Lego Case Essay Example

Lego Case Paper TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction1 Strategic Analysis2 A. Internal Core Competences2 B. Company mission and vision3 C. Future goals4 D. Organizational Structure5 E. 7-S model analysis76 Improvements9 Open Innovation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 10 A. Organization of innovation. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦11 B. Matrix Innovation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦.. 12 Reference14 Appendices†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 15 A. Memos†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦15 B. Project A Log for mm215†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦.. 17 Executive Summary LEGO Group began in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen, and has a long history which started with making wooden toys, plastic toys and then getting to the famous brick. Because of the foreign competition, many companies, including LEGO, had to reevaluate their strategies to regain competitive advantage. As a consequence, the current corporate vision in Lego energizes all employees. Furthermore, the bond between them and top management can make every decision become a successful strategy. LEGO Goals focus on increasing, developing and expanding â€Å"direct to consumer† activities. The company has three main divisions in order to secure a successful implementation: â€Å"Market and Product† division, â€Å"Community, Education and Direct† and Operation division. This report discusses the 7 S model analyses: strategy, structure, systems, shared values, style, staff and skills. Excelling in this areas, LEGO became the fourth biggest toy manufacturer in the world and the brick was called the â€Å"Toy of the Century â€Å". LEGO Games provide the opportunity for a unique combination of building with Lego bricks and social play with family and friends. We will write a custom essay sample on Lego Case specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Lego Case specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Lego Case specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer LEGO core values are: fun, creativity and quality. The company structure consists of the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer and four Executive Vice Presidents each responsible for their own business area. The company has always been a family business and now it’s the first time when an outsider becomes part of it, but with his visionary leadership style pulled LEGO out of the crisis. The biggest innovation of LEGO is the way they work with users and other external agents for development and product improvement. For the manufacturing of new products LEGO implemented a mechanism known as LEGO Development Process (LDP). The company has split its innovation efforts into 8 distinct areas, from product development to business model innovation. This report reviews and synthesizes the information presented on the project, and shows case of the Group’s strategies and vision. The issues of diversity and innovation occupy a central role in showing the company’s values. Nevertheless, the Group must advance and focus on its fundamental mission, adapting to the external realities that affect the market. Introduction The LEGO Group, a privately held company based in Billund, began in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen (1891 – 1958), a carpenter, who began making wooden toys in 1932. In 1947, it started to produce plastic toys, and in 1949, LEGO began producing the now famous bricks, calling them â€Å"Automatic Binding Bricks†. Bricks are colourful and they are accompanying array of gears, mini-figures and various other parts. LEGO Company takes its name from the two Danish words ‘Leg Godt’ meaning â€Å"play well. † The LEGO Groups motto is ‘det bedste er ikke for godt’ which means roughly only the best is good enough’. This motto was created by Ole Kirk to encourage his employees never to skimp on quality, a value he believed in strongly. The motto is still used within the company today. Today, LEGO Group ranks among the four biggest construction toy company around the world. Globally, there are approximately 10,000 employees in the LEGO Group, which is presented in more than 130 countries. The concept of â€Å"Play Well† serves their philosophy for all LEGO products today, a philosophy encouraging children to be open and curious, to stimulate their creativity, imagination and learning – while they’re having fun. In 1968, LEGOLAND Billund opened and it became Denmark’s most popular tourist attraction outside the capital. LEGOLAND parks are family parks in which children enter an exciting world of adventure built of LEGO bricks. There are 4 LEGOLAND’s in the world and soon there will be 5. There is one in the south of England, which opened in 1996, one in USA, in California which opened in 1999 and one in Deutschland, which opened in 2002. LEGO Group announced the opening of 2 new LEGOLAND parks, in Florida at the end of 2011 and in Malaysia in 2012. Strategic Analysis The threat of foreign competition has caused many companies to re-evaluate their strategies in order to regain the position of competitive advantage. The whole purpose of a strategic analysis is to figure out the most suitable planning strategy in respect to the company’s production and people, to set overall goals for the business and to develop a plan to achieve them. This process involves stepping back from the day-to-day operations and asking where the business is heading. 1 Internal Core Competences [pic] All the internal core competences that LEGO promote are properly balanced, adding value to the company strategies. Leadership The corporate vision is inspirational and energizes all employees throughout the company. Leaders are energetic, communicating strategic decision and lead by example. The top management within LEGO Group knows how to help its employees to expect and respect data-driven decision making, by making strategy everyone’s job: the work force understands the strategy and further, understands how their locale, everyday decision can contribute to successful strategy implementation. Corporate Culture The shared values of the LEGO Company within the employees are what link the organization together so that everyone lives the values, nurturing an attitude of relentless growth. Teams are infused with purpose, personality and passion for continuous improvement. Empowered Employees The employees of the LEGO Company are sharply aligned with the corporate vision and strategy, having a decision-making authority. All the innovators employees have the freedom to experiment, fail and begin again more intelligently. Performance Management LEGO Group has two major systems that are performance wise: motivation systems and suggestion systems. Motivation systems encourage extraordinary performance from all employees, as suggestion systems involve them in continuous efficiency improvement. Corporate Capabilities Combining all the structures, LEGO has established strong corporate capabilities on the basis of high promotion of effective creativity, ideas and knowledge. Within the company, teamwork is made a religion and innovation teams are empowered and diversity is leveraged. 2 Company mission and vision For the vast majority of companies, having well-defined visions and mission statements changes nothing. The exercise of crafting them is a complete waste of time and talent, if visions and mission statements are used for nothing but being published in the annual report and displayed in a reception area. In connection to this, LEGO Group has a remarkable strategy of sharing the missions and vision among all the employees and customers. Mission: ‘Inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow’ LEGO’s ultimate purpose is to inspire and develop children to think creatively, reason systematically and release their potential to shape their own future experiencing the endless human possibility. Based on the world famous LEGO brick, the company currently provides toys, experiences and educational materials to children living in over 130 countries. The LEGO Group has approximately 10,000 employees and is the fifth-game material in the world. Vision: ‘Inventing the future of play’ LEGO wants to pioneer new ways of playing, play materials and the business models of play leveraging globalization and digitalization it is not just about products, it is about realizing the human possibility. In order to achieve this, LEGO is: †¢ We try to achieve this by providing a wide range of fun and high quality, based on our build system. In the hands of children, encourage products to implement the unique LEGO style: a style fun, creative, engaging and stimulating all at the same time. †¢ This activity provides children self-esteem and allows them to experience the special pride of getting things. Throughout the process, develop automatic and informally a set of futur e skills of outstanding importance: The resolution of problems from a creative standpoint, structured, curiosity and imagination, interpersonal relationships and physical motor skills. Building with LEGO is ultimately synonymous with play. 3 Future goals The LEGO Group has seen continued growth over the previous five years, and sales have increased by double-digit growth rates in the last few years. On this basis, seven growth goals have been defined by the company: †¢ Increase market share in USA †¢ Increase market share in Eastern Europe †¢ Invest in emerging markets †¢ Develop innovative new products †¢ Expand â€Å"direct to consumer† activities Expand LEGO Education The company’s aim is to create growth in the area of educational materials for preschools, schools and educational institutions all over the world. Expand Electronic Activities The LEGO Group currently operates on electronic platforms through the www. LEGO. com website and video games. According to LEGO’s website, its electronic presence will be further expanded, in particular through LEGO Universe – the first MMOG (massively multiplayer online game) from the LEGO Group, which was launched in the second half of 2010. 4 Organizational Structure An organizational structure combines activities such as task allocation, coordination and supervision, which are directed towards the achievement of organizational aims. In order to secure the successful implementation of the LEGO Group strategy a new organizational structure was introduced in Feb 2006 with three main divisions: 1. The ‘Market and Products’ division is focusing in creating value for the customers and ensure a higher degree of innovation. 2. The ‘Community, Education and Direct’ Division is developing the group xisting and new direct-to-consumer sales and ensure that the unique LEGO communities are catered through direct dialogue. 3. In order to ensure optimal operation and efficiency, all the supplies of products via the value chain , as well as the supply chain and central functions will be united within the ‘Operations’ Division. 