Leading Change at Simmons free essay sample

â€Å"Leading Change at Simmons† shows the importance of Organizational Behavior, having a culture that respects its employees and having a transformational leader who has a clear vision for the company. Problem Statement Simmons has lost three of its most important clients due to the economic depression post the 9/11 attacks. Its products are giving off unpleasant odor because of a low quality raw material supplied by one of its suppliers. Problems As one goes through the case, one realizes that there are a lot of problems that the company is facing, right from the lack of a clear vision to the extent of one manufacturing unit competing with the other. It clearly reflects the following sources of conflict 1. Incompatible goals 2. Diversity Analysis of Problems †¢Role Conflict and No Organizational Structure One of the major problems that the company was facing was that there was no clear organizational structure for the company and role conflict existed. We will write a custom essay sample on Leading Change at Simmons or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Most of the associates were reporting to the General Managers, who were basically Sales Managers, and who, according to Eitel, didn’t have business acumen. All the manufacturing units were running as per the General Manager’s whims. This Control vs. Commitment (Exhibit 1) situation can be clearly seen when Bob Hellyer, President and Director of Simmons, tells Eitel about the manufacturing units at Janesville and Charlotte. Lack of Implementation of Vision and Values Simmons already had four core values in place; three more were added when Eitel joined the company as its CEO. It seems that no one was following the â€Å"Simmons Code of Ethics† or the â€Å"Simmons Values. † No one was maximizing the â€Å"opportunity† to think or share and listen to others; Short Term Goals: 1. Discard the mattresses that were made up of bad foam and sue the supplier. 2. Report and communicate with partners and employees Long Term: 1. Restructure 2. Bill Wagnar should be kept in the same role.

