3m Optical

3M Optical Systems: Managing Corporate Entrepreneurship MST550 – Capstone Professor Jack Raiton HBSP Case #395-017 Discussion Questions 1. What practices make 3M such an innovative company? 2. What is Any Wong’s role as the OS Unit’s general manager? How effective has he been? 3. What is Paul Guehler’s role as division vicepresident? How effective has he been? 4. What should Andy Wong do with the computer screen AFE? If he gets the AFE, should Guehler fund it? Case Outline †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ The Situation Background of 3M Corporation Internal Context at 3M Corporation Background of Optical Systems (OS) The Product is Born The Product is Reborn Wong’s Options Guehler’s Options Wong’s Role/Effectiveness Guehler’s Role/Effectiveness Desimone’s Role The Situation The 3M Corporation’s Optical Systems (OS) business unit needs to decide if they should proceed wi th the deployment of a new computer privacy screen despite two previous marketing failures. Background of 3M Corporation 100 Years of Innovation Highly Diversified Global Company †¢ â€Å"High-Tech†: Spends twice the U. S. Industry Average on R&D (6-7% of sales) †¢ Strong emphasis on new products and technologies †¢ Fosters individual’s innovation within the workforce (â€Å"15% rule†) Internal Context at 3M Corporation †¢ Respect for the individual – â€Å"Stimulate ordinary people to produce extraordinary performance† †¢ Supportive policies/practices – 15% bootleg rule – â€Å"Make a little, sell a little† †¢ High standards, stretch objectives – 10% sales growth, 20% PBT, 27% ROCE – 30% sales from new products Internal Context at 3M Corporation†¦cont. †¢ Acceptance of â€Å"well-intentioned failure† †¢ Share/leverage resources – â€Å"Technology belongs to company† Background of Optical Systems (OS) †¢ OS Track Record (1979-1990) – Formed in 1979 through consolidation of several 3M optical technologies – Experienced 11 year microlouver development effort with minimal products – Lost between 3 to 5 million dollars per year – â€Å"Technology in Search of a Market† †¢ OS Changes Focus (1991-1992) – In 1990 new top management appointed – Focus on applications for technology The Product is Born †¢ In late 1990, the OS Team launched the computer privacy screen †¢ Product used â€Å"microlouver† technology to offer privacy of screen information †¢ By early 1991 the OS Team saw poor market reaction due to the large number of sizes needed and high purchase price †¢ Product was modified and re-launched in late 1991 with minor changes, but to no avail The Product is Re-Born †¢ Through prior-product analysis, market research, and harnessing some of 3Ms other technologies, a 3rd generation was created and readied for market in 1992. It combined features of competitor’s such as anti-glare, anti-static and anti-radiation †¢ Was ready for decision on â€Å"Authority to Proceed† Wong’s Options Go †¢Learning from two previous launches †¢Met rigorous threephase process †¢Team closest to market, competition, technology (trust them, don’t second-guess) †¢Committed team (motivational imp act) †¢Last chance for OS †¢Wong must be the champion Postpone/Cancel †¢Poor market research †¢Poor product concept †¢Price too high †¢Unrealistic market share forecasts †¢Unrealistic risk assessment †¢Needs more data, further study Other Options †¢Self fund †¢Mentor’s support †¢Outsource Guehler’s Options Approve †¢ Project passed three-phase review – Shouldn’t second-guess now Reject/Send Back †¢ Recognize as â€Å"well intentional failure† †¢ Has other high-profile â€Å"Pacing Projects† †¢ Problems with product, price, marketing strategy †¢ Lacks internal support †¢ Cost relatively low ($750K) †¢ OS unit believes, committed †¢ Don’t want to kill OS unit – Big project in pipeline (Needs 30% new products) Wong’s Role/Effectiveness †¢ Attracting good people – Noirjean, Melby Developing/motivating his team, building unit’s capabilities †¢ Creating, pursuing growth opportunities †¢ Keeping management â€Å"in the boat† Guehler’s Role/Effectiveness †¢ Empower frontline manager to find/develop attractive opportunities †¢ Coach/nurture/support fron tline managers to develop confidence and capabilities †¢ Set standards/goals for and develop selfdiscipline among frontline †¢ Balance between discipline and support Desimone’s Role †¢ Sets, communicates, monitors standards and objectives †¢ Protects, reinforces norms and values – Respect for individual Primary focus on organizational context more than strategic content

Expectations

Finally, the blade deepens and hits just right, the scar of what the doubtful and painful knife has left me insecure and filled with emptiness. The sparks of love I had was weak and burning low, it soon became a weapon that only caused me harm. This body soon became an empty vessel searching for a purpose in this constant non-fiction world. Tick tock, tick tock, the clock goes, teachers writing riddles on the board, speaking of a foreign language that I cannot comprehend. Various noises filled the classroom, speaking of gibberish as I sit in this isolated bubble of my own. Surviving in this vessel, searching for a purpose- no, but rather waiting to be re-wired and commanded day by day. I love the languages subjects so I am pretty good at it, but I hate maths and sciences, hence I am bad at it. With no further comments I scanned through the whiteboard, but everyday I worry on how people kept instructing me how to grow as a person; giving me options on what's right and wrong, but in the end, the things that I will choose will forever be false.Everyday, I noticed to have a work that is always incomplete; I stare at the blank piece of paper reflecting about my life. With not much personality as an individual, hence I do not find it as an inconvenience to survive in this school. As time continued to pass by, I realized that I'm currently stuck in a never ending cycle of hypnotism, staggering through the same hallways each day, and soon it feels as though everything is on repeat. In class again, questions and answers that are not even needed in my daily life, being drilled into my mind, as I flipped through the textbook, which contains no specific answer. â€Å"How are your grades?† you asked with a smile.I shrugged, â€Å"The same, I guess.†Piercing me with your eyes, reminding me of the â€Å"future† I will soon have. If my tears were colours, then my pillow would be painted with rainbows. Thus in the morning, I would wake up with dark rings around my eyes, taunting me every time I look at myreflection. I would try and cover it up so that they would be a shade lighter, but I know they can never completely disappear. Staggering through the same hallways, towards an empty seat, one far from the sunlight, but rays still reached, blinded me and left me a daze, as if it is trying to question me; â€Å"What were you expecting in life?† â€Å"What are your dreams?†Searching frantically for an answer in that textbook, I can't breathe, I'm choking and it hurts. The stares that they give, beating down my confidence and pride all over again, I tried to find an answer, but its all the same; still an empty white paper, reflecting about my accomplishment in life. â€Å"I can do this†¦Ã¢â‚¬ I keep repeating those words in my mind, as I stare at that incomplete work, reminding me about â€Å"responsibilities†, â€Å"success†, â€Å"achievements†, â€Å"grades†, and so on, and every time I climb back up, your words kept knocking down my stance, chaining me down, to expectations, that I cannot achieve. Expectations and dreams, which are so heavy chaining me, more than gravity ever will. â€Å"I've tried†¦I'm tired†¦It hurts†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â‚¬ When will you ever grow up?† But let me ask, what is the meaning of â€Å"growing up† in the first place? If this is what's it feels like, then I just want to stop. The path they build for me is dictated to be perfect and filled with beautiful lies. Feeding me with expectations, rewiring my senses, choking me with perfection. I cannot breathe, I feel nauseous. My body cannot sustain it. Staggering to a mirror, I see the rings under my eyes, as a constant reminder the about those disappointing glares I noticed:†Ah†¦ they are getting darker.†

Bartleby Essay Research Paper Since he will

Bartleby Essay, Research Paper Since he will non discontinue me, I must discontinue him. ? Ah Bartleby, Ah Humanity. ? ( Page 140, Herman Melville ) This is the key to Bartleby, written by Herman Melville, for it indicates that Bartleby stands as a symbol for humanity. This in bend maps as a commentary on society and the on the job universe, for Bartleby is a apparently homeless, mentally disturbed copyist who gives up on the chance of populating life. However, by making so Bartleby is trying to exert his freewill, for he would? prefer non to? work. His relationship to the storyteller is therefore important, for as he attempts to exert his freewill he is interrupting from the will of the storyteller and the normal patterned advance of life. However, this effort to exert his freewill and interrupt loose from the confines of typical social maps, isolates Bartleby from society, which in bend topographic points him in a province of depression and shortly at that place after, decease. Ultimately, by holding Bartleby? prefer non to, ? Melville is noticing on the function of humanity in the work force. If adult male attempts to interrupt free of his function and exert his ain freewill so he is break uping himself from humanity which in bend will take to depression and possibly decease, for he will hold nil but a wall ever blockading him. From the beginning Bartleby is isolated within the confines of his work topographic point. ? I procured a high green turn uping screen, which might wholly insulate Bartleby from my sight, though non take him from my voice. ? ( pg 111 ) In this citation the storyteller put Arnold, Page 2 up a screen to divide his office from Bartleby? s, which isolates him from the other members of the staff which therefore isolates him from humanity. However, this is non the terminal of the isolation for he is non merely detached from those around him, but society every bit good. ? I placed his desk near up to a little side window, a window that had originally afforded a position of certain grimy backyards, but which commanded at present, no position at all. Within three pess of the strivings was a wall. ? ( pg 110-111 ) This citation demonstrates Bartleby? s entire isolation from society, for even his window, normally a signifier of flight, traps Bartelby behind another wall, which therefore reinforces absolute isolation. Ultimately, every facet of Bartleby? s life further expounds upon the motive of purdah. Bartalby? s effort to exert his freewill finally leads him into an even more anomic province as he estranges himself from his coworkers and his foreman, the storyteller. This resulted from a refusal to follow the orders of the storyteller, for he refused to work or even pass on with him. His lone response shortly became? I would prefer non to, ? which shows his deficiency of engagement and in turn his determination non to interact in society, for he gave up what small life he still had. Ultimately, what he was making, was preferring non to populate, but alternatively merely be. Melville, is therefore noticing on the work force by showing through Bartleby? s continual descend into the abysmal, society confines you behind walls and that if you give in and take to halt life you will blow off as Bartl eby did. Consequently, Bartleby after holding alienated himself so to the full was so left to his ain devices. ? Since he will non discontinue me, I must discontinue him. I will alter my offices ; I will travel elsewhere. ? ( pg 132-133 ) He was deserted wholly, for he was no longer life. Arnold, Page 3 He continued to take a breath, he continued to be, but he was no longer of any usage to society. As he severs himself from humanity, Bartleby is incognizant of the effects. However, these effects as displayed by Melville, remark upon the impact that the work force can hold upon world. Through Bartleby, he demonstrates that one time you give up on life, everyone about will give up on you in bend, as the storyteller did with Bartleby, for you have become an obstructor, much like the walls environing Bartleby. In the terminal, his stubbornness was what led him to decease. For his determination to retreat from society and farther seclude himself led to the decomposition of his psyche. He lost all desire to work, or even map, ? I now recalled all the quiet enigmas, which I had, noted in the adult male. I remembered that he neer spoke but to answer. ? ( pg. 106 ) He shortly became a victim of society, fring all enterprise. Therefore, ? for long periods he would stand looking out, at his picket window behind the screen, upon the dead brick wall, ? ( pg 126 ) and this became his life. He was trapped behind a brick wall and he shortly became so disillusioned by it that he lost sight of life and gave up. Ultimately, his will to? prefer non to? concluded in his decease. Bartleby was imprisoned because of his desire to show his free will and neer go forth his office, even after it was no longer his topographic point of employment. # 8220 ; And to you, this should non be so vile a topographic point . Nothing admonitory attaches to you by being here. And see, it is non so sad a topographic point as one might believe. Look, there is the sky, and here is the grass. # 8221 ; ( pg 137 ) It is dry that one time he is really confined within prison walls, that he is eventually exposed to the outside universe, the sky and grass. Arnold, Page 4 It is even more dry that one time Bartleby is no longer restrained by society? s conformances that it is so that he dies. ? Queerly huddled at the base of the wall, his articulatio genuss drawn up, his caput touching the rocks, I saw the wasted Bartleby. ? ( pg 139 ) Ultimately, one time disillusioned by society and the work force, he died at his ain free will because he? preferred no to? unrecorded. Bartleby? s character remarks upon the maps of society and the work force. This narrative demonstrates that life if non lived is useless, as in the instance of Bartleby, who wastes his away? preferring non to. ? Although, from the beginning he was isolated behind the green turn uping screen with nil but a wall to gaze out, he did non hold to give up his humanity. However, he chose to, he chose to farther isolate himself by his ain stubbornness and accordingly it led to his decease. ? It is unsafe to insulate oneself ; unsafe for and single and for a nation. ? ( Jawaharial Nehru ) For in the terminal, isolation can drive a individual insane, make him muffle, or even kill him. 317

