Exploring the use of digital gaming in teaching

It is the general intent of the research that is presently being undertaken to research the usage of digital gambling in instruction and acquisition of mathematics in order to run into up educational ends. The survey is specifically being conducted in the scene of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the purpose of looking at the consequence of digital gambling to learning mathematics, that is, either heightening learning or larning or looking at the possibility of digital gambling non holding any positive consequence at all in accomplishing educational ends. There is voluminous information in the literature about digital gambling being used in the educational scene, more often in scientific discipline and mathematics-related topics. Eck ( 2006 ) asserts that digital game-based acquisition has been unpopular for old ages until 2006 but get downing 2003 the involvement in the use of digital games to back up larning in assorted Fieldss have already started ( Wolz et al, 2005 ) . Habgood et Al ( 2005 ) , on the other manus reference that since the 1980s, there has been significant literature demoing how digital games are really related to instruction and acquisition. Since 2006, there has been a turning involvement in the usage of digital games for acquisition and harmonizing to the writer, advocates of this type of learning have been rather taken aback by the alterations that have been go oning. Harmonizing to Eck ( 2006 ) , this can be mostly attributed to three of import factors. The first of these factors is that advocates of digital game-based acquisition have unfailingly continued research on this new larning aspect and printing them through books, essays and articles with writers such as Marc Prensky, James Paul Gee and Clark Aldrich, to call a few. In the web, one would happen a volume of information that discusses about digital games as tools for acquisition, some showing the theoretical concepts underlying the tool while other readings provide empirical researches that aimed to accomplish specific ends in digital game-based acquisition. Second, the current coevals which is fundamentally the Internet coevals and instead, Eck ( 2006 ) calls the â€Å" digital indigens † play a big function in the broad credence of digital games as acquisition tools. Persons who were fundamentally borne and have practically lived the Net coevals adapt good to a fast-paced life welcoming and synthesising assorted sorts of information at any one clip. The â€Å" digital indigens † as Eck ( 2006 ) relates, someway became disentangled with the conventional ways of acquisition and normally enjoys speedy interactions. Besides, first-class ocular accomplishments used for larning are what embody the current coevals and this accomplishment is something that would tremendously prefer digital game-based acquisition. Hoyles and Noss ( 2006 ) even reference that kids, with the emerging involvement in games as tools for acquisition, even heighten their abilities to plan their ain games and drama with them after, utilizing certain tools , one of which is the Playground, where in general, kids are able to pull strings alive characters. The increased celebrity that games have fundamentally acquired through the old ages is the 3rd factor that says why digital game-based acquisition is widely accepted as of recent. Digital games are merely everyplace and come in assorted media, therefore doing it more accessible to the general populace and therefore more apprehended. As if to farther set up how games have been used to heighten larning today, Prensky ( 2001 ) describes the many chances connected with digital games-based acquisition. The writer asserts nevertheless that digital games are merely options used by educational establishments to farther pupil acquisition. Harmonizing to him, a new paradigm of acquisition has emerged and this is larning through playing. He cites some of the activities which are chiefly digital games incorporated in assorted degrees of instruction. Some of these are typing games, pre-school acquisition of the alphabet through computing machines and computing machine cheat being used by K-12 pupils. For grownup scholars, like in the instance of those preparation in the armed forces, the existent conflict in the battleground has been re-created through digital games and military trainees have to play these games that resemble a realistic conflict as simulations of the true conflict that has to go on when they serve the state . Indeed, the computing machines and the package for digital games that have been created and made more realistic by package experts have provided manners of larning for immature and big scholars.Digital Games in EducationSandford and Williamson ( 2005 ) describe computing machine games and picture games as digital applications which individual or groups of participants control utilizing a personal computing machine or some other media such as a PlayStation. The writers suggest that by playing digital games, participants are able to hone accomplishments in confronting challenges that are more complex than what they encounter in school. The environment that digital games provide to participants is a learning environment. While playing, gamers are confronted with ambitious state of affairss that they need to decide to win in the game. This provides participants the accomplishment to confront realistic jobs of the same sort in the hereafter. While playing, gamers are besides provided options which mean they have to prosecute themselves in some decision-making exercising and be able to see the effects of their determinations or actions. Identifying with the characters of the game is besides another facet that participants deal with when playing computing machine or picture games. Particularly in role-playing games, participants are besides able to heighten their vocabulary, familiarising themselves with the footings used in the game that normally come because of the devices that the character in the game has to utilize. In this manner, participants will larn to understand the whole character being portrayed in the game. Socialization is besides enhanced by digital games as participants would usually be affiliated with certain groups which have common ends while playing. Squire ( 2003 ) relates some of the features of digital games which make it utile for the educational scene. A digital game provides participants with drill and pattern. Presently, this map of computing machine games makes it of import for pedagogues because of its incorporation into the traditional course of study as exercisings that will enrich the acquisition of the pupils as they immerse through it during single survey times. The other property of digital games that makes it utile for the educational scene is the being of simulation and scheme games. Simulation games provide the participants a image of the world, within the walls of the house, the schoolroom or a computing machine store. Squire ( 2003 ) portions two types of simulations used and these are low-fidelity and hi-fidelity simulations. Hi-fidelity simulations try every bit near as possible to mime the interactions and state of affairss that may be experienced if it were to go on in existent life. Low-fidelity simulatio ns, on the other manus, are meant to supply system simplification so that some of import constituents of the system may be highlighted. Video games that are both educational and entertaining let the pupil participants to pull strings some variables which in existent life, an ordinary pupil can non change merely yet. Players can besides larn about different topics of involvement when they engage in educational games that will do them presume a certain function or personality. In this manner, the pupil is besides given the opportunity to see state of affairss in assorted positions. Digital games besides make it possible for the participants to visualise a peculiar in three-dimensional infinite hence increasing apprehension of the affair. Gros ( 2007 ) asserts that digital games can be used by scholars to get cognition and larn certain schemes. The writer cites the survey conducted by Nussbaum and co-workers in 1999 with 300 4th twelvemonth pupils as topics. A series of games in linguistic communication and mathematics was developed utilizing Gameboy and that the games have characters that the pupils can place with. In mathematics specifically, the end of holding the pupils play the game is to familiarise themselves with the cardinal construction of accomplishments and mathematical thought every bit good as larning arithmetic and geometry. The instructors were able to besides larn utilizing the instrument used in the experiment in 2 to 3 months and feedbacks from the pedagogues themselves reveal that videogame is an instrument that is easy learned and used and can function as extra learning stuff that they can utilize as back-up for the conventional instruction stuffs that they are already utilizing. Games have besides found its utility in Science and Engineering topics, in general. In the instruction system of the United States Science and Engineering, Mayo ( 2007 ) asserts that picture games have played of import functions in turn toing lacks in the system because of five primary grounds. One of these grounds is monolithic range. The Internet has provided a manner for persons, pupils and even those who are already in the on the job category, to acquire entree to digital games. Some of these games can be downloaded for free, while others have to be purchased. Besides, the games need non be violent as there are games that educate users about assorted subjects. As the writer relates, these games are non really portion of the educational system as pupils did non entree these games through the four walls of the schoolroom but merely the same, pupils learn. The 2nd ground is effectual larning paradigms. The act of playing video games is associated with enhanced larning results because the undermentioned accomplishments are being honed while playing: experiential and inquiry-based acquisition, self-efficacy, end scene, cooperation or squad playing and uninterrupted feedback ( Mayo, 2007 ) . Enhanced encephalon chemical science is the 3rd ground behind the potency of video games in turn toing jobs in instruction. Mayo ( 2007 ) asserts that a survey in 1998 established the relationship between the sum of dopamine nowadays in the encephalon of the participant and his/her public presentation in the game. Dopamine serves to excite acquisition of the participant. It must be taken into consideration, nevertheless, that the game tested in the 1998 survey is non educational in nature and hence subsequent surveies are still necessary. Time on bet oning undertaking is the 4th ground as participants normally take more than a twosome of hours to play digital games. If lessons in school have to be incorporated in these games, efficaciously, so it is uniting amusement with acquisition and pupils now take more clip larning than they did before with conventional acquisition. The last of these five grounds is larning results informations which suggest that have already been surveies conducted which compared the larning results of pupils subjected to games while larning and those under the traditional acquisition. It must be considered nevertheless that the games used in the ratings are non the popular commercial games that can be seen played today, but so the â€Å" not-so-big-time † games are still digital games and hence portion of the concern of looking how these games can better acquisition ( Mayo, 2007 ) . Squire et Al ( 2004 ) elaborate on an empirical survey conducted among 96 pupils, of which 61 were assigned to the experimental group and 35 to the control group. The experimental group played Supercharged! In their Physicss category apart from the synergistic talks on electrostatics and other addendum stuffs provided to them