Culture and Identity Essay Example

Culture and Identity Essay Example Culture and Identity Essay Culture and Identity Essay CULTURE AND IDENTITY WORD COUNT: 2,241 28/11/13 Introduction Culture, this is a way that an individual attaches themselves to a certain community from which they are from, a way in which an individual is brought up based on what that community believes in; according to theorists culture is the shared philosophies, ideologies, values, assumptions, beliefs, expectations, attitudes and norms that knit a community together Meek (1988, p. 57) when considering an organisation, the founder of that particular organisation is where the culture will be derived from, for example the Red Carnation Hotels culture is to make the guests feel hey are in their own home home away from home redcarnationhotels. com, (2012) this concept is embedded in all the RCH hotels. Identity is what an individual identifies themselves to be, for example depending on where they work or their state in which they find themselves in is what they will identify themselves to be. Identity can be derived from the surroundings; it defines who that person is based on where the individual was brought up; TaJfel (1978) comments on social identity and how an individual identifies themselves based on the social group they belong to; In order or this to happen the in-groups of the organisation need to reciprocate the corporate culture to the out-groups and allow assimilation to take place in order for the culture to be embedded in the individual. The essay will outline the positive and negative impacts that identity and corporate culture can cause to the hospitality industry if not incorporated correctly by the managers of the organizations, which can then cause a rejection of the culture and therefore affect an individuals performance, which in the long run will affect the organisations performance when it omes to competition. Literature Review Corporate culture and worker identity have been said to share different values, after extensive research from other theorists it has been said that culture and identity are meta-concepts Glenn (1991). Which suggest they work very closely with one another and that they are not all that different from one another; Hogg (2000) comments on how certain individuals derive their identity from the organisation, the corporate culture of the organisation is what an individual will identify themselves to be based on the values and beliefs of the corporate culture. In this essay the discussion will focus upon the complexity of corporate culture and worker identity. The way in which or discontinuous change, this is also because many theorists have sought to further identify and elaborate the theoretical constructs that underpin the concept in order to develop a more comprehensive theory of culture in organisations Ogbonna and Harris (2000, p. 33) this is to better serve the individuals who want to adapt the culture of the organisation to their own, but in order for that to happen they need to understand what the culture is. Culture cannot be defined in one particular way it has different attributes and meanings depending on what context it is used. For example Hofstead (1991, ed. 1994) defines the diversity and complexity of culture using the onion diagram which illustrates the different stages of culture and how when applied to an organisation the different practices can affect both the organisation and the individual. Managers therefore play a vital part in implementing the culture to the individuals, Cameron et al (1999) says in order for culture to be embedded in an individual managers need to reciprocate the ndividuals occupation to that of the organisational culture in this way managers need to have the ability to confer identity; for example aiding a chef to find similarities between their culture and that of the organisation. The purpose here is to identify that every organisation has a culture and this culture is what sets them apart in the competing market, in order for the culture to be used as a tool to compete with other organisations that are competing in the same sector the culture has to be embedded in every individual that is part of that particular organisation. This is because when there is a sense of unitary the organisation can function in an effect way and be able to meet or exceed its goals. Although when it comes to the hospitality industry there is always friction because of the different out-groups for example chef culture is one of the out-groups in the hospitality industry that has its own culture and deeply rooted values which in many cases will be different from the organisation. The passionate nature of the chef needs to be taken into consideration; because they perceive themselves to be artists therefore it is difficult for the rganisation to dictate the type of art that should be used that will fall in line with the culture of the organisation. Discussion There have been a number of theorists that over the years try and explain culture, for example Ogbonna (1993) in one of his papers questions whether or not culture is manageable. This however depends on the organisation that is being discussed and depending on the study it will differ from other definitions of culture; for example the culture of a motor company will differ to that of a hospitality company, he then comments on the concept of Smircichs (1983) theory of perceiving culture as is and has when viewed as something an organisation has, culture becomes a powerful organisational tool. It shapes behaviour, gives organisational members a sense of identity. Ogbonna (1993, p. 14) This suggests that culture in this concept is manageable because there is room to adapt and individuals can identify themselves with the culture and therefore can easily affiliate to the organisational culture; for example when considering a chef in the hospitality industry, its best to say a chef when given the opportunity they can identify similarities in the organisation and be he in-group and out-group processes because the out-groups will be able to identify themselves with t he culture of the in-group, this is because there is room for change and amendments, in doing so the in-group puts processes in place with which the out-groups through amalgamation can adapt to in an incremental way. When it comes to describing culture is the organisation Smircich (1983) suggest that this is not an ideal organisation in terms of implementing strategies or improvements. Ogbonna (1993) also says if culture is the organisation then there is not a lot of room o debate or give suggestions; innovation cannot be implemented in this type of phenomenon because of how deeply rooted the culture is. This suggest that the out- groups of the organisation have no choice but to adhere to the culture, in this type of organisation there is an expectancy of rejection of the culture thus implementing a discontinues change in the company, this will also affect the performance of the organisation and wont be able to compete with other organisation that are competing in the same sector. When looking at the roots of the organisation Hofstede (1991 , ed. 1994) onion diagram best describes culture is the organisation. This is because when viewing an onion it has many layers, there is no way of getting to the core of the onion without peeling off the outer layers, unless