Organization and Behaviour Essay

Contents 1. Compare and contrast different organisational structures and culture 2. Explain how the relationship between an organisation’s structure and culture can impact on the performance of the business 3. Discuss the factors that influence the individual’s behaviour at work 4. Compare the effectiveness of different leadership styles in different organisations 5. Explain how organisational theory underpins the practice of management 6. Evaluate the different approaches to management used by different organisations 7. Discuss the impact that different leadership styles may have on motivation in organisations in periods of change 8. Compare the application of different motivational theories within the workplace 9. Evaluate the usefulness of a motivation theory for managers 10. Explain the nature of groups and group behaviour within organisations 11. Discuss factors that may promote or inhibit the development of effective teamwork in organisations 12. Evaluate the impact of technology on team functioning within a given organisation P1: Compare and contrast different organisational structures and culture. Organisational structure: There are different types of organisational structures. There is the Functional structure which is based on the activities that people do in the organisation then the Product based structure, when the product determines the structure, the Geographically based structure when the location determines the structure and the last one is the Matrix structure (segregation) which is the combination of functions (activities) and product. Organisational culture: Is the values and behaviours that contribute to the unique social and psychological, Organisational culture is the sum of an organisation past and current experiences, philosophy and values that hold it together and is expressed in its self-image. The organisational structure focuses on the mentality, work ethic and the values of the company’s management and employees. The main factors that influence the structure of an organisation are products, environment, staff, task, culture and management style, size number and type of dept. A culture of innovation, teamwork and partnership means that the company has a firm foundation of relationships and open communication channels on which to build its growth. A major determinant of an organisations structure is its culture. The general nature of culture in terms of both external influences and how things are done as well as common values, belief and attitude will have a significant effect on organisational processes including the design of structure. P2: Based on the scenario given explain how the relationship between an organisation’s structure and culture can impact on the performance of the business. The way the Coca cola company works reflects the many countries and cultures in which it does business. An essential part of the organisation’s structure therefore focuses on ensuring that individual products are given the best possible support in regional markets. Within the company different teams concentrate on particular products and use their specialist knowledge of the brands and consumer needs to support the sales and promotional effort. In some cases a product is developed solely for local consumption and an example of this is the product Lilt, which is only available in Great Britain and Ireland. A structure depends on the organization’s objectives and strategy. In a centralized structure, the top layer of the management has most of the decision making power and has tight control of departments and divisions. In a decentralized structure, the decisions making power is distributed and the departments and divisions have different degrees of independence. A company such Coca-Cola Great Britain is a more centralized structure that has a corporate (Head office) that is responsible for giving the company an overall direction and providing support to the regional structure. P3: Discuss the factors which influence individual behaviour at work. Organisations are made up of their individual members. The individual in a central feature of organisational behaviour whether acting in isolation or as part of a group in response to expectations of the organisation or as a result of the influences of the external environment. Where the needs of the individual and the demands of the organisation as incompatible this can result in frustration and conflict. It is the role of management to integrate the individual and the organisation and to provide a working environment that permits the satisfaction of individual needs as well as the attainment of organisational goals. The first factor to consider is the location. The organisation has to think about how they can improve the environment so that the staff will remain motivated at work. A good location and environment helps to create a positive attitude to staff and customers. Another factor is the amount of working hours. Hours of work are extremely different throughout the industry- some people are happy to work unsocial hours because it fits with their lifestyle or they wish to have time off when everyone is working. On the other hand, the overall amount of hours per week should not go over 40 hours. If staff are working overtime consistently it will not influence them to come into work so it is important that all hours of work is balanced. Safety and security factors must be considered in the workplace, and legislation such as Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 must be adhered to. These regulations particular apply where food is served or where there are chemical hazards, for example in a swimming pool. All these requirements are important. For some organisations a little error in the safety procedures can mean the end of the business including a trial. Companies that organise activity holidays for children, for example Disney Land, Thorpe Park or London Dungeon, must make health and safety a priority. Health and safety is important for both customers and employees. When employees know that they can go about their work in safe environment and work together to ensure their customers are safe then this could also influence them because they will know that they are working in a safe environment. Most Companies organise Christmas parties or social events and outings for staff. These are useful to create a friendship amongst staff and help influence staff to build solid teams within the organisation. Good pay may is also another factor as staff like to see that their hard work has paid off. P4: Compare the effectiveness of the different leadership styles in two or more organisations of your choice. Management in an organisation is about influencing people to behave in positive ways so that the team can achieve its general goal. A good manager must inform, motivate and develop the team as a whole. An autocratic manager makes all the decisions and announces them to the team. This person is the boss and has full control. The main advantage of this kind of leadership is that decisions are made quickly, as no meeting will be held about the decisions made by the leader. The advantages that could motivate staff include: * Where there is a need for urgent action the autocrat will take control * Some team members gain security from being told what to do. The disadvantages are: * Team members may become frustrated at their lack of control * There may not be room for the team to express creativity * There may be over-dependence on the leader. Autocratic management belongs in a traditional hierarchical structure. Democratic management: With democratic management, the decision-making is shared among the team. The advantages include: * Ideas are encouraged from everyone * There is greater involvement and commitment from team members * The team is likely to be supportive of leader * The team is fully informed. The disadvantages include: * Some team members may not be able to cope with being involved in decision-making * The democratic process can take too long * The leader may not agree with the decision of the team * Powerful team member may take over. P5: Explain how organisational theory underpins the practice of management. Organisational theory: Organisational theory represents a young and complex field of study related to the behaviour of organisations and companies. Through particular methods like analysis, generalisations and observation, organisation theory specialists try to determine how companies and organisations will behave in certain situations. (http://www.publicorgtheory.org/organization-theory.html) The way the organisational theory underpins the practice of management is by bringing change to actual behaviour. It can influence the manager’s behaviour which can be observed in the ideas portrayed or conclusions. It is important as it helps give insight to interrelationships between the development of theory, behaviour in organisations and management practice. It also gives an understanding of the development of management thinking. The knowledge of the history helps in the understanding of the nature of management and organisational behaviour. Many of the earlier ideas are of continuing importance to the manager and later ideas in management tend to incorporate early ideas of conclusions. P6 & P7: Using an organisation of your choice evaluate the different approaches to management. Discuss the impact that different leadership styles may have on motivation in organisation in periods of change. The organisation that I will be evaluating is Tesco which is a PLC (Public Limited Company). I will be talking about the different approaches to management. There is a difference between management and leadership. Management is about getting things done. Managers organise human and physical resources to achieve business aims and objectives. Leadership is about influencing, motivating and inspiring people. It is about coaching and developing people, treating them with respect but challenging them. Leaders seek to create strong teams, with people committed to the organisation’s overall goals. The process of managing starts with the target or objective to be achieved. A manager must decide on the appropriate approach for reaching that target. The manager then needs to communicate this approach clearly to his or her team and to allocate tasks to each team member. Task allocation and delegation of responsibility is part of the management function. However, other factors will also have an influence on whether the target is achieved, including the task in hand, the skills of the team and the style of leadership. The style of leadership can vary depending on the task. Some managers allow teams to take charge of their own decision-making for many tasks. Team leaders will set the objectives but empower team members to decide how these objectives are achieved. This has several advantages. It helps to motivate individuals in the team and it draws on the expertise of the members of the team. The leadership style that Tesco store managers sit between autocratic and democratic both th ese styles allow staff to participate to an extent. However the manager has the right to reserve the final decision. Managers who lead using the autocratic leadership style often tend to give clear direction to staff and are good in terms of managing a crisis but this method does not allow team member to be heard and creative. On the other hand a democratic manager will consult with staff before making his final decision this style of leadership helps encourage staff to put forward ideas and increases motivation. Some manager will adopt leadership styles in which are appropriate to the situation. Most managers prefer to take a democratic approach as they feel that staff respond better to this approach. For example when planning a major stock reduction programme at Tesco the store manager may encourage other management within the store to put forward ideas and develop plans as said before this increases team motivation and encourages creativity. Although some mistakes may be made this can be put forward as a learning experience. However as a store manager they may deal with many different situations. Some may be business critical and it is important that the manager is able to respond to these situations in the most appropriate manner. In some situations the manager may need to adapt the leadership approach and exert more authority. Laissez-faire is at the other end of the field from autocratic. A laissez-faire manager takes a ‘hands-off’ approach and trusts teams to take appropriate decisions or actions with broad agreed boundaries. For example, a store manager might leave an experienced departmental manager to develop a budget. This could be because he trusts that the manager has a good knowledge of the needs of the department and of the business. Although each manager will have their own preferred leadership style, the most effective leaders take on a style that is appropriate depending on the situation. They will consider several factors such as: * The task – Is it business critical? Must a decision be made immediately? What will be the potential impact on the business? * The team – Does it have the right skills and resources? Is it used to making decisions? * Tradition – What has been the norm in the past? For example, a manager that uses a more authoritarian style if something needs achieving in a particular way or in a very quick timeframe. Sometimes budgets need to be reduced quickly in order to make cost savings. The store manager will tell departmental managers what needs to be done and by when so that they can then resubmit their budgets in line with expectations. Managers have to be aware of the possible consequences of using the wrong style in a particular situation. For example, a manager will not use a laissez-faire approach with a new member of the team. If the employee is not given proper instruction this could jeopardise the business. In some cases employees could be injured if they don’t use the equipment correctly. In this situation, it is essential to adopt an autocratic style. P8: Compare the application of different motivational theories within the workplace. Theories of motivation Maslow America 1940, Abraham Maslow developed a theory of motivation. The theory is suitable for trying to understand how people are motivated in the workplace. Employers can use it to provide conditions that fulfil people’s needs at the different levels. Maslow’s theory is displayed as a pyramid because employees can only move up the levels once the lower levels are fulfilled. So for example an employee cannot achieve at work (level 4) if they having problems in their personal life or with work colleagues like in (level 3). Similarly, if they have just been made homeless (level) their concern will be finding shelter not performing work, meaning people have to be satisfied with their own needs and their life before even being motivated to do work. Herzberg Herzberg’s theory is also known as the ‘Hygiene’ theory. Herzberg recognized features which make people happy and satisfied with their jobs and those which make them dissatisfied and unhappy he called the ‘satisfiers’ and ‘dissatisfies’. The ‘satisfiers’ are factors which give people continuing motivation and allow them to enjoy their work: * The type of work * Promotion prospects * Having responsibility * Sense of achievement * Personal development * Gaining recognition. The ‘dissatisfies’ or hygiene factors need to be operating well in an organisation but according to Herzberg do not ultimately motivate people. However, if they are unsatisfactory then they do de-motivate people. These are: * Salary * Working conditions * Relationships with others – colleagues and managers * Company policy P9: Evaluate the usefulness of a motivation theory for managers. The motivational theory is useful for managers because of the practical implications it has on individuals lacking in motivation, which in most cases do not have clear goals. Specific performance should systematically be identified and set in order to direct behaviour and maintain motivation. Goals should be set at a challenging but realistic level. Difficult goals lead to higher performances however if goals are set too high a level or regarded as impossible to achieve this can lead to stress and performance will suffer especially over a longer period. It is assumed that complete accurate and timely feedback and knowledge of results is usually associated with high performance. Feedback provides a means of checking progress of goal attainment and forms the basis of any revision of goals. Although goals can be determined either by a superior or by individuals themselves goals set by other people are more likely to be accepted when there is participation. Employee participation in the setting of goals may lead to higher performance P10: Explain the nature of groups and group behaviour within organisations Group work: Good groups achieve synergy; that is, together they can achieve more than the members could individually. More ideas, energy and resources are made as a group because: * The group solves problems and make decisions together * The group focuses on priorities, with everyone working towards the same aim * The group provides a sense of belonging and sense of status * The group provides a support network Not everyone in a group is the same – each person has their own strengths and weaknesses. If each person had the same weaknesses, the group could not work; there needs to be a balance of skills. A method of recognising individuals’ strengths and weaknesses is needed in order to build and effective team. The management expert R. Meredith Belbin has outlined nine team roles necessary for successful team. Belbin’s roles: C hairperson/co-ordinator – the group leader, likely to be relaxed and outgoing person, also likely to be a good communicator. They will build on the strengths of team members and give them encouragement. Plant – the ideas person in the team, a person who is creative in looking for solutions to problems, but not always good at details, and so may make careless mistakes. Shaper – the task leader, who unites ideas and effort. Needs to be dominant and outgoing person in order to make things happen. Monitor/evaluator – the team analyst, who is not so good at ideas but pays attention to detail, therefore keeping the team directed towards its target. Implementer – the organiser of the team, who is able to take the ideas of the plant and shaper and turn them into manageable and realistic tasks, a practical, stable and disciplined person.   Resource investigator – the person who is outgoing and will explore and report on ideas and developments outside the group; this person always has a solution to problems, is sociable and enthusiastic, and good under pressure. Team worker – a very people-oriented person, sensitive to others’ needs. The team worker has good communication skills and will be good at motivating others. A natural mediator, who will deal with any conflict within the team, this person is very good to have around in a crisis. Finisher – a person who sticks to deadlines and likes to get on with things. Will probably be irritated by the more relaxed members of the team. Specialist – this person is single-minded and a self-starter, and provides knowledge and skills in specialist areas. Each of Belbin’s roles acquires a different level of importance according to the objectives of the team and the stage in the team’s life. P11: Discuss factors that may promote or inhibit the development of effective teamwork in organisations. Team development: Formal teams are part of the structure of an organisation and are planned in order to meet that organisation’s objectives. The official team will follow rules and rules and may meet on a fixed schedule and complete administrative procedures. Examples of good practice in travel and tourism include sales teams and marketing teams. Informal teams work within or outside formal teams. They are sometimes based on personal relationships between members rather than on work roles. When you complete group work for assignments, you often choose the colleagues you wish to work with. You choose to work with people you like and ones you know will be as committed as you are to the work. This as an informal team. There are several theories of team structure and development, which will help you to understand the effectiveness of teams. Bruce Tuckman (1965) identified four main stages of team development: Forming – at this stage, team members from their first impressions of each other establish identities. They are sounding each other out and finding out what is expected of them.   Storming – the team members have, by now, become more used to each other. Members are prepared to put forward their ideas forcibly and openly; they are also prepared to disagree and so there may be some conflict and hostility. Norming – the team now begins to establish co-operation. Conflict is controlled, views are exchanged and new standards introduced.   Performing – the team is now working together; it begins to arrive at solutions and achieve objectives. There can also be fifth stage, called ‘adjourning’ or ‘mourning’, where the team has disbanded and the members miss being part of the team. Benefits of team work to colleagues and customers and organisation. The benefit of team work to colleagues is that they get to be confident and have a great self-esteem. Working together makes them communicate well with each other it also makes them makes the right decisions. British Airways staffs respects and trust their teams they all have their clear roles and responsibilities, they support each other in their job, when their team member does not know what they are doing they help one and other out. Their customers are always happy with their service and this gives their company a positive image. British Airways spend a lot of money training their staffs to help their team works together at the end of the day they make a lot of profits. Job roles and lines of responsibility: An organisation chart shows the structure of the company and how the work is divided into different areas. It also shows the lines of responsibility between staff, so that it is apparent who is responsible to whom. An employee studying a chart will find the possible promotion routes. The chart may show a hierarchical structure or line relationship. This is a very traditional structure and shows a chain of command with each person responsible to the person above them. It is sometimes referred to as a pyramid structure. Many organisations today would be depicted in a chart with a flatter structure. There are fewer layers of management, and each manager has a broader span of control. Restructuring of organisations often involves getting rid of middle managers, hence the flattened structure. P12: Evaluate the impact of technology in team functioning within a given organisation.   In this modern day and age the use of IT is very important because of modern technology, and this is also part of some peoples working lives. Same thing is applicable to travel and tourism sector. for most jobs or roles you would IT skills like the uses of databases, spreadsheets and email system and be able to use the word processor as well as skills explicit to a role. For example people working in an airline reservation team will get trained on how to make bookings and reservation systems such as Galileo or Amadeus. In a tourist information centre you would need to be able to access the sites and use the software that provides timetables and local information. Thomas Cook Thomas Cook has an intranet ‘Get in Touch’ facility, to which all staff have access. There is also a dedicated e-mail address for staff to send feedback direct to UK chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa. A spokeswoman added: â€Å"we issue an annual staff questionnaire to gain a temperature check on morale and motivation within the company’. Thomas Cook also runs panel sessions – made up of a cross-selection of the business – which are held regularly to provide feedback on new ideas and marketing initiatives. Other internal forms of communication include a quarterly magazine and monthly videos for stores. Electric: Electric communications for internal use include e-mail, which is a popular way for staff to communicate with one other, and intranets. An intranet is a website that has restricted access, usually for employees only. It may hold information that a company wishes to share internally but not externally. Working in a team will also motivate staff to interact and also learn skills off their peers because one person can represent more than one role, as most people have strengths in more than one area. References/Bibliography http://www.publicorgtheory.org/organization-theory.html http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/tesco/developing-appropriate-leadership-styles/management-and-leadership.html#ixzz2HxoCDjYE Management & Organisational behaviour by Laurie J. Mullins (Ninth edition)

