Home3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Home3 - Assignment Example Family History: The mother to the client is found to have had the same lugs problems. She is found to have experienced difficulties in breathing accompanied with some pains in her chest. Nobody else in the family has had such problems in the past. Lifestyle and Health Practices: Three of the family members including the client have been addicts of cigarette. The father to the client has smoked cigarette for a period of twelve years while the mother has also smoked cigarette. The family is used to buying medicine locally from shops in their cure for the breathing difficulties. Their exposure to colds is seen as the main reason for their problem. Current Symptoms: The client has a feeling that some of his neck vessels are swollen. He experiences some difficulties in swallowing saliva. He does not experience heart attacks. At the middle of his chest, he claims to experience some deep pains while breathing. Past History: The client experienced heart attacks some years back. This seems to have recovered after undergoing some treatments which lead him to undergoing heart surgery. He has experienced much hypertension prior to his condition while the degree of his fever has gone down. Family History: Hypertension has been a common problem to the client family. His mother and grandmother are found to have experienced the same problem while the grandfather was diabetic. There are some recorded cases of elevated cholesterol associated with many of his family members. Lifestyle and Health Practices: There is much use of drugs and alcohol in the family of the client. The client himself is a cigarette addict while his father and brother are addicts of alcohol and cigarette. Much stress originating from the use of drugs is experienced by many of his family members. The client is used to sleeping on high density pillows. Current Symptoms: The client experiences high temperatures especially during the night. His skin color

Overpopulatio in the United States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Overpopulatio in the United States - Essay Example This makes the US one of the fastest growing nations in the line of industrialized nations in the world. This overpopulation has caused various problems in the country, such as scarcity of resources, environmental issues, and economic consequences. Moreover, the problem of overcrowding also presents lack of education, and other issues which might cause troubles for the humanity. It is anticipated that by the year 2050, the population of the nation will be increased by around 130 million people, which is nearly equivalent to the addition of four more states the size of California. This study presents a detailed research on the topic of overpopulation in the United States. It undertakes to consult various resources, publications and databases to obtain information regarding the subject at hand. The causes of overpopulation are considered along with an elaborated discussion on the effects and consequences of the issue. The concept of overpopulation in not new to the current world and has been debated upon much by the researchers and authors. The definition of the term â€Å"overpopulation† is generally given by the writers as a commonly adverse and detrimental context in which the number of organisms goes beyond carrying capacity of its environment (Ian, 2007). This terminology generally pertains to the association between the two variables: environment and human population. The environment can either refer to a small geographical area or entire earth. During the past few years, the population in the United States has increased by more than double. It is said that if the population of the world in the coming century is multiplied by the same amount, there shall be more than one billion people around the globe. This increasing population, in turn, affects many features which include the negative contribution to the beauty of land, forests, environment and the entire ecosystem. Then, the social problems such as increasing attention in schools and lack of teachers

Google in China Essay Example for Free

Google in China Essay Google is the fastest growing Internet search engine company. Google’s mission is â€Å"to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.†(International Business: Competing in the Global marketplace, pg 148-149) They have a mantra of â€Å"Don’t be Evil.† Google started this mantra to be the main message to show consumers they would not compromise the integrity of its search results. This case reviews the situation under which Google was required to censor its content and chose to launch its new search engine site. The case explains the role of the Chinese government and its regulations in the Internet market which had a negative effect on Googles operations in China. In 2000, Google started a Chinese language service. This service was operated from the United States. Chinese authorities blocked the site in 2002 because China censors information to their citizens. This block surprised Google’s managers. This was a challenge the managers did not plan on. If they done their research of the Chinese Government and culture prior to launching the Chinese language service, they would have known the block would be inevitable and they could have tailored their service to the Chinese regulations, culture, and laws. Google knew China was an advantageous business and they would need to adapt their service in order for it to be acceptable and profitable. Google also had to move the Chinese operations to China. Operating from the United States caused slow connection speed and hinder their operation and growth. This was a good move because it enabled Google to employee Chinese citizens who would be able to help understand and adapt to the Chinese laws, regulations, and censorship demands. Google managers made a mistake by not researching their target market. However, they acted quickly in learning and correcting this mistake. Google still offered Chinese citizens a better search engine, but it was not without censorship. The Google search engine offers more results than its competitors, Yahoo, Microsoft’s MSN, and China’s own company, Baidu. Google states Chinese consumers will â€Å"get more information on their site, though not quite all of it.† (International Business: Competing in the Global marketplace, pg 148-149) In 2006, Google had 30 percent share of China’s internet search engines. Baidu had 40 percent. This left another 30 percent split between Yahoo and Microsoft’s MSN search engines. These percentages are good, especially when one considers Yahoo and Microsoft had entered the Chinese search engine market prior to Google. Baidu has several advantages over Google that are mostly associated with it being a Chinese based company, the search engine has â€Å"competence in pinpointing queries in the Chinese language† (Yin Yulin, 2010, p. 4). Government relations with China are precarious for businesses effectiveness. Google did not have a clear understanding of what they would be involved in. China has become more supported and self-assured due to its increasing economic significance. They are more reluctant to be pressed by Western governments or companies into changing its long term regulations and censorship. Because of this aspect, China does not yet comprehend global strategies and the importance of global public relations. This causes them to be more rigid in their international business dealings. All-in-all, Google has been able to grow successfully in the Chinese search engine market and maintain the number two spot (behind Baidu) in China despite their lack of early research on the Chinese culture, governmental regulations, and laws. References International Business. Competing in the Global Marketplace, Seventh Edition, Chapter 3: Differences in Culture ISBN: 9780073381343 Author: Charles W. L. Hill copyright  © 2009 McGraw-Hill, a business unit of the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Organizational Decoupling Processes and Causes