by the instructor. The same instructor provided electrostatics lessons to the control group through synergistic lessons, observations and experiments. Supercharged! Is an electromagnetism simulation game developed through the aid of John Belcher, an MIT physicist? The game itself is chiefly be aftering and playing as participants have to travel through electromagnetic labyrinths and playing with charges to command a ship. Consequences of the survey showed that pupils belonging to the experimental group had better public presentation than those in the control group in footings of construct comprehension. Merely to add to the treatment on the inventions done for acquisition, in universities, where higher instruction can be acquired, engineering has besides been embraced. Together with this are the developments effected in order to supply larning to college pupils. Brown ( 2001 ) asserts that in this digital age, the universities have besides done their portion in bettering instruction. One of the inventions that have been taken is the integrating of studio classs as replacing for lecture-based introductory classs. In the studio classs, the pupils have the opportunity to see talk, recitation and research lab, all in one incorporate class. The module is besides being given a better environment to learn synergistic lessons. The studio courses accommodate big categories but can manage an array of activities, digital and non-digital within the category. The MIT Media Lab is another invention that has been brought to the universities. In this lab, theory and application are brought together in one category. The lab provides the category a collaborative environment where pupils can work out solutions to existent life jobs despite being confined in the lab. Brown ( 2001 ) besides adds that computing machine games, specifically, role-playing games ( RPG ) with multiple participants online have besides transformed the ways of larning. In RPGs, participants do non merely vie but they are besides able to make and set up groups. The higher instruction sees this as a theoretical account for constructing a networked acquisition environment. Players, by prosecuting in RPGs experience interaction with other participants as they swap their cogwheels and techniques among members of their group. The pupils ‘ originative and strategic accomplishments are besides being honed as they try to spread out their functions within the game. The literature discoursing the usage of digital games in mathematics instruction in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ( KSA ) seems to be scarce. Al-Wakeel ( 2001 ) asserted that in the yesteryear, universities in KSA deficiency adequate computing machine instruction plans which are besides of high-quality. There have been attempts to beef up computing machine instruction in KSA but have failed non because the purposes were non good but because design of the plans was non planned good. Furthermore, there is a noteworthy scarceness in professionals who are subjects who could learn computing machine instruction. This is apparent in the past plans preparation of computing machine professionals who came from outside KSA. There is besides concern in research of computing machine applications that can be used to better instruction. To turn to this, KSA revamped its educational system with the constitution of Comprehensive Education Programs in the College of Computer and Information Sciences ( C CIS ) . With such move, although there are besides obstructions hurdled, research in computing machine instruction may be done including the geographic expedition of the usage of digital games in learning mathematics to KSA pupils. Because of sensed scarceness of researches done in this country in KSA, this research will be chiefly done to research the usage of digital games in acquisition and learning mathematics to profit and ease educational ends, with peculiar scene in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This research will be conducted in order to look into the consequence of digital game-based acquisition to pupils ‘ motive and academic public presentation, peculiarly among pupils in the secondary degree of instruction.The Future of Digital Games-Based LearningDigital games provide agencies of accomplishing a figure of ends. Prensky ( 2001 ) relates that through digital games-based acquisition, motive for larning topics that are hard to learn can now be achieved. This motive works in both ways. If the pupil finds topics to be deadening, so integrating digital games into the topic will do it interesting. On the other manus, if the pupil finds the lesson excessively complex, so digital games can be used to su pply an alternate manner of showing the topics to the category in a manner that will direct the feeling of being hard to something that they will larn and bask at the same clip. The usage of digital games in larning besides provides an chance for a conjunct attempt among people in different Fieldss such as instructors, content experts and digital game developers. In footings of the being of the Internet, the usage of digital games in instruction and acquisition will ensue to holding the Internet non merely as a medium of instruction but will be a lively locale of forum for users and manufacturers of games to get at new constructs everyday for larning that will do its manner through the scholars via digital games. There will besides be a uninterrupted thought of how digital games can be improved and innovated to outdo function the intent of conveying instruction to the pupils at its fullest potency, thereby bring forthing alumnuss will all-around personalities who can do determinations non merely in conjectural state of affairss but in realistic conditions as good. Squire ( 2003 ) believes that since the 1980s, there has been a important betterment in the gambling engineering but so integrating these betterments into larning environments is one missing measure in order for digital game-based acquisition to boom. The writer comes up with his ideas on the hereafter of picture gambling in instruction. First away, the writer suggests that pedagogues have been keen on buying educational and entertaining digital games that are commercially available presents. Harmonizing to the writer, there is increased frequence in the usage of ‘edutainment ‘ but so there is non much evidence-based research which has been conducted to demo how these games really work. Design experiments must be incorporated into the work of games research so as to do educational games be more utile for instructional engineers and therefore set up research from at that place. Second, instructional engineers who design the synergistic acquisition environments of larning games can besides acquire lessons from the present inventions in gambling. The writer cites two facets of gambling that harmonizing to him hold non been to the full studied and these are synergistic fiction and online gambling. Synergistic fiction will supply instructional engineers information on how characters can germinate and develop in an synergistic environment. Online gambling, on the other manus, can supply instructional engineers valuable information on the design of on-line environments. Finally, by simply taking a close expression at all the digital games that have abound presents in whatever medium such as those streaming in the cyberspace or games installed in personal computing machines, one would really happen himself amazed at how the design, sounds and artworks have evolved through the old ages. The many games found online every bit good as those played in picture houses and in the comfort of the places have all passed through betterments. The artworks about resemble that of real-life persons every bit good as the motions of the objects in the digital game. Aesthetics has continuously improved to the pleasance of consumers. Possibly, for educational games, this can besides be done. The creativeness in coming up with new designs and new games is one of the aspects of digital game-based acquisition that can be improved in the hereafter.

Manage Resistance to Change Proactively Essay

Register for this journal is available at http://www. emeraldinsight. com/researchregister The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at http://www. emeraldinsight. com/0262-1711. htm Managing diversity using a strategic planned change approach Earnest Friday Management in the College of Business Administration, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA, and Managing diversity 863 Received October 2002 Revised February 2003 Accepted February 2003 Shawnta S. Friday School of Business and Industry at Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA Keywords Diversity management, Strategic management, Change management Abstract Many organizations have implemented various types of initiatives within the last few decades in an effort to deal with diversity. A possible missing vinculum (link) between how an organization deals with diversity and its impact on the bottomline is a corporate diversity strategy that is executed using a planned change approach to systemically manage diversity. While many organizations have implemented a corporate diversity strategy, most have not used a â€Å"planned change-corporate diversity strategy†. The lack of a â€Å"planned change-corporate diversity strategy† is quite likely to inhibit managing diversity from becoming systemic to an organization’s culture and its way of doing business, thus tending to disallow the potential bene? ts of diversity to be maximized. Hence, this paper offers a framework for using a â€Å"planned change-corporate diversity strategy† to: progress along the â€Å"diversity continuum† starting with acknowledging to valuing, and ultimately to managing diversity; and systemically managing diversity using a eight-step â€Å"managing diversity process†. Introduction Over the past few decades, academicians, practitioners and organizational researchers have recognized that diversity is a phenomenon that has a wide array of affects within the workplace, and society in general (Koonce, 2001; Stark, 2001; Williams and O’Reilly, 1997). In this paper, diversity refers to any attribute that happens to be salient to an individual that makes him/her perceive that he/she is different from another individual (Williams and O’Reilly, 1997). Some widely accepted differentiating attributes include racioethnicity (which encompasses race and ethnicity), gender, nationality, religion, functional expertise, and age. Even though racioethnic and gender diversity tend to receive the majority of the attention in the organizational diversity literature (Stark, 2001; Williams and O’Reilly, 1997), this de? ition allows for the frameworks offered to be applied to any type of organizational diversity salient to members. Diversity programs have been implemented in many multinational organizations, primarily, in an effort to improve working relationships Journal of Management Development Vol. 22 No. 10, 2003 pp. 863-880 q MCB UP Limited 0262-1711 DOI 10. 