Discuss the role of political parties in contemporary democracies Essay

Discuss the role of political parties in contemporary democracies. Assess whether parties have retained their position or are in - Essay Example In this manner citizens have a scope of exercising their ultimate control over the government (Rush 1998). Nature of Democracy The concept of social democracy, as manifested through a social state can be attributed to Tocqueville who was very impressed by the prevailing equality of status, manners, and customs in American society when he visited that country in 1831. He felt the essence of democracy has effectively permeated every strata of American society. This view was also echoed by Bryce who was completely overwhelmed by the egalitarian ethos of American society and felt it represented true democratic setup where each citizen felt they are on equal footing with each other fellow citizen (Bryce 1959). This feeling of equality is the lifeblood of a democratic society where democracy is more a way of life and a part of national psyche. Thus, it might be said that social democracy is an essential prerequisite for political democracy to strike firm roots in a country (Holden 1974). A s a political dispensation, democracy has to channelize and concentrate the wills of millions of citizens through some framework to the hands of the ruling few. This in a sense possibly violates basic democracy that is observed in small integrated communities. But between one-on-one democracy observed in such miniature closely knit groups and large scale democracies, there is a huge gap and it took entire humankind more than two millenniums to partially bridge that gap (Powell 1982). It must be remembered that democracy undergoes a metamorphosis as it traverses the hiatus between the micro and macro and it would be rather unfair to expect all the characteristics of micro democracies to be equally manifested in macro democracies. We can, however, conclude that macro democracies, though far from perfect, are nonetheless target oriented experiments and are not random potshots in the dark or conceived by a one or a small group of individuals who consider them to be more concerned and mo re informed than others (Sartori 1987). The whole issue about relevance of political parties in a democratic dispensation can however be judged with respect to several contexts as these happen to differ widely in their nature and content. Does ascent of O’Donnell signify descent of Republican Party? A case that might be investigated is that of the ascent of Christian O’Donnell. The ascendance of a relative outsider in the conservative echelons of American politics and the gradual emergence of tea party activists who were politically insignificant earlier brings to mind whether conventional political parties are on their way out and also whether American democracy has transcended the well established bounds of an essentially two party democracy. Christine O’Donnell is a vociferous campaigner of what she perceives as Christian moral values and is not known to have any well defined economic or political agenda. Yet such people are not only winning primaries by defe ating established politicians but also getting substantial approval from electorate as is apparent when she could garner nearly 40% of the votes polled. That she eventually lost the election is not that important as the

How IELTS Scott's English Success App has impacted my major's industry Research Paper

How IELTS Scott's English Success App has impacted my major's industry as an english teacher - Research Paper Example wards the more tech-savvy teachers and learners over the non technical individuals as well as increased vulnerability of the English teaching process to technical difficulties. Scott’s English for Success is an application launched by Mascot Corporation Pty Ltd in 2005 to assist in the teaching of English and preparation of students for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test, one of the two most popular English language tests in the world with the other one being TOEFIL. Generally, IELTS is normally required by Educational institutions, professional registration bodies, employers and government agencies in many countries as a proof of English language skills. The IELTS â€Å"Scotts English Success† interactive online application has not only assisted tens of thousands of students every year to achieve IELTS success but also significantly impacted on my current majors industry as an English teacher through its rich online capabilities and quality academic and educational materials (Scottsenglish.com, 2014). One of the potential major impacts of Scotts English Success application on the English teaching industry is that it has made teaching English more interesting than previously imagined. This is particularly because the online application gives the learners and Students of English language a significant role in the learning process as compared to the conventional methods of teaching English language that are often largely teacher centered(concentrating about the teacher more than the students). For example, apart from working just like a real class room, IELTS Scotts English Success online website also provides an interactive platform complete with videos and quality academic and educational materials that enable students to be engaged throughout the learning process. In addition, the use of Scotts English Success application also ensures an asynchronous learning process that is self paced based on the individual needs of the students.

Strategic Approach for Information Systems Essay

Strategic Approach for Information Systems - Essay Example They are not only faster, but also much more accurate. Thus, large corporations process their financial accounts and supervise resources using information systems as human mind is prone to err. Not only do governments provide welfare and basic civic services using these systems, but individuals also utilize these facilities for everyday activities such as shopping, banking, investing and studying. (Robson, 2003) As days pass and technology progresses, innovative and enhanced information systems are coming into existence. Not every person working in a business requires the same information systems; the type depends on their requirements. Top management focuses on business development and planning, while people working on the middle management level require intricate details about the production and etc. to supervise and control business activities. Based on different requirements, there are six basic types of information systems: Transaction Processing System (TPS) - This keeps track and stores all the critical transactions that take place everyday in a business. This is mainly used by the middle management that takes care of the day to day activities of the business. Management Information System (MIS) - This formulates a report that represents all the information recorded by the TPS. This again is of great help to supervisors who can also use this as a way to present the information to seniors. Office Automation System (OAS) - This system basically helps the employees to become more proficient and productive by providing them with facilities to process information, calculate and create documents more accurately. Microsoft Office is a good example of an OAS. Executive information system (EIS) - It readily provides the senior management with vital internal and external information regarding the business in an interactive manner. Knowledge Management System (KMS) - This system assists the sharing of information among employees in an organized manner. Knowledge, the important ideas that have been extracted from the information, is communicated through this system/network. (Pearlson and Saunders, 2005) Advantages of using Information Systems The usage of information systems has many advantages to it. Firstly, it makes all the work painless as all the complicated calculations has to be done by the computer. Also, financial accounts become perfectly balance as errors are caught in a second on computers. Storage becomes simple as the memory of the computer is too deep and can be extended to whatever size we want. Secondly, paper work in finished off and there is no need for organizations to stock up uncountable files. Information systems are not only proficient at handling the information but also help in decision making. Assessment becomes quicker as the exact scenario is portrayed in front of us in forms of reports. Information systems also provide us with analytical tools that help us in judging a situation more clearly. Thirdly, information systems encourage decentralization of authority - it measures performance at all levels and help us in amending organizational plans and procedures. Most

Explain the bilateral trade flow between China and Australia through Essay

Explain the bilateral trade flow between China and Australia through the traditional and modern trade theories - Essay Example (Chambers, 2006). On the other hand, Australia’s economy has turned out to be extremely prominent and so the bilateral trade between China and Australia. The economic boom in China cannot be ignored world wide and constitutes a number of opportunities to trade with Australia. The gas treaty between the two countries had established as the predecessor in order strengthen their trade relationship. However, China needs to have raw materials and is an eminent buyer of liquid gas and minerals from Australia. The Prime Minister of Australia John Howard and President Hu Jintao of China decided on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as well. Hence china has become Australia’s chief customer whether it is Australia’s natural possessions or it the iron ore, which has made Australia expand its seaport to export more iron to China. The international relationship of China with Australia has been progressing since the year 1973 when the two governments signed the trade agreement and the bond between these two countries is growing even stronger day by day. The joint accords have been established since past 32 years related to numerous commodities such as dairy products, agriculture, raw materials, natural gas, iron ore, energy, hygiene guidelines along with capital protection and support for traditional aspects that have developed the business association of the two countries. *Footnote: Thomas Nicholas, Re-orienting Australia- china relations 1972 to the present, Great Britain, MPG Books LTd.2004. The relationship has further enhanced due to their combined Participation in APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation). The study also focuses on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the challenges along with opportunities for Australia and China where the involvement of WTO (world trade organization) also plays a vital role. Initially the conciliation tool place in Sydney in 2005, May and continued till the beginning of year 2008 and had 11 negotiable meetings. A free t rade agreement is a contract between two countries where tariffs are excluded from deals and it lies under the rules set by WTO.( Thomas, 2004) A gauge to determine the economic conditions of a country is its gross domestic product (GDP) which refers to a final worth of every product in a particular time frame and is measured in terms of comparison with last year (quarter of full year), e.g. if the current GDP of a country comes out to be 5%, it shows that the economy has raised by 5% in the current year. A negative GDP value indicates a state of recession in a country, leaving the investors in trouble due to economic crisis. A strong economy will lead to good salary increments as the companies stay in profit, while a fluctuation in GDP (up or down) will also affect the stock market and the investors. GDP may be calculated in two ways: first method is to calculate the total earnings and profits, and second way is the calculation of expenditure (amount spent in a year). China is cons idered as one of the largest economies in the world. According to The Economist 2004a, china stood at 3rd number in increasing global GDP and importing goods from the year 2000 – 2003. The country is famous for a wide range of products whether food stuff, machines, toys, plastics goods, electronic products, appliances, industrial goods such as food processing units, rubber goods, furniture, etc. The GDP of China is increasing by seven percent every year since last 5 years. The contribution of China to global economy is growing gradually and trade constitutes as a chief feature in making its

Week 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Week 1 - Essay Example The tool has automatic detection programs that keep history of a network system. In addition, the tool analyses all the activity and detect traffic in the network. It shows the period for which a program or application has been running and data usage for the same (Choudhary et al., 2013). Therefore, network analysers can elicit any operational challenges that can slow down or crash a system. Network analysers do detect not only viral software, but also test anti-malware programs. The analysers crosscheck the programs and monitor their operations. Network analysers equally pinpoint vulnerabilities in the anti-virus programs. After detection of suspicious software, network analysers notify a user through messages that pop up in the screen. Such messages could be in the form of warnings upon detection of any threats. Network analysers are vital in detecting unusual characteristics in a packet. The features of a system must remain standardised for efficient operations. Network analysers, therefore, compare progress activities of application and program to elicit any suspicions (Chih-Jung, 2013). Analysis of packets also entails identification of packet destinations and sources. Network analysers work through assessment of the general system or computer applications and programs (Chih-Jung, 2013). The analyses are crucial in the creation of plug-ins for specific applications. Monitoring of apps and user activities largely depend on consistent display of all the statistics on a control panel that is user-friendly. Choudhary, A. K., Harding, J., Camarinha-Matos, L. M., Lenny Koh, S., & Tiwari, M. K. (2013). Knowledge management and supporting tools for collaborative networks. International Journal Of Production Research, 51(7), 1953-1957.

