Staffing Orgs. (Dell) Essays - American Brands, Dell, Employment

Staffing Orgs. (Dell) Dell's mission is to be the most successful computer company in the world at delivering the best customer experience in markets we serve. In doing so, Dell will meet customer expectations of: ? Highest quality ? Leading technology ? Competitive pricing ? Individual and company accountability ? Best-in-class service and support ? Flexible customization capability ? Superior corporate citizenship ? Financial stability -Dell Mission Statement Company background Dells vision of excellence through quality, innovation, pricing, accountability, service and support, customization, corporate citizenship and financial stability is clear. This mission statement is clear and easy to understand. Producing quality work that leads to the achievement of these lofty goals becomes much more complicated than writing a simple mission statement. One thing is clear, the core capabilities of any business stem from the employees that comprise it. With over 36,000 employees, Dell is a member of the rapidly changing and expanding computer technology industry. This industry had achieved enormous growth in the last decade. Dells stock rose 29,000 percent in the 1990s and as of the second quarter in 1999; Dell was tied for first place in the market. Dell faces stiff competition from technology giants such as IBM, Hewlett Packard, and Compaq. With such robust expansion in the technology industry and the economy, it is becoming increasing difficult for companies such as Dell, who experienced a 56 percent growth in workforce in 1999, to fill positions with quality applicants. Dell is currently seeking applicants for positions in sales, corporate finance, engineering, manufacturing, and most especially, information technology. Dell currently hires approximately 2000 employees a quarter. With such rapid growth and expansion the temptation surfaces to simply fill a position with a body. Unless you have a good process in place, you run t he risk of not always hiring the best people. There can be a tendency to say We need people so badly, a fresh body is better than no body, as summed up by Steve Price, vice president of human resources for Dells Public and Americas International Group. To avoid this scenario, Dell has created a web-based Organizational Human Resource Planning (OHRP) process. These processes help a business unit focus on and anticipate growth and staffing needs. In addition the OHRP process allows managers to do their own succession planning, identify key jobs, and formulate competency planning and employee development. The OHRP process also tries to pick out qualities new employees will need by analyzing the skills and qualities of current top performers. This program has been highly successful as Dells profitability increased 59 percent in the same period that the workforce grew by 56 percent. Analysis of current recruiting practices Dells rapid growth and expansion requires recruiting processes to seek out and retain large numbers of qualified applicants. Dell begins its on campus recruitment at selected schools in the fall. The on campus recruitment takes place primarily at schools in the midwest, (Big 10), and southeast, (ACC). Dell typically makes three on campus visits to selected schools and when possible spreads these visits out over the term of the recruitment process. First round interviews take place on campus and prospects are notified with 48 hours if they are selected for a second interview. All second round interviews are conducted at Dells headquarters in Austin, Texas. Prospects are typically notified within 48 hours if Dell intends to offer them a position. Applicants who attend schools where Dell does not conduct on campus recruiting may apply on Dells website. Applicants submit a cover letter and resume to the website. Resumes and cover letters are then entered into a database where they are lo oked over by a Dell recruiter. Acceptable applicants are then contacted via phone for and initial interview. Applicants will be notified within 48 hours if a second interview is requested. Again all second round interviews are conducted in Austin and applicants that Dell intends to hire are notified within 48 hours. Either recruiting specialists or rotational recruiters who come from specific departments, such as the IT department, generally conduct interviews. Specialists from specific departments are generally used in time of peak hiring demand. These specialists are able to use their knowledge and experience to give a unique prospective, as they are the ones

Spanish Harlem and Drug Economy Essay

Spanish Harlem and Drug Economy Essay Spanish Harlem and Drug Economy Essay In his book, In Search of Respect, Philippe Bourgois discussed his experiences living in El Barrio (East Harlem). An interesting new insight into the street culture found in New York was captured in this book. The amount of poverty in this portion of our country is much higher than that in most other areas. Bourgois argues that this neighborhood, which is well known for high rates of violence, does not have widespread violence occurring amongst all of it’s members. The higher crime rate, argues Bourgois, occurs for the most part within the factions of the underground economy. Some insight into this economy would explain the reasons for higher rates of violence. This book is a summary of the events that occurred during Bourgois’ stay in El Barrio. The original purpose of the book was to write a first-hand account of poverty and ethnic segregation in the heart of one of the world’s largest cities. Bourgois was swept into the area drug economy because of the abundance of information from the dealers and their families who all lived within the immediate area. The problem was so prevalent that the focus of the book was changed to deal exclusively with the underground drug economy. Most of the accounts given in the book come from a single crack house near Bourgois’ tenement. The group of crack dealers filtered through Bourgois present a compelling argument that reform within the economy needs to take place in order to reduce the amount of violence within the inner-cities of the United States. Bourgois states that there is a strong feeling of community among the people living in El Barrio. Those people not involved in the drug market rarely encounter violence themselves because the dealers have nothing to fear from them. Bourgois states that, during the day, children are safely left to play in the streets unattended by their parents. At night, when the legitimate working force of the community is eating dinner or asleep, is when the brunt of violence takes place. The amount of drug dealers or crack houses is an indirect result of the lost jobs in Harlem. Bourgois states that many of the unemployed in the inner-city are not successful in finding work because they lack the skills of working efficiently with people that they don’t already have an every day relationship with, something that factory jobs provided. Factory jobs that moved out of the inner-cities left the large minority groups without a collective workplace where everybody knew their task and how to complete it. The current availability of jobs within the inner-city is mostly within the service sector. These jobs are individualized jobs where independence is required rather than a group effort. The jobs pay little and aren’t generally respected. This tends to lead many people within this community to become involved in the drug economy. Within the drug market of East Harlem, the dealers use frequent displays of violence in order to scare off thieves, professional holdup artists, and other drug dealers. This violence is

