Answer 4 questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Answer 4 questions - Essay Example After the dinner, each of the artist stands beside their work and Frida, Pablo and Claude visit them at different times. The new artists give an explanation regarding the source of inspiration on their work and these famous artists give their comments regarding the work of the new artists. Being in the field before, they are viewed to be more experienced and therefore their comments are important for the new artists to guide them through their artistic journey (Berghaus, 2000). Postmodernism is regarded as rejection of sovereign individual who is autonomous and emphasizing on anarchic collective experience that is autonomous. It is a deviation from modernism in explaining reality. Postmodernism in architecture refers to replacement of formalized and functional spaces and shapes of the modern style by aesthetics that are diverse. On the other hand, postmodernism in literature explains the representation of ideologies and styles using downright, unrealistic and impossible plots, unreliable narrators and dark humor. Examples of postmodernism in the last four Fiero chapters are in the explanation for quest for meaning and identity and liberation. Fiero in this case examines the mood of anxiety and alienation reflected arts and for identity and liberation, offers a relationship between ethnicity and visual arts. Postmodernism is reflected in the assessment of global movements for racial, political and gender equality. Postmodernism music is music that disregard s formality and focuses on creativity. Postmodernism therefore is different from modernism, romanticism and realism due to its aesthetic nature (Somigli & Moroni 2004). Jazz is mainly an art of the performers and not of the performers because its presentation majorly depends on how well it is performed regardless of how it is composed. Jazz is primarily defined by the voice of its performers and only secondarily by the contribution made by the composers. It has more technical musical activities that can

Choose a topic Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Choose a topic - Research Paper Example Fluctuations in prices and wages were a proof of such, as did sudden changes in the patterns of transactions and relations between agricultural workers and landowners. For instance, sharecropping became widespread in northern Italy, and many assume that feudalism in Europe was completely disintegrating because of the grave need of landlords for eager workers (Byrne 57-58). A number of destitute became wealthy, and the wealthy became wealthier as resources were reallocated by means of inheritances and additional economic prospects. This paper analyzes how the Black Plague changed Europe, particularly the region’s economy. Governments were forced to modify their techniques of collecting revenue, while getting involved in at times radical means to sustain the status quo between the rich and the poor. The cursing by the plague of the clergy right together with their supporters changed numerous beliefs of the people about the Church and its part in holding humankind within God’s mercy. Women and men took part in religious activities without the precaution previously performed to educate, train, and screen them, and detractors commented about the unfavorable outcome (Spielvogel 234). It is not an exaggeration to say that the foundations of Protestantism were built after the massive plague. European culture transformed as well, while vernacular literature and learning progressed against the Latin of the Church and governments. Not merely were there substantially raised demands and additional prospects for priests, craftsmen, and farm laborers, but also for teachers, doctors, legal officials, and law yers. Newly built universities and schools seemed to fulfill the need and demand, and several of them supported reforms that finally ended the medieval period (Spielvogel 234-5). However, the greatest impact of the Black Plague was on the European economy. The epidemic took the lives of both those who supplied the goods and those who demanded them, yet generally

Structure and Agency in Revolutionary Theory Essay

Structure and Agency in Revolutionary Theory - Essay Example The school of culture and agency is based on the premise that repeated conditioning of individuals through their culture patterns human behaviour. Agency forwards the notion that human behaviour is determined by free will that charts the way for independent action and free will in making choices. Revolutions are occurrences in governance that result to a change in leadership, which is achieved through various means. Numerous schools of thought have been forwarded in an attempt to explain and the understanding of the making and the instigators of revolutions. This paper seeks to highlight the debate between structural theorists and the culture and agency school to the 1906 constitutional revolution in Iran. The 1906 constitutional revolution in Iran was instigated by the Shah’s extravagance, which led to the exploitation and destruction of the nation’s economy (Poulson 104). Teheran was the seat of Persian power and majority of the population was composed of merchants, noble classes, religious authorities and the educated elite who felt and understood the consequences of the Shah’s extravagance (Poulson 106). They were the main instigators of the revolution that called for the removal of the chancellor who was to blame for the dire economic situation. After the removal of the chancellor the Shah did not change his extravagant ways and the same group campaigned and advocated for the establishment of an institution would rule by law instead of royal and foreign influence. In the context of this discussion, the 1906 revolution in Iran can be viewed from both perspectives that are presented by structural theorists and the culture and agency school of thought. This is b ecause according to Skocpol, there are always structural forces that underlie the uprising of a revolution. Persia was facing an economic meltdown under the leadership of the Shah, which means the societal structure was under threat (Geels 32). This is in the

Broadcasting of the BBC Documentary The Secret Policeman Essay Example for Free

