Paper tigers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Paper tigers - Essay Example In the article, Yang points out that most Asian Americans are seen as obedient, non-questioning individuals. In fact, he terms them as â€Å"conformist quasi-robots who simply do not matter† (Yang, 2011). This explains why they are really given management positions in most companies in America. The author gives the example of James Hong, who says that he was not considered to be good enough to hold management positions. Stereotypes have denied most Asian American the chance to serve in top levels of organizations but instead given jobs on lower ranks. The predicament faced by Asian Americans as described in this article can extent to other groups affected by various forms of stereotypes. In the end, the perceptions held by others about a given group greatly influence how the affected people are treated in the society. Secondly, it is clear that stereotypes make individuals have negative perceptions about themselves and their culture, and relegate themselves to lower classes. Through this perception, these people are left to occupy the lowest ranks in the society, making themselves appear inferior. For example, in this article, Yang gives the example of Tim Wu who grew up in Canada, and witnessed how whites and Asians perceive each other. According to Wu, there was the assumption that Asians were talented at bitter labor. In other words, Asians were seen to be good at the most brutal part and therefore most suited for it. The whites, on the other hand, portrayed themselves to be above all that. In the end, as Wu notes, the Asians moved towards these kinds of low class jobs because they believe they are best suited for them. This illustrates how stereotypes make people to lower themselves and have negative perceptions about themselves. They tend to put themselves in the lowest classes because that is what the rest of the society believes they

Procurement Management Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Procurement Management Plan - Research Paper Example No. Item Name Quantity Budgeted Amount ($) Expected Cost ($) Needed by 1. Shrubs 1000 11000 10000 +/- 1000 01-02-2012 2. Bricks 10000 2000 2000 +/- 200 01-02-2012 3. Ties 500 7000 7500 +/- 500 01-01-2012 Issues: There can be misjudgment here on the part of the management regarding the required products for the project. In order to avoid this issue, the reason for the procurement of these products should be stated. It should be very clear that these products are necessary for the successful completion of the project. Moreover, lead experts will verify the quantity demanded of each item. The expected cost of the required products can exceed the budgeted amount. Such issues should be dealt with before hand by increasing market knowledge and discussing with experts that can suggest alternative solutions to the problem. Procurement Team Hierarchy Following is the procurement management team that has the responsibility and authority of procuring the required products/services. Name Role Mr . X Project Manager Mr. Y Lead Expert on the required items Mrs. Z Procuring officer Issues: Procurement team members should be chosen carefully as they are entitled to both authority and responsibility. They may lack market knowledge and negotiation skill, which is why it is necessary to train them accordingly. The procurement team should be a mix of various specialized skills so that they can cater to the needs of the fulfillment of the project. Contract Type After sending out all the solicitations, the first step is to analyze all the vendor proposals to select the ideal vendors that satisfy the criteria laid by the project team. There are many types of contracts for instance fixed price, time and material and cost reimbursable. Therefore, the contract type will be chosen after careful examination of the vendor proposals. Issues: Here the issue of inappropriate contract type can arise. The contract type should be chosen on the basis of information such as quality, expected delive ry, cost and past experience. This should be approved by contract board members. Vendor Selection After approval from board members, the most suitable vendor is selected based on a thorough analysis of measurable evaluation criteria. Issues: From this point onwards many issues can arise. The vendor should be contacted on timely basis so as to minimize the risk of delayed delivery. The agreement with the vendor should clearly state the specifications of the required product so that there is no claim of insufficient information by the seller. All the negotiations should be recorded as a proof of settlement. Moreover, the terms and conditions of the contract should be reasonable