1108/02621710310505467 JMD 22,10 864 between white males, whose relative numbers continue to decrease, and demographically different individuals, whose numbers continue to increase in the workplace (Friedman and DiTomaso, 1996). While many multinational organizations have a corporate diversity strategy, most have not implemented it using the suggested planned changed approach posited in this paper. Given the intensifying â€Å"war for talent† in today’s competitive, global business environment, it is imperative that the execution and evaluation of a corporate diversity strategy use a planned changed approach to not only acknowledge and value diversity, but to also systemically manage and inculcate diversity into an organization’s corporate culture. This type of approach can contribute immensely to an organization’s ability to use all of its human capital as a strategic means to gain and maintain a competitive advantage in today’s dynamic, global marketplace (Richard, 2000). It has been purported that if diversity can be effectively managed in an organization, some potential bene? ts to the organization include greater creativity and innovation, and improved decision-making (Cox, 1991). Conversely, if diversity is not managed effectively, some potential major costs to the organization include, at a minimum, breakdowns in communication, interpersonal con? ict, and higher turnover (Cox, 1991). While there may not be much empirical evidence to substantiate claims that effectively managed diversity directly leads to bottomline increases (Chatman et al. , 1998; Richard, 2000; Stark, 2001), there is real-world evidence (e. g. Coca-Cola, Denny’s, Publix, and Texaco settlements) to suggest that not effectively managing gender and racioethnic diversity has been, and can be, detrimental to organizations and their bottomlines. Thus, it is a logical extrapolation that an organization’s ability or inability to create a culture in which diversity is systemically acknowledged, valued, and effectively managed is more likely to determine the affects diversity will have on it’s bottomline. Many organizations have implemented various diversity initiatives as a part of their corporate diversity strategy (Koonce, 2001), but most have not used a planned change approach to strategically align their initiatives with their long-term objectives and strategic positioning. It is highly probable that this lack of planned strategic alignment contributes immensely to the purported ineffectiveness of many diversity initiatives (Stark, 2001). Consequently, an organization that seeks to maximize the potential bene? s of diversity should devise a â€Å"planned change-corporate diversity strategy† prior to implementing diversity initiatives. The purpose of the planned change-corporate diversity strategy is to align the organization’s diversity initiatives (designed to manage diversity) with the organization’s strategic goals, and ultimately make managing diversity an integral part of the organization’s culture. An aligned planned change-corporate diversity st rategy will contribute immensely to the long-term effectiveness of diversity initiatives aimed at better managing all of he organization’s human resources. This is especially signi? cant for organizations with a highly diversi? ed workforce. With a planned change-corporate diversity strategy, diversity initiatives are aligned with organizational policies, procedures, and systems. Such alignment is desired to systemically reinforce an organizational culture that encourages the effective management of all employees in order to garner diversity’s purported bene? ts, including the end goal of increasing the bottomline. Thus, frameworks are presented for using a planned change-corporate diversity strategy to: advance from the initial passive states of acknowledging and valuing diversity to the ? nal active state of managing diversity on the â€Å"diversity continuum†; and systemically manage diversity using the speci? c eight-step â€Å"managing diversity process†. The diversity continuum and the planned change approach Valuing diversity and managing diversity as distinct phenomena Over the last few decades, a myriad of articles have been written on the subjects of valuing diversity and managing diversity (Wanguri, 1996). In some cases, valuing diversity and managing diversity have been considered, and sometimes used, interchangeable when, in fact, they are two different phenomena (Jenner, 1994). By the very nature of their de? nitions, valuing and managing diversity are distinctly different. Valuing refers to the relative worth, importance, or signi? cance of something, whereas managing refers to taking charge or coordinating and supervising situations. Given these de? nitions, valuing diversity should be considered a more passive phenomenon, where importance or signi? ance is given to individuals’ differences, which does not automatically lead to visible actions or reactions on the part of the individuals valuing the diversity or differences. Managing diversity, on the other hand, should be considered an active phenomenon, which involves supervising or coordinating and directing the diversity or differences individuals bring to the organization to ensure the organization’s strategic go als are being fully and effectively met. In other words, it refers to successfully organizing the organizational inputs of individuals with diverse backgrounds. This de? nition is consistent with the managing diversity de? nition given by Thomas’ (1991): â€Å"a ‘way of thinking’ toward the objective of creating an environment that will enable all employees to reach their full potential in pursuit of organizational objectives†. The diversity continuum As a result of the confusion in the literature between the two phenomena, valuing diversity and managing diversity, it is not dif? cult to understand why consensus does not exist on the claims of bottomline bene? s as a result of the attempts organizations have made to value and/or manage diversity. In addition to the confusion, lack of consensus could also be a function of the Managing diversity 865 JMD 22,10 866 complexity of the diversity concept in the organizational context. Given the complexity of diversity within an organizational setting, it is possible that perceiving it in terms of a set of three elements that delineates what to do with diversity may serve t o simplify or clarify the confusion in the diversity literature. Therefore, a diversity continuum is offered to guide researchers and practitioners in moving from the more passive states of acknowledging diversity and valuing diversity, on through to the more active state of managing diversity. As individuals ? nd themselves in situations with diverse individuals, they are likely to take one of two courses of action: avoid dealing with the diversity, or recognize that the diversity exists. In the case where individuals avoid diversity, they do not face the fact that diversity is an issue. It is likely that these individuals do not accept the idea that they are likely to be biased in their interactions with others that they perceive to be different from themselves. Although avoiding diversity is viewed as a possible response to diversity, it is not included in the diversity continuum. The diversity continuum is based on the assumption that individuals take the second course of action and recognize diversity. Once diversity is recognized, as previously stated, the diversity continuum serves as a framework to delineate the three potential states of dealing with diversity: acknowledging, valuing, and managing diversity. The three sequential components of the diversity continuum are: acknowledging diversity; valuing diversity; and managing diversity (see Figure 1). Acknowledging diversity, the ? rst component, refers to recognizing the existence of diversity or the individual differences individuals bring with them to a particular setting. In order for individuals to truly acknowledge diversity, they must be exposed to it, experience it, acquire knowledge about it, and they must develop an understanding of diversity. The second component of the diversity continuum is valuing diversity. Valuing diversity, as de? ed above, refers to the signi? cance or importance being given to the diversity or differences individuals bring with them to a particular setting. Having an appreciation for, as well as respect for, the differences that diverse individuals bring with them to the work setting can lead to the last component. The last component of the diversity continuum is managing diversity. As stated above, m anaging diversity refers to the planning, organizing, leading of individuals with differences or diversity in a particular setting, such that their inputs are used to accomplish the organization’s strategic goals. Even in racioethnically homogeneous organizational settings, organizations make large investments to ensure an appropriate organizational culture is fostered. An appropriate organizational culture is desirous, such that individuals are systemically managed to perform and accomplish its goals, not just hoping that their performance will somehow lead to the accomplishment of the organizations’ desired goals. Thus, similar systemic efforts are necessary in order to manage Managing diversity 867 Figure 1. The strategic management process emographically diverse individuals such that the organization can gain the maximum synergistic bene? ts from their contributions as well. The planned change approach Rather than being reactive and waiting for a â€Å"diversity crisis† to take place before a change is made (i. e. Coca-Cola, Denny’s, Publix, and Texaco settlements), an organization should be proactive in systemically Managing Diversity. Hence, an organization and its m embers should make the necessary changes to proactively move from just settling for the ? rst stage of acknowledging diversity to the ? al stage of managing diversity. The Lewin-Schein change model is offered as the theoretical framework to proactively and systemically facilitate the management of diversity in organizations. This planned change model is based on the premise that the organizational forces propelling change must subdue the forces resisting change for highly effective change to occur. Therefore, it is posited in this paper that the Lewin-Schein change model is a framework that can assist organizations and individuals in moving through the sequential elements of the diversity continuum. It is also posited that this model can be applicable at JMD 22,10 868 both the organizational and individual level for managing diversity. While Allen and Montgomery (2001) offered the Lewin-Schein change model as a framework for creating diversity, the model is offered in this paper as a framework for Managing Diversity. The Lewin-Schein change model involves three stages: unfreezing, change (moving), and refreezing (Lewin, 1951; Schein, 1992). For the organization or individual to experience successful change, the three stages need to be addressed in succession. Unfreezing using a planned change-corporate diversity strategy In the unfreezing stage, the organization’s or individual’s present culture (which includes perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors) toward diversity, needs to be unfrozen. This means there needs to be enough motivation within the organization or individual to want to change from its present state to the new desired state. Thus, in moving from one end of the diversity continuum to the other end, with managing diversity being the desired outcome, management must desire that its members move from just acknowledging and valuing diversity to managing diversity. As presented previously, managing diversity refers to systemically organizing and directing the inputs of all organizational members (including diverse individuals) to ensure the organization’s strategic goals are met. Likewise, the individual must want to move from just acknowledging and/or valuing diversity to the ? nal phase of managing diversity. At the individual level, this movement involves governing one’s actions toward diverse individuals in a way that allows for healthy, productive interaction with those diverse others. Therefore, to unfreeze the organization’s culture and its members’ current state of mind toward diversity, a planned change-corporate diversity strategy should be devised and aligned with the organization’s strategic positioning to reduce the forces that are striving to maintain the status quo (Dobbs, 1998). A ? rm’s strategic positioning The strategic management process is employed by many organizations in order to distinguish themselves from their competitors in the marketplace (David, 2001; Porter, 1985; Steiner, 1997). Although there are several schools of thought in the strategic management ? ld, the