Organizational Decoupling Processes and Causes The field of organizational decoupling is a field that has not been researched very much. Meyer and Rowan (1977) were some of the first authors who wrote about this subject and define organizational decoupling as separating formal structure from actual organizational practice. In short, this means that organizations say that they do one thing, but actually do something else. For instance, an organization can announce that it will start a stock repurchase program. The organization can announce that it will repurchase a certain amount of stocks but actually repurchase much less stocks or dont repurchase them at all (Westphal Zajac, 2001). In this particular example the organization decouples what it says it is going to do, with what it actually does. Thus, the organization separates formal procedures (formal structure) from practice. So organizations seem to decouple their structure from actual practice, but why? Why do organizations try to fool other organizations, clients, customers and possibly even themselves? I argue that the main problem is legitimacy, and by exploring organizations quest for legitimacy and the problems they might encounter along the way, this research tries to map the main causes for organizational decoupling and thus give an answer to the following research question: What are the main causes of organizational decoupling? This research consists of a step-by-step overview of the entire process underlying decoupling. Four steps will be taken to explore and explain why organizations decouple their formal procedures (formal structure) from practice. Namely, 1) looking at the context of organizations and their search for legitimacy, 2) looking at problems organizations might encounter while searching for legitimacy 3) identifying the problem that is supported to be the prime cause of decoupling and 4) looking at organizational reactions to these problems (using decoupling) to connect the causes the action (problems to decoupling). These three steps will be discussed in three paragraphs and each paragraph consists of a review of existing literature from different authors about the decoupling process. Figure 1.1 shows the conceptual model sketching the process underlying decoupling. This model is divided into theory and propositions. The theory section shows which concepts form the theory behind the proposit ions and the propositions section shows which propositions are extracted from the theory. These propositions will form the core of this research. Research Structure The first step in the research is to take a look at the context of organizations and their quest for legitimacy. Organizations are embedded into institutional environments, meaning that the environment expects something of these organizations (Boxembaum Jonsson, 2008). There are certain norms, values and rules that organizations are being expected to act upon. Organizations have to conform to these expectations to gain legitimacy and this is the one goal all organizations have. They have to be legitimate to operate, survive, gain control over resources and create stability (Meyer Rowan, 1977; Boxenbaum Jonsson, 2008). For organizations, expectations are being experienced as pressures to conform. Therefore, this research will use the term environmental pressures to refer to these expectations. However, using the term environmental pressure sketches an image that is too vague and incomplete. Therefore this research divides environmental pressures into normative pressures and coercive pressures (Dimaggio Powel, 1983/2000). The term normative pressures refers to the expectations of the public or the cultural audience. These are the people and other organizations that form society and expect organizations to behave in a certain way and to conform to moral norms and values. It is important to keep in mind that it is not illegal to disregard these expectations; they are social guidelines, not laws. Nonetheless organizations have to conform to these expectations to stay legitimate (Boxenbaum Jonsson, 2008; and others). Coercive pressures however do consist of laws. In some situations organizations have to conform to certain laws that are being imposed by the government and this creates a pressure to conform. Organizations must conform because disobedience is illegal and illegitimate (Edelman, 1992). The second step in finding the answer to why organizations decouple their formal procedures (formal structure) from practice lies in the problems organizations might encounter while pursuing legitimacy. This paper categorizes three different problems that might rise when organizations try to gain legitimacy by conforming to environmental pressures, namely: 1) organizations might encounter a misfit between the expectations of their environments and their practices (Meyer Rowan, 1977); 2) some organizations might encounter an inability to conform to the coercive and normative pressures (Oliver, 1991); and 3) in some cases what an organization is being expected to do is in conflict with the interests of the organization as a whole or of individual managers (Edelman, 1992; Westphal Zajac, 2001; Fiss Zajac, 2006). The third step is to identify one of the three possible problems as the one that is the most important or most found cause of organizational decoupling. This step will eventually form an answer to the research question. The fourth step is the step where organizations actually decouple their formal structure from practice as a response to the problems that have arisen as a result of environmental pressures. This chapter will discuss different ways in which organizations use decoupling to solve problems and it illustrates some particular situations and approaches to the different problems that might arise while trying to be legitimate. This chapter functions as a bridge between the problems and the actual decoupling. Relevance of the Research Because organizations experience the struggle for legitimacy on a daily basis, and therefore have to cope with problems that arise as a result, this research might give organizations an insight in how to deal with these pressures and problem situations. Managers of organizations can use the knowledge in this research to come up with strategies that both suffice the need for legitimacy as well as the need for efficiency and pursuing organizational interests. The process underlying decoupling as illustrated in this research might also be used as a mean to gain legitimacy on its own. Because this research provides an insight into the reasons that organizations have to decouple their structure from practice, the public or cultural audience might come to a better understanding of the situation. They might understand that organizations sometimes have no other choice than to decouple and that the actions of organizations are actually quite legitimate, even if they are not considered to be at the moment. The knowledge provided in this research can also lead to further research on decoupling an form a basis for other researchers to start from because it tries to explain the core concept behind decoupling and to give an answer to the why question. Theoretical Framework Theory The aim of this research is to explore and explain the process underlying organizational decoupling and summarize the main causes. But what is organizational decoupling exactly? Meyer and Rowan (1977) define organizational decoupling as separating formal structure from actual organizational practice, meaning that organizations create an illusion of their activities (formal structure) but actually perform different activities (organizational practice). Many authors have used the term organizational decoupling but most of them refer to Meyer and Rowan as the founding fathers of this field of study and therefore this research will use the definition of organizational decoupling as given by them. The second important concept in this research is legitimacy. This research hypothesizes that organizations are on a quest for legitimacy and might encounter problems along the way. Legitimacy is therefore one of the core concepts and will be defined as a generalized perception or assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions (Suchman, 1995, p. 574). This