and just. The team will need to minimize the risk of failure of fulfillment of contract. From the time of agreement, the procurement team should keep in touch with the seller to demand status updates of the goods in transit. This will help in ensuring timely delivery and high quality of the products. Contract C losure This part collectively acknowledged the product verification and administrative closure. This closure is subject to the terms and conditions of the contract. Issues: If all the precautionary steps have been taken than the risks associated with this part can be minimized or eliminated. However, the possibility of risks does exist. So upon delivery the team will examine and verify the product and take all the necessary steps required to fulfill the contract. The

Fluid mechanics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Fluid mechanics - Assignment Example Introduction When a fluid undergoes motion, there are certain laws it must satisfy. Two of the basic laws pertain to the conservation laws for mass and energy. While the conservation of mass leads to Continuity Equation, conservation of energy gives us Bernoulli’s Principle. (1) Continuity Equation: the amount of fluid volume per unit time must remain constant as the fluid cannot be compressed (no density variation) and the mass flowing in to a certain area per unit time must always be same to that going out from that area in exactly the same time. Thus, leading to the important equation Q = A1 ? u1 = A2 ? u2 .....(1) where A1 and u1 are the cross-sectional area and fluid velocity respectively at the location ‘1’; and A2 and u2 are those at ‘2’ along the Venturi Tube shown below. (2) Bernoulli’s Equation: similarly, when we take into account the conservation of total energy of the water in the Tube, which happens to be one of the most fundament al conservation principles in Physics, we obtain the Bernoulli’s equation. ... ic Head† or â€Å"Pressure Head†, denoting the energy due to the fluid pressure; the 2nd term defined as â€Å"Velocity Head†, denoting the kinetic energy; and the 3rd term named as â€Å"Potential Head†, denoting potential energy, combine together to give the total energy or â€Å"Head† of the fluid in motion. Apparatus Used (1) Venturi Tube or Venturimeter (2) Stopwatch (3) Graduated Beaker 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Venturimeter or Venturi Tube Methodology Step 1: Known volume of water (10 litres in the first case) is allowed to flow in through the inlet, located at position marked as ‘1’ Step 2: when the water flows through the Venturi Tube and goes out through the valve at ‘11’, it is collected in the graduated beaker and the volume is noted down along with the total time taken to travel through the Tube. Subsequently, Q, the Volumetric Flow Rate is measured using the Eqn. (1) Step 3: simultaneously, the heights of the wat er columns in each of the 11 capillary tubes connected to the Venturimeter at 11 different locations are also observed carefully and put the relevant column in the Observation Table 1 below Step 4: the Velocity Head and Pressure Head as given by Eqn. (2) are also calculated for different fluid velocities at different locations, and the values are tabulated in Columns 6 & 8 respectively Step 5: finally, the total energy or Head of the fluid is measured just by adding the Velocity Head and the Pressure Head since the Potential Head remains unchanged Step 6: all the 5 steps mentioned above are repeated for 20 litres and 25 litres and the measurements are recorded in Tables 2 & 3 Step 7: bar diagrams are plotted for Evh, the Velocity Head, against the Tube Locations. Similarly, another graph is plotted for Esh, the Static Head, Vs the Tube

Virtuoso Teams Essay Example for Free

Virtuoso Teams Essay Bill Fischer is Professor of Innovation Management. He began his work-life as an apprentice electrician in the New York City building trades and his professional life as a development engineer in the steel industry. He served for two years as a lieutenant in the US Army Corps of Engineers; and has also worked with the World Health Organization for more than fifteen years on strengthening research and development institutes in developing countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Bill also was the Executive President and Dean of the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), in Shanghai. Bill writes a blog entitled The Ideas Business for Forbes.com and has recently author two books relating to innovation: Virtuoso Teams in 2005, and The Idea Hunter, in 2011 [both co-authored by Andy Boynton]. Andy Boynton is Dean of Boston College’s Carroll School of Management, one of the world’s leading business schools, the author of several books and