5 7-S model analysis7 [pic] You can divide the factors into so-called hard and soft factors. Strat egy, structure and systems fall under the hard element because they can be easy to identify and affect. On the other hand there are shared values, style, staff and skills which fall under the soft elements because they can be difficult to identify but are equally important to have a successful company all around. †¢ Strategy: The company plan or route-map to maintain competitive advantage †¢ Structure: The company hierarchy †¢ Systems: The day-to-day processes and procedures throughout the company †¢ Shared Values: The core values of the company †¢ Style: The company leadership style †¢ Staff: The companys employees and their broad abilities †¢ Skills: The skills and competencies of employees Strategy: LEGO is always trying to have a competitive advantage. Always trying to expand and get the LEGO band into other countries and have also inspired to open LEGO amusement parks around the world – USA, Germany, Japan and England. Their market share in the US has increased with 5% over the past years and it is also their assessment that it can increase more over the next years. They have become the fourth biggest toy manufacturer in the world and manage to keep their position because they are very innovative and always come up with new concepts and new ideas of fun and play for kids to engage in. Structure: The company structure consists with the chief executive officer, the chief financial officer and 4 executive vice presidents with responsibility for their own business areas. This has both pros and cons. They all specialize in their area and that can be a pro because they know everything there is to know about their area and they are excellent at their job. It can also be a con because it also means they do not know a lot about the other business areas and it would not be the easiest thing to go help the other vice presidents if they needed it. Systems: LEGO has since 2005 been undergoing major organizational change and the CEO Jorgen Vig Knudstorp introduced the LEAN process in the company. It is a system that has two main areas, customer value and waste. Shared values: LEGO Games provides the opportunity for a unique combination of building with LEGO bricks and social play with family and friends. Players build the game from bricks, play it – and can then build a new version of the game or change its rules. The many games in the series have been developed on the basis of LEGO core values: fun, creativity and quality, and with an appeal to children aged five years and older. Style: The company has always been a family business with a member of the original family at the top, but now for the first time it’s an outsider that has been made Chief executive officer. He has a very visionary leadership style, and you can see that because he pulled LEGO out of a crisis and saved it from destruction, and focuses on how the leader defines the future for followers and moves them towards it, with his 4 vice presidents each responsible for their own business. He carried out the LEAN process and it has shown to be a great success. One of the areas in LEAN is about reaching the full potential of the employees and having them think about improvements regarding the customer’s needs. For this to work it is very important that the management have an attitude that shows trust, recognition and respect towards the employees. The company also has a unique and admirable style when you look at their code of conduct making sure that all their suppliers work after their high standards, and LEGO require that their suppliers sign a statement saying they follow the Code of Conduct of LEGO which is regarding: †¢ Child labour Pay and work hours †¢ Discrimination †¢ Force and harassment †¢ Forced labour †¢ Work environment †¢ Environment †¢ Fighting corruption Staff: The LEGO Group has 10,000 employees and they are both experienced and competent and they care a lot about all their employees being trained by someone more experienced so they learn from the inside and from the best. They sh ow their employees a lot of trust so that they feel confident and like a big part of the organization. Skills: The creative core of LEGO is made of 120 designers, always making sure LEGO is ahead on the toy ideas. Most of them have designer degrees and art school degrees although this is not a requirement to be a part of LEGO’s creative core. They always have to be on top of things and they are very skilled and capable, which is also a part of the great leadership style at LEGO. By doing the analysis of all these elements of LEGO it gives an overview on the internal organization, and it is clear that LEGO is a very functional company with a very capable CEO who is always up front on the marked and trying to make LEGO even bigger. There is always room for improvement but LEGO has a good solid organization for that Improvements Every process produces information on the basis of which the process can be improved. The focus is on continuous improvement throughout the organization through constant effort to reduce waste, rework and complexity. LEGO Company has business process thinking and it is based upon the central belief that is fundamentally the simplicity, shared vision and technology enabling that creates value to the customers and builds a good image for the organization. Integrating best practices †¢ Outline best possible strategies †¢ Because of their organizational structure with four vice presidents responsible for their own business areas, it could be a good idea to have them work in each other’s areas to get a wider knowledge about the other areas and make it easier to help each other if needed. World Class Competitiveness †¢ Market impact, focus on a balanced culture †¢ Further definition of client’s needs Development of an Integrated Strategy †¢ Built outcomes into new strategies Simplifying the processes, measures, and data gathering for a better action planning. Employee force development †¢ Prioritizing the options, resourcing the teams and find the most suitable plan for action. External improvement †¢ Developing the customer relationship †¢ Long term relationship with the suppliers †¢ Customers focus and feedback Open Innovation Since the discovery of its benefits, many companies are distinguished for being at the forefront of work processes and methodology, have opted for open innovation. He who works alone, he adds, who works in networks, it multiplies. The scenario has changed and we need not only internal innovation, the advantages or benefits that represent the adoption of open innovation models in companies or organizations, such as cost reduction, flexibility of structures, accelerated innovation and creativity or increase revenue, but we need for an organization to be more efficient against the competition, both in creation and in the capture of value. What is it? Basically expand innovation, listening in decision-making organizations to all its members and outsiders and not limited to R D Department or the Directorate. Open Innovation brings together innovative products and innovation model business across the R D process. In the research phase, companies seek and discover inventors, start-ups and other sources of available technologies that can be used as a basis for internal development project or assembly. In the development phase, established firms can acquire innovations outside that provide the opportunity to develop new generations of technology. In the marketing stage, it can buy or sell products or technologies, depending on the potential value that can be generated. Open innovation has acquired a new dimension, thanks to booming Internet collaborative tools and social networks. The most important for each organization must be clients, users and beneficiaries of each product or service. There are many cases in which companies currently have user communities of each brand that have given a boost in times of decline. External flows of technology, experience and knowledge through the collaborative work we now, say that open innovation have even become an almost essential tool for some companies when it comes to reinvent itself, leaving behind the obsolescence that seemed doomed their products and services. The biggest innovation of LEGO is the way they work with users and other external agents for development and product improvement. An example of this is what happened whit the product LEGO Mindstorm, a line of building blocks and programmable robots. Given its complexity, users, children and adults, without programming knowledge could not build their robots and make them work correctly and that frustrated them, so that meant Lego was facing a drop in sales. The first step to solve this problem was to seek advice from the outside. They got prototypes mountable in 20 minutes and easy to use for people without computer and programming skills. Later, they took a real leap electing 5 people from their community of consumers, 5 people with experience in computer science, programming and design and were fans of Lego. They worked on a new prototype of Lego Mindstorm, but were not paid with money but with advantages in the purchase of new products that were not yet on the market and free tickets to LEGOLAND. In addition to that, 100 users formed a community of developers. Shortly after the release of Mindstorm, a hacker revealed the programming code and hung it on the network. Lego then saw a new opportunity to increase the added value of their products to share with the world some of their knowledge. Another example of Open Innovation is the website that created LEGO, Lego Factory, where people can customize and design their own toy and buy it. Also, people can upload their designs and if they are good, Lego makes them to sell to the public. This makes LEGO closer to the people and that consumers will identify more with the company and its philosophy. And its a very good method of developing the user loyalty. 1 Organization of innovation For the manufacture of new products LEGO implanted a mechanism known as LEGO Development Process (LDP). This mechanism became a cumbersome bureaucratic mechanism because the workers had to fill in many forms, and each product took a long time to arrive to the market and only a few products were finally launched to the market. This process was modified and simplified, steps were removed, and the results to be obtained at each stage of the innovation process were clarified. The company has split its innovation efforts into eight distinct areas, from product development to business model innovation. It divides responsibility for them across four areas of the firm: the functional groups, the Concept Lab, Product and Marketing Development, and a unit called Community, Education, and Direct. To implement the new innovation process and manage and coordinate innovation across the entire company, LEGO created an Executive Innovation Governance Group. This committee determines innovation goals and strategy, decides the portfolio of innovation projects that the LEGO Group will take on, coordinates efforts, it delegates authority, allocates resources, and monitors the development process through the LDP review points. The four areas in which it divides the process of innovation are: 1. Functional Groups: Create core and enabling business processes in functions from Sales to manufacturing and supply chain. Areas of Innovation: core processes (sales, operations, financial planning), enabling processes (forecasting, marketing planning) 2. Concept Lab: Develops fundamentally new products and play experiences; located in its own building. 3. Product and Marketing Development (PMD): Develops the next generation of existing products and innovates on existing play themes (for instance, â€Å"pirates†), packaging, and campaigns. Areas of Innovation: †¢ Messaging (advertising campaigns, websites) †¢ Offerings (products, packaging) †¢ Platforms (toys’ technology elements) 4. Community, Education, and Direct (CED): Supports customer communities and taps Them for product ideas; manages the LEGO retail chain, the online store, and educational-market offerings; creates online play e xperiences. -Areas of Innovation: consumer interaction (communities, customer service), sales channel (retailers, direct to consumer), business model (revenue, pricing). 