The Quarrel About Historical Explanation :: essays research papers

The Quarrel About Historical Explanation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The discussion of the philosophical question of historical explanation is in reality a disagreement concerning the nature of the philosophic method.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are primarily two sides taken in this argument, those who agree with Carl Hempel and those that do not.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Hempel a historical event is only sufficiently explained when it logically fits a set of confirmed pre-existing conditions along with some universal laws.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Certainly all things cannot easily be assigned to rules and laws. Political coups, assassinations and revolutions are too complex for such a rigid explanation. And who is to say what perquisites there are for situations. Certainly there is no one who can predict every instance of a given event, there are just too many variables.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hempel then notes that Historians are seldom able to stick to his procedure and at best can only make an explanation sketch. Hempel seems to be saying then, that the majority of explanations surrounding historical events are inadequate and incomplete.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are three main divisions of anti-Hempelians. There are those that agree with Hempel to the point that there are rules and general laws that can be followed, but a historian's explanation is adequate if all he can provide is a sketch. The second group states that the general laws are not necessary and as long as the explanation provides an understandable narrative, it is complete. The final group believes that only one condition is necessary, and if more information is needed, one only needs to elaborate on that one condition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Hempelians and the anti-Hempelians both have common ground. They are both engaged in the philosophy of history, but this is where the agreement stops for even the groups starting points are different.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hempelians give their explanations to answer the question of why something happened. Their objective is to replace curiosity with understanding. For this to happen both the laws and general rules given must logically agree. In other words you must be able to deduce the answer after given the laws and rules.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It would not be enough for a Hempelian to hear that conditions led up to an event. He must know himself that these conditions are causes, and he'll know this only if the conditions are widely known or confirmed causes of said event. These conditions must not only be confirmed but true or the explanation would merely be an exercise in futility.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An anti-Hempelian's problem with all of this is summarized in that historians do not use such methods to do their explaining, even if they did an explanation may not result, and finally historians are doing a very fine job

Focus on Siemens AG Company

There is a state of ambivalence over bribery in organizations. Some people regard bribery as a type of pecuniary corruption since it involves the transfer of money or any form of gift aimed at altering the behaviour of the recipient (Dowling 2008). In deed the Black’s law Dictionary defines bribery as a form of crime that involves giving, offering, soliciting for or receiving any item that has value in order to manipulate the actions of a person or official performing a certain duty (Dowling 2008).In this case, what makes bribery bad is the fact that the person receiving the bribe may act in a manner that would be detrimental to other operations in an organizations or related organizations. Such operations may include substandard services in which the bribery is used to protect the parties involved (Dowling 2008). On the other hand, some people view bribery as an act that is part of development ambitions in organizations. For instance, Lemieux (2005) argues that many countries whose underground economies have grown could not be where they are today were it not for bribery.And this seems to be the secret behind many organizations such as Siemens AG, which have to deal with authorities in terms of taxation and other legal requirements. Along this line, Lemieux (2005) opines that it is often not possible, or it is very costly, for a company or an individual to escape the restrictions and other prohibitions that are prerequisites to operation of business. Lemieux (2005) also notes that bribery in organizations is a phenomenon that cannot be easily gotten rid of because it is perfectly impossible to enforce the measures required to maintain a bribery-free business environment.Instead, the stricter measures to stop bribery in many organizations only serve to amplify the phenomenon (Lemieux 2005). Cash bribes are often used as donations to many political parties, and non-cash bribes may also be used to seek support in certain business ventures. Thus, according to Lemieux (2005), there is a common dictum among organizations: bribe them (the authorities) if you want to do peaceful business. Siemens AG was a company of high repute as the largest engineering firm in Europe, but its image was clouded when it ventured into bribery in order to expand its operations (OECD 2005).As discussed in this paper, Siemens AG was involved in massive bribery deals both locally and internationally in a bid to maintain a