co-creator of DeepDiveâ„ ¢, the world’s leading methodology for helping executives harness the power of teams to significantly improve problem-solving speed, innovation and results. Boynton was a professor of strategy at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland for 10 years. Boynton has recently launched new research projects to explore how distinguished experts from a variety of knowledge-domains work with ideas to achieve professional success and improve their effectiveness in social networks. His latest book, The Idea Hunter: How to Find the Best Ideas and Make them Happen (Jossey-Bass), is based on this research and is co-authored with Bill Fischer and William Bole. A virtuoso (from Italian virtuoso, Latin virtus meaning: skill, manliness, excellence) is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The term evolved with time, simultaneously broadening and narrowing in scope as interpretations went in and out of fashion and debates unravel. What words characterizes them best? This article is about these kind of teams which are so different from the ordinary, average teams. The Idea in Brief Imagine these high-stakes scenarios: Your company must enter an untested new market. Or reorganize to take advantage of a new IT platform. Or avert a public relations crisis brought on by product tampering. To manage such feats, you need virtuoso teamsgroups of top experts in their fields. But superstars are notorious for being temperamental and egocentric. You worry that forcing a group of them to work together will create a fatal explosion. So youre tempted to settle for an ordinary project team instead. Dont do it. Ordinary teams may play nice, but they produce results as unremarkable as themselves. Assemble your virtuoso teamand manage it with counterintuitive strategies, advise Fischer and Boynton. For example, instead of emphasizing the collective, celebrate individual egos by creating opportunities for solo performances. Then build group ego by encouraging a single-minded focus on the goal, your teams members will forge their most brilliant ideas. The Idea in Practice Fischer and Boynton suggest these principles for leading a virtuoso team: Assemble the stars. Hire only members with the best skills, even if they have little experience with the problem at hand. After investing heavily in a site promising a big oil find, Norsk Hydro discovered the site was dry. Team leader Kjell Sunde assembled a virtuoso team to avert an investor-relations crisis. The team included the best technical people from across the company. Its goal: Analyze reams of data, pinpoint what went wrong, and convince stakeholders such an outcome wouldnt occur again. Build the group ego. As your teams project progresses, help stars break through their egocentrism and morph into a powerful, unified team with a shared identity. Sunde initially broke with Norsk Hydros consensus-driven culture by publicly celebrating his team members and putting them squarely in the spotlight. He established a star mentality by nicknaming them the A-team. Then he built the teams group ego by protecting members from intrusive scrutiny from above, giving them unlimited access to resources, and treating their  conclusions as definitive. Make work a contact sport. Use face-to-face conversations in designated spaces to foster impassioned dialogue. Sunde established a dedicated team room and filled it with computer workstations and other scientific and communications equipment. The space functioned as a workroom and meeting place for candid, intense discussions that let members bounce ideas off each other. Respect the customers intelligence. Foster the belief that your teams customers want more, not less. Youll encourage them to deliver solutions consistent with this higher perception. For Norsk Hydros A-team, customers were equity market analysts. The teams job was to manage the markets reaction to news of the dry site. If its explanation was slapdash or incomplete, the companys market value would nosedive. The team provided thoughtful explanations that left market analysts impressed with the firms ability to respond convincingly and quickly to market concerns. The company received kudos in the press and was spared serious financial erosion. Herd the cats. Use time management strategies to balance team members needs for individual attention and intellectual freedom with the uncompromising demands and time lines of your high-stakes project. Sunde forced A-team members to keep presentations to 15 minutes. That encouraged members to use this allotment to maximum effect and discouraged aggressive members from imposing their viewpoints on others. The strong adherence to time made everyone aware they had to dance to the same rhythm.

