Participative Management - A Study of John Lewis Partnership Case

Participative Management - A of John Lewis Partnership - Case Study Example Competitors find it difficult to replicate the competitive edge acquired by such a firm over a period of time. The objective of this report is to analyze HRM principles and theoretical observations applicable to John Lewis Partnership. The report will also examine whether and where the HRM policies adopted by the company fulfill or fall short in strengthening its efforts to achieve organizational goals and attempts at suggesting remedial measures. Human Resource Management-Participative Management: The central theme of human resource management is to enhance employee performance through employee commitment (Armstrong, 1987, Storey 1995 cited in McGunnigle 2000). The right human resource management system attracts and retains the right talent, develops workforce skills, resolves or avoids conflicts and motivates workforce into a culture of commitment to achieve organizational goals (Storey 1995 cited in McGunnigle 2000). Watson et al. suggest that a culture of commitment may be induced by the application of specific practices within HRM areas such as recruitment and selection, training and development, reward systems, employee participation, involvement and empowerment (Watson et al. 1996 cited in McGunnigle 2000). Kinnie et al. ... Involvement in decision making Performance appraisal with tight links to contingent pay (Holbeche 2001 p.13) Kinnie et al. sound a word of caution when they argue that the application of specific HR policies may not have a uniformly desirable effect on all employees working in an organization. They argue that the extant debate on the links between HR policy and organizational performance has been based on the distinction between the 'best practice' and 'best fit' perspectives, both of which assume that HR policies have the same effect on all employees working in an organization. The best practice view put forth by Pfeffer (1994, 1998 cited in Kinnie et al. 2005) identifies a set of policies associated with performance improvement applicable to all industries and by implication to all employees. On the other hand the best-fit strategy proposed by Schuler and Jackson (1987 cited in Kinnie et al. 2005) and Miles and Snow (1984 cited in Kinnie et al. 2005) suggests that HR policies consistent with business strategy maximize performance. (Kinnie et al. 2005). There have been a number of references to 'participative management' within the literature on human resource management, which however must not be confused with permissiveness. According to Frohman, it is a "practical approach to solving problems and achieving performance targets by utilizing people as resources." As against the human resource approach which "aims to generate compliance and employee morale" participative management is a "quest for improved performance and quality." (Frohman 1988) John Lewis Partnership (JLP): JLP is an employees' co-operative, wholly owned by its 64,000 employee-partners. This unique democratic management model imbues the company with a corporate

Famine, Affluence, and Morality Essay Example for Free

Famine, Affluence, and Morality Essay By drowning, I mean those who are suffering help people. A few of the counter-arguments that Singer addresses are: One, that he government will be less likely to take responsibility because private organizations are organizing relief funds. Giving privately allows the government to escape their responsibilities of supplying aid. Singer does not believe that this assumption is plausible. He states: I do not, of course, want to dispute the contention that governments of affluent nations should be giving many times the amount of genuine, no-strings-attached aid that they are giving now. I agree, too, that giving privately is not enough, and that we ought to be campaigning actively for entirely new standards or both public and private contributions to famine relief. Indeed, I would sympathize with someone who thought that campaigning was more important than giving one- self, although I doubt whether preaching what one does not practice would be very effective. Unfortunately, for many people the idea that its the governments responsibility is a reason for not giving which does not appear to entail any political action either. Two, until there is an effective population control, relieving famine will postpone starvation. If we relieve suffering that is happening in the now, the future may end p suffering instead. The best means of preventing famine is population control. However, there are organizations who work specifically with population control. Therefore, this counter-argument is not sufficient enough to allow us to stand in the background. The third counter-argument would be how much we should be giving away. Should we be giving away more that would cause suffering to ourselves? Earlier in Singers article, he suggests that if everybody in his situation could donate E5, then nobody would be obligated to give more. He does not suggest that we give until we each the level marginal utility- the level at which by giving more, would cause as much suffering to ourselves or our dependents. Singers concept of marginal utility relates to his argument by explaining and understanding that there are some people who cannot afford to support relief funds. He simply states if everyone in circumstances like mine. This means that not everybody will be in the same circumstance to provide funds for relief. Duty and charity, according to Singer, should be redrawn or abolished. Doing good by giving money away is not considered charitable by Singer, but it is doing ood. We should refrain from buying clothes for fashion if we have old clothes that are suitable to keep us warm and give the money away instead. He says, We would not be sacrificing anything significant if we were to continue to wear our old clothes, and give the money to famine relief. By doing so, we would be preventing another person from starving. I t follows from what I have said earlier that we ought to give money away, rather than spend it on clothes which we do not need to keep us warm. This act is not considered charitable to Singer either. Our society, however, sees hese act as charitable because it is a voluntary donation. Personally, I do not completely disagree with Singers views but, I do not completely agree with them either. Jan Narveson (2004) wrote in her article Is World Poverty a Moral Problem for the Wealthy? That she does not think we owe the poor anything special. People may benefit for charities, but we should not be looked at as not the responsibility of another countrys government to take care of a poor country. It is the same as I do not think the wealthy should have to pay more taxes than the poor. We all start from somewhere and some millionaires and billionaires had to start from the bottom as well. We all work hard for the salaries we earn. On the other hand, I think that charities are used for a good cause that benefit others rather than ourselves. Singer definitely had some points that if we all give a little, the world may be a better place. Narveson also wrote in another article Welfare and Wealth, Poverty and Justice in Todays World (2004), each of us could do vastly more than we do to the needy. That we do not is a serious moral failing. This is completely true and upports Singers views as well. However, her statement is far more accurate in what we could do, rather than what we should do. My view would fall under deontological ethics. Mosser (2010) states that deontological ethics focuses on the will of the person carrying out the act in question, his or her intention in carrying it out, and, particularly, the rule according to which the act is carried out. For me this means that there could be different outcomes for Singers argument and that every aspect should be looked at. It doesnt make his view right or wrong, but it doesnt make the iews that counter his right or wrong either. Peter Singers article Famine, Affluence, and Morality, was written to convince people that our decisions and actions can prevent other countries from suffering. He suggests that people should do what is morally right by contributing financially to aid those who are starving, rather than purchasing wants for those who can afford it. Singer argues his position, provides counter-arguments, and explains his concepts for aiding countries in need. My views are not against Singers position, but they are not for his position either. References Mosser, K. 2010).

Equality and Diversity Case Study: ABC Concordia Healthcare

Equality and Diversity Case Study: ABC Concordia Healthcare Managing Equality and Diversity Lonita M. Tejano In this case study of ABC Concordia Healthcare Ltd is dedicated toward eradicating discrimination based on color or race, gender, age groups, ethnicity or national origins, disability, religious or ethical belief, sexual orientation, employment status, political opinion and marital status. This reporting requirement of stakeholders to be treated equally and deprived of discrimination. Consequently, the obligation of every stakeholder anticipates that they should not practice discriminations and have the same opportunities to all employees regardless of. Stakeholders believe that ABC Concordia Healthcare Ltd will act in accordance with legislations and compelling explanations stages to make sure stakeholder and the employee to be treated justly and with no discrimination further down the relations of any regulation in strength from the period of connecting to discrimination in occupation and the establishment of properties, services or amenities. Since ABC Concordia Healthcare Ltd is faithful to remove discrimination in selection process in recruitment sector, individual career development, relations of and conditions of employment, taking up benefits corresponding to work life balance policies an embodiment having flexible working requests, planning for training opportunities not restricted to equality and diversity, any complaint and disciplinary procedures of the employees, processing of resignation, selection redundancies, and dismissals and working with other organisations. ABC Concordia Healthcare Ltd is applying the policy like being accountable who is working with ABC and to all associates, affiliates and board directors, thus complaints of discrimination will be inspected. ABC Concordia Healthcare Ltd will be observed and recorded equal opportunities or benefits data about workforce, associates, colleague, and board of directors on the basis of age group of individual, gender, group of ethnicity, and disability. ABC Concordia Healthcare Ltd is responsib le for equal opportunities, facts to the Human Rights Services Commission and evaluation of the action of this policy every six months in a year. On the contrary, external stakeholders should not be discriminated. Their detailed prerequisites like disability should be addressed. Every individual should be restricted of discrimination and be treated equally because of social justice ABC Concordia Healthcare Ltd deliver equal opportunities evidence to the Human Rights Services Commission as a mandatory in relation to workforces and customers further down the relations of the legislation. Many commenters on New Zealand society consider these events both historical and present day a good example of social justice in this country. In a recent study, Michael Belgrave, Merata Kawham and David Williams (2005) showed that in the history of New Zealand, Michael, Merata, and David also found that unexpectedly, The Treaty of Waitangi was only implicitly debated by ten contributors only 4% of th e example and was connected with five different arrangements of social justice like tolerance, equal right, equal treatment, equal distribution and legislative. In addition, discrimination an argumentative effect on individual and groups like for example special effects on health and economic. ABC Concordia Healthcare Ltd will periodically reevaluate the policy of the organization operator every six months for a year, but it depends if there is non-compliance or problem concerning equality and diversity issues with clients and personnel identification more than regularly. At that point remedial action should be taken under the policy or barriers to equal opportunities. In addition to that, the policy will review and considering the outcome of monitoring and review actions under communication and training plans. The universal statement of ABC Concordia Healthcare Ltd provides fair treatment within the personnel and new job applicants to prevent discrimination. For occupation comprise the variety of employment development, circumstances and relations of employment, admission to working out opportunities, and admission to relocation and promotion, disciplinary measures, dress code, reductions of employees, layings-off of staff, positions, bonus outlines, work allocation and a ny other employment related activities. ABC Concordia Healthcare Ltd promotion and career development will be centered specially on merit. Therefore, promote a positive approach to the employees in agreement toward pertinent anti-discrimination legislation and encourages the staff to work better and it depends on their job performance .According to National Guard Health Affairs, Saudi Arabia staff benefits and compensation working in the Hospital, annual merit increase (from 0 to 3% of the employee’s basic salary for non-Nurses and up to 4% for Staff Nurses) upon contract renewal, based on performance appraisal, subject to availability of budget and salary cap restriction. In addition to that ABC Concordia Healthcare Ltd treat all employees equally and create a working environment which is free from unlawful discrimination and which respects the diverse backgrounds and beliefs of employees. ABC Concordia Healthcare Ltd acceptable optimistic arrangements or an allowable except ion standards selection do not illegally discriminate on the grounds of sex orientation corresponding to married employees, pregnancy, maternity and paternity leaved. Maternity Benefit Act (1961) stated that, aims toward stereotype of employment of women personnel in assuring institutions for influencing episodes before and after child birth and bargains for maternity and certain other benefits. Terms and conditions of service for employees will meet the terms with anti-discrimination legislations. Therefore, every woman intends to be eligible to, and her employer shall be accountable for the payment of maternity benefit, which is the amount billed to the staff at the percentage of the usual daily salary for the retrial of her real absence. ABC Concordia Healthcare Ltd will improve through audit a good example is an individual survey of the employee, team meetings in order to gather information and ideas on how to improve the organization, to update the role and responsibilities of the employee, policy and procedure improvement, distribution of resources in the organization and programs. Therefore, I conclude that diversity is a broad terminology than equality or equal opportunities. Diversity procedures and policies comprise all individuals by identifying that all of us have diverse individualities which create us exceptional organization’s advantage from captivating these into explanation when subscription services or hiring people. In contrast to equal opportunity, diversity is not about treating individuals in the same way, but rather it is about identifying and reacting to different necessities, practices and objectives and performing consequently. Diversity is a courtesy to equality of opportunity while equal opportunities checking to implement and investigate to gather information about certain individual in order to check the procedures and policy does not have a contrary impact on a particular group of individuals or aggregates to unlawful discrimination. Gathered information in relations to gender, age group, disability, color or race, ethical belief s or religion and some circumstances sexual orientation. Unlawful discrimination which includes the harassment and victimisation, direct discrimination and indirect discrimination. Positive action inspires individual to include with access to services under-represented individuals. Positive discrimination, in which individual makes a resolution on a particular characteristic like for instance color or race, gender preferences and disability.