generally accepted components of the strategic management process are: strategy formulation, strategy implementation, and strategy evaluation as explained in Figure 2 (David, 2001; Hill and Jones, 1998). Strategy formulation is comprised of developing or reviewing the organization’s mission, vision, and long-term goals; conducting internal and exte rnal assessments to identify the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT); setting selection criteria and selecting the strategies that will afford the organization the best strategic positioning relative to its competitors (David, 2001; Steiner, 1997). Strategy implementation entails allocating the appropriate resources to ensure the Managing diversity 869 Figure 2. The three levels of organizational strategy selected strategies are properly executed (David, 2001; Steiner, 1997). Strategy evaluation involves setting control processes to continuously review, evaluate, and provide feedback concerning the implemented strategies to determine if the desired results are being accomplished, such that corrective measures may be taken if warranted (Hill and Jones, 1998; Steiner, 1997). As illustrated in Figure 3, there are usually three levels of strategy associated with large-scale organizations. The corporate level strategy de? nes the organization’s purpose and the lines of businesses in which it plans to operate, thereby providing the overarching direction for the organization. If an organization only operates in one line of business, its corporate level strategy and business level strategy are effectively one in the same (David, 2001; Hill and Jones, 1998). A business level strategy is the blueprint that should enable an organization to leverage its resources in order to differentiate itself from the competition within a particular line of business (David, 2001; Hill and Jones, 1998). The functional-level strategies serve to support the organization’s business-level strategy by providing direction for the appropriate short-term activities required by each functional area to meet the goals established in the business-level strategy (David, 2001; Hill and Jones, 1998). Consequently, having properly aligned corporate, business, and functional level strategies aid an organization in its efforts to accomplish its goals, thereby strategically positioning itself to successfully compete within the marketplace (David, 2001; Hill and Jones, 1998; Porter, 1985). Combining highly differentiated and ef? cient human capital with clearly delineated corporate, business, and functional level strategies can prove to be a competitive advantage for an organization (Barney, 1991, 1997; Wright et al. , 1995). An organization must view strategies for developing and managing its employees JMD 22,10 870 Figure 3. Alignment between corporate strategy and planned change-corporate diversity strategy as a part of its overarching corporate level strategy if it desires to have highly differentiated and ef? ient human capital in today’s competitive, global environment. Therefore, one argument of this paper is that any organization seeking to realize the maximum bene? t from having a diversi? ed workforce should have a planned change-corporate diversity strategy that is aligned with the organization’s overall strategic positioning. Developing a planned change-corporate diversity strategy The organization â€Å"wishing to create an environment that enables all employees to reach their full potential will have to . . . change organizational practices as necessary† (Thomas, 1991). However, prior to changing any organizational practice, a comprehensive strategy for how to accomplish that change should be devised based on an in-depth understanding of relevant organizational dynamics (i. e. culture, structure, ? nancial position, strategic initiatives, etc). Theoretically, a strategy should precede the structure of an organization. Consequently, a planned change-corporate diversity strategy should be devised to align with the organization’s corporate strategy before structuring diversity initiatives (as illustrated in Figure 4), and reinforced using a planned change approach. Organizations that have elevated their diversity strategist to executive-level management are likely to have an overarching corporate diversity strategy in place. But, it is not as likely that the diversity strategist is using a corporate-wide planned change approach to systemically reinforce the proposed changes in the corporate diversity strategy throughout all of the Managing diversity 871 Figure 4. The diversity continuum organization’s policies, procedures, and systems. Regardless of whether an organization has a corporate diversity strategy or not, it may be necessary to superimpose a planned change-corporate diversity strategy over existing disjointed diversity strategies and initiatives. At the onset of such an endeavor or superimposition, corporate diversity mission statement, vision, and goals must be formulated to articulate the purpose diversity initiatives will serve within the organization and the desired outcomes to be achieved from such initiatives. The delineated desired outcome should be designed to systemically manage diversity. Conducting internal and external assessments are essential steps in devising a planned change-corporate diversity strategy. An internal assessment will allow the diversity strategist to decide how to position diversity strategies and initiatives within the organization’s structure, and to align them with all of the organization’s policies, procedures, and systems. To assess the external environment, the diversity strategist should use environmental scanning tools to extract best practices based on benchmarked diversity strategies and initiatives at other leading organizations. Through the internal assessment, the diversity strategist should become intimately familiar with the organization’s values, vision, mission, strategies, goals, and initiatives, all of which constitute a sound basis for understanding the organization’s culture, policies, procedures, systems, and overall strategic positioning. The diversity strategist must become equally familiar with the bene? ts and shortfalls of various diversity initiatives. The strategist must conduct an analysis to determine the most appropriate linkages between the organization’s overall strategic positioning, policies, procedures, systems, and its diversity initiatives. Before proceeding, the diversity strategist must recognize and effectively articulate a clear strategic ? t and alignment amongst the organization’s overall strategic positioning, policies, procedures, systems, JMD 22,10 872 and diversity. Both strategic ? t and strategic alignment are necessary to strengthen the business case for allocating resources to support the planned change-corporate diversity strategy. In order to realize the maximum bene? ts from diversity, the planned change-corporate diversity strategy needs to be properly executed, evaluated and refrozen to ensure that the stated goals are being met, and that the organization’s culture and members are moving toward and sustaining the desired state of systemically managing diversity. Moving to systemically managing diversity Once the present state is unfrozen, the move that will allow the organization’s culture and members to advance to the desired state should be put in place. In this case, the move is to culturally reengineer the organization and its members to the true state of managing diversity by implementing the managing diversity process. The social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) is offered as the theoretical framework for the managing diversity process. It has also been offered as the theoretical framework for developing training programs in the cross-cultural and expatriate literature (Black and Mendenhall, 1989; Harrison, 1994). There are four major tenets of social learning theory: motivation, attention, retention, and reproduction (Bandura, 1977). These tenets are re? ected in the eight steps of the managing diversity process. In an effort to truly manage diversity, a change in the attitudes and behaviors of individuals, and in organizations’ systemic and institutional ways of doing business is required. Therefore, it is posited that utilizing the tenets of social learning theory can aid in the acquisition of the learning that is necessary for organizations to maximize the inputs of all of its diverse members. The planned change-corporate diversity strategy serves as the motivation for the learning of new behaviors and attitudes. Hence, once the planned change-corporate diversity strategy is articulated, the move through the eight steps of the managing diversity process should be instituted to assist individuals and organizations in culturally reengineering and moving to the desired state of managing diversity. The eight sequential steps of the managing diversity process include: (1) exposure; (2) experience; (3) knowledge; (4) understanding; (5) appreciate; (6) respect; (7) modify attitudes and behavior; and (8) healthy interaction. All of these are undergirded by tolerance (see Figure 5). The acknowledging diversity component of the diversity continuum is composed of steps (1)-(4), and they re? ect the â€Å"attention tenet† of social learning theory. The valuing diversity component of the diversity continuum is comprised of steps (5) and (6), and is re? ective of the â€Å"retention tenet† of social learning theory. Steps (7) and (8) constitute the managing diversity component of the diversity continuum and the â€Å"reproduction tenet† of social learning theory. The movement through each of the eight steps requires individuals to progressively develop appropriate skills to enable them to manage how they deal with individuals whom they consider different from themselves. Therefore, executing the eight steps in the managing diversity process serve as the necessary movement required to progress from acknowledging and valuing diversity to managing diversity. The true movement through the eight steps from acknowledging diversity to managing diversity is a paradigm shift, in that it entails a change in the treatment of diverse individuals (Fitzpatrick, 1997). Managing diversity 873 Diversity training In order for an organization to realize the potential bene? ts that can be afforded by employing diverse individuals, there needs to be a paradigm shift in which the inputs of diverse individuals are systemically managed within an organization to enable the successful accomplishment of its strategic goals. Training of individuals is viewed as a necessary tool to facilitate the organization in achieving its goals. Diversity training should be viewed no differently than any other type of training in which an organization invests. Therefore, it should also be viewed as a necessary tool to manage members’ behaviors and their ability to work productively with diverse individuals. After canvassing the literature, it has been noted that most diversity training programs merely raise individuals’ awareness of or sensitivity to diversity (Grubb, 1995; Jenner, 1994). Some few diversity training programs go as far as attempting to change individuals’ perceptions of diversity and how they communicate with people different from themselves (Grubb, 1995). However, these programs tend to be offered to only select employees, and they tend to be short in duration, ranging from a one-hour session to a series of one-day sessions several times a year (Koonce, 2001). The major drawbacks to most existing diversity training programs are that: . they do not build skills to facilitate individuals’ ability to actually manage their interactions with individuals different from themselves; . they are not rigorous nor time-intensive enough to create a paradigm shift in individuals’ treatment toward individuals different from themselves; and JMD 22,10 874 Figure 5. The continuous managing diversity process . there are no