Ch. 15 LO Essay Example

Ch. 15 LO Essay Example Ch. 15 LO Essay Ch. 15 LO Essay Learning Objective Chapter 1 5 LOI Decisions about technology and innovation are strategic, and managers need to approach them systematically. Assessing the technology needs of a company usually begins with benchmarking. Benchmarking compares the organizations practices and technologies with those of other companies. Then the company will look at the environment through scannings. These scannings focus on what can be done and what is currently being developed. Both of these practices still might not be enough to stay ahead of the innovation curve and use disruptive innovation which efers to a process by which a product, service or business model takes root initially in simple applications at the bottom of a market and them moves up market. Managers should make an effort to be aware of disruptive innovation that could potentially displace established competitors in their industry. L02 After managers have thoroughly analyzed their organizations current technological position, they can plan how to develop or exploit emerging technologies. Managers must consider several criteria when planning how to develop or exploit emerging technologies. To begin a manager must consider the market potential. Many innovations are stimulated by external demand for new goods and services. Next they should consider whether technological innovations are even feasible. After that they must carefully consider whether there is a good financial incentive for doing so. Then they must link technology and innovation strategies to their organizations core capabilities. Finally, a manger must decide whether to adopt technological innovations while also taking into account the culture of the organization, the interests of managers, and the expectations of stakeholders. L03 Developing new technology may conjure up visions of scientists and product evelopers working in research and development laboratories. In many industries, the primary sources of new technology are the organizations that actually use it. However, new sources can come from suppliers, manufacturers, users, other industries, universities, and overseas companies. Essentially, the question of how to acquire new technology is a make-or-buy decision which is the question an organization asks itself about whether to acquire new technology from an outside source of develop it itself. These questions include if it is important in terms of competitive advantage that the technology remain proprietary, are the time, skills, nd resources for internal development available, and is the technology readily available outside the company? The answers to these questions guide the manager to the most appropriate technology acquisition option. L04 Successful innovation is a lot more than a great idea. A study found that the lack of good ideas is hardly ever the obstacle to profitable innovation. Organizing for innovation involves unleashing the creative energies of employees while directing their efforts toward meeting market needs in a timely manner. Companies can unleash creativity y establishing a culture that values intrapreneursnip, accept and ven celebrate failures as a sign of innovation, and reinforce innovation through goal setting, rewards, and stories of creative employees. A powerful tool for managing technology and innovations is the development project. A development project is a focused organizational effort to create a new project or process via technological advances. These development projects typically feature a special cross-functional team that works together on an overall concept or idea. L05 Managers today want, or should want, their organizations to become world- class. Being world-class requires applying the best and latest knowledge and ideas nd having the ability to operate at the highest standards of any place anywhere. In order to get to world-class a company must build their organization for sustainable, long-term greatness. Great companies have strong core values in which they believe deeply, and they express and live the values consistently. They are driven by goals and have the ability to change continuously by driving for progress. A company must also replace the tyranny of the or with the genius of the and. The genius of the and is that multiple important goals can be achieved simultaneously and synergistically. World-class companies create high-value products and earn superior profits over the long run and that is what every company should be striving for. L06 Change happens, constantly and unpredictably. And competitive advantage you may have depends on particular circumstances at a particular time, but circumstances change. Effective change management occurs when the organization moves from its current state to a desired future state without excessive cost to the organization or its people. People dont like change for reasons such as inertia, poor timing, surprise, peer pressure, and management tactics. Motivating people to hange often requires three basic stages that include unfreezing, moving, and refreezing. Managers can also use education and communication, participation and involvement, facilitation and support, negotiation and rewards, manipulation and cooptation, and explicit and implicit coercion. Each approach to managing resistance has advantages and disadvantages. Finally, managers must lead the change in order to establish a sense of urgency to their peers in order to maximize efficiency. L07 Most change is reactive. A better way to change is to be proactive. Reactive change means responding to pressure after a problem has arisen. Preparing for an uncertain future requires a proactive approach. Proactive change means anticipating and preparing for an uncertain future. It implies being a leader and creating the future you want. People can proactively forge the future by being a shaper more than an adapter. An adapter takes the current industry structure and its future evolution as givens and choose where to compete. People can also actively manage their careers and their personal development, and become an active leader and a lifelong learner. Being willing to seek new challenges, and reflect honestly on success and failures is key to creating a successful future.

