Science Paper on Tropism Essay Example for Free

Science Paper on Tropism Essay A tropism is a growth in response to a stimulus. Plants grow towards sources of water and light, which they need to survive and grow. Auxin is a plant hormone produced in the stem tips and roots, which controls the direction of growth. Plant hormones are used in weedkillers, rooting powder and to control fruit ripening. Tropisms The direction of plant growth Plants need light and water for photosynthesis. They have developed responses called tropisms to help make sure they grow towards sources of light and water. There are different types of tropisms: Positive phototropism in plant stems * Tropism – growth in response to a stimulus * Positive tropism – towards the stimulus * Negative tropism – away from the stimulus * Phototropism – growth in response to the direction of light * Geotropism – growth in response to the direction of gravity Responses of different parts of the plant Auxin is a plant hormone responsible for controlling the direction of growth of root tips and stem tips in response to different stimuli including light and gravity. Auxin is made at the tips of stems and roots. Its moved in solution to older parts of the stem and root where it changes the elasticity of the cells. More elastic cells absorb more water and grow longer, causing bending in the stem or root. Its thought that light and gravity can interfere with the transport of auxin causing it to be unevenly distributed. Auxin experiment 3 groups of seeds are grown in a cardboard box. A when the tips are removed, no auxin is made so the stems do not grow B – when the tips are covered, auxin moves to all parts of the stem causing all parts to grow C when the tips are lit from one side only auxin accumulates on the shaded side causing it to grow more than the illuminated side Nervous System And Nerves Function: To transmit messages from one part of your body to another Neurons: Messenger cells in your nervous system Nerve impulses: Electrical signals carrying messages Neurotransmitters:Chemicals released by one neuron to excite a neighbouring one Millions of messengers Your nervous system contains millions of nerve cells, called neurons. Neurons are highly specialised to transmit messages from one part of your body to another. All neurons have a cell body and one or more fibres. These fibres vary in length from microscopic to over 1 metre. There are two different kinds of nerve fibres: fibres that carry information towards the cell body, called dendrites, and fibres that carry information away from it, called axons. Nerves are tight bundles of nerve fibres. Teamwork Your neurons can be divided into three types: * Sensory neurons, which pass information about stimuli such as light, heat or chemicals from both inside and outside your body to your central nervous system * Motor neurons, which pass instructions from your central nervous system to other parts of your body, such as muscles or glands * Association neurons, which connect your sensory and motor neurons Electrical and chemical signals Your neurons carry messages in the form of electrical signals called nerve impulses. To create a nerve impulse, your neurons have to be excited. Stimuli such as light, sound or pressure all excite your neurons, but in most cases, chemicals released by other neurons will trigger a nerve impulse. Although you have millions of neurons that are densely packed within your nervous system, they never actually touch. So when a nerve impulse reaches the end of one neuron, a neurotransmitter chemical is released. It diffuses from this neuron across a junction and excites the next neuron. Protecting cells Over half of all the nerve cells in your nervous system do not transmit any impulses. These supporting nerve cells are located between and around your neurons to insulate, protect and nourish them. Chromosomes Every human cell has 46 molecules of double-stranded DNA. This DNA is coiled and supercoiled to form chromosomes. Each chromosome has around 50 to 250 million bases. Image Credit: genome.gov Human cells contain two sets of chromosomes, one set inherited from the mother and one from the father. The egg from the mother contains half of the 46 (23) and thesperm from the father carries the other half 23 of 46 chromosomes. Together the baby has all 46 chromosomes. There are 22 pairs of autosomes and 1 pair of sex chromosomes. Females have an XX chromosome while men have an XY chromosome. DNA DNA resides in the core, or nucleus, of each of the bodys trillions of cells. Every human cell (with the exception of mature red blood cells, which have no nucleus) contains the same DNA. The DNA is a double, stranded spiral forming a double helix. Each strand is made up of millions of chemical building blocks called bases. There are only four types of bases making up the DNA adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. The