enduring reinforcement mechanisms embedded in the organization’s culture to ensure all individuals’ inputs are successfully managed to met the organization’s strategic goals. Managing diversity As a result, most (if not all) existing diversity programs have not been successful in creating enduring change in the way individuals interact with individuals different from themselves, nor have they been successful in changing their organization’s culture to one that systemically manages diversity. In order to create enduring change in individuals and the organization’s culture, members of the organization at all levels need to participate in diversity training that encapsulates the comprehensive managing diversity process. The outcomes that should be expected from participation include, but are not limited to, skill building in the following areas: the ability to clearly articulate their ideas and feelings; con? ict management skills; effective giving and receiving of feedback; effective listening; group observation skills; and group decision-making skills, all of which will facilitate modi? d attitudes and behaviors, and healthy interaction with diverse individuals. Individuals have to come to grips with their feelings, thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors toward diversity and others with whom they are different. In the ? rst step of Exposure, individuals provide public notice of where they are at that point. They do this by: laying open who they are; divulging where the y are; unmasking themselves; and receiving others’ culture. Step (2), experience, involves gathering information through personal involvement, encountering, seeing ? rst-hand, and living through events. In the third step of Knowledge, individuals become well informed, thus able to be conversant because they become familiar or acquainted with the culture of others. Knowledge serves as the basis for step (4), understanding. Because of their grasp of cultural realities, individuals are able to comprehend (understanding) relevant cultural dynamics, which leads them to be sensitive, and enables them to share unique insights and perceptions. In step (5), appreciate, individuals’ acceptance of the worth of a person’s culture and values makes it easier for them to welcome and â€Å"justly† estimate diverse individuals. Resultantly, individuals are able to respect (step (6)) diverse individuals; thus, they are able to pay attention, pay deference, and pay tribute to the values, worth, and culture of diverse others, as well as give personal consideration to the diverse individuals. Successful movement through the ? rst six steps, along with tolerance underpinning each step, should lead to modi? cations in individuals’ attitudes and behaviors toward diverse individuals, which is step (7), modify attitudes and behaviors. This change in attitudes and behaviors, again, along with tolerance should lead to healthy interaction (step (8)) with and amongst diverse individuals. Step (8) is a function of continuous acceptance and execution of steps (1)-(7). Therefore, this is a ? uid (not static) process that must be recognized for its ever-changing and 875 JMD 22,10 876 evolving nature. The requirements for successful execution of the managing diversity process are strenuous and time intensive because it requires individuals to modify their attitudes and behaviors. Thus, they must modify the way they interact with individuals different from themselves, and not just expect that they either avoid, acknowledge, or value those individuals that are different. Given that all individuals in today’s global business environment are likely to encounter others that are different from themselves on a frequent basis, the managing diversity process should be viewed as analogous to the open systems approach – it is a continuous process that maintains a constant reciprocal relationship with the environment. Refreezing the systemic management of diversity Successful movement through the managing diversity process requires individuals to change. Resistance to change is inherent in any change process, and it will be no different in this process (Harrison, 1994). Therefore, the managing diversity process is a ? uid, continuous process that needs to be systematically reinforced and embedded in the organization’s culture and individuals’ interactions, such that the organization’s culture and its members do not revert back to just acknowledging or valuing diversity. Hence, refreezing the desired state of managing diversity requires reinforcing the new perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors with emphasis on the modi? ed behaviors and healthy interactions individuals have adopted as a result of going through the managing diversity process. In order for individuals and organizations not to revert back to their previous states, the new desired state must go through the refreezing stage to be institutionalized. This should be accomplished through systemic, on-going training and daily interactions at the individual level, and through revised policies, procedures, and systems at the organizational level. At the individual level, the systemic, on-going training should not be just periodic training that merely exposes individuals to diversity. A great deal of time is necessary to cement these newly adopted attitudes, behaviors, and skills for healthy interaction. This kind of cementation is required for these newly acquired attitudes, behaviors, and skills to become totally embedded in the individuals’ natural way of interacting with diverse individuals. The systemic, on-going training needs to be skill-based and experiential in nature to promote long-term changes in the way individuals work with individuals different from themselves. This type of reinforcement at the individual level will contribute to the cultural reengineering that also must take place at the organizational level. To reinforce the desired state of managing diversity at the organizational level, revised recruiting, appraisal, development, and reward systems, as well as an enforceable diversity policy need to be implemented (Allen and Montgomery, 2001; Hemphill and Haines, 1998; Miller, 1998). The revised policies, procedures, and recruiting, appraisal, development, and reward systems need to re? ct the organization’s position on how the inputs of diverse individuals will be managed, such that their contributions fully aid the organization in meeting its strategic goals. A written, enforceable diversity policy, stating the systemic action steps and behaviors expected by all employees is a must as it relates to effectively managing the organizational inputs of all individuals. Everyone’s inputs should be effectively managed to contri bute to the achievement of the organization’s strategic goals. The revised policies, procedures, and systems should also align with the planned change-corporate diversity strategy. Given the resources and time required to revise and initiate implementation of the revised organizational policies, procedures, and systems, individuals are likely to resist these changes initially. Therefore, it is quite likely to be a dif? cult and time-consuming process to make the appropriate and necessary revisions to the organization’s policies, procedures, and systems. This is an essential and critical step necessary to ensure the organization and its members do not revert back to their previous attitudinal and behavioral states. It is paramount that revised policies, procedures, systems, and planned change-corporate diversity strategy are clearly communicated to all members of the organization to ensure that it can be appropriately recognized, executed, evaluated, and reinforced. To reinforce this cultural reengineering effort, management needs to initiate and actively participate in the refreezing stage, the same as they must genuinely participate at the unfreezing and moving stages. Potential limitations As with any theoretical model, there are limitations. One potential limitation of this notional model is that no matter how well it is implemented, there are likely to be some individuals whose attitudes may never change or they may continue to consciously or unconsciously show favoritism toward those whom they consider to be similar to themselves (Gilbert and Ivancevich, 2000; Miller, 1998). Another potential limitation is that subtle forms of biases against diverse individuals may still exist informally within the organization and/or outside of the work environment; thus, highly impacting individuals within the organization. Backlash is also a potential limitation; members of the majority are likely to perceived that they are being excluded at the expense of including diverse individuals (Hemphill and Haines, 1998). Additionally, if the training initiated to implement the managing diversity process is perceived as a bad experience, the organization’s leadership may abandon the initial implementation, hence dooming all future diversity efforts. However, by using the suggested planned change approach along with well enforced diversity policies and disciplinary procedures for violations of the diversity policy, it is more likely that individuals’ behaviors can be altered to be more tolerant of others whom they consider to be Managing diversity 877 JMD 22,10 different (Gilbert and Ivancevich, 2000). This will allow the talents, skills, and abilities of all individuals in the work setting to be used to meet organizational objectives. Conclusion Given that individuals are less willing to leave their differences outside the doors of the workplace (Thomas, 1991), an organization’s ability to systemically manage diversity will become more important, in years yet to come, if it wants to ensure its ability to compete successfully in the global marketplace. This paper suggests that, ? rst, a planned change approach should be used to systemically manage diversity, by developing and implementing a planned change-corporate diversity strategy. Second, organizations should execute their cultural reengineering efforts to move individuals and the organizational culture along the diversity continuum from the states of acknowledging and valuing diversity to the desired state of managing diversity. Movement to the desired state of managing diversity can be achieved by using the managing diversity process. It is also suggested that the organization needs to provide on-going training, and needs to institute new policies and procedures. Additionally, it must engage in appropriately different recruiting, appraisal, development, and reward systems that systemically reinforce the cultural reengineering of moving to the state of managing diversity. These new undertakings will ensure that the newly reengineered culture of managing diversity is inculcated into the organization’s culture, and its way of conducting business domestically and abroad. By adopting and executing the frameworks offered in this paper for ystemically managing diversity through a strategic planned change approach, managers will have created an organizational environment where they will be able to enjoy healthy, innovative, and productive interactions amongst diverse members of the organization. The following is a list of other potential bene? ts that may be derived from using the offered frameworks: . in general, individuals will develop an increased knowledge of and appreciation for other cultures; . individuals will learn to value and respect the cultural norms, behaviors, and attitudes of others; . here is likely to be a greater receptivity to necessary organizational changes; . there is likely to be a lessening of workplace anxieties; . a reduction in organizational con? ict; . a more pleasant work environment; and . increased performance and productivity. 878 In conclusion, the proactive management of diverse human resources will aid organizations in gaining and sustaining a competitive advantage in today’s dynamic global marketplace.

