Midterm Essay 3 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Midterm 3 - Essay Example Human development is thus, characterized by the appropriation and transformation of nature by human needs. The idea here is that human beings usually transform themselves according to the demands of the external world. In line with this argument, people do not engage in labor freely, but are rather forced by external forces to engage in labor. Marcuse perceives labor as a means of objectifying a person considering that people are always striving to engage activities that will profit them economically (ibid). As such, capitalism is seen as the primary cause of alienation in the society as it forces human beings to act. The fact that people do not realize that labor and capitalism has enslaved them explains that they do not realize the need for change, thus making them one-dimensional thinkers. As such, instead of fighting against the alienation caused by capitalism and demanding social change, one-dimensional thinkers begin to identify with those who fuel such capitalism, thus becoming complacent in their alienated state. As Marcuse writes, â€Å"†¦the subject which is alienated is swallowed up by its alienated existence†¦there is only one dimension, and it is everywhere and in all forms†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (19). Fundamentally, the working class people are lured into a consumerism system in which labor is essential for production, their artificial needs are met, and these people are slowly integrated into the capitalist society. By ensuring that the workers perceive labor as beneficial and making sure that the worker’s artificial needs are met, the capitalist society eliminates the cha nces of opposition. One of the catalysts of the kind of alienation caused by capitalism is technology. Marcuse argues that technology has revolutionized the mass media such that the capitalist system is able to infiltrate the social lives of its citizens (18). In essence, mediums such as radio and television have been used by the system to take capitalist ideas into the homes of citizens

