Prepare a report to the Managing Director, including appropriate links Essay

Prepare a report to the Managing Director, including appropriate links to theory, detailing the strategy for the planning and control of the research and development department - Essay Example Budgeting is effective in dealing with unanticipated expenses and emergencies. Once a plan is in place it can be used for measuring the progress of goal achievement (Freedom Debt Management, n.d.; College of Business Administration, 2008). At the time of preparing the budgets it is important to categorize the expenses such as fixed expenses, variable expenses and discretionary expenses. The discretionary expenses are not absolutely necessary for business survival. Necessary adjustments are done in these form of expenses i.e. they are reduced to honour the other types of expenditures. In any business there are two types of costs discretionary costs and non-discretionary costs. It is easy to understand the discretionary costs like payment of rent or electric bill but the discretionary costs are less clear. The discretionary costs include the alteration, construction, research and development etc. Besides the discretionary and non-discretionary costs there are other types of costs such as controllable and uncontrollable costs. So a budget comprises of costs that are discretionary, non-discretionary, controllable and uncontrollable (Cotts & Rondeau, 2004, pp. 59). Budget conveys the authority of the manager to allocate a specified amount on the items that are enlisted in the budget. The appropriations in the budget act as the benchmark for a comparison with the costs that are actually incurred. Expenditures of a budgeted category are matched with the pre-set amounts in deciding any over or under spending of funds and if needed corrective action are initiated (KU School of Social Welfare, n.d.). For the control of discretionary costs the top management must translate the policies and objectives that it considers vital for the organizational success. The management then must make a plan of the spending relating to the discretionary activities that will help in achieving the defined business objectives. There can be

American Politics in the Context of Obama’s Election and First 100 Days Essay Example for Free

American Politics in the Context of Obama’s Election and First 100 Days Essay The election of Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th President of the United States is a watershed in the history of American politics. In a country were blacks were once prohibited from voting just because of the color of their skin, his ascent into the White House is indeed a milestone. Obama’s victory is often attributed to several factors, including changes in voting behavior and public opinion and constant media exposure. Popular support of his regime did not end with the election hype – a 2009 Associated Press-GfK poll revealed that about 48% of Americans were satisfied with the economic outcomes of the Obama presidency’s first 100 days (Philstar. com n. pag. ). The rise of the Obama regime had a tremendous impact on American politics. It brought about the prospect of women and minorities gaining a greater voice in political institutions. But Obama’s first 100 days in office told a different story. His first 100 days revealed that the substance of his regime remained largely the same as that of George W. Bush’s. This just goes to show that in the context of Obama’s election and first 100 days, American politics changed its style but retained its hegemonic and elitist nature. Winning the nomination proved to be a greater challenge for Obama than winning the general elections. Because of a national political machine attached to her and her husband, Hillary Clinton was initially chosen by the Democrat Party to become its presidential candidate (Ceaser, Busch and Pitney 15). Although Obama was young, charismatic, cerebral and self-assured, the Democrats were apprehensive about his lack of experience in the political scene (Ceaser, Busch and Pitney 16). This weakness would probably not sit well with the American electorate, who were desperate for a leader who could rectify the damaging mistakes of the Republican administration (Ceaser, Busch and Pitney 15). But shifts in the economic and demographic profile of American voters rendered Obama a more suitable presidential candidate than Clinton. As of 2004, about 56. 6% of American voters were below 30 years old (Dahl n. pag. ). Majority of these individuals grew up using the Internet as an indispensable tool for work, study and leisure. When the Clintons staged their last national campaign in 1996, the Internet was just a fledgling industry. Obama’s youth and tech savvy (he kept a Blackberry with him at all times), therefore, would make him more appealing to the aforementioned voter’s age group than Clinton (Ceaser, Busch and Pitney 106). Obama must have been aware of these advantages of his – his election campaign involved mainly the utilization of the Internet. By April 2007, he already had 1,543,000 â€Å"friends† in his account in the social-networking website MySpace. com. In sharp contrast, Clinton only had 41,500 people in her network (Dupuis and Boeckelman 123). In the spring of 2008, Obama had at least 1 million â€Å"friends† in Twitter, while Clinton only had 330,000. Although they had the same number of Facebook â€Å"friends† during this period, the website’s largest pro-Obama group had over 500,000 members, while the largest Facebook group that supported Clinton only had 30,000 members (Tapscott 252). Furthermore, Obama’s rhetoric reflected the American public’s disillusionment with traditional political ideologies. His slogan, â€Å"Change You Can Believe In,† appealed to voters because it did not bombard them with highfaluting dogmas. Rather, it showed them that â€Å"change† meant exploring for new solutions to problems. The American people did not have to make do with traditional solutions which Obama believed have already failed them in the past. For instance, he is constantly criticized for his relative youth and limited high-level government inexperience. Obama downplayed this attack by claiming that â€Å"Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld have an awful lot of experience, and yet have engineered what I think is one of the biggest foreign policy failures in our recent history† (Dupuis and Boeckelman 123). Through this argument, he pointed out that adherence to convention is not always the best for the nation. There are instances when the government and the people must work together and come up with new solutions. In addition, Obama created a firm connection between himself and the people by letting them know that he also underwent their plights. In his campaign speeches, he often used his experience as the son of a working woman and as the husband of a working woman in order to show to the people that he knew how it felt to be in their shoes (Leanne 52). He knew how it was to be poor, marginalized and to work hard just to keep ends meet. Thus, his cynicism towards conventional ideologies – he and so many other Americans remained impoverished despite their application. Given such a populist and down-to-earth campaign strategy, it was no longer surprising if Obama won a landslide victory in the 2008 national elections. But his first 100 days in office revealed that his regime was essentially the same as that of George W. Bush’s. Obama’s first 100 days revealed the â€Å"right-wing character of his administration and the class interests that it serves† (Eley n. pag. ). If there was any difference at all, it was the approach – Bush assumed a warmonger-like stance to obtain the presidency, while Obama adopted a populist one. Obama continued the Bush administration’s militarist and aggressive foreign policy. Although he promised that he will all American troops out of Iraq, troop levels in Iraq remained virtually unchanged. Furthermore, Obama expanded the war in Afghanistan and even extended it to Pakistan. Worse, he proposed a defense budget worth $664 billion – believed to be the largest appropriation for military spending in American history (Eley n. pag. ). The prison camp at Guantanamo Bay remains open, despite Obama’s pledge to eventually close it down. As a result, its inmates are at risk of being shipped to US military prisons such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan, where they can be tortured and or killed in secret. Under the guise of â€Å"moving on,† he blocked all investigations and or criminal prosecution of parties that were responsible for the torture of detainees in US military prisons across the world. Obama’s government also intervened in the procedures of several court cases in order to deny habeas corpus to detainees in US military prisons in Afghanistan (Eley n. pag. ). While Obama was busy perpetuating Bush’s foreign policy, the American economy further deteriorated. Mounting layoffs took place, along with wage cuts, home foreclosures and depreciation of real estate value and retirement savings. These developments, in turn, resulted in escalating hunger and homelessness. But instead of creating concrete solutions to put an end to these calamities, the Obama administration used billions of dollars in public funds to bail financial institutions such as AIG, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch out of bankruptcy. Worsening the situation was that these banks were discovered to have been doling out huge portions of the bailout money to their executives as â€Å"bonuses† (Eley n. pag. ). It is very ironic that Obama, a black man who experienced growing up poor and marginalized, would end up perpetuating the repressive and anti-poor policies of his predecessor. But what Obama did reflected the recourse that the US most probably resorted to in order to steer itself from the economic crisis – tighten its grip over the Third World. It is during the current economic crisis that the US needs unlimited access to the natural resources of the Third World more than ever before. Thus, the Obama administration’s promise of â€Å"change† was replaced with the de facto continuation of the Bush regime. Works Cited â€Å"AP Poll: After Obama’s 100 Days, US on Right Track. † 24 April 2009. Philstar. com. 4 May 2009 http://www. philstar. com/Article. aspx? articleId=460799 publicationSubCategoryId=200. Ceaser, James W. , Andrew E. Busch, and John J. Pitney. Epic Journey: The 2008 Elections and American Politics. New York: Rowman Littlefield, 2009. Dahl, Melissa. â€Å"Youth Vote May have been Key in Obama’s Win. † 5 November 2008. MSNBC. 4 May 2009 http://www. msnbc. com/id/27525497. Dupuis, Martin, and Keith Boeckelman. Barack Obama: The New Face of American Politics. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008. Eley, Tom. â€Å"Obama’s 100 Days. † 29 April 2009. GlobalResearch. ca. 4 May 2009 http://www. globalresearch. ca/index. php? context=vaaid=13419. Leanne, Shel. Say It Like Obama: The Power of Speaking with Purpose and Vision. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2008. Tapscott, Don. Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is changing Your World. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2008.

