Subject Decision Theory (US MBA course) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Subject Decision Theory (US MBA course) - Essay Example Steve put in all his efforts into the running of the business and managed to make it very successful, so much so that by 1980 the total annual sales went up to more than $2 million. However, after that the company underwent a turn. Steve's son, Jim, joined Blake Electronics in 1984 as a general sales manager. He had completed high school and had obtained a two year course degree in electronics. Jim was said to be quite aggressive and this quality in him did not change after he joined his father's company. In fact, his aggressiveness increased. This led to him making deals with companies which the Blake Electronics was not able to complete. Jim would take contracts to provide the supplies to companies without checking out whether Blake Electronics could manage to fulfil the deal. Due to this Blake Electronics had to face certain embarrassing situations. Still, there was not much harm done yet. By 1988 Jim had started taking government contracts too and two years after that the total sales mounted to greater than $10 million. After that the Company lost the chance of obtaining any more contracts. Jim continued with his behaviour and that led to the government not offering any more contracts to Blake Electronics. This also made the Company lose its reputation and it was termed as an unreliable supplier. Thus, by 1997 there was a great risk of Blake Electronics facing losses. To avoid ... For this he asked the research team of his company to design novel electronic gadgets for home use. The research team came up with the Master Control Center. This was to be sold for $250. The functioning of the device was such that it had two rows of five buttons and each button operated as a switch or a rheostat, depending on what you want. It was powered by two D-sized batteries which lasted till a year or so, depending on how much it is used. According to the research team, this project would cost them $500,000 and if it turned out to be successful, it could bag up to $2 million of sales. Therefore, it surely did sound attractive. However, the problem was that Steve was unsure as to whether this venture would succeed and whether his company would get profits or would lose through this project. In order to solve this problem Steve sent requests for proposals so as to conduct marketing research. Total he sent 30 proposals to business operating in southern California. First of all Marketing Associates, Inc. (MAI) responded. They had offered to charge $100,00 for a survey and according to the information they gave, that company had been operating since three years and were quite a successful business. The second and the last proposal that Steve got was from Iverstine and Kinard. This company had a very good reputation throughout the company and was termed as the largest marketing firm in the region. They were going to charge Steve $500,000 for the survey. Although the cost was higher than of the previous company, Iverstin and Kinard were more able to predict about the sales. This company also did not have as good a record as that of Marketing Associates. However, the fact that they could better be able to make predictions about the Blake