South African Power Groups Essay -- History, South Africas Revolution

Efforts to Address the Problem South Africa’s revolution was unique because it was neither an elite-imposed transition nor a classical revolution. Many analysts were surprised that a classical revolution hadn’t occurred sometime in the 1980s (Marx, 1997, 476-479). It is likely that there wasn’t a classical revolution because the military was still loyal to the dominant white group. Furthermore, whites controlled nearly all of the economic power, and as a result, blacks needed the white structure to stay in place to continue lest the economy crumble (p. 478). But, mounting pressure from citizens, a steadily weakening economy, and the international community caused the Afrikaners to reevaluate their position. An elite-imposed transition didn’t occur because the citizens of South Africa had mobilized to too great of an extent. The Afrikaners realized that a negotiated settlement was the only option if they didn’t want to face a thorough-going revolution (p. 478). This negotiation process wasn’t particularly effective though. It was initially assumed that such a tactic would result in peaceful negotiations similar to those of Brazil (p. 479-480). The ANC promised to end the guerrilla violence that was causing thousands of people to die each year once the negotiations started (p. 481-482). Unfortunately, the perception that violence could enhance negotiating positions quickly grew, and by 1992 South Africa had become, â€Å"one of the most violent countries in the world† (p. 483). This violence lead to a situation in which ‘winner take all’ amendments to the constitution were rejected as being too inflammatory (p. 483). Clearly, this slowed down the process of integration. There are simply some parts of Apartheid that needed to be elimin... ...stricts 87% of the population to just 13% of the land. Overcrowding and a lack of infrastructure remain problems (Mochaki, 1995). Nevertheless, this was one of the more successful programs of the post-apartheid era. It helped to include those groups that had traditionally been displaced by making them citizens of South Africa again. In addition, it gave millions of people voting rights allowed them to participate in a governing body for the first time in ages. If any change is going to be made, it must include, at the very least, input from the group it is trying to help. Not only did the abolition of homelands do that, but it allowed blacks and the other subjugated minorities access to governmental offices previously reserved for the white citizens of South Africa. Furthermore, abolishing homelands could become an important symbol for the anti-apartheid movement.

Stanley Milgram

Megan Randolph RC 250 Marcia Clay 11/3/09 A Summary of Stanley Milgram’s Obedience Study Stanley Milgram, a professor of social psychology, conducted a research study beginning in July of 1961. This research measured the willingness of participants to either obey or disobey an authority figuring giving them on a conflict between obedience to authority and personal conscience. Milgram set up this experiment at Yale University to test how much pain an ordinary citizen would inflict on another person just because an experimental scientist ordered him to.Virtually one thousand adults were observed in this experiment, and several different conditions were launched to find a limit to which the candidate would continue the order from the experimenter or refuse the order and end the experiment. This experiment consisted of a triangle, beginning with the experimenter, which was the authority, the executant, which was the participant, and the victim, which was the learner. Both learner and teacher were given a sample 45-volt electric shock from an apparatus attached to a chair into which the â€Å"actor-learner† was to be strapped.The fictitious story given to the â€Å"teachers† was that the experiment was intended to explore the effects of punishment for incorrect responses on learning behavior. The participants were first paid to participate in the experiment making it feel more real. A progression of unrevealed subjects in their roles as teacher were given simple memory tasks in the form of reading lists of two word pairs. The teacher then asked the â€Å"learner† to read them back and was instructed to administer a shock by pressing a button each time the learner made a mistake.It was understood that the electric shocks were to be of increased by 15 volts in intensity for each mistake the â€Å"learner† made during the experiment, while the actor/learner screamed and yelled louder every time. The participant believed that for every wrong answer, the learner was receiving actual shocks. In Fact, there was a pre-determined script that the teacher had no idea about. The idea that the subject thought these shocks were actually taking place, and they continued to follow the orders, is where the experiment became disturbing.This experiment, testing the willingness of normal people to carry out unethical acts, was life changing in how Milgram viewed the larger culture, for the worse. Milgram stated after completing the experiment, â€Å"†¦ the most fundamental lesson of our study: ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process. † â€Å"This is scary, this is the definition of our greater public, and it’s all shown through this Behavioral Study of Obedience,† states Milgram.Sixty five percent of participants made it to the final 450-volt shock in Mailgrams first study. Milgram tested the experi ment in four different ways of the immediacy of the victim. Beginning with the first condition, the victim was placed in another room and could not be seen or heard by the participant, only pounding on the wall when volts reached over 300. This condition was titled remote feedback, and was revealed to be easier for the participant to continue the experiment without remorse.The second condition is where the voice protests were commenced and the teacher could hear the victim’s complaints titled voice feedback. Although they could hear the learner, the victims were still easily put out of mind because they could not be seen. The third experimental condition, Milgram placed the victim in the same room as the participant, being both visible and audible, the proximity. When the victim was close it was more difficult to exclude him, making it more difficult for the participants to obey the experimenter.Lastly, the fourth condition was the touch proximity, where the victim received a shock only when his hand rested on the shock plate. When the victim would refused to place his hand on the plate, the experimenter would order the participant to come in physical contact with the victim and force his hand onto the plate. â€Å" The Mechanism of denial can no longer be brought into play† in the proximity conditions. It’s not as easy to harm a person when you can visually see the pain one is inflicting. Forty adult subjects were studies in each condition.The data revealed â€Å"that obedience was significantly reduced as the victim was rendered more immediate to the subject†. According to Stanley Milgram’s report Some Conditions of Obedience and Disobedience to Authority, there are many different factors they may affect the end result of a subjects obedience to a dominating figure. These factors include, the immediacy of the victim, closeness of authority, tensions, and background authority. The locality of each situation showed difference s in the responses of the participant and their willingness to obey or disobey the experimenter.