Concepts of Time Travel: Wormholes, Gravity and Blackholes

Concepts of Time Travel: Wormholes, Gravity and Blackholes Any sort of time travel to the past through wormholes or any viable strategy is presumably incomprehensible, generally mysteries might happen. So unfortunately, it seems that time travel to the past will never happen; a bafflement for dinosaur seekers and an easing for antiquarians. How to travel in future? Through wormholes: We should enjoy a little science fiction for a minute. Time travel motion pictures regularly offer an immense, vitality hungry machine. The machine makes a way through the fourth measurement, a tunnel through time. A time traveler, youthful hearted, a fearless, maybe reckless individual, ready for who realizes what, steps into the time tunnel and rises who knows when. The idea may be outlandish, and the actuality may be altogether different from this, yet the thought itself is not so insane. As should be obvious these films from a century ago are continually providing for some mind boggling and exceptional plans to individuals. In this way, much the same as those motion pictures physicists have been contemplating tunnels in time, dark gaps and going at the rate of light, However they take a stab at it from an alternate edge. They think about whether gateways to the past or whats to come could ever be conceivable inside according to laws of nature. So, they think they seem to be. Additionally, they have even provided for them a name: WORMHOLES. The reality of the situation is that wormholes are surrounding us, just theyre so little there is no option see. Wormholes are extremely minor. They happen in niches and crevices in space and time. A wormhole is a hypothetical tunnel or alternate route, anticipated by Einsteins hypothesis of relativity, that connections two spots in space-time envisioned above, where negative vitality pulls space-time into the hole of a tunnel, rising in an alternate universe. This have been utilized as a part of movies as conductors for time travel in Star-door, for instance, including gated tunnels between two different universes, and in two different Time times. Its much the same as a tunnel/connect between two structures; think about 2 persons need to go from first buildings top carpet to the others, individual a picked the tunnel and he arrived at rapidly as contrasted with the second individual who first went down and after that entered in second building and took a lift for top floor. Much the same as those tunnels wormholes are tunnels between two separate periods of space-time fabric. Nothing is level or strong. In the event that you gaze nearly enough toward anything youll discover openings and wrinkles in it. Its an essential physical rule, and it even applies to time. Actually something as smooth as nails has small openings, wrinkles and voids. Notwithstanding its not difficult to show that this is correct in the initial three sizes. Anyhow as stated by Einstein, its likewise valid for the fourth extent. There are little openings, wrinkles and voids in time. They are more diminutive even than sand, littler than particles. Small tunnels or easy routes through space and time always structure, vanish, and change inside this smaller than usual micro world. Furthermore they really interface two separate spots and two separate times, as should be obvious above in. Whats more if by one means or another through enough power and propelled innovation, a goliath wormhole will have been built in space so that our spaceship (time machine) could go through it. It might be a sincerely astonishing gadget. One end could be here close Earth, and the other far, far away, close to some removed planet. Hypothetically, a period tunnel or wormhole could do significantly more than take us to different planets. In the event that both finishes were in the same place, and differentiated by time rather than separation, a boat could fly in and turn out still close Earth, yet in the inaccessible past. Possibly Mughal Emperors might witness the boat coming in for an arriving or in future where we might meet our amazing grand grand kids. HOW THEY ARE USELESS? They remain just theoretical, as clearly no one has ever seen one, lamentably, these genuine time tunnels are simply a billion-trillion-trillionths of a centimeter (10^-33cm) over. Much excessively little for a human to pass through, yet heres the place the thought of wormhole time machines is heading. A few researchers think it may be conceivable to catch a wormhole and extend it numerous trillions of times to become showbiz royalty enough for a man or even any travelling object to enter. At the same time, to do so they require extremely enormous measure of vitality, for a wormhole something like 1 meter over, huge enough to fit an individual, youd require a Jupiters value of mass changed over into vitality, and beyond any doubt its unimaginable and almost incomprehensible. We should think about on the off chance that it is conceivable to do it, yet according to Stephen Hawking: Wormhole like this much big cant exist. Whats more the explanation behind that is reaction. If you ever went to any concert, youll presumably distinguish this shrieking clamor. Its reaction. What causes it is basic. Sound enters the amplifier. Its transmitted along the wires, made louder by the enhancer, and turns out at the speakers. However in the event that excessively of the sound from the speakers about-faces into the mic it goes around and around in a circle getting louder each one time. In the event that nobody stops it, criticism can wreck the sound framework. The same problem will occur with a wormhole, just with radiation rather than sound. When the wormhole stretches, characteristic radiation will enter it, and wind up in a circle. The reaction will get to be so solid it obliterates the wormhole. So despite the fact that little wormholes do exist, and it may be conceivable to blow up one sometime, it wont keep going long enough to be useful as a time machine. So time travel through wormhole is not conceivable. Be that as it may the storys not over yet. This doesnt set aside a few minutes travel incomprehensible. TIME TRAVEL THROUGH GRAVITY and BLACK HOLES: Time streams like a stream and it appears to be as though each of us is conveyed persistently along by times current. Anyhow time is similar to a waterway in an alternate way. It streams at distinctive speeds in better places and that is the way to going into whats to come. This thought was initially proposed by Albert Einstein in excess of 100 years prior. He understood that there ought to be places where time backs off, and others where time accelerates. He was completely right. GPS, A system of satellites is in circle around Earth. The satellites make satellite route conceivable. Be that as it may they likewise uncover that time runs speedier in space than it does down here on Earth. Inside every rocket is an extremely exact clock. At the same time in spite of being so precise, they all increase around a minor of a second consistently. The framework need to right for the float, generally that modest contrast might steamed the entire framework, bringing about every GPS gadget on Earth to go out by something like six miles a day. You can simply envision the pandemonium that that might bring about. The issue doesnt lie with the timekeepers. They run quick on the grounds that time itself runs speedier in space than it does down beneath. Furthermore the explanation behind this uncommon impact is the mass of the Earth. Einstein understood that matter delays time and eases it off like the moderate some piece of a waterway. The heavier the item, the more it delays time. Also this startling actuality is the thing that opens the avenue to the likelihood of time travel to whats to come. Planets dont impact excessively on time, we need something truly colossal and enormous body to make the range more curvy so time pass more gradually. The gravity which must be thousand times more amazing than sun. Right in the focal point of the Milky Way, 26 thousands light years from us, lies the most heaviest protest in the system. It is a super-enormous dark gap holding the mass of four million suns smashed down into a solitary point by its gravity. The closer you get to the dark gap, the stronger the gravity. Get truly close and not even light can find a way to get escape. A dark opening like this one has an emotional impact on time, easing it off significantly more than whatever else might be available in the universe. That sets aside a few minutes machine. Presently simply envision how a spaceship/time machine could have the capacity to exploit this wonder, by circling it. On the off chance that a space office were controlling the mission from Earth theyd watch that each one full circle took 16 minutes. At the same time for the fearless individuals ready for, to this gigantic item, time might be backed off. Furthermore here the impact might be significantly more great than the gravitational force of Earth. The teams opportunity might be backed off significantly. For like clockwork circle, theyd just encounter eight minutes of time. Around and around theyd set out for some, encountering simply a fraction of the time of everybody far from the dark gap. The boat and its group might be going through time. Envision they surrounded the dark gap for five of their years. Ten years might pass somewhere else. When they returned home, everybody on Earth might have matured five years more than they had. So as stated by researcher super-huge dark gap is a time machine. How is it impossible? At the same time obviously, its not precisely commonsense. It has favorable circumstances over wormholes in that it doesnt incite mysteries. Also it wont annihilate itself in a blaze of criticism. At the same time its really risky. Its far away and it doesnt even take us far into whats to come. We have to go at the pace of light for 26,000 years to get close to them. Whats more again to do so we dont have enough vitality and life compass. The other point is that on the off chance that we go close to the dark opening, we will fall in it as it has extraordinary gravity that not even light can escape from it. The given focuses demonstrate that time travel through dark gaps is additionally outlandish. Luckily there is an alternate approach to go in time. Whats more this speaks to researchers last and best any expectation