Making Your Own Luck

I should never have thrown the chain letter away. The letter clearly warned me that if I did, I would have one day of bad luck. I did not believe it, so I threw the silly piece of paper in the garbage. I thought the friend who sent me the letter was just a superstitious fool. Letters do not bring you luck. You make your own! That night, however, as I fell asleep, I had the uncomfortable feeling that something was not quite right. When I woke up the next morning, I was surprised to find that I had overslept and would be late for work.As I rushed down the stairs to eat a quick breakfast, I tripped over my bag and spilled glassofwateronthepileofdocuments, whichI should have presentedat the meetingthat morning. Because themeetingwasabouttobegin, Irushedto getmycaranddriveto the officeveryquickly. However, bad luck happened to me again; my car was covered by snow from last night, so I needed to take time to make them melt. On my way to work, I decided to take a shortcut through an old par t of town. I drove to an old rough road which people rarely use daily. However, when I was very close to my office, I noticed there was an accident in the front of my car.Suddenly, I heard a noisy police car and people tried to change to another lane, and I was stuck in a traffic jam. After a while, I finally arrived at work. When I arrived at work, I found a note on my desk from my boss. She wanted to see me right away. I took a deep breath and walked into her office. As I stepped inside, I noticed a scowl on her face. Of course, she scolded me for arriving late and for not preparing well for the meeting. She had had to start the meeting without any help. Because of her rage, I was received a warning letter. At 5 PM, I left my office and went home feeling very tired and disappointed.Finally, after a long and difficult day, I returned home to find that my air conditioner was broken. I could not take it anymore! It had been the worst day of my life, and I did not want anything else t o happen. I rushed to the garbage can and dug around for the chain letter I had thrown away the day before. It was covered with coffee grounds and potato peels, but I could still read the words: â€Å"Send ten copies of this letter to your friends and you will have good luck for a year. † I sat down at the kitchen table and began to make copies for ten of my friends. They could take their chances, but I was not going to have any more bad luck!