order of these bases are changed with permutation and combination in a sequence and unique sequences code for proteins. The concept is similar to combination of alphabets to form words that further combine to form sentences. Genes The DNA in each chromosome constitutes many genes. The DNA also contains large sequences that do not code for any protein and their function is not known. The gene of the coding region encodes instructions that allow a cell to produce a specific protein or enzyme. There are nearly 50,000 and 100,000 genes with each being made up of hundreds of thousands of chemical bases. In order to make proteins, the gene from the DNA is coped by each of the chemical bases into messenger RNA (ribonucleic acid) or mRNA. The mRNA moves out of the nucleus and uses cell organelles in the cytoplasm called ribosomes to form the polypeptide or amino acid that finally folds and configures to form the protein. The human genome All the DNA in the cell makes up the human genome. There are about 20,000 important genes located on one of the 23 chromosome pairs found in the nucleus or on long strands of DNA located in the mitochondria. The DNA in the genes make up only around 2% of the genome. For some years now each of the sequences and genes discovered are carefully recorded as to their specific location, sequences etc. The whole information is stored in a database that is publicly accessible. Nearly 13000 genes have been mapped to specific locations (loci) on each of thechromosomes. This information was initiated by the work done as part of the Human Genome Project. The completion of the project was celebrated in April 2003 but the exact number of genes and numerous other genes in the genome of humans is as yet unknown. Genetic switches and non-coding DNA regions The genes that contain the information to make the necessary proteins are therefore ‘switched on’ in some of the specialized cells while the remaining genes are ‘switched off’. For example, the genes that are ‘switched on’ in kidney cells are different to those that are ‘switched on’ in brain cells because the cells of the brain have different roles and make different proteins. In addition to the Human genome project, more information is needed to find what each of the genes as well as the vast amounts of non-coding regions do. These non-coding regions form nearly 90% of the chromosome and earlier much of it was termed â€Å"junk DNA† as it appeared that this DNA did not contain the information for gene products that the cells use and produce. Now it is increasingly clear that the non-coding DNA has a very important role to play. That role is still largely unknown but is likely to include regulating which genes are ‘switched on’ or ‘switched off’ in each cell. The non-coding regions of the DNA is also important for forensic investigations and determining biological relationships – paternity etc. Promoter regions, exons introns of genes A gene can have more than one promoter, resulting in RNAs that may vary in lengths. Some genes may have strong promoters that bind the transcription machinery well, and others have weak promoters that bind poorly. Weak ones allow for less transcription to protein than strong ones. Other possible regulatory regions include enhancers. These enhancers may help the weak promoters. Many prokaryotic genes are organized into operons. These sequences are genes that have products with related functions. Long stretches of DNA that are coded to proteins are called introns and non-coding regions are called exons. Genes mutations Around 20,000 genes in the cell guide the growth, development and health of the animal or human. The genetic information contained in the DNA is in the form of a chemical code, called the genetic code. The code is similar in many ways and in most of the sequences across all living organisms. An allele is one variant of that gene. In many cases, all people would have the gene, but certain people will have a specific allele of that gene, which results in the trait. This could be a simple trait like hair or eye color. There are, however, variations in the genetic code that makes each individual unique. Most variations are harmless. However, variations to the genetic information can sometimes mean that some proteins are not produced properly, produced in the wrong amounts or not produced at all. Variations that make the gene faulty are called mutations. SNPs or single nucleotide polymorphisms are changes in a single base or single letter in the sequence and may code of a different protein altogether making it akin to a genetic mutation. Mutations of genes that are important for functions in the body can lead to a genetic condition that may affect growth or health of the individual. Some mutations do not directly cause disease but may make a person more susceptible to developing a genetic condition.