Environment assignment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Environment assignment 2 - Essay Example This would greatly reduce the ability of many firms in Botswana to achieve their goals, ultimately leading to lower GDP and increased poverty. d) Western governments can integrate HIV/AIDS in funding proposals so that they the Less Developed Countries (LDCs) can use these monies to boost their internal efforts in combating the spread and negative impact of AIDS. In addition to this the developed world could sponsor building of capacity in health institutions through training health practitioners on modern ways of tackling pandemics, overcoming stigma and promotion of safe sex campaigns. Giving money alone to LDCs without the necessary human capacity to manage it well would be ineffective. Question 2 According to Kriebel et al. (2001) the precautionary principle consist of four central components: taking preventive action in the face of uncertainty; shifting the burden of proof to the proponents of an activity; exploring a wide range of alternatives to possibly harmful actions; and increasing public participation in decision making. With this in mind, we agree that should one wish to introduce a new chemical or a new industrial process, he or she must demonstrate that their change will not harm the environment before proceeding. For starters, as it is now evident to the world, the pace of efforts to combat problems such as climate change, ecosystem degradation, and resource depletion is too slow and that environmental and health problems continue to grow more rapidly than society’s ability to identify and correct them. This therefore means that we cannot afford to compound these problems by allowing more untested products or processes to be started when we already have a backlog of issues to solve. Kriebel and Tickner (2001) concur with this argument when they state that the precautionary principle helps us to avoid creating new problems as we solve the existing ones. By shifting the burden of proof to proponents of an idea, the precautionary principl e prevents the proponents from hurriedly investing in technologies or techniques for a â€Å"quick buck†. Proponents are forced to think through all things that they may propose. This self-check mechanism is regulated from abuse by an increased stakeholder participation, which is advocated for by the precautionary principle. Question 3 In the most comprehensive, peer-reviewed and quantitative climate-health assessment to date, the World Health Organization (WHO) examined the global burden of disease already attributable to anthropogenic climate change up to the year 2000. The study found that this â€Å"global warming† could already be causing over 150,000 deaths and approximately five million ‘disability-adjusted life years’ (DALYs) per year through increasing incidences of diseases especially in developing countries (Patz, Campbell-Lendrum, Holloway, & Foley, 2005). This, however, does not imply that the developed states are risk-free. On the contrary, large increases in heat waves (more devastating than the 2003 Europe heatwaves) have been projected for the USA and European countries (Patz et al., 2005). On the other hand, global warming may not be all doom and gloom. According to â€Å"What Are the Benefits of Global Warming?,† (n.d.) global warming could increase the amount of land available by reducing the Polar Regions. This would lead to provision of more land for production of food crops, crops to be used for generating alternative fuels and land for living. Others argue that it would

Construction - Receiving a Brief Essay Example for Free

Construction Receiving a Brief Essay As the brief was given I started to research many existing Sunday supplements. Research was needed to give a better understanding as to what techniques and codes are used to separate them from other magazines. The conventions that I have used for my supplement are: large pictures, main and sub headings, intensity of lighting on images, medium shots of actress, large quotes, columned interview and a certain representation of the interviewee. After researching quite some depth into the supplements I noticed these codes that were used, all the magazines had used these codes and techniques. I then constructed a hand drawn draft of the layout of my magazine. The layouts of all three types of supplements (broadsheet, tabloid, daily) were varied so I chose the most convenient layout of the Sunday times as this had not too much text and 2-3 images on a double page spread article. I decided that my supplement would consist of a front cover, two adverts; double page spread article and a contents page. All of the pages have been constructed using many layers and all the following effects plus those added below: Tool Type, Eraser, Free Transform, Magic Wand, Copy, Crop, Paste, Airbrush, three different dodge tools. The front cover needed a name; the existing names used were like, Sunday, review, culture etc. I chose a name, which I thought, would describe my supplement and its contents so ADVANCE because my supplement tells the facts and reviews before anyone else. I chose to colour the background red as it makes the Oscar stand out. The scanned image of the Oscar was placed to link with the article inside. Tools used were mainly tool type (headings), layer effect (emboss, for title outer glow for Oscar), gradient (background colour). The second page of my supplement is a television advert. All the supplements that I researched had entertainment ads such as TVs, hi-fis and DVDs, so I decided to create my own. Two original images have been used on TV ad.1. The television 2. The eyes . These were taken with a digital camera supplied by the college. The advert is supposed to resemble one of the different adverts that are used in present magazines. Tools mainly used rubber stamp (TV image), eraser (fitting image), layer effect (outer bevel for title). My contents page consists of 2 original images 1. The Birmingham based building rotunda 2. The doctor or drunk image. The text on the left side of the page has been used to give an impression that there are all these articles in the supplement, also the two images at the bottom and the quotes have been used to give a preview of whats inside. The contents page was inspired by The Sunday Times Magazine. Tools, text colour (various colours), free transform (alters image size), outer bevel (sub heading). The double page spread article consists of 5 original images. 1. Actress supposedly holding Oscar. 2. Supposed front cover of a mainstream magazine. 3,45. Actress with family in an American home. The mise en scene of the family image was scanned in, but the other two backgrounds were constructed. The technical decision was where my images were going to be placed; I decided to integrate them with the text. Tools used, filters (lens flare for flashes effect), emboss (quotes), variations (a lter clothes colour). The back advert consists of three original images. 1. The car sign 2. Three views of the car. 3. The supposed box carrying the car. Tools used, pillow emboss (car images and text), blur (edges of box), brightness/contrast (image quality), inner bevel (text) and magic wand (edit certain areas of image), outer glow (gold Lexus). My final product was all constructed on Adobe Photoshop 5.5, for my article I was about to use Microsoft Publisher but it seemed to restrict what and how I wanted my final article to look like. Evaluation. I believe that I achieved what the brief had told us. The final took a lot of effort developing this piece of coursework. I think my product does resemble a Sunday supplement as I have used the codes and techniques to make it look like a Sunday supplement. I imagine that if a person would see the layout of my work they would instantly recognize it as a Sunday Supplement. Also the context is quite formal as are most supplements, the language I have used is moderate and mild. An Oscar was used to give glamorous yet firm look to the supplement also subheadings and intros are few but spaced. The contents page is relatively spaced out; this has been done to give a comfortable feel to the reader. The small issues in the column are about various things from serious youth issues to entertainment such as puzzles and crosswords. I am quite pleased with the adverts that I created these were made after I narrowed down my research to three different newspapers, then I could see overall what simil ar types of ads they had. The layout of my article was very difficult, so I chose to create the article into to several paragraphs leaving no spaces in between. This was deeply influenced by The Sunday Times Magazine interview layouts. The pictures in my article are not very realistic due to the small experience I have with Photoshop, I could greatly improve on them, and also I could further improve on researching more. Potential buyers would see my newspaper and supplement as one of the established broadsheets, so it would sell to readers of a 20+ group. I used large images to give the reader a stress-free feel, as they wouldnt get frightened by the amount of text. My final product was shown to a real audience. The reactions were satisfying as most of them were impressed and agreed that it gave a supplement look and feel, also that they would purchase it, if it were on the shelves. Overall I am pleased with my final product and hope that I have achieved what was intended.

Performance of Raspberry-Like Gold Nanoparticles (Au RLNPs)