How Does An Ems Work Environmental Sciences Essay

An tremendous sum of development in industrial sectors all over universe typically consequences in a turning figure of environmental jobs in proportion with the development. An Environmental Management System ( EMS ) is a model, which is designed to assist organisations in the direction, betterment and control of environmental public presentation. EMS is portion of direction system of an administration, where a clearly set out construction of an administration, duties of staff, processs, be aftering activities, resource allotment for execution, development and accomplishment of marks of environmental policy committednesss needs specifying. EMS is designed to understate environmental impact, to utilize resources more efficaciously, to do concern productiveness long-run, to better repute of an administration, to follow with environmental ordinances and statute laws, to better its fiscal place by cut downing fees for insurance, regulative license fees, to better staff morale, stakeholde rs ‘ relationships etc. The environmental impact varies between administrations, but by and large it is emanations, waste, energy use, ingestion and conveyance of stuffs. Impacts on wildlife and nature is a consequence of increasing clime alteration factors all over the universe, which is lead by contaminated land, air and H2O. In the 1970s and 1980s many administrations established their ain set of ordinances as a response of questions in environmental statute law. In the 1990s the International Organisation for Standardisation ( ISO ) introduced international criterions ISO14000 as portion of organisations ‘ direction systems. In 1992 the British Standard Institute published BS7750, which was the first national criterion for an environmental direction system. The intentional criterions help an administration or industry of any size to accomplish betterment of environmental public presentation by puting a specific environmental direction system. The work of an administration harmonizing to the criterions makes clear marks and aims of environmental policy, and identifies activities that significantly impact the environment. Cardinal elements of an EMS The Model of an EMS consists of four phases: Planning, Doing, Checking and Acting. Planning is the procedure of environmental injury designation by an administration, rating of environmental impact and the constitution of appropriate aims. It is necessary for an administration to reexamine its present stock list of environmental activities and place environmental facets, applicable environmental ordinances and instructions. Harmonizing to ISO14001, the environmental facet is an â€Å" component of an administration ‘s activities, merchandises or services, which can interact with the environment † ( ISO 2004 ) . Designation of environmental facets starts with the survey of activities, merchandises and services of an administration, which affects environment or which leads to environmental impact. All important facets should be considered to set up environmental aims for environmental policy and determine operational control and action in the manner to better environmental public presentation. Significant environmental facets should be stated in policy t o set up environmental aims and marks. Identification and direction of environmental facets leads to important environmental betterment. Environmental Policy is a statement, which is to declare liability to the execution and direction of EMS. Identified and assessed important impacts of an administration are the chief elements of an environmental policy, which is of import for set uping environmental marks and aims. It can be really utile to affect employees in this procedure, for illustration: to carry on brainstorming Sessionss, because there can be chances that can easy cut down the environmental impact. Aims and marks should be specific, accomplishable and mensurable. During and after execution of an EMS, alteration and rectification of the marks and aims should be portion of the monitoring and supervising procedure. Environmental policies should be apprehensible by every employee and employer of an administration to accomplish the marks and aims of the administration. Doing is the execution procedure of the plan to understate environmental impact and hazard of an administration. Harmonizing to ISO14001, the disposal of an administration should name a particular, trained direction representative to guarantee execution of the EMS. The EMS representative is responsible for monitoring, measuring, coverage of EMS public presentation to head direction and control activities that have important environmental impact. The EMS representative should besides collaborate with others to modify EMS as needed. All staff, whose activities can do important environmental impact should be trained on important environmental issues. Relevant staff should be trained on environmental policy, exigency, accomplishment of environmental marks, specific EMS functions and duties, the environmental impact of their occupation activities and effects in instance of relevant staff non following their relevant EMS duties. All processs and instructions to command important environmen tal impact and to place possible accidents, which could hold an impact on the environment must be clarified and documented. Activities of every employee have an impact on the environment and every employee should hold good thoughts associating to their experience about the betterment of environmental public presentation. That ‘s why it ‘s really of import to develop communicating in an administration by regular staff and safety meetings, suggestion boxes, newssheets etc. Effective communicating may assist an administration ‘s EMS execution to actuate people, better apprehension of environmental policies, functions and duties, importance of environmental public presentation betterment and placing possible for betterment. The cardinal function of disposal is to supply resources to employees, which are necessary for an EMS plan execution. Some people, such as clients, registrars, and authorities administrations can be interested to cognize the EMS design and execution of the administration. For these grounds, every administration should hold an EMS manual or EMS description papers. Documentation is one of the of import factors of effectual EMS direction. EMS paperss should be revised on a regular basis by responsible forces, who will do alterations as and when required. Certain operations and activities should be monitored and controlled to pull off important environmental impact and to guarantee that the processs implements to accomplish marks and aims. Operational control processs should be documented, particularly those where breach could take to important environmental impact. The possibility of accidents and incidents ever exist, even in malice of the best execution of an EMS theoretical account. Decrease of hurts, bar of environmental impact, protection of employees and understating losingss can be done by effectual preparation and readying to exigency state of affairss. The readying for exigency state of affairss can be provided by: capacity appraisal for incidents and accidents ; preventive steps on these accidents and incidents, related to environmental impact ; doing programs and processs to react to exigency state of affairss ; regular control and monitoring of the programs and processs and understating environmental impact related to these accidents and incidents. All EMS executions, processs and instructions should be continuously revised and updated. Checking is the assessment procedure, which assesses the effectivity of the plan and evaluates how execution of the plan meets plan aims. The assessment procedure is based on monitoring and measuring of environmental public presentation betterment of an administration. Internal audits are measuring whether the EMS of an administration meets the demands of ISO14001. Internal environmental hearers should be trained on appropriate issues. The effectivity of an EMS mostly depends on monitoring facets, which deals with disagreements of criterions. Monitoring and measurings helps an administration to measure environmental public presentation, conformity by the legal demands, place jobs, analyze root causes of jobs, happening ways to rectify jobs and bettering public presentation and effectivity. Identification and probe of jobs and their causes allows an administration to do disciplinary and preventive steps for the hereafter. Prevention of jobs is by and large far more cost-efficient than repairing them after the fact. Evidence of a on the job EMS is records. Record direction seems a bureaucratic procedure, but on occasion administrations need to supply EMS execution grounds to the 3rd parties ( e.g. clients, some authorities administrations and the populace ) . Administration of an administration decides what records should be kept, how and how long to maintain them. It ‘s really of import to stress needed EMS records to show execution of environmental public presentation betterment. Regular audits can be peculiarly valuable by supplying nonsubjective grounds that an EMS is implemented harmonizing to the demands. Regular audits critically evaluate the effectivity of EMS execution, consistently place and describe to disposal of administration on a deficiency of EMS execution. It provides a great chance to better activities on EMS execution, better environmental public presentation and do the system more cost-efficient. Acting is based on the appraisal procedure to take action for continual betterment of an EMS, which is performed by caput direction. The policy of EMS, objectives, marks and action programs must be reviewed annually by members of the Environmental Management Committee. Results of the EMS execution reappraisal should be reported to head direction, demonstrate to staff and happen out marks, aims, related actions and other elements of EMS that need to be changed. Management reappraisal is an of import cardinal component of an EMS for continual betterment, which besides provides a great chance for EMS execution to be effectual and low-cost. The procedure of a direction reappraisal should affect competent people, who have appropriate cognition and experience and who are decision-makers of the administration. All direction reappraisal meetings should be recorded and supply inside informations on what issues were discussed and what determinations and actions are selected for implementing.

The films Kes and Billy Elliott Essay Example

The films Kes and Billy Elliott Essay Example The films Kes and Billy Elliott Paper The films Kes and Billy Elliott Paper Billy Casper is a misfit. He does things differently to everyone else, he is smaller than most of his classmates and he has an unusual passion. The director of the film not only uses acting to show how Billys loneliness, but also wide panoramic shots and other camera work. In many scenes, we see Billy, a small, desolate figure in a mass of green. Often, these shots have the mine in the background. The juxtaposition of the mine against the beautiful countryside further conveys the mood. The industry is eating away at the fields, and in the same way the lifestyle of the miners and the expectation of Billy becoming a miner is eating away at him. Another juxtaposition that the director uses is when Jud is going down into the mine. He puts children singing a hymn as the music, and then fades up to the assembly scene. This is good use of editing techniques because he gets the feeling of being sucked down into the mine. As one Jud goes down, he feels all his happiness go out of him, and the fade up to the children illustrates the sucking motion of the mine comparable to a black hole. There are also scenes in the film when Billy is in the woods. In these scenes, he walks slowly and the music is calm and soothing a flute playing over strings. When Billy is in the woods he is at ease. In comparison to this, when Billy is on the estate or at school, there are loud background noises and we often see Billy running. In the woods there is no one telling him what to do, no one to pick on him or bully him, whereas on the estate he is often doing some sort of job or errand for someone. Another reason that Billy doesnt want to become a miner is that he wants to escape from his world. He is picked on at home and at school, constantly being told that he is stupid and no good. Kes is the only thing that he has a great passion for, and she symbolises everything that Billy wants: freedom. Freedom to go where he chooses and to do what he likes. We see shots of Kes flying above Billy, and in the background we can see Barnsley. Kes is flying way above the mine and she doesnt have a care in the world. Billy says Its wild and its free and its not bothered about anybody, which is the attitude that Billy adopts to some extent. Billy understands the hawk, but the hawk is not just a bird to Billy, it is the culmination of all his hopes. Billy shows no desire to be outstanding at anything, he only says that he wont be a miner. The hawk flies above the mine. The mine is deep in the ground, and Billy wants to get as far away from it as possible. When the hawk is dead, Billy has to bury it. This represents the crushing of Billys hope not to become a miner. He has to submit to society, and go to work down the pit. In Billy Elliott there is no pressure on Billy to decide what he wants to do in the future. At home, Jacky and Tony are on strike because the government has decided that it is uneconomical to keep the mines open because it is cheaper to import coal. Billy presumes that he will become a miner, and has no objections to it. The only time he discusses mining is when he asks Michael if he thinks it would be better to be a miner or a ballet dancer. Jacky and Tony being on strike means that there is little money coming into the house. They have been on strike for about a year, making no headway. However, they remain on strike because they have not been trained for anything else. Many of the older miners will never work again. The time is about nineteen eighty-five. The largest police force ever has been assembled to deal with the strikers, and make sure things dont get out of hand, which, of course, they do. Some miners crossed the picket line and were known as scabs. Scabs were hated by the striking miners because they have broken the first rule of the union never cross a picket line. The striking miners struggled to keep themselves warm and fed: the most extreme example of this is when Jacky has to smash up his wifes piano for firewood. This is a very hard thing for him to do because it was one of his wifes favourite things. When Jacky hears about Billys dancing, he tries to go back to work. This is the ultimate sacrifice that Jacky could have made for Billy, and he cannot handle it. He breaks down in the coach park and Tony, who didnt know Jacky was going back, has to come and take him home. Because of the closure of the mines, it was unlikely that Billy was ever going to become a miner, so he doesnt have the anticipation of leaving school and going straight down the pit, like Billy Casper does. His world is changing, it is effectively the end of an era the demise of the working class. A forced change is coming about Billy manages to escape the misery of the miners through his dancing. Everything that Jacky and Tony have ever known is changing, and Jacky allows Billy to be different. At first he finds it hard to do this, but after seeing him dance, he says to Tony He could be a genius for all that we know. When he is asked by the man in the audition room if he supports Billy, he says Yes, of course, and there isnt the slightest bit of doubt in his voice. Because Billy is accepted by his family, he finds it easier to accept things in the world around him. For example, when he finds out that his friend Michael is homosexual, he doesnt tease him or stop talking to him, but accepts him for who he is. He makes jokes about it with Michael, but is never harsh or cruel. The director of Billy Elliott uses the mine less as a visual aid than the director of Kes. He does however use a similar technique to the assembly, when Billy is at a ballet class. He cuts this with scenes of the miners striking and then back to the lesson, with the mingled sounds of the miners shouting and the piano. This is meaningful because it shows that there is such a great difference so close together. We know that there is goi Mining is more a symbol of change in Billy Elliott than anything else. Billy is moving on to new things, and he will experience things that none of his family or the community have ever experienced. In the same way, the miners lives are about to be changed forever. When Billy is sitting by Jacky in the fields, he says that he is scared, and Jacky says Thats ok, son, were all scared. Everyone who is affected by the mining will have a change life. In contrast to this, Mrs Wilkinsons life wont change. For her Billy is leaving, which is sad, but her life will move on. She isnt going to lose her job, she has to keep going the same way as she always has. Mrs Wilkinson is a contrast to the feel good factor of the film. There are certain characters and moments in the film that stand out because they challenge the mood of the film, for example Jacky smashing his wifes piano, and I believe that the matter of mining is clearer in Kes than it is in Billy Elliott. I say this because in Billy Elliott, it is somehow unresolved. We know that the miners go back to work we see them going back, but what we dont know is what happened to them when the mines closed. All we see are Jacky and Tony going to see Billy in his production of Swan Lake. The central theme of the film is Billy, but I think that the film could possibly be even stronger if it showed more of a definite ending to the mines. However, having said this, the film explores wider, more challenging issues than Kes, for example the issue of homosexuality in Michael. It would have been hard to portray these issues when Kes was made in the 1960s, but I think that it makes Billy Elliott a more outstanding film.