of building a time machine. TIME TRAVEL And speed of light: You simply need to travel, quick; much quicker even than the rate needed to abstain from being sucked into a dark opening. This is because of an alternate weird reality about the universe. Theres an inestimable rate confine, 186,000 miles for every second or 299,792,458 meter for every second, otherwise called the velocity of light. Nothing can surpass that speed. Its their one of the best settled standards in science. Accept it or not, as stated by researchers going at close to the pace of light transports you to whats to come. To demonstrate why, how about we think up a science-fiction transportation framework. Envision a track that goes all around Earth, a track for a fastest train. Were going to utilize this nonexistent train to get as close as could be allowed to the pace of light and perceive how it turns into a time machine. Ready for travelers with a restricted ticket to whats to come. The train starts to quicken, quicker and speedier. Before long its circumnavigating the Earth again and again. To approach the rate of light means surrounding the Earth really quick. Seven times each second. Be that as it may regardless of what amount of force the train has, it can never fully achieve the rate of light, since the laws of physical science deny it. Rather, we should say it draws near, only a tiny bit short of that extreme rate. Notwithstanding something phenomenal happens. Time begins streaming gradually ready for to whatever remains of the world, much the same as close to the dark opening, just all the more so. Everything on the train is in moderate movement. This happens to ensure as far as possible, and its not tricky to see why. Envision a kid running advances up the train. Her send pace is added to the velocity of the prepare, so would she be able to break as far as possible basically by mishap? The response is no. The laws of nature keep the likelihood by backing off time locally available. Notwithstanding she cant run quick enough to break the utmost. Time will constantly ease off only enough to ensure as far as possible. Also from that certainty comes the likelihood of voyaging numerous years into whats to come. Envision that the train left the station on February 1, 2020. It rings Earth again and again for 100 prior years at long last stopping on New Years Day, 2120. The travelers will have just existed one week in light of the fact that time is backed off that much inside the train. When they got out theyd discover an altogether different world from the one theyd cleared out. In one week theyd have voyage 100 years into whats to come. Last hope also DIED: Again we require a lot of vitality to move at velocity of light, vitality at any rate equivalents to the half vitality of universe. Besides, as stated by Einstein the quicker you go the heavier you get and additionally, on the off chance that we see the equation of motor vitality K.e=(1/2)mv^2, where m is the mass of anyone and v is its speed. Also this recipe says that our dynamic vitality is specifically relative to the square of our speed, which implies that motor vitality of an item builds because of the movement of that question. Also I believe that moving at any pace does not have any effect. Implies it doesnt make a difference from what speed you are moving, there will be no impact on time, of course, that is one mans feeling. In this way, obviously, fabricating a prepare that could arrive at such a velocity is truly outlandish. Anyway we have manufactured something exceptionally like the train at the worlds biggest atom smasher at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. Profound underground, in a roundabout tunnel 16 miles in length, is a stream of trillions of small particles. At the point when the force is turned on the quicken from zero to 60,000mph in a small amount of a second. Increment the force and the particles go speedier and quicker, until theyre zooming around the tunnel 11,000 times each second, which is just about the velocity of light. At the same time much the same as the train, they never entirely achieve that extreme rate. They can just get to 99.99 for every penny of the farthest point. At the point when that happens, they excessively begin to go in time. We know this in view of some to a great degree fleeting particles, called pi-mesons. Customarily, they deteriorate after only 25 billionths of a second. However when they are quickened to close light speed they keep going 30 times longer. Well they have demonstrate about it, yet as they are moving those particles almost at velocity of light so there is a huge impact on their vitality level, and most presumably because of progress in vitality those particles change their properties. Henceforth, they keep going 30 times longer because of this reason. It truly is that basic. In the event that we need to go into whats to come, we only need to go quick. Truly quick. Whats more I think the main way were liable to do that is by going into space. The speediest manned vehicle in history was Apollo 10. It arrived at 25,000mph. Be that as it may to go in time well need to go more than 2,000 times speedier. Also to do that wed require a much greater ship, a sincerely huge machine. The boat might need to be huge enough to convey a gigantic measure of fuel, enough to quicken it to about the pace of light. Getting to simply underneath the grandiose pace cutoff might oblige six entire years at full power. The introductory increasing speed might be tender in light of the fact that the boat might be so huge and substantial. In any case step by step it might get velocity and soon might be blanket gigantic separations. In one week it might have arrived at the external planets. Following two years it might achieve half-light speed and be far outside our earths planetary group. Two years after the fact it might be going at 90 for every penny of the rate of light. Around 30 trillion miles far from Earth, and 4 or 4.5 years after launch, the boat might start to go in time. For each hour of time on the boat, two might pass on Earth,a comparative circumstance to the spaceship that circled the monstrous dark gap. After an additional two years of full push the boat might achieve its top speed, 99 percent of the velocity of light. At this velocity, and as stated by the figuring of researchers, a solitary day ready for an entire year of Earth time. Our boat might be sincerely flying into whats to come. Impact of Globalization on Culture | Essay Impact of Globalization on Culture | Essay In todays world of interconnectedness, the conception of independent, coherent, and stable cultures are becoming increasingly rare. Processes of globalization are drawing people from different cultural origins into close relationships as can be seen in the unprecedented expansion of tourism, the flourishing of multinational corporations, the emergence of new geographical unities like the European Community, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the dissemination of pop culture, the increasing flow of migrations, the growth of diasporas, the emergence of Internet communities, and the establishment of global institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations. Nevertheless even though cultures are seen as unstable and changing, this shift is generally viewed from a macro perspective, of the bigger affecting the smaller, the process of global affecting the local. The alternative i.e. the local effecting the global is not paid much attention to in globalization literature. This feature of the emerging world has been grasped and theorized by what we call glocalization theory today. The essence of the emerging worldwide phenomenon where globalization and localization are simultaneously transforming the development landscape is captured by Glocalization. The term Glocalization is very similar to the term Globalization and in fact has its roots in it. To understand the essence of glocalization we need to first look at what globalization denotes and the problems with it which gave rise to the glocal as opposed to the global or simply the local. Globalization can be seen as a compression of the world as a whole. But in terms of culture what has become almost commonplace is to think of globalization as a large scale phenomenon that involves the triumph of culturally homogenizing forces over all others. The bigger, is increasingly seen as better. This view has been criticized as having a lack of concern with micro sociological or local issues. So ciologist Ronald Robertson who is instrumental in popularizing the term shows that there have been attempts to propose a global sociology with ventures to incorporate indigenous sociologies into this wider imperative. The process of globalization was being increasingly seen as a tendency which overrides the locality. Thus the concept of Glocalization as Robertson puts it is was needed, as according to him universalism was being countrerposed to particularism. Glocalization essentially encapsulates the simultaneous processes of globalization and localization that are taking place in the world today. The global expressed in the local and the local as the particularization of the global. Globalization The term has its roots in the Japanese term dochakuka which first appeared in the late 1980s in articles by Japanese economists in the Harvard Business Review. The term originally meant adapting farming technique to ones own local condition. The idea was later adopted to refer to global-localization. According to the dictionary meaning, the term glocal and the process noun glocalization are formed by telescoping global and local to make a blend  [1]. Glocalization seems to be a problematic term as it is seen as meaning different things to different people. Roland Robertson, conceptualized glocalization as, the universalization of particularization and the particularization of universalism  [2]. Khondker expressed it as a process combining the twin processes of macro-localization and micro-globalization. For others globalization provokes revival of local cultural identities. Thus in his view local is the provider of the response to the forces that are global. Nevertheless what we adhere to in this paper is the Robertsonian view of glocalization which argues that any focus on the global must have a focus on the local for the two are mutually constitutive of each other; it is not as