definition will be used in this research because Suchman (1995) includes the importance of the social audience in his definition. As mentioned earlier, the audience defines the social pressure that organizations experience and is therefore an important player in the process underlying decoupling, which in a way determines what is legitimate and what is not, and should therefore be included in the definition of legitimacy. The third concept as mentioned in the conceptual model (figure 1.1) is environmental pressure. Meyer and Rowan (1977) call this environmental pressure myths. According to them, institutional rules function as myths to which organizations have to conform to be legitimate. This research however does not use the term myths but the term environmental pressure, the definition however remains the same. As mentioned earlier this research separates environmental pressure into two different sub pressures: coercive pressure and normative pressure. Coercive pressure will be defined as the demand of the state or other large actors to adopt specific structures or practices, or else face sanctions (Dimaggio Powel, 1983/2000 in Boxenbaum Jonsson, 2008, p. 80). Normative pressure will be defined as what is widely considered a proper course of action, or even a moral duty (Suchman, 1995, in Boxenbaum Jonsson, 2008, p. 80). These two definitions are chosen because they both point out the important difference between the moral and legal background of the concepts. The definition of coercive pressures specifically points out the role of the state and the risk of facing sanctions. This expresses the legal background of the concept. On the other hand, the definition of normative pressure points out the role of the audience. This on its turn expresses the social background of the concept. Dimaggio and Powel (1983/2000) also mention a third pressure, namely mimetic pressure. These mimetic pressures are mainly caused by uncertainty. This uncertainty for organizations causes organizations to imitate other, successful organizations to reduce their own uncertainty. Even though the concept of mimetic pressures is a part of the pressure package of Dimaggio and Powel (1983/2000) it will not be used in this research. The reason for leaving mimetic pressures out of the research and include only coercive and normative pressures is that this research hypothesizes that conforming to certain en vironmental pressure causes problems. Mimetic pressures however do not cause but rather solve problems (uncertainty)(Dimaggio Powel, 1983/2000). Propositions This research also mentions three different problems that organizations might encounter while trying to be legitimate. The first are efficiency problems. These problems are defined as problems that might arise when organizations try to conform to environmental pressures, which actually are in conflict with efficiency criteria (Meyer Rowan, 1977). The second problem is the inability to conform to environmental pressures. This problem will be defined as a problem that might rise when an organization has inadequate resources or capacity to meet the requirements of conformity (Oliver, 1991). The third are conflicting organizational or managerial interest problems. These are problems that might rise when environmental pressures are in conflict with the organizational or managerial interests (Edelman, 1992; Westphal Zajac, 2001; Fiss Zajac, 2006). Based on these three possible problems three propositions are made: Proposition 1 Organizational decoupling is caused by efficiency problems. Proposition 2 Organizational decoupling is caused by the organizations inability to conform to environmental pressures. Proposition 3 Organizational decoupling is caused by conflicting organizational or managerial interests. Table 2.1 Concept Definitions Organizational decoupling Separating formal structures from actual organizational practice Legitimacy A generalized perception or assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions Environmental pressure Institutional rules function as environmental pressures to which organizations have to conform to be legitimate Coercive pressure The demand of the state or other large actors to adopt specific structures or practices, or else face sanctions Normative pressure What is widely considered a proper course of action, or even a moral duty Efficiency problems Problems that might arise when organizations try to conform to environmental pressures, which actually conflicts sharply with efficiency criteria Inability to conform to environmental pressures Problems that might arise when an organization has inadequate resources or capacity to meet the requirements of conformity Conflicting organizational or managerial interests Problems that might arise when environmental pressures are in conflict with the organizational or managerial interests Research design This research can be characterized as both a descriptive and an explanatory research. It is both descriptive and explanatory because the aim on one hand is to describe current mainstream findings of other researchers on organizational decoupling and on the other hand to explain the whole process underlying organizational decoupling. This chapter will describe the process of data collection and data analysis using a part of the guidelines for conducting a systematic literature review as suggested by Tranfield, Denyer and Smart (2003). According to them conducting a review can be divided into several phases (table 3.1). These phases will form the steps used in this research for both data collection and analysis. Phases in conducting a review (Tranfield, Denyer Smart, 2003) Phase 1 Identification of research Phase 2 Selection of Studies Phase 3 Study quality assessment Identification of Research This phase of the research is the actual start of the data collection. According to Tranfield, Denyer and Smart (2003) a systematic search begins with identifying keywords and search terms. As mentioned in chapter 2 (Theoretical Framework), this research contains several concepts, which again can be found in the conceptual model (figure 1.1). These concepts are the core of this research and therefore some of them will be used as keywords to find relevant articles and papers. The first string of keywords is as follows: 1) Decoupling; 2) Legitimacy; 3) Institutional pressures. Table 3.2 shows the number of articles found for each keyword. Number of articles found Decoupling 12.262 Legitimacy 8.199 Institutional pressures 1080 To make the keywords more specific and to make sure that the results of the search are narrowed down the following, more specific keywords were identified and some keywords were added to the string (see table 3.2 for argumentation): 1) Organi?ational decoupling; 2) Acquiring legitimacy; 3) Maintaining legitimacy; 4) Conformity + institutional pressures; 5) Symbolic management Keyword argumentation Organi?ational decoupling Adding organi?ational to the term Decoupling makes the term more specific and narrows down results The ? makes sure that both the English and the American spelling of the word are being checked for Acquiring legitimacy Adding Aquiring to the term Legitimacy makes sure that the search focuses on the organizations search for legitimacy and not just on legitimacy itself Maintaining legitimacy Adding Maintaining to the term Legitimacy makes sure that the search focuses on the organizations struggle to maintain legitimacy and not just on legitimacy itself Conformity + Institutional pressures The term Institutional pressures refers to the pressures that weigh upon organizations The term Conformity refers to the theory that organizations have to conform to certain pressures to be legitimate Symbolic management Decoupling is using symbols to show that your organization conforms to certain institutional pressures (myths) (Meyer Rowan, 1977)The use of these symbols as a management strategy is called symbolic management (Westphal Zajac, 1998; 2001) The main source of information will be the ISI Web of Knowledge. This database contains thousands of articles and papers, which can be found using the license of the University of Tilburg. Unfortunately this license