Blood Flow and cardiovascular Disease, non lipid cardiovascular risk Essay

Blood Flow and cardiovascular Disease, non lipid cardiovascular risk factors - Essay Example Blood, returning to the heart from all over the body, flows into the right atrium. The blood flows from the right atrium into the right ventricle, which in turn pump it out to the lungs for oxygenation. Then the oxygenated blood returns to the left atrium. From the left atrium, the oxygenated blood flows into the left ventricle which pumps the oxygen-rich blood into the arteries. Pumping or contraction of the left ventricle should be very powerful to keep flowing of the blood throughout the whole body. The strength of the heart muscle depends on the oxygen and nutrient supply coming from the coronary arteries. The walls of these arteries are strong, elastic and flexible. The heart muscle is supplied by three major coronary arteries. Two of them arise from a common stem, called the left coronary artery which supplies the left side of the heart. It divides into left anterior descending branch which supplies the front part of the heart, and the left circumflex branch which supplies the left lateral and back side of the heart. The right coronary is separate and supplies the right and the bottom parts of the heart. The inner layer of the coronary arteries is quite smooth allowing blood to flow easily. With aging, cholesterol and calcium content in the walls of the coronary arteries increases, making them thickened and less elastic. The prolonged effect of risk factors with the consequence of aging, damage of the inner layer of the arteries becomes predominant, especially in the coronaries. This change is called atherosclerosis which is a progressive hardening of the arteries caused by the deposit of fatty plaques and the scarring and thickening of the artery wall. Inflammation of the artery wall and the development of blood clots can obstruct blood flow and cause heart attacks or strokes.[1]Nieminen and colleagues concluded that coronary artery disease is a major cause of heart failure.[4]The deposits or plaques may increase in size and block the arteries. If

Why was American management criticised so much in the 1980s, so widely Essay - 1

Why was American management criticised so much in the 1980s, so widely admired in the 1990s, and now so despised again - Essay Example This made the practices of the world war come into place, which was further influenced by the presence of the cold war during this time. This only worked to facilitate further bureaucracy as then times was found to be trying (Hood 1990, p.3). This pushed bureaucracy to a new level in that there was a hierarchy of order in relation to the order of business and conducting of transactions. Therefore, management revolved around the authority figures in the business whose decisions were arbitral and impulsive creating further unfavourable decisions for business as the country itself was in a state of panic based on the cold war (Smith 190, p.8). As such, there was little stability in management as many things were uncertain creating further room for abuse of office in relation to decision making for an organization. As a result, most of the administrative issues in businesses found in America came form decision making forms that were mainly centred on the manager. The manager in the insti tutions was the final authority in making decisions, where everything had to go through him or her. This explains the essence of bureaucracy in an organization, which led to the criticism of the management structures and their efficiency. In addition, American management was criticized much due to the antics employed by managers in running the business, where there was more talk than action to back the words in the business. Tis raised questions over the ability of the management to meet the needs of an organization, as the hype that came with the turf of managerial positions did not produce any substance to show that the leader had any expertise to look after the company and drive it profitability. In this, there were only more attempts to make businesses look more profitable than they actually were, which translates to the emphasis on public relations than production of substance to speak for the business. The despicable conduct of management in this case was the use of unconventi onal means or military means such as propaganda to drive businesses and see that they were in a position to make profit or at least engage investors. American management in the 1980s also faced criticism based on the failure of management to deliver on the promises it made on their products and services as is seen through the application of hyped products that were out of reach, showing how little management was doing to meet the needs of their consumers. This way, the competence of American management was in question as there were discrepancies that showed American management to be a fraud thriving on propaganda to drive its popularity through pricy products whose promises were not up to standard, in terms of price. Technology in management also saw American management criticized in the 1980s as it provided businesses with opportunities to develop further, however, American management cut back on the application of technology in business to maximize the productivity of businesses, which saw significant criticism. In relation to this, American management was more intent on mass production methods and not on the desired quality of products. This proved to be poor management s there was mass failure in productivity and decision-making due to bureaucracy and integration of management with other professionals that did not have any expertise in the businesses they were managing. This is generally a failure in the American management system of the 1980s as they were unable to handle business based on expertise, but based on status, which did not look at critical aspects of running a business. In the 1990s, things changed for the better for American manageme