KUHN Surname Meaning and Family History

KUHN Surname Meaning and Family History The Kuhn surname originated as a nickname or descriptive name for someone who was bold or keen; descendant of KUHN, a pet form of Kunrat, German form of Conrad, meaning bold, counsel. Surname Origin:  German Alternate Surname Spellings:  KUHNE, KUEHN, KUHNS, KIHN, COON, COONS, COEN, COONE, KUNZ, KUNTZ, KUHNE, KOHN, KUEHNE, KÃÅ"HN,  KÃÅ"HNE   Famous People with the KUHNSurname Thomas Kuhn - American historian and physicist; famous for  his 1962 book called The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.Friedrich Adalbert Maximilian Kuhn - German botanistOskar Kuhn - German paleontologistRichard Kuhn -  Austrian biochemist, winner of the 1938 Nobel Prize in ChemistryW. Langdon Kihn -  American painter and illustrator Where is the KUHN Surname Most Common? According to surname distribution from Forebears, the Kuhn  surname is most common in Germany, ranking as the countrys 56th most common surname. It is also fairly common in Switzerland, where it is the 74th most common last name.  WorldNames PublicProfiler  data indicates the Kuhn surname is especially common in southwestern German, particularly the state of Saarland. It is also common in Zurich, Ostschweiz and Nordwestschweiz, Switzerland, as well as in Alsace, France. Surname maps from Verwandt.de indicate the  Kuhn last name is most common in southwestern Germany, especially in the counties or cities of Munich, Neunkirchen, Stadtverband Saarbrucken, Ostalbkreis, Wurzburg, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Esslingen and Offenbach.   Genealogy Resources for the Surname KUHN Meanings of Common German SurnamesUncover the meaning of your German last name with this free guide to the meanings and origins of common German surnames. Kuhn  Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Kuhn  family crest or coat of arms for the Kuhn surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. Coon DNA Surname ProjectIndividuals with the Coon surname and variations such as Kuhn, Kuehne, Koone, Kohn, Koon, Kuhne, Kuhns, Coontz, and Kuntz, plus dozens of others, have joined together to combine genealogy research with Y-DNA testing to help determine common ancestry. KUHN  Family Genealogy ForumThis free message board is focused on descendants of Kuhn  ancestors around the world. Search or browse the archives for your Kuhn ancestors, or join the group and post your own Kuhn family query. FamilySearch - KUHN  GenealogyExplore over 2.8  million results from digitized  historical records and lineage-linked family trees related to the Kuhn surname on this free website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. KUHN  Surname Mailing ListFree mailing list for researchers of the Kuhn surname and its variations includes subscription details and a searchable archives of past messages. DistantCousin.com - KUHN  Genealogy Family HistoryExplore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Kuhn. GeneaNet - Kuhn  RecordsGeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Kuhn  surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries. The Kuhn  Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the Kuhn  surname from the website of Genealogy Today.- References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997. Back toGlossary of Surname Meanings Origins

