., Ehrhart, M.G. and Macey, W.H., 2013. Organizational climate and culture. Annual review of psychology, 64, pp.361-388. Sheth, Y., Panchamia, J. and Denis, L., 2014. Preference of Motivator and Hygiene Factors among Inductees of Public Sector Organization.Journal of Production Research Management, pp.56-59. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, pp.1-22. Yusoff, W.F.W., Kian, T.S. and Idris, M.T.M., 2013. Herzbergs Two Factors Theory On Work Motivation: Does Its Work For Todays Environment.Global journal of commerce and Management,2(5), pp.18-22.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Teilhard De Chardin Essays - Cosmologists, , Term Papers

Teilhard De Chardin "Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence, determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ." (Eph. I, 4-5). These powerful words of St. Paul in his first letter to the Ephesians, I think, best characterize the spirit of Teilhard the Chardin, his idea of man and man's place in the universe, and of the common goals of humanity. Just imagine somebody... Somebody, whose whole life was a continuous prayer to God, a prayer, in which he constantly asked to break through the seal of traditional authority and common ignorance, and explore the depth of reality, the ultimate beginning and the ultimate end, and the reasons behind the emergence of life and conscious beings in the universe. Of course, that means that your books are put on the Index and you are almost made into a heretic by the True and Holy Catholic Church. But he didn't give up. He clearly saw his goals, his purpose. It was his life's work, to trace back the origins of mankind, and to speculate of its goals and ultimate outcome. It was his type of spirituality, scientific spirituality, that drove him incessantly to spend sleepless nights trying to make sense out of scientific facts, to tie them together with what seemed apparent, and with that which didn't seem so apparent. And the best he came up with was a simple statement, "We Are All One." Life is eternal, love is immortal, and death is but a horizon. Life Is, he would say if someone would have asked him, what is life? Life Is, and ever was, and forever will be - world without end. Composite matter dies and falls apart, but spirit remains. And with it - that indelible part of it, the nuclei of personality, the individual particles which have been with us from the very beginning, which grow and evolve with us, and which strive towards common union into a whole, with God as the center... In my paper, I will discuss Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's idea of man's place in the universe, as presented in a variety of his works. I will be using mostly primary sources for my research, as well as talks delivered at the Centennial Teilhard de Chardin Symposium at Georgetown University, and books written by Teilhard's friends or contemporaries. In most of his works, Teilhard establishes a link between anthropology and metaphysics, between science and religion. They are an attempt to understand the universe through man, who is very much part of it. In them, we can see Teilhard's vision of harmony of duality of the universe, which is composed of matter and spirit. Union of matter and mind, of the cosmos and the spirit of the universe, and the evolving of one into the other is one of the main ideas behind all of Teilhard's works. He tries to prove that life didn't emerge by accident, but was a product of evolution. And man has his own place in the evolution of the universe. First of all, universe is not static. That is, there is no permanence in it. Everything is in the constant process of change, and a particular kind of change - evolution. How did man come to be, asks de Chardin. And the only plausible conclusion he can make is, that human being is a link in a chain of evolution. What was before man? And how does God fit into the whole picture? Let us follow Teilhard in his understanding of the universe through ourselves, human beings. Has there always been conscious life in our universe? No, would be Teilhard's answer. Emergence of consciousness was indeed a breakthrough in the evolution of the world. But what kind of a breakthrough? What is the primordial element that gave rise to life in the universe? What is it composed of? As a Catholic priest, he should say, "well, the universe was created by God out of nothing in six days, and culminated in the creation of man out of earth." And this Old Testament myth, however surprising it may sound, is very close to what Teilhard does say in his essays. "Stuff of the Universe" is the name he gives to that primordial element, out of which the cosmos has been created, and which is the underlying ground for the evolution of the cosmos to bring forth consciousness, a thinking being. Out of the stuff