Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Tennagers are ready for adulthood and the responbility Essay Example for Free

Tennagers are ready for adulthood and the responbility Essay Tennagers are ready for adulthood and the responbility it bring them. In this essay i will talk about why they are ready for the resbonbility also I will give you proof of their responbility. Working proves thie responblility because they have to concentrate on the job at hand to get paid and they always have to be on time. Since they working for their own pocket they dont need to ask their parents for money and this to happen they have to be responbile and to my account they are. They are at the legal age of getting their licenses so they can can get a car or a motorbike as a transport so they dont need to depend on their parents to take them anywhere. Having vechiles means they have to clean it and maintain it so it looks good for me showing this means they are not wasting and planning ahead. People around them, Family and friends respect them for what choices they make in the future or made in the past. So this shows that people can trust them to make the right choices for their sake and others. This gives me an insight on how they are maturing and becoming a role model to others. They learn from their own and others mistakes so they dont repeat them ever again in their life. Which shows they are open minded and are ready to learn new things. They do some voluntary work at old age home and orphanages to help out with the people and befriend them. In my account this shows that they can take care of other and themselves and others at the same time. Some teenagers do act like childrens at some point and do some stupid things that are reckless which leads to crimnal records or end up in the hospital Eg.drunk and driving. So for those teens I have to disagree because they are not ready to take on the responbility that comes with adulthood. In this Essay I have summarised on why teenagers are ready for adulthood which are on how they work, Have respect from others, Can get their licenses , Doing voluntary work, They learn from mistakes and Why they are not ready for adulthood. I think I have left you with something to think about so Telling a teenager the facts of life is like giving a fish a bath. ~Arnold H. Glasow

Monday, August 5, 2019

Analysing A Song In The Front Yard English Language Essay

Analysing A Song In The Front Yard English Language Essay On the surface of Gwendolyn Brookss poem, a song in the front yard, is a girl who wants to play in the back yard and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦have some wonderful fun (10) instead of staying in the front yard, but the deeper message is not just about more fun, but about a girl who yearns to have a life she is not permitted to have. Impoverished and wealthy lead very different lifestyles; this poem infers that sometimes having it all, isnt enough to keep one satisfied. Through the first person narrative of a little girl along with the uses of symbolism, Brooks exposes and highlights the irony of wealth. The speakers tone and descriptions suggest that she is a young girl. In line four, the speaker refers to herself as a girl; the word girl has a connotation as a younger female. The following lines sound very demanding and childish: I want to go in the back yard now And maybe down the alley To where the charity children play I want a good time today (ll 5-8). The words want and now define the selfish tendencies of a child.. The importance of the speaking being a young girl, comes from the fact that young children are usually ignorant to wealth and status. Young children really only want fun and enjoyment out of life. In addition, the specification of the time being now suggests that it must be done before it is too late, and profile status becomes eminent in determining social relationships. The speaker uses the symbolic front yard versus back yard to infer status. The symbolism begins on the first line of the poem where Brooks discusses that the speaker has stayed in the front yard all her life, suggesting a desire for change. On a literal level, the front yard is a place people can see from the street. It is generally inviting, orderly, and beautiful. This leads one to assume a front yard can represent order, consistency, and status on a symbolic level. The speaker is apparently bored with her life in the front yard as is made clear when she says, A girl gets sick of a rose(Line 4). The rose is a beautiful, rich flower; only one with money would be able to get sick of it. A back yard is a place that you cannot see from the street and requires an invitation. The back yard is, Where its rough and untended and hungry weed grows (Line 3). The back yard usually is not well kept because it is unseen, symbolizing how the poor are care-free and adventurous due to not being rad ar so to speak. The backyard is symbolically a place for the poor, and therefore it becomes a place for the ugly in society. In one sense, Brooks utilizes the back yard as a place where people hide things for example wealthy people hiding the ugly, hungry weed (line 3) in the backyard. But the back yard is not only seen as the physically ugly place, but it has connotations of bad people. As the mother lists the types of people associated with the back yard, she says, That Georgell be taken to Jail soon or late/ (On account of last winter he sold our back gate) (ln. 15-16). The emphasis on back gate alongside theft and jail reinforces the hideousness and bad that link to the back yard. In addition, the word Jail is capitalized showing that it has importance. It suggests that if the girl goes into the back yard she will be exposed to the bad in the world. However, in another sense, Brooks crowns the backyard as a place that the wealthy person wants to be. A sort of secret garden for this young wealthy girl as she desires to explore the mysterious freedom the poor live with. In this sense the poor children are not forced to play in the backyard they are allowed to play there; while the rich girl is chained to her front yard of responsibility and strict restrictions. When the girl voices her desire to play with the children in the backyard, the  mother  sneers (line 11). The mother describes how much trouble the kids in the back yard will get the speaker in, but the speaker continues to desire to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦do some wonderful things (line 9) and goes against what her mother says. The consistent contradiction between the mother and the daughter, connect to the ignorance and tolerance younger children tend to have. In the beginning of the poem, it seems likely the speaker is a young child, but the last stanza she imagines how she wants to be a woman. She says, And Id like to be a bad woman, too/ And wear the brace stocking of night-black lace/ And strut down the streets with paint on my face (ll. 18-20). This description of a woman in makeup (line 20) and black lace stockings (line 19) is of a person in the back yard, a poor person, but a woman not a child. The younger fantasizes about playing in the alley (line 6), where the woman fantasizes about strut[ting] down the streets (line 20). The change from a child to a woman symbolizes the transition of adolescents overcoming the segregations made by wealth. The rhyme scheme is constant throughout the poem except for the last stanza connecting to the change from an adolescent to a woman. The rhyme scheme established for the majority of the poem is abcc, where the first two lines do not follow an established rhyme but the third and forth form a rhyme. But the last stanza forms two rhyming couplets: But I say its fine. Honest, I do. And Id like to be a bad woman, too, And wear the brace stockings of night-black lace And strut down the streets with paint on my face. (ll. 17-20) The words do and too connect through end rhyme, and lace and face connect through end rhyme. The consistent new pattern shown in the last stanza relates to the new relationship established for the speaker. Gwendolyn Brooks poem a song in the front yard uses the first person narrative and symbolism to demonstrate the irony and relationship between the wealthy and poor. The young speaker shows how adolescence includes ignorance by desiring to go against her mother and play in the back yard. The front yard and back yard symbolize the different life styles: the carefree, un-kept poor lifestyle of the back yard, that the wealthy narrator living in the front yard (line 1), envies and the wealthy people sneering (line 11) in their front yards. Brooks reinforces that ignorance leads to accepting and allows the girl to desire close the gap of separation.

