Thursday, October 31, 2019

Patent report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Patent report - Essay Example The PaperTab combines thin-film display and thin-film input that incorporates computing technologies made possible by the intuitive interaction design in that the plastic displays are transformational in terms of interaction as they can allow interaction of humans with electronic paper as they are thinner and offer standard glass displays. For patency to subsist there must be some conditions that must be met according to the regulations set by the agency concerned with patency in Canada. These three requirements for the patentability of a product include the fact that the product must have what is known as novelty, inventive step and industrial application. According to The World Intellectual Property Organization (2002), novelty questions outlines that support the invention claimed by a particular person or body and is important that the courts or law enforcement agencies make a comparison between the state of the art to the invention itself. Under this, there is often the problem o f establishing what has been referred to as ‘state of the art’ and the law provides that all matters or patents must be made public inclusive of those that are still pending. It is required that persons intending to patent a product must also disclose their time and geographical limits while for international patents, it was a requirement that the translation requirements are followed and applied to the letter. Public disclosure of the product of the patent in this case the phone must be in a manner that makes it available to the public and must be sufficiently clear to everyone (Berman 2002). It is also important to note that the disclosure of the patent must be sufficiently appreciated by all those concerned whereby it should be ensured that if the procedure which ends up producing the substance is part of the state of the art, so is the substance made by the procedure (Norman, 2011). Further, there must be a distinction drawn between the disclosure of a product and t he disclosure for use. The requirement of Inventive Step for patentability is provided and incorporates the obviousness test in as provided by the common law test of Cripps Test (Slusky, 2007). It should be found whether a reasonable man on whom patent law should apply would in general knowledge have come up without any difficulty to the solution brought forward by the patent. The parties involved in patenting must identify the inventive concept whereby it should be assumed that a person is the normally skilled but unimaginative person with skills in the art and with the common knowledge in the art at the date that as a priority. It is also important that any differences are identified between the invention and the matter that is claimed to be already known whereby it is questioned whether the differences are so obvious to anyone skilled in the art or whether they would have required an invention. Under Industrial Application, the important factor is to find out whether the ideas ca me before their time, or that the patented product was used or made in the industry. This is regardless of whether the product in this case the phone was made for profit or gain but excludes personal or private activities and determines the usefulness or utility of the product and its technical effect. From the foregoing argument it is important that the

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

The Divide Between God and Man Essay Example for Free

The Divide Between God and Man Essay Religion is a common theme in poetry. In the Norton anthology Modern Poems, several poems from many eras discuss or refer to religion. Six in particular show a progression of man’s slow destruction of his relationship with God and the world. â€Å"Imperial Adam† by A. D. Hope begins this sequence by the unique way sin is introduced into the world. William Butler Yeat’s â€Å"Second Coming† is an apocalyptic interpretation of what might be considered the antichrist. All together, these religious poems weave a tale of sadness and despair for mankind as they fall further and further from each other and from God. â€Å"Imperial Adam† introduces the Biblical Adam just as he has awakened from his â€Å"surgery† to find his companion. God has blessed him with a female because â€Å"It is not good for him to live alone† (line 8). However, instead of viewing her as a soul mate and companion for the glory of God, Adam sees Eve in an immediately sexual light. The poem makes use of sexual imagery such as â€Å"golden breasts,† â€Å"plump gourd,† â€Å"virile root,† and â€Å"delicious pulp of the forbidden fruit,† (lines 13, 17, 19). The sexual experience is described in stanza’s seven and eight, but instead of being treated in beautiful terms, it is described as animalistic, loud and overly passionate. Just as the Bible story goes, Eve gets pregnant and gives birth. The child, Cain, in the Bible goes on to kill his brother out of jealousy and becomes the ancestral father of a lineage of outcasts banished and cursed by God and spurned by mankind. This outcome is the focus of the last stanza of the poem. The baby is not immediately seen as a darling expression of love, but his birth is described in less complimentary terms: â€Å"Between her legs a pigmy face appear,/And the first murderer lay upon the earth† (lines 43-44). The first attention paid to the baby, at this point a true innocent, is that he is the future murderer of his brother who creates the schism between God and man. Another Biblical story that is alluded to in poetry is the parable of the prodigal son. According to this parable, a wayward youth takes his inheritance, leaves his home, and frivolously wastes his money. He returns home to find the love of his father still strong in spite of his sins and despite other’s anger at him. In â€Å"The Prodigal Son† by Rudyard Kipling, the story is the same, but not exact. True, the son has gone off to lavish living; he says â€Å"I wasted my substance, I know I did,/On riotous living, so I did,/But there’s nothing on record to show I did/Worse than my betters have done† (lines 25-28). The young man realizes his faults, but also questions his treatment by his family. He feels that his sins are no worse than any other, and finds it his label as a â€Å"monster of moral depravity† (line 23) to be quite unfair. Indeed it seems his behavior is not as horrible