Broadcasting of the BBC Documentary The Secret Policeman Essay On Tuesday 21st October 2003, the BBCs documentary The Secret Policeman was broadcast to approximately 5 million viewers in Britain. Mark Daly, an undercover reporter had spent seven months posing as a fellow trainee at the Bruche National Training Centre in Cheshire to film an exposà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ on racism among police recruits. The film not only provided evidence of police racism but also highlighted the stereotypical representations of Black identity within Western ideology. In this essay I propose to investigate how the British medias representation of Blacks has, rather than reflecting reality, constructed it. My research predominantly focuses on evidence gathered from racial reports and theories of the 1980s until the present day and examines the development, if any, within race representation in the media. Pre-1980s case studies are generally omitted because of the rapid development of discussion of racial issues as a reaction to the brutal riots of that decade. Additionally, the institutional and individual stereotyping revealed within The Secret Policeman can be directly related to prevalent issues specifically within the media of the previous two decades. Controversially, I ultimately aim to depict The Secret Policeman as a symbol of advancement in Black representation within Britain. The use of the term Black bastard and Nigger isnt racist The Secret Policemans inclusion of a clip of racist remarks by the Police Federations Representative in 1983 is an accurate reflection of the racial turmoil that Britains Institutions and communities were in. Black lawlessness was an image that dominated the Press reporting on riots from 1980 85. A predominantly Black riot against at Bristols police force in 1980 was followed by further confrontational outbreaks in 1981. The first two years of riots gained Britains (particularly young) West Indian community the reputation for being notorious for muggings, assaults and murders2 but nonetheless presented a slight initial interest into the awareness of the underlying causes. The scale of Britains urban unrest between these years varied considerably but the sequence of violence after 1980 forced the political agenda to include an examination of the origins of the protests. The Press employed Brixton (1981) to highlight the need for enhanced Government economic policies; As we condemn th e senseless terror we also condemn the deep seated social problemswhich spawned them. From 1983 to 1985 Britains poor and predominantly West Indian and Asian neighbourhoods experienced social disturbances, as was the case in 1981. Once more, the media endorsed the riots as the criminal acts of black, inner-city youths but this time they were not linked to ethnic inequality, oppression or socio-economic frustration but only to the Blacks position in society and their undermining of the law and cultural traditions of the minority communities themselves. The British presss reaction to the prominence of riots particularly during 1985 was to decline both generally to examine the reasons for them and specifically to consider ethnical inequality as a cause. Subjects of immigration, housing, employment, social facilities and race relations within the civic authorities that were central to the causes of the urban violence, were abandoned for crude simplifications that represented Blacks as the sole initiators of the violence. The criminal identity with which the media had labe lled Blacks was not wholly fictitious. Anecdotal evidence of provocative quotes and repetition of unreliable stories would always operate within a dominant regime of truth4. Crimes involving Blacks were given disproportionate coverage that suggested a behavioural generalisation that would never be suggested of Whites. Stereotyping was not the only form of racism; more covertly the press would exclude or misconstrue statistics such as those that showed Blacks to be twice as likely to be out of work as their counterparts. The coverage of Tottenhams 1985 riot gave less publicity to the death of a lack woman than the ensuing disturbances in which a police constable was murdered. The policemans role as a victim totally overshadowed the mourning of the aggressor that the Black fatality was consigned to. The perspective within which coloured people are presented as ordinary members of society has become increasingly overshadowed by a news perspective in which they are presented as a problem. Teun. A. Van Dijk was highly influenced by Hartmann and Husbands early study of racism in the press which concluded the above labelling of Blacks. According to Van Dijk the riots were topicalized in a style recognisable across the entire media front; the event, the causes and the consequences. Contrary to using these journalistic traits to investigate all areas of the riots, Britains media manipulated it as a means of reporting on selective data. The event was described as the attacks of mobs of black youths; in order to maintain the stimulus once the disturbance was over the primary definition of the cause of the riots was in terms of Black criminality in preference to the inner city conditions. Finally, the exoneration of Institutional Britain was enabled through the reports focus into future containment, policing and inquiries. The report pattern of Black mob, Black crime and Black prevention was typical of a whole generations instinctive approach to Black Britain. The medias resp onse to the 1980s riots created and regurgitated images of Black male criminals. Blacks in non-race stories were not considered newsworthy. Encouragingly by the 1980s Black was on the political agenda; however by 1985 it had been relegated from the social issue some commentators had perceived, via a social problem to a social evil. If the medias hegemonic reports and editorials in the 1980s were classed as a barely disguised belief in White supremacy, The Secret Policeman strangely that that attitude to Blacks is as strong today as ever it was then. Im a firm believer that Pakis create racism. Most Asians carry knives. The thing in London is, the majority of street robbery is Black In 1982 the Commission for Racial Equality published the first code of practice on eliminating discrimination and promoting equal opportunities, which was speedily identified by a Daily Telegraph editorial as bossy nonsense. Arguably the code of practice was counter-productive. Attacks on anti-racist and equal rights movements were at their height during the period of 1983 to 1986, when Black became Britains pretext for social disturbances. Resistance towards such movements was accused of stirring racial tension through excessive political correctness. For much of the press, racism was a manufactured problem of the anti-racist left, found in social science research programmes, anti-racist projects and multi-cultural education. The