2 Matrix Innovation After failed innovations in different types of products, to make it easier and specific new process development (LPD) for each area, to help coordinate and identify the innovations necessary to develop a new product, LEGO creates the Matrix Innovation. This matrix identifies four areas in which innovation can take place within the company product, business, communication, and the process as well as the innovativeness of the improvements. In completing the matrix is achieved coordinating innovation efforts and identify where they need to focus resources. Matrix also used innovation as a guideline for restructuring the company and clarifies specific innovation responsibilities for each department. This allows each group to have greater authority and responsibility in achieving their goals. It also serves to coordinate this new form of open innovation in which ideas are taken into account and use the work of consumers, retailers, start-up companies, inventors and others who are interested in helping in developing Lego products and innovation. Reference http://1000ventures. com/business_guide/org_balanced_5elements. html http://www. businesslink. gov. k/bdotg/action/detail? itemId=1079687246r. i=1079687767r. l1=1074404796r. l2=1074446322r. l3=1079687477r. s=scr. t=RESOURCEStype=RESOURCES http://en. wikicollecting. org/the-lego-group http://cache. lego. com/upload/contentTemplating/AboutUsFactsAndFiguresContent/otherfiles/download98E142631E71927FDD52304C1C0F1685. pdf http://www. lmcuk. com/management-tool/the-7-s-model-for-organisational -change http://aboutus. lego. com/da-dk/corporate/default. aspx http://www. ouh. dk/wm267615 http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Lean_manufacturing http://www. docstoc. com/docs/6899468 http://blogs. alianzo. om/redessociales/2008/08/08/innovacion-abierta-casos/ http://www. slideshare. net/dsanchezbote/open-innovation-comunidad-de-innovadores-presentation http://www. josemira. com/2011/01/articulo-el-fenomeno-de-la-open-innovation/ www. LEGOFactory. com http://www. innovationgovernance. net/legostudy. html http://www. innovationgovernance. net/legomatrix. html Appendices Memo To: Meg Sonderlund From: Maria Carlsen Date: October 10th 2011 Subject: My development during project A During the week of our project A regarding the LEGO Group I feel like I had a personal development with understanding and helping my group members. It was a challenge to communicate and work together as a team with someone who is from another country and speaks another language, and is maybe used to doing things differently from me. I always fall into the role of the leader in a group and is used to doing things my way and just had everyone follow me. But this week I got a lot better at slowing down and listening to the others and explaining what I meant and what I am doing so they could understand and also lean. I was really nice to help and show them ways to do things, and I also learned from them. I got better at Word processer by the help from one member of my group and she also showed me how to do a great layout for a paper and a power point. It was a challenge to work together in such a big group and with people that have such different backgrounds, but I really enjoyed it and I think I also became a better team player this week and got better at doing things together instead of just doing my own thing and finish my part. This group came together and I also made some friendships I don’t think I would have otherwise so that makes this week a success. To: Meg Sonderlund From: Hannah-Rebecca Doukhan Date: October 10th 2011 Subject: The memo of Project A During this week of Project A, I have improved some knowledge about the LEGO Group, in constructing a paper and in Word Processor. I can use my class of Communication and Organization to write the paper. Furthermore, I have improved my English and met new people. Indeed, during this week I learned so many things about LEGO Group. I already knew the company because in France we have the LEGO toys, but I didn’t know that it is a Danish company and that it is the fourth biggest toy company around the world. It was so interesting to learn things about this group because it is very stimulating to be acquainted with a company better. Furthermore, for the presentation of the paper, we have to make a table of contents automatically generated by our word processing program. But I did not know how to do this. So I did some researches on Internet and now I know how to make a table of contents automatically on Word. When I arrived in Odense, I had some difficulties in speaking English and still have, but this week helped me to improve my English. I think I have made more progress during this week than since I got here. All the day I spoke English with the other members of my group and I had to be understood by them, so I had to make effort. During this week, I have met some nice people. And it was so exciting to speak with them. They helped me improve my English, they corrected my mistakes. To conclude, I think I can say that this week was a very good week. I learned so many things and it was more stimulating than classes. To: Meg Sonderlund From: Laura Dragomir Date: 07. 10. 2011 Subject: Personal Development This memo has a key role in showing case of my personal development while working in a group for Project A. In the beginning it took me a lot of time and energy in understanding and accepting the others ideas and proposals, but soon I found out how interesting and challenging a group task can be. I have learned to develop my analytical skills and to be more concise about all the knowledge that I want to pass on. Furthermore, I was introduced to a practical issue of analyzing a theory model and I believe that my knowledge in that area has improved considerably. Other than the achievement and improvement of the practical skills I have also enjoyed the social part of the group project. I got to know my group colleagues better than I would have done it in the class room, and it was very exciting to learn about their different life stories. Other than reaching a positive result in the group project we also established a connection with each other. To:Meg Sonderlund From: Maria Enasoae Date: October 7, 2011 Subject: The Memo of Project A During our first project, the Project A, having like task the LEGO Company, I consider that we gained more knowledge about LEGO, we had the opportunity to implement some things from the communication class, and not the last is that we learned working like team. We met during this week; we talked and exchanged ideas between us, sharing tasks that we hope to be fully accomplished. Like every beginning, was a little bit difficult to work with people that you don’t know very well, speaking in English instead of your mother tongue, different culture, different ways of thinking, but I think the end was a benefic one and we made a pretty good job. We worked allot for this project, we tried to find as many topics discussed to lead us to a favorable result, each of us coming up with an idea and finally choosing the one that we all agreed. We learned how to make an Executive Summary, Appendix, and Analysis, how to write them in Word, how should be the page, and many other interesting and useful staffs. Besides working to this project we made time also for coffee breaks and lunch, moments of relaxation in which we had the opportunity to socialize, to find out more one about each other, we talked about us and our personal life, daily life, things that we like and things that we don’t like, we learned how to communicate, and in my opinion the communication is crucial between members of a group or organization to be successful in their jobs. I think now, after this project, we learned many new and interesting things about us, like team, we get used more one with each other and become more confident regarding our qualities and also defects. Now, that the project it’s done and our mission has ended for the moment, we hope that will have achieved good results to be proud of. It was a nice and positive experience, first project like group, so for us it was a first step until the next projects, and our target for the future is to reach higher and higher like team. We thank you all for your interest and attention, hope you liked our project and team work! To: Mary M. l. Sonderlund From: Gustavs Erglis Date: October 7, 2011 Subject: Project A Project A was a great experience for me, because I’ve never really done anything like this before. At first it was very hard for me to understand what the objective was, and what do I have to do, but thanks to my group mates I kind of managed to get through my part of the work. Also I really liked that this was the second time we did a case together, so we didn’t have to spend much time getting to know each other. I gained a lot from this project. For example, I learned something about the strategic analysis, for any means I don’t want to say I’ve gotten very good at it, but at least now I have some knowledge about this. We had a very nice atmosphere in our group, everybody was very friendly and helped me, when I had some difficulties. In the end I can say that I really enjoyed doing this project, and I’m glad that we got through without many major difficulties. To: Meg Sonderlund From: Amador Ignacio Fidalgo Omil Date: October 10th 2011 Subject: The memo of Project A Work on this project on LEGO Group has been interesting because I learned many things about this company and also because it helped me to improve my English skills a little because I have a low level. I liked working with my classmates because they listen to my views and helped me when I had some problem with vocabulary or looking information. And I liked to know the working method of Lego. Learning this new concept to me that is the Open Innovation as Lego takes into account the opinions of its users to develop or improve their products. I think it is a philosophy of work very interesting and exciting to the fact that consumers can make decisions on the product creation process that subsequently will buy. Maria Carlsen Hannah-Rebecca DoukhanPROJECT A Laura DragomirLog for group 2 Maria Enasoae Gustavs Erglis Ignacio Fidalgo Monday October 3rd The group met and got the assignment on the LEGO Group. We all agreed on going home and each find some information about LEGO and come up with some ideas on how to do the paper and which model to use, and then we agreed to meet Tuesday morning to brainstorm all of our ideas and start the paper. Everyone did a really nice job and came up with different interesting ideas for our project. Tuesday October 4th We met at 9 o’clock and started brainstorming and showing the others what we came up with for the paper. At first we had a hard time getting started and trying to figure out what to write in the project and which models to use. After some discussion and debating we made a rough draft of the table of contents and divided it so we each had an area to focus on and also decided to do a little bit of homework each day so we do not fall behind. After dividing the different parts of the paper we could decide to stay at the school and work or go home. Some went home and some stayed a little longer. Wednesday October 5th We met at 10 o’clock this morning and started reading what everyone did at home. Everyone did a really good job and had a lot to share. We now have 17. 000 keystrokes and are almost done with the paper, so all we need is just a few last parts of the paper and all the appendices, and for everyone to read through the paper so we can do the power point. That is what we plan to start tomorrow. This day was a really good day. We worked very well together as a team and listened to each other and tried very hard to understand and explain if someone had a hard time with the language or something else. Thursday October 6th We met at 10 o’clock to finish the paper and start our executive summery and power point. We all had some different ideas of what to write in the executive summery and we discussed a little bit and tried to put everyone’s ideas into it. Hannah-Rebecca worked on the layout of the paper and the power point and the others worked on the summery and the grammar in the paper. Friday October 7th Today we just finished the last grammar corrections in the paper, the table of contents and the last touch to the power point. Some members of the group had some jobs they did all through the week. Hannah-Rebecca worked on the layout of the paper and the power point and did a very fine job on both. She is the creative one in the group, and Laura and Maria C did all the grammar and spelling corrections in the paper. The rest of the members helped out where it was needed and also did work from home like everyone else in the group. This team worked very well! Tietgen Business College MM215 COM 1st Semester Project A 2011 Carlsen Maria Doukhan Hannah-Rebecca Dragomir Laura Enasoae Maria Erglis Gustavs Fidalgo Ignacio Group 2 21,054 keystrokes Meg Sonderlund Peter Storm-Henningsen 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ProductBusinessCommunicationProcesses 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Meg Sonderlund Peter Storm-Henningsen 1st semester mm215 21 22