as the consequent behavior of his family, specifically of his own brother. In this poem, the reader learns that despite the hard knocks the young man experienced, he did work to maintain himself. The young man, unlike the Biblical prodigal son, does not remain home. He finds their attitudes toward him more oppressive than the hear life he had lived. He leaves with a warm salutation to his parents, but cannot quite find the same feelings for his brother, whom he calls a â€Å"hound† (line 48). The rhythm and rhyme of the poem are a bit misleading, in that they suggest a less serious nature than, say, the Biblical story. However, the messages are eerily the same. Like the ultimate reality of the Biblical Cain and the son in â€Å"Imperial Adam,† family relationships are strained from the beginning, particularly, it seems, between brothers. The young man doubts the relationship he has with his father is worth putting up with his sulking, angry brother. This relationship has an obvious figurative meaning as well as a literal one. The young man doubting his father’s relationship can be read as a person doubting the existence of a kind and gently God. In Gerald Manley Hopkins’ â€Å"Thou art indeed just, Lord, if I contend,† the idea that man may doubt the nature of God or become infirm in his faith or religion is expressed in sonnet form. The poem begins with the speaker asserting that he knows God is just and fair with him and acknowledges that his own ways in the world are also just and fair. His question is, and this question has undoubtedly been repeated countless times throughout the years, â€Å"Why do sinners’ ways prosper? And why must/Disappointment all I endeavour end? † (lines 3-4). His problems are echoed throughout time: â€Å"Why do bad things happen to good people? † or â€Å"Why do bad things happen to me? † The speaker, through his own failures and disappointment comes to question if God treats everyone fairly and kindly, what is the point of being continually good? He points out that sinful behavior is much more prevalent than his own goodly works: â€Å"Oh, the sots and thralls of lust/Do in spare hours more thrive than I that spend,/Sir, life upon thy cause† (lines 7-9). He laments that his good words does not seem to â€Å"wake† or enlighten anyone. Ultimately, the speaker begs God to send his roots rain, this metaphor being that he wants God to send him proof that what he is doing is worthwhile. Of course, as most theologians will attest to, God is not in the business of proving himself; faith is the name of the game. The man, who can be representative of all mankind, is losing faith in God and in his own ability to see the benefit of a holy life and godly works. As man slowly seems to split from God, man is also splitting from mankind. God, in the Bible, loves all men and wants them to love one another. Unfortunately, almost from the beginning of time, this has not been the case. In Adrienne Rich’s â€Å"Yom Kippur, 1984,† the speaker, a Jew, reflects upon the loneliness and solitude she feels as the result of being a Jew in a sea of Christians. While this is not a holocaust poem per se (though some images may suggest this) and the date in the title does not suggest Hitler’s annihilation, a resonance of fear permeates the poem. The speaker asks, â€Å"What would it mean not to feel lonely or afraid/far from your own or those you have called your own? † (lines 2-3). Subsequent lines make it clear that many other people live solitary existences for reasons other than religion. She names women and homosexuals as groups that have also been persecuted by people, and sadly, by religion and churches. The spirited narrator urges all feeling solitary to â€Å"Find someone like yourself. Find others. /Agree you will never desert each other/Understand that any rift among you/means power to those who want to do you in† (lines46-49). Unfortunately, the world has not achieved this. She mentions the modern crisis between the Arabs and the Jews in the last stanza as an example of how â€Å"souls crash together† (line 120). The speaker constantly expresses her fear of solitude, which can be interpreted as meaning solitude from others or even solitude from God. Though Rich is not necessarily known as a religious poet, the message rings true. Men divided from one another will fall, and God seems nowhere in this chaos. Furthering the idea that God seems lost from man and the world is Philip Larkin’s poem â€Å"A Poem for Sunday. † This poem is a first person monologue of a person who is drawn to a quiet and empty church. His journey through the silent place is, thus, shared step-by-step with the reader. He listens to the sounds of the heavy door shutting and observes the heavy brown and polished brass colors of the sanctuary. Ultimately, though he visits the church often, he stops to â€Å"reflect the place was not worth stopping for† (line 18) and that his visits seem to all end in this way. He wonders about a time when people stop going to churches or places of worship at all. This speaker and his thoughts seem to represent the feeling that many hold in his society. He sees little interest in the church as a religious house of worship, but more as an oddity the architecture of a bygone era. He surmises that â€Å"†¦we shall keep/a few cathedrals chronically on show,† (lines 23-24) only for a spectacle, but clearly separated from their holy purpose. The fifth stanza shows the gradual decline of the importance of the church as the speaker wonders who will be the last to ever enter its doors for worship: â€Å"A shape less recognizable each week,/A purpose more obscure. I wonder who/Will be the last, the very last, to seek this place for what it was;† (lines 37-40). The tone of the poem seems sad and remorseful, as if the speaker recognizes the sadness and futility of an age in which people do not seek God or have use for ore even remember the use for churches or cathedrals. The last poem in this series marks a specific time of the beginning of the end of the world. Many future seekers try to pinpoint the end of the world. While nobody has been successful, it is clear that many religions agree on some type of coming or second coming of the diety. â€Å"The Second Coming† by William Butler Yeats is an apocalyptic interpretation of the coming of not God, but Evil. The speaker begins by discussing a world out of balance in which â€Å"Things fall apart†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"The