Sunday, August 4, 2019

Linear Feedback Shift Registers Essay -- Computers, Cryptography

Abstract: Linear Feedback Shift Registers (LFSRs) are considered powerful methods for generating pseudo-random bits in cryptography algorithm applications. In this paper it is shown that the linear dependencies in the generated random bit sequences can be controlled by adding a chaotic logistic map to the LFSR’s systems. The structure of the LFSR’s output sequence in combination with a chaotic map is analyzed and proved to have at least as much uniformity than the corresponding set for the linear components individually. In order to understand that using the proposed PRBG is reliable in secure algorithms, the NIST suite test have been taken on the proposed method, finally to compare the proposed PRNG output sequence features with the two types of LFSRs (Fibonacci and Galois). Keywords: Linear Feedback Shift Register, Random Number, Chaotic Map, NIST. 1. Introduction In the modern world of computers, network security is the main concern which relies on the use of cryptography algorithms. high quality random number generation is a basic subject of cryptography algorithms and the importance of a secure random number generator design cannot be underestimated. Most common generation techniques about RNGs involve truly random and pseudorandom number generators. For a brief introduction in various types of RNGs: Truly Random Number Generators (RNGs) is a computer algorithm, which generates a sequence of statistically independent random numbers. Actually these generators require a naturally occurring source of randomness phenomena (i.e. as a non-deterministic system). Most practical implementations design a hardware device or a software program based on RNGs to produce a bit sequence which is statistically independent. Pseud... ...3245, 0.9966745]; so the p-values of our purposed method is in this interval and then the 15 tests of the NIST suite have been passed as shown In Fig. 6. Fig. 6. NIST test result (Red is the Proposed PRNG, Blue represents Galois and Green is Fibonacci) 6. Conclusion In this paper we presented a novel method to generate random bit sequence by combination of LFSR’s system and chaotic logistic map and it has been proved in a reliable theorem. At the end, we compared it with the same other methods such as Fibonacci LFSR and Galois LFSR, and the result was shown in table 1. Acknowledgments The author wish to thank the editor Professor G.Najafpour, Dr. H.Hassanpour and my teacher Mr. H.Rahimov for their valuable comments. In the end should be appreciated the efforts of Shahrood University of Technology’s ITC research center.