General Electric Change Management

General Electric Change Management The process by which organizations move from their present state to some desired future state to increase their effectiveness. The Goal is to find improved ways of using resources and capabilities in order to increase an organizations ability to create value. The change process includes improving organizational effectiveness at the four levels shown in the figure below. Major Types of Organizational Change Typically, the phrase organizational change is about a significant change in the organization, such as reorganization or adding a major new product or service. It can compass the following : Organization-wide Versus Subsystem Change Examples of organization-wide change might be a major restructuring, collaboration or rightsizing. Usually, organizations must undertake organization-wide change to evolve to a different level in their life cycle, for example, going from a highly reactive, entrepreneurial organization to one that has a more stable and planned development. Experts assert that successful organizational change requires a change in culture cultural change is another example of organization-wide change. Examples of a change in a subsystem might include addition or removal of a product or service, reorganization of a certain department, or implementation of a new process to deliver products or services Transformational Versus Incremental Change An example of transformational (or radical, fundamental) change might be changing an organizations structure and culture from the traditional top-down, hierarchical structure to a large amount of self-directing teams. Another example might be Business Process Re-engineering, which tries to take apart (at least on paper, at first) the major parts and processes of the organization and then put them back together in a more optimal fashion. Transformational change is sometimes referred to as quantum change. Examples of incremental change might include continuous improvement as a quality management process or implementation of new computer system to increase efficiencies. Many times, organizations experience incremental change and its leaders do not recognize the change as such. Remedial Versus Developmental Change Change can be intended to remedy current situations, for example, to improve the poor performance of a product or the entire organization, reduce burnout in the workplace, help the organization to become much more proactive and less reactive, or address large budget deficits. Remedial projects often seem more focused and urgent because they are addressing a current, major problem. It is often easier to determine the success of these projects because the problem is solved or not. Change can also be developmental to make a successful situation even more successful, for example, expand the amount of customers served, or duplicate successful products or services. Unplanned Versus Planned Change Unplanned change usually occurs because of a major, sudden surprise to the organization, which causes its members to respond in a highly reactive and disorganized fashion. Unplanned change might occur when the Chief Executive Officer suddenly leaves the organization, significant public relations problems occur, poor product performance quickly results in loss of customers, or other disruptive situations arise. Planned change occurs when leaders in the organization recognize the need for a major change and proactively organize a plan to accomplish the change. Planned change occurs with successful implementation of a Strategic Plan, plan for reorganization, or other implementation of a change of this magnitude. Drivers of Organizational Change : The most common vehicles for this sustainable change, in ascending order of magnitude of change, are Data Analysis, Process analysis, System Assessment and Customer Feedback. ÂÂ  Data AnalysisÂÂ  focuses on specific outcomes; product quality and process measurements. The data is analyzed using trend charts, histograms, scatter diagrams, Pareto analysis, etc.ÂÂ   Process AnalysisÂÂ  examines the whole process. Starting with high level flow diagram, detailed process steps are documented and analyzed. Some organizations analyze these detailed process steps further using task and wait times or cost of quality data.ÂÂ   System AssessmentÂÂ  audits the whole organization using a recognized award model (Malcolm-Baldrige,ÂÂ  CanadaÂÂ  Award for Excellence), an international standard ( ISO 9000 ), a business specific model ( CMM model for software development ) or an internal award criteria ( corporations President Award ).ÂÂ   Customer feedbackÂÂ  scrutinizes the organization from standpoint of its most important constituent, the Customer. Customer feedback may be voluntary ( complaints ), solicited ( satisfaction surveys ) or based on analysis of customer behaviour. Organization Change Management Process: Change managementÂÂ  is a structured approach to shifting or transitioningÂÂ  individuals,ÂÂ  teams, andÂÂ  organizationsÂÂ  from a current state to a desired future state. It is an organizational process aimed at empowering employees to accept and embrace changes in their current business environment. The elements that comprise an organization are shown in the four quadrants: structure, work processes, people and tools. These are four key interdependent components. StructureÂÂ  is the traditional view of an organization. It is the faces and spaces diagram that is shown as an organization chart. It defines the boundaries of authority and decision-making and identifies the key personnel responsible for the business. Work processesÂÂ  describe how work gets done in an organization. They range from a few high-level cross-functional integrated core processes that drive the business down to detailed departmental processes and procedures. PeopleÂÂ  identifies the skill sets needed for the company and the numbers of people with various skills. The essence of this category is about getting the right people doing the right job in the right place. ToolsÂÂ  represents physical facilities and capital equipment hardware and software systems, management and reporting systems, written documents such as policies, procedures and manuals, and compensation tools. An organization undergoing major change should examine all of these quadrants and assess their alignment to its vision, its customers and each other. This will enable senior management to identify the leverage points that will create sustainable breakthrough change. COMPANY ANALYSIS GENERAL ELECTRIC The General Electric Company, commonly abbreviated simply to GE, is a major technologyÂÂ  conglomerate based in the United States. Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, founded General Electric in Menlo Park, New Jersey, in 1878. It has gone on to become one of the most powerful and dynamic corporationsÂÂ  in the world, and as of 2008 was the tenth-largest company on Earth in terms of market capitalization. It is viewed by many as being the single most successful conglomerate, and was a conglomerate long before the practice became commonplace in the 1960s. In 1890, Edison started a company to bring together his various businesses all under one roof, and called it the Edison General Electric Company. Two years later Edison merged with his primary competitor, the Thomas-Houston Company, and they called the new company the General Electric Company. The move was largely a bid to combine their various patents, to allow for more profitabilityÂÂ  on both of their parts, as it allowed them to freely use the many smaller inventions each inventor had created in their larger projects. Over the years, General Electric continued to grow and produce different products for a wide range of applications. Many of Edisons early inventions formed the backbone of various General Electric lines through the 19th century, the 20th century, and down to the present day. Electric lighting, power transmission, medical equipment, and transportation were all areas in which Edison held patents and had formed small companies, and are all areas in which General Electric today has large holdings. Over the course of its 110-plus years of innovation, General Electric has amassed more than 67,500 patents, and the firms scientists have been awarded two Nobel Prizes and numerous other honours. Also during the same time, the organization has had transformational changes which can be characterized into three different eras namely : Late 19th Century: The Edison Era In 1878, Edison established, with the help of his friend Grosvenor Lowry, the Edison Electric Light Company with a capitalization of $300,000. Edison received half of the new companys shares on the agreement that he work on developing an incandescent lighting system. The major problem Edison and his team of specialists faced was developing an electrical lighting system for a whole community. The organization was flexible and as part of the evolutionary stage was in the growth due to creativity stage. The core focus areas were the power generation, household appliances, and lighting. Early 20th Century: By the turn of the century General Electric was manufacturing everything involved in the electrification of the United States: generators to produce electricity, transmission equipment to carry power, industrial electric motors, electric light bulbs, and electric locomotives. It is important to any understanding of the evolution of GE to realize that though it was diverse from the beginning, all of its enterprises centered on the electrification program. It is also worth noting that it operated in the virtual absence of competition. During the early decades of the 20th century General Electric made further progress in its established fields and also made its first major diversification. In 1903 General Electric bought the Stanley Electric Manufacturing Company of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, a manufacturer of transformers. During this time it was a highly centralized corporate firm. Postwar Growth and Difficulties During the post war era GE focussed on diversification both related and unrelated and ventured into new sectors such as nuclear energy. During the 1960s and 1970s GE grew in all fields. In 1961 it opened a research centre for aerospace projects, and by the end of the decade had more than 6,000 employees involved in 37 projects related to the moon landing. In the 1950s General Electric entered the computer business. This venture, however, proved to be such a drain on the companys profits that GE sold its computer business to Honeywell in 1971. By the late 1960s, GEs management began to feel that the company had become too large for its existing structures to accommodate. Accordingly, the company instituted a massive organizational restructuring. Under this restructuring program, the number of distinct operating units within the company was cut from more than 200 to 43. Each new section operated in a particular market and was headed by a manager who reported to management just beneath the corporate policy board. The sections were classified into one of three categoriesgrowth, stability, or no-growthto facilitate divestment of unprofitable units. 