good image of the corporation as a global leader in engineering (Economist. com). But as further discussed, bribery is not only expensive but also a phenomenon that can tarnish the name of a company given the fines that Siemens AG had to pay and the numerous apologies it had to make ( Economist. com). The company also had to suspend many of its staff who were allegedly involve in the bribery claims, thus slowing down its vigour in the market (Economist.com). This makes bribery a topic that is amenable to further discussion as to whether it is a mechanism to advance the operations of a business or it is a vice that should be abhorred by organizations if they want to be successful. The Siemens AG Bribery Scandals Siemens AG’s slogan â€Å"Be Inspired† of the mid-1990s was perhaps of the most inspiring slogans to have been used by leading organizations in the world (Economist. com). However, the inspiration later turned out to involve murky deals aimed at promoting the company globally.So did the managers of the company lack the inspiration to build the company or they were just inspired to build it using alternative means? Siemens AG’s managers were involved in mischievous ways of funnelling huge sums of money to corrupt leaders of many authorities and politician the world over (OECD 2005). The methods used in the bribery cases were just astounding. According to Economist. com, the company bribed its subjects with a lot of trust and candour that no one could figure out the vice in many business transa ctions.To facilitate the bribery operations, the company set up three â€Å"cash desks† in its offices from which the bribery operations were performed (OECD 2005). Company employees would bring empty suitcases to the desks, which would be filled with cash in a manner that could raise no suspicion. As a result of such deals, as much as â‚ ¬1 million or $1. 4 million was withdrawn at different times to facilitate securing of contracts for Siemens AG’s telecoms equipment division (OECD 2005).The cash desks for bribery deals operated on honour mechanisms and not many questions were asked about the operations, nor was proof documentation required (Economist. com). In addition, managers who made application for money from the company were allowed to approve their requests without following due procedures (Economist. com). In fact, by the year 1999 Siemens AG was openly claiming tax deductions to cater for bribes, and the dealings were recorded in accounts books as useful expenditure (Economist. com).In the context of the bribery deals, it is worthwhile to note that Siemens AG considered bribery as a business venture aimed at widening its scope of operations. As a matter of fact, Siemens AG spent about $67 million in â€Å"suitcases† between 2001 and 2004 (OECD 2005). Nevertheless, according to OECD (2005), the people involved in the bribery transactions felt confident about what they were doing and knew that there was nothing wrong. The point here is that bribery was considered as a normal activity that required no questioning.The seemingly conducive culture of bribery continued with illicit payments even after Germany had banned bribing of foreign officials in the year 1999 (Balzli, Deckstein & Schmitt 2007). Thus, when Siemens AG listed its shares on United States’ New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2001 and it was subjected to stringent American anti-bribery measures, the managers desisted from counting cash in office (Balzli, Decks tein & Schmitt 2007). Instead, they turned to the use of cash cheques to perform the same operations.The cheques were deposited in various accounts but the company did not keep records in its own books so that it could make more nefarious payments (Balzli, Deckstein & Schmitt 2007). In order to disguise the underhand operations, Siemens AG managers outsourced most of its accounts works to â€Å"business consultants† so that no it would not be culpable in any secret operation would be unearthed (Economist. com). In bid to cover their operations further, the managers of the company used more eccentric mean to avoid being found (Balzli, Deckstein & Schmitt 2007).When they authorised the bribery payments, they used removable sticky notes, which would be easily destroyed to conceal all evidence of any transaction (Fernando & Bellamkonda 2007). The sums of money transferred by the managers of Siemens AG were staggering. According to Balzli, Deckstein and Schmitt (2007), a total of $805 million was handed over by the company to foreign officials in bribes. The money handed out was aimed at ensuring that Siemens won as many contracts as it could in many foreign markets (Economist. com).In other instances, the bribes were meant to woo labour representatives in supervisory areas to support Siemens AG policies when they would obviously need to rejected (Fernando & Bellamkonda 2007). Along this line, Fernando and Bellamkonda (2007) note that the German government’s stance on bribery was perhaps a contributing factor in Siemens AG’s underhand operations. This is because many companies understood that the German law and even the law in many other OECD countries permitted bribery and even offered subsidies to companies in order to enhance their operations in spite of the huge sums of money given out in form of bribes.Implications of the bribery cases When the Siemens AG bribe scandals were unearthed between 2006 and 2007, it was dubbed the â€Å"$2 bill ion bribes-for-business scandal† (Bushan 2008). When the details of scandal spilled out, German authorities raised siemens AG’ s offices in Germany an further investigations were initiated in countries such as the United States, Italy, Greece, and Switzerland where the company hand major investments (Bushan 2008). What followed were court suits, apologies, and a general decline in the company’s performance.The first reaction by the company managers was a fallout in which the CEO, Heinrich von Pierer and head of the company’s supervisory board, known as Klaus Kleinfeld, resigned in spite of the fact that they were not directly implicated (Bushan 2008). On December 15 2008, Siemens AG agreed with its host country Germany and the United States to pay them $1. 