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Robert Lee Frost - Literary and Poetic Career - Research Paper Example In 1912, Robert Lee Frost was on the move again, this time across the seas to England. He sold his farm and everything he had worked for in America and decided to try his luck in full time writing in England. England proved to be good to his poetry career as his first two books were an instant success; these were A Boy’s Will, published in 1913 and North of Boston which was published a year later. He returned to the United States in 1915 where he settled with his family in Franconia, New Hampshire. He continued his teaching and writing career while here; he taught English at Amherst University from 1916 to 1938. He published his next books Selected Poems and New Hampshire in 1923. New Hampshire earned him his first Pulitzer. He Published the Collected Poems in 1930; this work earned him a Pulitzer a Russell Loines Poetry Prize (Meyers, 2001). Frost continued to give talks and lectures in many places where he was invited all across the United States. In 1937, his wife, Elinor died of heart-related complications. This was a big blow to Frost who continued to surround himself with work as a way of dealing with his loss. In 1939, the National Institute of Arts and Letters in New York awarded Frost a Gold Medal for his literal work. Family tragedy followed him the following year when his son killed himself. He continued to publish more poems and give more speeches and lectures wherever he went. He traveled extensively in Greece, Israel, the Soviet Union and England (Meyers, 2001). In 1961, Frost had the honor of reciting his poem â€Å"The Gift Outright† during the inauguration of JF Kennedy. Although he was not a graduate of any college, Frost held honorary degrees from prestigious universities such as Harvard, Princeton, Oxford, and Cambridge. His poetry was so good that it earned him four Pulitzers in 1994, 1931, 1937 and in 1943. His best-known work was titled â€Å"The Road Not Taken† and it is a simple yet deep exploration of the nature of man

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Immigration - Essay Example Barring some religious differences between catholic and protestants, they were accepted more readily within the American society as against Chinese immigrants. The Irish and German immigrants in America were conspicuous in their attitude towards work. The German immigrants were endowed with more money and therefore sought land and work in farmland. There were also politically active and endorsed the ideology of democrats who believed in equality and in the welfare of the commoners. The Irish immigrants, on the other hand, were driven to America due to poverty and scarcity of opportunities in their motherland. Most of the were employed in labor intensive work like construction of road, canals, bridges etc. But both, German and Irish immigrants faced huge opposition because they threatened the livelihood of Americans in low paying jobs. Most importantly, German and Irish immigrants showed that America remained the most attractive place to realize one’s dream of prosperous and happy

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The North American Berdache - Coursework Example Such people are also called two-spirited people. Way back in history the Spanish 'Conquistadors' came across two-spirited individuals in almost every town or village they visited in Central America. It was believed in the past that these individuals possessed numinous powers. History says that once in an encounter between a tribe and a group of women the soldiers of the tribe found that one of the women was a Berdache they ran frightened when the women started running after them. This proves the point that Berdaches contained significance in North America. However some writers criticize these individuals. Natives were and are usually thought of as warriors. Now when it is discovered about the Berdaches, writers criticize it as being a social failure. The reason being that such individuals believe that these people do not possess masculine qualities in them and hence are failure for their culture and their tribe. The writer Lang comments that in the past cross dressing that is male dressing like a female or a female dressing like a male did not mean they were necessarily Berdaches. He believed that dressing did not describe a person's society role, gender or even the partner he or she would choose for his or her life. A child's gender was decided by his or her tendency towards masculine or feminine activities. Clothing only mattered at the stage of Puberty to display a person's gender. Two-spirited people with a male body could go on a war, could even indulge in male activities such as sweat lodges. However they even had the capabilities of performing feminine tasks such as cooking and other domestic jobs. However now such feminine males are looked down by the society. People take them as a shame to the society and no longer look at their dual capabilities. These two spirited people or berdaches had sexual relations with any of the gender. How ever in the early days and even now Female bodied berdaches were involved in sexual relations with the female gender (now who are usually named as lesbians). A classic example of a relationship or a marriage was seen in the Lakota tribe which had male bodied berdaches, which would marry usually other males whose wife had passed away. They could take up the job of nursing the children of the family. Such people how ever did not gain much recognition, but some people believed that having sexual relations with two spirited people would get them magical powers. It was even believed that male-bodied berdaches having sex with another male will lead to the increasing of the masculinity of the other male. Another example brings in a totally new study of these two spirited

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The basic guidelines that are specially relevant for aggressive equity investors and conservative equity investors for investment decision - Essay Example In the need to understand these investment plans, this paper is aimed at evaluating the basic guidelines that are relevant for aggressive equity investors and conservative equity investors for the purpose of decision making. To begin with, aggressive equality investors actively play the game of equality in a vigorous way. Most of the time is spent in managing their portfolio than their consecutive counterparts. They are subjected to high risks; the calculations are in albeit manner aimed at earning big return rates (Chandra, 2009). For the aggressive equality investors, the following general guidelines are relevant in their investment plans for appropriate decision making. The first guideline is to focus on investments that one understands to play their own game. According to Prasanna Chandra (2009, p. 670), â€Å"an investor should always know about the specific company they are investing in, more than the current market does in order to successfully manage their investments.† Therefore, an investor must clearly make a decision on what to focus on. Therefore, decision making is the main key to successful investments. The choices of making decisions are diverse. They include deciding to concentrate on growth, value, multinational companies, small companies, public sector companies, high grade bonds, or low grade bonds. In choosing any of these strategies an investor should be mindful of the basic rules. These rules include being thorough, tough minded, being flexible in knowing the deal about any company one is buying into, and buying when the company is not understood by the existing market is a fundamental idea to keep in mind (Chandra, 2009) . As argued by Candara, one should play the game that one is best in, advocating that an investor should do things as an analyst who is best in doing something. For instance, if an investor can foretell the most important development in the

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In 2015, why are women still earning less than men in Canada - Annotated Bibliography Example In other words, the author of the article suggest that to some degree womens professional choices predetermine the existence of the pay gap between men and women. In her article on the relationship between gender role attitudes and the pay gap between men and women, Nicole Fortin argues that the differences in wages results from discrimination against women. More specifically, the author has found that in OECD countries, it is believed that men should have more right to jobs compared to women and that the main gender role of a woman is a housewife. In addition to this, Fortin states that inner conflicts can explain the existence of the pay gap as well. In particular, she mentioned the so-called â€Å"mothers guilt†. Finally, based on the data from the World Value Survey, Fortin claims that the pay gap may be explained by the fact that women place a greater value on non-pecuniary aspects of job, which means that women may prefer jobs that offer better working environment rather than jobs that pay more. In her article, Julie Cool studies the issue of the pay gap between men and women from different points of view and suggests the possible causes of this problem. Before the analysis of causes, the author states this trend is a historical one because in Canada occupational segregation has been a normal practice for a significant period of time. As for the possible causes, Cool defines the three of them. The first one is the group of human capital factors, such as education and job experience. As the author claims, today, these factors do not account for the substantial portion of the existing pay gap. The second group of causes is demographic characteristics, such as marital status and the presence of children. The last of them is job characteristics, which include types of work, industries etc. In this regard, the author argues that it is the

Google Books Essay Example for Free

Google Books Essay The Google Books project has been a working progress ever since Google was created. The co-founders of Google, Sergey Brin and Larry Page had been working on a research project that was supported by the Stanford digital Library Technologies Project in 1996. Google intends to scan every book ever published and make all of the text searchable so that people can find the relevant information they need about book. They want to make books more accessible to the public and create an easy mechanism of sorting a book’s content and relevance to a subject. In 2002 a secret â€Å"books† project was launched and research was underway to identify the challenges that lay ahead of them. Over this period, Googlers discovered a quick and harm free way to scan books and began to meet with Libraries to begin the digitalization of books. In December 2004 Google announces the launch of the â€Å"Google Print† Library Project thanks to partnerships from Harvard, The University of Michigan, The New York Public Library, Oxford and Stanford. Together it is said that these libraries exceed 15million volumes. In 2005 Google Print is renamed Google Books which is a more fitting title as it better explains it’s use. With the launch of Google Books and its fast development many will argue of the advantages and disadvantages of the site. The whole project seems a little bit overly ambitious and it obviously has many flaws in its system. It is a timely process to scan hundreds of millions of books and the pivotal question here is â€Å"Are Google books doing it right? † Scanning books is an extremely time consuming process so once Google books have done it, it seems unlikely that the books will be rescanned. If some of the books are not scanned properly, important literature and information could become obscured or lost through the process of digitalization. Geoff Nunberg (2009) published an article Google books: A Metadata Train Wreck and pointed out many errors in the system. One example being that he googled the name of an author and restricted the search to the works published before their year of birth. It was found that 182 hits came up for Charles Dickens alone. The Chief Engineer for Google Books, Dan Clancy claimed that the incorrect dates where the fault of the libraries. However, when the matter was investigated further it shows that the first ten full read books published before 1812 and that mention Charles Dickens are correctly dated in the catalogues that they had come from. Although one can argue that the correct information is given on the title page, there have been some other inexcusable errors too. Google Books has classified many of its books incorrectly and once again Dan Clancy has claimed that both the libraries and publishers where to blame because the classifications were drawn from the BISAC codes that is given to booksellers. BISAC codes have only been around for about 20 years meaning that any book that was put in the wrong category before this time