simple as the global being proactive and the local being reactive. He attributes this to the debates centering on the relationship between the global and the local. The global was scripted as being homogenizing because of the economic and cultural flows associated with it (proactive) and the local being a site of heterogeneity fighting to keep out globalization (reactive). Rethinking globalization in this way leads to the recognition that it is not a process that operates exclusively at a planetary scale, but is constantly being localized in various ways and with different intensities. Forces from above periodically emerge to interrupt local serenity. With local cultural stasis upset by outside forces, a re-stabilization process sets in to enable the emergence o f a new culture more able to cope with the disorder brought on by, in this case, globalization Robertson refers to glocalization as the interpenetration  of the  global  and local  resulting  in unique  outcomes  in different  geographical  areas. At a 1997 conference on Globalization and Indigenous Culture, Robertson said that glocalization means the simultaneity the co-presence of both universalizing and particularizing tendencies. The process also denotes the commonly interconnected processes of homogenization and heterogenization. Theorists of glocalization typically challenge the assumption that globalization processes always endanger the local. Rather, glocalization both highlights how local cultures may critically adapt or resist global phenomena, and reveals the way in which the very creation of localities is a standard component of globalization. There is now a universal normalization of locality, in the sense that local cultures are assumed to arise constantly and particularize themselves vis-a-vis other specific cultures. Some have also termed th is process as internal globalization i.e. globalization is seen as not only a macro structure but to highlight the reality of micro globalization. Internal globalization means that large numbers of people around the globe are now exposed to other cultures on a daily basis without crossing borders on a regular basis, simply through the variety of communication media. Furthermore, they might encounter immigrants, refugees, or tourists in their own locality. They might also encounter cultural artefacts and commercial establishments that bring other cultures into close proximity to their own. The increasing presence of McDonalds restaurants worldwide is an example of globalization, while the restaurant chains menu changes in an attempt to appeal to local palates are an example of glocalization. Perhaps even more illustrative of glocalization: For promotions in France, the restaurant chain recently chose to replace its familiar Ronald McDonald mascot with Asterix the Gaul, a popular Fren ch cartoon character. Products are embedded and then promoted within the local culture. Dannie Kjeldgaard and Soren Askegaard analyze the whole glocalization discourse with respect to youth culture and view them mainly as consumers. According to them youth culture is an institutionalized facet of the market, emerging predominantly from Western cultural currents and diffusing globally. Early youth cultural styles diffused primarily in the West but also to other parts of the modernizing world. Youth culture, like other spheres of social life due to the process of glocalization, is increasingly shaped by and constitutes global cultural flows. They put forth Appadurais analysis who analyzes the global cultural economy by using the landscape metaphor to illustrate such flows within five scapes: ethnoscapes (the flow of people), technoscapes (the flow of technology), finanscapes (the flow of finance and capital), mediascapes (the flow of mediated images), and ideoscapes (the flow of ideas and ideologies). These flows increase the availability of symbols and meanings in consum ers everyday lives in such a way that much of what is available in one place is also available in any other place. The glocalization processes constituted by these flows shape socio-cultural reality in dialectical processes between the local and the global. Through these processes, the styles characteristic of youth culture spread globally, instigating the development of local versions of youth culture through appropriation and creolization. They are mainly of the opinion that members of the youth market interpret and rework global cultural practices and meanings to fit into their local contexts. Consumption practices are inscribed in local historically constituted cultural discourses and in particular consumers are reliant on their predominantly class-based, socio-cultural resources for negotiating global meanings and practices in their daily lives. Their study addresses several knowledge gaps by showing that the often noted homogeneity of global youth consumption practices overloo ks their deeper structural differences and diverse localized meanings. These deeper differences flow from the manifestations of a transnational market ideology in glocalized forms. Identities are rearticulated in local versions, although these appropriative reworkings are never totally free of ideological influence. The ideological models carry with them preferred readings, which consumers have to negotiate. Culture To understand the impact the process of glocalization has on culture we first need to understand what the term culture denotes. It is in the domain of culture that we think, express ourselves articulate our aspirations and decide our mode of life. In general culture can be said to refer to the social construction, articulation and reception of meaning. Culture can be seen as a lived and creative experience for individuals as well as a body of artifacts texts and objects. It embraces the specialized and professionalized discourses of the arts, the commodified output of the cultural industries the spontaneous and unorganized cultural expressions of everyday life and the complex interactions between all these.  [3]  The essence of a culture is defined by its responses to the ultimate questions of human existence: death, hope, tragedy, love, loyalty, power, the meaning and purpose of life, and the place of the transcendental in human existence. But the responses to these questions ar e different and vary from region to region thus producing different values to the different elements relating to culture. The responses to these questions are affected by different socio-cultural-political even technological criteria thus having a whole different outlook to the way life is lived and perceived. Again Jan Nederveen Pieterse gives us a different classification of culture. According to him in the context of the global there can be two concepts of culture.  [4]  One is culture as essentially territorial i.e. localized culture of societies and groups. The other he classifies as culture as a general human software which refers to it as a trans-local learning process. Culture in the first sense of the term has an inward looking sense of a place while the second is essentially in the sense of outward looking. According to Pieterse the second finds expression in the first. Culture is the medium through which individuals and collectivities organize and conceptualize their identities in time and space. Thus different views of or different ways of looking at culture can have a huge impact on the influences cultural flows will have on different societies. Impact of Glocalization on Culture The whole process of the global effecting the local and the local the global has ramifications in a number of spheres and in a number of ways. There are basically two contestants in the globalization debate as Featherstone and Lash note, the homogenizer for whom globalization is to be seen as a consequence of modernity and heterogenizers who consider globalization as characterizing post modernity.  [5]  Homogenizers tend to think in terms of a world system that leads them to look primarily at the presence of universals. Heterogenizers, on the other hand, tend to dispute that a world system exists and disclaim the validity of universals. They see the dominance of the West over the Rest as simply one particular system over another system. The glocalization debate does not adhere strictly to any of these extremes but shows that the whole process is a two-way dialogue having both homogenizing and heterogenizing tendencies and tries to address the contradiction between the two. The g lobal infrastructures of culture and communication have also contributed to increasingly dense transnational elite and professional cultures. Others have argued how this process of glocalization provides for sharper cultural consciousness. There are certain impacts that Roland Robertson and Richard Giulianotti point out in their article dealing with glocallization. In the article they develop a four-fold typology of glocalization projects, with reference to how they affect culture  [6]. The glocalization projects are: Relativization: here, social actors seek to preserve their prior cultural institutions, practices and meanings within a new environment, thereby reflecting a commitment to differentiation from the host culture. Accommodation: here, social actors absorb pragmatically the practices, institutions and meanings associated with other societies, in order to maintain key elements of the prior local culture. Hybridization: here, social actors synthesize local and other cultural phenomena to produce distinctive, hybrid cultural practices, institutions and meanings. Transformation: here, social actors come to favour the practices, institutions or meanings associated with other cultures. Transformation may procure fresh cultural forms or, more extremely, the abandonment of the local culture in favour of alternative and/or hegemonic cultural forms. This fourfold typology enumerates how the process of glocalization has impacts other than merely homogenizing. Further Robertson in his essay Glocalization: Time-Space and Homogeneity-Heterogeneity negates the discourse on Cultural imperialism specially by the USA and instead advocates a line of thought which recognizes the alternatives. Some of these arguments are as follows: The cultural messages from the west are also differentially received and interpreted by the different locals. They absorb the communications transmitted in different ways The major alleged producers of global culture (CNN,Hollywood) etc increasingly are seen to tailor products to differentiated global markets National symbolic resources are increasingly available for differentiated global interpretation and consumption, for example plays of Shakespeare are variously interpreted today and is not only viewed from the British angle Flow of ideas and practices from the third world to dominant societies should not be underestimated Jan Nederveen Pieterse on the other hand views the whole process of globalization itself as a process of hybridization giving rise to a global mà ©lange.  [7]  He defines hybridization as ways in which forms become separated from existing practices and recombine with new forms in new practices. The phenomenon of hybridization basically undermines the idea of cultures as internally homogenous and externally distinct. He views identity patterns as becoming more complex as people want to assert local loyalties but want to share global values and lifestyles. All this ultimately point to the fact that cultural experiences are not moving in a direction of cultural uniformity and standardization. If this was the case there would be no space for cross-over cultures or third cultures for example music today. He gives examples to show what the process of hybridization creates multiple identities such as Mexican schoolgirls dressed in Greek togas dancing in the style of Isadora Duncan, a L ondon boy of Asian origin playing for a local Bengali cricket team and at the same time supporting the Arsenal football club, Thai boxing by Moroccan girls in Amsterdam, and Native Americans celebrating Mardi Gras in the United States. He further points out that the cultures exported by the west are themselves mixed cultures when the lineage of the cultures is examined. Thus the whole process of glocalization has made possible what we know as creolization of global culture or even orientalization of the world today which all point in the opposite direction to that of homogenization. The glocally-mediated, normalized cultural hybrid is here to stay till other new forces emerge which can dislodge them and maybe steer the course towards homogenization again or its extreme opposite heterogeneity. Sociological glocalizations focus on how local cultures are modified along global lines indicates the need to take more seriously how actors redefine themselves when frameworks become dislodged from their social foundations. Hubert J. M. Hermans and Harry J. G. Kempen on the other hand analyze the impact by challenging the academic mainstream conceptions which continues to work in a tradition of cultural dichotomies (e.g., individualistic vs. collectivistic, independent vs. interdependent) formulated as contrasts between western and non-western cultures. Three developments are presented that challenge this approach: the increasing cultural connections with the phenomenon of hybridization as a consequence the emergence of a world system that implies an interpenetration of the global and the local the enlarged cultural complexity as a result of large-scale distribution of cultural meanings and practices Thus we see how through the processes of intermixing and hybridization the process of glocalization is at work whereby not only the global is seen to effect the local but there exists a reciprocity by which local cultures have an influence on the global giving rise to what is known as global mass culture  [8]  impregnated with ideas, styles and genres concerning religion, music, art, cooking and so on. Nevertheless a discussion on the whole process of globalization vis-à  -vis glocalization remains unfinished without a discussion on the actors promoting globalization. These actors have a huge role to play in the process of interconnecting the world. They also realize the limits of homogenizing and are seen to adapt to local conditions as put forth by the glocalists. Enumerating the role of the actors also brings in the issue of power dynamics in the process of glocalization. Actors Another very important aspect when we talk of the transmission of culture is the role played by the various actors who play a part in the transmission whether from the global to the local or from the local to the global. Among them is a group of 20-30 very large Multi National Corporations who dominate global markets for entertainment, news, television etc. and these have acquired a very significant cultural presence in almost every continent. They are Time-Warner, Disney, Bertelsmann, Viacom, News Corporation, Sony, Universal, TCI, Philips etc to name a few. More important is that all these have their home base in OECD countries and the majority being in the USA. Three particular cultural markets are music cinema and television. It has created transnational corporations producing and marketing records, specially import and export of musical products and the penetration of national markets by foreign artists and music. Further this is based on a broader transfer of styles that are ro oted largely in American youth culture. Under the auspices of the global music industry local musical traditions too have an audience outside their homeland under the banner of so called world music. Due to globalization there is also a diffusion of film-making capacities and organizations around the world. Also co-production has been very prevalent that is the development of the film is funded by organizations in more than one nation. Again television too has become an industry as well as a medium of globalization. Tourism is also an important method of promoting culture, but again the majority of travel movements have been within North America and Western Europe. Apart from these a number of organizations and international agencies such as the UNESCO, WTO etc have become involved in the global communications and culture or the issue of cultural protectionism etc. The notion of glocality is meant to transcend the binary opposition between the global and the local and to provide an accurate linguistic representation of their  blending in real life. But in reality when cultures meet there is also a politics. Cultures may have assymetrical information emanating from the unequal distribution of wealth and political power. The global imperialism of the western countries from 16th -20th century provided the infrastructure for imposition and diffusion of western ideas, values and cultural institutions and practices across the world. Since the advent of European modernity cultural flows have been primarily from the west to the east following lines of imperial control. Flows are reversed mainly through migration but also through other cultural forms such as music, food, idea beliefs etc. But the cultural politics of colonialism still prevails to a large extent. Due to the presence of the historical and economic contexts prevailing in the world the de gree to which the local, mainly of the peripheries, affect the dominant societies, mainly the west, is far less than the influence of westernization and Americanization. All the modes of cultural globalization the stretching and deepening of relationships, the movement of signs, objects and people, cultural diffusion and emulation and the establishment of infrastructure and institutions involve distinct patterns of stratification, of hierarchy and unevenness. This is mainly because of the way people have learned history, that there exists an entity called the West and that one can think of this West as a society independent of and in opposition to other. This independence though has been challenged, and is correct to a large extent, by the glocalist, the greater influence still is directed from the west to the east a fact that cannot be denied. This can be clearly shown when we see the role of the actors involved in the process of dissemination of information and thus changing cult ures. The American film industry is fairly independent and does not depend on co-sponsors thus avoiding any dictates regarding the substance and character of the film. Also the major MNCs have their home bases in the western nations mainly the USA and promote their own cultures through their communication channels. Even the international institutions are majorly dominated by the western powers. Thus, though glocalization is taking place, the influence of the global on the local still remains far greater than the influence of the local on the global. Conclusion Therefore we end on a note where we accept the glocalist position of the process of global-localization. The presumed internal homogeneity of cultures and their conception as externally distinctive are called into question. Different localities today are interpreting the global cultural flows differentially as has been enumerated in the paper so far. It is not merely a process of arbitrary adoption but is synthesized according to the beliefs and customs prevailing in the local cultures. For example though modern man in western society now seems to be increasingly unwilling to live permanently in a totally secularised world (an example of east effecting the west), it is rather unlikely that in parts of the Third World where the traditional social systems have been largely shaped by religion, we will see the same degree of secularisation which has characterised Western modernization. Thus the process of filtering of inflows is very crucial. But glocalization theory also emphasizes the influence of the local on the global i.e. the global as receivers of cultures too from the local and not merely vise versa. Though this is true to some extent from the evidence available from the promotion of global mass culture etc the degree of influence of the local on the global can be challenged to a large extent. The whole process of colonialism has played a very crucial role in this unequal distribution of resources and power. Indigenous peoples though have a sense of their traditional cultures and customs, the impact of a colonial past has left its mark in their cultural behaviour whether it be the dressing sense, the food habits or even the language spoken. In these areas the western influence becomes very vivid and stark. Thus though glocalization as a theory has its merits it is not excluded from criticisms. Overall it is a useful theory to bring out the drawbacks of the globalization process as homogenizing and overarching and it also brings out the importance of contex ts and analysis at the micro-level.