Saturday, August 3, 2019

Computers, the Internet, and the World of Education :: Technology Education Educational Essays

Computers, the Internet, and the World of Education Computers and the internet have changed the world of education in innumerable ways. This means the teacher must also change. Most students now have access to countless sources of information from all over the world. They can also talk to experts in multitudes of professions. Many students now learn to type before they learn to write in cursive. Despite these facts not all the changes have been positive. Students are now exposed to outside predators who may try to take advantage of them. In addition they may be exposed to obscene materials. Schools have installed filters, but they sometimes are unable to prevent all inappropriate material from being viewed. Many teachers complain that the internet allows plagiarism and all out cheating with access to pre-made term and research papers (where do you think this paper came from). Many critics of the educational system also point out that often students only like to use computers to access information. They don’t like to use compute rs for their many other uses like complicated math problems or construction of spreadsheets. Unfortunately, this seems to be true computers need to be used across the curriculum not just for research projects. Yet another benefit having computers and internet access in the classroom is the ability of students to be able to talk to experts in their respective fields. Children doing a project on insects can to talk to scientists who work with insects every day. They may be lucky enough to talk to an astronaut or maybe an author whose books they have been reading. Children can also participate in interactive chat rooms with other students or international pen pals. With this said it’s important that teachers take the proper precautions. Everyone knows that the internet poses many dangers especially for unsupervised children. When children are using chat rooms, care needs to be taken to ensure the children safety. Any student using a chat room needs to have a screen name(www.ptft.merit.edu). Teachers have to make sure they go over certain rules before they allow any student use the internet. Students must be taught to never give personal information over the internet this includes their name, location, or telephone number. It can be quite a liability to have internet access in the classroom; teachers must be sure they protect themselves. Another worry is that students may access inappropriate material.

Friday, August 2, 2019

A Poetic Tragedy Essay -- Literary Analysis

Hamlet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, accepted to have been in written between 1599 and 1601. Perhaps the most famous tragedy ever written, the plays is about Prince Hamlet’s revenge for his father’s murder which eventually leads to his own death. The central character of the play is Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Hamlet becomes the tragic champion who successfully makes his reprisal for his father's death by murdering the antagonist, monarch Claudius, but he furthermore misplaces his own life as well as the inhibits of those dearest to him in the end. At the opening of the play, Hamlet’s dejected for his father's death and the quick remarriage of his mother and King Claudius motives his attempt to find out the truth, and furthermore, his dead father informs him about his murder as a ghost, which determinants him to revenge (Edwards 52). Hamlet’s madness, hesitation to action, demand for visual proof, and final revenge are conventions of a dramatic form called revenge tragedy. All through the play, from searching the killing to justifying the truth, and finally revenge, Hamlet is bent on avenging his father’s death. Claudius is in alignment to come to his aid of revenge, which is the principal theme all through the play. The play, focused in Denmark, explains how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius for killing the historic King Hamlet, Claudius's own male sibling and Prince Hamlet's dad, and then marrying Gertrude, the King Hamlet's widow and mother of Prince Hamlet. The play vividly journals the path of natural and pretended madness—from swamping failure to seething rage—and discovers topics of deceit, revenge, incest, and lessons in fraud (Hoy 99). Throughout the play, Hamlet has numerous opportunities’ to ave... ...William. Literature for Composition. Longman, 2011. Print. 908-1011 Edwards, Phillip. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. New Cambridge Shakespeare ser. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985. 52-63. Hoy, Cyrus. Hamlet. Norton Critical Edition ser. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1992. 99-111 Lott, Bernard. Hamlet. New Swan Shakespeare Advanced ser. New ed. London: Longman, 1970. 72-88. Ronald Knowles. Renaissance Quarterly. Vol. 52, No. 4 (Winter, 1999). 1046-1069 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Article Stable : http://www.jstor.org/stable/2901835 Spencer, T. J. B. Hamlet. New Penguin Shakespeare ser. London: Penguin. 1980. 67-81 Wells, Stanley, and Gary Taylor. The Complete Works. By William Shakespeare, The Oxford Shakespeare. Compact ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1988, 231-241.