Using the Rare Apostrophe in Spanish

Using the Rare Apostrophe in Spanish The apostrophe is almost never used in modern Spanish. Its use is limited to words of foreign origin (usually names) and, very rarely, poetry or poetic literature. Spanish students should not imitate the common uses of the apostrophe in English. Foreign Words Me siento vieja. Pero, cest la vie. I feel old. But such is life.Un jack-o-lantern es una calabaza tallada a mano, asociada a la festividad de Halloween. A jack-o-lantern is a pumpkin carved by hand and associated with Halloween festivities.Sinà ©ad Marie Bernadette OConnor es una cantante nacida en Dublà ­n, Irlanda. Sinà ©ad Marie Bernadette OConnor is a singer born in Dublin, Ireland.McDonalds ofrece una gran variedad de alimentos de alta calidad. McDonalds offers a big variety of high-quality foods. Note that in all the above cases the words would be recognized as being of foreign origin. In the first two cases, the use of the words with apostrophes would be seen as a Gallicism and Anglicism, respectively. Literature and Poetry The apostrophe can occasionally be found in centuries-old poetry or literature as a way of showing that letters have been omitted. Such use is very rarely found in modern writing, and then only for literary effect. Nuestras vidas son los rà ­os / que van a dar en la mar, / ques el morir. Our lives are the rivers / that flow to give to the sea, / which is death. (From Coplas de Don Jorge Manrique por la muerte de su padre, 1477.) ¿ ... quà © me ha de aprovechar ver la pintura / daquel que con las alas derretidas ...? ... what could it help me to see the painting of that one with the melted wings ...? (From the 12th sonnet of Garcilazo de la Vega, c. 1500-1536.) One exception in modern usage is the slang spellings of mijo and mija for mi hijo and mi hija (my son and my daughter, respectively). Such a spelling should not be used in formal writing. According to the Royal Spanish Academy, the apostrophe should not be used in the following instances, which are considered Anglicisms: To shorten years, such as using 04 for 2004. Simply 04 can be used instead.To make plurals. The Spanish word for apostrophe is apà ³strofo. An apà ³strofe is a certain type of insult.