is a mistake of Google themselves. Google have decided to take on an extremely large project but it seems apparent that they are not doing it very well. They are quick to push the blame on others and the whole project is based more towards commercialism rather than to help make knowledge available to the world. Project Gutenberg was one of the first â€Å"digital† libraries and was created by volunteers. This project seems to focus more on the importance of literature and the quality of the books available are much greater than those on Google Books. The books are proof read by human beings and their workers are not paid which is a clear sign that they actually care about making books more available to people. Google Books produces books in a much larger mass but they should be aware that people will value â€Å"quality over quantity† most. Google quickly scan these books and it’s obvious that they rarely check them for errors. In Paul Duguid’s (2007) essay Inheritance and Loss? A Brief Survey of Google Books, He addresses the Google books system hands on by using Laurence Sterne’s The Life and Opinion of Tristram Shandy as an example. He choose the first link that appeared in the search engine and claims his results were as follows; The book he was examining did not start with the word â€Å"wish† meaning that the left hand side of the page that had the word â€Å"I† was missing. On page seventeen the left hand side of the page is not legible because the gutter of the book is blocking the first few letters and by page twenty-seven, Sterne quoted Hamlet’s phrase â€Å"alas, poor Yorick! † and inserted a black page of mourning. However the version that is on Google books has left out this page and is somewhat ignorant to the fact of how iconic it is to the astute reader. On further investigation of Duguids essay I clicked on the links that were given to the book and realised that it was no longer a link to the book. I then searched Tristram Shandy just had Duguid had done into Google Books. I clicked on the first link which is the same Harvard edition that Duguid was referencing and discovered that the first page had the word â€Å"I† before â€Å"wish† and page seventeen was now fully legible. Although some corrections had been made the black page that was to follow on from page twenty seven has still not been inserted. This is perhaps due to the fact that the people scanning these books are not scholars themselves. It is very easy to recognise a page with a missing word or one that is not fully legible but many would mistake a black page as an error in printing. Another flaw in the digitalization in books is the actual book itself. There is something so pleasant about flicking through a book and holding it in your hand while you read. The book in its own physically is magnificent, depending on how old it is it could have been passed on from generation to generation. The book itself is a story in its own right. Throughout its lifespan the book can acquire various annotations, signatures and other interesting characteristics. There has also been a lot of conflict with regard to the publishing industry and the digitalization of books. Google has offered to provide a search engine what they aspire to be every book ever published but for those which are copyrighted and cannot be viewed online, Google provides the option to purchase them online through sites such as Amazon or Barnes. In January 2007, Google held a conference on the future of the publishing industry. The conference quoted Charles Darwin and projected it on a screen: â€Å"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor is it the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change. † Toobin (2007) states in an article Google’s Moon Shot: â€Å"As Laurence Kirschbaum, a long time publishing executive who recently became a literary agent, told me at the conference, â€Å"Google is now the gatekeeper. They are reaching an audience that we as publishers and authors are not reaching. It makes perfect sense to use the specificity of a search engine as a tool for selling books. †Ã¢â‚¬  This statement has a lot of truth because since the growth of technology, the popularity of books has fallen drastically. People in the 21st century care more for mindless television shows and tacky magazines than a good well written piece. Reading books challenges the mind and fuels the imagination and by incorporating literature with technology it is a great attempt to try and revive such an excellent thing. Despite Google’s attempts, it looks as if they are not doing a good job. Many authors and publishers filed a lawsuit against Google Books claiming that Google has violated their copyrights by scanning the books, creating an electronic database and displaying short excerpts without their permission. The Authors Guild filed a lawsuit against Google Books alleging copyright infringement and after four years of discussion a settlement was finally reached in 2009. It was decided that Google was allowed to copy, display and sell millions of books that were out of print but still in copyright. However the agreement was reviewed several times and was summarily rejected in March 2011. This gave organizations a chance to voice their concern about the privacy policy for users of the system. Google claims that it has reviewed its privacy policy and that an advance policy has been created for Google Books but it seemed that the policy still left a large number of gaps and something appeared to be quite vague. On September 4th 2009 the Electronic Privacy Information Centre (EPIC) entered a motion to intervene in the Google settlement case to help the readers of Google Books regarding their privacy online. EPIC states that readers will be required to part with particular information that will be stored in a database to create detailed profiles of preferences of the reading with regard to their purchases and browsing. Marc Rotenberg appeared in court on February 18th 2010 and stated that: â€Å"A person at any library or any university in the United States that attempted to retrieve information from Google’s digital library would be uniquely tagged and tracked. There is simply no precedent for the creation of such power†. The court rejected the settlement but it did however state that Google should review it’s privacy policy to better protect its users. Google should not have the right to disclose any information to government or third parties and secure browsing should be a priority. Many people do not realise that these profiles are being created or that their privacy is being invaded. If this is supposed to be the library of the future, then it should be dealt with in the correct manner. People should be able to browse through books anonymously and have their own thoughts kept private. Google Books seem to have rushed the whole process of scanning such a vast amount of literature and by doing so they seemed to have forgotten about â€Å"quality over quantity. † It seems that the dream of creating a digital library will remain one for the foreseeable future due to the numerous flaws that the system has. Whilst Google Books are trying to correct their many errors it is apparent that the whole project was done quite carelessly and insufficiently. It is evident that Google Books motive leans more to the commercial side of things rather than making knowledge available to a wider audience. This is particularly clear with regards to their privacy policy. Google will suggest recommended pages and sites by analysing all of your browsing. The option to purchase a book that is not available online makes Google Books more of a digital bookstore rather than a digital library. The concept of Google Books is a great one and though it has some advantages, the disadvantages outweigh the good. Bibliography: †¢Duguid, Paul. Inheritance and Loss? A Brief Survey on Google Books. N. p. , Aug. 2007. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. . †¢Nunberg, Geoff. Language Log. A » Google Books: A Metadata Train Wreck. N. p. , 29 Aug. 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. http://languagelog. ldc. upenn. edu/nll/? p=1701 †¢McSherry, Corynne. Good and Bad in Google Book Search Settlement Decision | Electronic Frontier Foundation. Good and Bad in Google Book Search Settlement Decision | Electronic Frontier Foundation. N. p. , 23 Mar. 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. . †¢Rogers, T. Google Books: Good for Knowledge, Bad for Privacy. Information Privacy Law. N. p. , 28 Mar. 2011. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. http://www. brianrowe. org/infoprivacylaw/2011/03/28/google-books-good-for-knowledge-bad-for-privacy/ †¢Google Books. Google Books. N. p. , n. d. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. .

Agency Theory Accounting practices

Agency Theory Accounting practices Agency theory the contribution of agency theory to the development of current accounting practices Introduction The aim of this report is to develop a relationship between agency theory and the existing practices of accountancy. In the report, the problem of agent-principal will be described with the main consequences for business-related relationship. After identifying the problem, the accountancy practices will be linked to the issues addressed in model that will be explained. The report will look at a case study related to agency theories and its affects within accounting practices. Finally it will show the ways the accountancy practices meet the problems raised by the agent-principal relationships. The agency theory is a mixture of the relationships between principals and agents, it occurs when principal and the agents create a delegation (Donaldson, L. Davis, J.H., June 1991). Berle and Means 1932 stated that the Agency theory argues that in modern corporation, where share ownership is widely held, managerial actions depart from those required to maximise the shareholders return, this was also backed up by Pratt and Zeckhauser in 1985. According to Jensen and Meckling, 1976, In Agency theory terms, the owners are principals and the managers are agents and there is an Agency loss which is the extent to which returns to the residual claimants, the owners, fall below what they would be if the principals, and the owners, exercised direct control of the corporation (Donaldson, L. Davis, J.H., June 1991). The long term strategies for agency theory include the principle of company, business, franchise, etc providing incentives such as increasing commission, continuing to provide advertising, training and motivation to increase outlet operations. To argue this Carney and Gedajlovic stated that regarding of the exogenous factor, outlet managers have an incentive to shirk and misrepresent their abilities because the firm is hard to differentiate the managers performance behavior (Mathieu, 1997), While the short-term strategies include balancing supply with demand at the shortest turn around time. Agency theory tends to impact business decisions by focusing on establishing incentives as mentioned in the long-term strategies above. However, it may be very costly and may create moral hazards if top management tries to over maximise profits for themselves instead of for the employees. The cost to manage and monitor transactions can affect both the domestic and global financial managers due to the strategy becoming very expensive; nevertheless this strategy can have the negative impact upon the organisations survival. Conflicts of agency theory There is a conflict between principals and agents (shareholders and managers) that can potentially have a devastating business consequence. The cost of monitoring efforts, measuring results and opportunities lost can be substantial. Incentives and disincentives may not result in wanted outcome, when businesses should scan their environment constantly to seek opportunities to meet the interest of their own stakeholders. Agency theory is a small entity of financial economics that looks at conflicts of interest between people that have different interests for the same assets, this means that their will always be constant conflicts between: shareholders managers and shareholders bond holders. These are the reason why organisations make constant acquisitions that tend to be bad for the shareholder, why convertible bonds are preferably used while normal bonds are often sold with warrants and finally shows the importance of capital structures. According to Eisenhardt (1989a), agency theory is devoted to the solution of two problems that can arise from agency relationships. The first problem is goal related and arises when: i) there is a conflict between the goals of the principal and the agent; and ii) the verification of the agents behaviour is difficult or expensive to be verified by the principal. The second problem is risk-related. If the agent and the principal have different attitudes towards risk, it is likely that both will behave differently and in accordance to their risk preferences. Identifying