1981-2001: The Jack Welch Era GEs economic problems were mirrored by its managerial reshuffling. When John F. (Jack) Welch, Jr., became chairman and CEO in 1981, General Electric entered a period of radical change. Over the next several years, GE bought 338 businesses and product lines for $11.1 billion and sold 232 for $5.9 billion. But Welchs first order of business was to return much of the control of the company to the periphery. Although he decentralized management, he retained the system of classifying divisions according to their performance. His goal was to make GE number one or two in every field of operation. GEs Restructuring American economy was in a recession during the early 1980s when GE appointed Jack Welch, the new CEO of the company. Economy was plagued with high interest rate and strong dollar which resulted in highest level of unemployment rates since Depression. To leverage the performance of diverse portfolio of GE, the new CEO sent in new resolution to be better than the best and set in place a series of radical changes to restructure the company over the coming 5 years. The changes in GE came in three phases, commonly known as the first, second and third waves. The first wave Welch after taking charge, set the standard to be competent enough to stay at #1 or #2 position in the industry or disengage. According to Welch, this general #1 or #2 objective is a three circle concept of his vision for GE. Businesses were categorized as: Core (with the priority of reinvesting in productivity and quality) High-technology (challenged to stay on the leading edge by investing in RD) Services (required to add outstanding people and make contiguous acquisitions) In a span of 10 years, he wanted GE to be perceived as a unique, high-spirited, entrepreneurial enterprise, the most profitable, highly diversified company on earth, with world quality leadership in every one of its product lines. Managers at GE struggled to build #1 or #2 positions given the pain of the recessionary economy and level playing field provided by globalization. Welchs admonition to fix, sell, or close uncompetitive business most of the times led to the latter options. Between 1981 and 1990, GE generated $11 billion of capital by selling off more than 200 businesses and investing that money to make about 370 acquisitions in diverse fields. Inside the organization, Welch insisted GE to become more lean and agile. It resulted in cutting number of employees working in the organization at all the headquarters group, in the name of removing non-value add, non-effective and non-competitive work force. Welch eliminated the sector level, previously the powerhouse for the strategic control. By reducing the number of hierarchy from presently 9 to 4, took control of activities at the helm and all the business directly reported to him. The chain of command followed prior to this decision was CEO to sectors to groups to businesses. Now it is direct CEO to business. By undergoing delayering, destaffing and downsizing, GE eliminated thousands of workers. Though there was marginal increase in the revenues but the profits surged by two folds from $1.6 billion to $2.4 billion. For carrying out this drastic restructuring, Welch got a nickname of Neutron Jack, most prominently used by managers during the time when the CEO replaced 12 of his 14 business heads. Welch kept pushing for more changes, more he got into restructuring the more convinced he became for a bolder action. The second wave The second phase of change in GE came in three forms : |Cultural change | Globalization | Leadership development | Cultural change : The initial phase of change at GE was focused on organisational structure downsizing, restructuring and removing bureaucracy. However, it was the opinion of Jack Welch that sustainable high productivity requires the corresponding cultural change. Jack Welch desired a management style that was based on openness, candor and facing reality. The culture he wanted to create was characterized by speed, simplicity and self confidence. These were done using two mechanisms : WORK OUT BEST PRACTICES Work out: Work out was a result of a discussion between Jack Welch and a group of managers at the companys Management Development Institute. In an effort to recreate the forum of honest, energetic interaction, Jack Welch initiated Work out a forum in which superiors and subordinates could openly discuss ideas, proposals and get immediate feedback on the same. Implementation : The implementation team consisted of a small in-house team along with 24 outside consultants. Each consultant was in charge of a series of off site meeting based on the open forum. Groups ranging from 40-100 employees were incited to discuss their business and ways of improving it. The sessions lasted for three days. It began with a talk by the unit boss who left immediately after. The employees were then free to discuss their issues, guided by a facilitator. On the final day, the boss returned and was required to make instant decisions on the proposals and give approval to atleast 80% of them. By 1992, over 200,000 (two-thirds) of the employees had participated in work force, but the sessions were never documented in order to maintain its informality. However, the company clocked in annual growth rate of 4% in 88-92. (up from 2%) Best Practices: The objective of best practices was to learn from organizations that were having higher productivity than GE. Implementation : Nine firms were selected (including Ford, HP, Xerox and Toshiba) with different best practices. In addition to company specific tools and practices, the implementation team also identified common characteristics among the companies; a focus on effective process development rather than individual activities, customer satisfaction, treating suppliers as partners and the emphasis on high quality. These practices were thoroughly studied and training was given to all managers by integrating it into the work out teams. Globalisation The first phase of the strategic change in GE focused on building domestic capabilities. The second phase had a thrust on globalization. However, the impetus for globalization was given to the business head and there was no corporate globalization strategy that was imposed on them. However, Jack Welch ensured that the top management remained involved in the globalization plans. In 1987, the performance