Empowerment on Girl Child Essay Example for Free

Empowerment on Girl Child Essay With sacrificing family resources to educate a girl child and a potential future leader still a big societal challenge, any effort to see the education of a girl is a huge boon. So when millions of dollars are poured into the effort, the impact cannot be overemphasised. The Campaign for Female Education (Camfed), introduced some few years back, has seen remarkable change of fortunes to many a rural folk. Now, a US$19 million bursary programme has been launched to benefit 24 000 girls from disadvantaged families in rural Guruve, Mashonaland Central. The launch was conducted at colourful ceremony at Chifamba Secondary School in the area recently. With testimonies of previous beneficiaries of the programme giving the clear picture of changed lives, more girls are set to change for the better. Already, lives have changed and tales are being told. More are coming, definitely. Twenty-five-year-old Bridget Moyo was born in the dusty village of Wedza in a polygamous family. Her mother sired six children and the other children under the genealogy of her father are incalculable. She needs to sit down and count them from her father’s first wife until the last. Being a girl on a polygamous family, she was not spared from challenges women as a whole face. From birth she was automatically rendered a future beggar. Her education was considered optional and it was the first thing to be sacrificed in a crisis. Her brothers, uncles and male cousins’ needs had to come first for the family. The family’s future was seen to be in their hands and blood, so it was to them that the family’s resources should be spent primarily. As if that was not enough, the family was so much immersed in poverty. School fees and levies were a luxury they could only dream of and there wasn’t enough for the family to eat. â€Å"I lost count of how many other people’s fields we worked in to make ends meet with my mother. It was not unusual for people to approach my mother and offer me a job as their housemaid,† Bridget said. She said it was very tragic in that some people had the audacity to exchange her labour services with a bucket of maize a month. â€Å"I am a proud member of the Johane Marange Apostolic Sect and my growing up in the church came with benefits and challenges. â€Å"I feel at home hen at church where I am accepted with expectations like other girls who have to get married at a tender age. † â€Å"In my teenage years, I was only supposed to dream about the kind of husband I was going to marry. Even if it meant dropping out of school, I did not drop out until I attained my university degree,† Bridget went on to narrate her ordeal. The turning point in Bridget’s life came after she got a bursary before attending secondary education. â€Å"In primary school I vividly remember being nominated a prefect before the school authorities reversed the decision because I did not have a school uniform. I never had a worry about the strategy to use to sneak back into classroom after being sent home on numerous occasions to collect the fees . Currently I am a holder of Bachelor of Science Honours Degree in Business Management and Entrepreneurship,† she said. This is not the only sad tale about girls who rise from invisibility to visibility after attaining education. Another is Talent Tokoda, who grew up as an orphan and single child. Talent was born and bred in Chivhu, where her mother took care of all the family needs. â€Å"It was a nightmare getting shoes or having a proper uniform. I struggled through primary school to completion but fortunately I passed with five units which are a sharp contrast to the struggles I went through. † â€Å"Time to enrol for secondary education came and my hope was like a dim light at the far end of a tunnel which could turn off anytime. A week before I was supposed to go to secondary school, I neither had school fees nor secured a place at any school. † â€Å"I could spend the whole day in the garden with my mother. I got the surprise of my life when I was told that my fees were going to be paid for until I complete Advanced Level,† Talent said in front of the dumbfounded crowd. She passed Advanced Level and was enrolled at the University of Zimbabwe where she is doing her final year studying for a Bachelor in Medicine and Surgery. â€Å"I am proud that I proved to doomsayers that I can achieve any goal men can achieve. In August next year I will be a qualified medical doctor,† Talent said in front of the cheering crowd. This mirrors how the personality can be moulded to greatness. Guruve District’s pass rate is pegged at 25 percent with the national pass rate sitting at 21 percent. Assisting the girl child with resources will help improve the pass rate at rural schools. For example, at Chifamba Secondary School the pass rate for girls is pegged at 10 percent. Research revealed that in Sub-Saharan Africa, 24 million girls cannot afford to go to school and as a result a girl may marry as young as 13. Camfed executive director for Zimbabwe and Malawi, Ms Angeline Murimirwa said it is vital to improve educational access, progression and completion for marginalised secondary school girls. â€Å"The coverage of bursaries will span for four years in 28 rural districts including resettlement areas. The other money will provide a package of support to schools, training of school development committees and support for parents to enable children currently out of school to enrol,† she said. Ms Murimirwa said it is imperative to enhance participation of women in national activities from district level. â€Å"Most secondary school girls drop out of school opting to get married or as a result of lacking financial support. â€Å"Organisations need to cherish marginalised communities and the idea that women constitute a greater percentage to the national population,† she said.