What Does Mise en Place Mean In A Business Writing Course

What Does Mise en Place Mean In A Business Writing Course â€Å"Mise-en-place is the religion of all good line cooks†¦ As a cook, your station, and its condition, its state of readiness, is an extension of your nervous system†¦ The universe is in order when your station is set.† - Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential If it is time for you to cook up a business report, proposal, or other major document, you might want to take direction from the time-honored system used in restaurant kitchens around the world. Mise en place is a French term that means â€Å"put in place† and describes the way chefs get organized for dinner service in order to produce good food quickly and under great pressure. It involves precise preparation, so that when the work begins, everything and everyone is ready and knows what to do next. Because time, resources, and space are precious in a restaurant kitchen, chefs use this system to make the most of them. Professional chefs call it the â€Å"Meez† and say it is much more than a system. It’s a philosophy, and a state of mind. In a report from National Public Radio’s â€Å"The Salt,† Melissa Gray, a student at the famed Culinary Institute of America says she even knows people who have had mise en place tattooed on their body. â€Å"It really is a way of life†¦ a way of concentrating your mind to only focus on the aspects that you need to be working on at that moment, to kind of rid yourself of distractions.† PRINCIPLES OF MISE EN PLACE Preparation mindset: Chefs have designated workstations. They ensure their knives are always sharpened and tools placed within reach. Before service starts, they review recipes. Then they prep the ingredients, sometimes getting set for a three-hour dinner service with six hours of prep time. If you have a major business writing project coming up, do your mise en place before beginning. Compile the information/statistics you know you will need and create an information mapping system that works for you. Line up the team of people who will be contributing to the project and make sure each person knows their role. Sharpen your business writing skills by taking a business writing course. Plan ahead so that when the deadline approaches, your document is cooking away and almost ready to serve. Working â€Å"clean†: Working clean is a matter of pride to a professional chef, and crucial to ensure that nobody gets sick from their food. Proponents of mise en place keep their work stations picked up, as they go, so there are no dirty pots stacked on the cutting board or vegetable clippings clogging the sink. Working clean on a writing project translates to keeping your work area organized in a concept map or outline and checking in with the team to see if they are meeting deadlines. A document is created with a process. It also includes saving pertinent information (where you know you will find it) for future projects. A good business writer who works in a mise en place manner doesn’t have to start from scratch with each writing project. Slow down to speed up: Proponents of the Meez know that it is better to work in a controlled manner, even if it means slowing service a little bit, than to risk putting out inconsistent, poorly presented dishes. After all, if a diner has a problem with the dish, they might return it, and then it has to be cooked all over again. That’s a big waste of time. The same goes for a business writing project. Rushing through and sending off a document that is not on target, or contains inaccurate information and typos, can result in having to redo the document or even worse- the loss of business. An effectivebusiness writing course with Instructional Solutions will get you prepared for your next project. You will get organized, get cooking on your document and learn to speak the lingo. GET ORGANIZED The majority of business documents follow a recipe of sorts. Readers expect that proposals will have X and reports contain Y. An appropriate business writing course will enable you to write efficiently (spending 30% less time writing), with the goal of getting a positive business response from the document. Most importantly, you will learn to analyze who the target audience for the document is. Too often, documents like business proposals are shaped around what your company offers, instead of what the client needs. That approach is like making a dish from what you have in the fridge, instead of using the ingredients that the recipe calls for. GET COOKING â€Å"No one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.† - Julia Child The same is true for great business writers. Make sure you get right into the kitchen and work on one of your writing projects. SPEAK THE LINGO Do you speak chef? Do you know that â€Å"in the weeds† means you are running behind? Just as a professional kitchen has its own language, so does business writing. Learn about language and style to ensure that your document speaks the lingo of its target readers. Instructional Solutions has abusiness writing coursethat will sharpen your writing skills and enable you to produce high quality business documents, no matter how crazy it is in your company kitchen. Contact usto learn more, and bon appà ©tit!

Writing121 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Writing121 - Essay Example One of the questions asked is whether women and men should be permitted by law to dress as they wish in any society or should restrictions be placed on the ways in which people dress in public. It should be a freedom for people to wear as they please regardless of their gender or race. Giving the people this kind of freedom is going to make them feel free to wear as they please. They will feel that they are not restricted by the laws and will be a happy people. However, dictating or putting limitations on how the people of the nation will wear may make them uncomfortable and hinder them from feeling free to do as they wish. Men should be allowed to wear as they please and women as well in order to strengthen the bond within a nation. Restrictions will have more negative effects on the society than positive effects. Individuals that are better to a point are not usually cooperative. They face the challenge of needing a way to have unique identity and how to experiment on different things. However, due to the restrictions, they end up bottling it up which may with time make them bitter; especially is they do not agree with the reasons behind the restrictions. This does not m atter whether the individual is male or female. The mode of dressing in a nation where the people are free is also the freedom to express one self. The way on dresses is a reflection on their individuality as long as it is their own choice. Therefore, when women and men are given the freedom to dress as they please, they are also awarded the freedom of expression not only in speech but in dressing. They will be free to show what they believe in and dress in a manner that makes them feel comfortable. The individuals in such a nation will not feel obliged to act in a certain manner that suits their dressing code even if they do not believe in it; putting restrictions on the dressing code will force them to act in a