Poet Hughes Life and My Contribution to Poetry Essay

Poet Hughes Life and My Contribution to Poetry - Essay Example Biography James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on 1 February 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. He was the second child to Caroline (Carrie) Mercer Langston and James Nathaniel Hughes. Hughes mother worked as a teacher. Langston had a rough childhood. One of the experiences that greatly bore on him was the divorce of his parents. Upon divorce, Langston’s father left for Cuba and later settled in Mexico. He sought to escape racism that was rampant in the United States of America (West 160). After his parents separated, Langston stayed back with his mother. However, his mother travelled a lot in search for employment. As a result, Langston grew in a number of Midwestern towns. Langston’s maternal grandmother, Mary Patterson Langston, played a major part in raising young Langston Hughes. She was of great influence to young Langston in matters relating to racial pride, which she drew from black American oral tradition and activist experiences. Langston stayed with his grandmother i n Lawrence, Kansas, where he spent a better part of his childhood. Upon the death of his grandmother, Hughes moved in with his family friends, James and Mary Reed. He stayed with them for two years but later moved in with his mother in Lincoln, Illinois. Carrie remarried while Hughes was an adolescent. This made them move to Cleveland, Ohio where he attended high school. Their home was auctioned in February 1918 for $16,667. Since Hughes spent most of his childhood away from his father, they had a poor relationship. He lived with him for a short period in 1919. After graduating from high school, Hughes moved back in with his father in 1920. He hoped to convince his father to allow him to attend Columbia University. Hughes’ father had a dislike for Negroes and hoped that his son would study abroad. He was willing to support his son financially had Hughes agreed to do away with his ambition as a writer and pursue engineering. Hughes and his father came to a compromise that he w ould undertake engineering at Columbia University. After a two-year stay at the university, Hughes left due to racial prejudice. To earn a living, Hughes worked various odd jobs. At one time, he worked as a crewmember aboard the S.S Malone. Working on this ship saw him spend six months travelling partly to West Africa and Europe. He returned to the United States and secured a white-collar job working at the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. He served as a personal assistant to Carter G. Woodson. The job was too demanding for him, as it did not give him enough time to pursue his writing. Consequently, he quit the job and got another job as a busboy at the Wardman Park Hotel. It is at this place that he met the poet Vachel Lindsay. Lindsay was impressed by Hughes’ work and went ahead to publicize his discovery of Hughes as a poet. Some of Hughes earlier work was already published in magazines and was about to compile them into his first book of poe try. Hughes went ahead to enroll in Lincoln University which was synonymous with blacks in Chester county, Pennsylvania. Upon completing his B.A degree from Lincoln University in 1929, he went back to New York. He did a few travels to the Soviet Union and the Caribbean but spent a better part of his adulthood in Harlem. Controversy looms over Hughes’s sexuality. Some people such as Arnold Rampersand, Hughes primary biographers believe that he exuded homosexual tendencies in his poems thus belief that he preferred African American men (p.69). Hughes died on May 22, 1967.

Organizational Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 11

Organizational Behavior - Essay Example Becoming a better leader is an important and worthy cause. Good leaders are able to motivate and improve the performance of the employees. Being a charismatic leader can be beneficial, but charismatic leadership is not the only effective form of leadership. Other leadership styles such as transformational and transactional leadership can help a manager lead a company in a productive manner. Behavioral theories and situational contingency theories can also be used by managers to improve leadership. Workplace diversity is a critical driver of innovation in an organization. The reason that diversity helps foster innovation is because a diverse workforce is more creative than a homogeneous workforce. The human resource department is responsible for hiring a diverse workforce composition within an enterprise. I believe that a lot of innovative companies have a diverse workforce. Due to the globalization movement many multinational firms operate in various countries simultaneously. These firms have to be adept at dealing with workforce diversity issues. Creativity within a workforce leads to product innovation. Do you think that motivation is best fostered with extrinsic rewards such as money or do you think that organizations and leaders should strive to develop intrinsic motivation (love of job, making a difference, etc.)? I believe that the most effective motivator is the use of extrinsic rewards. People at work are motivated by financial rewards. Some financial rewards often used by corporations include bonuses, commissions, and stock option plans. Intrinsic rewards can be effective as a secondary type of motivator. A firm can become more â€Å"asshole resistant† by recruiting employees that have strong moral character. The implementation of a code of ethics can create standards of conduct that the employees of a company must follow. High ethical conduct is desirable in all the

Cloud Computing in Telecommunications Research Paper

Cloud Computing in Telecommunications - Research Paper Example In addition, cloud computing has successfully changed the dimensions of telecommunication (Weiss; Koehler, Kraemer and Anandasivam). In today’s global world where new standards and technologies are offered everyday each and every organization is trying its level best to make use of cloud computing. Additionally, the idea of cloud computing is already adopted in various fields. According to a research, cloud environment will be adopted in a large number of corporations and enterprises in upcoming years. In fact, cloud computing is already been adopted in various sectors such as telecommunication and information technology which resulted in significant growth and profit generation (Phukan). In this way the telecom sector is much energized about the scenario of cloud environment. In addition, the telecom sector will acquire numerous competitive advantages from networking operations along with modern technological aspects. Hence it will become easy for them to play an imperative r ole in the rapid growing world of cloud computing environment (Phukan). Significant Factors We can examine numerous opportunities of cloud environment in telecom corporations with various factors. Therefore, we focus more on those factors that are helpful in making telecommunication an important player in this rising domain. ... The second most important aspect deals with recognizing the future situations on the basis of which telecommunication will establish its position in the marketplace (Koehler, Kraemer and Anandasivam). Major aspects of Cloud Computing There are various aspects of cloud computing which are necessary to make telecom sector more productive. These 3 aspects facilitate customers in reference of cloud environment. This thing includes various critical factors: Software as a Service (SaaS) Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Platform as a Ser v ice (PaaS) However, the network service providers might facilitate regarding connectivity related issues in a cloud landscape. In this way a numbers of telecommunication applications will be moved to the infrastructure that meets the criteria of cloud computing environment. But those who will not be able to shift will be delivered as Software as a Service that is usually abbreviated as (SaaS). In this scenario, the adoption of cloud environment in telec omm sector will benefit telecomm corporations and their operators. Thus this advance technological aspect will be helpful in developing vendors’ controlled services; in fact it is beneficial for those clouds operators that do not want to make investment for running their cloud operations (Gabrielsson, Hubertsson and Mas). In addition, the internet protocol (IP) communications along with componentized environment of the software products that are used by telecom sector and service providers is perfect one for cloud environment. As we know that promising technologies of service architectures like IP multimedia subsystems that is abbreviated as (IMS) as well as next generation networks that is abbreviated as (NGN) will facilitate in strengthening their position in