ceremony of innocence is drowned;/† (lines 3, 6). It seems to warn of a time in which society is so far from God and in which things are so bad, that nothing can be reversed or saved. â€Å"Surely the Second Coming is at hand! † (line 10). Unfortunately, the speakers’ joyful words turn to fear as he envisions not the return of Christ, but of the Sphinx, the mythological beast that taunted and killed many men. This second coming is a beast that has â€Å"A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun† (line 15). This beast has been awakened and â€Å"its hour come round at last,/Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born? † (lines 21-22). This fearful question hints at a world that will be destroyed by evil instead of reclaimed by God. It suggest that mankind now has no hope of salvation. The poems in this paper all show a progression of man away from God and towards evil. Beginning with Adam, the father of murderous Cain, this symbolic journey moves through the dissolution of the family, the man’s disillusionment and loss of faith in God, the separation of man from each other, the decay of the church, and finally the birth of ultimate evil. Human beings have, indeed, fallen from God in each of these ways. The poems presented here are the attempts of the poets to capture these feelings and emotions and express them to the reader. The body of religious poetry includes far more poems on a similar theme. Because the poems hail from many time periods and from many authors, it can be assumed that the fears and suggestions in these poems are not limited to one era or to one author or country. Unfortunately, the six poems, â€Å"Imperial Adam† by A. D. Hope, â€Å"The Prodigal Son† by Rudyard Kipling, â€Å"Thou art indeed just, Lord, if I contend† by Gerald Hanley Hopkins, â€Å"Yom Kippur, 1984† by Adrienne Rich, â€Å"A Poem for Sunday† by Phillip Larkin, and â€Å"The Second Coming† by William Butler Yeats all paint a bleak outlook for mankind and his relationship with his God and with mankind.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Biomedical and Social Models of Health

Biomedical and Social Models of Health The bio-medical and social models of health offer different views of health and disease. Outline the main characteristics of each model and assess their strengths and weakness in explaining health and disease. Health can be viewed as the state of being fit and well, as well as a state of mental sanity (WHO 2005). According to Blaxter (2004), if a person can perform daily functions such as going to work, taking care of the household, etc he/she is healthy. Many studies have found that lay people define health as the absence of illness (Williams 1983, Calnan 1987, Hughner Kleine 2004). However being healthy means different things to different people as much have been said and written about peoples varying concepts of health. Some lay perceptions are based on pragmatism where health is regarded as a relative phenomenon, experienced and evaluated according to what an individual finds reasonable to expect, given their age, medical condition and social status. For them being healthy, may just mean not having a health problem, which interferes with their everyday lives (Bury 2005). Some taxonomies have evolved in attempt to define health. In this work, health has been considered from the perspective of biomedical and social models. According to Baggott (2004) the biomedical model of health looks at individual physical functioning and describes bad health as the presence of disease and illness symptoms as a result of physical cause such as injury or infections and attempts to ignore social and psychological factors. Baggott (2004) states that the features of biomedical model rest mainly on biomedical changes, which can be defined, measured and isolated. In effect this is directed towards the dysfunction of the organs and tissues of the body rather than the overall condition of the patient. Biomedical treatments often involve the removal of the cause, for instance the virus or bacteria. The biomedical model is based on the belief that there is always a cure and the idea that illness is temporary, episodic and a physical condition. The basic values of the biomedical model of health consist of the theory called doctrine of specific aetiology, which is the idea that all disease is caused by theoretically identifiable agents such as germs, bacteria or parasites (Naidoo Wills 2004). The advantage of biomedical model shows disease as representing a major public health problem facing our society. This model sees disease state as an issue that needs to be treated, and that disease can be readily diagnosed and quantified (Ewles Simnett 2003 2010). This approach appears narrow, negative and reductionist. In an extreme case, it implies that people with disabilities are unhealthy and that health is only about the absence of morbidity. Further, this model is limited in its approach by its omission of a time dimension. Modern biomedicine rests upon two major developments, both of which remain influential to this day. It is first important to consider the Cartesian revolution after the seventh century French philosophy Rene Descarts. The Cartesian revolution encouraged the idea that the body and mind are independent or not closely related (NRC 1985). In this mechanistic view, the body is perceived to function like a machine with its various parts individually treatable, and those that treat them considered engineers (Naidoo Wills 2004). Biomedical also concentrates on the individual unlike the social model. Biological model adopts a negative perspective on health as it views health more in terms of the absence of disease than the possession of healthy attributes (Baggott 2004). This model stresses the importance of advancing technology both in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, an approach that has undoubtedly improved both the knowledge and understanding of numerous diseases. Biomedical model has led to the improvements in the treatment of patients, which has favoured gains both in the length and quality of life of people. Despite the aforementioned feats, the biomedical model has received considerable criticism, as many writers have argued that it was inappropriate to modern, complex health problems (Inglis 1981). The medical model, in terms of specific health risks, does not encompass all of what health means to an individual. For