How safe is your school?

Can schools really be 100% safe for students? I have heard a lot about violent activities that have been happening in schools not only colleges, but elementary schools as well. People are shooting and killing innocent people. â€Å"The National Safety Center believes that schools have the choice to create and maintain safe schools or return to their institutions to safe, secure and effective places of learning†. So, why are we letting this happen? We need to make some changes to make our schools a safer place for students.There is no reason students should be endangered while in school. I honestly believe that you cannot make every school 100% safe for its students because, schools don't have enough security and precautions, people are not aware, and students don't have enough support, or people to talk to one on one. Schools cannot be 100% safe for their students without enough security and precautions. Almost all schools have security such as, locked doors, cameras, and alar ms, but that didn't stop all of the violence that has happened.For example, â€Å"A shooting rampage in this small Connecticut town left 28 people dead, including 20 children killed inside their elementary school, authorities said† known as Sandy Hook. Now obviously, schools were not taking precautions at all. This person went in an Elementary School and killed all those innocent children. I think that if there was security that would of never happened. Maybe if they try new safety tricks, things like this would not happen. What if you had to swipe a student card to get in the premises?Another thought, metal detector would come in handy so that people could not get away with bringing weapons through the doors. There should be no reason why people are being able to get away with killing innocent people in schools without any warning. Yeah, it may cost a little more money to put more security in schools, but its well worth our safety. These people are getting away with killing those innocent students and I think it's sad to think this person was in that school and no one even noticed him. Another reason why schools cannot be 100% safe is because people aren't aware as they should be.Half the time people don't pay that much attention to all the people they see. They wouldn't know if they go to the school or not. At a lot of schools, the doors are always open. The schools are pretty much welcoming anyone to come in. Especially in colleges, students are allowed to come and go as they please so, how would anyone know who's coming in or who's gone all the time. Schools need to have a check and go system or something of the sort. You should always be aware of your surroundings. Also, people talk a lot and we never know if there being serious or not.When someone were to talk about shooting up the school or bombing, most people would probably laugh and think it's a Joke because, most teenagers especially are caught up more in themselves then other people. People fail to realize the seriousness of violence. We think it would never happen to our school, but we wonder why it is happening to so many. This trend seems to be continuous. I believe schools are targeted a lot because, there is a large amount of people in one place. It is easy for the person committing the crime to take out a bunch of people at once when all in the same area.I think the criminals commit these violent acts in schools because, of personal interest. I believe that they are driven to act out on innocent people by violent video games or following violent acts such as, Hitler. Some people don't know how to separate what is real and aka in the world. So when playing violent video games all the time could trigger violence in their head, making them want to act out. As for the Hitler act, some people look up to him as an idol and want to follow his footsteps. They feel by harming others, they are honoring him.Or, maybe some people do these violent acts to make an impact. What if they want to be remembered for something and hurting people is the only thing they know in their head what to do that will make them noticed. It's a cry out for attention. (CNN) â€Å"Twenty-three year old Sung-Huh Choc killed 32 people on he Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University campus in Blackburn, Virginia, before taking his own life†. It makes me wonder why not only did this boy kill all those people, but he killed himself after.What was he thinking? This brings me to another point in which schools need more people available to talk to one on one with students? Now, I know every school has counselors for students to talk to but, some of the counselors don't have experience that these students need. It's easier to talk with someone when you can relate to that person. I feel that if students could feel unforgettable talking with a counselor, they could most definitely let out a lot of thoughts in their head, and get more things off their shoulders.I feel t hat most people don't feel comfortable talking to a counselor, so maybe if they tried to understand and relate, these students would be more open. Most people act out because, they have know where for these emotions to go, so they Just let them all out in the wrong way related to violence. People think that letting aggression out on others will solve their problems but, it doesn't. Counselors could really be helping dents with all this to make it a safer place for everyone. I personally think that schools cannot be 100% safe when students are crying out for help and don't know what direction to go.Everyone needs some type of support in their lives. When you have no one to talk to, you bottle everything up and eventually it's all going to come out. I really believe that being able to set your mind free of worry or negative thoughts, can and will make a better and safer person. All of these things are ways we can make schools a safer place for students, but it will never be a 100% saf e place until these things start to happen. Until we get all this new security and take more precautions were Just opening the doors for more unwelcome visitors.

Rhetorical analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Rhetorical analysis - Essay Example The main theme for this speech was the need for equality and human rights that covers people from all racial backgrounds in the US. In order to achieve desired effects on the audience, King applies several rhetorical appeals pathos being among them. In the speech King employs the use of pathos which by definition is the appeal to the emotions in order to gain approval which enables him change the audience’s perceptions of race relations by convincing them not to hate each other on basis of race but to instead hate racism which will be the basis for a new, better world. During the delivery of the speech, King described the black people as being â€Å"crippled† by the â€Å"manacles of segregation† and â€Å"chains of discrimination† (Luther 1963). These words are specifically aimed at making the audience realize the situation of the black community who are in great calamity. By using the word â€Å"chains† King want the audience to realize that racial discrimination has made being black a crime. This is because innocent black people were being treated as if they had committed a crime and therefore, have to be restrained. Another instance of the use of pathos is the mention of the black people being stranded on a â€Å"lonely island of poverty† while rest of the American society were enjoying themselves in â€Å"ocean of material prosperity† (Luther 1963). This statement is meant to inform the audience that contrary to the ancient belief that the blacks were poor because they were not as clever as the whites , it was actually the white American society that was literally holding them back. Apart of the use of pathos to appeal to his audience, King also uses logos which is the use of reason by supplying the necessary data, evidence, and irrefutable facts when making an argument. King used a number of facts that were present in

1.Critically evaluate the claim that high commitment HRM leads to Essay

1.Critically evaluate the claim that high commitment HRM leads to improved levels of organisational performance - Essay Example There is an ever increasing trend for quality to be the major criterion that determines productivity, rather than a singular focus on costs which was the guiding principle prior to globalization. The new organizational approach therefore focuses on employee participation in decision making and a new set of human resource practices have evolved, focusing upon improvement in employee welfare through training, compensation and profit sharing, to motivate them in achieving this objective. These human resource practices are collectively referred to as high commitment HRM. In the present day competitive environment, people are viewed as an organization’s most valuable resource. While it may not be difficult for competitor companies to imitate products that are produced by one Company, it is next to impossible for one organization to imitate the people or replicate their skills. Human resource strategies within an organization are difficult to imitate because of path dependency, i,e, they are based upon organizational policies that have evolved over time. This is the reason why human resource management and its associated practices have come to be recognised as one of the most important factors that could impart a strategic advantage to an organization in competing in the global marketplace.(Boxall and Purcell, 2003). The scope of High Commitment HRM encompasses the notion of best practices in human resource management and the underlying premise is that there are some HR practices which have the potential to bring about improved organisational performance for all organisations (Marchington and Wilkinson, 2005:72). According to Baron and Kreps (1999), high commitment HRM is characterized by three kinds of goals. Firstly, employees need to clearly understand what the best interests of their organization are and work towards the achievement of those ends. Secondly, in order to achieve these best interests, employees should also be flexible enough to

Gay marriage (equal rights for everyone) Research Paper

Gay marriage (equal rights for everyone) - Research Paper Example The third point to be considered is the negative attitude toward legalization of gay marriage, because very often these relationships are considered only with regards to sexual and intimate relations among gay couples. The fourth point to be taken into account is positive attitudes to gay marriage, because gays as a rule are devoted partners and contribute much not only to their families, but also to the community and the society. The fifth point, which should be taken into account, is that homosexuality is not a kind of deviance and these people have the same rights as all of the rest of the members of the society. Analysis and Evaluation Jullian Rayfield in her online review "New York State Senate Passes Marriage Equality Bill" (24 June, 2011) is focused on gay marriage legalization in New York. The author generalizes her main concerns and introduces the supportive arguments for the introduction of gay marriage. A centennial struggle happened in the society, where gays wanted to pr otect their rights and have an opportunity to live together with their sexual partners. Nowadays this struggle has borne some fruits and led to the legalization of gay marriage in the New York State Senate. The author of the article provides her main argument referring to the answers of Republicans and other representatives of political parties, providing supporting and counterarguments to the discussion of gay rights marriage. Social participation of gays and their restriction from heterosexual individual rights is the most controversial claim. Nowadays we have a perfect opportunity to raise our voices in order to protect gay community. Moreover, the author of the article provides positive answers of the members of the Senate, who are much concerned an opportunity of all people to behave equally and have a chance to provide gay couples with a right to get married. The processes of globalization underline the necessity of limits blurring and there is no need to save worn out stereot ypes and social norms. Republicans underline that inability to pass this law would mean to hide the democratic principles of their policy. To have a right for marriage means to have an ability to live with a beloved person. So, if gays have their beloved persons, why do not they have a chance to spend their lifetime together? The development of the community and the society depends on all members of the society. Gay couples have the same rights as all other members of the society. Unfortunately, very often these people are prevented from children upbringing or even being married. Still, we have a hope that there is an essential shift towards the gay rights for marriage acknowledgement throughout the country. If to consider the second point of the paper, which is based on Laura Kipnis appeal for the society to provide all human beings with an opportunity to get married, it is the only way to hold beloved hearts together and to establish a kind of a societal bound between them. Gays s hould be treated equally and there is no need to focus our attention on their sexual or intimate preferences. Kipnis underlines that contemporaries should focus their attention on the