Loneliness in Of Mice and Men

Loneliness in Of Mice and Men Loneliness is an inevitable part of life, which many individuals struggle with. It is an emotional response to a lack of companionship and communication with others, which has a huge impact in ones overall behavior. Some impacted individuals may try to end their loneliness; others become hopeless and bitter. The theme of loneliness is presented in John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men. The novel Of Mice and Men portrays loneliness as a complex emotion that often drives individuals to behavioral extremes. Steinbeck uses characters, some of the most important ones including Curleys wife, Candy and Crooks, to reflect on the discriminative time period that ultimately lead to the characters loneliness and particular behaviors. Curleys wife is a major female character in Of Mice and Men and is married to Curley, a very aggressive ranch worker that proves his masculinity by fighting other workers and marrying a physically attractive woman; moreover, he was the boss son. Curley had a huge control over his wife which was very common during the Great Depression, and the other workers. He had forbidden all of the workers from talking to his wife. Desperate for friends, attention and respect, Curleys wife uses her beauty and status with Curley to her advantage. In chapter 4, she intimidated the workers in Crooks room as of means for getting attention and threatened Crooks when he told her to leave his room, saying that he could get sprung up on a tree so easy, it aint even funny (Steinbeck 81). Her new behavior resulted in further discrimination and harassment. She was labelled as a tramp (Steinbeck 32), and other derogatory names. She felt powerless and lonely. The only person that Curleys wife could talk to was Lennie, because he was not conscious of her current situation. In her last moments with Lennie in the barn scene, she finally felt like she was being acknowledged and listened to. For the first time, she confessed that I don like Curley. He aint a nice fella (Steinbeck 89). She became vulnerable to her humanity and this ironically lead to her death. Curleys wife is a brilliant example of the oppression against women in the 1930s, sexism, and some of the behavioral changes that came along with being stripped of ones identity in society. There are other reasons why people were discriminated and isolated, some of which includes ageism and ableism. Candy was the oldest ranch worker in the book, that lost his right arm in an accident. He was discriminated because of his age and disability, and was an outcast. He had no family, except for the dog he raised. His dog used to be of great usefulness, but as the dog became older, he became less useful and helpless. This resulted in him being shot by Carlson which intensified Candys loneliness. Candys dog is a prime example of the social issue of ageism and ableism in society at that time. Workers were expected to be productive on the ranch, and if one no longer met that demand, due to age or ability to perform certain tasks, they would be dismissed and left to suffer (Steinbeck 1937).ÂÂ   Candy recognizes that the same thing will happen to him, and he tells George that Jus as soon as I cant swamp out no bunkhouses theyll put me on the county (Steinbeck 60). To escape his loneliness and eventual fate of getting kicked, Candy becames quickly invested in George and Lennies dream, offering a total of $350 towards the dream farm. Spose I went in with you guys. Thas three hundred an fifty bucks Id put in. I aint much good, but I could cook and tend the chickens and hoe the garden some. Howd that be? (Steinbeck 59). He was very attached and hooked onto the dream of the farm, and persisted to have the farm in spite of what happened with Lennie later in the novel. The farm would have eliminated his fear of being alone, and develop another relationship worth cherishing. His current position in society forced him to develop a specific mindset to escape his destination. One of the biggest issues that was prevalent in the Great Depression was racism, which Crooks was a victim of. He was physically separated from the other men, and had limited contact with others. As a replacement for friendship, he kept himself occupied with books. Still, he admitted that Books aint no good, and that A guy needs somebody to be near him. A guy goes nuts when if he aint got nobody (Steinbeck 72). In the Great Depression, black people faced racial discrimination and segregation from the dominant, white culture (Pinckney, 2002). However, this was greatly exaggerated in the story as Crooks was the only black man on the ranch. Unlike Curleys wife and Candy, Crooks accepted his role in society because he knew that he was powerless against the oppressive forces of racism. He was aware that he was treated as if he was less important than the other men and did not have a voice in society. This is just a nigger talkin, an a busted-back nigger. So it dont mean nothing, see? (St einbeck 71). The sad reality of the Great Depression deprived Crooks from his right to be treated like an equal human being with self-worth and connection with others. His acceptance of the situation became the strongest antidote to his experience; however, it intensified his loneliness. The Great Depression was a time of prejudice present in Steinbecks Of Mice and Men. Curleys Wife, Candy, and Crooks were some of the characters who represented the loneliness and isolation brought on by their time period. These characters faced social issues like racism, sexism, and ageism, resembling the oppression of minority groups by the discriminatory nature of their society. Each character recognized their loneliness, and depending on what their current situation and role in society was, they took specific actions to fight against, or cope with it. Steinbeck has made it clear that the loneliness brought on by discrimination does significantly impact ones behavior, actions and mindsets. Todays generation better understands the societal implications of loneliness and discrimination. It should be societys goal to diminish all forms of discrimination and be supportive of what others go through in their lifetimes in order to lead a better, healthier, and more connected life for all. Works Cited Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York, Penguin, 1993. Pinckney, Shelley. Chapter 6: Race and Civil Rights: The 30s and 40s. Communism in Washington State, depts.washington.edu/labhist/cpproject/pinckney.shtml.

Containment and the Cold War Essay -- essays research papers

Containment and the Cold War In February 1946, George F. Kennan, an American diplomat in Moscow, proposed a policy of containment. Containment is the blocking of another nation’s attempts to spread its influence. During the late 1940s and early 1950s the United States used this policy against the Soviets. The United States wanted to take measures to prevent any extension of communist rule to other countries. The conflicting U.S. and Soviet aims in Eastern Europe led to the Cold War. The Berlin airlift, formation of NATO, and the Truman Doctrine all relate to this policy of containment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the end of WWII, the United States, Great Britain, and France occupied the western zone of Germany while the Soviet Union occupied the east. In 1948, Britain, France, and the U.S. combined their territories to make one nation. Stalin then discovered a loophole. He closed all highway and rail routes into West Berlin. This meant no food or fuel could reach that part of the city. In an attempt to break the blockade, American and British officials started the Berlin airlift. For 327 days, planes carrying food and supplies into West Berlin took off and landed every few minutes. West Berlin might not have made it if it wasn’t for the airlift. By May 1949, the Soviet Union realized it was beaten and lifted the blockade. By using the policy of containment, the Americans and the British were able to defeat the Soviets.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the Soviets b...