instance, a physician speculating on what, based on current knowledge at the time, would be the composite picture of an individual with a low risk of developing coronary artery disease. Further criticisms of this theory focused principally on the suggestion that it over simplified biological processes now known to be very intricate. For many diseases there are multiple and interacting causes. Moreover, such a theory looks only to the agent of disease, and ignores the host, and the possibilities of biological adaptation. The theory is much more easily applicable to acute conditions than to chronic ill-health and is difficult to apply to mental disorders. The second theory of the biomedical model is called the assumption of generic disease. This is when each disease has its own distinguishing features that are universal, at least within the human species. These will be the same in different cultures and at different times, unless the disease-producing agent itself changes. Criticisms of this focus on the rather obvious point that diseases are differently defined in different cultures and that medical definitions of disease have clearly changed over time. Each new advance in knowledge of physiology and each new wave of technology have added new definitions of ill health to the accepted canon. Despite the doctrine of specific aetiology many conditions, which are still only symptoms or syndromes, are recognized within medicine as diseases. Generally, it can be seen that what is viewed as illness in any particular society and at any historical time depends on cultural norms and social values (Naidoo Wills 2004). Thus new diagnoses such as alcohol, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic fatigue syndromes are born through an interaction of new knowledge about both their possible causes and how they might possibly be helped. As a definition of disease what doctors treat has obvious problems, however, it implies that no one can be ill until recognised as such and leaves the concept at the mercy of idiosyncratic individual medical decisions. The third theory is the scientific biomedicine, which accepts the model of all ill-health as deviation from the normal especially the normal range of measurable biological variables. There is an association with the definition of health as equilibrium and disease as a disturbance of the bodys function, with the purpose of medical technology the restoration to equilibrium. The immune or endocrine, or neuropsychological systems attempt to restore the normal and the purpose of medicine is to instigate or assist this process. But medical science now realizes that the human organism has no set pattern for structure and function, and it is often unclear where normal variation ends and abnormality begins. The fourth theory of medical model is based on the principles of scientific neutrality. Medicine adopts not only the rational method of science but also its values objectivity and neutrality on the part of the observer, and the view of the human organism as simply the product of biological processes over which the individuals themselves have little control. The reply to this is that the practice of medicine, whatever its theory, is always deeply embedded in the larger society. It cannot be neutral, for there are wider social, political and cultural forces dictating how it does its work and how the unhealthy are dealt with. Biomedicine now admits multiple and interactive causes, and that the whole may be more than simply the sum of the parts. Social and psychological causes of ill health- stress, unhappiness, life events- are admitted as agents of disease or contributing factors, but they are not themselves defined as ill health. Modern medicine has moved on, to incorporate elaborate ideas about the various and interrelated causes of ill health. Studies of the way in which doctors make diagnoses demonstrate this, while at the same time lip service is paid to the importance of the social. Moreover, even when social and psychological influences are admitted this is still a very negatively oriented approach to health. The social model came about in mid twentieth century when there was increasing dissatisfaction with the dominant model of health offered by biomedicine. The preoccupation with disease and illness made it less able to deal with any positive concept of health. The ideology, which viewed the individual in mechanistic ways justified ever-increasing use of medical technologies, precluding the exercise of other therapies and diminishing the importance attached to positive health or preventive medicine. Since the last decade medical professional practice has become a major threat to health. Depression, infection, disability and other specific estrogenic disease now cause more suffering than all accidents from traffic or industry by transforming pain, illness and death from a personal challenge into a technical problem, medical practice expropriates the potential of people to deal with their human condition in an autonomous way and becomes the sources of a new kind of un-health. The emphasis on health as simply the absence of disease encouraged thinking about only two categories the health and the disease. As we are meant to believe that science can produce a utopia of disease free and lengthy life meaning scientists only look for their magic bullet. There is a feeling that the most angry critiques of the biomedical model was wilfully ignoring the contributions of modern science to human welfare. But claims to the unique truth of biomedicine were weakened by some loss of faith in sci entific objectivity and a distrust of a Frankenstein technology that could run out of control, and this was part of the modern movement towards a new model usually called social health. Social model of health imbibes social constructs and relativity in its approach to health. It tends to define and redefine health in a continuous manner, and views health differently between individuals, groups, times and cultures. Some supporters of Social model have written extensively about sickness having a role to play in various societies (Parsons 1951) as this helps to determine the structure of and functionality of the society. The concept of social health incorporates many differences of emphasis though it has to be noted that it is more than simply the recognition that social factors such as poverty have to be included in a model of the causes of ill