only allows the search for articles that have been published in 1988 or later. However, for the first step in searching relevant literature this is not a reason for concern. Again, to narrow down the results of the research and to exclude irrelevant results, the search will be refined to the general category Social Sciences. This makes sure that the search results do not include findings in irrelevant categories such as Science and Technology and Arts and Humanities. Second, the subject areas of the search are also refined. The subject areas that are included in the search are Business and Economics, Sociology and Behavioral Sciences. An example of the exact syntax of the search command can be found in the appendix. Besides using search-strings, this research also used the technique of snowballing. This technique uses the literature references of articles and papers that might have been found using the search-strings. For instance, the paper of Meyer and Rowan (1977) is being referred to by almost every author in the field of organizational decoupling. However, this article does not pop up in the search results in the Web of Knowledge database because it was published before 1988. By using snowballing other relevant articles about the subject can be found. The result of using this technique is that the latter part of the literature used in this research was found in the literature references of the articles that were found by using the organi?ational decoupling search term. Selection of Studies After searching for articles a selection of relevant studies had to be made. This process consists of three steps: 1) scanning the titles 2) reading the abstracts of the studies found and 3) matching the content of the studies to this researchs concept. The first and second step give an indication of what the studies are about. The title says a lot about the content of a paper and the abstract of an article gives a short summary of what the author has found in his or her study and thus gives an indication of the usability for this research. The third step is actually a sort of analysis of the studies that have been marked as relevant and usable in the previous two steps. This step consists of actually reading the selected studies and mapping their contents. Mapping the contents of a article or paper that are relevant for this research is being done by using a summary table (see appendix 6.2). This table is an oversight of the different articles and papers, their authors and the main concepts of these studies. After reading all the relevant literature this table is used to divide the different studies into different categories. The different categories consist of the core concepts of this study as shown in figure 1.1 (conceptual model), namely: 1) legitimacy; 2) conforming to coercive pressures; 3) conforming to normative pressures; 4) efficiency problems; 5) inability to conform to environmental pressures; 6) conflicting organizational or managerial interests; and 7) implementing decoupling. Dividing the literature into these different categories makes it easier to link them together in this research and to formulate an answer to the research question. Study Quality Assessment The quality of this research will be guaranteed by checking the literature that is being used as data. By checking the literature for times cited the reliability and validity of the literature is being secured. The more a particular article or paper is cited by other authors, the higher the reliability and validity of this particular article or paper. However, this also means that the older articles seem to be more reliable. To overcome this bias articles of more recent years have also been taken in to account and have been checked for usability separately. Another method for improving the reliability of the research is to use theoretical triangulation. By looking at different theories, the concept of organizational decoupling will be explained in a reliable and multidimensional way. To guarantee that this research can be replicated and checked for inconsistencies or to extend it, every step of the research process is being recorded. Also, the systematic way of analyzing the data ensures both replicabillity and reliability. Results As mentioned earlier, this research consists of three steps in explaining the causes of organizational decoupling. These three steps are according to the conceptual model (figure 1.1) and try to explain the process underlying decoupling step-by-step and will be covered in the following paragraphs. Quest for Legitimacy Before we can point out which problems could cause decoupling we must first take a look at how these problems rise in the first place. The theory shows that organizations try to be legitimate and are thus on a quest for legitimacy. Acquiring and maintaining legitimacy is the most difficult task for most organizations (Elsbach Sutton, 1992; Pfeffer Salancik, 1978: 194). Nonetheless, organizations have to be legitimate to operate, survive, gain resources and create stability (Meyer and Rowan, 1977; Boxembaum Jonsson, 2008). So one of the main goals of organizations is to be legitimate, but how do organizations achieve this? Boxembaum and Jonsson (2008) argue that organizations are embedded into institutional environments. Being embedded into institutional environments means that this environment has certain expectations of the organizations. These expectations are being experienced as pressures, and organizations have to comply with these pressures to maintain legitimacy (Dimaggio Powel, 1983/2000; Monahan, 2006). These pressures can be either coercive or normative (Seidman, 1983; Dimaggio Powel, 1983/2000). Coercive pressures refer to environmental expectations such as, for instance, laws. The argument that organizations have to conform to coercive pressures is supported by the work of Tsoukas (1994) who argues that in some environments organizations have to conform to rules and institutions as imposed by the legal state. Normative pressures refer to norms and values about what is considered proper or normal (Suchman, 1995). In their work on educational organizations and ranking Sauder and Espeland (2009) write about the normative pressures that educational organizations have to conform to. According to them, educational organizations are being ranked according to their performance. Schools have to be the best of the best to survive and thus have to conform to todays ideas of what is considered good quality and bad quality. Problems Along the Way So in short, organizations try to be legitimate by conforming to both coercive and normative environmental pressures. Conforming to these environmental pressures seems to be the right and only thing for organizations to do. However, this research hypothesizes that it might also cause certain problems. This research distinct three particular problems, namely: 1) efficiency problems; 2) inability to conform; and 3) conflicting interests. Efficiency Problems Meyer and Rowan (1977) argue that organizations that try to be legitimate by conforming to environmental pressures might encounter a misfit between the organizational structure and its practice. In other words, the environmental pressures are not in line with the organizational practice. For instance, Meyer and Rowan (1977) mention the example of a bus company. A bus company is expected to service certain routes, even when there are no passengers. This is highly inefficient, but the bus company has to conform to the environmental pressures. Edelman (1992) also point out the efficiency problems that might rise in their example of the equal employment opportunity and affirmative action (EEO/AA) law. This law is designed to ban discrimination in the hiring processes of firms and thus restricts organizations and managers to hire or refuse whomever they want. According to Edelman (1992) organizations experience this as highly inefficient and obstructing to managerial power. Inability to Conform A second problem that organizations can encounter is that they simply cannot conform to the environmental pressures. Oliver (1991) argues that some organizations are just not able to conform to certain