The Psychological Effects of Change Management

The Psychological Effects of Change Management An organization is a system of interacting subsystems and components set within wider systems and environments which provide inputs to the system and which receive its outputs (Senior, 2002, p.5). That is why each organization affects the system but is being modified by the latter as well. According to Armstrong (2009, p.404), as there is no such thing as ideal organization the change is vital. The author argues that by facing each problem, the organisation should be modified in order to achieve the best fit between the structure and the circumstances (2009, p. 405). On the other hand, an organization has different components such as employees which are the essential assets for a company, highly likely they will be affected from the change management of the organization in different ways. There is no doubt that the most important impact is the psychological one for the employees which is considered as resistance to the new management system. These effects should be managed carefully in order to facilitate the change process. Contrary to those who believe that change can only be successful through coercive measures, this paper argues that change must be implemented through a positive approach which consists of a dialogue process with employees. The communication and the presentation of the change management plan will allow employees to express their thoughts and feelings about it. Because their reaction is taken into account, they will feel part of the change process, and they will be more likely to adapt to a given change. This, at the end, will ease the implementation of change, and will help the company to finalize this process in a more peaceful and successful way. Firstly, the concept of change management concept will be explained briefly. Secondly, the concept of resistance and the psychological effects on the employees such as shock of the new, inconvenience, fear of failure will be discussed, and finally, the mitigation methods which depend on the choice of change management programme will be enum erated such as communication, presentation of the change management plan, and bargaining which will be discussed with their effects. THE CONCEPT OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT The change management is the way of dealing with a possible change process since that every company should be ready for a potential modification in the system in order not to be effected by it in a negative way. The concept is defined by Armstrong such as the process of achieving the smooth implementation of change by planning and introducing it systematically, taking into account the likelihood of it being resisted (2009, p.424). Although the change is the only thing that stays constant in the organization (Armstrong, 2009, p.424), and that is the reason why the change management has a vital place in the organizational life. Change starts with a need of modification in the system and happens during a process. Even though nothing disturbs the organizational life, change will happen in a range of time (Senior, 2002). The reason why the change emerges can be internal or external. The former consists of a revision of the administration, redesign of group jobs, external factors can be ei ther social-cultural or political (Senior, 2002, p.5). There exist three types of change: strategic change which is a long term modification, operational change which is related to a change of a part of an organisation and transformational change which affects dramatically the structure, the process and behaviours of the organization (Armstrong, 2009, p.425). In either way a change management programme is highly required to companies. There is a variety of change programmes, and everyone has its own approach, but five characteristics are common between these according to Binney and Williams : vision, telling people what that vision is, top management determination, planning and programming and adopting the best practice (2005. p.296). The management process aims success by decreasing the resistance against the change. The PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF THE CHANGE MANAGEMENT The change management has psychological effects on employees because of the fact that every modification creates a resistance to the organization. As the former will create a new system for them, it can be said that every change management programme is the change itself. As psychological impacts, shock of the new (Armstrong, 2009, p. 431) can be cited, it means that employees will go through a process that they do not know, and they are afraid of it since it is unknown: the new situation will be distinct from the routine. There is also inconvenience (Armstrong, 2009, p.431) because they may think that their life may be more difficult than the previous one. Moreover, the change causes economic fears and uncertainty of the new situation and the latter symbolises a threat to interpersonal relationships that they build during their former organizational life. The new system will probably bring new rules, and they will need to integrate themselves to the new procedures: as to Steers and Black, they may doubt about their competences and they may have a fear of failure (1994, p. 669). Furthermore, it is also the fact that group norms and role prescriptions can be changed and their status may not be the same as the former. As it has been enumerated before, the employees will face a different aspect of their own organization, their habit and their group norms will change and there will be multiple effects on their psychology. That is the reason why employees will show some kind of a reaction called individual resistance (Steers, Black, 1994, p. 668) to the implication of the change management. The resistance can even cause the failure of the im plementation since employees are the most important assets of the organization. The psychological impact has been covered of five stages by Carnall (1990), which can be helpful to understand the resistances change. These five steps are general ones which employees pass through during the process of change. The first stage is denial (1999, p.211) where the employee does not admit that he needs a change in the organization and tries not to accept any changes with a disbelieve to his employers. Carnall argues that it is a warning period and there will be no decrease of performance. The second stage is the defence(1999, p.212) where the employee gets the new position or the new environment but does not want to do it and find excuses related to the new situation. The third one is discarding (1999, p. 212) when employee starts to let go the past, and starts to getting used to the new procedure. This is where employee accepts that the change was inevitable (1999, p.213). Stage four is adaptation (1999, p. 213) where the integration of the employee is realized and every thing works according to the plan. The last one is the internalization where the new change management plan has been became a normal one (1999, p.214): it is the phase where the normalization of the behaviour occurred. The MITIGATION of THE PSYCOLOGICAL IMPACTS The psychological impact should be mitigated in order to realize the change management aimed. Human element is the prime benchmark at this point, it means that every effort must be made according to the interests of those who have been affected by change (Senior, 2002). Mitigation will help to make the employees accept the change management more easily and adapt them to the new sturucture that they are willing to face. It should be underlined that the mitigation effect depend on the change management nature that has been chosen by the administration. Overcoming the psychological effects can be done in multiple ways, the best is to present the change management programme to the employees and try to get them into the project in order to reach a better level of integration. The communication is essential at this point (Armstrong, 2009), it does not mean that the employee will have influence on the change, but at least they will be able to predict their future, which will bring the decrease of the fear that they feel. It is not necessarily an active participation of employees, but an explanation of the reasons why the company choose to make a modification on the current model of management, and its plan in order not to make frighten employees. Every affects that will be faced depend on the introducing method; it may make people a part of the plan and will push them to collaborate with the company. After communication process, the company should also identify the possible fears and their reasons, and after, the administration should find ways to resolve the problems which may occur during the process (Armstrong, 2009). This kind of an attitude will not only help the integration of the employees to the new system but also will provide more credit to current the administration. On the other hand this communication phase can be done as participation to the decision making. The administration can listen to the employees carefully and take them idea as well for understanding in a better way their point about the change (Beech, Kenna, 2008, p. 95). In that case alienation of employees to the change will be less. The company could choose a step forward of communication: bargaining. In that case the employee is having a role in the process. Thurlys model is a well example, this plan has five steps as directive, bargaining, heart and minds, analytical approach and action based. In this case, the change management is imposed to the employees by the management power at first, but then the process is negotiated between the employee and the employer which will help the administration to understand the possible psychological effects of the change, and modify the plan according to it. A brain storming is being done and the management power will find the best way to adapt the new system. In that model the employee is not only a part of the plan but also is facing the administration which will give the feeling of importance to the employee. Moreover, Beech and Kenna share the same idea, according to them when the administration choose a bargaining method (2008, p.95) the company can attract more people to collaborate in an easy way and employees who had been helped the administration can have a better position in the change management process. Furthermore, training and skill development programmes (Beech, Kenna, 2008) can be used in order to decrease the psychological impacts as fear of failure or inconvenience. On the other hand, the physiological effects can be managed by coercion (direct threat), manipulation, withholding negative data (Beech, Kenna, 2008, p. 95). There is no doubt that the administration will show it force on the employees by these methods but is should be underlined that the fear will be more in long term, and additionally the employees will lose their thrust to the administration. Beer et Al argue that people can adopt to a new organizational system and the change should be done in a sharply way but showing the overcome is always a better way, since the behaviour and conscience are related to each other (Armstrong, 2009, p. 428), and more the employee will see the outcome, the more he will adapt itself to the new situation. CONCLUSION As a conclusion, change for every company is a must since it is interrelated to the system and because of the inputs and outputs, change becomes inevitable. Every organization needs to have a change management plan for being prepared to a new organizational system. There are multiple change management programmes; their common point is their aim which is to decrease the effects of change. Additionally, to every plan there will be a resistance; it is result of fear, prejudice, anxiety and ignorance (Calmon, Paton, 1992, p. 9) the change management plan has psychological impacts on employees such as shock, inconvenience, fear of failure. They live it in five stages as denial, defence, discarding, adaptation, internalization according to Carnall. The psychological effects can be mitigated by communication, participation of the employees to the management plan and bargaining. On the other hand coercion can be a way as well, but the best way is to handle the process by a positive way becau se of the fact that the employee is the most important asset of the company moreover the programme will be more efficient, and easy to adapt.