Health Psychology Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Health Psychology - Article Example According to this model, every illness is the result of abnormal bodily processes such as biochemical disorders or neurophysiologic anomalies. This system is completely based on the western concept of medicine and is being used by health practitioners since the last 300 years. The discovery of antibiotics for treatment of chronic disease has been a major breakthrough in medical science and is the primary advantage of this system of treatment. Moreover, this model helps doctors to design treatment for patients efficiently, allowing them to reveal the current situation of the patient, the required appropriate situation, and thereby develop a course of action to make that happen. However, the model has been widely criticized since it views the human body as parts of a machine which needs to fixed or repaired if something goes wrong. Secondly, it is a single factor model which reveals a reductionist view of illness deducting it to merely low-level processes such has disordered cells and mechanical disparities (Taylor & Sirios, 2012, 6). The biopsychosocial model is an interdisciplinary model that assumes that health and illness are caused by a multiple interaction of biological, psychosocial, and socio-cultural factors. According to this model, ecological systems, social system, psychological system, biological system, and physical system, all together play a crucial role in determining health and illness. The major advantage is that it involves multiple factors in treatment which allows it cover both the macro-level processes (social, psychological, biological) and micro-level processes (physical) related to health. Secondly, it involves developing an effective relationship between the patient and the practitioner thereby, leading to a speedy recovery (Taylor & Sirios, 2012, 7). However, according to some researchers, this model fails to guide on how to prioritize one factor over the other since it covers various factors. As a result,

Defining The Winners And Losers English Literature Essay

Defining The Winners And Losers English Literature Essay Winning isnt everything, its the only thing (Lattterell 210). Spoken by one of the most well-known football coaches ever, Vince Lombardi sums up the value America places on competition in this quote. America is dominated by the cultural assumption that the role competition plays in the United States is to define winners and losers. While the assumption does value hard work, perseverance, and giving all ones got as a pathway to become a winner as well as whoever or whatever one dreams of being in life, the assumption fails to recognize Americans obsessions with the infinite new ways they concoct just to prove themselves as winners. In addition, the assumption does not take into account the way competition can turn into an out-of-control complete loss of civility (Latterell 211-213). Even more so, defining winners and losers causes Americans to value the extrinsic rewards for competing instead of looking at the value of intrinsic motivation and cooperation (Latterell 213-214). Joshua D avis and Alfie Kohn each question the assumption that constitutes almost every aspect of Americans lives and reflects Americas obsession with defining winners and losers. To begin with, Joshua Davis looks at the American cultural assumption on competition in his essay Team USA by looking at how it played a role in his own life. From early childhood, Davis had been influenced by his mother to become the champion she had never become. Ever since his mother place fifth in the 1962 Miss USA contest, she looked to her son to become the champion she had never been. Even after all of her accomplishments, she still saw herself as a loser or just average, and therefore, she wanted her son to become the winner she could no longer become (263-264). As humorous as it sounds, the five-foot-nine-inch, 129-pound data entry clerk looked to fulfill his goal to become a winner in his own right by becoming a professional arm wrestler (262). In the end, Davis made it all the way to the World Arm Wrestling Championships and ended up getting seventeenth in a field of eighteen. Humorously, Davis is now ranked seventeenth in the world for the 132-pound arm wrestling division without even winning one single match (275). Overall, the essay pokes fun at the American ideal that any individual can become a champion and winner if he/she really puts his/her mind to it and give it everything he/she has got. American society is so concerned with being winners that Davis wonders where an average citizen like himself stands out in society (275). The fact that this average citizen, who has been labeled a loser his entire life, becomes an internationally ranked arm wrestler without winning one match reflects Americans absurd desire to prove themselves as winners in any way imaginable. Daviss story is a direct criticism of Americas assumption on the value of competition. It is even essential to take notice of the way Davis criticizes Americas cultural assumption that hard work and extreme effort will get anyone to the top. His essay criticizes the assumption because he became internationally ranked with not one win and not nearly the amount of time and hard work that is needed to reach such a high status. By wri ting about his experience of becoming an internationally ranked arm wrestler through zero wins and no experiences or matches in arm-wrestling in his life prior to the U.S. National Arm Wrestling Championships, the essay further points out the silly, ridiculous, bizarre, and yet comical ways Americans try to prove themselves as winners (265). His mothers disappointment that came from competing in beauty pageants followed by her strong desire to push her own son to the status of champion is a sad representative example of Americas cultural desire to win-at-all-costs for trophies and other extrinsic rewards. The fact that some arm wrestlers had their legs amputated in order to cut off unnecessary weight so that they could have a better advantage at winning the gold is yet another ridiculous extreme people resort to in order to get themselves to the admirable, distinguished status of being a winner (275). Essentially, the essay is a criticism of the value Americans place on being a winn er and the measures people go to in order to become a winner. In No Contest: Play, Fun, and Competition, Alfie Kohn argues against the cultural assumption that competition and defining winners and losers is more enjoyable than play (277). To begin with, Kohn defines play and competition as two separate entities. He sees play as a voluntary and pleasing source of freedom free from being serious and free from the recordings of results and scores because they do not matter in play. Whereas play represents a process orientation (278) that is intrinsically gratifying, competition represents a product orientation (278) that is extrinsically gratifying. Furthermore, competition is strongly regulated with many rules. Motivating Americans for acceptance outside of oneself, competition is very goal-oriented with strong incentives to obtain power, trophies, and/or money (278-280). In competition, someone must end up a loser (286). Kohn makes a very important point in noticing that it is very hard for Americans to enjoy their leisure time when it is filled with competitions that directly resemble corporate America and Americas hierarchical social status system (280). In essence, Kohn is saying that competition especially sports resemble work more than it resembles pleasure and leisure (279). Competitions and sports are mainly getting people ready for a life that is filled with work, competition, and winners and losers (280). One of Kohns most important points is when he states that We have been raised to associate recreation with the win/lose model of our society, to assume that having fun means someone has to end up a loser (286). More importantly is the fact that when a victor is named and receives an external reward for their accomplishment over another person/team, any other gratification that could come from a game is lost. Thus the goal and the focus are only on winning in order to receive societys favor, adoration, and respect (282). In order to give a better expression of what play looks like, it is necessary to at least identify one of the many noncompetitive games cited in his essay. One such example is the cooperative rather than noncompetitive game called Cooperative Bowling. In this example of play, participants try to take down all ten pins in as many rounds as there are players. It is also significant to note that in play others are partners rather than opponents as in competition (288). Overall, Kohns main point he tries to get across is his belief that play not only can be much more enjoyable than the win/lose structure of competition, but that play can also make people an overall better human being than competition can (277). Furthermore, his entire essay helps assert that play has many more benefits compared to the benefits of competition. Kohn uses the unique advantages people think competition offers and shows how they can be just as advantageous if not more when one is involved in play of all kinds. When looking at the unique quality of teamwork, play is more beneficial and enjoyable because teamwork is, simply stated, a cooperative activity aimed at working together towards a common goal. Therefore, since play forces everyone to cooperate together while competition involves one group working against another enemy, play is twice as gratifying as competition is (283). In addition, play can be just as challenging as competition as evidenced by Cooperative Bowlin g (287-288). Play can also involve a determination to beat ones own previous record such as in running to beat ones previous time(s). It is important to note that this example of play does not involve competition because there are no winners or losers; there is only a push to challenge and better oneself rather than compare oneself to others as competition does (284). Every attempt whether failed or succeeded is nonetheless beneficial when a person challenges himself/herself. One key feature of competition is the destruction and disadvantages, that competition, and not play, creates. Competition and play are both similar in that they are supposed to provide large scale participation and enjoyment. However, looking at the rates of participation in North America makes one conclude that competition is not very popular or very much enjoyed. In North America it is not uncommon to lose from 80 to 90 percent of our registered organized sports participants by 15 years of age (285). That statistic alone should stand out as a major drawback of competition since competition is meant to yield vast participation and enjoyment. Even more so, the pervasive competitiveness in childrens athletic programs such as Little League baseball helps one to see the damage competition causes. Angry parents who yell at their children, humiliating them in the process, are such sad sights to see because they only to want to see their children win (286). As a certified soccer referee wh o has refereed for over four years now, I can strongly agree with this statement. Competition and sports are valued and accepted for their hostility, aggression, and violence as well (281). It is hard to correlate competition with fun, enjoyment, and unique advantages with this kind of evidence (286). Findings show that once children are exposed to noncompetitive games they generally prefer these games compared to competitive ones. However, society is socialized and brainwashed into thinking that competition is more enjoyable. When individuals are judged on their own efforts as in play or noncompetitive games and not compared or measured to any other individuals, greater benefits and enjoyment can be obtained (287). Cooperative games offer a satisfaction not only for the success of oneself but also for the success of all involved; sadly, this gratifying advantage is absent from competition (289). In conclusion, America is encompassed with the assumption that the only way to enjoy and benefit from leisure time is to engage in the win/lose model of competition. While competition is unlikely to fade from its high ranks in capitalistic America, it is essential for Americans to look more at play and noncompetitive games as opportunities for fostering social harmony and enjoyment and success for all.