anti-racist social learning process created accusations of anti-English indoctrination thus posing a threat to White elitism, dominance and control. Thatchers Institutionally right-wing Britain defined itself as a protagonist of the attacks from the left th at they believed favoured special treatment of multicultural Britain. Significantly, the immediate Government response to The Secret Policeman undercover investigation was given by the home secretary David Blunkett, who criticised the BBC for their intent to create, not report, a storyas a covert stunt to get attention According to the Guardians most recent statistics, ethnic minorities make up 9% of the UKs population. In more urban areas such as Greater Manchester where The Secret Policeman was filmed, this percentage is believed to reach figures as high as 30%. However, the documentary showed Warrington police training base to consist of 118 white and one Asian recruit. Notably, Black people in are massively under-represented in Parliament. New Western societies still show many forms of institutional and everyday discrimination that David Blunkett arguably hoped to dismiss with a similar response to the 1980s critical analysis of racist exposs. Over a month before The Secret Policeman was broadcast, John Gieve, the permanent Secretary at the Home Office wrote to the BBC a letter that they described as unprecedented pressure to bully them into withdrawing the programme. The chief constable of Greater Manchester Police also intimidated the BBC with the threat of a Hutton-style inquiry that could d estroy the BBCs relationship with the police. Mark Dalys work within the police force was cut short when arrested on suspicion of deception and damaging police property; charges were dropped when embarrassingly for the police, the public were informed of the institutional racism. The Observer newspaper considered the Whitehall and police resistance worthy of its front-page headline Home Office tried to axe BBC police race expos. Headlines are carefully devised as a pithy synopsis of the story. They quickly impart knowledge in a way which facilitates both understanding and recall. The headlines of news reports about ethnic affairs summarize events that the medias white academics, teachers, writers and political activists define as relevant to white and black readers interests. The medias manipulation of headlines dramatized the 1980s anti-racism only to emphasise the Western ideology of Black negativity. For example the Telegraphs conspicuous headline bossy nonsense clearly established the tedium felt by the author towards the issue of tackling racism. The Observers recent negative portrayal of institutional antagonists of anti-racism reveals a positive shift from the medias earlier resentment towards the anti-racist movements. So what is the ideological impli cation of the shift from 1980s resentment to the Observers stance? How is the exposure of racism in todays society a sign of improved race-relations? Who is to blame for todays existing racism? Is it the BBCs fault this has happened? BBC Radio One questioned both the responsibility of the police and the media in the revelation of The Secret Policeman. Radio One criticised the constable of North Wales for his reference to the hysteria related to terrorism, extremist Muslims and asylum as the rationale for increased racist views. Blaming society, it commented, was no option for police professionals who should concentrate on training and challenge prejudice15. Is the BBCs accusation equitable or is pardoning society a means of pardoning the media to ultimately pardon itself? How we are seen determines in part how we are treated; how we treat others is based on how we see them; such seeing comes from representation.16 Traditionally founded on Reithian ideas of independence, access and expression, the BBC aimed to inform, educate and entertain the masses. The BBC devised itself an identity as the national cultural institution that would represent Britains public through Britains voice. In a statement following the arrest of Mark Daly, the BBC reflected the all-purpose mission they were founded upon: We believe this to be a matter of significant public interest17. The BBC, in essence, the media, is a powerful realm of social whiteness that manipulates the patterns of inter-elite communication. The ethnic minorities in Britain even today remain concentrated in relatively few areas. As a result huge numbers of the White majority rely almost exclusively on the media for knowledge of issues concerning their Black counterparts. The formations and continuance of White attitudes are therefore highly reliant upon the medias portrayal of race-relations; most frequently found in the news. The news is an every day routine structure, and in literal terms can be defined as a classical realist text. However, Nichols recognises that the reality of news takes precedence over the news of reality18, thus enabling it to empower, or dis-empower its subject. In these terms the subject is Black and the empowerment is integral to the serious issue of Black nationhood and identity. When reality is represented, its former unequivocal status becomes ambiguous; news is static but its context is not. For example, patterns of race reporting can attach themselves to the wider subjects of Black British existence, a procedure that Sarita Malik terms leitmotif. During the 1980s riots, the Black identity was frequently referred to in terms of former race-related violence. Leitmotifs thus manipulated the reality to familiarise the White-eye with often-unrelated parables of Black anger that consequently created a distorted mis-information about the original conflict. In contrast, representing reality can be equal ly deceitful through a negation of context. The news according to Malik is best at representing what and why but regularly fails to recognise the socio-political reasoning behind it. In terms of race relations of the last two decades Britains media tends to focus excessively on the wider context of Black struggle yet too seldom on the social context that fuels this struggle. The BBCs decision to resist Governmental and Federal pressures and broadcast The Secret Policeman implied a positive shift in its allegiance to the White ruling classes. Although this documentary was yet another portrayal of the problem-orientated Black, uniquely the revolting19 and Appalling, racist revelations20 were more optimistically acknowledged as White. The television documentary is based on questions of identity that engage with the construction of relationships between subject, audience