34 billion in response to bribe charges (Dowling et al 2008). This ended a two-year inquiry that had been made by the German Government to Siemens AG officials all over the world.In the agreement, Siemen s AG paid â‚ ¬395 million to settle to the German Government’s inquiry expenses and a further $800 million as the charges raised by the United States Security Exchange Commission (Dowling et al 2008). In addition, Siemens AG pleaded guilty to flouting the United States anti-bribery laws, which resulted into a penalty of a further $1. 36 billion (Dowling et al 2008). In an attempt to recover the massive losses, Siemens AG sued eleven of its former board executives led by Heinrich von Pierer and Klaus Kleinfeld (Dowling et al 2008).The new management of Siemens said that the action was meant to seek compensation from the former managers for damages that the company incurred as a result of their wanton actions (Dowling et al 2008). Some of the damages that were inflicted on Siemens and which the company would take time to recover from included a fall in the company’s share price by 23 cent to â‚ ¬47. 15 on the Frankfurt stock market. In addition, Siemens’s st ock in the market plummeted by 56 per cent in 2008 (Dowling et al 2008). What the Bribery Scandal in Siemens AG means about Bribery in OrganizationsGiven that the law in Germany and other OECD countries was somehow supportive of bribery, the efforts by the German Government to investigate the bribery claims can be considered to have been aimed at dignifying international laws on trade and laws against bribery (Dowling et al 2008). This is particularly true since other countries such as the United States, Greece, Italy and Switzerland were involved. According to Lemieux (2005), countries usually support corporations that have significant influence on the magnitude of their gross national product, as was the case of Siemens in Germany.Here, the fact that the German government provided subsidies to Siemens AG to facilitate its bribery payments cannot be gainsaid and is a clear pointer that even the though the government reacted, its officials had been well aware of the underhand operat ions. The Siemens AG bribery case also points out the weaknesses in governments when it comes to dealing with giant corporations. It is particularly worthy noting that Europe is still miles behind the United States when dealing with corruption cases particularly bribery (Georgiev 2008).According to a further analysis in Economist. com, Siemens invited group of lawyers from a United States firm called Debevoise & Plimpton to represent it with the hope that doing so would make it win sympathisers and have its name cleared from the bribery scandal. Nevertheless, this move made things even worse as the lawyers carried out a private investigation that cost the company a further â‚ ¬204 million. Thus, according to Economist. com, an investigation by German investigators would not have unravelled as much.Although Siemens AG paid many fines, the amount of money cannot equal the damage it did to markets both locally and at the international level. Considering the fact that Siemens AG was used to paying bribes, the fines were just meant to polish the name of the company. Nevertheless, other companies lost several contracts due to Siemens AG’s bribery (Balzli, Deckstein & Schmitt 2007). This perhaps is the worst effect of the bribery claims as companies that seemingly would have been more competent than Siemens AG were denied the chance to compete for tenders due to the bribe mask.This shows how unpopular companies are treated unfairly at the expense of pleasing giant companies, which have the ability to finance illegal operations. Siemens AG was able to influence market policies through bribery and this therefore leaves a question of whether the giant organizations of the world actually reach the top through excellent performance or through underhand deals as portrayed by firm. According to Economist. com, the confession by Siemens AG of involvement in bribery was triggered not by the fact that bribery is a vice in the organizational environment.Rather, it was due to the realization that the company was bound to lose a major market in the United States- which was firmly against the deals, as well as other markets in Greece, Italy, and Switzerland. A question that arises therefore is what would have happened had the bribery scandal not been raised in the public limelight. Would Siemens AG have been praised as a company that has roots all over the world and experiencing rapid growth to necessitate government subsidies, or would it have been criticised to have grown based on underhand operations?Probably the answer lies in viewing bribery a vice and not an incentive within organizations, and realizing that fair competition should not involve bribery. Conclusion Bribery in organizations is viewed with different standpoints depending on the effect it has on the respective organizations. For large organizations such as Siemens AG, bribery is seen as a mechanism to augment expansion since restrictions such as laws are avoided. Nevertheless, the