A Sociological View of Rastafarianism

A Sociological View of Rastafarianism Essay Organized religion is a duality between the religion and the church which represents it. Sometimes the representation of the religion is marred and flawed to those who view it because of the bureaucracy contained within. Unknown to those who gaze upon the dissolved morals and values of what is perceived to be the contradiction known as modern religion, it was never intended to be this way. Most religions started off as a sect, a minor detail on the fringes of the society it never wanted to represent. Rastfarianism is such a sect. The differences between Rastafarianism and a normal mainstream religion are numberless, including: no set membership, no authoritative leader, no offices of authority, no trained clergy and no involvement with the world as a whole. Rastafarianism is based upon an underrepresented minority which needed hope in the face in utter demise. According to Max Weber, religion emerges to satisfy a social need. In treating suffering as a symptom of odiousness in the ey es of gods and as a sign of secret guilt, religion has psychologically met a very general need (Weber 271). Rastafarianism emerges in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica in the 1930s to meet the needs of the poor, unskilled black Jamaicans who needed a hope. The social situation which was emerging in the 1930s which called for this need was as follows. Jamaica was a commonwealth of the British Empire. It had recently, around 1884, received a write in clause to their constitution which stipulated if the new government did not succeed and the economic life of Jamaica were to suffer because of it, the political constitution would be amended or abolished to meet new conditions. Black Jamaicans had a taste for power in their mouths and in 1938, this erupted in labor riots and violence. This act did nothing for their cause. It would still be 30 years until Jamaica received its independence. Blacks in Jamaica were the victims of social stratification which left them at the bottom rung of the la dder. They had menial jobs such as field worker or an attendant at the sugar plant, if they had jobs at all. The blacks were suffering as a people and as an organized group. Ethopianism had been introduced to Jamaica in 1784 by George Liele, by adding it to the name of his Baptist church, hoping to graft itself onto the African religion of Jamaican slaves. But the movement to embody the Ethiopian ideology par excellence was the Back to Africa movement of Marcus Garvey (Barret 76). He saw African civilization as anterior to all others and used bible verses which were easily interpretable to portray Africans as the chosen people mentioned in the bible, as in Psalm 68: Princes shall come out if Egypt and Ethiopia shall stretch forth his hands onto God (Barret 78). Garveys persistence culminated in the crowning of Ras Tafari as Negus of Ethiopia. He took the name Haile Selassie and added King of Kings and the Lion in the Tribe of Judah, placing himself in the legendary line of King Solo man, and therefore, in the same line as Jesus Christ of Roman Catholicism. Out of this came Rastafarianism which took over Jamaica at a time when it was in a low tide economically and socially. Socially, people experienced the brunt of the Depression as well as disaster due to a devastating hurricane. Politically, colonialism gripped the country and the future of the masses looked hopeless. Any doctrine which that promised a better hope and a better day was ripe for hearing (Barret 84). Weber analyzed conditions such as these as a theodicy of suffering. One can explain suffering and injustice by refrying to individual sin committed in former life, to the guilt of ancestors . . . to the wickedness of all people. As compensatory promised one can refer to hopes of the individual for a better life in the future of this world or to the for the successors, or to a better life in the hereafter (Weber 275). In other words, those who are disadvantaged in a situation (the poor, hopeless, black Jamaicans) will be rewarded. The poor people have a decided advantage in the Rastas view, since they are forced to look into themselves and confront the basic reality of human existence and only there can God be found (Owens 173) Their negative situation will be turned into a positive one (transvaluation) because they are the truly righteous, or so they believed. Rastafarianism was more than a religion to the people of Jamaica, it was a hope. It was their escape from the the rational e veryday world. This theodicy of suffering, in which the underprivileged and underrepresented Jamaicans believed, was compensation for the deplorable state in which they found themselves. The Rastafarian way of living and their everyday activities began as a deviant social behavior, but rather was a routinization of the masses into one cohesive unit, following the same general creed under different principles. This point can be seen most specifically in the modern Rastafarian hairstyles. In traditional Rastafarianism most Rastas do not cut their hair but allow it to grow naturally long matted strands or locks. These locks are in accordance with the Leviticus 21:5: They shall not make baldness upon their head (Johnson-Hill 25). But in todays Rastafarianism, their are men who will not grow facial hair or locks in accordance to their position in the work place and in society, but still believe in the faith of and consider themselves a part of the Rastafarian religion. This process of electing points on a subject in which a followers ideas converge with is called elective affinity, as coined by Max Weber. This elective affinity concerning Rastafarianism was spurred by cha rismatic prophets of the belief system such as Marcus Garvey, Haile Selassie, and Samuel Brown. All of these men preached to the negatively privileged strata which existed in the Jamaican slums and the impoverished Jamaican parishes. The underprivileged strata became a status group in a sociological point of view when they selected Rastafarianism and Haile Selassie as their god. This annunciation and promise led these impoverished blacks into a status group known as Rastafarians. This elective affinity between underprivileged Jamaicans and Rastafarians was seen most directly in a change in diet to follow Kosher food laws, a change in hair style, the use of a different language, and a the use of a holy weed; ganja. These highly visible symbols served as a solidification of a persons elective affinity and a public statement of their beliefs. To become a member of the Rastafarian status group was to embrace the lifestyle and the conceptual livity of a personal relationship with nature, in a pure organic way (Johnson-Hill 25). The Rastafarian lifestyle, at its early core, was based upon responses to social actions cast forth by the Jamaican bureaucracy. These actions exist on the guise of a messianic hope which is generally known as Ethiopia or Africa (Barret 117). The first reaction is aggression, which was exemplified by the social struggles for equality or even acknowledgment by the economically challenged island residents. The second reaction is acceptance. This ambivalence toward the situation is more of a standstill than anything else. The act of accepting ones own unfortunate situation negates the aggression and action of the previous step. This is where the Messianic values began to seep into the Rastafarian watershed. With these people and this clear-cut fashion only among them and under other very particular conditions, the suffering of a peoples community, rather than the suffering of the individual, became the object of hope for religious salvation (Weber 273). Rastafarian men and women began to forget their own individual struggles and rely on the preaching from Haile Selassie to comfort them as a group. Individuality is looked down upon in the Rastafarian religion. The status group or strata will suffer as a whole, not as individual pieces of a puzzle. Every Rastafarian considers himself an authoritative spokesman for Selassie. It is consequently unthinkable that one of the brethren should assume special prerogatives in speaking for the Emperor (Owens 43). READ: Education Starts at Home EssayThe third and final response to social action by Rastafarians is avoidance. This act is predominated by the view that Jamaica is Babylon and Ethiopia is Zion. This metaphor implying hopelessness in Jamaica acts very much, in Marxian terminology, as an opiate. This outlook on everyday life does not produce action, rather it reduces it. Another example of this can be seen economically. The Rastafarians generally represent the lowest segment of the Jamaican social class . . . This level of Jamaican society represents the largest body on unemployed and underemployed and the greatest number of unemployables . . . (Barret 115). This fact is well known among the Rastafarians and it is partially why many are in the religion, acceptance into a social class which is higher than their own. They have mostly given up on employment besides that of home produced items which are pawned to tourists or others within the Rastafarian movement. Their is no motivatio n to produce economically because most of the industry within Jamaica during the early Rastafarian period was controlled by the British land owners. Working for these British men would have been a direct violation of their religious creed; The white person is inferior to the black person (Barret 104) and The Black person is the reincarnation of ancient Israel, who, at the hand of the White person, has been in exile to Jamaica (Barret 104). This ties into Webers Theodicy of Suffering because to suffer economically is to suffer through all aspects of ones life. But, many times, as previously illustrated, an ambivalence to end suffering leaves one still in the same peculiar situation. Without a motive to change, there is not change in a cultures motives. So, the early Rastafarians suffered not from a theodicy of suffering which was merely and only forced upon them by the white Jamaican bureaucracy; but rather a self- imposed and self-induced level of their suffering. This way of viewing Rastafarian all changed as time passed. Social strata are decisive for the development of a religion (Weber 282) and as the social strata which embodies this religion began to change, the religion changed proportionately with it. This can be seen in contrasting the previous three social reactions just stated: aggression, acceptance and avoidance. As the general body of Rastafarianism began to grow old and pass away, so did many of their ideas and rationalitys concerning the religion in which they were a part. These views were handed down to the new, younger members of the Rastafarian religion and updated substantially to concur with the new time period and the new state of Rastafarians in Jamaica. Largely, there is no need for one to use aggression to prove equality in Jamaica. The modern Rastafarian, rather is a symbol of the Jamaican lifestyle and one can almost mistakenly assume all Jamaicans embody the Rastafarian way of thinking and lifestyle. The newly indep endent Jamaica uses aspects of the traditional Rastafarian to promote its tourism industry: such as the reggae music which originally symbolized the suffering of black Jamaicans, the dread locks which represented the I-tal way of organic living and the artifacts and cultural productions of such Rastafarian artisans. Rastafarians no longer accept their status as a constant; an unchanging fact which merely misrepresents them in popular culture. They have began to work on their economic status within the Jamaican community. Rastafarians now occupy enviable positions in Jamaica. There are Rasta physicians, pharmacists, professors, journalists, pilots, teachers . . . to name only a few of their trades and professions (Barret 243). They are willing to educate their children to become productive citizens of the country, which is evident in the formation of Rasta primary and secondary schools and the possibility of a Rasta university within Jamaica. Rastafarians now have control over their own destiny within the scope of mass media and their ultimate portrayal. With the advent of educated and world minded Rastafarians, the Rastafarian movement has proliferated out of Jamaica and into the mainstream of the world, including both the United States and England. The final large change concerning Rastafarians is avoidance. Instead of avoiding the problems in Jamaica and praying for a magical repatriation to Ethiopia, they have first decided to repair the problems which exist in Jamaica before they leave for Zion. This new brethren is focused on change and one way they have decided to accomplish this is through political action. Rastafarians are traditionally apolitical; they do not vote. Their word for politics is politricks, which sums up their perception of the political game (Barret 220). With the election of a pro Rastafarian prime minister, Michael Manley, Rastafarians were encouraged to use their constitutional rights and vote. There is no way of telling how many Rastafarians voted or continue to vote, but their role in Jamaican culture requires them to be addressed and noticed. The act of being spoken to and about in a public forum is just aspect in which indirectly they have traversed out of the avoidance stage. Rastafarians also no l onger avoid the media. Rather, they embrace it and use it to their advantage. This is evident is the many quotes and passages contained within Leonard Barrets book and the relative ease of access he obtained many on these passages. The Rastafarian culture is moving toward the future, and as Weber stated, changing with the social strata, which is changing with the times. It can then be inferred Rastafarianism is a constantly updated and evolving entity, modernizing as the world does so as well. But this evolving modern entity did not always keeps its modernity defined. Many of the actions of Rastafarianism worked against modernity and favored a complete stand still in all actions of life. In effect, the pain of the poor black Jamaica strata directly led into a form of ambivalence which militated against social and economic change; in essence, the status group of Rastafarians and their beliefs acted as an opiate against socioeconomic change. Religion is the opium of the people (Marx 54). This opium like quality leads directly into a state of false consciousness, which ties in directly with Webers theodicy of suffering. Both of these militate against socieconomic change by giving a check of approval to a negative situation. In this way, Marx and Weber are showing the flaws in the Rastafarian system. The inherent flaw of giving false hope or false consciousness to a people based on a system (Rastafarian) which at its base complies with stagnant situations and life styles. At t he same time, Marxism can be interpreted as a direct conflict with itself. The Rastafarian movement occupies not only an opiate status, but a status of opposition as well. The Rastafarian movement was founded originally as an opposition to the bureaucratic ways of the ruling class. The religion modeled greatly an American democratic way of thinking: by the people for the people. The people are the underrepresented and under appreciated blacks of Jamaica. In comparison with a Weberian sociological thought process, they both agree upon Rastafarian as basically an evolution. This plays more into Marxs favor because of the direct correlation between themselves. Like the Rastafarian evolution, in which they retreated on many of their former beliefs and creeds, Marx also did the same according to the time he was writing in. So, a direct comparison can be made through the evolution of Marx and Rastafarianism; both occur because of the rise of modernity and culture around them, directly eff ecting the person or group in question. READ: Theories on and Analysis of Information Management in KFCMarx and Weber also collide in beliefs on the idea of theodicy of suffering. Weber believed religion emerges to fulfill a social need. The poor, black, Jamaicans needed hope, and with their economic status, suffering was a major part. Taken on a face value then, the Jamaican culture can be divided into two distinct classes: theodicy of suffering and theodicy of good fortune. The former group, those who indirectly believe in a theodicy of suffering, are alienated from the latter group. Within the suffering group, there is alienation among members due to separation from product. The product, in this case, is their religion. Now all of the members of the Rastafarian status group belong to Rastafarianism as a whole, but there are sects within the sect, which are different from each other. For an example, the emergence of the uptown Rasta which differs in belief system from Rastafarianism as a whole. The alienation comes in the fact that the people, not as one unified group, but as a large organization of individuals are single entities and none speak for the religion. Criticism of this can be found in a previously mentioned Joseph Owens quote (see page four, first paragraph). Although each member is a spokesman for Selassie, is unthinkable to assume each member of the brethren might have something different to say? This leads to alienation among those within the same sect. The previously stated belief contrasts with a Weberian point of view as well. In a Marxian view of thought, the poor should try to revolt against their ruling bureaucracy. This appropriation is further determined by the manner in which it must be effected. It can only be effected through a union, which by the character of the proletariat itself can again only be a universal one, and through a revolution . . . (Marx 192). There is a flaw under the question: how can a society revolt through Marxism and still be prone against change, an opiate in Marxian view, to their own standing within the community? Karl Marx would see this as a complete oxymoron. Rastafarianism should benefit the social group, not allow it to stop progression and merely graze the lips of those who chose it, giving them a short and unsatisfying taste of what is available to them. This yearning for more should lead the people into a full economic and political revolt against this bourgeoisie. While relatively similar to a Marxian point of view, Durkheimian sociology sees Rastafarianism as a social entity. This religion was originally associated as Jamaican poor and the term Rasta and poor, black Jamaican could be used interchangeable. And with this association, Rastafarianism emerged to regulate the desires of the Jamaican poor. It brought about a solidarity among the lowest status class which served as a jumping point into embracing their situations. Thus, the religion is inseparable from the groups which contain it. This occupies the ideas of Weber in that if the religion is inseparable from the groups which contain it, then, the religion will indirectly evolve as the group evolves. This basically complies with the Weberian point of view that religious beliefs change along with the strata which embody them. Also, if Rastafarianism is a social entity, it therefore must have risen out of the need for a social set of values, complying with the Weberian ideal of religion em erging to satisfy a social need. This Durkheimian point of view also crosses paths with the views of Karl Marx. If religion brings about solidarity among a status group which happens to be underprivileged, revolution is a possible following steps. One person may revolt, but one needs masses along the same ideals to successfully revolt. By integrating society, one brings the society or group on the same consciousness, although it may be a false consciousness. No matter rational or irrational, the motives exist and can be accomplished with aid of a charismatic prophet, in this case, Marcus Garvey or Samuel Brown. To update this idea, there is a popular t-shirt which states Never underestimate stupid people in large groups. The same could be applied to a Marxian and Durkheimian point of view. Their t-shirt might say Never underestimate the power of alienated oppressed on the same intellectual level.Durkheim and Weber do disagree on some levels. One of them being the role of individuality within religion. A Durkheimian point of view toward individuality could not characterize the Rastafarian movement because it believes one should embrace all the exists, but do not include each other. This directly violates the Rastafarians belief in an I-n-I mentality. This implies a three-fold relationship between any individual self, Jah God, and other selves (Johnson-Hill 23). Max Weber sees religion as a unification of a people, which is evident in his distinction between strata and status. Rastafarianism is a status group, individuality is left behind at the strata before seemingly advancing into a higher level of consciousness, complete with its own symbols, language and customs, especially marijuana usage. Although the beliefs of a religion change, the essence of the religion does not. This is supported by Weber with the idea that changes in a decisive stratum lead to a change of beliefs. This is opposed by Durkheim stating a religion as a whole has lasted because it performs a social function; it integrat es those involved within it. The falsity is what people believe. So, if people change, the religion changes with the people, not necessarily minor beliefs within it. It is a cycle which includes the transfer of old gods to new gods, completely changing the religion with society. Rastafarianism has not faded away, and in fact has spread its brethren among many areas of the world. The Rastafarian movement is no longer a mere revolutionary movement; it has become a part of the establishment, a part of officialdom (Barret 245). Rastafarianism may have started on the fringes of Jamaican society, but it now a representation of what it considered hell. In terms of an outsider, Jamaica is no longer Babylon, it is now Rastafaria, a step on the way to utopian Zion. Rastafarianism is now an integration of all of Jamaican society rather that just one social strata. Its changes have moved along with the changes of Jamaica as a nation. The people of Jamaica are interchangeable with Rastafarianism. It is ironic which a group so hating of their own environment would become such a force as to represent it to the world. Rastafarianism is truly by the people, for the people.