Causes of Different Country Rates of Development

Causes of Different Country Rates of Development Kaitlyn Kanaly Guns, Germs, and Steel Summary In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond is trying to answer his friend, Yali’s, question. Yali asked Diamond in New Guinea, â€Å"Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo, but we black people had little cargo of our own?† (Diamond, 1998, p. 14). Yali was referring to all of the different advantages certain societies had that resulted in prosperous populations, while others failed. Diamond centers Guns, Germs, and Steel around answering Yali’s question. Throughout the semester, we were set out to define the â€Å"big idea† of each chapter individually. The first half of this book’s â€Å"big idea† is to show how food production, domesticating plants and animals, and most importantly, how geography itself are the main factors that determined which societies became more powerful than another. Diamond supports his thesis through evidence that he reveals in each chapter. Diamond’s search for an answer to Yali’s question started off by looking at the biology of when and how the first humans evolved. Then, he concentrated on more specific societies to further support his research. During his research, Diamond still could not explain why Eurasia became the most advanced continent even though Africa had a head start. What Diamond came to find out, however, is that a society is not successful because of the color of one’s skin or how intelligent one may or may not be, but it is the geography that allows a society to either flourish or diminish. To further defend his geographic explanation, Diamond suggests that the events that took place on the Chatham Islands was, in fact, due to a geographic stand point of the Maori and Moriori people. The technologically advanced Maori society successfully conquered the considerably weaker Moriori society. Further justifying this explanation, he points out that race could not have been a factor between these two groups because the two cultures had come from the same origin and were just separated within an unmindful time frame. Diamond also looked at factors, other than genetics, that determined the differences between the two societies. He then concluded that the Moriori were unable to provide an abundance of food due to the cold climate. The lack of food put the Moriori at a disadvantage because their society was significantly weaker than the Maori’s. Aside from the production of food, the Maori people were advanced in other areas that were not possible for the Moriori because o f their geographic location. Because the Moriori were isolated on an island, they did not have the means for communication with other people, and technological ideas were unable to spread to their society. Thus, only the Maori people were rich in food production, technology, and communication because of their geographic location. Geography also has had a major effect in which parts of the world developed food production over others. Areas such as deserts or high mountains are simply not suited for agriculture, while others may support some crops, but not others. Another factor is that there are only a limited number of plants suitable for domestication. According to Diamond, being able to successfully produce food was the start for societies to also develop of guns, germs, and steel. There are a few components that influenced the adoption of food production: the decline in wild foods, an increase in plants, the development of technology, and change in population density. With less wild food available, people did not have much of a choice but to grow their own. Technology also allowed food to be produced at a quicker pace. Acquiring an abundance of food meant that societies could reach a higher population density that would, in turn, lead to many more advantages. People were able to settle in one place because of farming, which allowed more complex and advanced food production. These more densely populated societies were able to create technology, invent writing, and became immune to epidemic diseases. All three of these remarkable factors is what Diamond found to be the reasons why one society was able to conquer another. Still, there were additional factors that Diamond set out to examine. Animals also played a key role in certain parts of the world developing quicker than others: the distribution of animals around the world was also a result of geography. Eurasia was home to the most domesticated mammals, which put the people there at an advantage. These domesticated animals not only helped as an additional food source, but also provided many other services for societies. Farming was completed much easier and at a quicker pace because animals were able to pull plows and also serve as fertilizer. Animal fur was used to keep warm, and the bones were converted into various handy tools. Diamond also analyzed the way plants, food, and ideas were able to spread from continent to continent. Food production spreads most easily if one is moving east to west, because plants and animals didn’t have to adapt to a drastic change like you would going north and south, as the climate will be either the same or similar going east or west as opposed to north and south. For example, because Eurasia is spread further east and west, it was almost effortless to haul crops and animals from one location to another, which made Eurasia more successful and subsequently advanced than other parts of the world. In conclusion, there are many reasons why certain societies prospered compared to others; and it all boils down to the geography of the land. Diamond proves that beneficial aspects of geography allows societies to effortlessly grow food than others. On the other