health. The social model is a different construction, locating biological processes within their social contexts and considering the person as a whole rather than a series of distinct bodily systems. The social model is organic and holistic rather than reductionist mechanical method. A mechanical system acts according to its programming, its instructions, or natural laws. The social model allows for mental as well as physical health and wider sphere of taking part in active life. This model also allows for more subtle discrimination of individuals who succeed in leading productive lives in spite of a physical impairment. Another disadvantage of this model is that the conception runs the risk of excessive breadth and of incorporating all of life. Thus they do not distinguish clearly between the state of being healthy the consequences of being healthy nor do they distinguish between health and the determinants of health (Ewles Simnett 2010). The medical profession is a social institution, which cannot be separated from the values, pressures and influences of the society in which it practices. As health has been defined in various ways, most part rests on the ideas of the normal and of seeing health as opposed to disease or illness. In practice, the definition of health has always been the territory of those who define its opposite: healers, or practitioners of medicine as a science or a body of practical knowledge. Since medicine is one of societys major systems, it is obvious that it is these definitions which will be institutionalised and embodied in law and administration, though the extent to which lay models adds to or diverge from this body of ideas is significant to the individual in respect of their perception of health. Whilst the medical model built on the Cartesian theory of the body as a machine disorders can be corrected by repairing or replacing parts of the organism, holism describes the view that the whole cannot be explained simply by the sum of the parts, just as healthiness cannot be explained by a list of risk factors. Every disturbance in a system involves the whole system. Human beings are living networks formed by cognitive processes, values, and purposive intentions, not simply interacting components (Blaxter 2004). The development of this social model has been accompanied among the public, by a growing enthusiasm for alternative therapies, which tend to rest on holistic theories. Gradually, these too have been integrated to some extent into the mainstream model. In order to have a comprehensive understanding of health, one has to look at the phenomenon from various premise of health definition, as just one aspect may not provide complete answer to the enquiry about our health at a particular given time. It is therefore important to consider the various aspects of health when making judgement and decision about the health status of an individual. In summary, the biomedical model of health is obviously most easily defined by the absence of disease, though the model is also compatible with more positive definitions in terms of equilibrium of normal functioning. In the social model health is a positive state of wholeness and well being associated with but not entirely explained by the absence of disease, illness or physical and mental impairment. The concepts of health and ill-health are unbalanced. The absence of disease may be part of health but health is more than the absence of disease.

Friday, October 25, 2019

It Wasn’t War it Was Genocide in Rwanda Essay -- Essays Papers

It Wasn’t War it Was Genocide in Rwanda Never ending battles have occurred over the past sixty years in Rwanda due to their atrocious economy. It has been the Tutsi and the Hutu, two out of the three ethnic groups in Rwanda, that have been battling for the government spot. As the years went on, the fighting kept getting more brutal. This brutality ended up being an all out massacre in Rwanda from the Hutu. It has been argued whether if the killings were an act of genocide or an act of war. But what are exactly genocide and war, and which one relates to the conflict in Rwanda? Because of the way the Hutu went through with there harsh brutality towards the Tutsi provides enough evidence to prove that the Hutus actions were an act of genocide. Rwanda is a densely populated small landlocked country in Africa. In this small country reside three ethnic groups the Hutu, the Tutsi, and the Twa. The Hutu account for 85 percent of the population, the Tutsi make up 14 percent, and the Twa only make up about 1 percent. The Tutsi, even though they only make up 14 percent of the populations, have ruled Rwanda for years, which has stirred up many emotions from the Hutu being that they have the numbers while the Tutsi still has the power. Then there is the Twa who have no political effect in Rwanda. Before 1950 the Tutsi and the Hutu lived very similar lives growing cattle and cultivating their land. They even intermarried and shared the same language. Everything was great until a new type of economic system came into play, colonialism. There was always a little rivalry between the Hutu and the Tutsi but this rivalry substantially grew when colonialism came into the economic system in Rwanda. Not to say that Rwanda w... ...me against the rules of war, and since the actions of the Hutu was nothing less than atrocious the incident in Rwanda in 1994 was nothing less than a pure act of genocide. Works Cited - Destexhe, Alain. The Crime of Genocide. New York, NY: New York University Press, 1995. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/rwanda/reports/dsetexhe.html. - Kampfner, John. â€Å"The Journalist as God.† New Statesman. Jan. 26, 2004. Vol. 133 Issue 4672, p. 22, 2p - Lorey, David E. ed., and Beezley, William H. ed. Genocide, Collective Violence, and Popular Memory. Wilmington, DE: Scholary Resources Inc., 2002 - Robinson, Luke. â€Å"The Tragedy of Rwanda.† Monthly Review Dec. 2003. vol. 55 issue 7, pg. 52, 9p - Shaw, Martin. War & Genocide. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2003

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Impact of National Culture on Organisational Principles