Visual analusis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Visual analusis - Essay Example There are beautiful pictures of the Island, which give off a very refreshing feel. Water is shown mostly as it is the main attraction for people, while volcanic mountains are another great attraction and they are showcased too. The pictures are about people having the time of their lives. These images appeal to the fun side of people, showing them the various activities they can participate in. It gives the idea of being close to nature and having as much fun as one wants. However, this is not all the island has to offer, there are other things that are equally important and the one thing that is evident everywhere is the Hawaiian culture. A detailed account of the history of Hawaii is also present on the website to make it easier for people to view ("Hawaiian Islands"). The videos present on the website are up to date and they promote the culture, informing the people about the various spots that should be visited. They let people know about the specialities of Hawaii, convincing them to visit the place. For this purpose, these videos are also made at spots that are very beautiful and serene. The basic thing that is being focusses upon is the peacefulness –as there are beaches to relax on and various spas for massages. It is supposed to be a get-away from the hectic routine and this is exactly what this campaign portrays. Water plays a major role in this. It portrays a very soothing picture and gives a "visual breadth of space" that in turn provides openness and peace to the mind (Keane and Ohashi 150-151). The intended idea is for people to realize that for a certain period of time they will be surrounded by the tranquility of the exotic landscape and culture of Hawaii that will make them forget all their problems and enjoy to the fullest. People can listen to the stories present in the video section of the website and become more confident about choosing Hawaii as a spot for vacations ("Hawaiian Islands"). The text is easy to read, and is