Bruce Dawe - Americanized :: essays research papers

Bruce Dawe is strongly opposed to consumerism, as shown through his poem, Americanized. The poem is written in a predominantly bitter and ironic tone. The title itself is ironic. Bruce Dawe is Australian and has spelled the title using American spelling rather than Australian spelling, with the ‘s’ being replaced by a ‘z’. Stanza one is set in the morning at breakfast time. It involves the mother and her child. Instead of the usual loving mother, we see a cold mother and one that is doubtful of her lover for her own child. Dawe uses cold language such as ‘beneficence’, ‘beamed’ and ‘laminex’ as well has the pause after ‘she loves him’ to signify this. The pair are also conveyed to be separate from each other, symbolised by them being on opposite sides of the breakfast table. Stanza two shows us how the baby is well looked after, yet is lacking the affection that small children need. The child experiences a ‘vague passing spasm of loss.’ The mother blocks out her child’s cries. There is a lack of contact and warmth between the pair. Stanza three again shows doubtfulness about the mother’s love. We see how the mother locks her child in because she fears the modern world. She sees the world as dangers and especially fears men. Her fear of men is emphasized by the italics used. In the final line of the stanza, the mother puts her son on a plastic pot. This is somewhat symbolic of the consumeristic society i.e. manufactured and cheap. Stanza four is a metaphor. The mother trying to toilet train her son is a metaphor for people learning the rules of society and trying to conform to society’s ways. In this stanza, the mother is society and the child is someone trying to learn society’s values. It is against the child’s natural instinct, yet the mother still tries to force it. In stanza five, the mother leaves the house and leaves her son at home alone. The mother is said to be ‘off to nurse and invalid called the world.’ This is to do with the theory of consumption. The mother has gone out to consume materialistic items that will in turn keep the consumer-based economy ‘healthy.’ If she and the millions of other members of the consumer society fail to do this, the consumer economy will ‘sicken.’ Stanza six shows how toys and presents mark the child’s life rather than love and affection.

The Song Dynasty: Interactions Essay

The Song set up supervised markets along the border to encourage trade between them and its neighbors. In 971CE the government established the first Maritime Trade Supervisorate followed by four others. Its roles included the taxation of imported goods, government purchase and sale of imported goods, and to issue foreign trade permits for local merchants. Chinese goods that flowed north in large quantities included tea, silk, copper coins, paper and printed books etc. The return flow included horses that Song needed desperately for its armies but also other animals and goods that had traveled across the Silk Road. There was also vigorous sea trade with Korea, Japan and lands to the southwest. During Song times this maritime trade for the first time exceeded overland foreign trade. About fifty countries carried out overseas trade with the Song Dynasty. Chinese ships were seen all throughout the Indian Ocean and began to displace Indian and Arab merchants in the South Seas. Shards of Song Chinese porcelain have been found as far away as eastern Africa. ?The Song Dynasty: Interactions The Song set up supervised markets along the border to encourage trade between them and its neighbors. In 971CE the government established the first Maritime Trade Supervisorate followed by four others. Its roles included the taxation of imported goods, government purchase and sale of imported goods, and to issue foreign trade permits for local merchants. Chinese goods that flowed north in large quantities included tea, silk, copper coins, paper and printed books etc. The return flow included horses that Song needed desperately for its armies but also other animals and goods that had traveled across the Silk Road. There was also vigorous sea trade with Korea, Japan and lands to the southwest. During Song times this maritime trade for the first time exceeded overland foreign trade. About fifty countries carried out overseas trade with the Song Dynasty. Chinese ships were seen all throughout the Indian Ocean and began to displace Indian and Arab merchants in the South Seas. Shards of Song Chinese porcelain have been found as far away as eastern Africa.