Foundation Degree in Accounting and Finance Essay

Introduction There is a radical change after the privatisation of Atlantic Water. The change not only affects the organisation’s objectives and strategic planning, but also its structure and culture. B Burnes (1996: 115) cited writers such as Handy (1986), Allaire and Firsirotu (1984) argued the issue as follow: ‘†¦to operate effectively and efficiently, an organisation’s culture need to match or be appropriate to its structure. Given that an organisation’s environment can change rapidly, as can its structure, situations will arise in the environment, structure and practices of the organisation.’ Observing organisational behaviour is not enough, we need to understand the meaning of the behaviour, and therefore, it is important to identify the culture and structure of an organisation, to enable management to react quickly for any external or internal change. 1. Defining Culture It is difficult to define culture, usually it is defined as ‘how things are done around here’ or ‘this is how we are’. Culture within an organisation is influence by the personality of an individual, pattern of communication, work performance, behaviour of management and subordinate as a role. Schein (1983) defines organisational culture as: ‘†¦ the pattern of basic assumptions that a given group has invented, discovered or developed in learning to cope with its problems of external adaption and internal integration and that have work well enough to be considered valid, and, therefore , to be taught to new member as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems.’ Schein views culture as not being over behaviour or values, but the assumptions that underlie them. Here are the views based on three level of culture: * Level 1: The visible artefacts and creations, which are easy to observe, but do not explain why a group behaves the way it does. * Level 2: The values which can be inferred from interview, but which manifest the espoused reason for behaviour, not the underlying unconscious reason. * Level 3: The underlying assumptions which are typically unconscious, but which actually determine hoe people perceive, think and feel. The meaning of Organisational Culture was also defined in Oxford Dictionary of Business (2003) as follow: ‘Organizational Culture: The values, customs, rituals, and norms shared by all the members of an organization, which have to be learnt and accepted by new members of the organization.’ Culture impacts most aspect of organisational life, such as how decision are made, who makes them, how rewards are distributed, who is promoted, how people are treated, how the organisation responds to its environment etc. This particular set of values, beliefs, customs and systems are unique to the organisation. 1.1 Organisation culture R Harrison suggested that there are four main types of organisation culture. They are the following: Power Culture is where the authority and control within the organisation are centralised. The control is passing from the central to key individuals. The power of members is based on control over resources and personal influence with the centre. Role Culture is where work within and between departments is controlled by procedures, role descriptions and authority definitions. Job position is central to this, not necessarily the job holder as a person. People are appointed to a role based on their ability to carry out the functions and to satisfy performance of the role. R Harrison (1972: 119-128) cited Role Culture as follow: ‘Role culture often referred to as a bureaucracy, it works by logic and rationality.’ Task Culture is job or project oriented and the main purpose is to complete the task or project. This might involve getting the right people to work as a team, giving them decision making power to complete the task. Person Culture is when the individual is focus on. This includes their personality and personal feeling etc. For example if a group of people decided to do their own thing and other members of staff help, this is a person culture. It only existed for the people concerned. Many organisations have a mixture of the above culture, it is important to understand the concept of each of the above culture and to establish an appropriate structure. 1.2 Culture of the old Water Authority The old Water Authority had a complex grading framework, narrow spans of control and more level of authority, this resulted in a high hierarchical structure, and this indicated that the organisation had a strong power culture. It was mentioned in the case study that the old Water Authority called their managers ‘officers’ and administered the organisation and ran almost along a military line, where the authority and control were centralised. The employees were job oriented where they can only carry out the job they were originally employed for, there was no need to re-organise their position, where they just followed the day to day procedures. Management saw their jobs as minimising external interference rather then seeking for some change to improve the performance of the employees. Employees in the old Water Authority had a certain level of job security where they could work extra hours where needed, which would give them an extra income. Due to the high hierarchical structure of the organisation, there would be a difficulty for employees’ career progression, this affected those who are seeking for career improvement and lower their motivation and morale within the organisation. Management did not offer new training skills nor did subordinates look for self improvement. From these evidents the old Water Authority had a mixture of the all the culture which R Harrison suggested. 1.3 Culture of new Atlantic Water Plc In the new Atlantic Water Plc, they re-structured their grading framework, the spans of control reduced the level of hierarchical structure and the result of this, employees had more opportunities to progress within the organisation. The organisation also decided to empower their managers to take more responsibility, the decentralization enabled decisions to be made closer to the operation level of work. In the result of job cuts after privatisation, Atlantic Water offers their employees a chance to gain qualifications and ensured they are cross-skilled. Not only the employees offered to gain new skill, managers are also sent on a training course, where they will have a clearer focus on the organisation’s objective and to create a new relationship within the organisation. Since Atlantic Water had a large number of jobs cuts, employees suffered from the job insecurity after the privatisation. Although the organisation encouraged them to gain new skills, the main reason will probably be for them to keep their job rather than looking for self improvement. On the other hand, the organisation introduced a new salary structure leaving many employees worse off financially. Since the employees are not gaining any benefits financially and suffering from job insecurity, this impacts the employees’ morale and their commitment to the organisation. 