environmental pressures because they do not have the needed resources or the capacity. For instance, it is more or less a social expectation (thus, a normative pressure) that the area surrounding a fast-food-restaurant is kept clean and clear of garbage by the restaurant itself. However, the restaurant might not have enough personnel or the material (resources and capacity) to conform to this expectation. It might also be possible that organizations simply do not know what is being expected of them or that multiple environmental pressures are conflicting with each other (Oliver, 1992). If any of these options is the case, then the organization might not be able to conform or choose to conform to one pressure, but ignore the other (conflicting) one. Conflicting Organizational or Managerial Interests The third problem that can rise as a result of trying to conform to environmental pressures is that certain organizational or managerial interests might be conflicting with the expectations (environmental pressures). Westphal and Zajac (2001) point out that some organizations that announce a stock repurchase program do not always fully implement these programs. According to them this might be a result of conflicting managerial interests. They argue that top managers might use this strategy, which is actually decoupling, to preserve free cash flow for themselves and thus to maintain managerial discretion over the allocation of resources. In other words, the organization is being expected to fully implement the stock repurchase programs, but top managers seem to want to keep control over the allocation of resources and thus do not (completely) conform to this environmental pressure. What is being expected, and the interests of the managers are conflicting with each other. The previous mentioned findings of Edelman (1992) about the EEO/AA law and its consequences for organizations are also supporting the conflicting interests argument. Edelman (1992) not only argues that conforming to the EEO/AA law, a coercive pressure, is inefficient but also argues that it is in conflict with organizational and managerial interests. Managers want to be free in hiring whomever they want but the EEO/AA law prohibits them from doing this. Thus, the coercive pressure to which the organizations have to conform is in conflict with the interests of the organizations themselves and their managers. Decoupling as  a Problem Solving Tool So far we have traced the process underlying decoupling from trying to be legitimate, to conforming to environmental pressures and to the problems this might cause. This research argues that these problems are the main causes of organizational decoupling but so far nothing has been said about the implementation of decoupling as a response to these problems. This paragraph will give some examples of how organizations use decoupling to solve their problems and will form a bridge between the problems and decoupling. According to Meyer and Rowan (1977), efficiency problems can be solved by formally adopting a structure but then internally decouple this structure from the actual practice. They give an example of how a hospital applies this strategy. In this example Meyer and Rowan (1977) point out that hospitals treat, not cure their patients. The environmental pressures prescribe that hospitals are being expected to cure patients. However, this is highly unpractical because they cannot cure every single patient. The solution to this problem is decoupling. Hospitals give an impression that they cure their patients, and thus conform to the environmental pressures, but actually these hospitals treat their patients and do not cure all of them. In fact, hospitals only publish numbers on treated patients and not or seldom on cured patients (Meyer Rowan, 1977). Edelman (1992), regarding to the EEO/AA law example, also gives a solution to the efficiency problems. Organizations create formal structures in the form of offices, positions, rules and procedures within the organization. These formal structures are actually symbols of compliance. They give the impression that the organization conforms to the environmental pressures, but in fact the organization can hire or reject someone on illegitimate grounds (Edelman, 1992). When an organization does not have the resources or capability to conform to environmental pressures, it will attempt to preclude the necessity of conformity or to conceal nonconformity behind a faà §ade of acquiescence (Oliver, 1991). Oliver (1991) gives an example: when a construction firm is building a house and they are expecting a government inspection of the building site, they might display several activities that normally are not there. For instance, rules require two men to operate heavy machinery on building sites. However, a building firm might not have enough personnel to put two men on the job and thus normally only one man operates the machinery. When the building firm expects an inspection it will, for instance, relocate someone from another building site to the one that is being inspected. So when the inspectors come, the heavy machinery is operated by two men, while normally it is not. This way the organization (construction firm) conceals its nonconformity. A possible solution to the third problem, conflicting organizational or managerial interests, is already mentioned shortly in the previous paragraph. The example of the stock repurchase program (Westphal Zajac, 2001) shows that individual managers simply do not implement the whole program when their interests are in conflict with the plans. So in short, decoupling actually comes down to the following: give the environment the impression that the organization conforms to all expectations (environmental pressures), but when these pressures cause some sort of problem for the organization, actually follow the organizations own rules and routines. Conclusions Recommendations This chapter will formulate conclusions that are derived from the results and give some recommendations for further research on organizational decoupling. Conclusions

Man and Nature in Norman Macleans book, Young Men and Fire Essay

Man and Nature in Norman Maclean's book, Young Men and Fire Norman Maclean's book, Young Men and Fire, recreates the tragedy of the Mann Gulch fire. His ambition to have this lamentable episode of history reach out and touch his readers triumphs in extolling the honor and respect deserved by the thirteen smoke jumpers who died. This book is a splendid tribute to the courageous efforts of such men, as well as a landmark, reminding mankind to heed the unpredictable behavior and raw power of nature. Deep in the midst of the Mann Gulch valley in Montana, above the densely wooded forest and below the towering precipices lies the fast-burning cheat grass, home to twelve of the thirteen dead smoke jumpers. The smoke jumpers were an elite group of the United States Forest Service's firefighters compiled in 1940, and their mission was to parachute from the open sky down unto the fires to extinguish them before they became too large. Triggered during a lightning storm the previous day, the Mann Gulch fire didn't pose a threat until the afternoon of August 5, 1949, when the thermostat reached its summertime peak and the various crosswinds from the three surrounding rivers began to whirl and swell up the fire. Before the big "blowup" occurred, the smoke jumper crew was dropped down unto the fire led by their foreman Wag Dodge to quench the fire's thirst. The recapitulation of events which Maclean embarks the reader on traces the perseverance, endurance, and fortitude of the crew as they raced for life against the ever-raging wall of fire roaring behind them. Maclean utilizes various fragments of factual interviews, personal observation, theoretical fire science, and his own distinct exploration to compose this "factual fabricati... ... its ashes, and as the biblical phrase goes, "ashes to ashes, dust to dust" Dodge literally was resurrected from a certain death. Maclean wanted to know so much, each detail, in order to reconstruct the tragedy. It is remarkable how his determination to "tell this story" sustained him over the fourteen years he devoted to this project. Maclean writes like a true master. His story creates its own rhythm, and the reader is captivated by his masterful storytelling. He retells the same strain of thoughts, with slight variations on his theme, much like the repetitiveness of a musical composer's refrain. Maclean's "Young Men and Fire" makes the reader vicariously experience the inexplicable pain and suffering of the crew and relatives. In this respect, Maclean has forever engraved this misfortune into my mind, and through this magnificent tale, the dead live on. Â  