The Key Concepts in economics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Key Concepts in economics - Assignment Example The main points included in the article (Porter, 2015a) are; 4. The innovation through government and corporate funded R&D have generated large revenue streams. However, the beneficiary organizations have not shared the funding bodies in profits and reinvestment in R&D has been limited. 5. Since corporations are moving away from research spending, they tend to buy innovative start-ups from small businesses. Scientists and universities have also been encouraged to commercialize innovation funded by taxpayer’s money (Porter, 2015a). Investment in R&D sector powers technological innovation, which helps to optimize the use of existing resources and capabilities, creates jobs and improves living standards. It enables sustainable economic growth provided that there are constant returns to the R&D sector. Innovation through research and development therefore has a positive correlation with per capita GDP in both the developing and developed worlds. However, it has been found that large markets encourage innovation through R&D, while the rest benefit from their knowledge stock and spill-over (Ulku, 2004). This allows emerging markets to grow faster by embracing existing technologies, while developed markets experience periods of stagnation due to foreign competition and limited funding directed towards R&D. The ever increasing restrictions on economic activities, such as environmental protection regulations, in the developed world also slows down the progress in terms of GDP. However, aside from poor regulations whic h can lead to additional costs in R&D, many regulations are aimed at social welfare initiatives usually not captured in the GDP measurements. Thus, the GDP growth figures in such contexts can often be misleading (The Economist, 2013a). The innovation driven boom and bust may remain invisible in GDP measurements and sometimes even reveals its shrinking. For instance, the spending of a person on telephone calls

Advice How to Learn English Verbs Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Advice How to Learn English Verbs - Assignment Example Based on self-assessment my own observations, this aim was particularly successful.   Students also demonstrated gradual and appreciable improvement in their understanding of and the proper use of various noun types.   They particularly enjoyed working together in groups for identifying and agreeing on noun types and learned from each other.   There were some setbacks with sentence structures as some students tended to have more difficulties with sentence structures than others did.   Identification of abstract nouns was also more difficult for some students than others.   Aside from these two areas, the group as a whole demonstrated marked progress throughout the session. Some students tend to have difficulties with sentence structures and double consonants more so than other students.     Ã‚  Similarly, identifying abstract nouns tend to be problematic for some students.   In other to improve these aspects of the session next time, I will ensure that those students encountering these particular problems identify these areas as a part of their personal goals.   By individualizing these problems, the students struggling with abstract nouns, double consonants and/or sentence structures can practice those areas independently while other students can move on.   Improving these areas independently can be dealt with either in class while other groups engage in other activities that do not require constant supervision or as a part of the homework assignment.   The observer/assessor provided positive feedback as contained in the application form.   However, she also noted that I missed an opportunity to capitalize on extending the spelling segment in that I could develop other areas of skills for life such as more dialogue in terms of use of standard English in different contexts.   Looking back, I can see where this approach would have been entirely appropriate during the class discussion on American and English spelling.   In my opinion, any opportunity to develop language should be embraced since some students in the class are bilingual.   I will, therefore, incorporate this approach.

Business law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 8

Business law - Essay Example 222). This case examines the degree of responsibility the employer has over the visitors or workers and the extent to which their can disclaim that responsibility. The case involves Dabir an employee at Uxbridge University whose car was stolen from the university’s car park. According to the university policies, the limited parking space was only available for the workers living beyond ten miles from the University. Furthermore, the space was given on first-come-first-served principle. Since Dabir was living less than ten miles, he was not entitled to parking space in the university compound. However, the morning he arrived early he decided to park his car in the institution’s car park. Later he learnt his car was missing and after reporting he discovered he had no chance of recovering his car either with the help of the police of compensation from the university. The car park attendant informed him that he saw a stranger drive his car out and did not ask stop him because he thought he was a new member of the staff. After informing the security personnel at the university, they rubbished him and claimed it was a waste of time. Furthermore, the security personnel claimed that Dabir was not entitled to gate pass because he lived less than ten miles away. Dabir has been inconvenienced a lot because he has to board multiple vehicles before he gets to the place of work. The issue in this case is whether the university is liable for the loss of Dabir’s car, whether the university had done enough to discharge their responsibility whether Dabir was liable for contributory negligence (Howells & Schulze, 2009). It appears the main reason for the university restricting right of parking the car at the university’s car park was because of insufficient parking space. However, even the available space was on-first-come-first-served basis, and many

Socrates - Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Socrates Philosophy Essay Plato Plato WHEN Socrates was sixty years old, Plato, then a youth of twenty, came to him as a pupil. When Plato was sixty years old, the seventeen-year-old Aristotle presented himself, joining the Teachers group of Friends, as the members of the Academy called themselves. Aristotle was a youth of gentle birth and breeding, his father occupying the position of physician to King Philip of Macedon. Possessed of a strong character, a penetrating intellect, apparent sincerity, but great personal ambition. [tags: Plato Philosophy Philosophers Essays] 3776 words (10.8 pages) $19. 95 [preview] Plato Plato Plato was born to an aristocratic family in Athens, Greece. When he was a child his father, Ariston, who was believed to be descended from the early kings of Athens died, and his mother, Perictione married Pyrilampes. As a young man Plato was always interested in political leadership and eventually became a disciple of Socrates. He followed his philosophy and his dialectical style, which is believed to be the search for truth through questions, answers, and additional questions. After witnessing the death of Socrates at the hands of the Athenian democracy in 399 B. C. , Plato left Athens and continued to travel to Italy, Sicily, and Egypt. [tags: Biography Biographies Plato Philosophers Essays] :: 4 Works Cited :: 1 Sources Cited 1795 words (5. 1 pages) $29. 95 [preview] Confusion And Plato Confusion Confusion plagues everyone in the world. Daily people are subject to struggles that involve them being confused and allow them to not fully take in what the world has to offer. Confusion simply put is the impaired orientation with respect to time, place, or person; a disturbed mental state. With that said it is evident that many things a susceptible to confusion, and being confused. When reading Plato one cannot help to be confused, some confused on the general meaning others confused on the actual wording. [tags: Plato] 911 words (2. 6 pages) FREE Essays [view] Platos Criticism of Democracy Platos Criticism of Democracy Do not be angry with me for speaking the truth; no man will survive who genuinely opposes you or any other crowd and prevents the occurrence of many unjust and illegal happenings in the city. A man who really fights for justice must lead a private, not a public, life if he is to survive for even a short time. (Apology 31e-32a) These are the words of Socrates, who spoke before the Athenian jury in the trial that would, ultimately, condemn him to his death. Through works such as the Apology and The Republic, we can see Plato’s distaste of the concept of democracy. [tags: Plato].