1.4 Comparison of the old Water Authority and Atlantic Water The old culture of Water Authority was inappropriate to their competitive needs. Atlantic Water changed the culture by shaping the value, beliefs and attitudes of their employees. They started by changing the recruitment, selection and redundancy policies. Managers were recruited from private sector, this effected the composition of the workforce so that promotion and employment prospects are dependent on those concerned possessing or displaying the beliefs and value the organisation wishes to promote. The introduction of the flatter hierarchical structure and decentralisation is an advantage of a private company. The managers can work closely with the working operational level and it will reduce the time it takes to make decision. This also demands a greater involvement of the staff and creates opportunities for employees developing their career. The encouragement of staff training is vitally important to the change of an organisation, this will not only benefit the organisation’s productivity, but will also improve the level of employees’ morality and to make them understand their value to the organisation. 2. Defining Structure P Drucker (1974: 52) defined structure as follow: ‘Structure is a means for attaining the objectives and goals of an organization.’ An organisation existent is to achieve its goal and objectives, the work within an organisation has to be divided among its members. It provides the framework of an organisation and makes all process and application possible. The effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation will be influenced by the structural design and the behaviour of the people who work within the structure. 2.1 Organisational Structure An organisation’s structure is designed to ensure that rules and procedures are used and followed, it contains four frameworks of relationships within an organisation: the individual’s job description, job specialisation, its lines of communication and its hierarchy. Organisational structure can be layered into three hierarchical structures: the technical level, the managerial level and the community level. It is important to have clear objectives within the organisation, good communications both horizontally and vertically can enable an organisation to perform effectively and efficiently. The correct grouping of individuals and work is also important to maintain a high level of performance. 2.2 The old Water Authority’s structure The old Water Authority was a public service organisation, its main objective was to provide a service to local communities. Job description was clarified to individuals and the working pattern was not flexible. The division of work was based on the employees’ skills, i.e. operation of clean water side and the dirty water side. It had a narrow span of control and more level of authority, this result in a ‘tall’ hierarchical structure and there are a few problems with this structure. It restricts the decision making process and information is difficult to pass on from either level to another. It is not cost effective since there are more middle managers within the organisation and there could be a conflict between management if the objective was not clarified between departments. The old Water Authority was a centralised organisation where the decision making retained in the top level of management. There are advantages of centralisation, some of which applied to the old Water Authority. The decisions are fitted to broad organisation’s objectives and it is easier to coordinate the activities within the organisation. But the problem occurred when the decisions were not made close enough with the operational level, it might not be appropriated to the lower level of hierarchical structure. ‘Line and staff management: A system of management used in large organizations in which there are two separate hierarchies; the line management side consists of line managers with responsibility for deciding the policy of and running the organization’s main activities, while the staff management, and its separate staff managers, are responsible for providing such supporting service.’ Oxford Dictionary of Business (2003: 300) This explanation suited the structure of the old Water Authority, each operational department running parallelised and having advisory department across them (See Diagram 1). The mechanistic organisation theory applied to the old Water Authority, where employees had specified roles and definitions of the authority within the hierarchical structure. Communication and interaction are vertical, the structure of the old Water Authority was appropriate as the external environment was stable. 2.3 Atlantic Water’s Structure The privatisation changed the Water Authority from a public service organisation to an economic organisation. The objective is no longer just to provide service, but to make a profit and to survive in the competitive market. Atlantic Water re-structured their grading framework, it reduced the level of management, the wider span of control resulted in a ‘flatter’ hierarchical structure. It reduced the bureaucratic costs, i.e. less middle managers, less coordination problem and reduced the chance of information distortion. Decentralisation is another result of down-sizing the hierarchical structure, this allows decisions to be made closer to the operational level and reduces information overload on upper managers. Managers have more free time to do something else, i.e. provide personal care for its subordinates. The line and staff organisational structure also changed, it became a matrix structure, where there is more than one critical orientation to the operations of the organisation, such as they introduced the pay negotiations in house and fixed-term contractors. Atlantic Water encouraged their employee to gain qualification to enable them to be cross-skilled, so they can be deployed by their manager where and when they are needed, the flexibility of the working pattern is essential. The mechanistic organisation is no longer applicable in the lower level, it combined both the mechanistic organisation at the top of the hierarchy and the organic organisation at the bottom of the level. Organic organisation has a flexible system and structure which is characterised by the adjustment and continual redefinition of tasks. Communication and authority does not necessarily coincide with positional authority. 