Christianity and Evangelism in Jane Eyre Essay -- Religion Religious B

Christianity and Evangelism in Jane Eyre There were great changes in the religious arena during the time of Victorian England. John Wesley had his warm heart experience, India had been opened to missionizing, and a Utilitarian and Evangelical shift had occurred. Charlotte Brontà « would have felt the effects of these things, being a daughter of the clergy, and by simply being a daughter of the Victorian era. Her novel, Jane Eyre, serves as a reaction to Utilitarianism, and the protagonist Jane emerges as an Evangelical figure. By using this novel as a tool for Evangelism itself, Brontà « has a platform to fulfill moral obligations, and to have a discourse with the socially held views of her time. Beyond this, it also addresses the intrinsic struggle between Paganism and Christianity. The original position of the East India Company and the English Parliament was, the resistance against allowing missionary work in India, and that the clergy would be commissioned to serve only the European population there. They took this stance, because they felt the inhabitants would feel threatened and cause problems for those who had financial interests in the area. In 1813, with the passing of a new Charter Act, India was opened to missionary activity, and many jumped at the opportunity to sacrifice all for the sake of â€Å"heathen† souls. (Viswanathan 36) The very personification of this ideal comes in the form of Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s character, St. John Rivers, Jane Eyre’s cousin and almost fiancà ©. He expounds on this when he explains: After a season of darkness and struggling, light broke and relief fell; my cramped existence all at once spread out to a plain without bounds-my powers heard a call from heaven to rise, g... ... the great religious impact it is meant to have. Christ, should and will, win out in the end – as the last line of the novel says, â€Å"Amen; even so come, Lord Jesus!† Works Cited â€Å"Brigit.† Encarta Encyclopedia Online. 2004. http://encarta.msn.com Brontà «, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Richard J. Dunn. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2001. â€Å"Evangelism.† Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online. 2004. http://www.m-w.com Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995. Viswanathan, Gauri. â€Å"The Beginnings of English Literary Study.† Masks of Conquest: Literary Study and British Rule in India. New York: Columbia University Press, 1989. Weber, Max. â€Å"Luther’s Conception of the Calling.† The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Trans. Talcott Parsons. New York, Dover Publications Inc.

Mobile Phone and Samsung Galaxy Note

The word Samsung means â€Å"three stars† in Korean. Samsung is known globally for its electronic products and it is one of the successful brands in the electronic industry. It is an established company almost all around the world. While the Samsung Electronics is a South Korean multinational electronics and information technology company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul. It is the flag ship subsidiary of the Samsung Group. With assembly plants and sales networks in 61 countries across the world, Samsung has approximately 160, 000 employees. In1938, the Samsung's founder Byung-Chull Lee set up a trade export company in Korea, selling fish, vegetables, and fruit to China. Within a decade Samsung had flour mills and confectionary machines and became a co-operation in 1951. From 1958 onwards Samsung began to expand in too the industries such as financial, media, chemical’s and ship building. In1969, Samsung Electronics was established producing what Samsung is most famous for, Televisions, Mobile Phones (throughout90's), Radio's, Computer components and other electronics devices. In 1987, Byung-Chull Lee passed away and Kun-Hee Lee took over as chairman. In the 1990, Samsung began to expand globally building factories in the US, Britain, Germany, Thailand, Mexico, Spain and China until1997. On the other hand, Samsung has developed the ‘lightest' mobile phone of its era. Then they developed smart phones and a phone combined mp3 player towards the end of the 20th century. To this date Samsung are dedicated to the 3G industry such as making video, camera phones at a speed to keep up with consumer demand. Introduction of Product Brand Line A product line is a group of products that are related and manufactured by the same company. Product lines are not to be confused with product bundling, which combines various items into one type of product. For example, Samsung home appliances product line might include refrigerator, washing machine, air conditioner, vacuum cleaner and others. Other example, Samsung's mobile phones are divided into product lines based on the following features; touch screens, slider or folders, QWERTY keyboards and ar phones base on the product price, product quality, who the product is aimed at target group, and product specification. Product lines help to manage their products as product strategy can be designed around product lines. Samsung has offered more than one product line with the product that are all closely related. Different type of product line might toward different type of segmentation based on the customer. Samsung try to expand its business is by adding to its existing product line. This is because people are more likely to purchase products from brands with which they are already familiar and confident. Product Introduction The introduction of Samsung Galaxy Note in the year 2011 popularized the term Phablet, mainly because of its large display screen. Now, the updated version of Galaxy Note is released. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 comes with many high end features and it runs on Android 4. 1 (Jelly Bean) OS. The phone is powered by a 1. 6 GHz quad-core processor. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is wider than the previous version. The display screen measures 5. 5 inches and it offers visuals at a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. The phone weighs about 180 grams and it is 9. mm thick. The super AMOLED display screen of the phone is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 2. The phone sports an 8 MP camera for capturing images at a good resolution. Users can also record HD videos using this handset. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 also comes with a 2 MP secondary camera. The powerful 3100 mAh battery in the handset offers ample talk time and standby time. The phone comes with 16/32/64 GB internal memory capability. This is expandable further up to 64 GB through a microSD card. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has multiple platforms for connecting to the internet. High speed internet is possible through 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi connectivity. The phone has Bluetooth and micro USB port for file transfer with other devices. The A-GPS feature can guide you when you are lost in an unknown city. The phone comes with a stylus stick and it offers many high end features for users. Samsung Product (Luxury Product) Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is a luxury good. A luxury good is a product that not necessary but which tend to make life more pleasant for the consumer, often more expensive and primarily purchased by people with more wealth and income. In other words, as people receive more income, they devote an increasingly larger share of income to the purchase of luxury goods. This is because Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has just concentrated on market segment that are high income. People will purchase the Samsung’s product although with a high price as their income increases. Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has a many competing brands in the market such as Nokia, Apple and HTC. These alternative brands also offer the same products but with different features. Complement and substitute Substitution effect is always negative for Samsung, that is because consumers will always switch from spending on higher-priced goods to lower-priced goods ones. For example, if they are not satisfied with the price of Samsung Galaxy note II, definitely they will seek for other products which have same function and cheaper than Samsung’s smartphone such as Sony Ericsson, Iphone5, Nokia N9. Those competitors’s product is strong enough to compete with Samsung because their products are quality and cheaper than Samsung Galaxy note II. In conclusion, those threats will definitely decrease the demand for Samsung Galaxy note II. But, the one reason which differentiates the Samsung Galaxy note II with another product is their complementary products. The complementary products which exist in Samsung Galaxy note II is a removable battery, memory expansion via a micro SD slot and a built-in stylus, The S pen, that help users work well in their handwritten note and simple drawing. Those complementary products helped in increase of the demand of Samsung Galaxy Note II. Market Structure Samsung Company had been categorized as oligopolistic market structure because they have only a few sellers such as Nokia, Apple, Sony Ericsson and HTC. Even with such small amount of firms, they manage to control all the market. Other than that, Samsung products are classified as differentiated product because they set the price on different product with different design. This market structure had high barrier to entry because it is too costly or difficult for potential rivals to enter the market. Besides that, irms that are interdependent such as Samsung and LG are mutual interdependence. A firm operating in a market with just a few competitors must predict the potential reaction of its closest rivals when making its own decisions. For example, if Samsung Company wishes to increase its market share by reducing price, they must also predict the possibility that close rivals such as Nokia and HTC, may do such action too. Furthermore, the firms under oligopoly market structure are price maker; this is because they set the price by themselves, not determine by the government. The Samsung company also do a lot of advertisments to promote their products so that the comsumers will know about their products through multimedia such as televesion, radio, newspaper and internet. Part 2 Compare the price of Samsung Galaxy Note II with Nokia N9 The price of Samsung Galaxy Note II with 1 year contract is about RM 1899 than will be higher the Nokia N9 for RM 699. The price of Samsung Galaxy Note II without contract is about RM 2299 and for Nokia is RM1199. The price gap between the Samsung Galaxy Note II and Nokia N9 will be RM 1200 with contract and RM 1100 without contract. The reason the price of Samsung Galaxy Note II will higher than Nokia N9 is the technical specifications of the phone. The product differentation would be Samsung Galaxy Note II is counting on a totally different approach across the entire Android ecosystem with diversity but for the Nokia N9 is just using the normal windows software as the processer. This cause the Samsung Note II became the world best smartphone for now and the customers will be proud and happy when using the phone. Besides that, the Samsung Galaxy Note II has a Quad-core 1. GHz Cortex-a-9 chip as the processor and with 2GB of RAM as for the Nokia N9 used 1 GHz Cortex a-8 ship as the processor with 1GB of RAM. Obvious the Samsung Galaxy Note II will react faster than the Nokia N9 because of the internal build-in. The customers now a day would prefer better and faster software even through the price will be higher but they will statifisfy with it. Other than that, will be the advertisement of Samsung Galaxy Note II and Nokia N9. The Samsung Galaxy Note II was released at 30 August 2012 that will be 1 day before Merdeka day. The Samsung Company rabs this opportunity to promote their new product by giving discount to attract more customers in the day of Merdeka. They also promote through television, internet, newspaper and as a banner at roadside. With this huge promotion, they are able to profit their sales. As for the Nokia N9 was released at 21 June 2011. At that time the Nokia company do not promote their new product rapidly and there are just several people know about the Nokia N9 and also don not notice that it was quite a useful smartphone. Because of the lack promotion of Nokia Compan y, they are not able to set the phone at higher price. Furthermore, in this modern world the Samsung Company already achieved a standard brand name compare to Nokia Company because the qualities of the products is better. The Samsung product automatically will have a greater cost of production than Nokia product. The costs of production of Samsung Galaxy Note II also higher than the Nokia N9. Because Samsung Galaxy Note II is more advance in design, body shape, internal software used and better sound system than Nokia N9. So the cost of production also will be higher. The Samsung Company is willing to produce and sell a greater quantity of Galaxy Note II because the product price is high. Samsung Company hopes that the brand new Galaxy Note II will be the greatest smartphone for the year so they put effort on it. Conclusion is that Samsung Galaxy Note II is better, faster and performance well than Nokia N9. Samsung company promote their new product but Nokia company do not and with the reason above will be why the price of Samsung Galaxy Note II will be higher than Nokia N9. Part 3 The market structure of Samsung company is oligopoly which proven by a few characteristic. The first one is a few sellers which control the most of the market. It sells differentianted and high barriers to enter the market for new firms. From the Samsung firm’s viewpoint, there are a few advantages and disadvantages of being an oligopoly. The first advantage for the firm is high barriers of entry for new firms. This is because the exclusive financial requirement to start the business which can prevent the small firm from entering the market. This can avoid the profit being shared to other new firms. The company also needs to spend money on the Research and Development (R&D) to do new products which needs large money. This is to prove that the new entrants no easily if they want to enter the market. Secondly, oligopoly encourages firms to make efforts to innovate and produce more advanced product because all the firms are crazy about winning a more competitive place in the whole market. For Samsung Company, it tries to design the phone that suit for most of the consumers with the latest technology and resources they have. For example, Samsung galaxy note II is a popular phone among the consumers because of the design, the function, and the size of screen which preferred by the consumers. This can increase the profit of the Samsung Company when the sale of phone is increasing. On the other hand, the disavantage from firm’s viewpoint is high cost spent on adverstiment and Research and Development for the product. This can increase the input cost and the firm will set higher price for the product to cover the cost. The company has to spend money to develop a new product. After developed a new product, the company has to promote the product through television, internet, newspaper and radio. This is to inform the consumers that there is a new product launched by Samsung Company. Furthermore, there are strong competitors like Apple Company, Sony Company and somemore which can compete with Samsung Company. Some of the consumers like to buy iphone and some like to buy Sony phone. Samsung have to launch new products which can give the cosumcers high satisfaction to maintain the position in