Performance of Raspberry-Like Gold Nanoparticles (Au RLNPs) Improvement of Stability and Catalytic Performance of Raspberry-Like Gold Nanoparticles by Silica Coating High Catalytic Performance of Raspberry-Like Gold Nanoparticles (Au RLNPs) and Enhancement of Stability by Silica Coating Kiouk Seo, Hien Mai Duy and Hyojong Yoo* Abstract. The raspberry-like gold nanoparticles (Au RLNPs) synthesized through the reduction of HAuCl4 by the use of NaOH and Brij35 surfactant show high catalytic activities in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol and ethanol electrooxidation. The enhanced catalytic activities of Au RLNPs are mainly due to their high surface area. However, Au RLNPs easily change to the spherical or aggregated nanoparticles in a treatment with acids, thiols, and cationic surfactants (ex, CTAB)), and are difficult to sustain the catalytic activities. To improve the stability and applicability, Au RLNPs core–silica shell nanoparticles (Au [emailprotected]2 NPs) were successfully synthesized in solution without losing their original morphologies through a simple solution-phase sol-gel process with the assistance of surface-stabilizing polymeric agent (Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)). In comparison with Au RLNPs and other Au nanoparticles, Au [emailprotected]2 NPs could be more easily recovered and recycled in the repeated catalytic reactions. Keywords Raspberry-like gold nanoparticles (Au RLNPs), Silica coating, Catalytic reduction, Ethanol electrooxidation, Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) 1. INTRODUCTION Noble metals have gained much attention over the past two decades due to their potentials in a wide variety of applications including energy conversion[1][2], chemical and biological sensing[3], and bioengineering[4]. Tremendous research efforts have been devoted towards the exploration of how to design nanomaterials with varied topographies that has led to the discovery of their fundamental size-, shape-, and component-dependent properties and the development of new applications[5][6][7]. Moreover, it has theoretically and experimentally found that arrays of asymmetric surface features, particularly deviations from spherical geometry, mainly impart unique anisotropy in material properties7. Apparently, to achieve such desired anisotropic topographies strict control is required. Conversely, this leads to a generation of particles with novel properties from the same materials by simply tuning the particle morphology. Furthermore, anisotropic geometry offers numerous unique features an d functionalities that are either difficult to obtain or even hardly obtained by simple size-tuning in spherical counterparts. Morphology of nanoparticles also strongly affects the catalytic performance. This is due to the surface anisotropy possessing a high density of low-coordinated atoms such as steps, edges, and defects serving as catalytically active sites which can markedly affect chemical and physical properties of nanoparticles[8]. Among those colloidal gold (Au) nanoparticles exhibit not only highly tunable architecture-dependent optical properties but also show excellent performance and high selectivity in a variety of heterogeneous green catalytic processes [ref][9][10]. For a better stability, catalytic performance, and reusability of Au nanoparticles, engineering new nanocatalyst system is thus considered one of the most critical tasks. Recently, in our group, we successfully synthesized raspberry-like gold nanoparticles (Au RLNPs) with rich edges and high surface areas through the reduction of HAuCl4 by Brij35 surfactant under basic condition in a controllable fashion [ref]. The synthesized Au RLNPs possess high surface areas and show the unique, highly-red shifted surface plasmon resonances (SPRs) due to the rough, raspberry-like surface of Au RLNPs. These structures also have high surface energies due to their plenty of tips and edges. These nanoparticles are stable and retain their raspberry-like geome try in basic or neutral conditions; however gradually reshape to the spherical geometry under a specific circumstance such as acidic condition. In order to exploit the unique shape-dependent properties of the Au RLNPs in a variety of catalytic applications, further modifications of nanoparticles such as endowing core-shell structure are thus required. Metallic nanostrutures of several different shapes have been coated with silica since the silica shells used as the coating material show substantial enhancement in the stability of the metal cores, particularly in aqueous solvents. Moreover, metallic nanostructured surface can readily functionalized by subsequently coating with silica and using silane-coupling reactions [ref]. Additionally, silica shells are chemically inert, transparent in the visible and IR regions of the spectrum, and readily converted to mesoporous layer [11]. For the direct encapsulation of Au nanoparticles within silica shells, the conventional techniques is employing coupling agents with silane group for the growth of silica shells on the surfaces of as-synthesized Au nanoparticles via the Stà ¶ber method [ref]. However, we experimentally found that directly applying this method to coat Au RLNPs brought challenges since the unusual size changes of Au RLNPs without disturbing the rough surface occurred. Herein, we report the synthesis of Au [emailprotected]2 NPs in solution through a simple solution-phase sol-gel process. To protect the high-energy surface of Au RLNPs, Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was used prior to the condensation of TEOS as a polymeric stabilizer. Au [emailprotected]2 NPs showed great enhancement in stability under the strongly acidic condition. The catalytic performance, recovery, and reusability of both Au [emailprotected]2 NPs and Au RLNPs were investigated using the reduction reaction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) as a reaction model. We also found that and Au RLNPs were capable of electrocatalyzing alcohol oxidation reactions in alkaline media. 2. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS 2.1. Reagents Polyoxyethylene glycol dodecyl ether ((C2H4O)23C12H25OH, Brij35, Acros Organics), hydrogen tetrachloroauratetrihydrate (HAuCl4†¢3H2O, 99.9%, Sigma–Aldrich), polyvinylpyrolidone ((C6H9NO)n, PVP10, average mol wt 10,000, Sigma–Aldrich), 4-nitrophenol (O2NC6H4OH, 99%, Sigma–Aldrich), sodium hydroxide (NaOH, 97%, Sigma–Aldrich), ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH, 28-30 wt % ammonia, Sigma–Aldrich), tetraethyl orthosilicate (Si(OC2H5)4 98%, Sigma–Aldrich), hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide ((C16H33)N(CH3)3Br, 99%, Acros Organics), (3-mercaptopropyl)methyldimethoxysilane (CH3Si(OCH3)2CH2CH2CH2SH, 95%, Alfa Aesor), HCl, HNO3, and ethyl alcohol were used as received. All stock solutions were freshly prepared before each reaction. Prior to use, all glassware was washed with Aqua Regia (volume ration of 3:1 of concentrated HCl and HNO3; Caution: Aqua Regia is highly toxic and corrosive and must be handled in fume hoods with proper personal protection equ ipment) and rinsed thoroughly with deionized water. 2.2. Synthesis of raspberry-like gold nanoparticles (Au RLNPs) Au RLNPs with the mean size of approximately 60-70 nm were prepared according to our previous literature [ref]. Briefly, an aqueous Brij35 solution (1 mL; 19.3 wt%) was well mixed with NaOH (aq) (100  µL; 100mM) by shaking for 30 seconds. To this mixture, HAuCl4 (aq) (50  µL; 10 mM) was added, and shaken vigorously for 1 minute. The pale yellow reaction mixture then turned to blue within 5 minutes at room temperature. To make sure a complete reaction, this mixture was allowed to react for over 20 minutes before being collected by centrifugation (5 min; 13500 rpm), and redispersed in deionized water. 2.3. Synthesis of Au RLNPs@SiO2 NPs The preparation of Au [emailprotected]2 NPs was as follows: firstly, the as-synthesized Au RLNPs were dispersed in 1 mL of deionized water. Next, 0.235 mL polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP10) aqueous solution (128 mg of PVP10 in 10 mL of deionized water) was added to the Au RLNPs solution. The resulting mixture was then stirred at room temperature for 12 hours to ensure complete adsorption of PVP on Au RLNPs. Afterward, the PVP-capped RLNPs were purified by centrifugation (5 min; 13500 rpm), and redispersed in solvent mixture containing 1 mL deionized water and 7 mL ethyl alcohol. In the next step, tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS, 0.03 mL) and ammonium hydroxide (0.2 mL of 14.8 M NH4OH (aq.)) were sequentially added to the PVP-capped Au RLNPs aqueous solution and the reaction mixture was further stirred at room temperature for 4 h. After the completion of the reaction, the resultant Au [emailprotected]2 NPs were centrifuged, and purified by repeatedly washing in ethanol and centrifugation. 2.4. Catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol The catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) over nanoparticles in the presence of NaBH4 was carried out to assess the catalytic activity. In a typical experiment, 2 mL of deionized water, 1.7 mL of 0.2 mM 4-NP, and 1 mL of 15 mM NaBH4 solutions were mixed in a quartz cuvette followed by the addition of 1 mL of Au [emailprotected]2 NPs solution. The color of solution changed gradually from yellowish to clear as the reaction proceeded. UV-Vis spectra were recorded at a 5-minute intervals to monitor the progress of the reaction. 2.5. Ethanol electrocatalytic oxidation All electrochemical measurements were carried out in a conventional three-electrode cell at ambient temperature (~25ËÅ ¡C) using WPG 100e Potentiostat (WonAtech Inc.). The fabrication of working electrode is as follow: Prior to electrochemical experiments, glassy carbon (GC) electrode was sonicated in ethanol and deionized water successively. 10  µL of RLNP suspension was dropped onto carbon disk and the solution is dried at room temperature. Platinum and Ag/AgCl were employed as counter and reference electrodes, respectively. With an aqueous mixture of 0.5 M KOH and 1.0 M ethanol as electrolytes, at least 10 cycles of cyclic voltammetry were carried out before recyclable voltammograms were recorded. Throughout the cyclic voltammetry experiments, the potential window was between -0.2 V and 0.8 V. Prior to experiments, the electrolytes were degased by bubbling with nitrogen for 30 min. 2.6. Characterization The nanoparticles were imaged using a Hitachi S-4800 scanning electron microscope (SEM), and a JEOL JEM-2010 Luminography (Fuji FDL-5000) Ultramicrotome (CRX) transmission electron microscope (TEM). Samples were prepared for TEM by concentrating the nanoparticle mixture by centrifuging twice for 5 min at 13500 rpm with resuspension in 100 ÃŽ ¼L nanopure water and immobilizing 10 ÃŽ ¼L portions of the solution on Formvar-coated Cu grids. Extinction spectra were recorded with a UV-vis spectra spectrometer (UVIKON XS). Solution pH was measured using an Orion 420 A+ pH meter. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Initially, the highly monodisperse Au RLNPs with controlled diameters ranging from 60 to 70 nm (Fig. 1a and S1) [Images and size distribution of RLNP] were prepared according to protocols developed previously.ref Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was then employed as a primer and a direct growth of silica onto the PVP-capped Au RLNPs to obtain Au [emailprotected]2 NPs was carried out using solution-phase sol-gel method with TEOS as a precursor. PVP, which have been often used as a surface-stabilizing polymeric agent to prepare spherical Au core – SiO2 shell nanoparticles,ref was used to protect the high-energy surface of Au RLNPs. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images of Au [emailprotected]2 NPs (Fig. 1b-d) show the well-established core-shell structure in which the as-synthesized Au RLNPs were uniformly and individually encompassed within silica shells whereas still sustaining their rough and edge-rich surfaces advantageous to catal ytic performance. The average diameter of individual Au [emailprotected]2 NPs was xxxxx (xxx particles was evaluated, Fig 1e). With respect to RLNPs cores, the average size was nearly similar to that of RLNPs before silica-coated (Fig S1). The UV-Vis spectra plotted in Fig. 1f, a noticeable broadeness in the corresponding surface plasmon bands in Au [emailprotected]2 NPs compared to that of Au RLNP were observed. It is well know that the weaker and broader surface plasmons are observed,, due to the change of refractive index of surrounding environment after silica coating step[b1].ref [Fig 1] High catalytic efficiency of Au nanocatalysts were mainly due to their high roughness and plethora of edge-rich surfaces and corners.ref Thus it necessitates assessing whether catalytically active surfaces of the synthesized nanoparticles are stable in various environments. HCl, CTAB, and MPTS were introduced into the colloidal solution of the as-synthesized RLNPs in order to understand the stability of Au RLNPs in different ambiences. Fig. 2 shows typical SEM images displaying changes in geometries of Au RLNPs as adding diverse reagents. It is experimentally observed that Au RLNPs collectively changed to spherical nanoparticles with the smooth surface as adding HCl (Fig S2)ref corresponding to a blue-shift in UV-Vis spectrum toward approx. 520 nm which can be assigned to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of gold nanospheres. This phenomenon could be attributed to the oxidative etching effect which has been employed to control the size of other noble nanostructures in recent papers [12] [13] [14]. Meanwhile, as shown in Fig. 2a, much agglomeration occurred as adding CTAB. However, it is interesting to note that the aggregation also occurred without disturbing their raspberry-like motifs, as adding MPTS (Fig. 2b). The SPR changes shown in UV-Vis spectra (Fig. 2e) further confirmed this aggregation. The introduction of such reagents, which might affect the hydrodynamic layer thickness of Au RLNPs, accounts for this unusual alteration in particles size. The [emailprotected]2 NPs however exhibited no geometrical change when HCl was added. As shown in Fig. 3a, SEM images show that the [emailprotected]2 NPs still retained their original raspberry-like morphology without any observable agglomeration. This observation is also consistent with results obtained from UV-Vis spectra (Fig. 3b) that there was no detectable shift in SPR peak of the core-shell nanoparticles after HCl had been added. Ethanol comprises a lower toxicity, a higher theoretical energy density (8.01 kW.h kg-1) than methanol (6.09 kW.h kg-1) and formic acid (1.74 kW.h kg-1), and fewest environmental issues[15] [16]. Moreover, ethanol is a renewable source that can be easily produced massively from the chemical industry or fermentation of biomass. In this study, electrooxidation of ethanol [HM2]in KOH solution was performed to probe relative electrocatalytic activities of the synthesized nanoparticles. Fig. 4 shows the cyclic voltammograms of RLNPs, HCl-etched RLNPs[HM3], and [emailprotected]2 NPs for ethanol electrooxidation. It is clear that the RLNPs exhibit almost substantially higher electrocatalytic performance with a forward oxidation current (iF) value of 0.56 mA compared to that for HCl-etched RLNPs (iF, 0.07 mA). The high electrocatalytic activity of the RLNPs is attributed to the existence of high energetic surfaces in raspberry-like morphologies. However, [emailprotected]2 NPs did not show an y electrocatalytic activities over the entire potential window. This is explained that silica shells hindered the electron transfer between gold cores and electrode due to silica shells are insulating. The catalytic reduction of 4-NP to their corresponding derivatives, 4-aminophenol, in the presence of NaBH4 was chosen as a model reaction in order to evaluate the catalytic activity of Au [emailprotected]2 NPs. It is well established that the reduction of 4-NP by NaBH4 is thermodynamically feasible but kinetically restricted without a catalyst. The reduction progress was monitored by UV-Vis absorption spectra after the addition of catalysts. The characteristic absorption peak of 4-NP aqueous solution was located at 400 nm after NaBH4 had been added. First of all, in the absence of catalysts the reduction reaction of 4-NP did not proceed even with a large excess of NaBH4. However, when catalysts were introduced, the reduction of 4-NP was clearly observed. The absorbance of the reaction mixture at 400 nm gradually decreased as the reaction proceeded, along with the concomitant increase of 300 nm peak, corresponding to 4-aminophenol. Fig. 4 illustrates the UV-Vis spectra changes of 4-N P as a function of reaction time in the presence of Au RLNPs (Fig. 4a) and Au [emailprotected]2 NPs (Fig. 4c). Fig. 4e shows the change in concentration of 4-NP was plotted versus time, providing a general view to compare catalytic activities of Au RLNPs and Au [emailprotected] ­2 NPs (Ct: absorbance of 4-NP at specific reaction time, t; C0: initial absorbance of 4-NP as catalysis starts). The Ct/C0 is measured from the relative intensity of absorbance (At/A0). As can be seen, Au RLNPs exhibited comparatively higher catalytic activity than their core-shell counterparts, possibly owning to silica shell hindering the diffusion of reactants onto inner gold active sites. Interestingly, in the presence of HCl, the catalytic activity of Au [emailprotected]2 NPs however was not only improved, but also dramatically higher than that of Au RLNPs which was suffering from the morphological change, leading to severe degradation of active sites (Fig. 4e). In addition, we also investigated the d egree of reusability of the two catalysts. As shown in Fig. 5, the catalytic efficiencies of Au RLNPs decreased remarkably after reused 3 times whilst Au [emailprotected]2 still retained good catalytic performance for as far as 7 cycles. It is apparent that the stability and reusability of Au RLNPs were improved significantly after encapsulated into silica shell, resulting in maintenance in their catalytic activity. 4. CONCLUSIONS Acknowledgments: This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2011-0008968). This research was also supported by Hallym University Research Fund 2012 (HRF-G-2012-3) References and Notes 1 [1] Linic, S.; Christopher, P.; Ingram, D. B. Nat. Mater. 2011, 10, 911. [2] Jiang, R.; Li, B.; Fang, C.; Wang, J. Adv. Mater. 2014, DOI: 10.1002/adma.201400203. [3] Zhang, Y.; Guo, Y.; Xianyu, Y.; Chen, W.; Zhao, Y.; Jiang, X. Adv. Mater. 2013, 15, 3802. [4] Tokel, O.; Inci, F.; Demirci, U. Chem. Rev. 2014, 114, 5728. [5] Tawfick, S.; Volder, M. D.; Copic, D.; Park, S. J.; Oliver, R.; Polsen, E. S.; Roberts, M. J.; Hart, A. J. Adv. Mater. 2012, 24, 1628. [6] Jones, M. R.; Osberg, K. D.; Macfarlane, R. J.; Langille, M. R.; Mirkin, C. A. Chem. Rev. 2011, 111, 3736. [7] Sau, T. K.; Rogach, A. L. Adv. Mater. 2010, 22, 1781. [8] Quan, Z.; Wang, Y.; Fang, J. Acc. Chem. Res. 2013, 46, 191. [9] Zhang, Y.; Xiao, Q.; Bao Y.; Zhang, Y.; Bottle, S.; Sarina, S.; Zhaorigetu, B.; Zhu, H. J. Phys. Chem. C 2014, 118, 19062. [10] Liu, X.; He, L.; Liu, Y.-M.; Cao, Y. Acc. Chem. Res. 2014, 47, 793. [11] Park, J.; Yoo, H. Microporous Mesoporous Mater. 2014, 185, 107. [12] Li, B.; Long, R., Zhong, X.; Bai, Y; Zhu, Z.; Zhang, X.; Zhi, M.; He, J.; Wang, C.; Li, Z.-Y.; Xiong, Y. Small 2012, 8, 1710. [13] Liu, M.; Zheng, Y.; Zhang, L.; Guo, L.; Xia, Y. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 11752. [14] Chiu, C.-Y.; Yang, M.-Y.; Lin, F.-C.; Huang, J.-S.; Huang, M. H. Nanoscale 2014, 6, 7656. [15] Hong, W.; Wang, J.; Wang, E. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2014, 6, 9481. [16] Antolini, E.; Gonzalez, E. R. J. Power Sources 2010, 195, 3431. [b1]When gold NPs’ re encapsulated within silica, there’s generally red-shift in the absorbant peak of SPR. Please check this data once again. [HM2]In Fig. 4, I think it better to insert the 2 images of RLNP and Hcl-etched RLNPs to say that the latter surface is not as edge-rich as the former. [HM3]Considering how to name RLNPs whose morphology was change to sphere as adding HCl