The effects of video games on children Essay Example for Free

The effects of video games on children Essay Nowadays, game is so popular that everybody can see its appearances everywhere easily. There are a lot of type of game have been invented such as cosule game, Actually, video games have become a part of childrens life for the past few decades, because they are so convenient that children can play them whenever and wherever to spend time. There are a lot of opinions about effects of video game on our future generation. In some study, video games can be considered the second nature of the modern children, and that virtual world partly reflects the real world. Through that, children can come up and learn more knowledge about the real word. However, video games can also cause a lot of negative effects on children if they are addicted to those. Therefore, most people agree that playing too many video games does more harm than good. The bad effect of game Drifting back to the history of video game, it all started when Atari came up with its first gaming console that included a very simple game of tennis. At that time, the controller had just one stick and one button to play with. Now, we are having huge collection of gaming system with many different types of consoles available in the market with very complex games that requires controllers with two or more sticks and a variety of buttons. Every year, all gaming company makes a race for introducing a new edition or updating better quality for their production. Most people suppose that playing video game causes a lot of negative effects. Video games – a cause of violence and aggression are one of those and mainly mentioned. Video games are very variety of kinds, but it seems that the violent games are dominant because they attract more children than others. Furthermore, in some surveys, there are many violent games that allow the children to play arm bearing characters who can kill anyone that they want, steal cars, and commit many different kinds of crime, such as Mortal Combat, Marvel vs. Capcom, and Doom. They all are very interactive in the violence of slaughtering the opponent (1). In reality, although the video game producers put signs like Real-life violence and Violence level not recommended for children under age of 12 on their box covers, sometimes parents seem to ignore those warnings and let their children play the games that they like (2). Moreover, in some modern violent games, the producers want to attract more children by performing the actions of characters as elaborate maneuver when they get killed. For example, in Half-Life, when a character is killed by others, a bloody and gory scene displays in detail on the screen. What will happen if children play those day by day? How will those affect the naive minds of children? As everyone knows, the answer is that children will become violent and aggressive. Indeed, many studies seem to indicate that violent video games may be related to aggressive behavior. The children who often play more violent games will tend to be at odds with somebody and like fighting and killing. They tend to act in their real life as if they saw and experienced in games. In another aspect, playing too many video games is also the cause which makes children addicted. In a recent study of children in their early teens, the researchers found that almost a third played video games daily, and that 7% played for at least 30 hours a week (3). According to these statistical figures, it is really reasonable to conclude that children today are addicted to video games, and the number of those will increase more in the future. Addicting to video games can make children socially isolated. With the development of science and technology at present, it is so convenient that children can play video games everywhere from large devices, such as computers, laptops, and play stations, to small portable devices, such as DS, and Xbox†¦ With those, children can spend hours in playing without resting. Meanwhile, they may spend less time or even ignore in other activities such as doing homework, reading books, sports, and interacting with the family and friends. As a result, children will become lazy and passive, and they find it hard to integrate into the real life. Finally, video games may also have bad effects on children’s health, especially obesity and eyesight problems. When children are addicted to video games, they tend give them foremost priority. This takes the children away from their other physical activities and can have many health-related problems for the children, as they can get obese if they dont exercise and stay home playing video games. Many studies have also showed that spending hours more time playing videogames in front of television screens than playing real and actual sports that involve physical exercise can cause children to experience many of the same symptoms seen in computer vision syndrome in adults. Moreover, extensive viewing of the game screen can lead to eye discomfort, fatigue, blurry vision and headaches (4). As a result, the number of children who have eyesight problems, such as near-sighted, far-sighted, and astigmatism†¦ is increasing. This is perhaps the worst negative effect that videogames can have on children. On the contrary, as many people confirm, one of the most positive effects of video games is increasing the dexterity and agility of a child and improving their hand-eye coordination (5). The new modern video games that are coming out are extremely complex, and they involve the movement of many different kinds of sticks and buttons on the controllers. These can be very good for children as they learn to make fast connections between what they see and what their hands and fingers are doing. These also allow them to think quickly and improve their reflexes. For example, in shooting games, in some cases, the character may be running and shooting at the same time. This requires the children to keep track of the position of the character, where he or she is heading, the speed, where the gun is aiming, and so on. This process requires a great deal of hand-eye coordination and visual-spatial ability to be successful. Therefore, we find that playing video games can have many different effects, both positive as well as negative on children. Even though the children can have benefits by increasing their dexterity and improving their reflexes, the costs of them, like losing their physical exercise, social activities, and homework, declining health, as well as becoming violent, are too much. Overall, it is important that the parents consider this problem seriously and enforce certain rules and regulations that can limit and control the time of playing video games for their children. Parents also should encourage their children to take part in other physical exercise, sports, as well as social activities that can take children away from video games. References: (1), (2), and (3) according to Video Games: A Cause of Violence and Aggression Grace Shin Submitted by Serendip Update on Fri, 01/04/2008 http://serendip. brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1723 (4) according to Playing Video Games May Cause Eyestrain. Encourage Safe Game Play Guidelines for Your Child By Troy Bedinghaus, O. D. , About. com Guide Updated February 19, 2008 http://webcache. googleusercontent. com/search? q=cache:INT8Liv76l4J:vision. about. com/od/childrensvision/qt/Video_Games. htm+video+games+affect+eyesightcd=1hl=enct=clnkgl=ussource=www. google. com (5) according to Positive Effects of Video Gaming By R. L. Cultrona, eHow Contributor http://www. ehow. com/about_5370127_positive-effects-video-gaming. html.

Why we no longer need the traditional calendar :: essays papers

Why we no longer need the traditional calendar For over a century North American students have been following a traditional calendar, nine months in school, followed by three months out of school. In more recent times, many schools have been converting to a year-round calendar. Reasons for this include a wide variety of things, ranging from helping the overcrowding in schools, to increasing learning, as well as for the simple reason that we no longer need the traditional calendar. In the article, Effects of school calendars on student achievement and retention, Woodward states how early on, â€Å"farming was the primary source of income for families, and everyone in the family was obligated to help†¦school calendars were scheduled to revolve around the harvesting and planting of crops.†(1). These days, farming is no longer the main occupation in North America, and therefore there is no need to continue to use the traditional calendar if this is not the best way to increase education. The question asked here is, i s it the best way? If so, why are so many schools turning to year-round education? In Vital Speeches of the Day, Charles Ballinger suggests, â€Å"The growth continues because parents and educators question the wisdom of using a school calendar that interrupts formal education for three months at a time, is not educationally-sound, and was designed for yesterday's society.† In this paper, traditional calendars and year-round calendars will be looked at, and discussed, with quotes, by people who have been directly affected by both. The purpose of this research paper is to compare the effectiveness of year-round education and traditional schooling with respect to student learning, knowledge retention and development. What exactly does year-round education entail? Advocates for year-round schooling are convinced that, yes, this is the way to better education in this country, but typically people do not understand what year-round education is. People are quick to assume that this means spending more days in school, but the actual term in the thesaurus notes that year-round schools are, â€Å"schools that operate year-round but have no increased the number of days students must attend† (ERIC database). â€Å"Year-round calendars often begin the academic year in early August†¦45 days in school, followed by 15 days of vacation time (Shields and Oberg 4). Notice, the authors said often, because there are many slight variations of the year-round calendar.