adverse effects of bribery include massive fines against the organizations involved and a significant corporate damage as was realized in the case of Siemens AG. ReferencesBalzli, B, Deckstein, D & Schmitt J 2007, New Report Details Far-Reaching Corruption, Spiegel Online International, Available from http://www. spiegel. de/international/0,1518,462954,00. html (16 March 2009) Bhushan, A 2008, Bribes-for-Business: Siemens AG Sues 11 former management board executives, CEOWORLD Magazine, Available from http://ceoworld. biz/ceo/2008/07/31/bribes-for-business-siemens-ag-sues-11-former-management-board-executives/ (16 March 2009) Dowling, P; Welch, D E ; Festing, M & Engle A D 2008, International human resource management: managing people in a multinational context, Cengage Learning EMEA, New YorkEconomist. com, 17 Dec 2008, The stench of bribery at Siemens signals a wider rot in Europe, Available from http://www. economist. com/business/displaystory. cfm? story_id=12800474 (16 March 2 009) Fernando, R & Bellamkonda, B 2007, The Bribery Scandal at Siemens AG, Available from http://www. caseplace. org/d. asp? d=375 (16 March 2009) Georgiev, P K 2008, Corruptive patterns of patronage in SE Europe, VS Verlag, London Lemieux, P 2006, In defense of bribery, Available from http://mises. org/story/1884 (16 March 2009) OECD 2005, Fighting corruption and promoting integrity in public procurement, OECD Publishing, London

Effective Educational Leader Essay Sample

Effective Educational Leader Essay Sample Effective Educational Leader Essay Sample Effective Educational Leader Essay Sample The ability to lead is inborn only in 5% percent of the population. The rest should either follow the group or develop the key leader ship characteristics. Perhaps, the majority would prefer the second option, yet, not everyone is that talented. The rareness of the ability to lead makes it an important and desirable feature for many people. The leadership is even more important in the school settings where each student aims at achieving high levels. A systematic approach to learning processes as well as managing diverse teams becomes crucial for the future of the children today and adults tomorrow. These children will choose the President and determine the trends for the upcoming days. Therefore, they have to be guided in a quite wise manner by the professionals. Otherwise, the system will be ruined and the talents would be lost. The educational leadership plays a key role in motivating, encouraging, stimulating, and challenging the practices of pedagogy. It refers to many endeavors involving the reflections and inquiries that significantly impact the interactions among the communities, educators, parents, and children. Thus, educational leadership matters. This MA program is believed to prepare professionals who would be able to lead or occupy leadership positions in the communities, schools, districts, states, universities, etc. The curriculum provides critical assessment of the conceptual, organizational, managerial, social, political, and other dimensions that are inherent for the leading schools. The further analysis of these techniques and their implementation would allow increasing educational opportunities for children and youth residing in both urban and rural communities. The overall aim of the MA students is to learn how to enhance the opportunities for the children and youth through the programs that are linked to the practices important in everyday life. Leadership Strengths Self-Appraisal Considering inborn leadership and developed characteristics, I dare say that the following are inherent for my leadership style. The first advantage refers to my natural charisma. This is an issue that I exactly know when I need to apply my inborn charisma, and when I can simply let it shine through. In fact, I consider this feeling to be even more important than simply having charisma. To be honest, I use this natural ability very often as it can help to achieve considerable success. I always feel the moment when the situation is the most suitable and when there is a need for letting others, who are less charismatic or shy, shine. In addition to the mentioned, I consider myself to be able to communicate freely without any barriers and, if needed, to criticize people in a rather constructive way.   Moreover, I always provide a feedback, especially the positive one. In my opinion, it is a good model for cooperation, sharing, and goodwill. All of it would definitely be contributing f or my success as an educational leader. Moreover, I have good manners which make people like me at first glance. Sometimes, I guess I have a heightened feeling of charm or special style, which attracts others. Perhaps, the main reason for this is the fact that most of the time I am rather attentive to the non-verbal means of communication. Using it, I always try to encourage people, to motivate them, to provide them with certain amount of energy, and to allow them to feel my sympathy and loyalty when needed. Thus, I hope that they feel my caring about them. Furthermore, I have drive or dynamism that leaders need. This reflects my inner metal power that helps me to continue going. Additionally, I am well organized and can control my temper. There are practically no barriers in communication with others. I used to give feedbacks and criticize people in a constructive way providing them alternatives. In my opinion, such a constructive yet inspiring method of indicating one’s mistakes makes the world a better place and helps to remove everything secondary. I can cope with stressful management. I am not hasty in making decisions. Finally, I am