The Effects Of The Hawthorne Experiments Commerce Essay

The Effects Of The Hawthorne Experiments Commerce Essay The Hawthorne experiments were conducted at Western Electrics Hawthorne plant in Illinois, running from 1924 through 1932. These experiments were intended to examine how people would react to certain conditions such as light, heat, and humidity. These variables were altered and produced both expected and unexpected results. Further trials embarked as Professor George Elton Mayo brought an academic research team into the factory, which were among the most extensive social science studies ever conducted. These investigations have been heavily criticized for merely serving the interest of management. However, these accusations can be argued. The Hawthorne investigations did not only have enormous influence on the human factors to management but also on the development of industrial psychology and sociology. Some maintain their opinion that the human relations approach is misinterpreted, leading to major failures. The Hawthorne studies were initially undertaken to investigate the relationship between physical work conditions and employers productivity. But the experiments represented revolutionary work in the field of management and lead to the creation of the human relations movement. These studies broke the boundaries of the management theory of the time, Taylorism. Scientific management, developed by Frederick W. Taylor, was a concentration exclusively on the physical aspects of work, ignoring the psychological needs and capabilities of the worker. Taylors view of management became inadequate due to the findings of the Hawthorne researchers, who revealed that the physical work environment was one of the only many aspects which influence employee productivity. This style of management became known as authoritarian. The human relations school was concerned with the human aspect of work, meaning that interpersonal relations, especially the feelings within working groups were of importance. Gro up harmony, satisfaction of individual needs, and the care for people were vital. By the individual worker being able to participate and involved in the decision making related positively to the productivity. In other words, this represents a democratic way of leadership. Nonetheless, particular studies also point out that productivity is sometimes positively connected to the authoritarian style. Showing that certain people do prefer to be controlled and directed. The primary experiment for the Hawthorne studies was to examine the connection between the illumination intensity and employee productivity. It showed that as the lightning improved in the experimental room, production increased. But production also rose in the control room. Followed by a slight amount of light in the experimental room, production was still rising, while there was constant illumination in the control room However, the results by 1927 were so confusing, that Elton Mayo and an academic research team were invited to continue a variety of inquiries on productivity and the motivation of worker. The next experiment that took place from 1927 to 1933 was the Relay assembly test room. This engaged a small group of female staff taken to work in a Relay assembly room, away from the regular workforce, varying the number and lengths of breaks and working days. The women were cautiously studied and a total of thirteen periods with different rest pauses, hours of work, and breaks for refreshment were conducted. The result of this phase showed that regardless the changes, there was almost no persistent increase in output. This became known as the Hawthorne Effect. This effect refers to the tendency that people act differently when being observed during a research. The results were influenced by this reaction of the small group of women due to the observation of the researchers. The women were not motivated by the improvements of their working conditions or money, but a reason was that working in a group had increased their output. However, in the group work the productivity rose by 15 percent and management made rest breaks more common. Psychologists were especially interested in this particular study. They found it phenomenal that peoples attitudes changed as they were being watched since it seemed more important than changes to the physical work conditions. The Interviewing programme took place from 1928 until 1930. In this period of time 21,000 employees were interviewed. Interviewers began through asking highly structured questions on work and its conditions and then about non-related work issues, e.g. on family and social issues. The friendlier, the more interest the supervisors showed in the individual worker, and the less harsh discipline existed, the more increases in productivity and morale became significant. The researchers learned a great deal about the staffs attitude towards their job. This findings reveal that workers actually lacked social support and that placing individuals in groups had a positive effect. A famous psychologist, Rensis Likert, contended that organizations should be managed as a collection of groups, rather than individuals. The Bank wiring observations room experiments commenced in 1931 until 1932. This test was conducted without any alteration in the working condition. A group of fourteen workers were taken from the production line and observed for six months. Each employee had three different jobs but worked together in order to produce one output. During this time, the group developed its own procedures to defend its own interests. Productivity remained constant and was unaffected by work payments. The group had developed informal rules of behaviour and determined what was a fair days payment for a fair days work. The workers were afraid that if they produced considerably more output, that the daily unit output would be replaced by an increase of expected output. These results show that the social forces were far more important for the worker than the controls and regulations of the organization. Again stressing the meaning for the worker to belong to a group and not be isolated. Communication from t he superior to the employee would eliminate such misunderstandings. The Hawthorne studies did contribute an immense amount to management and served them enormously as we have seen from the various experiments discussed. It was a revolutionary research project at that point of time and discovered a whole new era in the human relations movement. Nevertheless, the Hawthorne reports did affect psychology and sociology. It affected especially the industrial psychology, meaning the observation of specific human behavior. Especially, the Hawthorne effect was in the interest of the psychologists and it became one of the best-known psychological results. The effect has been generalized to every kind of psychological study. However, recently the Hawthorne effect has been reanalyzed and considering it to be a myth. There is no solid evidence that the workers in the relay room felt better in response to personal attention by supervisors and the participation in a new programme. Criticisms always exist with each single new discovery; someone will always have something to declare. It is up to the manager to know how to handle its business. However, it may be true that Mayos conclusions of human relations movement cannot always be applied. Some organizations need more direction and a specific structure for their employees. Finding a midpoint with both the Taylorism and Mayonism would be an effective way of leadership. Further criticisms pronounce that the Hawthorne studies cannot be seen as an accurate research paper. They insist that there was a lack of adequate control in the study. There were rumours that Elton Mayo did not appear, accurately controlled the variables of the experiment, nor noted them down correctly. Supposedly, changes in the number of participants, misinterpretations, and inaccurate history of work circumstances during the study, provided false results. Adair said: In the first 15 experimental psychology textbooks I examined with reference to Hawthorne, not one had described the studies accurately Yet, these factors are minor when considering the real contributions the Hawthorne studies have brought to management and psychology. These are determents that exist but not make the study any less valuable to knowledge. Another ideological critique argues that the studies showed a pro-management bias in favour of manipulating the workforce. However, the key view of management at th at time was Taylorism, which entirely ignored the human element. No matter how many critiques and debates there are about the faults of the Hawthorne studies, the contributions well over take all assumptions. The discovery that physical work conditions were not the prime importance of the worker but also social factors was a break through. The main conclusions that can be drawn from Elton Mayos experiments are it is essential that work is a group activity, the necessity of recognition, need for security, and job satisfaction. Organizations are social systems, not just technical economic systems. It was proven that management requires social skills and not just technical skills. Only giving the employee specific instructions and demands will give the worker the wrong impression. It is necessary to have some contact in order to achieve knowledge of what is going on between the workers. This knowledge can effectively improve the bosss management skill and through this contact earn the necessary respect. Since, the Hawthorne studies are not methodologically precise, it does not reduce the importance of their findings. They were revolutionary, no one before had noticed that human relations were that important to organizational output. Humans were seen as machines until the studies came along. Then the well being of employee s became of significant and changed the way managerial style. In conclusion, it has become evident that there are various approaches to organizational efficiency. The first significant method was scientific management, where the main focus was on the physical aspect of work, also on the individual worker and not group work. Taylor furthermore ignored the importance of other rewards than money, such as achievement and job satisfaction. As the Hawthorne studies were conducted and moved away from Taylorism, which indicated a paradigm shift, redefining the field of management research. It had broken the traditional theory of Taylor and no study had ever had such an impact on management as the Hawthorne investigations. Elton Mayo was known as the main supporter of the human relations movement in management. He stated that in order to motivate people, meaning increase in output and efficiency, the individual worker has to believe that their corporation cares about them, is concerned, and willing to listen. The emotional and social sides were major at tributes of organizational behavior. These studies did have an enormous amount of influence on management but also on sociology and psychology. In spite of all criticisms, the Hawthorne studies still contributed a significant amount and redefined management. It also brought one of the most important results to psychology. Lloyd, Baird S., Post James E., Mahon, John F. Management, Functions and Responsibilities New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1990. P. 22 Huczynski Andrzej Buchanan David Organizational Behaviour, Fourth edition. Harlow: Prentice Hall Europe, 2001p. 281 Henderson, George Human Relations Issues in Management Westport: Quorum Books, 1996.p. 24 ibid p. 33 Huczynski Andrzej Buchanan David Organizational Behaviour, Fourth edition. Harlow: Prentice Hall Europe, 2001. p. 280 Warner, Malcolm, ed. International Encyclopedia of Business and Management Volume 2, England: Routledge, 1996. p. 1737. Kakabadse Andrew, Ludlow Ron Vinnicombe Susan Working in Organizations, London: Penguin Books, 1978.P. 191 ibid p. 191 ibid p. 192 Huczynski Andrzej Buchanan David Organizational Behaviour, Fourth edition. Harlow: Prentice Hall Europe, 2001 p. 282-283 ibid p. 283 Warner, Malcolm, ed. International Encyclopedia of Business and Management Volume 2, England: Routledge, 1996. p. 1793 ibid p. 1793 Huczynski Andrzej Buchanan David Organizational Behaviour, Fourth edition. Harlow: Prentice Hall Europe, 2001. p. 289 Warner, Malcolm, ed. International Encyclopedia of Business and Management Volume 2, England: Routledge, 1996. p. 1793 Leahley, Thomas Hardy, A History of Modern Psychology, Second edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc. 1994. p. 364 ibid p. 367 Warner, Malcolm, ed. International Encyclopedia of Business and Management Volume 2, England: Routledge, 1996. p. 1740 ibid p. 1741 ibid p. 1740