and the camera or narrator. The cinematography is used as a tool of authority in which the spectator is lured into believing they are a observing a record of untouched and immediate reality. But reality, as clarified previously, can be more ambiguous than anticipated. In fact, the illusion that a documentary allows the subject to speak for itself without moralising or judging is, like the news, a powerful status to possess. Documentaries are the most likely genre to directly address socio-political affairs and on the rare occasion of the medias attention to multicultural development it is most probable they will be used. Unfortunately, documentaries of the 1950s were emotive, sentimental and practically vague and similarly. The 1960s gave little hope for a genre increasingly lacking in sensitivity and awareness towards the Black subject. In contrast to the pathos of the 1950s White pity toward Blacks, the 1960s employed tones of hostility, fear and conflict. Thus, the erratic history of the socialist documentary was influential and manipulative towards the enhancement of Governmental attacks that ran adjacent to the anti-racist campaigns of the 1980s. The development of light and cheap video recording equipment has made the video diary an accessible and extremely popular style of documentary since the late 1990s; a development that enabled the BBC to produce The Secret Policeman. Improved camera technology initiated independent film-making and in effect greater social analysis during the 1990s, but this was not the only continuity in televisions social eye. Governmental, cultural and economic forces were evolving towards todays individualistic, consumerist and multicultural society; television had to ke ep pace. The documentary shifted from social generalisations to pluralism and for the first time society was eclipsed by individualism and lifestyle. Although the 1990s showed much resistance to an increasingly cross-cultural and mixed-race Britain, the definition of society and Britishness undoubtedly required re-examination. Isnt it good how memories dont fade? He [Steven Lawrence] fucking deserved it and his mum and dad are a fucking pair of spongers. PC Rob Pullings acclamation of the murderers and derision of the family of black student Steven Lawrence shocked viewers of The Secret Policeman. Lawrences mother was particularly disheartened, stating, that, after all this time, people still held those views.22 The stereotyping of Black people as spongers or scroungers is one that was upheld and confirmed during the rioting period of the 1980s. The Diasporas posed a threat to Britain as a consequence of its deficiency in resources and increasing immigration numbers. In 1968 Enoch Powell suggested a much favoured but conclusively rejected topic relatable to Thatchers new 1980s, right wing government; that of repatriation. Repatriation essentially warned Blacks to behave or go home. Powell returned to his theme in the wake of the 1985 Handsworth riots to create a climate of racist opinion. Immigration had become among the most prominent Press subjects, during which, one tabloid claimed that immigrants cost the taxpayer billions of pou nds. Black people were constituted as the welfare states problem that added to taxation through an exploitation of the White supremacist welfare state. In 1984, the News of the World printed the headline à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½476 a week for waiter Abdul. The Daily Mail picked up on this story, printing a day later; Jobless Abdullife of luxury in hotelsat the taxpayers expense.24 The actuality of this story is that the 476 payment that was referred to was an inclusive sum covering the cost of housing Abdul, his wife and his six children. More interestingly, Abdul Bari was a British citizen. In 1999, six years after the Lawrence incident, Sir William Macpherson undertook a high profile investigation into the racism and discrimination in the Metropolitan Police Force.His Report coined the phrase institutional racism. This triggered discussions of discrimination within Britains leading institutions: the police, the media, the education system and the government. Following the Lawrence enquiry huge numbers of police were forced to undertake intensive training in racial equality and similar, revised programmes are ongoing today. One police force in Britain sent 40 000 employees on race training days within the last year, but Pullings overt racism raises questions of the efficacy of the Home Offices current strategy of challenging prejudice. In the concluding chapter of her book Representing Black in Britain, Sarita Malik makes a discouragingly negative, albeit honest assertion that the accepted sentiment that racist Britain is in decline is somewhat false. By this, she suggests that racism in the media, as in other public sectors, has merely been concealed. Malik proposed that truthful representations could emerge only through more diverse, aesthetically innovative and accurate portrayals of Blacks. More relevantly to The Secret Policeman, Malik highlighted the need for a rethink of the constituent parts that compose Britains media: resources, employment and ultimately its national heritage. Whilst the number of Blacks and ethnic minorities on British television has increased dramatically particularly in urban based soaps such as Holby City and Eastenders the production teams and editors continue to favour Whites. My premise that The Secret Policemen established an interesting relationship with the development of Brit ish media was formed whilst listening to a Radio Four news programme. It suggested that The Secret Policeman provided hard evidence that racism had gone underground. The programme concluded that although the police understood the shoulds and shouldnts of racial procedures, impartiality was never entrenched in their hearts and minds. Consistently with my research, the social learning process of the media has potentially played a huge role in PC Pullings racist prejudices and discrimination. Racism is not innate after all; it is learned. So how is it that I feel confident to propose The Secret Policeman as evidence of enhanced race-relations within the media? The role of the media is not isolated, but connected in numerous ways to the elites in general; this time it stood alone. The BBC assumed the role of the anti-racist and confronted the majority. The Secret Policeman exposed to huge public numbers, the long-standing stereotypes of the ruling-race and gave scope for investigating the origins of such beliefs. More positively the documentary received instant and drastic responses from both the public and the institutions. The Home Office immediately introduced plans for new police integrity tests and understood the need for societal change. The medias willingness to scrutinise and criticise the racism revealed in The Secret Policeman marked a complete reversal from the attacks on anti-racism evident in the 1980s. The Secret Policeman has served a distinctive purpose. It has illustrated what has long been apparent but too rarely admitted; White power is dangerously flawed. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ferguson, Robert. Representing Race, 1998. Arnold: London Gordon, Paul Rosenberg, David. The Press and black people in Britain, 1989. Runnymede Trust: Nottingham Malik, Sarita. Representing Black in Britain, 2002. Sage: London Solomos, John. Race and Racism in Contemporary Britain, 1989. Macmillan: London Troyna, Barry. Public awareness and the media, 1981. Commission for Racial Equality: London Van Dijk, Tuen A. Racism and the Press, 1991. Routledge: London and New York

Psychological Contract And Motivational Problems Management Essay

Psychological Contract And Motivational Problems Management Essay The recent change of management at Wingos incorporating the new mission statements has seen a lot of changes with employees both the managers and non-managers. This report will analyse the current issues at Wingos (Reading Store), what as gone wrong, why it has gone wrong and how to make it better. The acquisition of Wingos by Melrose Plc has brought about a drastic change which has seen a change in the management style. Staffs have embraced this change with resentment and resistance which will be outlined in the report. Some staffs have become disillusioned and left while some had decided to stay and resist the changes and this as seen a great rise in lateness and absenteeism as well as low productivity. The fundamental areas addresses are the psychological contract, motivation and the management problems. This report has been structured in the following way. The first part addressed the issues with the use of relevant theories and research. The second part draw up conclusions on the findings and analysis and finally, the third part of the report suggested some attainable recommendations. One major problem identified with Wingos is the psychological contract. The psychological contract has been broken on both the management and the employees side. According to Robinson, Kraatz, Rosseaus(1994) the psychological contract is an unwritten agreement that exist between employers and their employees, meaning what employers expects from it employees and what the employees expect of their employers (Mullins, 2005). As well as the managers expectation of the staffs such as displaying a positive attitude, be responsive to leadership influence and working diligently, the employees also expects the management to be fair, trustworthy and create opportunities for development (Boddy, 2008). Before the new management started, the staffs dwell on the old psychological contact which is I will work hard for and act with loyalty towards my employer. In return I expect to be retained as an employee provided I do not act against the interests of the organisation. I also expect to be given opportunities for development and promotion should circumstances make this possible. (Torrington et al, 2008). The new Wingos management have broken this psychological contract. Staffs who had joined straight from school and having the impression for a job for life, hoping to stay until retirement and get promoted according to their length of service has seen all of this taken away from them. This has resulted to lack of commitment from staffs as well has lack of motivation. Some of the staffs believe the new management has broken the psychological contract and this can be supported by Parks Kidder (1994) who suggest that when the psychological contract is broken, staff reduce their commitment to the organisation and some of them are less willing than ever to give their all for the good of their organisation. (Cited in www.internationalmta.org). Some staff playing by the old psychological contract became disillusioned and left the organisation whilst some staff decided to stay and resist the changes. This action can be supported by Herriot and Pemberton (1995) where they describe a typical reaction to breach of the psychological contract as to leave to stay or keep your head below parapet, or to stay and take your revenge. Some of the staffs that decided to stay and resist the change can be seen as taking revenge against the management and by doing this, it could lead to de-motivation and can result in low productivity and high absenteeism. B. MOTIVATIONAL PROBLEMS Motivation is one of the major problems Wingos is facing currently. De-motivation has been made obvious by the attitude and behaviours of the staff after the change in management. Motivation is very important to Wingos because there are a lot of potential gain from it such as high productivity, low labour turnover and low absenteeism. It is obvious from the staffs that they are de-motivated seeing from their performance as well as the stores performance. There is evidence that staff had low morale and according to Herzberg 2 factor theory (1959) the staffs wants to have a sense of achievement, and chance of improvement (Mullins, 2005). Staffs come in whenever they want, the shop floor looks generally untidy which reduces productivity and staff are not in agreement. 1. Low Productivity: Less motivated staffs tend to have low productivity. It is evident that the traditional Wingos and the new Wingos have productivity issues. With the traditional Wingos profit had fallen drastically which lead to the new system but despite productivity did not improve. The lack of motivation has resulted in some staff delivering reduced level of productivity. Low productivity could be as a result of various factors. Such factors includes competency (www.team buildinginc.com) that is the staffs from the traditional Wingos had fairly routine work and not particularly challenging, which means they were not really interested in the root of how to carry out their work. And in the new Wingos, conversations with various staffs have made it clear that staffs find it difficult to do their job properly because of general lack of training. Taylor (1911) motivation theory describes how the application of scientific methods to the management of workers could improve productivi ty. (www.netmba.com). He also went ahead to argue that workers need close supervision and control to enjoy there work and they should be given the necessary training in other for them to work efficiently. McGregors (1960) Theory X supports this reaction that workers are viewed as lazy and wish to avoid responsibility (www.tutor2.net). Another factor which can cause low productivity is the productivity standard (www.teambuildinginc.com). It is evident at Wingos that there has been lack of communication between the staff and their line managers and the line managers with their district manager. There are no set standards or clear definition of the standard performance and this could result to de-motivation amongst staff. Locke (1975) supports this reaction to identify this motivation behaviour. According to Lockes goal- setting theory Wingos staffs have been de-motivated because there is no clear goals on what they need to achieve to increase productivity and there is no appropriate f eedback on why there has been decrease in their productivity (Mullins, 2005). 