Aldi supermarket Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Aldi supermarket - Essay Example In Aldi product innovation could be related to the introduction of products that do not currently exist in the UK supermarket industry, even if their differentiation from the industry’s existing products would be small: for example, an energy drink of different ingredients depending on the status of health and the age of consumers would be a product that meets the terms of product differentiation. Through product differentiation Aldi could manage to acquire a sustainable competitive advantage, i.e. an advantage that ‘cannot be copied by competition’ (Lamb et al. 2011, p.42). For developing a sustainable competitive advantage Aldi should try to ensure that its products are aligned with the needs of the local market and that they could attract the interest of local consumers (West et al. 2010); this means that the advantage of the firm’s products towards them of its competitors should be clear to the consumers. Another approach that Aldi would use for acquiring a sustainable competitive advantage would be the following: the firm could use social marketing, which ‘promotes behaviours that provide well-being for individuals or for society’ (Kapoor and Kulshrestha 2013, p.10). For example, Aldi could use its marketing campaign for increasing the awareness of people on the health consequences of the consumption of milk-based products. Of course, other strategies, for acquiring a sustainable competitive advantage would be also available to Aldi: for example, by decreasing the price of a specific category of products would result to a sustainable competitive advantage for Aldi, even in the short term (Lamb 2012). In the context of marketing, a PEST analysis is a valuable tool for assessing the status of a particular market, i.e. to identify the market’s current performance in regard to one or more industries. In addition PEST analysis can help to check the prospects of a market, i.e. its potentials for growth in the future, as related to a series of

Critical Review of Contemporary NPD Issues Essay

Critical Review of Contemporary NPD Issues - Essay Example Both the research findings acknowledge that the scale of a company’s operations is irrelevant to the chances of favorable outcomes related to the application of innovation, as Laforet (2011) suggests that the innovative capabilities of small and medium enterprises are comparable to that of large organizations. Another finding asserts that ideation has paradoxical managerial impacts by presenting both negative and positive consequences of the said process in organizations. The scale of the company however, does impact the choices it makes related to innovation, for example, why would a business wish to expand its ideation and innovation capabilities in the first place? Certainly as represented by the findings of the articles which are assessed, it can be noted that large organizations in comparison with small and medium enterprises realize the need to create a strategic fit between their resource capacities and assets as a comprehension of their ideation capabilities is directl y related to the distribution of resources which ultimately allows the formulation of an idea into an innovation. On the other hand, the objectives of a small or medium sized business in engaging in new product development maybe entirely associated with its objective of seeking success or to achieve short-term gain. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to critically analyze the competing ideologies of how New Product Development and Innovation should take place and how it actually takes place, which is either by entirely basing the framework of innovation at an organization upon the components of the ideation process or by engaging in an innovative practice by implementing system wide innovation procedures. Furthermore, the paper will also discuss the managerial implications of the articles’ findings by determining the variables and factors that are dependent upon the success of measures such as NPD, process improvement and ideation potential. Factors affecting innovation: Acc ording to Bjork et al. (2010) the foundation of innovation is idea generation or ideation which is dependent upon the level of creativity and inventiveness of the employees and groups within an organization. Once this principle is recognized by the management, it should try to develop channels through which employees can successfully voice their ideas, such channels can range from technology centered pathways or the utilization of teams that should range across functional departments of an organization. Cooper (2008) favors computer-based ideation techniques such as webpages which can allow external parties to supply ideas related to new products, such facilities are readily used by organizations such as Procter and Gamble which are at the forefront of an ideation revolution. Procter and Gamble’s Connect and Develop ideation model is an example of an open system that invites and welcomes idea stimulation from a range of contributors. Laforet (2011) presents a more traditional and conventional view of the factors that may influence innovation, this

Financial Information for CRODA International Plc Essay

Financial Information for CRODA International Plc - Essay Example Industrial specialties- which includes base chemicals, home care, polymers and coatings, additives for polymers, lubricant additives, lubricants and processed vegetable oils. (www. investing.businessweek.com). Consumer care division which includes international business in health care, personal care, and crop care – engaged in all markets throughout the world with a thumbing need for sustainable ingredients and innovations. Further, Croda has an enterprise technology division (R&D) which recognizes and assimilates new technology into Croda’s international business set up. (www.croda.com). Croda was able to post pre-tax profits of 10.5% during the year 2008 in spite of the serious international economic recession. However, due to stable focus on new markets, product innovation and recession mingled with the instant reduction in cost have facilitated Croda to accomplish one more year of pre-tax revenue growth in spite of the worst scenario in the international economy. (Chairman speech, AR 2009). The salient feature of the business model of Croda is the capacity to offer a variety of products to a variety of customers all over the globe. Croda’s persistent focus on originality in specialties has offered them the capacity to derive the true value for their products. (CEO Speech AR 2009). Croda is in a true sense a really global company as it is having only just 7% sales in the homeland of U.K. All of its subsidiary company around the world has targeted sales, operating margin, profit growth targets that form fundamental to their strategic plans and budgets. Croda’s report their progress annually against five major financial performance parameters. According to Croda’s annual report 2009, Croda International Plc has prepared its financial reports as demanded by the Companies Act, 2006 of U.K and as provided by the U.K accounting.