you cut it in the middle. When applying this concept to an organisation whereby culture is the organisation, it suggests how deeply rooted the culture is. The culture cannot be penetrated because of how deeply rooted it is. If for example changes had to be made to the organisation for example the out-groups of the organisation wanted to e innovative, that would be nearly impossible because if the out-groups innovation does not fall in line with the corporate culture of the organisation it will cause a disruption, and the innovation will be rejected. This is dangerous for an organisation because in order to stay in the competing market the organisation has be innovative; its also dangerous in the competitive market because the strategies can be copied by other competing markets, therefore the organisation will not have any competitive advantage in the market and in an economic downturn it will not be able to survive. In the case of culture is the organisation it is best to use a reciprocal strategy between the in-groups and the out groups. Cameron et al, (1999, p. 225) comments on the fact that a reciprocal and adversarial relationship between occupation and organisation culture is very much needed and i t is the duty of the managers to implement this strategy this is also because managers are in the best position to incorporate this strategy to unify the organisation. Before the strategy is implemented there needs to be an understanding that culture and identity are two meta-concepts; a chef is in itself an identity and a culture. The question is how a manager reciprocates a chef into the organisational culture. Turner (1982) suggests a way in which reciprocation can happen, he says in order for an individual to associate themselves with the organisation that individual needs to stop perceiving themselves from a self-perception and perceive themselves from a group- perception. Another way is Self-categorization this is a way in which a chef needs to affiliate with the organisational culture; furthermore the chef will be able to see imilarities between the organisational culture and its own which will then lead to the chef not thinking of himself as an individual but rather thinking as a group or as group of the company which has a different culture but instead they will share the same culture as the in-group in so doing the process of depersonalisation takes place. This is the way in which chefs of an organisation assimilates themselves to the in-group prototype and thus begin to share the same culture as the organisation. Not only does culture play a major role in the organisation so does identity, which rings us back to the point made earlier that culture and identity should be viewed as meta-concepts this is because culture can be viewed as an individuals identity; this is because when referring to a persons culture it is the same as referring to their identity. When it comes to an organisation many theorists comment on the fact that individuals need to assimilate to the organisations culture, part of the reason this needs to happen is because in simple terms the individual is in need of the Job because at that particular moment the Job is what is paying for that individuals eing. Another reason is that in hospitality there is a lot of competition when acquiring a Job therefore individuals need to be highly skilled and also multi-skilled which increases their probability of getting employed. In rare cases where the individual does not assimilate to the organisations culture is where the organisation is in need of that individual because of the skills that come with that individual, for example a Michelin chef would be an example of this. The reason being if the organisation wants to have a competitive advantage in the market the Michelin chef s very much needed in that organisation because of what that particular chef will contribute to the entire organisation. Conclusion In conclusion culture and identity are two concepts that are very complex and diverse, in that they need to be treated with delicacy. Both meta-concepts of the other which means are very similar to one another, there cannot be reference to culture without thinking of identity, in some cases that can happen for example when the culture is the organisation in this case it is the culture that is considered more than identity. Whereas when an organisation has a culture this is when the two oncepts work together because changes can be made to the organisation based on an identity for example having a Michelin chef changes the culture from a regular restaurant toa Michelin restaurant based on the identity of the individual. In order for the organisation to work as one unit or to become unitary, the in-groups need to reciprocate the out-groups to the corporate culture. In doing so this not only builds a strong organisation but it makes the organisation work simultaneously, thus increasing its capability in the competitive market. When it comes to the values and eliefs of the organisation that have been rooted deep within the corporate culture, this in a way can help the organisation in terms of competing in the competitive market, however it can only be effective in a case whereby it cannot be copied by another organisation. A prime example of this can be The Ritz Carlton hotel, compared to other five star hotels its one of the major hotels that does extremely well in the competitive market and has been doing so for a long time. At the end of the day theorist have tried to give a definition of the word culture and they each have not ound a meaning to it because depending on what context culture is used the meaning automatically changes, it is safe to say that culture and identity is to do with origin and from that can we apply it to different contexts to try and find its definition collected. References Journal articles Cameron, D. , Gore, J. , Desombre, T. , et al An examination of the reciprocal affects of occupation culture and organisation culture: the case of chefs in hotels. n International Journal of Hospitality Management (1999) Glenn, S. S. , 1991. Contingencies and metacontingencies: Relations among behavioural, cultural and iological evolution. In: Lamal, P. (Ed. ), Behavioural Analysis of So cieties and Cultural Practices. Hemisphere, London, pp. 39}71. Hogg, M. A. and Terry, J. D. Social identity and self categorisation processes organizational contexts in Academy Management Review (2001) Hofstede, G. , 1991. ed. 1994. Cultures and Organizations. McGraw-Hill, Maidenhead, I-JK. Meek, L. M. , 1988. Organizational culture: origins and weaknesses. Organization Studies 9 (4), 453}473. Ogbonna, E. , 1992/93. Managing organisational culture: fantasy or reality? Human resource Management 3 (2), 43}54 Ogbonna, E. , 1992/93. Managing organisational culture: fantasy or reality? Human resource Management 3 (2), 43}54 Smircich, L. , 1983. Concepts of culture and organizational analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly 28, 339}358. TaJfel, J. , 1978. Di! erentiation Between Social Groups. Academic Press, London. Turner, J. C. 1982. Towards a cognitive redefinition of the social group. In H. TaJfel (Ed. ), Social identity and inter- group relations: 15-40. Cambridge: Cambridge Univer- sity Press. Website Redcarnationhotels . (2012) . The RCH story. Retrieved from http:// www. redcarnationhotels. com/about-us/the-rch-story