Saboteur :: essays research papers

Analysts are still studying whether the two strips of cloth called gap filler that are poking out from the bottom of the orbiter could cause uneven heating during re-entry that may constitute a threat to the craft and crew, the mission's lead flight director, Paul Hill, said in a press briefing this morning. If the analysts decide that the gap fillers do pose a threat, he said, the mission manager may call for a risky spacewalk and repair maneuver in which astronauts try to pull the tough material the rest of the way out, push it in or cut it off. Mr. Hill said a spacewalk repair was not likely but that his engineers and analysts were looking closely at the issue and that he could not rule one out. Gap fillers, as their name implies, fill the gaps that NASA leaves between some shuttle tiles to allow for expansion and contraction of the shuttle's body from the extremes of heat and cold that it is exposed to. The fillers themselves are heat resistant, and are made of alumina-borosilicate fiber. Having gap filler poke its way out up from between tiles is not uncommon, but it could be a concern because it causes an uneven surface and can lead to unusual patterns of heating during re-entry. If a filler pokes out too much, especially if it is far forward on the shuttle so that its downstream heating affects a larger part of the shuttle's belly, it could be a problem, Mr. Hill said. NASA, through a long examination of all previous landings with protruding bits of gap filler, had found a comfort level with protrusions in the same areas that stick out a quarter of an inch, he said. But the two pieces on this flight are one inch and six-tenths of an inch, he said. This shuttle and the space station have been outfitted with more cameras and sensors than ever before, and so they might be detecting something that has happened many times in the past; it is possible that the feltlike material burns down during re-entry, and that longer protrusions have occurred in the past. But one quarter inch is within "our conventional wisdom," Mr. Hill said, and so the little strips of cloth have become an intense focus of aerodynamic analysis, he said. Aerodynamics experts have been studying the size and the position of the two gap filler protrusions, Mr.

Ishmeal and Maya Angelou :: essays papers

Ishmeal and Maya Angelou There are many different views on how people should live our lives. All of these different philosophies come from many different places. They come from religions, people's cultures, and their morals that they have been taught. People live by these rules they were brought into from the day they are born and do not question them. In "A Rock, A River, A Tree", by Maya Angelou and Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn, both attempt to show how humans should live their lives and survive in a community. There way of changing the world is to convince readers to stand up and speak out about how to save the world. Daniel Quinn specificly helps readers to see that our lives are governed by matured laws that humans refuse to acknowledge-- this causing their, our destruction. In Ishmael Daniel Quinn sets the idea of having to think differently by having the book being told my a man who's teacher is a talking Gorilla. The Gorilla's name is ironicly Ishmael. Ishmael teaches captivity which he has been in his whole life and has mastered. As a Gorilla he has a totally different view on the world. He states in many ways that he believes that we must stand up for saving the world. In the beginning of the book Ishmael is talking about Germany before and during World War Two. He talks about how everyone followed the story if they believed in it or not "because the people around you made you captive" by the story by believing in it. Behind that story is another one the makes your mind think that maybe if that one person did stand a few people would realize that it was wrong and stand up too, and maybe the WWII or the holocaust would have never happened. Later in the book they are working on why people are knowingly destroying the world and doing nothing about it . Ishmael tries to explain that they "try not think too searchingly about the world they're leaving their children to cope with." He says that they are "pacified" about the subject. This is Quinn's way of using a scare tactic on the readers, to make us believe we are brain washed and need to rebel. Later in the book there is another story about how men kept jumping off from the edge of a cliff with a flying contraption, believing it will work all the way up until they hit the ground, think in the way that they "made it this far without a scratch".

Lord of the Flies :: English Literature

Lord of the Flies - review. The book Lord of the Flies is about a plane full of boys crashing on a deserted island. On the island the boys try to build a civilized colony but soon fail. Within the novel, objects that the boys find or make, turn into symbols. William Golding uses symbols in the beginning of the book, the conch is a good example of this. The conch is a powerful symbol that develops as the book progresses. The author puts a lot of detail into this one symbol. The conch is a very important symbol that at the beginning of the book is invested with power and at the end this power is destroyed. The conch during the beginning of the novel shows leadership, power, and order. During the beginning Ralph finds the conch and blows it to assemble all the survivors of the plane crash. At this time the author tells us a little about the conch."Yet most powerful, there was the conch. The being that had blown that ... was set apart"(11). Right after the conch was discovered it is portrayed as being powerful and whoever has it, is special, showing leadership. The boys pick Ralph because he has the conch, which proves its significance and leadership. Another example of its power is when Ralph speaks on pages 31 and 32 saying people can only talk if they have the conch and that this person will not be interrupted. When the children obey this rule about the conch it tells how this conch has power, creates order and symbolizes rules. It is clear that the conch is invested with power during the beginning and that it is already an important symbol. The power from the conch develops further on in the middle book, and soon holds a civilizing force over the boys, which can be interrupted as an important symbol for civilization. The power from the conch in the beginning of the book is strong but further on the power degrades. Ralph proves that the conch has a force over the boys. "Ralph had to wave the conch once more" (85). Ralph waves it to make silence to prove the power of the conch and everyone obeys this gesture. However he has to wave it again proving the power is degrading because at first he only had to wave the conch once. Just this alone shows the force the conch has over the boys. When the boys obey the conch and when the conch is around, the boys act civilized and obey rules. This proves the conch can be interpreted as a symbol for civilization.

Tcl 201 Midterm

Questions: 1. Taking your information from Katherine Benton-Cohen’s book, Borderline Americans, write an essay on how the term â€Å"American† became synonymous with â€Å"white† in Cochise County during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Start by discussing the nature of relations between Mexicans and whites in the different sections of the county during the 19th century. How did relations change over time and what factors led to those changes?In answering these questions, you should pay some attention to changing demographics but focus on how mining companies’ interest in exploiting its labor force, the Bisbee Deportations, and the aftermath of the deportations led to the creation of â€Å"one county, two races. † Borderline Americans covers distinct situations that occurred in Cochise county where the definition of being American was pursued based on what benefited the Anglos in the area. IN areas such as in Tres Alamos, there were situation s of intermarriage.In Bisbee, there was the dual-wage system the separated Mexicans from Americans, and in Tombstone, Anglos and Mexicans would come together to combat native Indians. Yet, when Mexicans wanted to put their American civil rights to action, Anglos would counter act them by saying how they were not American enough. a. In Cochise County, â€Å"corporations and governments exerted enormous influence over the creation of racial categories† (pg. 14). Everyone fought over what defined race and who could benefit from the term (pg. 14). b. In Tres Alamos, Anglos and Mexicans were friendly towards one another for political reasons. In theory. New Spain’s elite was Spanish, but in a sparsely settled frontier area, people who were Spanish-speaking, wealthy, or landed qualified as being Spanish, and thus—in the context of American racial codes—white (pg 28). c. In other areas in Arizona such as in Tucson, Anglo cowboys and Mexicans joined forces to com bat the native Indians (pg. 63). d. In Bisbee, there still existed a dual-wage system. Here, Mexicans were paid less than the Anglo men despite their skills. Corporations ruled the community, so they set the define line of who was worthy to be American and who was not based on pay (pg. 07). Dual wage system. I. Spanish American Identity: a. â€Å"The Spanish American identity in New Mexico was conceived in myth and is sustained by memory† (pg. 212). i. The Spanish American identity was an illusion that Nuevomexicanos created and lived up to during the late years of the 19th and early 20th century. b. It originates from its diverse â€Å"struggles against political and social marginalization, and was nurtured by a burgeoning tourist industry, a Hispanophilic cultural movement, and locally authored histories and scholarship† (pg. 2). i.The Spanish identity came out of years of political and social suppression. Nuevomexicanos wanted to define their racial identity, and by identifying with their Spanish origins they could argue their â€Å"purity of blood† and distinguish themselves from being â€Å"Indian† or â€Å"Anglo†, claiming identity to their European roots which was racially white, and moving away from their ‘mixed-blood Mexican immigrant identity, yet identify with their attachment to the land (by way of conquest) (pg. 16-17). ii. In summary, there was no such thing as a Spanish American identity.This was a mythical race that Nuevomexicanos created for their benefit. Nuevomexicanos hung to their Spanish roots because it gave them the power to identitify with their European roots, disassociate themselves from their Indian and Mexican immigrant roots, and still gain the privilege of enjoying social and civic equality with Anglo Americans (pg. 16). II. The White perception of Nuevomexicanos during the immediate years following the Mexican-American War. a. Anlgo’s questioned as to whether or not the Mexican-Ame rican people of New Mexico were ‘fit’ enough to be granted full U.S. -citizenship. i. The media of the time was a great example of how Anlgo’s viewed Neuvomexicanos. They mentioned how Mexicans â€Å"still â€Å"professed a deep hostility to American ideas and American policies. † Rather than assimilating into the nation cultural and political mainstream, the newspaper noted, these Mexicans stubbornly clung to their habits, political affiliations, and semipagan religious practices; they abhorred all things â€Å"American† and had little resolve to show their patriotism during the war . . (pg. 1). † 1. Anglo’s felt that Mexican’s would never be able to be loyal to the American government, and therefore they should not be granted U. S. citizenship. The media only added to this notion. b. Mexicans, because they were a mixed race, were also viewed as rebels and ‘political subversives’, and many U. S. officials such as S enator John C. Calhoun felt that they had â€Å"inherited the worst characteristics of both races, and to be â€Å"unfit† for U. S. citizenship or for self-government† (pg. 53). i.To many US Anglos, Mexicans were biologically predisposed to be savages and incapable of being loyal citizens to the United States. III. White’s views of Nuevomexicanos, New Mexico and statehood, and white migration and tourism to New Mexico. a. When Nuevomexicanos began to take claim to their â€Å"Spanish† European race, and attempt to move away from their Indian or Mexican identity, Anglo’s began to be more accepting of the state and its people. i. â€Å"The statehood debate illustrates how racial perceptions and relations played a major role in the formation of the Spanish American consciousness† (pg. 3). 1. Representative Joseph M. Root lobbied for New Mexico to gain statehood and he said how â€Å"Their race or â€Å"blood mixture† was of little conse quence to their ability to govern† (pg. 56). ii. New York Representative William H. Seward was a vocal supporter for New Mexico, and he said a speech referencing Nuevomexicanos to their Spanish roots. 1. â€Å"By praising the Spanish colonial past, Seward implied that New Mexico’s Indians and Nuevomexicanos heralded from a genteel, colonial society characterized by Christianity and racial order† (pg. 7). b. Nuevomexicanos began to redefine themselves as â€Å"Spanish† in ethnic origin and â€Å"American† in nationality (pg. 92). i. Other Anglos who were collaborating with Nuevomexicanos for their acceptance into statehood emphasized their Spanish American identity and â€Å"transformed New Mexico into the tourist capital of the Southwest, a Mecca for â€Å"American† immigrants and visitors who delighted in Spanish and Indian cultures† (pg. 2). 1.By Nuevomexicanos adopting a Spanish American identity, they not only gained support from o ther Anglo leaders, but they were also socially accepted and their ethnic background became a new tourist attraction for other Americans to come and see. IV. Romanticization of the Spanish past by Hispanophilia. a. â€Å"Hispanophilia was born of a desire to return to a simpler way of life that, in fact, had never been all that simple . . . It was an ideology (pg. 147). i. This was a way for the Spanish Americans to be proud of their racial background, yet at the same grounds have the acceptance they desired from the Anglos. . Many US Anglos from other states still feared the rumors about Mexicans and their violent characteristics. In an effort to move away from such misconceptions, Nuevomexicanos with the help of boosters, promoted their Spanish American identity, which then gave birth to Hispanophilia. This notion allowed them to create a â€Å"fantasy heritage† that was acceptable for Anglos and yet gave them the ‘acceptable means of defining their historical identi ty’ (pg. 148) V. Nuevomexicanos and their Spanish American Identity a.Nuevomexicanos used their new Spanish American identity to their advantage, for it was their only way of regaining control over their ‘declining political fortunes, land base, and language’ (pg. 148). i. From Hispanophilia came the birth of Hispanidad. 1. â€Å"Hispanidad entailed claiming ownership, most notably, of Hispanic heritage, language, values, beliefs, and culture† (pg. 171). ii. They also came to use this to their advantage by demonstrating how Spanish Americans were equal to Anglos in racial hierarchy, yet they kept their Spanish distinction from that of the Anglo’s.