the market. If other company able to produce a new phone which bring higher expactation than the consumers expact, the consumers will buy the new phone. This can reduce the buyers to buy the Samsung Company’s product. In the consumer’s viewpoint, the advantages of buying a product under oligopoly market structure is the consumers can easily make price comparison among the few companies. Consumers can compare the phone price between the phone companies such as Samsung, Nokia, Iphone, Sony and somemore. As comparison done, they will choose the phone with suitable price which equivalent to the quality of the phone. For example, the consumers will think about the features of the phone and look at the price. When the consumers are the office workers, they will prefer Samsung Galaxy Note II because the screen is bigger and there is a pen used to write things on the phone which makes the phone act like a note book. The second advantage for the consumer is the consumers can expenrience new phone with different features. Because of strong competitors between these companies, the companies have to design new phone with the features that can attract consumers to buy it. This can make the consumers have many choices of phones which have different features. However, the disadvantage of consumers buying the product under oligopoly market structure is the firm is a price maker which means the companies can determine the product by themselves. This can harm the consumers because as the company is a price maker, the company can set higher price to earn more profit. But this can make the consumers have to pay higher price. Besides, the disadvantage for consumers is the differentiated products. The consumers have to choose which one phone is better. Sometimes, it will be confusing when chosing the phone with different brand, different quality and different price. At this time, they have to think deeply before purchasing a phone because one phone is very costly. Part 4 In conclusion, the assignment is very useful to us. we find out that Samsung Company is operated under oligopoly market structure. Byung-Chull Lee has set up the Samsung Company with small business and takes over by Kun-Hee Lee after Byung-Chull Lee has passed away. The business start to expand globally at the end of 20th century. This can show that Samsung Company is slowly developed and required a large financial requirement. Under Samsung Company, it sell different types of products such as refrigerator, washing machine, air conditioner, vacuum cleaner and others. But in this assignment, we only focus on the Samsung mobile phone. In mobile phone market, there are only a few sellers such as Samsung, HTC, Apple, Nokia and Sony who control most of the market. Samsung Company is selling differentiated products which mean the phones have different in term of price, features, design, and quality. This can let consumers have different choices of chosing a phone. Samsung Company is a price maker which means the company can determine the price of the phones by themselves. Under oligopoly market structure, there is high barriers to entry for new entrants because the start-up cost requires large money to set up the company. Samsung Company also do a lot of advertisment when a new phone is launched through television, radio, internet, newspaper and the banners along the road. In my observation Based on the research done on this assignment, we find out that the concept of oligopoly can apply on he realistic life. The characteristic of a firm under oligopoly is shown as above and is applied in real life. Besides, we have come out an assumption about the price changes and the demand. If the price of the product increases, the quantity demanded for the product would decrease. Using the logical thinking of a consumer, people would definitely buy more of a certain product if the prices w ere lower. Besides that, according to the law of diminishing marginal utility, buyers would receive less satisfaction when they buy more units of a product. Hence, consumers would only buy if the prices were lowered. Another reason is because when the price increases, the buying power of consumers would decrease as they are unable to buy as many at higher prices as at lower prices. This is basically known as the income effect of a price change. Besides that, if the price of the product increases, consumers could choose and buy other substitutes available in the market. Hence, the quantity demanded would also fall. This is known as the substitution effect. As for the supply, if the price of the product increases, the greater the quantity supplied. This is because the higher prices are an incentive for the producers to produce more of a good in the form of profits. My empirical findings in this research does not fulfilled my expectations regarding economics. This is becauset the concept of price decrease and demand will increase will not very appliable in real life because there are many factors to influence the decision of consumers to buy a new phone which are brand, quality, the features, the income of the buyers, and the promotion such as free gifts and free vouchers. Better quality of phone even though with higher price, the demand of the phone still increase. Phone with many features will cost higher price. If we intend to establish a company, we will chose to enter oligopoly market. This is because the market is only a few sellers but many buyers. With the characteristic of a few sellers and many buyers, we can control most of the market and earn profit in the long run. Our company also sells differentiated products like phones which can give consumers a lot of choices to choose the phone which suit them. Our company also needs to advertise our products to stimulate the awareness of the consumers through television, radio, internet, newspaper and banners along the road. Even though oligopoly market structure has the characteristic of high barriers to entry for new entrants, we can start from a small company and slowly become a big company like Samsung Company or we can team with other people to set up one big company and divide the profit equally.Reference Oligopoly. (n.d.). In  Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved  March  12, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligopoly About SAMSUNG – SAMSUNG. (n.d.).  Samsung US | TVs – Tablets – Smartphones – Cameras – Laptops – Refrigerators. Retrieved from http://www.samsung.com/us/aboutsamsung/ Advantages and Disadvantages of Oligopoly. (n.d.).  Buzzle. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-oligopoly.html History Of Samsung. (n.d.).  Samsung Mobile – Home. Retrieved from http://www.samsung-mobiles.net/history-of-samsung.html Home Page. (n.d.).  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved from http://www.unc.edu/depts/econ/byrns_web/Economicae/oligopoly.html Microeconomics : The Change in Market Structure in the Mobile Phone Market. (n.d.).Microeconomics. Retrieved from http://tbs2015microeconomics.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-chang-in-market-structure-in-mobile.html Oligopoly. (n.d.).  Economics Online Home. Retrieved from http://www.economicsonline.co.uk/Business_economics/Oligopoly.html Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Review |Gadget Review. (n.d.).  Gadget Review | Your lifestyle gadget siteGadget Review | Your lifestyle gadget site. Retrieved from http://www.gadgetreview.com/2012/12/samsung-galaxy-note-2-review.html Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 – Full phone specifications. (n.d.).  GSMArena.com – GSM phone reviews, news, opinions, votes, manuals and more†¦ Retrieved from http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_note_ii_n7100-4854.phpSamsung GALAXY Note2- Samsung Mobile. (n.d.).  Samsung US | TVs – Tablets – Smartphones – Cameras – Laptops – Refrigerators. Retrieved from http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxynote/note2/index.html?type=find Samsung. (n.d.). In  Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved  March  12, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung Appendices -The items inside the box after bought Samsung Galaxy Note II