Analysis of Air France KLM

Analysis of Air France KLM Air France-KLM is an international airline company and a member of the Skyteam airline partnership. The Group was created on May 5, 2004, following Air Frances combination with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM), thereby forming the worlds largest airline group by turnover and second largest worldwide cargo operator in terms of revenue-tonne kilometers. The Group organizes its networks around two major hubs: Paris-CDG and Amsterdam-Schiphol. The Companys three main businesses are passenger transportation, cargo operations and industrial maintenance. The Group counts more than 100,000 employees throughout the world. Passenger transport is the Groups main business, with 74.8 million passengers carried (2007-08 financial year), a fleet in operation of 607 aircraft on 31 March 2008 and 258 destinations worldwide. The majority of the employees are based in France and the Netherlands. Both Air France and KLM continue to operate flights under their distinct brand names as subsidiaries of Air Fr ance-KLM. Contents CHAPTER 1 Introduction AIR FRANCE KLM AIR FRANCE KLM is the combination of two big airlines such as Air France and KLM. Since their merger in 2004, KLM works closely with Air France within the AIR FRANCE KLM holding company. In terms of financial turnover, AIR FRANCE KLM is the worlds largest airline partnership; it also transports the most passengers and is the worlds second-largest cargo transporter. Air France and KLM carry  more than 71 million passengers per year. They operate more than  594 aircraft enabling them to fly to  236 destinations worldwide with 2,500 daily flights. The two airlines world networks can be combined, forming a vast network organized around the two major hubs of Amsterdam-Schiphol and Paris-CDG. The head offices are located at Amstelveen and Paris. Alitalia In January 2009 AIR FRANCE KLM and Alitalia reached an agreement to strengthen their partnership cemented by AIR FRANCE KLM taking a minority stake in Alitalia. This agreement will give AIR FRANCE KLM greater access to the Italian market. SkyTeam Alliance Air France and KLM are members of the SkyTeam alliance. SkyTeam is a global airline alliance which includes Aeroflot, Aeromà ©xico, AirEuropa, Air France, Alitalia, China Southern Airlines,  CSA Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Kenya Airways, KLM, Korean Air (including Northwest Airlines), Tarom and Vietnam Airlines. Through one of the worlds most extensive hub networks, SkyTeam offers its  384 million annual passengers a worldwide system of more than 13,000 daily flights to all major destinations. Income Over the fiscal year 2009-2010 the turnover of Air France-KLM was 20.9 billion euros. Together, the two airlines have over 107.000 employees. For more information on AIRFRANCE KLM Finance, please  go to www.airfranceklm-finance.com. Shares The Air France-KLM shares are listed in Amsterdam, Paris and New York. Aim Air France-KLM comprises a holding company which controls two airlines, Air France and KLM, each of which retains its own separate identity and brands. The group is the worlds largest air transport group in terms of revenue, second largest in terms of air traffic (in passenger-km) and cargo (ton freight-km), and third largest in terms of maintenance revenue. Both airlines run their own operations from their respective hubs Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol. Passengers Passenger transport is the largest of the groups three core businesses, generating around 80% of its revenues (as of 31 March 2008), with 74.8 million passengers carried. Cargo Cargo was the first fully-integrated commercial activity at Air France-KLM in 2005. Client companies now have a single point of entry, and a full, simplified offering with flights departing from both hubs and benefiting from both networks. Air France-KLM Cargo ranks first worldwide among air freight carriers (excluding integrators). Maintenance The combination of Air France Industries and KLM Engineering Maintenance allows the group to offer a comprehensive range of aircraft maintenance and overhaul services with complementary areas of specialization. Maintaining the two fleets accounts for two-thirds of the groups maintenance operations, further supplemented by maintenance repair and overall (MRO) operations for 150 third-party airlines. Company Background Air France According to (KLM, 2010), the company was set up on 7 October 1933. Its history has been marked by several major milestones, including the holding acquired in the capital of UTA in January 1990 and the merger with Air Inter in 1997. In June 2000, Air France and Delta Air Lines joined forces with Aeromà ©xico and Korean Air to launch the Sky Team alliance. Air Frances main hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle is Europes number one in terms of connecting opportunities. KLM As cited in (KLM, 2010), KLM was set up on 7 October 1919 and is the oldest airline still operating under its original name. Its recent history has been characterized by the creation of a joint venture with Northwest Airlines (NWA) in 1989 and its acquisition of the holding of Kenya Airways in 1996. KLM has Amsterdam Airport Schiphol as its home base. Since May 2004, Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have become the largest European airline group: one group, two airlines, and three businesses. Each airline has retained its individual identity, trade name and brand SWOT Analysis Mullins (2007) explained that, in order to evaluate the nature of the business environment and its strategic capability an organization may undertake a SWOT analysis focuses on Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats facing the organization. STRENGTHS Strengths are those positive aspects or distinctive attributes or competencies which provide a significant market advantage or upon which the organization can build. Against a backdrop of increased Liberalization which serves to intensify competition, the profitable growth strategy plays to the groups strengths, the following are the air France KLM group strengths. A modern fleet the groups chief asset Guaranteeing energy and economic efficiency and greater safety levels, the groups aircraft fleet is its chief asset when it comes to meeting the challenges of sustainable development. The dual Roissy Schiphol hub and a balanced network The Air France and KLM route networks complement each other extremely well. The dual hub concept is central to group strategy and is designed to make the most of this. The benefit of dual brand strategy Air France and KLM took an original approach to the merger, choosing to retain the two brands while developing a unified strategy. Air France and KLM each enjoy strong brand identities and are extremely complementary. Enhanced competitiveness thanks to cost control To maintain its competitiveness, the group launched Challenge 10,designed to save 1.4 billion euros by 2009-10, through a 3% cut in unit costs. The plan is four-pronged: Process optimization and productivity gains; Fleet modernization, which will generate fuel and maintenance cost savings; Purchasing, and optimizing group synergies; External distribution costs. The development of high growth areas The groups ambition is to seize growth opportunities in countries driving global economic growth, mainly Brazil, Russia, India and China. In the years ahead, the Air France-KLM group plans to grow by 4.7% per year in terms of available seat-km on its long-haul network. WEAKNESSES Weaknesses are those negative aspects or deficiencies in the present competencies or resources of the organization, or its image or reputation, which limit its effectiveness and needed to be corrected to minimize their effect. International economic instability Faced with soaring oil prices, international economic instability, and signs of waning demand, air transport has entered a period of great uncertainty. Our Group can count on its strategic assets, the quality of its fuel hedging and its resolute policy of cost control to meet this challenging period of turbulence and low visibility OPPORTUNITIES Opportunities are favorable conditions and usually arise from the nature of changes in the external environment. The organization needs to be sensitive to the problems of business strategy and responsive to changes. Sustained demands In an increasingly global society, the demand for mobility is also increasing. Air transport is a key factor in a countrys economy. Over the last 20 years, air transport has grown twice as quickly as gross domestic product (GDP). In 2008, the rapid development of emerging countries is stimulating growth in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. This will compensate for the slowdown in the US economy. As for the future, IATA forecasts an increase in global capacity of around 5% per year by 2011. A key contribution to the economy Air transport carries over 2 billion passengers annually. Tons of cargo shipped by air each year represent 35% of the total value of export trade in manufactured goods. By connecting people, businesses and goods around the world, air transport makes an essential contribution to global economic activity. Both directly and as a promoter of growth in other industries. THREATS Threats are the converse of opportunities and refer to unfavorable situations that arise from external developments likely to endanger the operations and effectiveness of the organization. Air France KLM like any other organizations is faced with a number of threats, these includes Increased pressure Growth in European low-cost carriers has been strong for some years and Middle Eastern carriers are planning considerable expansion: Gulf carriers plan 20% seat growth per year for the next three years. This represents stiff competition for European airlines on traffic between Europe and Asia or Australia. Development limited by infrastructures Europe is experiencing air traffic congestion, leading to significant delays, increased costs and CO2 emissions. This is partly a result of the fragmentation of airspace and of the air traffic control process. There is considerable room for improvement. For 10 million flights a year, it is estimated that the actual route flown is 5% longer than ideal. For some routes, such as Amsterdam-Zà ¼rich, it is even 20%. The annual cost of fragmented European skies is estimated at 3.4 billion euros. A sector subject to heavier taxation Air transport is subject to strict regulation, mainly regarding security, safety and infrastructure. The sector is also subject to high charges, among them airport or navigation charges, plus dedicated fees to finance security. Moreover, air transport is the only means of transport to finance soundproofing measures, as it does in numerous European countries. Climate change awareness General awareness of the reality of climate change continued to increase in 2007. This was coupled with local environmental constraints that have always affected air transport activities. Air transport accounts for between 2 and 3% of all man-made CO2 emissions. In Europe, its relative contribution will increase due to growth in traffic and the expected reduction of emissions in other industries. In the past 40 years, the sector has made considerable progress, reducing CO2 emissions per passenger by more than 70%. Summary In spite of its merger Air France KLM is still operating under its identity and brand name with their home bases located at Amsterdam airport Schiphol for KLM and Paris-Charles de Gaulle for Air France. The main core duties of the airline are to transport passengers, cargo and engineering and maintenance. As any other organization Air France KLM has the opportunities to grow much bigger and become the first largest airline company in the world. One group, two airlines, three businesses. CHAPTER 2 Organisational structure The pattern of relationship between various positions in the organization and among members of the organization is referred as structure. Organization is essentially a group of people with a common objective or goal to archive. The structure can either be formal i.e. documented or informal i.e. unofficial. Mullins (2007) defined, Organization Structure as the division of work among members of the organization, and the co ordination of their activities so they are directed towards the goals and objectives of the organization. It is the relationships among positions in the organization and among members of the organization. It makes possible the application of process of management and creates a framework of order and command through which the activities of the organization can be planned, organized, directed, and controlled. It defines tasks and responsibilities, work role and relationships, and channels of communication. Essentially there are various types of organizational structures depending on the nature of organization, such as centralized, complex, stratified and formalized structures. An effective structure is the one that coordinates various parts of the organization and different work areas. Meanwhile the structure of the organization can either be tall i.e. with a long hierarchical chain of command where the freedom and responsibility of the subordinates is restricted or flat i.e. with a short chain of command, there is more effective between management and workers but employees may have more than one manager. However both of two structures above are highly affected by the number of employees who reports direct to a certain manager that is Span of Control. Hellriegel et al (1998) explained that span of control refers to the number of employees reporting directly to one manager. When the span of control is broad, relatively few levels exists between the top and bottom of the organization. Co nversely when the span of control is narrow, more levels are required for the same number of employees. Although there is no correct number of subordinates that a manager can supervise effectively, the competencies of both the manager and employees, the similarity of tasks being supervised and the extent of rules and operating standards all influence a managers span of control. Consider the Air France and KLM corporate and social responsibility (SCR) organization structure CHAPTER 3 Organisational culture According to Hellriegel et al (1998), the organization itself has an invisible quality a certain style, a character, a way of doing things that may be more powerful than the dictates of any one person or any formal system. To understand the soul of the organization requires that we travel below the charts, rule books, machines, and buildings into the underground world of corporate cultures. Indeed there are several ways in which organizational cultures are formed, maintained and changed. Meanwhile there is a very possible relationship between organizational culture and performance, the relationship between organizational culture and ethical behavior, the challenge of managing a culturally diverse work force and finally how organizations socialize individuals to their particular cultures. There are several types of organization cultures, these includes labels of baseball team, club, academy and fortress. Organizational culture represents a complex pattern of beliefs, expectations, id eas, values, attitudes and behaviors shared by the members of an organization. More specifically, organizational culture includes routine behaviors, norms, and dominant values held by organization. CHAPTER 4 -Leadership and management As Hellriegel et al (1998), leadership is the process whereby a person influences others to achieve a goal, i.e. is a process of creating a vision for others and having the power to translate the vision into reality. The ways in which leaders attempt to influence others depend in part of the power available to them and in part on their competencies. Leaders draw on five sources of power to influence the actions of others: legitimate, reward, coercive, referent and expert. Vision, empowerment, meaning through communication and self understanding are the competencies that help leaders become more effective. CHAPTER 5 Team working For example, after KLM and Air France merged, management decided to create teams of people from both companies to exchange information about particular topics. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢The most valuable part is the intangible part, teaming up the guy from IT with the CRM guy from marketing, with the network planning guy, who normally dont speak together, explained Groeneveld. CHAPTER 6 Resourcing Air France-KLM rates as the sector leader on human resources issues and actively addresses all of the challenges relevant to its business. The Groups reporting on social dialogue and the extent of collective bargaining illustrate a culture of interaction with trade unions on both working and employment conditions, all embedded in the Ethics and Social Rights Charter, signed with all of its European trade unions, and by a wide range of collective bargaining agreements. The group has also allocated significant means to limit the impacts of restructuring. In terms of career management, AF-KLM has put increased emphasis on developing careers for older employees. Extensive means are put in place to deal with health and safety issues, although key performance indicators are not disclosed on a group-wide basis, but separately for AF and KLM. AF-KLM is one of the few companies who show transparency on how to deal with atypical working hours. Overall, AF-KLMs performance on human resources is sues remains stable (far above average) compared to the last rating. Against the backdrop of the recent combination, tough competition and tight margins, the main labour relations issues for the group are to develop employability and staff mobility, primarily through training and proactive social dialogue. Other major issues for the group involve promoting non discrimination, diversity, and equal opportunities, and safeguarding health and safety in the workplace. CHAPTER 7 Communication skills Cook et al (1997) describes that, communication begins when one person sends a message to another with the intent of evoking a response. The effective communication occurs when the receiver interprets the message exactly as the sender intended. Effective communication is essential for the functioning of any organization. Managers need to transmit orders, and polices, build cooperation and team spirit, and identify problems and their solutions. CHAPTER 8 Performance and Motivation Armstrong M (2006) defined, a motive is a reason for doing something. Motivation is concerned with the factors that influence people to behave in certain ways. All organizations are concerned with what should be done to achieve sustained high levels of performance through people. Giving close attention to the individuals can best be motivated through such means as incentives, rewards, leadership and importantly, the work they do and the organization context within which they carry out that work. Essentially motivation can take place in two ways; such as people can motivate themselves (intrinsic motivation) by seeking, finding and carrying out work that satisfies their needs and secondly people can be motivated by management (extrinsic motivation) through such methods as pay, praise, promotion and punishments such as disciplinary action CHAPTER 9 Management systems Earlier this year, Air France-KLM introduced a new combined executive management structure on a functional basis, replacing the separate management structures in Air France and KLM. In place of the Strategic Management Committee, which had supervised the development of Air France and KLM over 2004.2007, the business is being managed from 2007 through an Executive Committee whose members has a group level responsibility and can come from either Air France or KLM while retaining their responsibilities at a company level. The historic commitments of both companies, joint ambition and specific action plans CHAPTER 10 Management of change Hellriegel et al (1998) explained, many sectors of the economy, organizations must have the capacity to adapt quickly and effectively in order to survive. To a certain extent all organizations exist in a changing environment and are themselves constantly changing. Increasingly organizations that emphasize bureaucratic or mechanistic system are ineffective. Organizations with rigid hierarchies, high degrees of functional specialization, narrow and limited job descriptions, inflexible rules and procedures, and impersonal management cant respond adequately to demands for change. Organizations need designs that are flexible and adaptive. They also need systems that both require and allow greater commitment and use of talent on the part of employees and managers. Organisational change can be difficult and costly. Despite the challenges, many organizations successfully make needed changes. Adaptive, flexible organizations have a competitive advantage over rigid ones. Thus managing change has become a central focus of effective organization worldwide. There are so many pressures for change, these includes global market, the spread of information technology and computer networks and changes in the nature of the workforce employed by organizations.