A New Generation John F Kennedy is about President John F Kennedy Essay

The book John F. Kennedy and a New Generation is written by David Burner and published by Little Brown, Boston in 1988. David Burner is a Professor in the Department of History in State University of New York. Professor Burner research interest includes social history of US. He is currently working on a project with patty Limerick about colonialist women. His other publications include â€Å"A History of Democratic Party (1970), A History of Presidential Elections (2002), Reading from Settlement to reconstruction (1998) and Making Peace with the 60s (1997). His book A New Generation John F Kennedy is about President John F Kennedy admiration that can be seen throughout the book. Even though critics have mentioned many shortcomings about Kennedy, Burner instead focuses on Kennedy leadership and his accomplishments throughout his life. Burner mentions that Kennedy appealed to various segment of public for his style, looks and accomplishments that formed the basis of his support. For example he won the support of Jews, Asians and Hispanic and other blue-collar democrats giving them a promise of American dream as he himself had immigrant background. Burner explores the controversies including success and failures of Kennedy life and how it shaped American consciousness. He provides deeper discussion of Kennedy both as an individual and as a leader allowing readers to examine the changes that shaped the American political system during 1950s and 1960s, and how Kennedy created a greater hope for every American. The author mentions several events and incidents from the time and how Kennedy was influential changing the course of history. For example the Cuban missile crisis tested the leadership of president leadership when Kennedy threatened the use of nuclear arms in the wake of Cuban Mission crisis in 1962. The naval blockade ordered by Kennedy proved successful and the negotiation with Russia ended peacefully. Another incident Burner mentions is the turbulent end of state sponsored racial discrimination, which Kennedy brought to an end by supporting racial integration and civil rights movement. Kennedy was also eager to see US leader of the space race. It was JFK speech in Rice University in September 1962 where he mentioned, â€Å"No nation can expect to be the leader of the other nations. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard†. Kennedy approached Khrushchev for cost sharing the technology. Kennedy approved a huge sum of $22 billion to launch American Space Project and Apollo goal was finally realized when Neil Armstrong became the first American to land on moon. Bruner discuss the charm of Kennedy and his wife who were more popular than pop stars and movie stars. One main reason was their good looks and charm that was often photographed by magazines and set the changing fashion trend. Kennedy’s even changes the White House environment from a bleak house to lively and house of mirth and joy. They believed that White House should be place of American History, arts and culture. They invited various artists, writers, and scientists including noble laureate which made White House a livelier place. Despite all the good points which burner has mentioned, the book ignores the bed sheet and fashion stories were associated with Kennedy. Kennedy is well known for his history of extra marital affairs including involvement with Marilyn Monroe do not suit a sitting president. Burner did not talk about these issues, even though it has no thing to do with his professional life, yet such incidents were part of Kennedy should have been discussed. Burner has mentioned on several occasions the influence of Kennedy in the domestic and international affairs including the civil rights; however the view of Burner is more of only glorification of the Kennedy. Even though Kennedy is the most popular President of the United States; but critics argue that his reputation is overrated. He was young and charming; but he was unable to achieve any thing major in his lifetime. Kennedy popularity is based on optimistic beginnings on various domestic and international issues. Critics mention that the popular Civil Right Act was envisioned by his brother Robert Kennedy and was signed by President Johnson in 1964 that was Kennedy successor. Kennedy did not disclose the severity of his health condition. He was believed to have Addison disease that is tantamount of failure of professional integrity. He is considered to be the unhealthiest man to sit in the oval office. While other the Addison disease he was also suffering from an extreme backache from childhood added with various kinds of infections. There is also criticism about his domestic politics that Burner has ignored in his book. For example Kennedy tried to appease Southern Democrats by stocking the lower federal bench with segregationists who did not live up to the mark he was advocating. It is believed that by making attorney general he tried to form a political dynasty that the Founding Father did not advocate. However Vietnam is considered his greatest mistake, where during his time US intervention in Vietnam increased and Kennedy authorized a coup absent the Diem; while dictator general overtook the power which further aggravated the situation in Vietnam.. Even though it was in fact Johnson who made his own mistakes by over involving and bombing the Vietnamese excessively, but the game was started by Kennedy and it was not easy to backup. The people who supported war become protestor calling the American administration immoral. Even though Kennedy assignation fueled the Vietnam cause as his untimely death became martyrdom, but Vietnam was blunder that cost US a lot in time money and human life. Had Kennedy not intervened in the Vietnam there would have no loss of time, money and American lives in an unethical war that continued for decades without any outcome. In the case of Cuban Missiles Crisis, it is mentioned that Kennedy went too far and the world was standing at the brink of a nuclear war due Kennedy antagonism. Had the Russian not backed off, there was every possibility of end of the world. For his supporters he his aggressiveness increased US role in international affairs, but for his opponents it was not sane for president to resort to Nuclear weapons as a last choice. Kennedy critics often label him as youthful charmer with little substance especially by conservatives. And it is often done to minimize his efforts about Civil Rights and international affairs, but the truth is Kennedy was a man of vision. He initiated many new debates in American Society that was unthinkable in his time. Even though most his policies were achieved by his successors; as he was not able to see his vision fulfilled due to his untimely death, the credit still goes to him. Had he not been able to think ahead of time; many things would have been delayed. For example his plan for landing a man on moon was mega project, which took place ahead of the decade. The landing on moon not only increased US prestige in the world, but it also boosted US military technology and power that continues till today. The Vietnam War was mistake but the same mistake can be seen today in the case of Iraq War. The people who initially supported Iraq War now are chanting against the current administration; there are always opposite views regarding any issue. Kennedy advocated the Civil Right Movement at a time when country was divided; and there was division among his own members, but he took the stance and even called the Martin Luther Jr wife to show his affiliation for a just cause. Though Johnson signed the bill, but it was Kennedy who took a step ahead in a difficult time for which he is worth praise. The book is good for people who have no knowledge of Kennedy as a President; however Burner has not justified his role as writer by discussing his dark side that could have made Kennedy more of a man rather a mythical figure. Reference David Burner, (1988). John F. Kennedy and a new generation. Boston: Little, Brown Robert l Bartley, (February 26, 2001). Coolidge deserves more praise. Retrieved July 8, 2006, Web site: http://www. opinionjournal. com/columnists/rbartley/? id=85000640 SUNY SB Department of History -Faculty Page- David Burner. Retrieved July 8, 2006, Web site: www. sunysb. edu/history/faculty Stephen G. Rabe, (2000). John F. Kennedy and Cuba, November 1962 to November 1963. Presidential Studies Quarterly. 30,

Affordable Qualitative Data Software Programs

Affordable Qualitative Data Software Programs When we talk about software used in sociological research, most people think about programs designed for use with quantitative data, like SAS and SPSS, that are used for generating statistics with large numerical data sets. Qualitative researchers, however, also have several software options available that can help analyze non-numerical data like interview transcripts and responses open-ended survey questions, ethnographic fieldnotes, and cultural products like advertisements, new articles, and  social media posts, among others. These programs will make your research and work more efficient, systematic, scientifically rigorous, easy to navigate, and will asist your analysis by illuminating connections in the data and insights about it that you might not otherwise see. Software that You Already Have: Word Processing Spreadsheets Computers are great note-taking devices for qualitative research, allowing you to edit and duplicate easily. Beyond basic recording and storage of data, however, simple word processing programs can also be used for some basic data analysis. For example, you can use the find or search command to go directly to entries containing keywords. You can also type code words alongside entries in your notes so that you can easily search for trends within your data at later point. Database and spreadsheet programs, like Microsoft Excel and Apple Numbers, can also be used for analyzing qualitative data. Columns can be used to represent categories, the sort command can be used to organize data, and cells can be used for coding data. There are many possibilities and options, depending on what makes the most sense for each individual. There are also several software programs designed specifically for use with qualitative data. The following are the most popular and highly rated among social science researchers. NVivo Nvivo, made and sold by QSR Internationl is one of the most popular and trusted qualitative data analysis program used by social scientists around the world. Available for computers running both Windows and Mac operating systems, it is a multifunctional piece of software that allows for advanced analysis of text, images, audio and video, webpages, social media posts, emails, and datasets. Keep research journal as you work. Case coding, theme coding, InVivo coding. Color coding stripes make your work visible as you do it. NCapture add-on to collect social media posts and bring it into the program. Automatic coding of datasets like survey responses. Visualization of findings. Queries that examine your data and test theories, search for text, study word frequency, create cross-tabs. Easily exchange data with quantitative anlaysis programs. Collect data on mobile device using Evernote, import into program. As with all advanced software packages, it can be costly to purchase as an individual, but people working in education get a discount, and students can buy a 12-month license for about $100. QDA Miner and QDA Miner Lite Unlike Nvivo, QDA Miner and its free version, QDA Miner Lite, made and distributed by Provalis Research, work stricly with text documents and images. As such, they offer fewer functions than Nvivo and others listed below, but they are fantastic tools for researchers focusing on analysis of text or images. They are compatible with Windows and can be run on Mac and Linux machines that run virtual OS programs. Not limited to qualitative analysis, QDA Miner can be integrated with SimStat for quantitative analysis, which makes it a great mixed-methods data analysis software tool. Qualitative researchers use QDA Miner to code, memo, and analyze textual data and images. It offers a range of features for coding and linking sections of data together, and also for linking data to other files and webpages. The program offers geo-tagging and time-tagging of text segments and graphic areas, and allows users to import directly from web survey platforms, social media, email providers, and software for managing references. Statistical and visualization tools allow patterns and trends to be easily viewable and shareable, and multi-user settings makes it great for a team project. QDA Miner is costly but is much more affordable for people in academia. The free version, QDA Miner Lite, is a great basic tool for text and image analysis. It does not have all the features as the pay-version, but can get the coding job done and allow for useful analysis. MAXQDA The great thing about MAXQDA is that it offers several versions from basic to advanced functionality that offer a range of options, including text analysis, data collected through a variety of qualitative methods, transcription and coding of audio and video files, quantitative text analysis, integration of demographic data, and data visualization and theory testing. It functions much like Nvivo and Atlas.ti (described below). Each piece of software works in any language, and is available for Windows and Mac OS. Prices range from affordable to costly, but full-time students can use the standard model for as little as $100 for two years. ATLAS.ti ATLAS.ti is a software program that contains tools to help the user locate, code, and annotate findings in the data, weigh and evaluate their importance, and visualize the relationships among them. It can consolidate large volumes of documents while keeping track of all notes, annotations, codes and memos in all fields of the data. ATLAS.ti can be used with text files, images, audio files, video files, or geo data. Variety of ways of coding and organizing coded data. It is available for Mac and Windows, and a part of its popularity, also works on mobile with Android and Apple. Educational licenses are fairly affordable, and students can use it for less than $100 for two years. Updated by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.