Conclusion Chapter Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Conclusion Chapter - Dissertation Example Meanwhile, gender and grade level were found to have a significant relationship with reading achievement, while gender and VARK7G learning styles in turn correlated with the dependent variables. RAAF and FT scores were also found to differ greatly based on gender. Grade and gender were found to be significant factors, especially with respect to reading achievement. Meanwhile, gender and multi-single learning styles were likewise found to have a significant relationship. Gender was also found to affect FT and RAAF scores. While males were found to be affected greatly by grades and VARK7G categories, the same could not be said for their female counterparts. Their learning styles in RAAF were also less error-prone, and particular learning styles were said to be more or less effective for males than females. All in all, learning styles are said to differ not only based on one’s gender, but also on age and grade level – which is why teachers need to vary their lesson plans a ccording to these considerations. Research Question 3 aimed to determine if there are significant differences between males and females in terms of learning style. The study found that at least 1.6% of the variance in learning styles is due to gender, and it has also been observed that males and females alike tend to prefer multi-learning style. All in all, the gender-based differences in learning style preference are marginal at best, with both genders choosing the quad and aural styles as their most and least preferred learning styles, respectively. Research Question 4 asks the following: In Arabic reading classes, do teaching strategies significantly affect reading achievement among students? The TRSQ is divided into subscales referring to reading instruction (RI), reading resources and types of text (RR), reading activities and behaviour (RA), development of

Close Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Close Analysis - Assignment Example es that Sir Doyle, captures in his text and uses to reveal some of the hidden facts about the lives of the characters in a way that teaches his audiences real life lessons relevant to other characters in the story and readers today. In â€Å"The Adventure of the Speckled Band† the theme of truth has appeared severally with characters showing unique reactions after learning of the real facts about their lives. Arthur Conan Doyle explains how Mrs. Helen Stone’s reacts to being told the truth of how her twin sister died. Even though we are not directly told how she learned of it, Mrs. Helen responds in a way that depicts that she hates her stepfather for hiding the truth from her. However, she trusted that she would be in London as Sherlock Holmes continues with his investigations. Moreover, when Mrs. Helen is given the information that Sherlock and Watson came to meet her stepfather, she finds out that she was followed by her father to London. This fact made Helen suspicious of her stepfather and lost confidence in him. In real life, this happens such that family members hide information from each other, occurrences that creates enmity between them once the truth comes out. The relationship between Mrs. Helen and her stepfather was undermined after Helen discovered the truth about him. Such instances have been frequent in the modern day leading to family breaking-ups. In a more spectacular way, the characters surrounding Mrs. Hellen also emphasize on the theme of truth as they hid the real cause of death of her twin sister. Though she was relieved that she came to know the truth about her sister’s death, she felt bitter that she was given the wrong information. She also came to known that the information that her stepfather used a snake to murder her sister was ironical. It made her sad especially that her stepfather killed her. â€Å"Though, of course, she is still sad to learn how her sister has been murdered by their stepfather† this text shows the reaction

Financial Information for CRODA International Plc Essay

Financial Information for CRODA International Plc - Essay Example Industrial specialties- which includes base chemicals, home care, polymers and coatings, additives for polymers, lubricant additives, lubricants and processed vegetable oils. (www. investing.businessweek.com). Consumer care division which includes international business in health care, personal care, and crop care – engaged in all markets throughout the world with a thumbing need for sustainable ingredients and innovations. Further, Croda has an enterprise technology division (R&D) which recognizes and assimilates new technology into Croda’s international business set up. (www.croda.com). Croda was able to post pre-tax profits of 10.5% during the year 2008 in spite of the serious international economic recession. However, due to stable focus on new markets, product innovation and recession mingled with the instant reduction in cost have facilitated Croda to accomplish one more year of pre-tax revenue growth in spite of the worst scenario in the international economy. (Chairman speech, AR 2009). The salient feature of the business model of Croda is the capacity to offer a variety of products to a variety of customers all over the globe. Croda’s persistent focus on originality in specialties has offered them the capacity to derive the true value for their products. (CEO Speech AR 2009). Croda is in a true sense a really global company as it is having only just 7% sales in the homeland of U.K. All of its subsidiary company around the world has targeted sales, operating margin, profit growth targets that form fundamental to their strategic plans and budgets. Croda’s report their progress annually against five major financial performance parameters. According to Croda’s annual report 2009, Croda International Plc has prepared its financial reports as demanded by the Companies Act, 2006 of U.K and as provided by the U.K accounting.

Close Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Close Analysis - Assignment Example es that Sir Doyle, captures in his text and uses to reveal some of the hidden facts about the lives of the characters in a way that teaches his audiences real life lessons relevant to other characters in the story and readers today. In â€Å"The Adventure of the Speckled Band† the theme of truth has appeared severally with characters showing unique reactions after learning of the real facts about their lives. Arthur Conan Doyle explains how Mrs. Helen Stone’s reacts to being told the truth of how her twin sister died. Even though we are not directly told how she learned of it, Mrs. Helen responds in a way that depicts that she hates her stepfather for hiding the truth from her. However, she trusted that she would be in London as Sherlock Holmes continues with his investigations. Moreover, when Mrs. Helen is given the information that Sherlock and Watson came to meet her stepfather, she finds out that she was followed by her father to London. This fact made Helen suspicious of her stepfather and lost confidence in him. In real life, this happens such that family members hide information from each other, occurrences that creates enmity between them once the truth comes out. The relationship between Mrs. Helen and her stepfather was undermined after Helen discovered the truth about him. Such instances have been frequent in the modern day leading to family breaking-ups. In a more spectacular way, the characters surrounding Mrs. Hellen also emphasize on the theme of truth as they hid the real cause of death of her twin sister. Though she was relieved that she came to know the truth about her sister’s death, she felt bitter that she was given the wrong information. She also came to known that the information that her stepfather used a snake to murder her sister was ironical. It made her sad especially that her stepfather killed her. â€Å"Though, of course, she is still sad to learn how her sister has been murdered by their stepfather† this text shows the reaction

Human Resource Management Essay Example for Free

Human Resource Management Essay 1)Given Bandag Auto’s size, and anything else you know about it, explain why and how the human resource management function should be reorganized. Because of the lack of any kind of plan or strategy for the company, having a functioning human resource management in place is vital. First of all management formulates a strategic plan. The strategic plan implies certain workforce requirements. Given these workforce requirements, human resource management formulates HR strategies to produce the desired workforce skills, competencies, and behaviors. Finally the human resource manager identifies the measure he or she can use to gauge the extent to which it’s new policies and practices are actually producing the required employee skills and behavior. There should be a strategy map in place which shows the big picture of how each department’s performance contributes to the company’s overall strategic goals. The HR score card is used by many employers to quantify and computerize the maps activities. The score card refers to a process for assigning financial and nonfinancial goals or metries to the human resource management-related chain of activities required for achieving the company’s strategic aims and for monitoring results. The computerized scorecard process helps to quantify the relationships between the HR activities, the resulting employee behaviors and the resulting firm-wide strategic outcomes and performance. All of this presents the manager with a digital dash board which are computerized graphs and charts of where the company stands on all the metries from the HR scorecard. 2)Recommend what Bandag should change and/or improve upon regarding the current HR systems, forms, and practices the company now uses. They should put their HR system under one management source in order to acheire a desired workforce. This would be achieved by having (a) set policies and practices Human resources policies are vital to any organization because they provide structure for the human resources department and guidelines for employment activities. Without human resources policies, it would be extremely difficult to justify employment or business decisions. Human resources leadership is initially responsible for creating the policies. Human resources practices are the method used to conduct any type of employment action. The human resources department develops the introduction to the set of policies and guidelines and explains the importance of the policies. Policies about performance appraisals, fair employment practices, appearance and behavior are just a few of the several policies contained in an employee handbook.The handbook is distributed to new employees on the first day of work and is typically discussed during informal or formal orientation sessions. Employers expect employees to fully understand the policies; a signed form to acknowledge the employee has received and understands the employment policies is contained in the employees personnel file. Without the support of its executive leadership team to which the human resources director should belong the human resources policies will either fail or the workforce will be resentful of the human resources department as a whole. Without policies, an employee has no way of knowing whats expected of her. Without policies, whenever a manager needs to correct the employees behavior or performance, neither the manager nor the employee have any guidelines to follow. This makes it extremely difficult to conduct any type of manager-employee discussion. In short, the lack of human resources policies weakens the employer-employee relationship which can prevent your business from being successful.(b) recruiting and screening Recruitment refers to the process of attracting, screening, and selecting qualified people for a job. For some components of the recruitment process, mid- and large-size organizations often retain professional recruiters or outsource some of the process to recruitment agencies. The recruitment industry has four main types of agencies: employment agencies, recruitment websites and job search engines, headhunters for executive and professional recruitment, and niche agencies which specialize in a particular area of staffing. Some organizations use employer branding strategy and in-house recruitment instead of agencies. Recruitment-related functions are generally carried out by an organizations human resources staff.The stages in recruitment include sourcing candidates by advertising or other methods, screening potential candidates using tests and/or interviews, selecting candidates based the the results of the tests and/or interviews, and on-boarding to ensure the candidate is able to fulfill their new role effectively.. One meaning of screening is the investigation of a great number of something (for instance, people) looking for those with a particular problem or feature. ( c) benefit plans and payroll,There were three plan features I thought were going to become increasingly more prevalent in the future: individually managed accounts, distribution planning help, and greater integration of payroll and 401(k) administration. and (d) application forms and performance evaluation forms. This would eliminate all the different channels that everything goes through and make it much simpler and easir to keep a handle on .Because every =thing would one consistent source. 3)Jim fired an employee for creating what the manager called a poisonous relationship. Explain whether or not the employee has a legitimate claim against the company and the actions the company should take. The employee could have a legitimate claim because on his performance appraisal it was said that he did the technical aspects of his job well. Even though it was said he had serious problems interacting with his coworkers his boss admitted hearing rumors that he might have some mental issues. So under the new ADA laws he could possibly have a claim against the company due to mental disability. The actions the company should take from my view would be to have in place a working HR system to be able to handle this type of situation. Then there would be no guess work into how to proceed. My thoughts are that they may well have to take this employee back and attempt to make reasonable accommodations for him if possible in accordance with the new ADA guidelines or risk possibly being sued. 4) Miriam, the controller, is basically claiming that the company is retaliating against her for being pregnant, and that the fact that the company raised performance issues was just a smokescreen. Explain whether or not the EEOC and/or courts would agree with her and the actions the company should take now. I think that EEOC and \or courts might agree with her because the company had no problems with her for the 6 years previously. The issues the company rasied especially in regard to her monthly budgets being late and possibly being forged should have shown up in her performance appraisal and dealt with before now .The actions the company should take now is to have a viable HR syatem in place to be able to avoid such situations like this from happening in the first place. Because they would have known all the specific facts of the Pregancy Discrimination Act of 1978 and been better able to remedy the situation possible without a lawsuit. 5)An employee who is deaf has asked to switch jobs to be a delivery person and he was turned down. He is now threatening to sue. Recommend what the company should do and describe why. The company should allow the employee to switch because under the American Disabilities Act it prohibits employment discrimination against Qualified disabled individuals. It prohibits employers with 15 or more workers from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities with regard to applications, hiring, discharge, compensation, advancement, training, or other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. It also says employers must make reasonable accommodations for physical or mental limitations unless doing so imposes an undue hardship on the qualifying job skill he should be able to switch and given reasonable accommodation in the form of modified work schedules, acquiring equipment or other devices to assist Kim.