The Evil Iago of Othello Essay -- William Shakespeare, Character Analy

Evil masterminds are always successful in their diabolical schemes, but each one does it in their own special way. Some may be highly ranked and powerful, but some may be simple people in a simple community. In the play Othello, the simple ancient, Iago is very successful at his schemes. Iago is able to get the trust of everyone around him, and to appear honest. He is also driven to continue with his schemes and to never quite. From the first scene of the play to the last, Iago is able to be trusted by everyone. This is one of the many reasons why Iago is so successful in his schemes, he is always trusted. In the first scene of the play we learn that Iago is helping Roderigo, win the love of Desdemona. Roderigo is trusting Iago with his own money to gain the love of a woman, which is already loved by another man. Roderigo is not so smart to realize that he will not be able to get Desdemona, but Iago is able to get his scheme moving. We continue to see how much trust Roderigo puts into Iago because later on in the play we learn that he gave jewelry to Iago to give to Desdemona. Iago...

How to Make Southern Style Spaghetti

A process analysis explains in step-by-step fashion how something works or how something is done or made. In this process analysis, I will be explaining how to make my favorite dish I would like to call it, â€Å"Southern Style Spaghetti. † This is my how-to-essay. Getting Started Making Southern Style Spaghetti is just as simple as making your traditional spaghetti with a twist. First thing you need are your ingredients which are: 2lbs. spaghetti noodles 2 lbs. ground beef or turkey 5 lbs. rumettes 1lb. of peeled shrimp 1lb sausage links 2 onions(chopped) 1 green pepper(chopped) 1lb cheddar cheese 2 cups of milk ? cup chopped parsley 4-6 qt. boiling water 64oz. spaghetti sauce Bring 4qrts. of water to a boil. Add 5lbs. of drumettes to boiling water. Boil chicken for 20-25mins. or until chicken is partially tender. / put aside. In a separate pot bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add shrimp and boil for 10-15mins. / put aside. Brown 2lbs. of ground beef or turkey. / put aside.Bo il your noodles for 5-7 mins. or until it reaches it desired texture. Drain water and rinse your noodles. / put aside. Cut your uncooked sausage into dices or desired shape. ( I prefer half-circle shapes) In a big bowl, mix all of your meats together. / put aside. Then in a large deep stew pot, mix your noodles and spaghetti sauce and bring to a boil. Add your bowl of meats, reduce heat to a simmer. Add your 2 chopped onions, chopped green peppers, parsley, and 2 cups of milk and stir for 2 minutes.Cover and let simmer for 20-25mins. stirring occasionally. Remove from heat then sprinkle top with the desired amount of cheese, cover and let stand for 10mins. serve and enjoy. Makes 10-15 servings. For Baked Southern Style Spaghetti, follow the same instructions, but you should preheat oven to 375 degrees. Use a large deep dish pan to pour everything into. (mix all ingredients together before pouring into pan. ) Cover with foil, place on center rack and bake on 375 degrees for 30-35 min s.Remove foil from pan then continue to bake for an additional 15-20mins, or until cheese browns. Remove from oven and let stand 10mins, and then serve. When making your Southern Style Spaghetti, you may omit or add more meat depending on your taste. You may also add more vegetables. Remember to reduce your heat when simmering to avoid scorching at the bottom of your pot. I suggest serving your spaghetti with garlic bread and salad. If the directions are followed correctly, you’re in for a great treat. This is delicious, guaranteed.

Compare and Contrast Sherman Alexie and Frederick Douglass

Different Worlds Same Struggle Sherman Alexie and Frederick Douglass both grew up in different time periods, in different environments, and ultimately in different worlds. They both faced different struggles and had different successes, but in the end they weren’t really all that different. Although they grew up in different times they both had the same views on the importance of an education. They both saw education as freedom and as a sense of self-worth and though they achieved their education in different ways they both had a strong will and a strong sense of self-motivation.Frederick Douglass and Sherman Alexie both grew up in different times and environments. Frederick Douglass was born in 1818 and was raised on a plantation as a slave, Alexie was born in 1966 and was raised on an Indian reservation, but being raised in different worlds didn’t make either of their struggles any different or easier than the others. They both faced judgment and discrimination agains t their races. Due to their different races they were both considered stupid, illiterate, and were thought to doing nothing with their lives besides working on a plantation or becoming an alcoholic and drug addict.Getting out of those types of environments and doing better things than what they were thought to do was just one of the many things that motivated them into getting an education. Both men had different ways of achieving their education. Sherman Alexie had Superman, his dad, as a guide for him. Alexie watched his dad do better for himself and his family than what a typical Indian was supposed to do. Watching his father read and educate himself was Alexie’s initial motivation for him to want to get his education.Frederick Douglass was one step ahead of Alexie in the fact that he had street smarts. Douglass self-educated himself, he had no one to look up to or to help him. Douglass essentially used the system to gain his education. He not only tricked white boys into teaching him how to spell and write, but he also used his own master’s, who did not want him to have an education in the first place, tools to help him get an education. In ways Douglass was already very smart and had already beaten the system that put him down. No matter the ifferent ways of obtaining their education or the different environments they grew up in, both men wanted the freedom that education offered them and had the same self-motivation to get it. Education was the key to their freedom, and not just physical freedom but mental freedom. With their education they were able to escape and unlock the chains of judgments that held them back and were able to give them a sense of self-worth. People listened to them and cared what they had to say and they became strong men of education.Alexie mentioned his father as being his Superman, but the true Supermen are him and Douglass. No one gave them the self-motivation to get an education they did it on their own. No one co uld force them into wanting to do better for themselves, they had to want it for their selves and they did. Alexi and Douglass were different but similar in so many ways. They both grew up in very different times, but faced all the same hardships. The both achieved things in different ways but they both made the same types of differences for their lives and did better for themselves.They showed people that no matter what you may grow up with or deal with in life, you can make a difference for yourself. Be your own Superman like Douglass and Alexie. No one handed them the key to unlock their success they did that on their own, and they taught people they could only do that for themselves. They obtained self-worth and freedom by their motivation for education, and they are people to look up to today. Dear Professor Smith, I think my writing has become better as I have moved along through your class. I was surprised on how much more comfortable I was with my writing.I really enjoyed wr iting about this topic; I thought it was very interesting. I felt pretty good about my topic paragraphs. TEAL has helped me a lot, and I tried my best to incorporate TEAL in my writing of this paper. I also really enjoyed the links for the websites that you posted on blackboard; I made good use of those and thought they defiantly helped me out with writing this paper. The most frustrating part of my paper was my thesis. I have trouble trying to make a specific, non-obvious, and debatable thesis. I try hard to make a argumentative thesis, but I have a lot of trouble with that.For this essay I was trying to use the point-by-point method that you had shown us. I liked how that method worked and thought it was pretty easy. I felt as though I did good using the point-by-point method and thought it helped to keep my paper from jumping around everywhere. I would defiantly like insight on my thesis because I mostly had trouble with that. Putting all three of those elements into a thesis is really messing me up because I have never had to do that before. Any insight you can give on my paper would be great, I want to continue to keep improving with my writing. Thank you, Katie Holt