Air Pollution and Twin Lake Essays

Air Pollution and Twin Lake Essays Air Pollution and Twin Lake Paper Air Pollution and Twin Lake Paper Essay Topic: Air pollution The strategy to use can either be distributive or integrative depending on the tuitions and the outcomes that the party want out from the negotiation. In this scenario, it is a negotiation on the conflict between Twin Lake Mining Company and Tamarack City Council regarding an environmental cleanup on the water and air pollution which arise from the plant operation. This is an interrupt conflict and the level of complexity is high due to the involvement of large number of people and the multitudinous ways they can interact with each other. Resolution need to be agreed upon and act on by both Twin Lake and City Council in order to meet the objectives and needs Of each Other which will result in a win win situation. 2. Material Facts The main discussion is basing on the negotiation between Twin Lake Mining Company and Tamarack City Council. The issue arise due to a more stringent environmental laws and regulation which resulted in an imposition of stricter environmental controls on Twin Lake. This put pressure on Twin Lake to take actions on a major cleanup in order to totally compliant to the regulation which estimate cost to the company is over 336 million. This is beyond the many cost limit set of $1 6 million capital and $2. 6 million yearly payment for improvement. The company is committed to keep the plant but at the basis on the cost limit set. At the same time, many local citizens, as individuals and through the local chapter of the United Mineworkers Union, are putting significant pressure on the Town Council to help Twin Lakes in the environmental process as this will potentially impact their livelihood if the company decided to shut down and at the same time impacting the Citys economic stability which is strongly pendent on the continued success of the Twin Lakes Mining Company. The report will base on the different facts provided and present the overview of the Issues and work on the preparation for the negotiation. Planning the negotiation climate, strategy to use and at the same time knowing BAT AN of both parties to have a win win result which is the desired outcome. Issues Identified for the Negotiation In this case study, the cost of resolving the major issues which are the water quality and air quality issue is too much for Twin Lakes to absorb and at the name time, Twin Lake is also looking at the concession that the City can provide on the taxation of the company owned land as they work together on the resolution to the environmental issues. Once these issues are resolved, all the remaining problem can be easily be settle. . 1 water Quality Due to the need of the washing operation, series of settlement recovery ponds were built alongside Beaver Brook near the plant and due to this process iron ore and other impurities are being wash downstream which impacted the water quality. In order to resolve this problem, a filtration plant which costs $20 million need to be build which is not affo rdable to Twin Lake and working on a joint venture with the City Council since they are working to make Beaver Brook as the secondary water source due to the residential development. 3. Air Quality In the entire process of mining, transportation and crushing ore generates large amount of dust which causes air pollution. Twin Lake already agreed to make approximately $8 million investment to reduce the emission from the plant but the major concern is still not solve on the pollution caused by many trucks traveling to and from the plant outside the city.

How did the struggle to resist segregation create a sense of African Essay - 1

How did the struggle to resist segregation create a sense of African American community, what purely African American institutions, cultural expressions, and po - Essay Example Myriads of blacks heroically resisted ‘white domination’, often jeopardizing their own lives. It is not possible to know the numbers of the African-Americans segregated by Whites were men and women who had confronted by some blatant acts of ‘bravery’, such as walking conceitedly down the roads or talking back to Whites instead of quitting. Anti-racial, socials integrity, desegregation, and even ‘racial equivalence’ enjoyed huge support amid leftists than integration. Even though black civil rights protesters had always stresses on ‘desegregation’ (Robin et. Al 1996). In nearly all white liberal spheres ‘cultural integration’ came to represent solving the Negro problem by carrying black people into previously all-white bodies (Robin & Earl 2005). Leftists, on the contrary, regardless of their beliefs, always struggling for ‘racial integrity’ in terms of taking racial discrimination separately – one of the opportunity for entrepreneurship – so as to create a more dominant challenge to ‘community rule’. From the beginning, they resisted to create systems which guarantee the equal rights for every one, irrespective of class or nation, to live as full human beings (Robin 2002). The split continued to be ever-lasting in 1905 when W. E. B. Du Bois1 established, with William Monroe Trotter who was a detractor of Washington, the whole black â€Å"Niagara Movement†2 (Robin 2002). With the organized challenges by movements like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP3) and Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA4) and their personal insubordination to Jim Crow5, African Americans embraced enriching their cultural life of, mainly, non-political demonstration against ‘white domination’ that infused all divisions of black life (Robin 2002). And in no more than the next twenty years, the NAACP staged a harmonized approach of legalized encounters, taking provinces and states to court to execute

College - Is it Worth it Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

College - Is it Worth it - Essay Example Shipley is very educated with a doctorate degree, which explains his urge to make people have a wide understanding of the essence of college education in life. This argumentative essay explores college education from both its positive and negative sides (Goldman, 2011). Shipley does not impose a decision on the readers of his article, but advises them to use their time wisely while in college. He says that college can build people or leave them with extreme resentment for the rest of their lives. Moreover, he argues that many people proceed to college just to fulfill the societal expectations. He proceeds to say that though sometimes one may feel wasted after college, she/he may focus on socialization, time management and decision making skills gained while in college (Rampell, 2011). Looking at the whole idea of college education logically, Shipley can be credited for his presentation. He not only looks at education bit of it but also incorporates the social aspect of college experience. Life does not only revolve around education, in fact, it requires one to have very good social skills. College experience gives people a chance to know how to control their lives. Rampell (2011) argues that for an individual to be successful in life, he/she needs both the technical knowledge related to his/her career, as well as decision making and managerial skills. This is mainly gained in college, however to only those who manage this experience wisely. I truly support Shipley’s arguments because they seem very objective. Rampell (2011) concurs that it is true that many students who regret their experience in college are likely those who never set their priorities right while in college. They end up completing their college education without anything much to show of it. As much as you can join college and pursue a field not of your interest, you can always learn to make something good out of it.