2. Lateness and Absenteeism: Following the acquisition by Melrose Plc and the introduction of new ways of doing things and also the break in the psychological contract, there has been a marked increase in lateness and absenteeism. This lateness and absenteeism increase could be as a result of various factors such as stress. Mitch McCrimmon in his article on How to Manage Absenteeism states that Motivated employees overcome obstacles to make it to work. The key to reducing employee absenteeism is to create a culture where employees want to come to work. (www.suite101.com). He also mentioned that factors such as stress keep staffs away from work because they are not motivated enough to be at work in the first place. Signs and Symptoms of stress within Wingos staffs includes low morale, absenteeism, performance (levels of produce wastage were high), relationship at work (tension and conflict between colleagues) etc. According to Vroom (1964) motivation theory, he believes that all three core concept of his expectancy theory must be met for staffs to be motivated. Currently, staffs at Wingos are not getting the intrinsic rewards they expect such as caring managers. All of this could lead to stress and as a result lateness and absenteeism is common. 3. Lack of Team Spirit: Another problem identified was the lack of team spirit. Staff are not seen to be productive because they are seen working on their own and there was less practiced of team working. The lack of team spirit as seen, as resulted to staff feeling de-motivated and lacking direction. One staff cannot do a teams work and if the team is not working together, individual will become stress which could lead to de-motivation and the task will not be achieved. This can be supported by Adairs model of leadership function that a task needs to be achieved by not one person but a team, the team needs should be met because if not met, an individual will be dissatisfied which could lead to de-motivation and the performance of the task will be impaired (www.teambuilding.co.uk). This therefore suggests that, management has set up teams and has not directed in the right way and therefore leaving the staffs de-motivated. 4. Personality Issues: Huczynski and Buchana(2007) defines personality has The psychological qualities that influence an individuals characteristic behaviour patterns in a stable and distinctive manner. (cited in Armstrong,2009) The differences in an individual can determine what motivates them. Every person is different from every other person in some respects but similar in other respects. As it can be seen with the staffs, some staffs left the company because the psychological contract of promotion was broken while some staff stayed behind to resist the change. C. MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS 1. Leadership Style/Management Structure: One major issue identified is the leadership and management style. About.com 18/11/09 defines leadership as the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal (www.about.com). The current situation in Wingos suggests that there is a fault with the leadership because, rather than the employees getting motivated, they have been de-motivated. According to Carnall (2007) when problems such as low motivation and low morale of employees, conflict between departments as seen amongst full-time and the weekenders and lack of capacity to adapt to changing circumstances as seen with the staffs generally occurs then there is a reason to conclude that the structure of the organisation is poor (Carnall, 2007). It has become obvious that most of the staff in regardless of their working time or days have found the top-down management style oppressive. According to Kotter (1990) Management is more to do with planning, controlling and putting appropriate structures and systems in place while leadership is more to do with anticipating change, coping with change and adopting a visionary stance. (McKenna, E 2001). Before February 2008, the management style that exists was the Laissez- Faire style. Managers provided little or no direction and gives staffs as much freedom as possible. After March 2008, the management adopted the autocratic leadership style. Manages retain as much power and decision making and did not consult staffs or allowed them to give any input. Herzbergs (1966) two factor theory supports this behaviour that before the change, staffs were motivated by the motivators (satisfier) such as chance of promotion, sense of achievement, interest in the job etc. While after the change, with the hygiene factors such as pay, company policy, the kind of supervision etc do not lead to higher levels of motivation but without them there is dissatisfaction (www.accel-team.com). Scholl (1981) claims that pay alone will not motivate an individual (Mullins, 2005). 