Causes of Teenage Suicide

Causes of Teenage Suicide Essay Teenage suicide is one of the major problems in our society nowadays. Parents struggle to hold their children from a rash venture, but they have no idea that every child is an individual with overwhelming feelings, emotions, and thoughts. While there are plenty of argumentative and expository articles on the Internet with explanation and instruction concerning prevention of teen suicide, parents should find a way with their children, be calm and let their children understand that they can trust their parents. Outline1 Introduction: What is teen suicide?2 What are the causes and effects?3 Conclusion Introduction: What is teen suicide? The majority of people does not really know why teens end up falling back on suicide attempts. They know only the information presented by the media. According to mass media, suicide attempts are common among those teens who suffer depression, violence, abuse, any form of bullying and anxiety. However, if people turned to social sciences such as psychology, sociology or anthropology, they would understand that this problem lies deeper than they thought. Teen suicide has different meanings in different societies. People in our society usually think about suicide as the way to escape problems or as the only solution of all the problems that teens face in their adolescent years. But in other societies, as for example in Micronesia, the youth treats the suicide just the same as smoking or another way to express themselves. According to Gladwell, in Micronesia, teenagers like to experiment with the death just as our youngsters with smoking. Boys and girls in that areas think about suicide as some kind of game. They hang themselves or put their heads in a noose just to entertain themselves. Therefore, there is a risk that they will die from anoxaemia, just as our teens would die from lung cancer and other diseases. What are the causes and effects? From the point of view of anthropology, the youth of the First Nations and other indigenous peoples decide to commit suicide not only because of the depression or stress but because of drink or drug abuse, caused by the cultural and societal collapse. These people are no longer able to control their lives because of the immigrants and governmental laws. It decreases the sense of human worth and life in general and increases the rate of teen suicide. When it comes to sociology, the scientists are certain that the origins of the teen suicide among the First Nations youth are traced back to times when the government tried to assimilate indigenous people to Canadian and European ones. The government established facilities that were oriented on integration and assimilation of Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal people. Such a policy has changed and embittered lives of thousands of people causing irreparable harm for the next generations. It has created a sense of inferiority and deprivation of rights among the youth. Such a cultural collapse has evaluated the importance of lives for the indigenous people nowadays and increase the rate of teen suicide. Psychologists, as representatives of one of the social sciences, have their own explanation and understanding of the suicide.   The psychological state of the individual is the most important aspect when it comes to suicide. One of the causes why the Indigenous people choose death can be the fact that they are not able to satisfy their needs when it comes to accommodation, fitting in society and cultural respect. Moreover, they   don’t feel safe and secure in the environment they are living. The lack of understanding, love, relationships, and sense of belonging leads to an emotionally unstable state. Negative thoughts are overwhelming, the feeling of grief and uselessness prevails causing people to think that they lost their identity and death is the only solution. READ: LInk between homeless and psychological disorders EssayIn his book, M. Gladwell stated that the suicide is committed under the influence of the contagious effect. In some countries, the suicide has become the way of showing your identity and individuality. Gladwell claims that as soon as the media started the publication of suicide stories, the suicide rate has rapidly increased. The research has shown that those under the action of contagious effect, died in the same way as the people by whose death they had been influenced. As Gladwell states, the publication of the suicide story where the victim died in car crash resulted in a growing number of such accidents. Conclusion As a conclusion, it is necessary to admit that teenage suicide is an irretrievable loss for families, friends, colleagues, colleges, and schools. The effects that close people suffer after such losses include depression, the feeling of regret and grief. They are no longer able to live lives to the fullest. To prevent such a loss, parents should always be kind to their children and treat them as individuals. Love, respect, care, understanding, and trust are the most important constituents of the upbringing of your child. Provide your children with the right insight of the world and point out the important values in life in order to set them on the right track.