evaluation metric was modified to consider world market position. In 1989, the position of Head International operations was created in the corporate office. Along with a team of four, he was responsible for identifying and initiating new globalization plans in emerging markets. GEs globalization pattern was unique in the sense that all acquisitions and investments were made in regions immediately post a major economic downturn. GE followed an aggressive policy of inorganic growth in Europe, Mexico and East Asia By 1998, international revenues were at $42.8 billion dollars a 100% growth in five years. Global revenues were growing at three times domestic revenues and GE was forecasted to do 50 % of its business outside the USA by 2000. leadership development The third part of transformation focused on identifying and grooming future leaders of the organization. Identification : From April to May each year, Welch and three senior executives visited each business to review the progress of the companys top 3000 executives. Among these were an elite club the upper 500 who had been appointed with the personal approval of Welch. Welch asked business heads to identify all star performers and operated with the mindset that the executives were his resources and that the business heads merely rented them. Implementation : Welch radically transformed the compensation package for executives. The new package had stock options as a primary component in management compensation and the number of option recipients was increased from 300 to 30000. All professional level employees were given feedback about future positions they could hold and the specific skill required for that post. These were used in training and development of staff. GEs management development facility was given a shot in the arm with $45 million in funds and the hiring of top-class academics. The goal was to convert it into a holistic training centre from the current situation where it was considered a consolation prize for those who missed a promotion. Welch himself travelled to the facility twice a month to interact and teach GE employees. However, the most controversial of Welchs actions were those regarding a type of managers that he considered Type 4s. These are managers who consistently met performance targets, but were not aligned with the values of the organization. Typically, they were the autocratic bosses who forced performance rather than inspired it. Although they met their required targets, Welch removed these people for having the wrong values. A few years later, GE began evaluating their managers on a 360 degree feedback system for identifying training requirements, opportunities for coaching and career planning. Into the 1990s: the third wave Even at the times of slowdown towards the start of the decade in the industrial sector, Jack was committed to the task of building the company. Various initiatives he took: Boundaryless Behaviour Take a step further from initiatives aimed at strengthening GEs individual businesses, Welch created a focus on integrated diversity. He articulated his dream for GE in the 1990s as a boundaryless company, one standing for an open, anti-parochial environment, friendly toward the seeking and sharing of new ideas, regardless of their origins. Welch envisioned a boundaryless company to remove all barriers among engineering, manufacturing, marketing, sales, and customer services; no distinction between foreign and domestic operations. A boundaryless organization to ignore or erase group labels such as salaried, management or hourly, which poses a problem for people working together in an organization. Welch was fond of telling stories of how best practices could be leveraged by boundaryless behaviour. The ones where managers from Canadian GE identified a small New Zealand appliance maker, Fisher Paykel, generating products very efficiently in its small, low-volume plant. Welch was very clear of the culture he wants to bring to the organization. In his words, We take people who arent boundaryless out of job. If youre turf-oriented, self-centred, dont share with people and arent searching for ideas, you dont belong here. To enforce this, bonuses and options awards were linked to idea-seeking and sharing, not only limited to idea generation. One of the most remarkable examples the way expertise and ideas spread throughout GE was the companys integration model, which was developed after learning from post-acquisition review. The model guided the actions of managers in any part of the company responsible for integrating a newly acquired operation: starting from control of the operations to realigning the organization, and from identifying and removing blockers to implementing GE tools and programs. Stretch: Achieving the Impossible Welch reinforced his managerial expectation by making change to the GEs cultural norms. By introducing the notional behaviour of stretch to set performance targets, it vaguely defined the business targets, with no idea how to pursuit those. The objective behind this change was to change the way targets were set and performance was measured by creating an environment where everyone is searching for answers, and it is here one can prove his mettle. Though stretch targets brought in change but the traditional forecasting and objective-setting processes were not replaced. Managers still tried basic targets, adjusted to current situation in the industry differentiating it from the rigid plan implemented last year. The main catch was setting higher stretch goals for their businesses during the budget cycle. Those who are not able to achieve these higher goals are not punished but the ones who achieved were rewarded heavily with bonuses and stock options. Within a year of introducing this concept of stretch, Welch acknowledged progress. Prior to it, the goals were very miserly set like increase in