Collaborative Leanrning And Architecture Education :: Learning Education Essays

Collaborative Leanrning And Architecture Education Introduction Two major questions that education faces nowadays are how adequate it is to use group dynamics in class to permit students achieve specific goals and if the efficiency of this technique is acceptable for all the branches of knowledge. Architecture, because of its most important qualities (professional work in teams, practical skills and creativity) appears to be an area in which it is likely that the teamwork technique can demonstrate its most important strengths. Thomas Kuhn (1996) described knowledge as â€Å"intrinsically the common property of a group or else nothing at all†, explaining that the discoveries of sciences or the products of arts to be recognized as it shall be shared between the members of a certain community. What Bruffee (1995) called the social construction of knowledge, has become the base to encourage the use of group work techniques in different levels of education. However there are still many critics to this method, basically referring to the difficulties to manage the classroom and its adequacy to different areas of study. The debate over teamwork in colleges and universities hasn’t delivered a clear answer yet. This research paper will first explain the virtues and weakness of the â€Å"Collaborative Learning† method in order to establish finally its possible application to Architecture Education. The Strengths of the Method Background Since the early 70’s, educators characterized the â€Å"traditional approach to Education† (Ventimiglia, 1994) as being â€Å"professor centered†, considering that the educative process depended exclusively on the knowledge capacities of the teacher, who decided what kind and what amount of information should be deposited into students minds. This was strongly criticized by Freire (cited by Ventimiglia, 1994), for being passive and not stimulating critical thinking. From then educators have researched new methods capable of improving academic results and preparing students to transform their societies creatively. This is how what Foyle (1995) called â€Å"Collaborative learning†, appeared as a possible answer to educational dilemmas. DEFINITION Collaborative learning, as well as cooperative and active learning are terms used to describe new procedures in education, intended to help students learn by working together (Bruffee, 1995). According to Ventimiglia (1994) collaborative learning is the process in which a community formed by students and teacher establishes common goals and participates as partners in the building of knowledge, following specific steps and accepting precise responsibilities. Group work is therefore one of the various tools involved in the execution of the method, however they should not be considered as synonyms. Collaborative Leanrning And Architecture Education :: Learning Education Essays Collaborative Leanrning And Architecture Education Introduction Two major questions that education faces nowadays are how adequate it is to use group dynamics in class to permit students achieve specific goals and if the efficiency of this technique is acceptable for all the branches of knowledge. Architecture, because of its most important qualities (professional work in teams, practical skills and creativity) appears to be an area in which it is likely that the teamwork technique can demonstrate its most important strengths. Thomas Kuhn (1996) described knowledge as â€Å"intrinsically the common property of a group or else nothing at all†, explaining that the discoveries of sciences or the products of arts to be recognized as it shall be shared between the members of a certain community. What Bruffee (1995) called the social construction of knowledge, has become the base to encourage the use of group work techniques in different levels of education. However there are still many critics to this method, basically referring to the difficulties to manage the classroom and its adequacy to different areas of study. The debate over teamwork in colleges and universities hasn’t delivered a clear answer yet. This research paper will first explain the virtues and weakness of the â€Å"Collaborative Learning† method in order to establish finally its possible application to Architecture Education. The Strengths of the Method Background Since the early 70’s, educators characterized the â€Å"traditional approach to Education† (Ventimiglia, 1994) as being â€Å"professor centered†, considering that the educative process depended exclusively on the knowledge capacities of the teacher, who decided what kind and what amount of information should be deposited into students minds. This was strongly criticized by Freire (cited by Ventimiglia, 1994), for being passive and not stimulating critical thinking. From then educators have researched new methods capable of improving academic results and preparing students to transform their societies creatively. This is how what Foyle (1995) called â€Å"Collaborative learning†, appeared as a possible answer to educational dilemmas. DEFINITION Collaborative learning, as well as cooperative and active learning are terms used to describe new procedures in education, intended to help students learn by working together (Bruffee, 1995). According to Ventimiglia (1994) collaborative learning is the process in which a community formed by students and teacher establishes common goals and participates as partners in the building of knowledge, following specific steps and accepting precise responsibilities. Group work is therefore one of the various tools involved in the execution of the method, however they should not be considered as synonyms.