Everyday Use Essay -- Literary Analysis, Alice Walker

The characters in â€Å"Everyday Use† by Alice Walker serve as a comparison between how family heritage and traditions are viewed. Walker illustrates that heritage is represented not by the possession of items or how they look, but buy how they are used, how one’s attitude is, and how they go about a daily lifestyle. Every memory or tradition in â€Å"Everyday Use† strengthens the separation in the relationship between Dee and her mother, the narrator, which involves different views on their family heritage. Mrs. Johnson, the mother, is described as, â€Å"a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands† (6). She tells some of her capabilities including, â€Å"I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man. . .I can work outside all day, breaking ice to get water for washing; I can eat pork liver cooked over the open fire minutes after it comes steaming from the hog† (6). This description informs readers that Mrs. Johnson has learned all the ways and traditions of her ancestors and knows how to survive from day to day. She and Maggie’s lives in the small home represent a simple, unsophisticated way of life. Dee, on the other hand is described as, â€Å"[light-skinned], with nicer hair and a fuller figure† who â€Å"wanted nice things† and â€Å"had a style of her own† (7). The clothes Dee wears and the phrases she uses to greet her mother and sister show that she has no real understanding of her background and where she comes from. Th is shows Dee to be materialistic, complex, and lead a life where heritage is looked upon as a trend and not for what it really represents. Although neither Maggie nor Mrs. Johnson are very well educated they show an understanding of where they come from. Mrs. Johnson and the community raised money to send Dee to a school... ...cause she had been â€Å"savin ‘em for long enough with nobody using ‘em† (12). After Dee gets the picture she walks out of the house and tells her mother â€Å"You just don’t understand. . .Your heritage. . .† (13). Dee is in fact the one who does not understand. Dee thinks of heritage to be as tangible as hanging the quilt on her wall or using the churn as a decoration for her table. Her mother, on the other hand, knows about traditions and heritage. Using the quilts would put the memories of their ancestors to everyday use. â€Å"Everyday Use† shows readers that heritage and culture is not speaking in a foreign language, wearing different clothes, or the changing of one’s name. One’s heritage and culture is taught and learned through generations, not just picked up. Walker illustrates that a person who truly has heritage and culture makes use of it every day of their life.

The Controversy Over HIV/AIDS Disclosure Law Essay -- Biology Medical

Abstract Forty million people worldwide are infected with the HIV virus. About six percent of them will not inform their intimate partners about their health condition. Many efforts that have been made over the past decade towards establishing a HIV/AIDS law, have finally paid off. The act of disclosing the virus was written in 1990. It caused quite a stir among the citizens of the United States. Many people concluded that there were holes in the disclosure law concerning HIV/AIDS because it lacked complete thought. Some felt that if HIV positive people had to tell others about their condition, they would be more susceptible to discrimination and rejection. Essentially, it was a law that ended a few problems and then led to a massive predicament. As the HIV virus pandemic arose, so did the voices of a plethora of distinct individuals- victims who were infected with this life long curse. However, these victims were unaware of their intimate partner’s sickly condition. In this case, the partner failed to disclose that he/she was HIV positive. As a result, in 1990, the tables started to turn. The victims, who were unaware of the risk they were taking with their partner, finally became the center of attention. (Wallace, 2005) Since 2004, in California, it has been considered a felony when the infected person recognizes that he/she is HIV positive, when he/she has not informed his/her partner, and when he/she intends to pass it on. (California department of Health Services, 2004) Even though the establishment of the law was based on good intentions for the sake of potential victims, problems were solved as new ones began. Some people support the law because it benefits the partner who is at risk. Others in society argue tha t the la... ...tml Cline, R., & McKenzie, n. (2000). Dilemmas of Disclosure in the Age of HIV/ AIDS: Balancing Privacy and Protection in the Health Care Context. Balancing the Secrets of Private Disclosures (pp. 53-69). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. Derlega, V., Folk-Barron, L., & Winstead, B. (2000). Reasons for and Against Disclosing HIV- positive Test Results to an Intimate Partner: A Function Perspective. Petronio, Sandra (Ed.) Balancing the Secrets of Private Disclosures (pp. 53-69). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. Raver, D. (1997). Old HIV Laws. Washington Post, A 26. There is No Bargaining with HIV. Popular Science. 17 July 2005. http://www.popsci.com/popsci/medicine/article/0,20967,783255,00.html Wallace, N. (2005, February). Case Throws HIV Laws Into Question. SMH. 26 July 2005. http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Case

Essay --

In my opinion, the most influential time period in American history since 1945 would have to be the 1960s. So much was going on in America during this time period. Such as the civil rights movement, the counterculture, the war and so much more. I am going to focus on the counterculture because I think that out of all of the commotion that was going on in the 1960s, the counterculture has the most lasting affects and the most came out of it that we still have in our society today. They shaped music, politics, and the culture of America. They had fresh ideas that most were scared to act on or did not believe in. They had open minds and wanted everyone else to try to as well. â€Å"Your mind is like a parachute, it doesn't work unless it's open.† -Jordan Maxwell †¨ The counterculture was so important to America because it changed norms of the early 1900s to the norms of today. The definition of the Counterculture is as follows. â€Å"The counterculture of the 1960s refers to an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon that developed first in the United States and United Kingdom and spread throughout much of the Western world between the early 1960s and the early 1970s. The movement gained momentum as the African-American Civil Rights Movement continued to grow, and became revolutionary with the expansion of the US government's extensive military intervention in Vietnam.† (Previous Quote taken from an online source) During the counterculture movement, people’s lifestyles started to change. People started dressing differently and acting differently. People’s clothes transformed. They changed from vary tailored styles into looser fitting and much more revealing especially for women in public. Men started growin g their hair out and... ...id, â€Å"The thing the sixties did was to show us the possibilities and the responsibility that we all had. It wasn't the answer. It just gave us a glimpse of the possibility.† –John Lennon that is a perfect example of how people felt and why they wanted to change so much. As you can see, the 1960s was a turning point for America. Not only did we break free of social norms in society but also the generation fought for what they thought was right. Yes maybe they were looked at a little bit strangely but in the end the ended up changing America and molding it into the place that we all call home today. "If someone thinks that love and peace is a clichà © that must have been left behind in the Sixties, that's his problem. Love and peace are eternal.† –John Lennon That is why, I believe the 1960s were the most influential years of American history since 1945.