the inventory turnover ratio from 4.73 to 4.91 or like maintaining the operating margin from 8.53% to 8.91%. Now its a different story altogether, where one aim at 10 inventory turns or an operating margin at 15%. Welch acknowledged that GE did not meet its two of its four-year corporate stretch targets: to increase operating margins from their 1991 level of 10% to 15% by 1995 and inventory turns from 5 to 10 times. However, after decades of single-digit operating margins and inventory turns of 4 or 5, GE did achieve an operating ,margin of 14.4% and inventory turns of almost 7 in 1995. He said we learned things faster than we would have going after doable goals, and we have enough confidence now to set new stretch targets of at least 16% operating margin and more than 10 turns by 1998. Service Businesses In 1994, Welch introduced a new strategic initiative to reinforce his one of the earliest goals of reducing GEs dependence on its traditional industrial products. Towards early 1980s he started moving towards services businesses through the acquisition of financial service companies such as Employers Reinsurance and Kidder, Peabody. As an estimate in year 1995, near about 60% revenue was generated by services division which Welch to grow to 80% later. In pursuit of this goal, he took second step by focusing on product services. In his annual strategic meeting he pushed his managers to participate more in food chain business. It was well informed decision in terms of customers always need of new high-quality hardware products but in future the slow demand of GEs product should be offset by supplementing it with added-value services. By 1996, GE had built an $8 billion equipment services business, which grew faster than the underlying product business. It was also the change of the view, changing the internal mindsets from selling products to serving the customers the best possible way. With this mindset company made 20 acquisitions and joint ventures in the service area which includes a $1.5 billion acquisition of a jet engine service business and the $600 million purchase of a global power generation equipment service company. Evaluation of GEs Strategy over two decades: GE has undergone over two decades of strategic change from profitless growth to an organization to reckon with. Strategy is always incomplete without its evaluation. The process followed at GE included both strategic leadership and entrepreneurship, that lead to host of changes at GE. Most of these changes centered on initiatives by Jack Welch. These initiatives involved Internal Corporate Behavior (bottom up approach) and Induced Strategic behavior (top down approach) for entrepreneurship. Strategic Leadership It is the ability to anticipate, envision, maintain flexibility, and empower others to create strategic changes as necessary. Multifunctional in nature, strategic leadership involves managing through others, maintaining an entire enterprise rather than a functional subunit; and coping with change that continues to increase in global economy. Because of global economys complexity, strategic leaders must learn how to effectively influence human behavior, often in uncertain environment. Strategic leaders must be considerate of entire enterprise, rather than just a sub unit and this should be enforced with a managerial perspective. The changes that followed immediately after instating of Jack Welch followed this Strategic Leadership and Strategic Change Management Process. Jack Welch had a vision for GE to number 1 or 2 in every domain that it operates. He wanted GE to operate leaner. He initiated people development process by work-outs along with inculcation of best practices across industries. He believed in increasing productivity through restructuring, removing bureaucracy and downsizing. The figure below details the steps that are required in maintaining effective strategic leadership. Effective Strategic Leadership Vision Mission Successful Strategic Actions Implementation of Strategies Formulation of Strategies Strategic Competitive Advantage Above-average Returns He corroborated his vision with successful strategic actions of formulation and implementation of strategies successfully. These strategic actions included Total Quality management, implementation of Best practices across industry, downsizing, work outs. He initiated the process of GEs going global. It opened GE to discover profitable uncharted territories across the globe. This helped him leverage on strategic competitiveness and resulting in above average returns. This can be assessed by the successful mergers and acquisitions that GE undertook under his leadership. It led to a strategic change in business portfolio of GE. Jack Welch not only undertook acquisitions, but it was coupled with divestitures. These successful implementation of strategies resulted in sustained competitive advantage for GE in accordance with the vision that Jack Welch had developed for GE. Strategic Vision TECHNOLOGY Industrial Electronics, Medical Systems, Materials, Aerospace, Aircraft Engines SERVICES GECC Information, Construction and Engineering, Nuclear Services The Three-Circle Vision for GE, 1982 CORE Lighting, Major Appliances, Motor, Transportation, Turbines, Construction Equipment Strategic Action: Jack Welch believed in being the leaders in the segment GE operate. This resulted in a radical change in business portfolio of GE. Following table depicts most of the acquisitions and divestitures of GE across two decades. This was done in line with Jack Welchs vision of making GE the best organisation across the globe. Major Acquisitions $21 billion Major Divestitures $11 billion Calma CAD/CAM Equipments Central Air Conditioning Intersil (semiconductors) Pathfinder mines Employers Reinsurance group Broadcasting properties Decimus (computer leasing) Utah International Kidder Peaboy (IB) Housewares (small appliances) Polaris (aircraft leasing) Family financial services Genstar RCA Records Thomson/CGR Nacolah Life Insurance Borg Warner Chemical Consumer Electronics Credit Cards Carboloy Roper NBC Radio Truck Leasing Lawn Equipment Financial Guarantee Insurance GE Solid State Financial News Network Ladd Petro Chemicals Thorn Lightning RCA Columbia Home Video Itel Containers Chase Manhattan Leasing House of Fraser Credit Cards Source: The Business Engine General Electric Financial Performance in the three Era : Borch Jones Welch 1961 1970 1971 1980 1981 1990 Sales 4666 8726 9557 24950 27240 52619 Operating profit 432 549 737 2243 2447 6616 Net Earnings 238 328 510 1514 1652 4303 RoS 5.1% 3.8% 5.3% 6.1% 6.1% 8.2% RoE 14.% 12.6% 17.2% 19.5% 18.1% 19.8% Stock MarketCap 6283 7026 10870 12173 13073 50344 SP Index 65.7 83 <