Potato

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family (also known as the nightshades). The word may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species. Potatoes were introduced outside the Andes region four centuries ago, and have become an integral part of much of the world's cuisine. It is the world's fourth-largest food crop, following rice, wheat and maize. 1] Long-term storage of potatoes requires specialised care in cold warehouses. [2] Wild potato species occur throughout the Americas, from the United States to southern Chile. [3] The potato was originally believed to have been domesticated independently in multiple locations,[4] but later genetic testing of the wide variety of cultivars and wild species proved a single origin for potatoes in the area of present-day southern Peru and extreme northwestern Bolivia (from a species in the So lanum brevicaule complex), where they were domesticated 7,000–10,000 years ago. 5][6][7] Following centuries of selective breeding, there are now over a thousand different types of potatoes. [6] Of these subspecies, a variety that at one point grew in the Chiloe Archipelago (the potato's south-central Chilean sub-center of origin) left its germplasm on over 99% of the cultivated potatoes worldwide. [8][9] The annual diet of an average global citizen in the first decade of the 21st century included about 33 kg (73 lb) of potato. 1] However, the local importance of potato is extremely variable and rapidly changing. It remains an essential crop in Europe (especially eastern and central Europe), where per capita production is still the highest in the world, but the most rapid expansion over the past few decades has occurred in southern and eastern Asia. China is now the world's largest potato-producing country, and nearly a third of the world's potatoes are harvested in China and India. [10]

Advantages of buying a casket now

Death is perhaps the most feared topics of all that people can talk about. Its not that by avoiding it we will thus not die, but most people are superstitious about it and think that by avoiding discussing it then they are driving themselves away from it as possible.The issue goes beyond discussing death and includes preparing for it. Human culture in most societies has it that death is an issue best left to some supreme unknown powers and forces, and any behavior or actions that contravenes this acts in inviting death.Rimpoche (2001) states that the best way to prepare for death in our lifetime is by living life and practicing the vices of life such as patience, love and compassion. It is therefore indispensable to ignore death and considering preparation for its occurrence is as important as living life.Considering preparing for death as building a solid foundation for your death, planning for death today is one of the most important investments one can accord himself. One of the m ajor steps towards this preparation is buying a casket today.Buying a casket today has a lot of advantages that can be foregone if this simple decision is left for another day. Buying a casket involves making choices that depend most on one’s tastes and preferences on such factors as the casket’s color, design and other personal factors. One of the advantages of buying a casket now is to avoid the last minute purchase which is usually influenced by grieving.Most decisions about funeral purchases are made by people when grieving. This affects their choice and in the end what is picked up may not be the ideal casket one would want to be buried in. Further more, purchasing a casket during the grieving period is hindered by time constraints and inadequate variety to choose from.Another factor to consider is that funeral service providers make things expensive just when they know you need them the most and you have very little in terms of choice and options.This can be avoi ded if the purchase is done well before that time comes and that time is now. This is an issue of saving money and is therefore an advantage worth considering. Saving money on the casket can also be achieved by making the choice to purchase the casket now.This is because the purchase will be able to be done from a store of your choice and discounting be discussed. It will also be a big relief to family members or friends who would have to take up the task of finding a casket for you. Every person knows their choice and preference and being able to exercise this is usually given high respect.Having somebody else pick out your casket may be a big task to him, not knowing whether you will be truly happy with the casket or not. Buying the casket yourself today will help in avoiding this situation and at the same time allow one to pick a casket of their choice.The choice for one’s casket is can be done today and the advantages of doing so today are much more than those of postponi ng the task. Prices for most commodities never go down but keep on going up instead. Buying a casket of your choice today can help avoid future expectations in price increases of caskets. It is also an advisable consideration when one wants to make all the preparations concerning their after life.People always make preparations for all events in their lives and so preparing for their death is not a different matter. It is just a phase of life, just like wedding is, and the advantages one derives from buying their wedding gowns way before the wedding day comes are more or less similar to the advantages one would reap from buying their casket today, way before their burial day arrives.People need to realize these benefits and change their casket purchasing habits and plans to save on a lot of costs that would be unavoidable if done otherwise.The place one will lie after their death is as important as the bed they lie today, and just as much as a person loves a certain bed, that it the same way one should love the casket they will lie in. Loving the casket begins with buying it now, for that will ensure you will use a casket of your choice, not an imposed one.Reference.Rimpoche, G., (2001). Good life, good death. New York, U.S.A; Riverhead Books. Â  