‘A Passage to India’ by Forster Essay

â€Å"By close analysis of the structure and language of chapter one discuss how Forster expresses his overall concerns within the novel as a whole via this initial description of the Indian landscape.† Through chapter one of ‘A Passage to India’ Forster does far more than introduce the small town of Chandrapore. In this initial section of the novel the construction of the text reflects the tiered Indian society that becomes the basis for Forster’s deeper exploration of mankind and human behaviour. In addition, the ominous significance of the Marabar Caves within the novel is prefigured via the mysterious imagery used to describe them. This is contrasted by the more optimistic language which is used to describe the ‘overarching sky’ that unifies all men and points towards a hope for the future of peaceful co-existence. At the beginning of the chapter the reader is first introduced to the Muslim aspect of Chandrapore, the lowest tier of the Indian society but perhaps the most resilient. Here what Adela will later refer to as the ‘Real India’ is depicted. Through vivid imagery the area appears akin to a wasteland devoid of any significance. Even the holy river Ganges is described as â€Å"Trailing for a couple of miles†¦scarcely distinguishable from the rubbish it deposits so freely.† It is negative language such as this that creates a compounding sense of desolation about the ‘Real India.’ This of course is entirely necessary in order for Forster to create and convey the contrast between the Indian and English cultures which he believes to be incompatible in this context. Graphic and harsh language permeates the whole of this first section of the chapter creating a highly effective image of the squalor in which the Mohammedan Indians are condemned to live by their English rulers. The streets are â€Å"Mean† the â€Å"Temples ineffective† and the â€Å"Filth† of alleyways deters all but the invited guest.† By describing their quarter in such a way Forster makes the Muslim Indian seem almost sub-human to his readers, this of course, is how they are viewed by the English. They are remarked upon as â€Å"Low† but also as â€Å"Indestructible.† Despite their apparent lack of sophistication, the way in which, â€Å"The general outline of the town persists† comes to reflect the similar way in which the Muslim culture, although suppressed by the English, is based upon strong foundations of religious devotion and an inextinguishable spirit. Forster describes them as â€Å"Swelling here†¦shrinking there† and by doing so creates a very evocative image which captures perfectly the way in which the Indian race move ‘en-mass’ and in harmony, united in their angst to recapture their homeland. As Forster remarks, â€Å"Inland the prospect alters† and the Eurasian, Anglo-India described in the second section of the passage could not present a more stark contrast to that of Islamic Chandrapore. Here the houses belonging to the Eurasians â€Å"Stand on high ground† an important symbol which reflects the way in which the English believe themselves to be above the Indian race both morally and intellectually. It is this attitude of ignorance and racial superiority which will be developed and scathingly criticised by Forster as the novel progresses. Indeed it could be argued that humanity’s unwillingness to understand one another is the underlying theme behind the whole text and that in reality Adela and Mrs. Moore’s passage to India is in fact a deeper analogy for a more complex passage of mankind towards understanding itself. On a second rise of land lies the â€Å"Little civil station.† As the focal point for Eurasian society it is remarked that, â€Å"From here†¦Chandrapore appears to be a totally different place.† This observation encapsulates the way in which the station and its social club both seem to be isolated from the rest of India. Immersed in a fantasy world of British high society the station itself is described as, â€Å"Provoking no emotion† and â€Å"Sensibly planned.† This epitomises the logical mindset of the English, which deeply contrasts that of the spiritual Indian and highlights how even at a simple level of human understanding harmony is not possible between the two cultures creating the â€Å"Muddle† which is colonial India. Britain’s attitude of imposing herself upon other nations, typical of this time period before partition, is something heavily attacked by Forster. Throughout the text he is seen to criticise England replicated in India because to him this is unnatural and false. During the entirety of this second section of the passage Forster adopts a tone of negativity towards the English. Their section of Chandrapore is described as, â€Å"Sharing nothing with the rest of the city except the overarching sky† conveying the way in which they consciously isolate themselves from the Indians. In the overall context of the novel this image becomes very important. As gradually relations between the two races come to deteriorate the sky comes to be the only unifying element between Indian and Englishman. Further more, the way in which the image is echoed throughout the text seems to suggest the existence of a more powerful presence beyond man both physically and in terms of significance within the universe. It is Forster’s belief that ultimately the petty quarrels of man are meaningless in such a vast entity. The final section of the chapter is used by Forster to expand on the concept of the overarching sky. It is described as having a â€Å"Persistent blue core† the stars â€Å"Hanging like lamps from the immense vault† which is the sky and it is elevated imagery such as this which comes to symbolise a hope for the future of mankind. In contrast to the â€Å"muddle† and â€Å"misunderstanding† which covers India and the rest of the earth, the sky instead represents an element which unifies all men. Its persistence represents a hope that one day all the problems of man explored within the novel will pale into insignificance. It could be argued the description of the sky evokes an atmosphere akin to that of the Hindu religion. Forster remarks, â€Å"The sky settles everything† and indeed to Godbole and his fellow Hindus this is to a certain degree true. The unanswerable questions, the answers to which are sought by both Muslim and Christian are left to be pondered by Godbole. He seeks to answer questions about his own spiritual existence and the natural world around him. As a result his passage within the novel becomes one of progression as opposed one to of retreat as is experienced by Aziz and Fielding. The Chapter ends with a final short image of the mysterious Marabar caves. All around â€Å"League after league the earth lies flat,† yet in the south, â€Å"A group of fists and fingers are thrust up through the soil.† These fingers are the ‘Marabar hills’ and seem to point mysteriously towards the heavens above. The way in which they seem to separate themselves from their earthly surroundings suggests an equally unearthly presence about them. This of course will be proved true by the supernatural and inexplicable violation which Adela experiences within their walls. Dark and devoid of humanity they represent an aspect of India that the logical English will never be able to conquer. Therefore it is possible to conclude that the first Chapter of ‘A Passage to India’ can be regarded as a template for the novel as a whole. Almost all of Forster’s overall concerns are indicated by its content and it is clear that the varied description of the Indian landscape comes to symbolise differences between those who inhabit the land. This disjointed construction of society will only increase as the novel progresses ultimately leading to the personal retreat of the novel’s two main characters, Aziz and Fielding whom are unable to stand out as individuals and trapped within the confines of their own cultures. It will be only the deeply spiritual Godbole who is shown to have made any real progress via his own ‘Passage to India’ and of course Mrs. Moore, who despite her death becomes a symbol for hope by the way in which she is revered as a Hindu Goddess. Bibliography â€Å"A Passage to India† – E.M. Forster Classic notes – www.classicnotes.com