Discuss the impact of national culture on organisational principles and behaviour in TWO of the following: China, Japan and/or India. What do you consider to be the most important differences with the West? National culture can be classified as â€Å"the collective mental programming† of a society (Hofstede, 1980). The culture will have great repercussions on the way the way organisations and the different sectors within them are run. Managing them and controlling the human resources will also be dealt with according to the specified culture of the country.It is vital for organisations to understand the culture of different countries that they may be dealing with internationally or have multinational corporations within. This is because the collection of beliefs, habits and traditions within other nations may vary drastically from their own. The Japanese have a strong national culture that affects the way organisations behave and the different principles within them. The natio nal culture is important as it helps structure the culture of organisations. People then know what is acceptable, certain ways to behave and values. They have a number of laws to abide by and for this reason it is very important to follow the culture. A competitive advantage can also be gained as the culture is different to other nations. Children are encouraged to work very hard and it is not about the degree they get but rather how they use what they have learnt and put it into practice that counts. As they are given employment for life in a certain organisation, rather than moving from company to company, they are very hardworking and dedicated. Body postures show respect and bowing for reeting people is common along with gift giving for good effort. If a mistake is made, one does not get in trouble for it as the Japanese simply believe it is a lesson that has been learnt and honesty is key. Teamwork is vital for the Japanese. Countless managers in Japan feel their employees are motivated by working as a team. This is because as they are all working towards the same goal they share many responsibilities and get along well with each other, hence enjoying their job. This is a characteristic of Ouchi’s Theory Z when they are satisfied with their input towards the organisation. Japanese managers believe in consensus and cooperation and use the ‘bottom-up’ rather than the ‘top down’ structure in the decision making process. The hierarchical structure cannot easily be seen as everyone cooperates hugely within the decision making process and dealing with tasks. Managers highlight the need for information to flow throughout the entire organisation be it top or bottom and feel the need for everyone in the organisation to participate. They should be available at all times and readily be enthusiastic to sharing information with the rest of the organisation. The Japanese have been practicing upon many techniques in their organisations which help them in their everyday working lives. Samuel K. M. Ho’s 5-S practice is a procedure which is used to institute quality within the workplace. These five words when translated into English mean organisation, neatness, cleaning, standardisation and discipline. The people of Japan feel if they preserve this quality, it can be used as a good promotional tool. Another well known practice carried out by the Japanese is something called ‘kaizen’, which simply means ‘continuous improvement’. Kaizen is a strategy that aims to involve everyone in the workforce by getting them to think of any improvements for the business frequently. It is a Taylorist approach which helps employees feel recognised and gives responsibility. This is done by carrying out tasks in teams, providing personal discipline and improved morale to the workforce. Quality circles are carried out in which employees give opinions and suggest improvements. The ‘Just In Time Production’ theory is something the Japanese use which is very efficient. It focuses on getting the right material at the right time, at the right place and in the exact amount (Authorstream). This is done in order to save manufacturing costs and has many advantages one of which is it helps prevent stock going out of date as the right amount is produced. So overall, in Japan the national culture affect the organisational principles and behaviour greatly. Organisations expect loyalty, commitment and hard work from the workforce in return for good pay. The culture determines the way in which people are brought up, who is chosen in which organisation and the way people do things in their everyday lives is due to the specified culture. The culture of China varies from region to region within it but overall the culture is homogeneous. The government have been a considerable influence to the culture in organisation as it changes views to suit their needs. There was a cultural revolution from 1966 to 1976 which slightly changed the culture of China because of economic reasons. The previous system hugely converged on philosophy, literature and history but now the national culture has become more open with the world. The main factor of the Chinese culture is politeness. In everyday life, in and out of the workplace politeness determines an individual’s personality. Organisations usually select those who have the best attitude and family are usually giving priority before anyone else. As with Japan, lifetime employment is also the case with China and the organisation become like family to the employee. Respect is very important and the Chinese must ensure they give this at all times in order to prevent the ‘loss of face’. Once someone in China loses face, they are regarded as untrustworthy and lose their dignity along with their self respect. Greetings in China are usually made with the face and the Chinese depend on facial expressions and tone for reputation and respect. As with Japan, teamwork is vital in China as this guarantees good cooperation within the organisation. Gifts are given as recognition of hard work and appreciation and are also used for motivation. Long term relationships are also much more valued rather than quick transactions as the Chinese find it easier to function when they have contacts. This is a more family way of working and is part of Guanxi. Guanxi literally means any type of relationship (Chinese-school) and a favour is usually done for a favour in return. However, he difference from the Japanese culture is in China there are clear levels of hierarchy and people are usually judged according to their status. The seniors will always be given priority and no decisions can be taken upon without their consent. If mistakes are made in China it is regarded as a huge weakness. Confucianism