sympathetic with regard to others, and this makes me rather tolerant person. The Attitudes, Behaviors and Skills that Ensure the Effective Educational Leadership In terms of the leadership appraisal provided above, there are a lot of things that should be mastered in order to become a qualified educational leader. They primarily refer to the building of four dimensions: the enhancement of the instructional leadership skills, the development of the unique management style (as provided below), the ability to build the community, and the ability to create the vision. The instructional leadership provides some features of character that are either inborn or needed to be developed. First of all, effective educational leaders have to improve their qualifications on ongoing basis. The frequent methods of learning and counseling and other educational assistance become outdated with time. Thus, in order to ensure that the children are guided by the best techniques possible, this theoretical background of the leadership should be reviewed repeatedly. Secondly, the leaders themselves have to understand, realize, and accept the commitment to academic success of all students, especially those who are struggling for learning new things. An effective educational leader must also have an efficient communication system within school facilities. The teachers, students, administration, etc should provide feedbacks. All of this is important to ensure two- or multiway communication and interaction that would help to address the emerging challenges immediately. Special attention is to be paid to the feelings and perceptions of the students as they are usually in their most vulnerable age, and everything should be explained to them in a wise manner. The traumas that could be acquired at this age might influence their entire lives. Thus, the educational leader should encourage the interactions among teachers and students as well as school administration. And, therefore, it requires certain skills to be learned and sharpened by a successful educational leader. The concept of the instructional leadership also provides such a behavioral pattern when educational leader is engaged in educational practices (Green, 2012). They are frequently recommended not only to observe learning process but also to be engaged in and to monitor the reactions of the group. All if would help to recognize moods and expectations of the students and take steps to meet their expectations towards learning process. Most importantly, the leaders should develop some new rules. That is all that educational leadership is about. The leaders have to show positive examples and encourage others to take responsibilities. They also should defend others so the latter realize their own initiatives that would positively impact community or even the whole country they live in. The educational leader has to strengthen the community where he or she operates and to contribute to developing cohesiveness among its residents. The role of educational leaders widens together with the need for building strong relations inside certain community. Naturally, the traditional approach of top-down decisions could not be applicable under the conditions of the modern society. The traditional community is filled with teachers, leaders, students, parents, etc, and the mission of an educational leader is to reach synergy in his/her efforts in order to achieve common goals. Thus, the communication is crucial for educational leaders, and these skills are to be developed at the highest level possible. Finally, a vision of an ultimate goal has to be established by the leader that everyone follows. The goal-setting is quite challenging process as it involves audit of the current resources and drawing of the action plan off these resources. The actions are frequently limited by various factors, thus the educational leader should learn how to retrieve maximum utility from the resources available at the moment. Management Style The effective educational leader has to ensure that the personnel are managed properly and that the conflicts are resolved in a timely manner. To ensure that the leader should adopt strategy of building strong and cohesive team, be able to produce new initiatives, set the procedures for the conflict settlement, and, finally, elaborate the plan for dealing with the resistance to changes that are introduced within the educational environment. The challenges that are faced by educational leaders may vary by a group of educators or by the rules of the schools, academic communities, etc. However, the most serious issue that concerns all leaders is their ability to engage in, effectively manage, and motivate their followers or team members. It is particularly important when the entire educational personnel are given the task or project which is to be performed with the help of all members’ efforts. Moreover, the success of it depends on how much energy and creativity such educators are going to produce. There are no issues that will reach the stage of its implementation if group members are uninterested in its development. At this point, the lack of motivation or focus on work might cause the decrease in productivity. Thus, the goal of the successful educational leader is to engage everyone into activities in the most productive way. Productive educators are easily recognizable. First of all, they know their goals and use wisely all the resources given to them. The effective use of time, skills, and abilities of everyone is their key priority. Any worker gets his/her orders and is responsible for a certain part of work. At the same time, those activities, which require team