Definition of Tourist/Tourism Essay

Throughout the academic and business world there is ongoing debate regarding the insufficient definitions of the terms ‘tourism’ and ‘tourist’. Upon researching this matter I have also come to question the validity of the ‘tourism industry’ and its ability to meet the requirements of industrial and commercial activities due to the lack of uniform and limitations of what it pertains to. The following are definitions I have chosen, in order of preference, to shed light on the ambiguous nature of these terms so that a clearer understanding can be realised for economic and educational use. Of these it can also be seen that they have been sourced from opposing areas of interest – industry, academic and dictionary, as to better illustrate the need for more than one type of definition. Furthermore, each will be deconstructed to communicate their relative strengths and weaknesses in relation to fundamental aspects of their current use. – World Tourism Organisation (cited in Tribe 2009, p.44); Tourism: ‘†¦ comprises the activities of a person’s travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.’ – World Tourism Organisation (1993, cited in Cooper, Shepherd & Westlake (1996, p.18); Tourist: ‘†¦A visitor* who in the country visited for at least one night. *Visitor: ‘†¦Any person who travels o a country other than that in which he/she has his/her usual environments, for a period not exceeding 12 months and whose main purpose of visit is other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the country visited.’ – Stear (2005, p. 8&11); Tourism: ‘tourism is travel and temporary stay, involving at least one night away from the region of a person’s usual home that is undertaken with the major expectation of satisfying leisure needs that are perceived as being more enjoyably able to be satisfied by being at places outside of, and qualitatively different to, the home region.’ Tourist: ‘a tourist is a person engaging in the activities directly associated with the present or future travel and temporary stay that involves at least one night away from the region of their usual home that is undertaken with the major expectation of satisfying leisure needs that are perceived as being more enjoyably able to be satisfied by places outside of, and qualitatively different to, the home region.’ – Oxford Dictionary (2011); Tourism: ‘the commercial organization and operation of holidays and visits to places of interest.’ Tourist: ‘†¦a person who is travelling or visiting a place for pleasure.’ To begin, one of the key factors in defining tourism is determining where it begins, ends, and the stakeholders impacted along the way. As explained by Theobald (1994, p.26), ‘tourism is more like a ‘sector’ that impacts a wide range of industries’ rather than an industry itself as current statistical measurement of economic effects is unreliable and problematic. Stear’s blanket approach of tourism neglects to set parameters for quantitative study where ‘many of these businesses also serve local residents [and] the impact of spending by visitors can easily be overlooked or underestimated’(Theobald 1994, p.4). This leads to the need for segregation of the term by its main features to establish the objective of the meaning and what it aims to achieve. This is adequately explained by Tribe (2009, p.25) as ‘†¦differentiation is sought between functional definitions of the term tourist used to define and measure activities of people for the purposes of sorting and collecting data about those activities, and that of the concept of tourist, which has a much less well-understood value’. Because of this it is widely accepted that there are ‘†¦two different types of tourism definitions, each with its own rationale and intended usage’ (Theobald 1994, p.7). The suggestion of Burkart & Medlik (1981, cited in Theobald 1994) that there are both conceptual and technical definitions, the former allowing for a theoretical approach such as Stear’s in which it can be used for the teaching of this area of study, and the latter is aligned to the WTO’s approach for ‘statistical or legislative purposes†¦.that can be applied to both international and domestic settings†¦.to help standardise comparative international tourism data collection’. Similarly the World Tourism Organisation has put forward a significant division in the term ‘tourist’ as a method of discerning those who visit a place for more than twenty-four hours from those who don’t. This enables significant advancements in both technical and conceptual approaches to the definition as allowing tourists such as backpackers, cruise ship passengers and tour busses to be incorporated as well as their significant input to the ‘industry’. Stear’s definition, although broad, lacks entirely in the foresight that ‘at least one night away’ is limited to people who reside in the area overnight which is often not the case. In my experience backpacking, there are many scenarios in which time constraints urge you to visit multiple ‘attractions’ in one day and often over large distances, of one account travelling by car I had breakfast in Italy, lunch in Switzerland, followed by dinner in Germany. With no uncertainty was I tourist at all stages of this trip, therefore the following opinion of Theobald (1994) in which ‘visitors include two distinct categories of travellers’ one being tourists and the other excursionists, is fundamental to the concern of accountability of economic effects in tourist destination regions. In this case the WTO definition comprises of a tourist and excursionist approach which adequately incorporates all impacts on the relative industries. However, of the above methods of definition neither encompasses the history and definition of each word and its everyday use regardless of technical and conceptual implications. Because of this, I believe it pertinent to incorporate the dictionary definition of both tourism and tourist in their comprehensive understanding as their etymology is central to the existence of this ‘sector’. It is collectively agreed (Stear 2005, Weaver & Lawton 2010, Tribe 2009 and Theobald 1994) that tourism is a social phenomenon of the nineteenth and twentieth century’s, of a time where cultural and leisure purposes were the most prominent instigating factors. This said, many forms of ‘types of travel’ (Stear 2005, p.5) have emerged clouding the nature of its original meaning making it difficult to transcend this meaning into a contemporary societal view. As Theobald (1994, p.6) explains etymologically the Latin derivative of tour (when combined with the suffixes of –ism and –ist) describes the movement in a round-trip and in essence the journey of leaving and then returning to the original starting point. It is plain to see that this holds great dissimilarity to the aforementioned dictionary definition as it is subsequent to the influences of industry purpose. Overall, this discussion has outlined the continued difficulties in producing a unified definition that encompasses all aspects of tourists and their impacts on tourism so that statistical and theoretical conclusions can be draw for economic and academic purposes. In total, I believe each of the definitions mentioned above hold merit in varying manners when applied for specific use in their appropriate field. This does not dismiss the issue that each has limitations in regards to the standardisation of each type of definition and in conclusion until this standardisation of terms used for conceptual and technical objectives occurs, neither can be solely accepted for all application in a worldwide setting.

Vacant Chapter 17 Family

The last five years have been unbelievable in more ways than one. It's been a long, difficult road, no doubt about it. There's fighting†¦and making up, money problems and tears, but we always make it through, and we make it through together. We are, however, about to experience three of the biggest changes in our lives thus far. Margie is retiring and a new manager will take her place. I'm pretty sure I know a candidate who is a shoe-in. Ethan has taken his duties as assistant manager very seriously. Margie confided to me that it would be a proud moment to see Ethan take her place. The salary increase was nothing to joke about either, and this promotion was enabling us to finally buy our own home. It wouldn't be fancy or lavish, but it would be ours. Margie has been an enormous support system for both Ethan and me. She's stepped in as the mother figure we both needed as we transitioned to new parts of our lives. One could say that I should have been bitter about a â€Å"stand-in† mother, but I never saw it that way. She has been my savior more than once, but when I first met Margie, I wasn't sure what to think. â€Å"Can I help you?† â€Å"Well, I was looking for Ethan.† The woman was small, but spoke with assurance. â€Å"Does he still live here?† I hadn't known what to tell her. It flashed through my mind when I answered the door that perhaps this was the landlord and someone had reported us. Ethan wasn't supposed to have anyone living with him. I shouldn't have cared if he got in trouble after the way he up and left me after I spilled my guts to him, but I just couldn't be angry with him – no matter how hard I tried. â€Å"I'm Margie, Ethan's boss.† I stalled in answering her, debating whether I should invite her in. â€Å"Dear†¦?† â€Å"Oh, sorry – I'm uh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I didn't know whether to give my real name. My gut told me that this woman was harmless. â€Å"It's Emily.† My mother taught me to never give more information than necessary. â€Å"Well, Emily, it's a pleasure to meet you.† That day, Margie invited herself into the duplex and into my life. She was there to comfort me as I cried my eyes out and told her the events leading up to Ethan leaving. She hugged me and gave soothing words of encouragement; above all else, she assured me Ethan would return and that I just had to be patient. She spoke about Ethan that afternoon as if he were her own son. There was never a disapproving word, only compliments and work anecdotes from the years she'd known him. She was also there to support me through school. She insisted, along with Ethan, that I take full advantage of the scholarship I was given. She also wanted me to develop my interests and not just major in something so I could get a job. She told me to pursue what I loved; something I was passionate about. â€Å"I think I know what I want to major in,† I told Margie, the excitement of my revelation radiating in my tone. â€Å"That's great, sweetie. Tell me.† â€Å"This lady came in today with a little boy with autism, and it was so fascinating to watch her interact with him. I think I want to learn more about children and disabilities.† I was nervous about Margie's answer. Maybe she thought I was a little too ambitious or crazy even in regards to my career path. â€Å"What do you think?† â€Å"I think we are lucky to have you, one of God's angels here on earth. You warm an old woman's heart, Emily. I can't think of a better career choice.† I finished school three years later with a degree in Early Childhood Special Education. Margie was there with Ethan on graduation day, and I think she was the loudest cheerleader in the auditorium. â€Å"So, you really want to do this?† I used to be the one that was so unsure of everything and looked to Ethan to be the decision maker. Now, it seems, the tables have turned. He's always looking to me for reassurance. â€Å"I do. I know there will be a lot of work to be done on it, but I have the summer off. There is a lot I can do during that time.† I'd yet to tell him he'd be doing all the painting, but I think – all things considered – he'll be just fine with the tradeoff. â€Å"This house is in a better neighborhood and is a bit bigger. There is room for us to have a home office and a couple spare bedrooms.† The realtor was anxious to make a deal. The house had been on the market for several months due to the â€Å"as is† sale. She's hovering, not wanting this potential sale to slip away. â€Å"Do you have any questions, Mr. and Mrs. Parker?† Despite hearing Mrs. Parker every day, hearing it still brings a smile to my face. I grabbed Ethan's hand and led him back down the hallway. â€Å"I think we'll take another look around and meet you back out front.† I answer, desperate to get a few moments alone with my husband and away from the hovering realtor. â€Å"Will you marry me?† Those were the first words out of Ethan's mouth. Not, â€Å"Good morning, Emily. How did you sleep?† Stunned didn't even begin to capture what I was feeling. My brain wasn't fully awake, and I hadn't registered the small diamond on my left hand. Ethan had placed it there in my sleep and had yet to bring it to my attention. The two years before Ethan's proposal had been perfect. Our new apartment was a dream come true, and we'd even made friends with our neighbors Garth and Kim. The guys loved to barbecue, and Kim loved to talk about kids and literature, two of my favorite things. â€Å"Emily? Come on! You're killing me here!† His desperation made me giggle a bit, as if I'd ever tell him no. â€Å"Yes!† â€Å"Thank God! I was so nervous.† Three weeks later found us at Powell Gardens in the Marjorie Powell Allen Chapel. We had the ceremony on Friday evening, then a picnic in the nearby fountain courtyard. It was small, just Margie and her husband, Garth and Kim, and me and Ethan. We didn't have a honeymoon, but that was okay. Someday, we'd get there. â€Å"So what are you thinking we can do with this room?† Easy, Emily, don't rush it. Make it perfect, I tell myself. â€Å"I'm sure you'll want a place to set up shop at home to work on your lesson plans and stuff.† Ethan walks into the room and steps to the large bow window. â€Å"This window will give you a lot of natural light to work by,† he finishes. â€Å"Yeah, but I think the smaller room down the hall will be good for an office space.† Deep breath, this is it. â€Å"I think this room would be perfect as a nursery since it's right next to the master and has its own quarter bath.† Wait for it†¦. It takes longer than I think it should for it to sink in. I've counted to thirty before he turns around and stares at me blankly. I move my hand down to rest on my still flat stomach. His eyes widen and his mouth falls open. After a long pause, I give him a nod of confirmation and my eyes flutter closed for a couple seconds. â€Å"You're†¦?† I simply nod again. â€Å"Seriously?† â€Å"Seriously.† I don't even think my reply is completely out of my mouth before he's crossed the room and picks me up. He swings me around, hugging me tight. He's mumbling, â€Å"Oh my God, oh my God!† over and over into my breasts. I half expect him to sneak a motorboat in there while he's at it. I just grip his head tighter, relishing the moment. He finally sets me down and kisses me. This is the happiest I've ever seen this man†¦the man I love and worship and would do anything for. â€Å"Thank you, Emily. Thank you for giving me everything I've always wanted, a family.†