Critical Analysis of Leadership of Steve Jobs Essays

Critical Analysis of Leadership of Steve Jobs Essays Critical Analysis of Leadership of Steve Jobs Paper Critical Analysis of Leadership of Steve Jobs Paper The aim of this work is analytical consideration of leadership style of Mr. Steve Jobs, co-founder and later the Chairman and CEO of Apples Computers Incorporated, a most successful businessman today. The challenge of the times The times are upon us when brilliant management and leadership are confounded. In the times of global technical breakthroughs and revolutionary transformations, as the power of â€Å"know-how† and the say-so of â€Å"vision† have joined their hands in leading organizations across sudden gulfs of learning, discoveries, necessitating multiple leaps of faith – we may boldly conclude: the era of the â€Å"middle-of-the-roaders† has grinded itself to a standing halt. Customers-to-be are on the prowl for something extraordinary in the realm of technical overproduction. implicity and usability compounded with intuitiveness, versatility and durability, and, of course, functionalities flying in the matter of split seconds – are only some of the major concerns of the client today! The other essential concern is the philosophy behind the product, the personality of the company and corporative image. As it has been aptly put: customers are not looking for just a product anymore; they are looking for a destiny. This, as nothing else, would be about the leadership style of the heads of an organization. Steve Jobs’ leadership changed the world As â€Å"everything falls and rises on leadership† (John Maxwell, 2007, P. -2), we may well embark on a critical research of the exemplary leader who, to my mind, would forthwith fill the â€Å"carte blanche† of robust organizational leadership, rising to all of the occasions of today, let alone corporate competitiveness known for its rigor in Information Technologies. With the power of creativity and originality of thought there is no competition. Everybody gains his unique place. That allowed Steve Jobs to announce at a certain time that Microsoft bought into Apple Corporation by purchase of 150 million USD â€Å"non-voting† shares (David Coursey, 2009). To a hissing audience, it was announced that a commonplace view of Apple winning due to Microsoft losing is wrong. The whole pattern of such thinking is wrong. Having denounced the old views, Mr. Jobs assured that if Apple did not perform well enough, it posed a problem to Apple, not somebody else (Justin Hartman, 2007). Isn’t this view capable enough to change the world of business by shifting paradigm from â€Å"dog-eat-dog† view on competition, rivalry and animosity, to the paradigm of innovation, creativity and uniqueness, with an eye towards every company’s unparalleled input? However, many would rather disagree in a dissentient voice: the world of big business is that of a sham friendship. I agree: everybody shapes his perception and philosophy of the world after himself; however not everybody can drastically change the world for better – Steve Jobs’ example certainly did! People who have their own way of creativity will never have â€Å"traffic jams†. Even if they have to make a step back in view of marketing or income rates, they will always come out on top, providing it leads the way to contributing those things which have never been known to the world before. True leadership is about desire for a win-win decision-making. Steve Jobs’ futurity is the key Apple is a $30 billion company with only 30 major products (Carmine Gallo, 2010). In the world around us this is not much of the diversity. Later, Steve Jobs would talk about staying focused, calling for the need of restructuring organizational locus of control from merely staying afloat by diversifying product line to becoming spearheaded towards the future. The Apple Incorporated today As the morrow cares for itself, the question arises, what is the Apple Incorporated today? Apple said its net income in the end of 2010 rose at the rate of 78 percent from a year earlier to a record $6 billion Revenue soared more than 70 percent to $26. 74 billion, from $ 15. 68 billion in 2009 (The New York Times, 2011). Apple Incorporated products are well-known and easily recognizable across the whole world in line of personal computers, iphones, ipods and IPads. As of September 25, 2010, the Company had opened a total of 317 retail stores, including 233 stores in the United States and 84 stores internationally (The New York Times, 2011). Reminiscence of the past With a little reminiscence of the past, the company was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and his partner Steve Wozniak only to see Mr. Jobs vacate the premises due to a fall-out with Mr. Sculley in 1985, â€Å"hand-picked CEO, recruited from Pepsi† (Owen W. Linzmayer, 1999). This was an extremely humbling experience, which often shapes leadership providing the mold for them tried with the times of being downcast. As Apple’s product Newton failed under governance of Mr. Sculley, the company could not compare to Microsofts Windows operating system, having become the mainstay of computer standards. Owen W. Linzmayer, 1999, P. 60) In 1997 upon return of Mr. Jobs, 12 years later, the company finally began to see the light at the time when Mr. Dell was building his own computer empire, saying: â€Å"Apples smartest move would be to shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders. † (New York Times, 2001 updated). However, such a stance into future possibilities was not daunting for Mr. Jobs at all. The same goes for any visionary who doesn’t dwell on life retrospectively. Leadership style defined With all being said, it is sufficient to take for granted that leadership style of Mr. Jobs is closely related to innovation and creativity. However, it is necessary to delve down to the fulcrum of his philosophy of life to get an in-depth understanding of this. It has been stated by Steve Jobs: â€Å"Innovation distinguishes between the leader and the follower† (Deutschman, 2001, P. 1-3). In the book â€Å"The Steve Job’s Way† (Jay Elliot, 2011, P. 4), being privy to the early internal affairs of the Apple, Jay Elliot (Apples head of human resources) comments on the key leadership nuances of Mr.  