Developing strategic thinking Essay

Introduction My research interest in strategic thinking started in 1993 when I interviewed 35 senior executives for a longitudinal study on the changes in strategic planning and strategic management in large organisations between 1982 and 1993. These senior executives were responsible for strategic planning, strategic management or corporate development in 35 of the 100 largest manufacturing companies in Australia. The interviews lasted between three and four hours and one of the questions I asked concerned the problems that they had experienced with their strategic planning or strategic management approach in the preceding five years. The main problem identified by the majority of senior executives was strategic thinking. Interestingly, strategic thinking was a problem regardless of whether the companies had a formalised strategic planning system or used a non-formalised approach. For example, one senior executive from a company with a formalised strategic planning system stated: Our senior exec utives tend to get carried away by details and lose their strategic perspective. Abstract Lack of strategic thinking by senior managers has been identified as a major shortcoming in organisations. Draws on concepts in management and psychology to present a framework that can be used to remedy this situation. Argues that strategic thinking needs to be addressed at two different, but interrelated levels: the individual level and the organisational level. Organisations that successfully integrate strategic thinking at these two levels will create a critical core competency that forms the basis of an  enduring competitive advantage. Europe, East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the United States† (p. 242). The ability to think strategically, however, is crucial to remaining competitive in an increasingly turbulent and global environment. Considering that the average life expectancy of US Fortune 500 companies is only between 40 and 50 years (de Geus, 1997) and that only 49 percent of the 100 largest manufacturers in Australia in 1982 were still among the top 100 manufacturers in 1993 (Bonn and Christodoulou, 1996), the need for strategic thinking has never been greater. This paper presents a framework that can be used to increase strategic thinking in organisations. It argues that strategic thinking needs to be considered at two different, but inter-related levels. Organisations that successfully integrate strategic thinking at these two levels will create a critical core competency that forms the basis of an enduring source of competitive advantage. The debate on strategic thinking There is no agreement in the literature on what strategic thinking is. A number of authors have used the term interchangeably with other concepts such as strategic planning or strategic management. Wilson (1994) for example notes that: Similarly, a senior executive from a company without a formalised planning system reported: It is a major challenge to get our decision makers to think in strategic rather than operational terms. This lack of strategic thinking is not restricted to organisations in Australia. As research from the Institute of Directors in London has shown, 90 per cent of directors and vice-presidents â€Å"had no induction, inclusion or training to become a competent direction giver of their business† (Garratt, 1995a, p. 242). According to Garratt (1995a), this percentage â€Å"seems to hold good in The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at http://www.emerald-library.com/ft This continuing search for improvement has profoundly changed the character of strategic planning so that it is now more appropriate to refer to it as strategic management or strategic thinking (p. 14, italics in original). Other authors have focussed on strategic management processes and either stated explicitly that good strategic planning contributes to strategic thinking (Porter, 1987) or assumed implicitly that a well designed strategic management system facilitates strategic thinking within an organisation (Thompson and Strickland, 1999; Viljoen, 1994). Mintzberg (1994) suggested a clear distinction between strategic thinking and  concepts such as strategic planning. He stated that â€Å"strategic planning is not strategic thinking† (p. 107) and argued that each term focuses on a different stage in the strategy development process. In his view, strategic planning focuses on analysis and deals with the articulation, elaboration and formalisation of existing strategies. Strategic thinking, on the other hand, emphasises synthesis, using intuition and creativity to create â€Å"an integrated perspective of the enterprise† (p. 108). He claimed that strategic planning is a process that should occur after strategic thinking. Garratt (1995b) argued along similar lines. He defined strategic thinking as a process by which senior executives â€Å"can rise above the daily managerial processes and crises† (p. 2) to gain a different perspective of the organisation and its changing environments. Heracleous (1998) made the distinction between strategic planning and strategic thinking by an analogy to single-loop learning and double-loop learning. In his view, the former is analogous to strategic planning, the later to strategic thinking. He claimed that single-loop learning involves thinking within existing assumptions and taking actions based on a fixed set of potential action alternatives. Double-loop learning, in contrast, challenges existing assumptions and  develops new and innovative solutions, leading to potentially more appropriate actions. Heracleous argued that like single-loop learning and double-loop l earning, strategic planning and strategic thinking are interrelated in a dialectical process and are equally important for effective strategic management. This article supports the view that strategic thinking and strategic planning are two different concepts and that strategic planning is a process, which takes place after strategic thinking. My analysis in the following sections demonstrates that strategic thinking manifests itself at two different levels: the individual level and the organisational level. This approach integrates the micro domain’s focus on individuals and groups with the macro domain’s focus on organisations and their context. In other words, it acknowledges the influence of individual characteristics and actions on the organisational context and vice versa, the influence of the organisational context on individual thinking and behaviour. As Chatman et al. (1986) have argued: When we look at individual behaviour in organizations, we are actually seeing two entities: the individual as himself and the individual as representative of this  collectivity . . . Thus the individual not only acts on behalf of the organization in the usual agency sense, but he also acts, more subtly `as the organization’ when he embodies the values, beliefs, and goals of the collectivity. Thus, understanding strategic thinking requires a dual-level approach that investigates the characteristics of an individual strategic thinker as well as the dynamics and processes that take place within the organisational context in which the individual operates. For instance, to obtain an accurate picture of the effects of differing leadership styles on strategic thinking, we can look at their impact on individual managers and on the way they influence the wider organisational climate, culture and structure. Strategic thinking at the individual level Strategic thinking at the individual level comprises three main elements: 1 a holistic understanding of the organisation and its environment; 2 creativity; and 3 a vision for the future of the organisation. Each of these  elements will be addressed in the following sections. A holistic understanding of the organisation and its environment A crucial element of strategic thinking is the ability to take a holistic perspective of the organisation and its environment. This requires an understanding of how different problems and issues are connected with each other, how they influence each other and what effect one solution in a particular area would have on other areas. As Kaufman (1991) has expressed it: Strategic thinking is characterized by a switch from seeing the organization as a splintered conglomerate of disassociated parts (and employees) competing for resources, to seeing and dealing with the corporation as a holistic system that integrates each part in relationship to the whole (p. 69). Taking a holistic approach requires the ability to distance oneself from day-to-day operational problems and to see how problems and issues are connected to the overall pattern that underlies particular details and events. Senge (1990) has called this approach â€Å"systems thinking†. He argued that: We must look beyond personalities and events. We must look into the underlying structures which shape individual actions  and create the conditions where types of events become likely (p. 43). Such an attention to the underlying structures of complex situations requires thinking in terms of processes rather than events to enable a reconciliation of apparent contradictions and the development of innovative solutions. Mastering complexity in organisations also requires managers to be familiar with the dynamics of organisational life. Stacey (1996) argued that managers need a thorough understanding of how organisations and managerial actions  change over time and of the feedback processes that lead to such changes. This includes being sensitive to the subtle interactions between the different parts of the organisation and understanding the structural causes of behaviour and their effects on other parts of the organisation. Finally, a holistic view requires recognition that organisations are components within large and complex systems, such as markets, industries and nations. Strategic thinkers need to understand how organisations are embedded within this wider context and h ow they are influenced by the dynamics, interconnection and interdependency of these systems. Strategy is about ideas and the development of novel solutions to create competitive advantage. Strategic thinkers must search for new approaches and envision better ways of doing things. A prerequisite for this is creativity, in particular the ability to question prevalent concepts and perceptions (de Bono, 1996) and to recombine or make connections between issues that may seem unconnected (Robinson and Stern, 1997). According to Amabile (1998), creative thinking refers to â€Å"how people approach problems and solutions  ± their capacity to put existing ideas together in new combinations† (p. 79, italics in original). This involves challenging the â€Å"tyranny of the given† (Kao, 1997, p. 47) by questioning prevailing beliefs or mental models in the organisation. Senge (1990) has described mental models as â€Å"deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even pictures or images that influence how we understand the world and how we take action† (p. 8). He argues that such models are often tacit and beneath our level of awareness, yet they have a strong influence on organisational behaviour: . . . new insights fail to get put into practice because they conflict with deeply held internal images of how the world works, images that limit us to familiar ways of thinking and acting (p. 174). Thus, the ability to reflect on mental models and to challenge prevailing assumptions and core beliefs is crucial for the development of unique strategies and action programs. This requires strategic thinkers to understand their own behavioral patterns as well as existing concepts and perceptions within the organisation. Strategists should enjoy the challenge of thinking â€Å"out of the box† and of using imagination and creativity to explore whether there might be alternative ways of doing things. De Bono  (1996) has made this point very clear: Without creativity we are unable to make full use of the information and experience that is already available to us and is locked up in old structures, old patterns, old concepts, and old perceptions (p. 17). Creativity