2. Performance Management System (PMS): The critical factor of bringing this change in to place is to have the right number well trained staff and motivated. As a result of this change, the opposite of the aim was evident. Staffs were easily de-motivated and lost their morale which can be seen as a result of the managers behaviours. The managers assume according to McGregor Theory X (1960) that employees must be threatened with punishment to get them to put in adequate effort at work (Thomson, 2002). The staffs felt the system is unfair and this is as a result of improper use by the managers. This is an evidence of the autocratic leadership style. The managers can be seen not consulting the staffs or allowing them to give any inputs. The system that has been put in place to benefits the company, the managers and the staffs by seeing to the needs and development of staffs has been used improperly. Some studies over the past years shows that this type of leadership could see organisati on having high turnover and absenteeism and this is evident at Wingos. (www.essortment.com) 3. Lack of communication: Wingos has introduced a drastic change following being part of Melrose Plc. The management style had change. There is no evident to suggest that staff were fully enlightened about the new changes introduced. One main complaint identified was that there is lack of communication between employees and the management and even within the managers and the next level up. 4. Lack of training: Staffs had not been properly trained on the new changes and this has reduced their output and not able to do their jobs properly. CONCLUSION The analysis and findings concludes that staffs have become de-motivated as a result of the drastic change in the management and leadership style. The change has caused insecurity amongst the staffs such as staffs leaving and some staying back to resist the change. Psychological contract as been broken and which has seen some staff left the company and there has been low productivity. This is supported by Parks Kidder (1994). Managers had used tools such as Performance Management System which is supposed to motivate staff to de-motivate them. There has been lack of communication which has resulted to staffs being resentful and resisting change. All this issues needs to be addressed for the company to be successful. If not resolved, there could be a further decrease in productivity, increase in absenteeism and staff loss to competitors. In other for all of this to be resolved, there are key areas that need to be addressed, such as the psychological contract, motivation of staffs and the management style. RECOMMENDATION Psychological Contract Due to the fact that, the psychological contract is perceived to have been broken, a new contract should therefore be established. Rousseau and Greller (1994) describe the psychological contract as a contract that encompasses the actions employees believe are expected of them and what response they expect in return from the employer.'(Cited in www.gowerpublishing.com). The only way for staffs to be aware of the actions expected of them by the management and what response they expect in return from the management is by undertaking a staff survey, to be completed by both staffs and managers. This should help identify the expectation from both staff and could help understand the new contract. Effective Change For an organisation to be successful when carrying out changes, there are three necessary conditions to be met which includes awareness, capability and inclusion (Carnall, C). It is important for staff to be aware of the changes that are going to take place in any organisation because according to Mayo (1949), he concluded that workers are best motivated when there is better communication between them and their managers. (www.tutor2u.net). As well as communicating with staffs, if they are included in the decision making, they are more likely to accept change. Staffs also need to be capable and be sure they know what is required of them and this can only be effective if staffs are given adequate training. Therefore, it is recommended that staffs should be well informed by having regular meetings with their line managers (this can bridge the gap between the full-time staffs and the weekenders and also create good team spirit), staffs should be well trained in other for them to do their jobs accurately and should be involved with decision making by creating suggestion boxes and implementing some of the suggestions. And if a suggestion is used, the staff should be rewarded. Employee Appraisal It is recommended that, the management re-visit the PMS which is to see to employee appraisal rather than punishment. Staffs needs to understand why the PMS has been put into place and what benefits are available for them in it. Staffs have different personality and are diverse in their own way and managers needs to understand the individual needs of their staffs. Following a staff appraisal, knowing that the managers are aware of their personal needs and goals, they will tend to be more motivated, and in return there will be high productivity, high labour turnover and staff retention. Relationship The managers should develop an interest in their staffs by getting to know them, their way of life and their families. According to a CIPD survey, a good relationship between employees and line manager is the most important factor for motivating staff and establishing a positive psychological contract (Thomson, 2002). The staff appraisal can also build the relation between the staff and their managers. One of the benefits of appraisals is that, staffs experience improved relationship with their managers and vice versa (Thompson, 2002). This recommendation can help build the gap between the workforce by creating a good team spirit. Monitoring Absence Staffs sickness absence should be monitored. It is recommended that line managers should interview staffs when they return back to work to identify the reason for their sickness. And if the sickness is work related, managers should ensure that the situation is dealt with appropriately. Management Training The type of leadership style recommended at Wingos is the Democratic style. Before February 2008, the type of leadership practiced was the Lassie Faize style which saw the company going down. After March 2008, the new management introduce the autocratic style which saw staff de-motivated and some staff left the company. Introducing the democratic leadership style, will increase motivation amongst staff and staffs will support the vision of the company and the company generally will see growth. Therefore, all managers should be trained on how to motivate their staffs and learn the approach of the democratic or participative leadership style. Although this is a good recommendation as it will see increase in staff inputs towards Wingos, however cost of training should be considered. Exit Interviews Retention of employees should be addressed by interviewing staffs before they leave to identify why they are leaving. If the reason for leaving is given, it should be dealt with in a positive way and it should be treated discreetly. Although some staffs may choose not to disclose their actual reason of leaving, it is highly recommended that manager doing the exit interview should not be well known to the staff leaving. This is because staffs tend to open up more when they are in a neutral environment.