Tennyson essays

Tennyson essays Lord Alfred Tennyson was the most famous poet of the Victorian age. Ever since he was little, Alfred had an extreme interest in poetry. During his years in Cambridge University, he made many life long friends, but one in particular, Arthur Hallam was his most beloved and best friend. When Arthur died at the age of 22, Alfred was overwhelmed and therefore thrown into a state of depression. Twenty-seven years after Arthurs death, Tennyson published In Memoriam, a poem written in memory of Arthur Hallam. In the poem lies the quote so many worlds, so much to do, so little done, such things to be. Tennyson wrote the quote to show his regret for the early and sudden death of his best friend, Hallam, and subsequently, his life was lived up to the essence of the quote, he lived an eventful life of fame, and fortune. Alfred Tennyson, born on August 6, 1809 at Somersby, Lincolnshire, England, was the fourth of 12 children. At home, the children had to live on what they had. The father was an intelligent but unstable clergyman. For seven years (from 1820-1827), Alfred was home schooled by his father. Even though faced with hardship, Tennyson was able to receive a wide literary education. During his pre-teens, Tennyson had a special talent in writing poetry. He was composing styles of Pope, Scott, and Milton (well accomplished poets). At the age of 12, he composed a 6000 line epic poem, and two years later composes a play called The Devil and the Lady. Having a passion for poetry, many legendary poets affected Tennyson, but the dominant influence on his poetry was Lord Byron. At the news of Byrons death in 1824 (Tennyson was 14 years old), Tennyson flung himself on the ground in a passion of grief, and carved in a sandstone, Byron is Dead. In 1827, Tennyson enters Cambridge University with his brother. It is there where they published Poems By 2 Brothers"...