is a process that begins with the generation of ideas. As de Bono (1996) has noted . . . strategy is too often seen solely as a reduction process in which various possibilities are reduced to a sensible course of action (p. 72). Creativity Creative thinking is needed to imagine multiple possibilities and to search for alternatives to conventional approaches. The creative process also involves the selection and development of ideas. Good strategists are able to recognise the potential of a new idea at a very early stage. To visualise the value of an idea that has been put forward by people from different organisational levels might be even more important than the generation of original ideas by the strategist. As Robinson and Stern (1997) have observed: The larger the company, the more likely it is that the components of creative acts are already present somewhere in it, but the less likely it is that they will be brought together without some help (p. 15, italics in original). Finally, there is the need for translating the new idea into practice. Senior management must provide the resources that are needed to implement the idea. As Amabile (1998) has noted: . . . deciding how much time and money to give to a team or project is a sophisticated judgment call that can either support or kill creativity (p. 82) A vision for the future Strategic thinking should be driven by a strong sense of organisational  purpose and a vision of the desired future for the organisation. A genuine vision  ± as opposed to the popular â€Å"vision-statements†  ± conveys a sense of direction and provides the focus for all activities within the organisation. For Senge (1990), a genuine vision is â€Å"a calling rather than simply a good idea† (p. 142, italics in original). In his view, visions are â€Å"pictures or images people carry in their heads and hearts† (p. 206). They represent what one truly wants, based on fundamental intrinsic values and a sense of purpose that matters deeply to the people in the organisation. Evidence for the importance of a clear vision has been provided by Collins and Porras (1998). Their research showed that visionary companies outperformed nonvisionary companies significantly. One dollar invested in a general market stock fund on January 1, 1926 would have grown to 415 dollars by December 31, 1990, while the same dollar invested in a visionary company stock fund would have grown to 6,356 dollars, a difference of over 1500 percent. According to Collins and Porras (1998), the visionary companies did not attain this extraordinary long-term performance because they wrote one of the elegant vision or mission statements that have become popular in recent years. They pointed out that â€Å"Just because a company has a `vision statement’ (or something like it) in no way guarantees that it will become a visionary company!† (p. 201, italics in original). Instead, leaders in visionary companies place strong emphasis on building an organisation that has a deep understanding of its reason for existence and of its core values, those fundamental and enduring principles that guide and inspire people throughout the organisation and bind them together around a common identity. Thomas J. Watson, Jr. (1963), former IBM chief executive, made this point very clear: I firmly believe that any organization, in order to survive and achieve success, must have a sound set of beliefs on which it premises all its policies and actions (p. 5). consistent alignment (p. 229, italics in original). Developing a genuine vision and building it into the very fabric of the organisation must be a central element of the daily work of strategic thinkers. A vision that is shared throughout the organisation fosters commitment rather than compliance and creates a sense of commonality that permeates the whole organisation. It inspires people’s imagination and provides a focus that allows individuals to contribute in ways that make the most of their expertise and talents. Ultimately, as Collins and Porras have shown, a genuine vision helps to achieve superior performance in the longterm. Strategic thinking at the organisational level The organisational level provides the context in which individual strategic thinking can occur. Organisations need to create the structures, processes and systems that: 1 foster ongoing strategic dialogue among the top team; and 2 take advantage of the ingenuity and creativity of every individual employee.

Articles of Confederation vs. Constitution Essay

The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution each had their own impacts on the United States economy. It can be shown that the drafting of the Constitution reversed the control of economic authority between the national government and the states, specifically regarding the laying and levying of taxes. The stipulations of taxation are clarified in the Articles and the Constitution through Article VIII and Article I, Section 8, respectively. Both statements provide for an easy analysis of taxation considering the means of taxation and how it is assessed, who collects the taxes, and the purpose of these duties. An additional observation can be made regarding the effects of slavery on the Constitution and how that is reflective of the economic impacts of the document. With the comparison of these aspects, a conclusion can be made about the reasoning behind the change of this provision in the Articles. The American Revolution resulted in a substantial amount of debt for the United States. To finance the War of Independence, Congress had borrowed large sums of money by selling interest-bearing bonds and paying soldiers and suppliers in notes to be redeemed in the future (Foner, 200). The Continental Congress owed $42 million at the end of the revolution (Lecture #9). The states lacked a secure source of revenue, so they had to address taxation in their first written constitution, The Articles of Confederation. They used this constitution as an initial attempt to apportion taxes to the states. The Articles of Confederation primarily addresses taxation in its eighth article. According to this article, the government is levying taxes to each state as a whole, based on the value of each state. The taxes collected will be used to fund a single account to pay the charges of war. This is clarified in the document when Article VIII states that the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“common treasury which shall be supplied by the several States in proportion to the value of all land within each state.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Furthermore, the document states that any additional improvements of buildings and land will be taken into account for the estimation of the value of the respective state. This stipulation allows the assembly of Congress to increase taxes with any proportional increase in the value of the land within a state. The next  paragraph of the article refers to who will be laying and collecting these taxes. It declares that the dues will be à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“laid and levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the several States.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  The main notion to be extracted from the Articles of Confederation is the fact that Congress did not possess the power to levy taxes or regulate commerce by any means. The states retained the ability to adopt their own economic policies. Utilizing this power, several states printed sums of money in order for individuals to pay their debts (Foner, 200). In summation, Article VIII of the Articles of Confederation left Congress with very little financial power as well as a lack of a dependable source of revenue. Due to the need for better regulation of interstate commerce, a group of fifty-five delegates congregated to form the Constitutional Convention, with the objective of drafting an entirely new constitution. The Constitution completely reversed the distribution of authority, transferring numerous economic powers from the states to Congress. This is verified in the first clause of Article I, Section 8 of the document in which it affirms that Congress has the power à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Unlike the Articles of Confederation, which imposed taxes based on the value of each state, the first clause of the Constitution announced a uniform collection of duties, imposts, and excises throughout the United States. From this clause, it can be understood that these taxes will now be collected by Congress, in contrast to state legislatures. However, the purpose of the taxation remains consistent with the first constitution, as they both use the money to pay debts, provide for the common defense, and promote the general welfare of the United States. Additional clauses empowered Congress to regulate interstate and international commerce, as well as borrow and coin money. The Constitution also included conditions that barred the states from issuing paper money, levying taxes, and interfering with commerce (Foner, 205). As stated, these provisions stripped the states of the power they retained under the Articles, and bestowed them onto Congress. Moreover, an emphasis can be placed on the issue of slavery, as it had a significant impact on the economy as well. Slavery was not notably  recognized in the Articles of Confederation, but was implicitly addressed in the Constitution. One prominent acknowledgement of slavery with respect to the economy was the Three-Fifths Compromise. This proclaims that taxes shall be apportioned to States based on the sum of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  By counting slaves as property as well as three fifths of a person toward the census, people with more slaves owed more taxes (Lecture #9). Congress also found a source of revenue by allowing importation of slaves, yet taxing those that are taking them in. This is indicated in the Non-Importation Clause, which states that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“a Tax or Duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollar s for each Person (Article I, Section 9). When writing the Constitution, the national government clearly found ways to generate revenue from slavery. In addition, slavery had a large influence on the Constitutionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s impact on the United States economy. Article VIII of the Articles of Confederation may have been drastically altered into Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution for a number of reasons. The transfer of power from the state legislatures to the national government that resulted from this provision change can be proven to be a purely economic decision. Due to the overwhelming debt from the war, Congress needed a more controllable, secure source of income. Consequently, the delegates at the Constitutional Convention drafted this section to put control back into the national governmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s hands. With the Articles of Confederation, the states were separate, but equally powerful entities. One can perceive that the national government did not believe the states would be able to succeed with this system in place. The Constitution generated a more unified and collective assembly to work toward c ommon goals. This was made possible by reassigning the economic sovereignty to the national government. In conclusion, the drafting of the Constitution can be simplified to a transfer of economic power to the national government used to generate secure sources of revenue to get out of debt. The Articles of Confederation was merely too passive and vague to create a dependable taxation plan. The Constitution administered a well-defined formulation to allow an easier way for the national government to collect income. Giving Congress a substantially greater extent of economic dominance and the states more limitations, the national government was able to utilize a widespread  amount of resources to implement taxation. Clearly, the change of Article VIII to Article I, Section 8 spawned an absolute change of power from the states to the national government.