Management and Leadership Models Essay

As Regional Director for Happy Face Frozen Foods (HFFF), I hold a great responsibility to meet sales projection levels at each of my sales districts. Hitting goal is not just a numbers game- it’s a task of managing people within the culture of the organization. My ultimate goal for District IV and district manager Tony’s performance deficiency is to diagnosis issues and problem areas. Multiple management/leadership models and concepts are needed in order to shift this district to become profitable and successful. PERFORMANCE MODEL Skills, Abilities, Traits Tony appears to have a lack of effort, despite being young, aggressive, talkative, appears to be intelligent, and was a top sales representative. I questioned his work ethic capabilities, but the Myer Briggs Type Indicator says we are polar personality opposites as he is an ISTJ and I am an ENFP. In general, his type explains why his apparent lack of effort is actually  his â€Å"introverted† and â€Å"sensing† personality; Tony self-reflects, works alone, thinks before acting, keeps energy inside, is hard to read, and verbalizes well though out ideas, concern for present and practical matters, likes things to be precise and clear, and wants step-by-step approaches. I had promoted him despite of his tendencies towards coercion and party reputation, which seemed to be a lack of cooperation skills and professionalism. Again, his type explains these traits of Tony’s â€Å"thinking† and â€Å"judging† personality; he finds it easy to be firm-minded and give criticism, brief, concise and impersonal, uses pros and cons lists, doesn’t like surprises, resist or does not notice change, and wants advanced warning. As a top manager his thinking process is great for following rules and procedures, but as a leader of his district he needs to improve all traits involving interaction with people. In order to compliment Tony’s personality traits with my own, I must reduce perceptual errors with a self-understanding of how our opposing traits interact. Tony’s sensing type needs intuitive types at work to see possibilities, deal with complex issues, explain other intuitives, and spark innovation. His thinking type needs intuitive types at work to persuade, smooth feathers, teach and coach, and anticipate reactions. Tony has several of the Kirkpatrick and Locke Leadership Traits to facilitate success, which include drive, self-confidence, cognitive ability, and knowledge of the business, but Tony’s sales team is hesitant to discuss his performance as a manager. A person does not become a leader by virtue of the possession of some combination of traits; therefore, with proper action Tony can transform those traits toward becoming a successful leader. Tony has three factor categories of leadership to accomplish, which include managing skills, vision, and implementation. I can provide Tony with specific guidelines for goals, objectives, and situations so he will have the managing skills for decision-making and problem solving. To improve his vision of the company, I can train him in the importance of the Big Five personality traits to become extraverted, conscientious, open, less neurotic, and agreeable. I can teach Tony how to apply the MBTI types among  his subordinates and myself, so he can properly implement his vision to the team through team building, motivation, and training. His efforts will increase their trust in his abilities and be more likely to give proper feedback in the future. Role Perceptions Inappropriate behavior concerns in Tony’s district arise from sexual harassment complaints, unwanted nicknames, mixture of work and personal relationships, and name calling shows that action for ethical conduct is lacking. Because Tony is involved in some of the unethical action, a quick response is needed at the management and subordinate level. Nielson’s guidelines for changing unethical organizational behaviors are not easy, but start with an intervention strategy implemented by corporate guidelines and myself. Caution should be used as I could be misled on details, and do not want to damage relationships and hurt the organization unnecessarily. The advantage of leading an ethical change increases incremental performance, but must include Tony in the process of establishing ethical rules and procedures in order to implement long-term. Rallying others to agree for the good of the organization takes consensus building through patience and relationship building, and can happen with ability and courage. Tony perceives his abilities for his own â€Å"book of business† as a successful sales person to be a major part of his job requirement. As a superior, my perception of his skills and traits lack the ability to manage his people, and his personal success makes me doubt his capabilities even more as he ignores his job requirements to train and coach his sales team, especially the two brand new employees. Tony needs to understand the importance of socialization practices, and appreciate the problem of transitioning a new employee. To prepare Tony in the training of his team, helpful mechanisms to utilize change are found in the elements of Schein’s organization socialization, which include basic goals, preferred means the goals are to be attained, basic responsibilities of the members, behavior patterns required for effective performance, and a set of rules to maintaining identity and integrity. New entrant should have multiple sources, whether official literature,  examples set by Tony and other employees, direct instruction, rewards and punishment system, and experimenting with new values and behavior. Success of socializing techniques depends on the initial entry of the organization and what Tony does to keep them. He must build commitment and loyalty early in the socialization process by investing time and effort into the new members, and since the two new hires have already been introduced to a laissez-faire style of management, Tony’s efforts need to be well prepared. Establishing socialization is included through training opportunities to Tony to train his sales team, giving Tony a formal role definition and the guidelines to defining his subordinates roles (which he will appreciate as an ISTJ), giving Tony a performance appraisal and future personal goals to improve, and to coach Tony the norms of a successful manager. The Determinant of Person Perception describes Tony’s situation as an ineffective leader based on the perception of his subordinates, which is influenced from the mixture of Tony’s and the subordinate’s characteristics. His ineffective leadership mixed with the subordinates lack of direction has created an Organizational Citizenship Behavior that allows discretionary behaviors based on personal choice within the workforce; several of the current norms that are being utilized and promoted under Tony’s supervision include tardiness, teasing, competitiveness, ignorance of complaints and concerns, inclusion of personal life and work, and individuality. These structureless norms and values are dangerous to the well being of Tony’s district as he does not understand his role as a leader to structure right and wrong norms, pivotal norms and values should be made clear in order to survive. The norms and values that should be implemented include trust, honesty, integrity, empathy, respect, teamwork, separation of life from professional work, and the total changes should keep 60-70% of operations stable in order to keep the organization running smoothly. The Simple Change Process has three phases to implement desired norms and values; the Unfreezing Phase includes immediate action between myself and Tony to establish how he wants the team to operate, create rules and procedures to follow, and to reprimand actions that are breaking current rules. The Moving Phase includes actions  for Tony to model new norms, train and educate the rest of the team, and provide incentives for following the new behaviors. The final process in the Refreezing Phase involves more rewards systems, standardization, and implementation of the new structures. Even if the perception of Tony’s lack of effort is a symptom of his set characteristic traits, I also need to understand as his supervisor the Self-Concept Theory of Motivation. The idea that humans are self-expressive, motivated to maintain and enhance self-esteem and self-worth, self-concepts are composed in part of identities, and this behavior isn’t always related to clear expectations or to immediate or specific goals. Tony is no different and also holds inner motivations that are not easily seen, I need to get to know him better before the districts sales meeting next month to understand his motives and actions. His current performance has demonstrated low results for the higher expectations I demand; if Tony does not have some expectation to work for, meeting my expectations is difficult and is a lose-lose situation. To give Tony direction, we can practice the Goal Theory to link Tony to specific and challenging goals with appropriate feedback for Tony to know ho w much effort to contribute in order to achieve increased task performance, and to understand what expectations to meet. Any theory or concept Tony learns can be applied to relationships with his subordinates, but will be difficult to implement with the current presence of Learned Helplessness. Tony has set such high expectations for performance and punished employees both by disregarding and berating employees publicly; his employees have become passive from repeat failures and will most likely remain passive even after changes are made. Organizationally Induced Helplessness is evident as the attribution to failure leads to behavioral influences, and Tony’s subordinate, Britni, is clearly suffering from substance abuse and practices it in the workplace openly. Because the negative environment has forced employees to shut down mentally, the operation of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy is not in effect here as Tony places high expectations, and they are not performing better because of these expectations. The factor missing in order to for the prophecy to work in Tony’s environment is more input from Tony to teach his subordinates to  reach the expectations he sets. To stop influencing negative behavior and start influencing positive attributions, organizational goals need to be easier to obtain and set clearly by Tony, because subordinates who stopped trying have already decided goals are impossible to reach such as the case with Melanie who was forced to structure her sales route by herself. Minimizing OIH can be done through multiple strategies: immunization that sets specific levels of success can begin with the new norms and values that will be set through the Simple Change Process, rewarding those who follow quickly. Attribution Training will direct failure away from internal fault and toward external conditions, and Ego Defense will develop attributes so if Tony continues to berate his employees, they will learn to not let it threaten their self-esteem. Performance Goals Tony punishes Big Ron’s performance for not getting the product out ahead of schedule is an example of Tony’s need for the Goal-Setting Concept, which assigns employees a specific task, quota, performance standard, or deadline. The use of punishment to affect behavior has negative consequences of modifying an employees behavior, such as a short-term effect, resentment of the punisher, negative aftereffects, doesn’t reinforce desired heavier, and creates an atmosphere of fear. Tony may punish too soon because of lack of training on my part, not aware of alternatives, looking for quick solutions, personal gratification, out of frustration, or believe it is the best way to change behavior. The misunderstanding of the product schedule time between Big Ron and Tony is directly attributed to miscommunication and a lack of goals. Big Ron perceives his goals to be only within the processing plant, Tony communicates his goals to be overseeing Big Ron’s operations and delivering the product. A helpful mechanism would for both to work together as a team and manage by objectives from each side. Tony and Big Ron need to use Participative Goal Setting and set specific and difficult goals together to lead to higher performance and relationship building. Merely telling Big Ron to â€Å"do his best† and to be supportive would be sufficient, but the best gain  comes from a set standard. They can also hold Management By Objectives â€Å"assignment† sessions to discuss what each side’s efforts will include. If Big Ron knows why Tony wants the products early, he can then communicate that status knowing Tony really needs that information. If Tony knows why Big Ron can’t get the products out sooner, he can then exert efforts to help Big Ron. When the task is done, a final performance appraisal feedback session will give each side a chance to voice actions that worked, need changing for future projects, and to give constructive feedback for the other person. This will build a climate of trust, and shows an acceptance of goal failure. Based on head quality control engineer Daniella’s visit with the sales force informal leader Bill Gates, is uninvolved with his job at HFFF with multiple side interests. Bill needs to get involved, and since he is in a leadership position can be given roles to support the sales force and himself by taking their performance under his accountability. If workers have a chance to participate in setting goals, they will be more committed to attaining those goals. If larger goals are broken down into short-term goals, workers will receive more frequent feedback about goal accomplishment and, thus, strive harder to meet those goals. A list of good goals similar to what Bill can make could include setting specific short and long term sales goal quotas, to create friendly competitions within the sales team, for individuals to talk to a certain number of clients or make a certain number of presentations, to meet with each sales rep individually to hear progress reports, and many more. The SMARTFIC model is a good checklist to prepare Bill to present Tony a plan of action within the sales force team. To start, Bill rates himself on scale of 1-5 on each goal setting area: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic/rewarded, timely, feedback, integrated/intermediate, and challenging/clear. He can keep or change the specificity or attainability of each goal based on the scale results, and once the goals are presented and approved by Tony, Bill can implement among the team. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Rewards Along with Bill’s goal setting for the sales team, rewarding Bill and team members based on bonuses and commission compensation will motivate the implementation to be successful. Tony could also be motivated to perform better if he was given a bonus for getting positive evaluations, as a demonstrator at a recent training program recently evaluated him negatively. To pinpoint the best reward system for Tony, I can use the Modifying On-The-Job Behavior concept to first identify target behavior, such as his need for procedure. The second step is to perform an Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence (ABC) functional analysis to identify Tony’s trigger for needing procedure and when he uses this behavior. The third step arranges antecedents by removing obstacles, providing opportunities, appropriately scheduled consequences, such as unexpected events that cannot be controlled or sporadic behavior from others. The fourth and final step evaluates the results to find how to imple ment more procedure-based structure within Tony’s environment and utilize his best behaviors. This analysis also needs to be implemented by Tony onto his employees so they see that he appreciates their well being and can develop trust with him on other issues. Hertzberg’s Motivation Theory says if there is job dissatisfaction, the hygiene factors must be addressed before motivating employees. Tony’s team holds many hygiene factors in their workforce situation, including inappropriate subordinate work and personal relationships initiated by Tony, personal life issues addressed at work with Britni and Bill, poor supervisor relations among everyone, laissez-faire work conditions, and a lack of organization policy. Once they work through the hygiene factors, Tony can then motivate his team by setting goals for achievement, recognizing their achievements and efforts, giving them responsibilities, and chances for growth to contribute to their job satisfaction. The better the team is satisfied, the better job they can all provide. Tony created tension in his district when he hired his college buddies based on their personal relationship, and will have to overcome judgment and the tension by making his sale rep friends work hard to e arn their keep. In order to do so, Tony needs a standardized set of job dimensions and outcomes to give them, as outlined in the Job Characteristics Model. This concept gives core job  dimensions that can include skill variety, task identity, and significance to specify the sales reps various duties ranked by importance, levels of autonomy to make informed and unforced decisions on their own, and proper feedback in the form of evaluations from other subordinates or myself, instead of Tony because of their personal relationship. These dimensions lead to critical psychological states that provide experienced meaningfulness of the sales reps work, responsibility for their own works outcomes, and knowledge of their actual results. The process finally leads to personal and work outcomes that result in high internal work motivation that produces quality work performance and satisfaction, and proves their worth of working with the other subordinates while holding respect for Tony despite his initial favo ritism. Melanie complains that nobody, especially Tony, listens to her concerns, and is frustrated with the competitive and inefficient environment. While she may just be a complainer, Tony can quickly implement One Minute Praising to praise Melanie immediately when she should be appreciated, be specific about her finding an inefficiency in the training programs, share feelings of how her ideas could impact the team, and encourage her to find ways to make training programs more productive. This could help Melanie to not feel so ignored, especially if she is praised for something that is obviously a concern for her. When she begins to be more positive, her negativity will change in front of other employees and they wont ignore her as much. Tony can easily use this on all employees and voice his support for positivity to encourage the concepts use amongst the subordinates. If Melanie continues her complaining and negativity, Tony can use the One Minute Reprimanding to reprimand the complaining immediately, be specific about what she has said, share feelings of how the complaining affects the team, and remind her how good of a person she still is. The concept assists Melanie to realize how her complaining affects her coworkers, and will end the behavior. Tony needs to fix his working relationship with Big Ron quickly in order to address the possible ecoli breakout issue that Big Ron had on the health inspector visit. Not only is the health risk an ethical issue concerning consumers, Big Ron’s action plan to blackmail the inspector is an alarming  example of a lack of internal procedures. To address both of these issues and to prepare for future situations, Tony needs a Contingency Plan to manage risk that could have catastrophic consequences. Contingency Strategies are a result of the contingency plan and are devised for a specific situation where things could go wrong, although they cannot predict future outcomes. Tony’s strategies need to include procedures for situations that can happen within the management office, at the warehouses, and other facilities and need to include the managers at each location for input of specific internal details. These strategies prepare the organization or the person for anything that could happen in future and are back up plans that support the organization when the actual plan fails. For positive reinforcement for the behavior to increase, Tony must apply the strategy AND reward for something desirable or pleasant. The reward need to be individual-based in order to encourage employees to act ethically and receive personal recognition for their actions. Tony’s intricate involvement in Britni’s personal dating life and his friends looking for a good time is an example of negative reinforcement within the workplace. This involvement and his personal relationship with human resource manager, Margaret, are behaviors that need to be eliminated. I need to use the Coaching and Reinforcement Concept to tell Tony what to do to cease his involvement, show him how to change through role-play practice, then let him try to implement within the situations. I’ll observe his performance, and either praise his progress or redirect if it fails. A weakness in Tony’s relationship with his subordinates is a major issue in the balance of work performance. If the subordinates do not respond to Tony and he makes no initiative to manage his people, the district is at risk of failing and ruining sales figures. To create a trusting and open work environment, the PRICE System from Putting the One Minute Manager to Work says to pinpoint the performance area of interest, such as the subordinate/management relationship, then record and measure the current performance level on a graph. We must involve everyone to agree on  performance goals and strategies for coaching and evaluation, with extravert personalities on the team in charge of coaching, observing performance, and reporting to Tony to manage consequences. Tony and the team must then evaluate, track performance progress, and determine future strategies. The results of successful implementation of this system will strengthen the relationships between Tony and his subordin ates and eliminate the â€Å"fear† that is prevalent throughout the organization. Human resource specialist, Mary Ann, is enthusiastic about work-family balance and schedules of reinforcement concepts, but Daniella tuned her out during a recent visit. If employees and reporting superiors dismiss constructive ideas, the company may miss out on great progress opportunities and the employees who value change. The Reinforcement Appropriate Behaviors concept encourages hard working employees; if workers receive immediate reinforcement for their hard work, they will work harder than if their reinforcement is delayed. Frequent reinforcement of positive behavior and infrequent reinforcement of negative behavior results in higher performance. Workers will work harder if their reinforcements for work are somewhat random in either a variable interval or ratio. Mary Ann’s interest in Performance Model theories can be rewarded in the future based on this concept through praise and the responsibility to help host internal training sessions if we specifically provide her the proper way to relate them to her workforce. Her success could lead to creating reward programs and working with Tony to think of reward opportunities. Kerr’s Common Management Reward Follies says we hope for long-term growth, teamwork, challenging objectives, restructuring, and commitment to total quality, but we often reward quarterly earnings, individual effort, making the numbers, adding staff, and less than quality. Relatedly, Tony is reluctant to take charge of the sales team, but from afar demands higher levels of productivity. Tony is seeking simple quantifiable standards to measure but some aspects are highly visible and most aren’t, so a lacking view of performance factors and results doesn’t help break out of old ways of thinking. Since current rewards systems hardly exist, Tony must explore what types of behavior are currently being rewarded to positively reinforce  desired behavior. Equity Model The disturbing story of a possible kickback program involving sales manager, Jeff Daniels, and his stress related behavior is symptoms of the Equity Theory and Justice: The Concept of Fairness says Jeff must believe his is being treated fairly or his motivation will wane. Employees must evaluate their inputs in relation to their outcomes as compared to the inputs and outcomes of others to determine fairness, and inputs of employees on the job include enthusiasm, knowledge, innovation, and skills, while outputs include salary, satisfaction, recognition, and training opportunities. If the outputs of Jeff’s efforts are not equal to his inputs, he will find a way to make that mental equation balanced. If balancing to him means receiving under-the-table funds and lashing out on others as a consequence of a work-stress overload, then his promotion to International Protocol Specialist will only reward his unethical behavior and actions. Although the action of Mary Ann and Nelson arriving late to meeting with Danielle seems minor, this action sends the message that other business etiquettes are not important and will not represent the company at its best. The Reinforcement and Rewards concept says part of Tony’s job is to direct the behaviors of employees by providing appropriate rewards to reinforce the desired behaviors that lead to organizational effectiveness and success. Reinforcement stimuli Tony could incorporate for not only tardiness, but other common courtesies, include attendance awards and office-wide recognition, employee of the month awards with reasons attached to the award, and spontaneous cash awards for sighted acts of kindness. Effort-Reward Probability Although the ultimate Performance goals are nowhere near to be reached, there are good opportunities to reward good effort. The Effort-Reward Probability concept produces effort and follows Vroom in that abilities and traits can also multiply to determine performance. Examples have been provided with other models, but Steve Stricker aka â€Å"Mr. Insensitivity† deserves credit for his enthusiasm and attempt to correct a bad situation in the most efficient way possible. While his handling of the situation was not  the most desired, he still holds my respect enough to want him to supervise Tony’s district. The more good efforts we can multiply with good rewards, the better the performance the organization will gain. Satisfaction and V = Valence The majority of Tony’s workforce chooses to remain silent about most incidents that happen at work because the consequences of speaking up are higher. The Valence outcome of the Expectancy Theory model needs to be changed the most for this team as their value of rewards based on their needs and goals are low. The current valence level that I provide Tony, and Tony provides his subordinates can be rated a â€Å"0† as indifferent to the outcome of rewards, which is very much my fault for not encouraging a reward system to my own subordinate and setting the right example. I can start from my own practices to implement a rewards system specifically for Tony, and various programs for him to relay down to his team. COMMUNICATIONS Tony needs to improve his communication with subordinates in order to convey and receive information, gain acceptance for his ideas, maintain relationships with coworkers, establish trust, keep people involved in a project, to produce action or change. The change should include the climate of the workplace, as it is defensive, in the sense of the amount of control and superiority that is exerted from Tony’s competitive nature. In order to create a supportive climate, while allowing a friendlier competitive environment, Tony needs to encourage equality among the team and to practice empathy. He will also appear more reasonable if he learns to admit when he doesn’t know an answer, admits when he is wrong, and asks for help. When Tony ignores his employee’s requests for help and suggestions, his unrelated and tangential responses levels of listening serve as punishment to his employees for speaking. To display listening in the workplace, Tony must stop talking, show he wants to listen, empathize, go easy with arguments and criticisms, and again stop talking. He will encourage future interactions when he develops their trust. To practice the three elements of trust, Tony needs to show an inclination towards charity through  benevolence, practice integrity through a consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty of one’s actions and the ability to lead his team. To develop trust, he must demonstrate concern for others well-being and needs, be willing to see other peoples point of view, correspond between his words and deeds, and not be afraid to show emotion. When Tony received negative feedback from the recent training program, he most likely felt embarrassed and defensive. Tony needs effective feedback, he will not listen to the training program if we assume he should know what to do, evaluative, late, negative only, and punishing in the face of others at the program. In order for him to learn, it needs to be descriptive, specific, timely, and positive with the negative, and he needs to listen, check, clarify, and ask the feedback of others. There will be situations in the future similar to the miscommunication with Big Ron that will frustrate Tony, but he needs to make himself clear even if he is upset by managing from the HEART to convey his message to others: to be heard and understood, if disagreed with to not be made wrong, to be acknowledged for good, to look for right intentions, and to be told the truth with compassion. If he can correctly convey this message throughout a disagreement, relationships will be saved and solutions can be found. Tony should also remember to listen; two ears, one tongue, DM’s who don’t listen have less information for making sound decisions. Gibbs describes communication as a people process. The more supportive a climate is, the less defensive a person has read into distortion and can respond productively. A supportive climates in Tony’s relation with Big Ron can include descriptions of updates at the facility, problem orientation to seek mutual solutions to get products out early, with no hidden agenda from fear of reprimand, empathy for each other’s position, equality in interaction, and provisionalism of always seeking new information outside of personal knowledge. LEADERSHIP Traits Approach My perceptual distortion of Tony’s capabilities can be further discussed through Leadership Traits, which can describe Tony’s drive, personalized leadership motivation to be in charge, honesty and integrity, self-confidence, cognitive ability, and knowledge of the business. These are great leadership traits to have, but he needs to apply them in order to be an effective manager. The fatal flaws of leaders who derail, which also apply to Tony’s traits, include insensitivity of others, aloof and arrogant, overly ambitious and managing, and inability to adapt to situations. Fortunately Tony’s fatal flaws can be improved with the Emotional Intelligence at Work concept, which highlights Tony finding self-awareness through assessing his current position, self-regulation to determine whether he seems trustworthy, holds integrity, and is openness to change). Tony does hold motivation for a strong drive to achieve, but can improve on optimism organizational commitment in management. Empathy is his biggest weakness and can improve on expertise in building and retaining talent and being sensitive to others, and his efforts to build social skills in his effectiveness in leading change, persuasiveness, and expertise in building and leading teams will ultimately change his workforce to trust his judgment and commit to the organization. Another trait-based approach for improving skills is the Three-Skill Approach, which suggests Tony’s effective administration to depend on three basic personal skills: technical knowledge about work and specialization, human ability to work with people, and conceptual ability to work with ideas and concepts. Tony’s knowledge of the company is very strong as he was a top sales rep and can work with set concepts that use step-by-step approaches. When Tony improves his ability to work with ideas and people, he will increase the effectiveness of his leadership. Power Approach Tony has an element of fear within his relationship with subordinates, and Big Ron was treated so meanly because of a miscommunication. The Power Approach explains good sources of power are legitimate and reward, but bad sources of power that Tony is guilty of include coercive and charismatic. According to Yukl and Taber, Tony identifies as an authority power and  effective leaders are expert and referent. Subordinates will comply with his orders, but do not accept his goals, although he is in position to get possible commitment, and just as easily to get possible resistance. Tony can enhance his authority power by making polite requests, not demands, requests made in clear and simple language, checking to make sure subordinate understand and giving reason for the request if necessary, and following up to verify they have complied. Overall to appear more personable and less powerful, Tony needs compassion. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care, top power tools that Tony’s subordinates will respond to are patience, gentleness, teachableness, acceptance, kindness, openness, consistency, and integrity, which all are in line with compassion. Situational Leadership Model Situational Leadership says it’s not so much what you are, as what you do. I find many things to change of Tony’s relations with his subordinates, when my own leading of his development is lacking, and my leadership style should combine directive and supportive behaviors. I can institute directive behavior by clearly telling Tony what, how, where, and when to do something, then closely supervising their performance. I can increase supportive behavior by engaging in two-way communication on a more frequent basis, listening to his concerns, providing support and encouragement, facilitating the interaction, and involving him strongly in decision-making. I need to give Tony more Directing as a manager and leader, even through he only needed Delegating as a salesman. Tony, in turn, needs to apply the same concept of Directing to many of his new salesman and Coaching for the rest of the employees. Understanding the effectiveness of situational leadership and communicating thi s understanding with Tony will enhance our relationships at all levels, and reduce the perception of Tony lacking training duties. Effective leaders are those who can recognize what employees need and then adapt their own style to meet those needs. Path Goal Theory Tony is lacking in leadership behaviors according to the Path Goal Theory in  helping subordinates to shape their tasks. The idea is to define goals, clarify path, remove obstacles, and provide support, and Tony is achievement oriented based on the leadership behaviors as he challenges subordinates to perform work at the highest level possible, a high standard of excellence. To help subordinates meet Tony’s standards, he needs to provide guidance of how to obtain excellence. Leaders Member Exchange Theory Tony should form an individualized working relationship with each of his subordinates, and the exchanges in content and process should be dyadic with unique characteristics. High quality leader-member exchanges produced less employee turnover, and exchanges can be in-group or out-group. Tony has created a tight in-group from hiring his college friends as salesmen, but still doesn’t hold the qualities of a true in-group that has mutual trust, respect, liking, and reciprocal influence. Out-groups are based on job a description, which is the relationship Tony holds with his team, and even I hold with him as a superior. Tony is in Phase 1 Stranger, the phase in leadership making that is directed toward self-interest rather than toward the good of the group; roles with the team are scripted, influences are one way from Tony to subordinates, exchanges are low quality, and interests are for self. Transformational Leadership and The Leadership Challenge Tony’s aggressive leadership style is unwanted by many of his subordinates, the Leadership Challenge can help him implement carry out significant changes, which include to challenge the process, inspire a shared vision and enlisting others, enable others to act to foster collaboration and strengthen others, model the way and set the example and encourage the heart by recognizing individual contribution and celebrate accomplishments. Tony is currently a Laissez-Faire Leadership style, hands-off, let-things-ride approach that gives little effort to help followers satisfy their needs. Out of the four I’s he is most lacking â€Å"individualized consideration† to provide a supportive climate, listen carefully, and act as coaches. If Tony adopts any of the transactional leadership factors to perform a better job, the Contingent Reward to obtain agreements from followers on what must be done and what the payoffs will be. Servant Leadership One of the biggest struggles Tony will have is in following Servant Leadership by putting followers first, supporting personal development, honesty, treating fairly, share power, and enabling others. The antecedent conditions are strong as the culture, leader attributes, and follower receptivity to wanting a leader. The core of the process is weakest in conceptualizing the organization, emotional healing in sensitivity to others, putting followers first, helping followers grow, behaving ethically, empowering, and creating community value. The outcomes cannot happen until the core of the process is successful, but include follower growth and performance, organizational performance, and societal impact. Tony can improve with training in empathy, compassion, and listening. Once his team sees his efforts to be a better person, they will respect his position better. CONFLICT Conflict will always be part of an organization, whether to be avoided as described by the traditional view or necessary for a group to perform effectively as described by the interactionist view. Because Tony and I will be making many changes to the organization and our personalities differ so much, we should practice integrative bargaining through goals by expanding the pie so both parties are satisfied, motivation with win-win solutions, focus by showing interest, interests being congruent, information sharing being high, and the duration of the relationship being long term. Tony has been a Shark in terms of conflict: he is forceful towards his subordinates to achieve his goals at all costs, and overpowers others to win conflicts. He needs to become more of a Fox, and be more concerned with goals and the relationship, willing to give up something for the common good, and resolve conflict by finding middle ground. To use the Problem Solving Approach to Conflict Resolution between Tony and I’s interactions, we must identify the problem, set a goal or objective, generate and evaluate solutions, and create an action plan. Because Tony most likely does not want to deal with the personal relationship issues within the organization, especially since he is directly  involved, the Hill’s Model for Team Leadership is an easy tool to aid leadership problem solving and to clarify its complex nature. My leadership decision is to take action for the task needs of the group and intervene for the internal task force. My next action will managing the conflicts of interest, external alliances of corporate human resources, and to receive the desired outcome of team satisfactory for future development. PERCEPTION In my expectations from hiring I did not take into account the function of Tony’s personality and the management environment he would work in, especially since his MBTI traits are ISTJ and I am ENFP. The Halo Effect is in full swing on my part as I held a cognitive bias in the judgment of Tony’s character, which influenced my overall impression of him. Tony’s perception is also flawed in using projection as a defensive mechanism to place his own actions on other people, such as the late shipment of product onto Big Ron, and the failing sales numbers onto his salesmen. He has used projection to improve his own self-image and have a reason for failures. When Tony teases Chris, he sends a very strong message to his subordinates, as it is in verbal form, a face-to-face channel, toward immediate subordinates, it’s a high channel richness that is allowing multiple cues from Tony’s words, and tone of voice which strengthens the message of his unintended te asing. When Melanie complains about the long training classes, she is dealing with Primacy Effects, as the listener is more likely to start off paying attention then drift off when the subject gets boring or the listener is internally processing data. Our company does not want ineffective training sessions, therefore if we want information to stand out in a person’s mind we must use it at the beginning of a conversation or a written list and not let it get lost in the middle. Repeating messages consecutively several times through messages after the training sessions will embed it in their minds. When Tony ignores Melanie’s complaints, he believes in Theory Y but leaves her be. He lacks empathy for this situation, a perceptual error that can be reduced with conscious empathizing for her feelings. When Tony is given backhanded compliments for helping Britni get dates, she has received an area of self-consciousness of her ability to date. To reduce perceptual errors in this situation, self-acceptance involves self-understanding, a realistic, albeit subjective, awareness of her strengths and weaknesses, she can then feel about herself that she is of â€Å"unique worth†. When Tony misunderstood Big Ron, he became defensive from constructive criticism, and sometimes when actions or motives for the action are questioned, it is best to just explain. Interpersonal attributions happen when the causes of the events involve two or more individuals, and it is likely that one will always want to present oneself in the most positive light in interpersonal attributions, which is what Tony did. Tony creates perceptual defense in being angry instead of remaining neutral. Tony should communicate his needs and practice better listening skills so the miscommunication doesn’t happen again. TEAM PERFORMANCE: Meeting in Orlando Before the team meeting, I want to spend quality time with Tony and let him know what my concerns are and the pros and cons to the issues. I want to hear his side and be able to work together on some misconceptions since we are in direct rank and contact with each other. I need to keep him on my team if he is going to follow any changes I want to make. At the team meeting I plan to merely observe the group in their natural state, then as I am included, congratulate the team on aspects of the meeting that went well and motivate them based on those positives. Topics of improving performance, ethics, and setting goals, and making plans for future collaboration. Nothing can be completely fixed within this one meeting, but is a start for positive change. The golf game is where I will begin to gather more details of the group’s dysfunctions and look for contradictions in what Tony and other members have relayed to me. The biggest aspect of team functioning I want to discuss with the golfing group a and improve are relational of the ethical concerns and team dynamics. Any process I decide will involve teams of people, so I will be able to rally subordinates to work with Tony and I through this  rapport-building game. Already, I see the reasons for team failures to occur from degrading employees, inequities in reward system, an aggressive leadership style, a weak team leadership, and a fear of the leader. I expect particular behaviors from the Role Nomination Form to be lacking which include task-oriented behavior like initiating activity, seeking/giving information and opinions, elaborating, testing workability, and group-oriented behavior such as encouraging, expressing group feelings, harmonizing, gate-keeping, and setting standards, and what may occur from these lacking behaviors which include anti-group behavior such as resistance, recognition seekers, dominators, and avoiders. Janis says groupthink happens when members of decision-making groups become motivated to avoid being too harsh in their judgments of the leaders or their colleagues ideas. Some Groupthink symptoms are present in this situation, including members who have doubts or differing points of view seek to avoid deviating from what appears to be group consensus by keeping silent about misgivings and even minimizing to themselves the importance of their doubts, and there’s an illusion of unanimity- if someone doesn’t speak, it’s assumed they are in full accord. Tony could be leading his subordinates in groupthink by constantly voicing his beliefs and reprimanding anyone who opposes or wants to report higher than him. Victims avoid deviating, and keep silent about their misgivings and even minimize to themselves the importance of their doubts. To fix this issue, the leader should assign he role of critical evaluator to each member to air objections and doubt, adopt impartial stances in the beginning, monitoring group size by splitting up into smaller teams, then coming back together with results, and appointing a devil’s advocate to always look at the other side of things. Effective teams have adequate resources, effective leadership, climate of trust, a performance evaluation, and reward system that reflect team contributions. The team effectiveness model for this group needs leadership structure and a climate of trust, a composition of allocating roles and finding abilities of members, and a process that has specific goals and  common purposes. Overall, every model and concept discussed for this situation has a solution that can be used to address problems when I attend the monthly directors meeting with Tony. The most important aspect of all these concepts is being able to apply them within myself in my relationship with Tony, as he is my partner to making his district profitable. Open communication, trust, and mutual problem solving with his team should help me land the international assignment and leave Tony skilled and ready to continue great performance after I am gone.