Investigating World Financial Markets Essay

The stock markets in consideration, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index (SSE), and the Australian All Ordinaries (ASX-All Ords) are among the major stock markets in the world. The value of these stock markets often gauge the local economy and is considered as the benchmark of economic health within their regions (Kaeppel, 2009). For instance, DJIA is the primary indicator of US economic health. Along with the S&P 500 and NASDAQ, the Dow is a collection of the top 30 industrial and commercial companies in the United States. The dominant industries in the DJIA range from Banking, Oil and Mining, Heavy Industries, and Food Manufacturing among others. According to Yahoo! Finance for the past couple of years during the global economic recession, the composition of the Dow has changed as it did for the past decades. Particularly, banking giants Citigroup and AIG were replaced in mid-2009 by The Travel Company and Kraft Foods, respectively due to the former’s poor stock performance on the onset of the global recession. One particular similarity of the stock markets mentioned in this paper is how other markets (SSE & ASX All Ords) were affected by the crisis that started in the United States. The Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index was at its all-time high (6000-level) in 2007 but suddenly cascaded downwards to the 4000 level during the global recession. The SSE in recent years has become a significant stock market indicator in Asia along with the Nikkei 225 of Japan and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong. The Shanghai bourse is divided into 2: Shanghai-A for foreigners and Shanghai-B for the local Chinese. Dominant industries in the SSE are mining and commercial banking. For instance, one of the largest IPOs in the world happened in 2007 during the listing of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). Another is the Australian All Ordinaries which is on a league of its own. It is considered to be the primary bourse of the Australian market and is usually classified together with the Asian markets due to proximity. The ASX has been known for in the past due to its mining and rubber industries. The ASX of today however is dominated mostly by food manufacturers and commercial banking while mining industries still contribute significant amounts of trade volumes. On the other hand, this paper will also look into the bonds market through the JP Morgan Global Bond Market-All Maturities which are government issued IOUs which a government usually guarantees to pay on a specified amount of time. Usually issued as 5-10 year bonds, the bonds market are resistant to bankruptcy and default since the government guarantees it in a long period of time. Cross-Market Comparisons The performance of the stock markets around the world has suffered a lot for the past two years due to the global economic crisis. Several banks and industries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and sought for their governments to intervene (Selden, 2010). On Figure 1 below, the US market in general was already on a downward direction even before the worse of the global crisis. This was due to the fact that defaults on the US Housing market was heavily affecting investor sentiments and the uncertainty of the then incoming US presidential elections was leading the markets down. With the DJIA as one of the benchmark indices for other markets in Europe and Asia-Pacific, the SSE and the ASX also were on a minor down shift. This worsened when the American company Lehman Brothers which is a century-old company in the US filed for bankruptcy on September 2008 prompting panic on Wall Street and around the world. News stories of companies with large defaulting accounts sent shockwaves in other markets causing bear markets around the world as reflected on the graph. A slight recovery was seen on March of 2009 when newly sworn US President Barrack Obama agreed to bail out Wall St and provided Bailout packages to Citigroup and the US Auto Industry. On Australia, the market also reacted positively over the acquisition of BHP Billiton of Rio Tinto in late 2009 ending a series of sour negotiations in the previous year. China was also able to prove that it was resistant to the worse of the financial crisis and was still able to compensate for its 11% inflation for 2008. The local Chinese economy was also saved by the revenues from the 2008 Beijing Olympics as well as other industries who are still eager to invest in China all the more in order to reduce costs.