3. Organisational Change L Mullins (2002: 798) suggested organisation development is a key to organisational change. ‘Organisation development is concerned with the diagnosis of organisational health and performance, and the ability of the organisation to adapt to change.’ In order to change the organisation effectively, organisation development is essential to have the correct strategies: survey research and feedback, T-group and team building. Survey and feedback involves using questionnaires to help identifying the attitudes of individuals within the organisation. Top management can analysis the feedback and discuss the problems, and the action to be taken to help to improve performance. T-group is also known as sensitivity training, it involve informal groupings to discuss the individuals’ feeling toward the organisation and to understand their abilities in themselves. Team building is identifying the task procedures and the pattern of interaction within the work group. The aim of this function is to improve overall performance of the organisation through the effectiveness of the team. Organisational development is not only about improving the organisation effectiveness and efficiency, but also improve the morality and commitment of individuals. 3.1 Strategies for Change and Innovation There are different strategies approaches to changes in the organisation, however it has to be carefully design and apply. From the strategic management point of view, organisational change has four main facets which need constant re-appraisal and planned action: * Human resource implications – This involve training, personal skill development, the culture needed to be accepted. The organisation needs to encourage and motivate their employees by providing opportunity for improvement. * Functional implications – Communication need to be improved between departments, the understanding of how the department works is also important, different area of organisation has their own way of working method. Decentralise the authority and appraisal system should be introduced. * Technological implications – Increase use of technology can improve the productivity and administration of an organisation. Although there is a cost of the installation and operational cost, but it actually reduce overhead cost in long term, i.e. less manual labour and improve accuracy. * Organisational implications – This involve change of relationship, work groups, routines and practices. There will be a new requirement of communications between departments and the management skills need to be improved to compromise within the organisation. 3.2 Atlantic Water’s Approaches After the privatisation, Atlantic Water applied the organisation development techniques. They are role analysis, life and career planning, quality of work life and counselling. Role analysis – Employees are trained to be cross-skilled so they can be deployed by their manager where and when they are needed, so their tasks are more flexible than before. Life and career planning – The organisation encourages their employees to gain qualifications, this will not only benefit the individual, but also the performance of the organisation. The organisation also invested heavily in management development so the managers have a clearer commercial focus and a new relationship with its workforce. Quality of work life – The new grading framework of the organisation creates opportunity for many employees who wish to develop their career. The organisation introduced a new salary structure, but it leaves many employees worse off financially, Atlantic Water failed to provide a better quality of work life. Counselling – There is a programme to help individual to deal with stress which are caused from job insecurity. This will help and assist individual to attain their goal and to re-build their confidence. Atlantic Water has improved their performance in general by investing in training programmes for both the management and their staff, but they did not consider their employees’ feeling. The morality and commitment level had dropped significantly due to the amount of work load and insecurity of their job. Although they offered a counselling programme, their employees are not being awarded for the extra efforts they put into the organisation. The low level of morality and commitment has major influence on the level of work performance. Atlantic Water should try to re-build the relationship with their employees by re-viewing their salary structure. The employees should be informed at a reasonable level of the activity within the organisation, sharing the success of the organisation will also boost the level of confidence for the individual. The management training should not be limited to the knowledge within the industry, it should includes counselling, coaching and leadership skills. Managers have a major influence on the motivation and behaviour of employees. 4. Conclusion The change has a massive impact upon Atlantic Water, the structure, culture and organisational climate had changed significantly. They have taken a certain level of approach but the results are not all positive, they need to carefully re-build relationships with its employees. The organisational climate is an indication of the employees’ feeling and beliefs, obviously Water Atlantic’s climate needs to be improved. It must develop new ways to increase the loyalty and commitment of employees. This includes attention to reward strategies based on recognition of contribution rather than status or position. The management of organisational climate is an important means of improving productivity and standard of work performance. Diagram 1    Bibliography Burnes B. (1996) 2nd Edition, Pitman Publishing, London Drucker P. (1974), ‘New templates for today’s organizations’, Harvard Business Review, London Huczynski A. & Buchanan D. (1991), Organizational Behaviour, 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall, London Mullins L. (2002), Management and Organisational Behaviour, Prentice Hall, Essex Schein E. (1997), Organizational Culture and Leadership, Jossey Bass Wiley, London Schneider S. & Barsoux J. (2003), Managing Across Culture, 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall, London Reference Burnes B. (1996), Managing Change, 2nd Edition, London, Pitman Publishing, Drucker P. (1974), New templates for today’s organizations, Harvard Business Review, London Mullins L. (2002), Management and Organisational Behaviour, Prentice Hall, Essex Schein E. (1997), Organizational Culture and Leadership, Jossey Bass Wiley, London Oxford University Press (2003), Oxford Dictionary of Business, 3rd Edition, Market House Book Ltd, London