Critically evaluate the approach an organisation of your choice has Assignment

Critically evaluate the approach an organisation of your choice has adopted to strategic HRM - Assignment Example The company has an effective human resource management department that continues to employ various human resource management strategies and theories thereby enhancing the company’s profitability and growth, as has been the case within the past few years as the discussion below portrays. Dessler, (2000) explains that human resource management is a vital management function of an organization often mandated with the maximization of the productivity of the employees in the organization thus enhancing the company’s profitability. Google continues to portray the importance and need for effective management of the human resource owing to their importance in sustaining the profitability and longevity of the company. As such, the company continues to employ varied strategies to motivate the employees besides creating a conducive work environment, one in which the employees maximize their productivity. Human resource management at Google just as in any other company is a policy issue. The company continues to formulate and employ various policies to govern the human resource management with the view to enhancing the company’s profitability. Google’s human resource management department has systems and resources, which it uses to monitor the productivity of the employees. The department therefore deploys such resources appropriately in creating an appropriate organizational culture to incorporate productivity as part of the culture. The company uses both human relations and human resources theories in creating a holistic organizational culture. This way, the company has succeeded in creating a friendly yet competitive working environment. The company focuses on the interests of the employees thereby creating a working environment that accommodates the diversity in the society. The company has a unique organizational culture that unites the diverse cultures of the more than forty thousand employees in over forty countries throughout the

Case Study#5 Let the Committee Decide Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

#5 Let the Committee Decide - Case Study Example However, in any learning institution the decisions are vital since they impact the learners, teachers and community (P.2, L.24). Principals, often don’t advocate the model since it leaves only a few people within the school committee with the power to make decisions that affect the entire administration. According to them, this initiative directly undermines the principles administrative role, limits creativity and general commitment. Possible perceived advantages of dividing administrative functions into organizational units include: allowing for more targeted governance within the organizational divisions. The division of responsibilities will guarantee accountability and efficiency in administrative roles. As well as provide an opportunity in measuring individual performance of the appointed management. The cons of dividing administrative funding include less self-sustainability - in that smaller sections often tend to face challenges in regards to human and natural resource available to carry out the organizational tasks. Since, they are still dependent on the central body for regular funds and resources. They are also known to affect the unity since some of the management, divisions and distributions of resources choices are bias, and this will ultimately affect unity and lead to in fights. The perceived advantages of committee panel making administrative decisions include the commonly identified aspect of automatically gaining access to the accumulative group knowledge which results in an advantage to the organization. In addition, it makes the decisions more professional and due to its participative nature can contribute to the general satisfaction of the teachers. On the other hand, the perceived disadvantages with using committees for decision making include. The members tend to shift towards extreme or exaggerated decisions, in that person acting as a committee often seem to make decisions that individuals

The Cruel and Bitter Miss Havisham in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens :: Great Expectations Charles Dickens