About World War II Japanese Soldier Lt. Hiroo Onoda

About World War II Japanese Soldier Lt. Hiroo Onoda In 1944, Lt. Hiroo Onoda was sent by the Japanese army to the remote Philippine island of Lubang. His mission was to conduct guerrilla warfare during World War II. Unfortunately, he was never officially told the war had ended; so for 29 years, Onoda continued to live in the jungle, ready for when his country would again need his services and information. Eating coconuts and bananas and deftly evading searching parties he believed were enemy scouts, Onoda hid in the jungle until he finally emerged from the dark recesses of the island on March 19, 1972. Called to Duty Hiroo Onoda was 20 years-old when he was called up to join the army. At the time, he was far from home working at a branch of the Tajima Yoko trading company in Hankow (now Wuhan), China. After passing his physical, Onoda quit his job and returned to his home in Wakayama, Japan in August of 1942 to get into top physical condition. In the Japanese army, Onoda was trained as an officer and was then chosen to be trained at an Imperial Army intelligence school. At this school, Onoda was taught how to gather intelligence and how to conduct guerrilla warfare. In the Philippines On December 17, 1944, Lt. Hiroo Onoda left for the Philippines to join the Sugi Brigade (the Eighth Division fromHirosaki). Here, Onoda was given orders by Major Yoshimi Taniguchi and Major Takahashi. Onoda was ordered to lead the Lubang Garrison in guerrilla warfare. As Onoda and his comrades were getting ready to leave on their separate missions, they stopped by to report to the division commander. The division commander ordered: You are absolutely forbidden to die by your own hand. It may take three years, it may take five, but whatever happens, well come back for you. Until then, so long as you have one soldier, you are to continue to lead him. You may have to live on coconuts. If thats the case, live on coconuts! Under no circumstances are you [to] give up your life voluntarily. 1 Onoda took these words more literally and seriously than the division commander could ever have meant them. On the Island of Lubang Once on the island of Lubang, Onoda was supposed to blow up the pier at the harbor and destroy the Lubang airfield. Unfortunately, the garrison commanders, who were worried about other matters, decided not to help Onoda on his mission and soon the island was overrun by the Allies. The remaining Japanese soldiers, Onoda included, retreated into the inner regions of the island and split up into groups. As these groups dwindled in size after several attacks, the remaining soldiers split into cells of three and four people. There were four people in Onodas cell: Corporal Shoichi Shimada (age 30), Private Kinshichi Kozuka (age 24), Private Yuichi Akatsu (age 22), and Lt. Hiroo Onoda (age 23). They lived very close together, with only a few supplies: the clothes they were wearing, a small amount of rice, and each had a gun with limited ammunition. Rationing the rice was difficult and caused fights, but they supplemented it with coconuts and bananas. Every once in a while, they were able to kill a civilians cow for food. The cells would save up their energy and use guerrilla tactics to fight in skirmishes. Other cells were captured or were killed while Onodas continued to fight from the interior. The War Is Over...Come Out Onoda first saw a leaflet that claimed the war was over in October 1945. When another cell had killed a cow, they found a leaflet left behind by the islanders which read: The war ended on August 15. Come down from the mountains!2 But as they sat in the jungle, the leaflet just didnt seem to make sense, for another cell had just been fired upon a few days ago. If the war were over, why would they still be under attack? No, they decided, the leaflet must be a clever ruse by the Allied propagandists. Again, the outside world tried to contact the survivors living on the island by dropping leaflets out of a Boeing B-17 near the end of 1945. Printed on these leaflets was the surrender order from General Yamashita of the Fourteenth Area Army. Having already hidden on the island for a year and with the only proof of the end of the war being this leaflet, Onoda and the others scrutinized every letter and every word on this piece of paper. One sentence in particular seemed suspicious, it said that those who surrendered would receive hygienic succor and be hauled to Japan. Again, they believed this must be an Allied hoax. Leaflet after leaflet was dropped. Newspapers were left. Photographs and letters from relatives were dropped. Friends and relatives spoke out over loudspeakers. There was always something suspicious, so they never believed that the war had really ended. Over the Years Year after year, the four men huddled together in the rain, searched for food, and sometimes attacked villagers. They fired on the villagers because, We considered people dressed as islanders to be enemy troops in disguise or enemy spies. The proof that they were was that whenever we fired on one of them, a search party arrived shortly afterward.  It had become a cycle of disbelief. Isolated from the rest of the world, everyone appeared to be the enemy. In 1949, Akatsu wanted to surrender. He didnt tell any of the others; he just walked away. In September 1949 he successfully got away from the others and after six months on his own in the jungle, Akatsu surrendered. To Onodas cell, this seemed like a security leak and they became even more careful of their position. In June 1953, Shimada was wounded during a skirmish. Though his leg wound slowly got better (without any medicines or bandages), he became gloomy. On May 7, 1954, Shimada was killed in a skirmish on the beach at Gontin. For nearly 20 years after Shimads death, Kozuka and Onoda continued to live in the jungle together, awaiting the time when they would again be needed by the Japanese Army. Per the division commanders instructions, they believed it was their job to remain behind enemy lines, reconnoiter and gather intelligence to be able to train Japanese troops in guerrilla warfare in order to regain the Philippine islands. Surrendering at Last In October 1972, at the age of 51 and after 27 years of hiding, Kozuka was killed during a clash with a Filipino patrol. Though Onoda had been officially declared dead in December 1959, Kozukas body proved the likelihood that Onoda was still living. Search parties were sent out to find Onoda, but none succeeded. Onoda was now on his own. Remembering the division commanders order, he could not kill himself yet he no longer had a single soldier to command. Onoda continued to hide. In 1974, a college dropout named Norio Suzuki decided to travel to the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Burma, Nepal, and perhaps a few other countries on his way. He told his friends that he was going to search for Lt. Onoda, a panda, and the Abominable Snowman.  Where so many others had failed, Suzuki succeeded. He found Lt. Onoda and tried to convince him that the war was over. Onoda explained that he would only surrender if his commander ordered him to do so. Suzuki traveled back to Japan and found Onodas former commander, Major Taniguchi, who had become a bookseller. On March 9, 1974, Suzuki and Taniguchi met Onoda at a pre-appointed place and Major Taniguchi read the orders that stated all combat activity was to be ceased. Onoda was shocked and, at first, disbelieving. It took some time for the news to sink in. We really lost the war! How could they have been so sloppy? Suddenly everything went black. A storm raged inside me. I felt like a fool for having been so tense and cautious on the way here. Worse than that, what had I been doing for all these years? Gradually the storm subsided, and for the first time I really understood: my thirty years as a guerrilla fighter for the Japanese army were abruptly finished. This was the end. I pulled back the bolt on my rifle and unloaded the bullets. . . . I eased off the pack that I always carried with me and laid the gun on top of it. Would I really have no more use for this rifle that I had polished and cared for like a baby all these years? Or Kozukas rifle, which I had hidden in a crevice in the rocks? Had the war really ended thirty years ago? If it had, what had Shimada and Kozuka died for? If what was happening was true, wouldnt it have been better if I had died with them? During the 30 years that Onoda had remain hidden on Lubang island, he and his men had killed at least 30 Filipinos and had wounded approximately 100 others. After formally surrendering to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Marcos pardoned Onoda for his crimes while in hiding. When Onoda reached Japan, he was hailed a hero. Life in Japan was much different than when he had left it in 1944. Onoda bought a ranch and moved to Brazil but in 1984 he and his new wife moved back to Japan and founded a nature camp for kids. In May 1996, Onoda returned to the Philippines to see once again the island on which he had hidden for 30 years. On Thursday, January 16, 2014, Hiroo Onoda died at age 91. Resources and Further Reading Hiroo Onoda,No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War (New York: Kodansha International Ltd., 1974) 44.Onoda,No Surrender;75. 3. Onoda,No Surrender94. 4. Onoda,No Surrender7. 5. Onoda,No Surrender14-15.Hiroo Worship.  Time  25 March 1974: 42-43.Old Soldiers Never Die.  Newsweek  25 March 1974: 51-52.Onoda, Hiroo.  No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War. Trans. Charles S. Terry. New York: Kodansha International Ltd., 1974.Where It Is Still 1945.  Newsweek  6 Nov. 1972: 58.