has largely influenced the Chinese. It is a ‘complex system of moral, social, political and religious codes’ (Smith, 1973). It is unequal and values men more than women. There are fewer women in the workforce and they are regarded to have less importance than men. Overall, there are many similarities in both eastern countries, Japan and China, with only a few differences. Every nation has their own culture which makes them different and gives a competitive advantage over others. The people in these nations abide by the certain cultures sustaining them throughout generations. There are many differences in the way national culture impacts organisational principles and behaviour in China and Japan than in the West. In Japan, hierarchies are not so clear whereas they are very clear in China. In Western countries, company structures change depending on which industry is being looked at but the overall hierarchies will still be of importance. In both Japan and China, social relationships mean a lot and people usually get given employment due to family and friends and build them up from there. Once they receive employment within a firm, it is usually lifetime employment and they treat the firm like family. However in Western countries, people are given jobs according to their degree and on a professional level. People switch from company to company and their role moves up if they are top performers. Western countries unlike the Eastern are only concerned with employees on a work basis. This is different to Eastern countries that are judged on both home and work and actions outside the workplace can be severe. Men and women are not looked at differently in the Western countries but in Japan and China are given a lower status and fewer women have top positions within the workforce. When a mistake is made in a Western country it is usually overlooked however in Japan it is counted as part of the learning process and in China it is regarded as a weakness. In Japan, decisions are made by groups of up to one hundred people whereas in Western countries they are finalised by only about ten people. Regardless, decisions are still usually made quicker in the East than they are in the West. Corruption is something that occurs widely in China which causes certain decisions to be taken that benefit the rich making the rich richer and the poor poorer. This does not occur much in Western countries as in the UK, such Cartels exist to reduce corruptive actions. There are many similarities and a few differences between both Western countries, Japan and China that have been listed above. The main difference in culture is the East usually treats their nations more as family and actions inside and outside the work place are something they have to account for. The differences are become fewer though, as these Eastern countries are slowly being influenced by the West because of internationalism.References http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/guanxi.html http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/Nguvananh_07b-311673-time-product-business-english-3-finance-ppt-powerpoint/

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Sports Event Management

Sports Event Management Introduction Within the past decade there has been an unprecedented demand to host major sporting events by several of the worlds most prominent cities. This is due to such events fulfilling certain multis of project management endeavors can be seen in the promotion of a particular product utilizing a new branding strategy, the creation of a new product line for a company or actions which focus on creating a greater sense of public awareness of the companys adherence to Corporate Social Responsibility (i.e. charity work or replacing new equipment to comply with environmental regulations). It must also be noted that project management is often constrained by factors related to scope, time and cost and as such it is the goal of all project managers to implement a process that takes these limitations into consideration in order to create a high quality outcome that fits within such constraints.Advertising We will write a custom dissertation sample on Sports Event Management spec ifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In summary it can be stated that project management is a step by step procedure utilized in order to accomplish a goal within the scope, time and cost limitations imposed upon the process being implemented by the project manager. Event Management The discipline of event management came about as direct result of the proliferation of large and small events occurring at the local level and the need to implement proper management procedures to ensure their success (Adams and Thomas, 2005: 100). On the other hand Adams and Thomas (2005) note that as a professional discipline events management is still in its infancy and state that there is no overarching process drawing all the different functions or activities of event management together despite the proliferation of text books, trade publications and community programs (Adams and Thomas, 2005: 100). Despite this the event industry is still one of the largest employe rs in the world and actually contributes towards positive economic impacts for local communities. What must be understood is that the way in which an organization chooses to handle a particular event is known as events management and is composed of organizational objectives spanning factors such as: organizing funding, managing staff, assigning roles and responsibilities, marketing and public relations, ticketing, security etc. (Kose, Argan and Argan, 2011: 2) As Kose, Argan and Argan (2011) state The linkages between the various departments within the organization required to handle events and the flow of this information between them is the focus of event management (Kose, Argan and Argan, 2011: 2). It is based on this that the practice of events management can be summarized as a way in which organizations implement guiding practices so as to influence the flow of activities, events and people within a particular venue to ensure smooth methods of operation and a successful climate for socialization, presentation and observation.Advertising Looking for dissertation on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Relations between Project management and Event management As the number, size and complexity of special events have increased within