The Cruel and Bitter Miss Havisham in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens At one point in the novel, Dickens tells the reader that Miss. Havisham was a wonderful, beautiful woman and is considered to be a great match. In contrast, when the reader first meets her she is a frightful old woman who cares about nothing but herself. She is determined to live her life in self-pity and seek revenge on all men. In the novel, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Miss Havisham is established as a cruel and bitter old woman trapped in the past, nearly a century ago, when she was abandoned on her wedding day, and is now raising an adopted daughter to seek revenge on all men by breaking their hearts however, near the end of the novel when she converses with Pip about his love for her daughter over the years, it is evident to her after that she has made a dreadful mistake and changes most drastically before she dies. "I had heard of Miss Havisham up town-everybody for miles round had heard of Miss Havisham up town as an immensely rich and grim lady who lived in a large and dismal house barricaded against robbers and led a life of seclusion." Even before meeting Miss. Havisham the reader is introduced to her and has an idea of what she is all about. Anyone who lives secluded from society for years is going to be considered eccentric. The town perceptibly gossips about her since everyone has heard of her. The first time Dickens has the reader meet Miss. Havisham is through Pip. The young boy is told to go visit her and play and as he sees the house he describes it in bleak detail. As he is led to Miss. Havisham through the dark halls by her daughter, Estella, the tone of the house is set. There are cobwebs, antique furniture, and clocks all stopped at twenty minutes to nine. Finally Miss. Havisham is introduced. She is seen in her once white, now yellow, wedding dress. All of this description, the old house, the clocks, the wedding dress, explains how Miss. Havisham was left on her wedding day many years ago and that was when her life stopped. She even says as Pip is leaving, "There, there! I know nothing of days of the week; I know nothing of weeks of the year. Come again after six days. You hear?" Dickens creates the house and Miss. Havisham as a unity. The condition and aspect of the house shows the gloom in her mind. The way the house is dark is just fuel for her desire to seek The Cruel and Bitter Miss Havisham in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens :: Great Expectations Charles Dickens The Cruel and Bitter Miss Havisham in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens At one point in the novel, Dickens tells the reader that Miss. Havisham was a wonderful, beautiful woman and is considered to be a great match. In contrast, when the reader first meets her she is a frightful old woman who cares about nothing but herself. She is determined to live her life in self-pity and seek revenge on all men. In the novel, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Miss Havisham is established as a cruel and bitter old woman trapped in the past, nearly a century ago, when she was abandoned on her wedding day, and is now raising an adopted daughter to seek revenge on all men by breaking their hearts however, near the end of the novel when she converses with Pip about his love for her daughter over the years, it is evident to her after that she has made a dreadful mistake and changes most drastically before she dies. "I had heard of Miss Havisham up town-everybody for miles round had heard of Miss Havisham up town as an immensely rich and grim lady who lived in a large and dismal house barricaded against robbers and led a life of seclusion." Even before meeting Miss. Havisham the reader is introduced to her and has an idea of what she is all about. Anyone who lives secluded from society for years is going to be considered eccentric. The town perceptibly gossips about her since everyone has heard of her. The first time Dickens has the reader meet Miss. Havisham is through Pip. The young boy is told to go visit her and play and as he sees the house he describes it in bleak detail. As he is led to Miss. Havisham through the dark halls by her daughter, Estella, the tone of the house is set. There are cobwebs, antique furniture, and clocks all stopped at twenty minutes to nine. Finally Miss. Havisham is introduced. She is seen in her once white, now yellow, wedding dress. All of this description, the old house, the clocks, the wedding dress, explains how Miss. Havisham was left on her wedding day many years ago and that was when her life stopped. She even says as Pip is leaving, "There, there! I know nothing of days of the week; I know nothing of weeks of the year. Come again after six days. You hear?" Dickens creates the house and Miss. Havisham as a unity. The condition and aspect of the house shows the gloom in her mind. The way the house is dark is just fuel for her desire to seek

Land for Human Needs or Endangered Animals

Some people may own the idea that since animal is inferior to human beings, human has the rights to deprive lands which the animals living in. I can not confute that human needs lands eagerly, however, we still have the responsibility to call back the endangered animals. Species evolved slowly with thousands of hundreds of centuries of development. Certain species has certain type of living. As a result, hardly can it be alive when we suddenly changed its living pace. Certainly we know it, whereas, we are still changing their living place by cutting down trees, polluting the water, and using land which originally belongs to theirs to build metropolitans for us to stay. Now that human can be aware of the danger the animals are facing, we should protect the habitats of endangered animals. Another important reason to protect endangered animals is that they keep the ecological balance of the very area which might be harmed by their extinction. For instance, if people destroy the forests the birds are living in and use it for growing crops, the number of pests will increase sharply, resulting from the decrease of birds. The result is, not only did birds lose their homes, human have also be harmed. Thus, to prevent this kind of tragedy happen, why not try to cut down the demand of land? Maybe you just did a tiny thing, but you made a big progress. Moreover, I think it is cruel to show the specimen of a panda to our descendants, or point to a sample in a museum and tell them this is the Siberian tiger. We are able to see the real one while they cannot, and the cause of this inequality is owing to the destruction of land. What a shame! Therefore, I cannot agree with the idea that human needs for farmland, housing, and industry are more important than saving land for endangered animals.