John Edgar Hoover :: essays research papers

John Edgar Hoover G-men, Feds, Special Agents and Detectives, all names for members of a nationally, elite police force known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation. But how would you act if you found out that the G-men was started by a cross dressing homosexual? John Edgar Hoover was born in Washington, D.C. on January 1, 1895. His father, Dickerson Hoover, was a printmaker, but he had a mental breakdown in 1921 and he spent his last eight years in Laurel Asylum. This dramatically reduced the family income and Hoover had to leave school and seek employment. Hoover found work as a messenger boy in the Library of Congress, but highly ambitious, spent his evenings studying for a law degree at George Washington University. After Graduation, Hoover's uncle, a judge, helped him find work in the Justice Department. After only two years in the organization, Alexander M. Palmer, the attorney general, made Hoover his special assistant. Hoover was given responsibility of heading a new section that had been formed to gather evidence on "revolutionary and ultra-revolutionary groups.† Over the next couple of years Hoover had the task of organizing the arrest and deportation of suspected communists in America. This was known as the Red Scare. From his previous work in the Library of Congress, Hoover decided to catalog all of the suspected communist. Over the next few years 450,000 names were indexed and detailed biographical notes were written up on the 60,000 that Hoover considered the most dangerous. Hoover then advised Palmer to have these people rounded up and deported. On 7th November, 1919, the second anniversary of the Russian Revolution, over 10,000 suspected communists and anarchists were arrested in twenty-three different cities. However, the vast majorities of these people were American citizens and had to be eventually released. However, Hoover now had the names of hundreds of lawyers who were willing to represent radicals in court. These were now added to his growing list of names in his indexed database. Hoover was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation in 1924. The three years that he had spent in the organization had convinced Hoover that the organization needed to improve the quality of its staff. Great care was spent in recruiting and training agents. In 1926 Hoover established a fingerprint file that eventually became the largest in the world. The power of the bureau was limited. Law enforcement was a state activity, not a federal one.

Personal Narrative - The Rice Fields of Home :: Personal Narrative, Autobiographical Essay

The Rice Fields of Home I remember the big Gingko tree on the little hill. It was an old tree, shaped like a grandma with her curved back and wrinkly body. I loved how its leaves turned golden yellow during the autumn. I called them, Eun-hang Ip. Whenever the wind blew, it was snowing yellow, and I was covered with them. I would often doze off in that yellow blanket while the sunshine held my feet with her warm hands and the gentle breeze brushed my hair. In my dreams, I climbed that tree all the way up and reached the clouds--the white cotton candies. Carefree, worry free; my younger years... Everything seemed so beautiful in my eyes. Mother Nature was with me and she filled the absence of my real mother during my childhood; my daily life started with the satisfying weather and ended without complaints. All four seasons shared their charm equally and decorated my memories with their pretty details. I never forget my grandpa’s sky-blue antique bicycle and its’ two gigantic wheels. It didn’t have a break, but it made a little squeak sound every now and then which brought out more of its’ oldie character. I would paddle that bicycle through my peaceful, car-less road. The trees on the side of the road with their arms arched inward made the way seem like a tunnel. The little bits of sunbeams that sneaked in between the leaves, looked like the sparkling Christmas tree lights. When the tree tunnel ended the paddling also stopped, and the gravity took control because it was going down the hill. With the sudden acceleration and the bursting of full blazing sunshine, I closed my eyes, feeling the speed all over my body. Red, pink, yellow, and white Cosmos flowers, which replaced the trees on the side, were the first colors back into my little peaking eyes. As I rode through the flower tunnel, now slow and calm again, I could hear the fall wind wh istle. Time of harvest, a six years old me running around and following my family, was a busy time. All the rice fields, which were once covered with rice plants, were cut.