the past three decades it has become increasingly apparent that proper management and planning efforts are needed in order to make such events a success. In fact it is not uncommon for business events, such as professional conferences, to attract 5,000 or more attendees with sporting events drawing in people by the thousands as well. This creates simultaneous problems in the form of crowd and traffic control, proper scheduling, ticketing and overall organization which needs to be addressed otherwise the entire event will descend into chaos. While the discipline of event management has been utilized as of late to address this need the fact still remains that it is still in the process of developing a sufficient body of knowledge to be recognized as a profession. As Adams and Thomas (2005) indicate there is a need for an overarching process in its develo pment and as such this is where the discipline of project management enters the picture. By utilizing the body of knowledge of project management as a guide for development the field of event management has quickly developed into a profession by using the project management model as the basis for its management practices. Adams and Thomas (2005) pursue this particular line of reasoning by indicating that while special events form an industry specific group the fact still remains that they are still projects and function as projects (Adams and Thomas, 2005: 113). In fact Adams and Thomas (2005) compare special event management practices as being derived from project management practices with components currently utilized in event processes being a mixture of both project management and event management disciplines (Adams and Thomas, 2005: 111). Further evidence of this can be seen in a comparison of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) with that of the special events mana gement practices from the work of OToole examined by Adams and Thomas (2005). PMBOK defines an average project life cycle as consisting of the following five processes: an initiation process which authorizes the project or plan, a planning process that defines and refines objectives which allows the best of alternative courses of action to be attained, an executing process involves carrying out the plan using the resources allocated, a controlling process which monitors and measures project progress regularly to ensure appropriate corrective action can be taken when necessary, and a closing process which involves a formal acceptance of project completion and the termination of any contracts† (Adams and Thomas, 2005: 107). In comparison 6 of the 13 special event management processes consisting of: scope, time, communication, human resources, risk and procurement are virtually identical to the project management knowledge areas indicated in PMBOK. Not only that the seven other e vent management processes describe by OToole which were examined by Adams and Thomas (2005) comprising of: finance, design, stakeholder, site choice, sponsorship, marketing and deadline while not identical to PMBOK knowledge areas can actually be found within several existing PMBOK processes (Adams and Thomas, 2004: 112). It is based on this that it can be seen the relationship between project management and event management is a cos of this can be seen in problems that may occur in sufficiently coordinating and controlling the crowd of people going in and out of the venue, the possibility of long lines at the restrooms or even unruly crowds during the event itself (Walker, Heere, Parent, and Drane 2010: 659 680). As such these present numerous risks to the event that need to be dealt with in order to ensure its success. Conceptual understanding about successful management of sport event Based on the various factors presented in can be seen that the successful management of a sport ing event is based on minimizing challenges and risks that occur at the onset and during the event while ensuring that there is a sufficient logistical infrastructure in place in order to ensure proper organizational efficiency (Riggs, Epting, Hanky, and Knowles, 2011: 299 204). It was seen that sports event management is not limited to dealing with creating the event alone but also needs to take into account positive relations with the local community in order to get any major sports event underway. This involves having to implement marketing and media relations in order to portray the positive aspects of a sporting event and how it will not detrimentally impact members of the local community and in fact will be a boon to them. Also, while it may be true that a sporting event does create a distinct positive economic impact with local businesses the fact remains that it should be profitable venture for the organizers as well. Taking this into consideration it is often necessary to create links with local government and private companies to share in the burden of managing and initially funding the event so as to ensure that there is a sufficient monetary and organizational structure behind the event itself. What must also be taken into consideration is the fact that a sports event can be considered as a form of project and as such it is constrained by factors related to scope, time and cost. As such taking such limitations into consideration it is necessary to implement an backbone logistical structure so as to ensure that there is an organized method behind the operations of the sports event management team. This is done by first implementing SMART goals, creating a logistical overlay of what is necessary for each department, separating staff into individual teams and giving each team their own aspect of the event to be responsible for. By ensuring that each team complies with their given instruction this creates an effective means of ensuring that the sporti ng event can become a success. On the other hand it is also equally important to note that managing a sporting event is not limited to creating the event itself but ensuring that it has a positive impact on the participants and spectators as well. This involves implementing positive atmospherics during the event so as to create an effective visual stimulation for players and audiences a like. Reference List Appelbaum, S, Adeland, E and Harris, J, 2005. Management of Sports Facilities: Stress and Terrorism Since 9/11. Management Research Review, 28, 69 82. Chadwick, S, 2009. 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