Jindal Steel Power Limited

Jindal Steel Power Limited Jindal Steel Power Limited Company Profile Jindal Steel Power Limited, part of the Jindal Organization, is one of the important steel producers of the country. Founded at Hisar, Haryana by industrialist O P Jindal, it is currently the third largest producer in India in terms of tonnage. It manufactures sponge iron, iron ore etc. as well as active in power generation. With revenue of about $1363.5 million last year, the company employs more than 15000 people throughout the world. The company has its headquarters in New Delhi and is presently headed and managed by Naveen Jindal, son of late O P Jindal. (www.datamonitor.com) Decision making and analysis In the contemporary scenario, the success or breakdown of the business is closely associated with the class of decision making. Decision making at Jindal steel and power takes place at three levels * Corporate level: The decisions here generally concentrate on companys core competence, backward and forward integration, competitive advantages and manpower retention by employee empowerment. * Middle management: The decisions concern realization of goals set by the top management and to monitor the progress and make any mid course correction. * Operational management: Decisions related to product quality, delivery and after sales service to ensure customer satisfaction at all levels (internal as well as external). Strategic decision Cyclic industries like iron ore, steel or power are very susceptible to changes in government policies or in terms of availing new opportunities. Jindal management is in tune with such highly efficient strategic decision making. One such strategic decision taken by Jindal Steel and Power ltd. is discussed herein- â€Å"Jindal Steel and Power Limited has entered into a strategic alliance with Hydro Power development corporation of Arunachal Pradesh and the state government, to set up Subansiri Middle, a 1600 MW hydro electric power plant there (Asia Pulse, November 25,2009)†. The decision is considered strategic because- * This project will make them big enough in hydro electric power generation to eliminate any competition * There is a tremendous gap between supply and demand of power in India; this project will ensure returns which will never be affected adversely by any downturn in economy or political changes in the country. * Involves high degree of uncertainty and risk * Involves huge capital investment in the form of fixed assets and infrastructure Thus such decision is taken after undertaking extensive research and information analysis. Some of the important areas of research or information required before taking the decision are- * Information on the available alternatives to the decision; a critical and thorough analysis of the alternatives is required as huge investments are involved * Facts and information about the benefits or services being provided by the concerned state government like tax holidays, subsidies, land etc. (Arunachal Pradesh state government provides various incentives like Sales tax/VAT exemption up to 99% or low predetermined lease rents of land, (www.arunachalpradesh.nic.in). * Local and national competitors in Arunachal Pradesh, as well as analysis of the target areas * Information on availability of raw materials, labor supply and transportation facilities in the state of Arunachal Pradesh; as well as the legal and operational costs involved in the setting up of the plant Tactical Decision A tactical decision taken by Jindal steel and power management is â€Å"declaring a dividend of 550% for the shareholders†. The decision was taken after the company reported more than two-fold growth in consolidated net profits (www.jindalsteelpower.com). The decision taken here is tactical as- * It is medium term; dividends for one fiscal year * the decision is not very frequent or repetitive * the company will build brand loyalty and retain loyal stakeholders * Quantitative information is available about companys financials Although these decisions are less risk prone and have medium term effects, still they need to be taken after thoroughly analyzing the available information. Information required by the Jindal management before declaring dividends is discussed below * Complete information about the companys financial performance and reports * Understanding of the companys financial ratios to maintain a balanced financial leverage and favorable debt-equity ratio * Information on the other viable alternatives where the profits could be invested, if dividends are not to be declared * Competitor dividend policies whether dividends are declared by rival companies in that particular quarter Operational decision The bottom line of Jindal group depends on the decisions taken at operational levels. The guiding principles of decision making are waste management, quality management, delivery management in the most cost effective way. Jindal steel and power decided to hire another local transport company for the purpose of delivery of their raw materials from the market to logistics/ factory unit or goods from factory to market. The decision here is regarded as operational due to the reasons mentioned below- * The decision involved here is immediate and involves lower costs * Is for a short period of time * Has limited scope for decision * The decision is repetitive and susceptible to frequent changes Such decisions are often based on computerized data, experience of the managers or locally available information. Some information requirements are * Information about the cost and time benefits/losses associated with the decision * Comparative analysis of the available options (transport companies in this case) Competitive Intelligence Information on strategic and tactical moves of competitors plays crucial role in survival or death of an organization. Jindal Steel and Power limited is no exception to this. At Jindal, management is aware of its competition and does whatever it takes to keep ahead of the competitors. The main competitors of Jindal Steel and Power limited are * Steel Authority Of India Limited * Tata Steel * Tata Power * MSP Steel and Power limited Some cases or situations where information on competitors decisions and policies may prove or proved quite useful are discussed below Recently, when Steel Authority of India Limited entered into an exclusive agreement with the Indian Railways for supplying products, Jindal Steel and Power aware of the decision and the consequences, filed a case with the Competition Commission of India against Indian Railways on the basis that the exclusive agreement would threaten the likelihood of competitors contending for the projects through competitive bids (Business Standard, November 9, 2009). In another instance, Jindal steel and power ltd. being aware of the fact that the demand for galvanized iron and steel is quite high in many areas of north India, have themselves planned to launch something on the lines of galvanized steel launched by Tata steel in July 2009 (India Business Insight, November 2009). Having information about the decision of Tata steel to launch a new form of galvanized steel will prove quite beneficial to Jindal steel as they can launch a better product than the competitors and thus ensure that there is no loss or damage to their market share for the product in North India. In a similar situation, information on MSP steel and powers expansion plans in Chhattisgarh (www.myiris.com) is of utmost relevance to Jindal Steel and Power as it has a considerable market share in Chhattisgarh and MSP steel and powers expansion there might affect Jindals business and market share. Thus JSPL can take certain decisions and change/develop plans for their own expansion to make sure that there is no effect on their market share and they have a competitive edge over their competitors. Another instance where knowledge about competitors decisions and information proved quite beneficial to JSPL is regarding the setting up of a power plant in Arunachal Pradesh. Jindal Steel and Power, knowing about the plan of Reliance power to set up 1000 MW hydro electric power plant in Arunachal Pradesh (India Business Insight, 2009), formulated its own strategies and decisions accordingly, and decided to set up a hydro electric power plant with more power generation capacity before the establishment of Reliance Powers plant there. B2B Commerce Jindal Steel and Power Whatever the size of the business may be, B2B e-commerce undoubtedly adds value to its operations. Jindal group has kept itself abreast with the latest technology and launched a B2B portal Steelmart.com for the steel sector. It has formed alliances with various service providers like Indiaport.com and many others to provide a perfect environment for choosing and selecting new business associates for carrying out the transactions, not only for the companies under the Jindal group but the other firms in the steel sector as well. However in context of Jindal Steel and power, through this initiative, Jindal group intends to provide Jindal steel and power with an easy access to market functionaries: producers, distributors, suppliers etc and an electronic marketplace solution (Business Line, September 2000). This enables JSPL to ensure a continuous availability of raw materials whenever required to improve the efficiency level of operations and supply/distribution channels. B2B without any question offers variety of information on products, suppliers, product time and lead time, competitors, market share etc. and therefore besides the portal, Jindal management has developed an extensive system of B2B commerce or in other words, an online system providing suppliers all over the country the facility to register with the Jindal group and supply raw materials and other resources as and when required by the company. Jindal group already has a well established Enterprise Resource Planning and SAP mechanism, and B2B is just another leap forward to become more cost effective and competitive. Looking at the pace with which Jindal Steel and Power has rose to a position of eminence in the steel and energy industry, B2B holds even more importance for the company in the future and has very high future potential. Conclusion Jindal Steel and Power limited can be thus seen as a highly efficient and competitive company, in tune with the latest aspects of the technology and development, possessing at the same time, the wide experience and knowledge of an equally effective and efficient management team. The company is a live example of excellence and perfectionism involving highly competent decision making, planning and execution of the strategies. References * Indias Jindal to setup 1600 MW power plant in Arunachal (2009). Asia Pulse (Internet), 25 November. Available from Accessed 24th November 2009 * Arunachal Pradesh State Industrial Policy (2008), Department of Industries, Government of Arunachal Pradesh (Internet). Available from Accessed 24th November 2009 * Jindal Steel net up 2 fold; announces 550% dividend (2009) Press Trust of India (Internet) 27 May. Available from Accessed 24th November 2009 * Press Trust of India (2009) JSPL files complaint against railways with CCI. Business Standard (Internet) 9 November. Available from Accessed 25th November 2009 * Tata launches Galvanized Steel brand (2009). India Business Insight (Internet) 13 July. Available from Accessed 25th November 2009 * Company Profile ‘Jindal Steel and Power limited (2008). Available from Accessed 24th November 2009 * IRIS Business Service (2008) MSP Steel announces expansion plans (Internet) 13 August. Available from Accessed 25th November 2009 * Reliance Power to set up a hydroelectric power plant in Arunachal Pradesh (2009). India Business Insight (Internet) 30 September. Available from Accessed 25th November 2009 * The Hindu Bureau (2000) O P Jindal group launches portal for steel sector (Internet) 30 September. Available from Accessed 26th November 2009