efforts, are performed in groups where the guidance is made through the orders of an educational leader. They are not prohibited from criticizing the results of others, and their ideas are born during hot discussions in which virtually every member of the group actively participates. Even if there is a glimpse of disagreement, it is considered as a good thing. The atmosphere the personnel operate in is rather comfortable, informal, and relaxing. In order to realize all the things described above, an effective educational leader should introduce the following steps. First of all, he/she must establish the goal or task that is to be reached through the joint efforts of the whole team. Secondly, he/she must introduce the rules of a game or, in other words, explain how the process of achieving common goal will be implemented. He/she determines the tasks being performed separately and the areas of work needing joint activities. In addition to this, an effective leader should determine strengths and weaknesses of his team members at first sight. Moreover, he/she has to divide duties accordingly to ensure the high productivity of the team. All of these will simultaneously make the team cohesive and the tasks oriented towards many common activities. This will also prevent the conflicts due to the existence of clear rules for everyone to follow. The conflict is defined as the â€Å"interaction of interdependent people who perceive opposition goals and values, and who see the other party as potentially interfering in their realization† (Green, 2012). In case the conflict occurs, the following steps should be taken. First, the dispute should be assessed in terms of its intensity, clarity, longevity, etc. The golden rule in this regard is that the conflict should be resolved in a timely manner. A hidden conflict equals to time bomb; and the longer it remains unresolved, the more disastrous the consequences of its explosion may be (Green, 2012). Definitely, there is no such a way that would allow decreasing and minimizing all the conflicts. They are an integral part of any daily routine, and they help in identifying the truth. In case of their occurrence, an educational leader should identify the positions of the parties involved and their key arguments. Afterwards, he/she has to make decisions either solely or together w ith the board. The latter is viewed as the means of a more objective way for conflict resolution as more people are involved, and it is harder to bribe them all. Therefore, this method of dealing with conflicts is recommended for the introduction within school settings. Finally, an effective educational leader should develop strategies in order to cope with the change resistance. The reasons for resistance to changes vary. Therefore, it is rather silly to infer that somebody is reluctant to simply change his/her private reasons or character inclinations. The truth lies in the middle. Some individuals are just afraid of anything unfamiliar due to their temperament, while others are not ready to face new challenges due to poor management of changes implementation. People resist changes because of mistrust and individual predisposition towards these changes. It should be noted that educational leaders can significantly decrease the resistance to changes while applying the techniques and following the models that help employees to go through transitional period. They should serve as the means of communicating messages of change. On the other hand, such leaders are those who can provide the board with the feedbacks received from employees being of great importance for change-implementation process and needing to be addressed to immediately. There are a lot of approaches an effective educational leader might use in order to overcome change resistance. For example, he/she might offer the educators to participate in change-introducing process. In accordance with one of the studies conducted recently, the degree to which employees are engaged in change-implementing process significantly impacts the rate of change resistance. The results showed that those employees, who actually were provided with the opportunity to suggest the changes introduced, offer no resistance later. Thereafter, those others are simply ordered to perform their work activities in a different way dropped by two thirds by the end of the first month after the changes were introduced. Therefore, in order to minimize the risks of change resistance, one can simply involve the personnel into the process of decision-making in terms of introducing the changes. Expected Outcomes In conclusion, all of the skills, behaviors, attitudes, and management styles that have been mentioned above create a comprehensive strategy. The latter is to be followed in order to develop strong educational leadership. It represents the puzzle where every element is important in finishing the masterpiece. Thus, the communication serves many purposes from explaining the reasons and the benefits of the changes to the discoveries of the underlying thoughts and considerations regarding the ideas collected from the students. The ability to organize team and make it cohesive and strong will be important for the productive and fruitful cooperation of everyone in reaching their common goal. The unique management style that provides the engagement of the employees, the strategies for change resistance and conflict resolutions would help to eliminate possible flaws or barriers to defective operations. The vision would serve as the uniting reason for everyone to make his or her best achievin g the set goals and improving the learning processes for all the students.