Organization Improvement Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Organization Improvement Project - Essay Example essful organization leading in the business of water, gas and electricity, Enron was transformed into a credit laden and failed company due to unaccountability, corruption and failure to apply ethical principles (Gutman, 2002). Unethical and corrupt leadership was the greatest recipe for Enron’s collapse, which for years, the company tried to hide from the public domain. Coupled with dubious retirement plans and stocks, this culminated in disastrous consequences for the company, downgrading what it had achieved in 15 years, whereby it had established itself as a giant in the business world in the US (Gutman, 2002). Measures that the company would have instituted to ensure that the company did not collapse include; inculcation of organizational ethical cultures in company operations and the management; institution of trade-offs between individual actions and positive actions; Encouraging leaders to have ethical consciousness and to ensure leaders are accountable in their actions. Most important, there should be a complete overhaul of corporate and fiscal systems so that transparency and ethics are injected into corporate business practices at Enron. A potent and noteworthy plan needs to be put in place so that improvement can be achieved in the organization. This plan, the Ethical Leadership Decision Making Model, must always expect leaders to exhibit moral awareness before undertaking tasks. In so doing, leaders would be able to gauge the extent of their actions. It is important for every leader to weigh the end results of issues before undertaking them In conclusion, The Enron Scandal illustrates what unethical business practices can do to a successful; company. Once a successful organization, Enron collapsed as a result of unethical decisions, dubious business practices and lack of accountability by its leaders (Gutman, 2002). Had the company instituted business ethics in its practices, it would still be the successful company that ruled America for 15

Starting a Business, Develop a new department Research Paper

Starting a Business, Develop a new department - Research Paper Example However a number of other factors merit attention too such as development of products and services such that market competition is firmly dealt with. Moreover new businesses need to consider how positions would be manned in the new business along with the development, training and retention mechanisms. Similarly if the business is working in a unique sector it may be necessary to recruit human resources from existing businesses without violating ethical or legal norms. Similar attention to detail must be paid to the facet of marketing without which there would be little point in creating products or services. Only effective marketing to the appropriate target market segment could ensure that the product or service is being consumed as intended. A system for support and services may also be required along with marketing and other facets if the business operations require after sales support and services. Ethical and legislative considerations must always be considered no matter what t he business size, the market constraints or other restrictions might be. Effective ethical and legislative enforcement mechanisms must be installed in businesses from the top to the bottom to ensure sustainability. Business history proves that large corporations such as Enron and WorldCom came crashing down when legislative requirement and ethical considerations were put into the background. These considerations are presented below in greater detail for a fertilizer manufacturing, marketing and distribution business located in the third world. 2. Considerations 2.1. Product and Services Development One of the most vital aspects of any business is its products or services or a combination of both that are critical to generating revenue. Within a theoretical framework businesses are essentially created in order to generate revenue so the facets of product and services development are vital too. Given the fact that this text will be considering a fertilizer business it is apparent that fertilizer has been developed as a product since the 1930’s so there is little need for research into making urea fertilizer. The current production methods rely largely on using methane through a host of different processes after which urea is created. However these production methods are not continually updated so there is little need for a research mechanism to be in place. Hence the business that would be initiated in order to create urea fertilizer would require equipment and machinery that would convert methane gas into urea but would not necessarily require a research framework. In most given cases large licensors who are attuned to designing and installing new fertilizer complexes are contracted to cover the design and build aspects of the plant. Once the plant is commissioned it is handed over to an operations and maintenance staff who are essential to the product development facet. Therefore in order to start a fertilizer manufacturing business it would be necessar y to hire outside contractors who would design and build the plant in the supervision of the principal’s staff. Once the plant goes online, more manning would be required to deal with the production and maintenance aspects. It would be preferable to hire production and maintenance personnel who are previously experienced in dealing with fertilizer plants because certain aspects of a fertilizer plant are safety and