Heroism in Lord Jim Essays -- Conrad Lord Jim Essays

Heroism in Lord Jim    In the heartfelt novel, Lord Jim, Joseph Conrad explores the concept of heroism through the conduct and emotions of Jim, a man who spends his life attempting to seek penance for an act of cowardice he committed as a young officer during the shipwreck of the Patna in the East. Through the eyes of the narrator, Marlowe, the reader sees Jim's internal struggle to repent for his sin as he "jumps" from job to job trying to escape his ominous legacy, eventually landing in the dangerous and isolated community in a native state, Patusan. There he lives contentedly detached and hidden from the Patna until civilization reenters his dome in the form of an evil man, Brown --unveiling Jim's repressed and remote secret by hitting his guilty conscience -- causing Jim's long awaited dark fated death, yet, ending his life with a trace of heroism. Throughout the novel, Jim internally aspires toward the significant and frequently occurring image, courage. From the very beginning he sees "himself saving people from sinking ships . . . an example of devotion to duty, and as unflinching as a hero in a book" (3). His thoughts would be full of valorous deeds: He loved these dreams and the success of his imaginary achievements. They had a gorgeous virility, the charm of vagueness, they passed before him with a heroic tread . . ." (12). Despite this heroic desire, while on the Patna, Jim and five others ironically betray the "savage" men who were "surrendered to the wisdom of white men and to their courage"(10) when they abandon the sinking ship to insure their own safety. Conrad explains this action to be human, a natural response, something any person would have done in his situation. When Marlowe first encounter... ...le of bravery. After two years, Marlowe visits the Patusan and meets, or rather upsets, Jim and his companions. Marlowe says that they "know him to be strong, true, wise, brave . . . he was all that . . . he was more . . . he was great -- invincible -- and the world did not want him, it had forgotten him, it would not even know him" (206). When Jim encounters Brown, a man "not afraid of death" (230), he convinces his friends that Brown is no harm to them because that's what Jim truly believes. Unfortunately, advised and guided by the sneaking Cornelius, Brown had plans to attack the Malays under Dain Waris, Doramin's son. After Dain Waris was killed, Jim understood. "He had retreated from one world, for a matter of an impulsive jump, and now the other, the work of his own hands, had fallen in ruins upon his head" (265). The Malays will never trust Jim again.   