Thursday, August 1, 2019

McNeill, P (1990) Research Methods, Routledge, and Bryman, A (2001) Social Research Methods, Oxford – Reviewed

Social inquiry is the act of ‘inquiring' into human society. The method of ‘inquiring' varies. The factors which are taken in to account of which method to adopt to ‘inquire' can be influenced by a number of factors. A certain type of inquiry could be used due to the inquirer's past experiences of a certain method, his/hers preferences, cost, availability of sources are to name but a few. I intend to examine Social Research Methods written by Alan Bryman and Research Methods written by Patrick McNeill. Both refer to the various methods available to one in order to inquire about human society. The two books are similar in that they both put forward ideas and theories related to the selected methods they want to discuss. McNeill's book is broken down into six short chapters, which has an informative introductory chapter into why we have research methods in sociology. At the beginning he provides the reader with a brief history of social research which is helpful as it explains why the ‘inquiry' stage is very important. The 1960's began to saw changes in sociology which was to â€Å"encourage survey style of social research and move towards participant observation.† There is a clear, logical progression through the chapters. They begin at a basic level and then slowly build upon points. Therefore, it caters for anyone new to the subject who can follow it through with little difficulty. For example, in chapter one, it is rudimentary for McNeill's to ask in the first sentence, â€Å"What is Sociology?† This illustrates that McNeill has written the book, trying to accommodate for individuals without the presumption that the reader has prior knowledge of the subject of sociology. The book is laid out so that it has a number of sub-headings which breaks down the text making it easier to read and allow time for the reader to ‘digest' the information. This is a good quality because it makes sure the reader is feeling they are understanding what is being written and also feeling comfortable and confident enough to carry on. It is liked that McNeill has made reading the book interactive by giving the reader a number of ‘activities' to complete at the end of each chapter. This is a very good idea as it consolidates what the reader has read so far. McNeill states that there are three important concepts that are used throughout the book: reliability, validity and representativeness. This allows the reader to remain focused as McNeill has pointed out what is essential. The book discusses a range of processes including Ethnography also known as Participant Observation in chapter four. The use of examples such Taylor (1984) and his infamous a covert study of the London Underworld makes what the author say believable. Too much fiction can make readers reject the book. The book is organised so that any difficult or complex topics/issues featured are provided with relevant â€Å"Furthering reading†. For example, â€Å"The next best thing is to read about a community study. I recommend Stacey's books (1960 and 1975), and those by Grans (1962 and 1967). The latter have more humour.† This allows the reader to further their knowledge. This is what differentiates this book from other books. This type of book is helpful to students in circumstances where they need to do research. McNeill uses diagrams to explain key points which are vital to aid the readers understanding. For example, Fig 7, explains the relationship between choice of topic and the research method. McNeill goes into further detail by breaking down the stages of research. This is helpful to anybody i.e. students studying sociology. ‘A' Level sociology students even to members if the public who want to learn about social research. McNeill uses a number of references to support the various pros and cons for each research method. For example, McNeill questions â€Å"How can sociologists use official statistics?† McNeill states that â€Å"†¦sociologists take these statistics at their face value and use them as ready-made source of data for their research. They are cheap, readily available, cover a long time-span, and are comprehensive in their coverage of social life. They maybe the only source of data on the topic in question.† He also provides a balanced and objective argument – â€Å"However, there are many problems. Since the statistics are collected for administrative rather than sociological purposes definitions and classifications made are often unsuitable†. This gives the reader a better appreciation for each method. McNeill helps the reader assess which method of inquiry is good. The aim of Brymans book is to bridge the gap between theory and methods in social research. He states that it is the â€Å"introduction to the study and implementation of social research methods.