Asking for Directions in German

Asking for Directions in German In this lesson youll learn German vocabulary and grammar related to going places, asking for simple directions, and receiving directions. This includes useful phrases such as  Wie  komme  ich  dorthin? for How do I get there? Youll find all of this very helpful when traveling in Germany, so lets start the lesson. The Tips You Need to Ask for Directions in German Asking  for directions is easy.  Understanding the torrent of German you may get back is another story. Most German textbooks and courses teach you how to  ask  the questions, but fail to deal adequately with the  understanding  aspect. Thats why we will also teach you some coping skills to help in such situations.   For example, you can ask your question in such a way that it will elicit a simple ja (yes) or nein  (no), or a simple left, straight ahead, or right answer. And dont forget that hand signals always work, no matter the language. Asking Where: Wo  vs.  Wohin German has two question words for asking where. One is wo? and is used when asking the location of someone or something. The other is wohin? and this is used when asking about motion or direction, as in where to. For instance, in English, you would use where to ask both Where are the keys? (location) and Where are you going? (motion/direction). In German these two questions require two different forms of where. Wo  sind die Schlà ¼ssel?  (Where are the keys?)​Wohin  gehen Sie?  (Where are you going?) In English, this can be compared to the difference between the location question wheres it at? (poor English, but it gets the idea across) and the direction question where to? But in German you can only use  wo?  for wheres it at? (location) and  wohin?  for where to? (direction).  This is a rule that cannot be broken. There are times when  wohin gets split in two, as in: Wo gehen Sie hin? But you cant use wo without hin to ask about motion or direction in German, they must both be included in the sentence. Directions (Richtungen) in German Now lets look at some common words and expressions related to directions and the places we might go. This is essential vocabulary that you will want to memorize. Notice that in some of the phrases below, the gender (der/die/das) may affect the article, as in in  die  Kirche (in the church) or an  den  See (to the lake). Simply pay attention to those times when gender changes der  to den  and you should be okay. Englisch Deutsch along/downGo along/down this street. entlangGehen Sie diese Straße entlang! backGo back. zurà ¼ckGehen Sie zurà ¼ck! in the direction of/towards... the train station the church the hotel in Richtung auf... den Bahnhof die Kirche das Hotel left - to the left links - nach links right - to the right rechts - nach rechts straight aheadKeep going straight ahead. geradeaus (guh-RAH-duh-ouse)Gehen Sieimmer geradeaus! up to, untilup to the traffic lightup to the cinema bis zum (masc./neut.)biszur (fem.)bis zur Ampelbiszum Kino Compass Directions (Himmel Srichtungen) The directions on the compass are relatively easy because the German words are similar to their English counterparts. After you learn the four basic directions, you can form more compass directions by combining words, just as you would in English. For example, northwest is  nordwesten, northeast is nordosten, southwest is sà ¼dwesten, etc. Englisch Deutsch north - to the northnorth of (Leipzig) der Nord(en) - nach Nordennà ¶rdlich von (Leipzig) south - to the southsouth of (Munich) der Sà ¼d(en) - nach Sà ¼densà ¼dlich von (Mà ¼nchen) east - to the easteast of (Frankfurt) der Ost(en) - nach Ostenà ¶stlich von (Frankfurt) west - to the westwest of (Cologne) der West(en) - nach Westenwestlich von (Kà ¶ln)

Executive Summary Essay Example

Executive Summary Essay Example Executive Summary Paper Executive Summary Paper As health insurance marketing is a highly competitive field, society is glimpsing the first indications that only innovative marketing techniques and tactics will win out over the competition. Of foremost importance to this situation is comprehending which segment of society prefers which marketing strategies. Because time is of the essence and an abundance of information can be found on-line, marketing agencies are seeing that the emerging health insurance marketing strategies must also use the web to obtain information about its potential clientele as well as provide information to users. B. Current Marketing Situation a. Market Description It is common knowledge that with skyrocketing health insurance costs, individuals seeking insurance recognize that it is vital to obtain it while ensuring that they do not get ripped off in the process. Marketing for health insurance attempts to show consumers that they can get a good deal for their money while having easy access to medical facility as they are needed. In addition, consumers who research on the web acknowledge that they are looking for insurance which has no gaps, allows you to pay for what you need with no frills or unnecessary extras, and you receive treatment as promised. For the elderly, receiving treatment is essential and often they are faced with â€Å"red tape† or have to jump through hoops while attempting to receive the benefits they are paying for. (amazon.com/Health-Insurance-Without-Getting-Ripped-Off/dp/0979478103/ref=sr_1_45?ie=UTF8s=booksqid=1238539157sr=8-45#reader) b. Product Review: Online health insurance marketing is a new frontier. It allows for feasible and easy access to information. As a platform for communicating insurance rates, premiums, co-pays, benefits, opportunities, referrals, and provider information, it gives an element of security for consumers wanting to research and see such information in clear writing (heartland.org/policybot/results/424/FreeMarket_Health_Insurance_Flourishes_Online.html). With online, consumers can also be provided with information which has been translated into their native language as well. For some cultures, they might feel intimidated calling health insurance representatives upfront because of language barriers. This new marketing tool will allow them to grasp at a new wealth of information at their disposal prior to reaching out to representatives who are fluent in their specific language.   They can get quick individual or group quotes or even requoted if they are looking to modify their potential plans to better fit within the plan rates that they are seeking. (sasid.com/products/Health/basic_health_insurance.htm) In addition, sometimes consumers find that information about insurance is diluted and thus causes ample confusion, which is why marketing strategies for health insurance predominately depend on using financial strategies like referrals, leads, and other such methods. Because we want to insure that consumers see added value to our online services we have had to reinvent the idea of marketing health insurance by focusing on specific market segments prior to branching out to others. For example, it is common place for the younger generation to lose coverage upon graduating from high school or upon reaching 18 yrs of age. This generation is also highly focused utilizing web-based sites such as facebook, linkedin, shutterfly, etc.. Our product will advertise on such websites in order to coax such individuals to hyperlink their pages into our website or delve further into our web-based site for specific fact finding information. We also advertise online via recorded radio broadcasters and weekly newsletters because if you don’t need or want insurance now that doesn’t mean that you won’t require it in the future.