conflicting positions between any two agents and explaining the governance mechanisms underlying these relationships (that limit the agents behaviour) is known as the Positivist agency theory (Eisenhardt, 1989a). A different position is found in the principal-agent research (as opposed to the positivistic agency theory) and relies on a more mathematical and abstract approach to the problem. Although in different perspectives, these two approaches can be complementary as it can be seen in the quotation below (Eisenhardt, 1998a: 60): â€Å"Rather, the important point is that the two streams are complementary: Positivistic theory identifies various contract alternatives, and the principal-agent theory indicates which contract is the most efficient under varying levels of outcome uncertainty, risk aversion, information, and other variables†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Problems of agency theory The major popularity of the application of the agency theory to the relationship between shareholders and the board if directors produced a vast amount of research devoted to this issue. In fact, this phenomenon relates to those cases in which ownership and management are represented by different individuals. Being each individual maximising its utility leads to the existence conflicting positions between the agent and the principal. This became the main focus of research, and justifies the need of such an agency theory. This problematic is in the basis of the role of agent theory in the accountancy practices. According to Bricker and Chandar (1998: 488-489): â€Å"Contracts between shareholders and managers are written in order to reduce agency cost, and thereby, the dead weight loss in firm value as a result of the separation of ownership from control. Accounting is considered to play an important role as an integral part of the contracts that define a firm. For example, lending arrangements between a firm and its creditors often contain several accounting based covenants. Accounting-based bonus plans are frequently a component of executive compensation plans. Accounting measures are commonly used in the performance evaluation of a firms cost and profit centers. Watts and Zimmerman argue [1986, p. 196]: if accounting is an important part of the firms contracting process and agency costs (and hence, firm value and/or managers compensation) vary with different contracts, accounting procedures have the potential to affect firm value and/or the managers compensation. This rationale has given rise to several hypotheses regarding the role of accounting information in market valuation of firms and managers use of accounting discretion.† The table presented below summarises some of the key issues associated with agency theory and relates them to several assumptions of different nature: Key idea Principal agent relationship should reflect efficient organisation of information and risk-bearing costs Unit of analysis Contract between principal and agent Human assumptions Self interest Bounded rationality Risk aversion Organisational assumptions Partial goal conflict among participants Efficiency as the effectiveness criterion Information asymmetry between principal and agent Information assumptions Information as purchasable commodity Contracting problems Agency (moral hazard and adverse selection) Risk sharing Problem domain Relationships in which the principal and agent have partially differing goals and risk preferences (e.g. compensation, regulation. Leadership, impression management, whistle-blowing, vertical integration, transfer pricing) Table 1: Agency theory overview Source: Eisenhardt (1989a) Development of agency theory Agency cost is a major problem with organisation and with constant fraud cases that are growing around the world their needed to be major development of the theory in accounting practices. A way of developing the theory is to minimise agency costs that can be accomplished through communications, sharing risks and benefits and seeking to balance the scorecards. The theory has developed by establishing performance standards, using cost effective processes, cost management tools and incentives have all helped the problem of managing agency problems. Accountancy provides information to base future decisions on historical performances. Providing accurate information about costs it is possible to predict the result of future production. This perspective is particularly important in the case of, for example, government contracts, in which an agent- principal relationship is also established. For example, Reichelstein (1992) draws upon the agency models to explain government contracts, showing how agency theory can be used to design incentive contracts, and demonstrating that the agency models have actually influenced managerial economics. A different perspective is that accounting provides an opportunity of control from the agent over the principal. In this respect, the insights about the relationship between the shareholders and management were particularly important in demonstrating the role of accountancy as key information provider. To that extent, it was suggested that accountancy reporting is a result of the separation of ownership from management phenomena. Hence, it can be argued that the reporting practice is a result of the agent problem and serves the control needed to verify the agents performance. Another perspective was the budget development based on historical accounts. Contracts usually include a price for production which has not taken place yet. The pricing of these contracts has to be based on historical costs that can only be provided by accountancy. To that extent, accountancy practice is not a result of the agent-principal problem but is originated to avoid uncertainty in principal-agent relationships. case realted study to agency theory Taking a prime example of Enron and its relationship with accounting practices clearly show the affects of agency theory within an accounting practice can affect organisations. The collapse of Enron was entirely related to the accounting practices adopted by the company. It has a number of these questionable, and in some cases straight out fraudulent, accounting practices that pertained to the most dramatic collapse of a major company in years. An analysis of some of these accounting practices brings to light the problems with the use of concepts such as mark-to-market accounting and the use of special purpose entitys (SPEs), the interrelation of agency theory suggests that the basic ideals surrounding agency theory applied to the Enron Case at some point in time, however the continuation of this principal deteriorated as time went on. The agency theory was clearly an issue in Enrons case because the managers of the firm were transferring wealth from the shareholders to themselves in the form of stock performance. Not only were there the Shareholders to Management agency problem there was also an employer to employee agency problem. With regard to the shareholder to management problem, the shareholders had placed a large amount of decision-making capability onto the management team and had not successfully monitored the agents behaviour. Given that the managers had all come to Enron with a strong reputation, it was expected that they â€Å"would act in the interest of the shareholders. [As such the shareholders] had monitored the managers performance very little† (Godfrey et al, 2008). As a shareholder, it would have been in the best interests to implement monitoring costs to â€Å"measure, observe and control† Schillings behaviour. Unfortunately this would not have been enough. The introduction of Fa stow, described as â€Å"a genius† in a number of sources, allowed for the performance of Enron to appear strong even in dire times. The use of SPEs and mark-to-market accounting allowed for the â€Å"reduction of monitoring costs by incurring bonding costs [in the form of quarterly statements]† that allowed Enron to perform better than it appeared. Another point that links is that the agency theory is the â€Å"the principal will remunerate the agent according to the principals expectations of how much the agents behaviour is likely to be contrary to the principals interests† (Godfrey et al, 2008). Given that managers of Enron were all major shareholders of the company the focus was on driving the share price up which was done by a process called â€Å"pump and dump; this process involved buying up the share price and then selling out† (Enron: The Smartest Guys in The Room) this allowed the directors to maintain high remuneration because they were achieving high share prices for the principals and also allowed them to gain from share price rises before selling out at the top. Finally, the principal-agent relationship that occurs between Skilling and Fastow (CEO of Enron) is that of an employee to employer. This relationship is important because it â€Å"emphasises the importance of the ability to monitor employees work efforts† (Akdere, Azvedo, 2004). Skilling and Ken Lay claim that they were unaware of what Fastow was doing with regards to the financial statements, however, Skilling and Lay were acting as the agents for the shareholders as well as acting as the principals for Fastow. Their involvement in such transactions as the one with LJM were â€Å"not only disclosed to the board at a meeting which took place in 1999, but the board approved of [Fastows] participation, following a recommendation to this effect from the then CEO and Chairman, Ken Lay† (Deakin, Konzelmann, 2004). From this we can clearly see that Lay, Skilling and Fastow were all part of the agency problem that occurred. conclusion This report has shown that several areas of accounting have been affected by the agency theory model. This theory has defiantly had implications in the financial accounting, management accounting and in corporate finance. Nevertheless, the strongest argument that relates to agency theory with accountancy mainly relies in the nature of both, the accounting and agency theory rely on the existence of contracts, these contracts rely at the core of the relationship between agents and the principal. Furthermore agency theorys core role is the risk associated with the relationship whereas accountancy reduces risk by providing information about the agents in action. Additionally reporting previous behaviours of the agent showing that the historical agent has kept the conditions of contract, may provide indications for the principal about the future behaviour of agents; increasing trust levels in the relationship and reducing the risk associated with relations. In conclusion, the current features (and practices) of accountancy meet the agency model problems proving the information to avoid opportunistic behaviours and ensuring that relational contracts are met. Referances Journals Davis, J.H., Schoorman, F.D., Donaldson, L. (1997), Toward a stewardship theory of management, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 22 No.1, pp.20-47. Berle, A. and G. Means, 1932, The Modern Corporation and private property (New York, Maacmillan) Jones, D. R. Butler, J.E, 1992, Managing internal corporation entrepreneurship: an agency theory perspective (Journal of Management) Bricker, R. and Chandar, N. (1998). On Applying Agency Theory in Historical Accounting Research. Business and Economic History 27(2): 486-99 Eisenhardt, K.M. (1989a). Agency Theory: An Assessment and Review, Academy of Management Review, 14 (1): 57-74. Eisenhardt, K.M. (1989b). Agency- and Institutional Theory Explanations: The Case of Retail Sales Compensation. Academy of Management Journal, 31 (3): 488-511. Kaplan, R.S. (1984). The Evolution of Management Accounting. The Accounting Review, LIX(3): 390-402. Reichelstein, S. (1992). Constructing Incentive Schemes for Government Contracts: An Application of Agency Theory. The Accounting Review, 67 (4): 712-731. References for Enron case study: Serwer, Andy. 2002, ‘Dirty Rotten Numbers: Enron has made us shine a light on the books of Americas public companies. Now, if your company carries even a hint of bad accounting, the stock will be savaged, Fortune. Vol 145, i4, p74+. Shleifer, Andrei. 2000, ‘Are Financial Markets Efficient Oxford Scholarship Online Economics and Finance. Pp 1- 5. Akdere, Mesut and Azevedo, Ross. 2004, ‘Organisational Development, Agency Theory, and efficient Contracts: A Research Agenda. Pp2-8. Deakin, Simon and Konzelmann, Suzanne. 2004, ‘Learning From Enron Corporate Governance. Vol 12, pp134-142. Haldeman, Robert G. 2006, ‘Fact, Fiction, and Fair Value Accounting at Enron The CPA Journal. Pp1-10. Thompson, Robert B. 2004, ‘Corporate Governance after Enron. HeinOnline. Pp99-117. Godfrey, Jayne. Hodgson, Allan. Holmes, Scott. Tarca, Ann. 2006. ‘Accounting Theory: Sixth edition. Wiley, Australia. ‘Enron: The Smartest Guys in The room 2005, DVD, Dendy Films. USA. ‘Encarta: Online. Copyright MSN Encarta, 2008, Accessed 15/05/08 from http://encarta.msn.com/media_701610605/the_fall_of_enron_stock.html