† When writing the book, Bryman had two readers in mind – (i) Undergraduates. The research methods, the use of British examples whenever possible and appropriate. (ii)-Undergraduates who are wanting to conduct research projects. Bryman wanted to write a book that would be â€Å"helping students make informal decisions about doing their research†. He would explore the uses and limitations in order to help with students any hesitations. We can appraise Bryman's structure of the book because it is clear, accessible style with an in-depth understanding of the subject. This is clearly demonstrated through the initial layout of the book as it has two parts; Part one: Issues and Part Two: Methods used in social research. The book is divided into four parts. The first part has two chapters introducing the natural science approach as an appropriate framework for the study of society. This would comprise social surveys, case studies and experimental research. These first two chapters would apply the building blocks for the rest of the book The second part has ten chapters based on quantitative research methods including sampling, design of questionnaire, structured observations. The third part has eight chapters with a strong overview of the nature of qualitative research, including ethnography/participant observation and the analysis of this method. Finally, the fourth part has five chapters which take the reader beyond quantitative and qualitative. The physical characteristics of the book are one of the concerns some readers have when deciding on choosing a book to read. McNeill's book is of ‘reasonable' size as it does not look overwhelming which would put off potential readers. In comparison, Bryman's book is literally twice as large and as heavy and because it is considerably larger, this may come across as a daunting read. I believe it is not designed for a reader who is new to the subject, although it doesn't expect students to have any prior knowledge of the subject. The written text is clear, using a standard type and font size twelve, making it easier on the eye. The language is claimed to be â€Å"well written, comprehensive and authoritative†. Contrary to this view, the language has been described to be severely convoluted. Throughout the book, it is laid out so that on each page, the text is broken into two columns. This gives the allusion that there is less to read. In contrast, Brymans book is very colourful using red, blue and green which grab the potential reader's attention. This is intelligently done as it makes the book look aesthetically pleasing and attractive. Though, it is believed the book is that multifaceted it requires ‘colour' to attract a reader to it! A weakness that proves to be a problem throughout the book is that Bryman reiterates and labours his points further than needed. For example, trying to explain Interpretivism in the main text. However, Bryman then reviews this in his ‘summary key points' in â€Å"Box 1.9 What is Interpretivism†. This is too much for students because it is time consuming. In contrast, McNeill's book is more succinct. The book has a number of ‘Special Features', including Boxes, a Readers Guide which is a route map of what is to follow. Key Points mentioning any significant points to make a note of. Similarly, McNeill's book, there are revision questions which test the readers understanding and finally a glossary which has the definitions of central terms. The abbreviations page was very supportive because it enabled the reader to familiarise themselves with the subject matter. At the beginning of each chapter there is a contents of page, thus making it very easy to refer to. The books adhere to all the commonalities of a ‘normal' book. Bryman strongly advocates the use of example; â€Å"examples, examples, examples†. Though it can be argued that this goes onto much more detail than is required. Hence, the reader begins to lose focus on the content. Bryman clearly states the advantages and disadvantages of research methods. For example, â€Å"Open Questions†, the advantages mean â€Å"respondents can answer in their own terms. They are not forced to answer in the same terms as those foisted on them by the closed answers†. However, the drawbacks mean â€Å"they are time consuming for interviewers to administer. Interviewees are likely to talk for longer than is usually the case with a comparable closed question† Brymans book would be useful for someone who is seriously interested in obtaining a full and detailed analysis of methods. This is excellent if you like illustrative books. Bryman is targeting the type of reader which enjoys detail. A positive point about the book is that it has questions at the end of chapters allowing the reader to engage in empirical work. I don't like Brymans book because it is focused for 2nd year and 3rd year students and even for them it is sometimes hard to grasp what the author is trying to say. In contrast, McNeill's book is very helpful because you are able to find something out, quite quickly and also understand it with little difficulty. I believe that both books are very helpful and do fill a gap in the literature. Overall, I found both books to be very helpful as they successfully enabled students to learn how to do social inquiry. They outline the advantages and disadvantages to various methods. Although this is a good point but sometimes this can overwhelm the reader. On the other hand, a reader should be well informed. Though, each book is tailored to the potential readers as discussed earlier.