Jobs, saying that Steve has understanding of the very mindset of the people; when he wants to design and create something for himself – it literally means creating something for his prospective customers: â€Å"And because he thinks like his future customers, he knows he has seen the future. † It is a must-have skill for a leader to have a clear vision and know the future without much guesswork; however this visionary capacity takes deep root in a close walk with the contemporaries being wired to the very pith and marrow of trends, knowing what people desire ere they know it themselves. For some all this is a figment of fuzzy imagination; for Steve they are the air he breathes. While it is noted that from 1940s a shift has been made in leadership theories from personal features exhibited in a leader to what leaders practically do (Management and Organisation, 2004), I take it to be a sign for the materialistic touch in development of the Western world. We are no longer as introspective as much as we are focused on the outward. Innate leadership according to theorists who debate the Trait approach, which traces itself back to ancient Greeks, is rather incidental than essential (Management and Organisation, 2004). With modern tendencies of entrepreneurialism our views have taken an outward and libertarian slant. The thinking pattern of our day and time presents itself in the following manner: a person should do his best, everything else is supererogatory; to which I answer that internal world of intentions and reins of the heart are not a mere decoration to the outward doing, but the core essence thereof. While the Trait approach is not a sufficient basis to distinguish between leaders and followers (Management and Organisation, 2004) it is a grand mistake to dismiss it at that. Certainly, we cannot conclude that the backbone of leadership of Steve Jobs was all about attracting more customers, or raking in mega income, or doing something else to be noticed by investors. If we should follow those characters that were so motivated and tried to lead others, we could make but a dent in the myriads of failures in the realm of leadership. In the search for leadership essence we are groping for something ideal in a leader and if the case be – his exploits to zero in on their intrinsic value thereof rather than on the outward appearances. If not so, than every human being is some kind of a leader, good or bad. The limitations of the Trait approach cannot fully account for effectiveness of leaders’ actions (Management and Organisation, 2004). With the behavioral perspective we may single out the successful patterns of behavior of Steve Jobs that led him to prominent leadership position. Indeed, Steve Jobs is a great visionary. It is possible to even state that he is one of the kind. It is the power of envisioning and clarity of purpose which further fosters the focus, or locus of control. One cannot take anybody anywhere unless he has been there to start with. And Mr. Steve has taken his company, his staff, and the rest of the world onto the entirely new plane of things. Would it surprise you to know that Steve Jobs never graduated any college? He started, however did not follow it through. This is the way of the Steve Jobs, eagle-eyed visionary, streamlined for the future, not the past. it is easy to remark that the company’s governance is that of personality-driven type. The company had six CEOs in-between 1977-1985 (Catherine Lee, 2010), alented and skilled managers, some fairly successful. However, only with the passion and zeal of Mr. Jobs, his futurity brought the company successful landslide. Mr. Jobs was not set on fixing what did not work; his zeal did not become a â€Å"fire-stomping mode† of problem-solving. He cared for the new products put out on the market line. Bringing new products, and innovative software and hardware is still the mission statement of the company. Innovation is the key-note peculiarity of Mr. Job’s leadership style! nnovative leadership is opposite to reclining back and resting on one’s laurels, complacent about things the way they are at the market now. Lucas Lin (2009), a renowned expert in the field of leadership and management, wrote that Steve had a gut feeling for innovation, realizing the need to incessantly keep the ball rolling in order to stay on top of things. Innovation was his crystal prism to look through at everything within a business – â€Å"innovation first, everything else later†. Another hallmark of Jobs leadership style, thus, is his ability to combine zeal and fear of his staff, who often state that they are afraid of him. However, fear and zeal will dovetail only when the staff share the same vision and reality perception that head of the company constantly evangelizes. this is the bottom line that ultimately defines success, regardless of the industry or domain. Lucas Lin continues criticizing Jobs on his autocratic leadership: â€Å"Steve Jobs, the CEO and co-founder of Apple is a highly autocratic or ‘CEO-centric’ leader. † (Lucas Lin, 2009). Steve Jobs has founded the leadership style of the Apple Company on fear of his employees as much as on being fanatic about the brand of the company and being extremely radical concerning dedication to the customer. This has brought as much criticism on Steve Jobs as much adoration he enjoys. Several authors describe him as intimidating and a hard-to-please perfectionist: His deadlines are often impossible to meet, but he is constantly moving, ever moving towards improvement in all spheres (Erve, 2004). However, to state that Steve Jobs leadership style is autocratic would be far from the truth. It may be so for ones less passionate for their jobs and products, nonetheless for ones in love with the Company, it would be much different, as night from day. Let’s hear Jobs speak for himself: â€Å"When you hire really good people you have to give them a piece of the business and let them run with it†¦ the reason you’re hiring them is because you’re going to give them the reins. I want [them] making as good or better decisions than I would. † (George Ambler, 2008). Therefore, it is not democratic or autocratic governance style per se that bring effectiveness, rather the ability to switch between both and apply each model as need be. Here is a thorough answer to the question: why Steve Job’s leadership proved to be very effective. no longer can one eclectic leadership pattern bring results. We see in leaders of today the deftness of interchangeability. While the autocratic leadership is explained by high degree of control exerted over followers, making for unwillingness in them to take responsibility due to low level of morale (Management and Organisation, 2004), we see indeed a very high level of control extended by Steve Jobs only to share the rule with the competent, turning over some of the business to ones vested with decision-making powers. That in turn, is democratic leadership pattern in the behavioral perspective (Management and Organisation, 2004).