Leading Organization Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Leading Organization Change - Essay Example Macro level (big scale - organizational level causes) Demand for Little-bit's product has been strong, however, quality decrease because of organizational culture. Little-bit's reputation is crumbling because of its managers' negative public statements. Fairly flat structure of Little-bit. Micro level (small scale - group/individual level causes) Members of the organization has their own agenda, the whole organization is not working for the company's vision and objectives. The leaders also divided, they decide individually. Too many members of the management, the functions and responsibilities overlap. 3. Identify which of the four systems are affected - e.g. Interpersonal, Techno-structural, Human processes, Strategic. Note: Using Text Book The most affected by change is the strategic system, because change is simply unavoidable in the business world. The advent of globalization and information technology taught organizations well that change is necessary. To become stagnant is to deprive the organization of its chances to survive in a harsh, unpredictable and rapidly changing business environment. 4. Identify which organizational metaphors (machines or political or organisms or flux and transformation ) are generally applied by members of the organization Note: Using concept stated in S_Reading 4.6 The members of Little-bit are applying the organizational metaphors such as organisms (it is important to maximize to fit between individual, team and organizational needs), cultures and political system (the company applies autocracy and there are coalitions between individuals that is more important than work teams). 5. Identify which new metaphors (machines or political or organisms or flux and...For example, if you selected a theoretical approach that indicated that managers are capable of shaping their environment, then you would need to select interventions and other factors that are consistent with this approach. The most affected by change is the strategic system, because change is simply unavoidable in the business world. The advent of globalization and information technology taught organizations well that change is necessary. To become stagnant is to deprive the organization of its chances to survive in a harsh, unpredictable and rapidly changing business environment. The members of Little-bit are applying the organizational metaphors such as organisms (it is important to maximize to fit between individual, team and organizational needs), cultures and political system (the company applies autocracy and there are coalitions between individuals that is more important than work teams). Little-bit should apply the concept of "organizations as machines" because in this metaphor change must be driven and resistance can be managed. The company's objectives can be set at the beginning of the process and can give the direction. 7. Identify which meta-model of change is most appropriate.

How would you benefit from and contribute to such an environment Essay

How would you benefit from and contribute to such an environment Consider variables such as your talents, travels, leadership a - Essay Example For me helping out others is a blessing because giving to the community helps enrich the culture in which we live in. As a member of the student alumni of Rutgers University I can get involved in experiences that help enrich the culture of the university. I am a very talented dancer. My abilities could be used by the theater club to integrate dancing into some of their work. I can also help students learn to dance better. During my lifetime I have demonstrated leadership abilities. I was president of the Luna Club. My leadership abilities can be put to good use at Rutgers University. Normally part of the educational experience includes working with teams. I have served the role of team leader a lot of times in the past. I could help lead my fellow classmates during class projects. I believe a lot in the value of volunteer and community work. I have served as a volunteer since middle school through the Lunar Club. Volunteer work helps you gain experience, develop new skills, and it ex pands your network of contacts (Brummel). I can take advantage of my time at Rutgers University to give back to the community. The community engagement program directory is to a great way to search for volunteer and service learning opportunities (Rutgers). Work Cited Page Brummel, A. 2011. â€Å"The Value of Volunteering.† 15 March 2011. Infoplease.com. 2011.