hand, there are also geographical explanations as to why food production failed in some parts of the world. Diamond confidently insists that it does not matter who is smarter than who, but rather, that the most prosperous society was blessed by the more dominant environment. In essence, those who lived in more fertile areas had a much greater chance of success. Reflection I strongly believe that Diamond does an amazing job at dissecting how and why certain continents prevailed over others. He manages to go into detail, but not too much detail that would confuse his readers. I like the fact that he keeps his findings slightly broad because it makes the story line easier to follow. The way he presents how geography plays such a major role in history is extremely powerful and intriguing. There are many critics, however, who do not agree with Diamond’s message that geography is the ultimate factor for advanced continents, rather than racial or intelligence reasons. For example, York and Mancus are more concerned with the social aspects that contributed to the rise of certain continents over others. As quoted from the Human Ecology Review: His position would be strengthened if he more fully recognized that different types of societies have different internal dynamics, and that each era has its own particular processes and contradictions (York Mancus, 2007, p. 160). I think that this is too critical of an opinion for Diamond’s work. I do not think that Diamond intended his book to be overly specific, but rather a more broad, overall explanation of how and why the world evolved the way it did. Another critic focuses on the chapter in Diamond’s book where latitude is discussed. James Blaut, a geography professor, suggests that Diamond supplies â€Å"hardly an explanation† of the development and westward spread of technology and food. According to The Geographical Review: His description fails to mention that diffusion eastward and southward from the Near East via the Indian Ocean, and southward from China through the South China Sea, was as important and as easy, as was diffusion west-ward (Blaut, 1999, p. 400). I agree with this critic that Diamond should have explored all options for the spread of technology and food before he had stated that east-west movement was the easiest way to do it successfully. However, I do not recall Diamond saying that east-west diffusion was the one and only way. Although there are critics that do not fully agree with everything that Diamond has found in his research in Guns, Germs, and Steel, I think that this book is exceptionally educational. The book has an outstanding story line that is easy to follow and is packed with intriguing information that truly gets you thinking. I can’t wait to finish the rest of the book to see what else Diamond has to say about the establishment of our world. Sources Blaut, J. M. (1999). ENVIRONMENTALISM AND EUROCENTRISM.Geographical Review,89(3), 391. Diamond, J. (1998).Guns, Germs, and Steel. New York: W.W. Norton Company. York, R., Mancus, P. (2007). Human Ecology Review. Diamond in the Rough: Reflections on Guns, Germs, Steel, 14(2). http:/www.humanecologyreview.org/pastissues/her142/yorkandmancus.pdf

Veronica Decides To Die :: essays research papers

What is reality? Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary defines it as: something that exists independently of ideas concerning it; something that exists independently of all other things and from which all other things derive; something that constitutes a real or actual thing, as distinguished from something that is merely apparent. So, what defines reality? I mean can anyone, in all honesty, construct a concrete reproduction in which to turn and point proclaiming once and for all, â€Å"There, I give you reality in the flesh.† The answer simply is no. For as, the character, Dr. Igor stated â€Å". . . Other things, however, become fixed because more and more people believe that’s the way they should be (167).† Reality is nothing more than a socially accepted opinion – a perception inherently subjective. This very principle is the driving force behind Paulo Coelho’s introspective novel, Veronica Decides To Die. Veronica Decides to Die is an interesting story about a young woman called "Veronica" who wants to die but her suicide is not successful and she finds herself in "Villet", a place for the both the insane, as well as, the sane. Although she insists on pursuing the end she has chosen, some events, relationships, and her doctor's trick changes her view toward life. This novel is colored by the author's intimate knowledge of the world of mental hospitals, the relationships, and the comfort and anxiety of living in such a place. Coelho’s story of insanity and madness in contrast to the monotony of life provokes the feeling of self-discovery and the power of challenging all limitations and traditions. In this atmosphere created by Coelho, you learn that being different doesn't mean being mad and you understand that reality is something the majority deems to be, not necessary the best or the most logical one. It is in the vivid moments of Veronica Decides To Die that you can feel love and religious beliefs are the most important feelings one can have in one's life. You also recognize how one can stop one's feelings like fear, hatred and love and let them emerge in a way which makes one fresh without any "vitrol" (mind's bitterness), the poison believed to be the cause of insanity. Paulo Coelho first won my heart with his work entitled, The Alchemist, and with Veronica Decides To Die he secured a permanent place there. I must say that this particular novel was, at times, hard for me to read – not for any technical fault on Coelho’s part – because the story being told in many ways is my life.