Gender Representation in the Mass Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Gender Representation in the Mass Media - Essay Example There are different accounts on how the media makes a representation of women in society through different films in form of documentaries and movies. This is depicted through characters played by women in this movies and documentaries. This study aims at analyzing the representation of women in Legally Blonde with an analysis of the different gender representation of women by the documentaries the Independent Woman and The Merchants of Cool. The Independent Woman The Independent Woman by PBS is a documentary that analyzes the changes in women roles in American television. It traces how there have been changes in the television particularly analyzing how television has represented gender roles. The Independent Woman uses interviews and characterization to bring about the different roles played by women to show the changes in gender representation. The independent Woman gives the role of women as having developed to complex and at times controversial in terms of the characters women ac t and the roles they play. The documentary portents that the days of women being portrayed in a white apron cooking and as house maids are long gone and taken over by further complex and fascinating roles. The documentary makes use of a number of movies with all depicting women as independent, a change from the traditional depiction of women. Independent Woman interviews television stars and producers including Roseanne Barr who acted in â€Å"Roseanne†, Candice Bergen in â€Å"Murphy Brown† Felicity Huffman and Eva Longoria in ‘Desperate Housewives. Felicity Huffman believes that the portrayal of women is about creativity â€Å"as it pertains to television and how it gets to be created†. She acted as Lynette Scavo in Desperate House wives where she breaks up with her husband Tom and contends that motherhood can be hard. This is the first evidence as Lynette is portrayed as having been more independent after the breakup and was able to make her on judgment and decisions. Julian Marguilles, Robert, and Michelle King in the â€Å"Good Wife† are also interviewed. Julianna Marguilles, in Good Wife, struggles to juggle being a mother, working, maintaining a relationship and keep her integrity. James Brooks and Mary Tyler Moore in â€Å"The Mary Tyler Moore Show† and Shonda Rhimes and Sandra Oh of â€Å"Greys Anatomy† were interviewed in the Independent Woman. The other evidence given are the views of actors, producers, influential people in the television industry, creators, and writers giving their insights on their shows, roles and the main topic on the female portray of women on television. The main reasons for the interviews were to get the opinions from the producers and characters as they give to the life to these characters for the benefit of viewers who identify with the character. The conclusion on the independent women is that the portrayal of women by the media has been changing over history. The change is given as the portrayal of women as independent and equal to men. The Merchants of Cool The documentary, The Merchants of Cool, mainly deals with the commercialization of youth’s culture by marketers through studying their culture and amplified then sold back to them through a reverse loop. It documents the actions of manufacturers and advertisers in ensnaring the youth to purchase their products by making them use these items popular culture hence, augmenting the level of consumption of these products by the youth. The Merchant of Cool presents the idea that the people have the idea that others are good looking or trendy, hence the need for them to purchase for them to fit in the group. The other way the marketers and the media

Prada Brand Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Prada Brand Management - Assignment Example As detailed from its actual output, with Prada there is a need for the combination of creativity, innovation, fashion and fresh idea of what prestige is all about. This shows the target market niche how Prada seeks to be differentiated. The brand believes that there could be no limit to a man’s imagination, leading to the emancipation of actual product that suits the need to be updated with the latest trends in fashion designs. Now that exactly what makes this brand cool. For Prada, variety is necessary, but the bottom line of it comes with the idea of the culture of fashion, creativity, prestige, and innovation. Combining these ideas produces a cool fashion with luxury and elegance, exactly what Prada has done for years. ...â€Å"The Prada brand targets an international customer base that is modern, sophisticated, attuned to stylistic innovations, and expects craftsmanship of the highest quality.† Prada also expresses the fundamental idea of exclusivity as it promotes the benefits of redefining the norms and styles and unparalleled craftsmanship. These promote essential values that are actually unique to Prada, making it remarkably cool from the subjective standpoint of someone else. What might have made Prada one of the coolest brands in Europe is its ability to produce something essential that is new at the right time, exactly when there are prevailing needs for it. Something cool from this point of view is the ability to create latest and fresh innovation that has yet to explore the prevailing market needs. Prada is good at doing this stuff and which is a vital activity that it masters through time. Prada may exactly be the coolest brand in the fashion industry today, but that never stops then to grow more from there. The brand has now become one of the respected brands and benchmark for fashion around the world. Why wait for long? Try Prada today, for your need of a cool fashion with an edge and a touch of luxury and elegance.