How important was Martin Luther King?

Martin Luther King was the main figure in the Civil Rights Movement; he was the civil right activist leader and had an influence of the American society. King believed in non-violent protest and used it to overcome justice, king’s idea of non-violent protest came from Ghandi’s idea, and he thought Ghandi was the great man of all times. King also believed that all man and woman are equal; he was the most important voice of the civil rights movement.King was brave to stand up and give up segregation laws and tried to get rid of segregation laws, Martin Luther King was proud of his race, in 1958 after King was stabbed in Harlem he had said ‘my cause, my race, is worth dying for’, this source is useful for proving that he will do anything for his race and do whatever it takes to bring freedom across black Americans. King wasn’t afraid and he still carried on fighting for more freedom after he was stabbed and survived.Martin Luther King was important of b ringing improvements in the African- American Civil Rights because he brought equality to America and progress to the civil rights movement. In 1957 he helped setting up the (SCLC) and believed that non-violent protest should be used in the struggle for equality. King helped places like Birmingham to reduce the amount of racism. There had been lots of racism in Birmingham, King described Birmingham as America’s ‘worst big city’ for racism.He wanted to improve the amount of racism in Birmingham, the SCLC arranged a march, and king was leading rather than led. The confrontation used tactics like sit- in and marches so that they can gain more publicity across the USA. King became more popular and people liked him, but those who disagreed with the equal right movement hated king. King gained goverment support, Kings effort led to the march on washington in 1963, where King delivered his speech ‘I have a dream’. In 1965, King led a campaign to resgister b lack people to vote.

Paleolithic

Our class will be going outside to try to help us understand Paleolithic times. We will experience the world as Paleolithic people did – bringing only what we can carry, having no permanent shelters, creating our own art from the materials around us and having to figure out the best place to stay. For this activity, we will assume that you are traveling in a small family group that Is part of a larger group of 31. You can be with either two other people or work with a partner, representing the core family group. It was typical of Paleolithic times that related core family groups would join together o form a larger group.This â€Å"family† would work together to gather food and protect each other. The group was usually between 15 and 30 people, though smaller and larger groups existed. As they traveled, different family groups would meet to exchange goods that they had made and they likely shared Information about the local environment. Young people likely moved between groups in order to share expertise (a group with several artists might exchange an artist for a skilled hunter) or to meet the needs of both groups (a group with extra males may send some to another group in exchange for goods or services).Over time, the larger group size allowed for some specialized roles to develop. The majority of people in the group would supply food for everyone, giving some people free time. For instance, a religious leader, artist or expert craftsman might supply the group's spiritual or technological needs rather than hunting or parenting. Women could take on a leadership role in the group. Women who gathered plants and hunted for small animals in many cases supplied most of the food for the group. In their role as mothers, they were protected from the most dangerous tasks, such as hunting or participating In battles with enemies.Instead, these types of tasks would be left to the â€Å"extra† males (the young and unattached men who were not yet In re ligious, artistic or craftsmen roles). Your task is to imagine yourself as part of Paleolithic times and to complete the following tasks. Your teacher will check that you are done at least Number 1 and Number 2 before the end of the period: 1. Use the map you have been given to decide where you will camp and have at least one person in your core family group record your reasons in the space provided. Consider the wants and needs of your group in addition to the geography of the area n your decision. . Using the tarp, sucks, butter knife and string, create a stable shelter. It will be 3. Using the modeling clay (which we are pretending is natural clay or soft stone), carve a Paleolithic figure and place it at the door of your shelter. 4. As a group or pair, explain what you think the daily life of Paleolithic people might have been like by creating a daily timeline to explain what your family would do at your campsite between the time you woke up and the time you went to sleep. Try t o include the challenges you faced today, such as weather, teamwork, etc. In your experience.