Essay --

I am very happy for writing you this letter and I will do my best to be as informative as I can. As it is said that the child is the mirror of the family, first I would like to tell you a little about my family. My family consists of four members: Father, Mother, Brother and me. My family is really precious for me. We harmonize our life in honesty and peace; always share our problems with each other for best solutions. My family is important for me and is the main meaning of my life, the reason for my heartbeats. My father is an engineer. He is my best friend and a big part of my life. He is the head of our family, his advice and opinion is very important in any decisions we take. He never dominates or forces opinions on us. My mother is a teacher. She is a real beauty. She is sensitive, caring, feminine and gentle. With her everything is in apple-pie order at home and our lives. She is good at cooking, knitting, embroidering. My brother is fifteen and is in his tenth year at school. He is very strong, but meanwhile very gentle, handsome, and independent. Sometimes he opposes my attempts to help him in anything. He has a great drive for his ideas and interests. I am 18 and I am a sophomore at VSTTI, Foreign Languages Department majoring in French and English. My love for English appeared some years ago. I am also patient and love children very much that is why I have chosen the profession of the English teacher. I am a plump middle-sized girl with black long and curly hair, big brown eyes and a small nose. I have got plenty of hobbies: reading, collecting photos of famous people, cooking, knitting, cultivating various plants, chatting with my foreign pen-friends via internet, learning languages and writing poems. I h... ...pplication System on 2/25/2014 2:46 PM. Page 9. share our interests not only within our room, but also outside using the help of each other, and we will become temporary representatives of our country for each other. And yes, I know that it might be difficult for me to live in a different country with a foreign roommate; however I am sure you will be next to me if I need any help. With this letter I gave you small bit of information about myself but I will enlarge my letter describing myself later if I manage to be selected as a finalist. I like to leave presents or things that will remind others about me, so please accept this small poem that I wrote especially for you: For the man who is always around, I will prepare reliable ground. Even in the awful darkness of fear you will be given a hand, As there is someone who will whisper â€Å"I am your friend†!!!

Wittgensteins 1913 Objections To Russells Theory of Belief: A Dialectical Reading :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Wittgenstein's 1913 Objections To Russell's Theory of Belief: A Dialectical Reading ABSTRACT: In what follows, I give (following Burton Dreben) a dialectical reading of his dismissal of metaphysics and of Wittgenstein's objections to Russell in 1913. I argue that Wittgenstein must be read as advocating no particular theory or doctrine — that is, philosophy is an activity and not a body of truths. Furthermore, this insistence is thoroughgoing. Put differently, a dialectical reading must be applied to one's own thought and talk. Characteristically, this sort of dialectical philosophy begins with the question, Is there any definiteness to what I am doing in my own thinking and speaking? Such a question undercuts the easy assumption that what we are doing may be expressed in a body of meaningful statements. In particular, I argue that Wittgenstein does not advocate any particular theory of language. A common reading of Wittgenstein is that he aims to prevent us from misusing language. This view assumes that, for Wittgenstein, the notion of a correct, acceptable o r meaningful use of language may be taken for granted. In my view, Wittgenstein does not take the notions of use of language and grammar and its misuse for granted. For Wittgenstein grammar underdetermines what it is to use or misuse language. I argue that an ethical critique is implicit in Wittgenstein's objections to any attempt to speak a priori about language and thought. Distrust of grammar is the first requisite of philosophizing. Notebooks, p. 106. The purpose of my talk this afternoon is to make clear what I shall call, following Burton Dreben, a dialectical reading of Wittgenstein's dismissal of metaphysics in the context of his pre-Tractatus objections to Russell's 1913 theory of belief. The earliest letters to Russell by Wittgenstein read naturally as presentations or proposals, to be read straightforwardly, as they stand. In this spirit, many authors interpret Wittgenstein as rejecting Russell. s attempts to talk about the structure of language and facts, and, further, as insisting that any attempt to state the limits of language is itself nonsense. On such a reading, Wittgenstein is reacting to Russell. s realist attempts to analyze the structure of facts into constituents and the structure of propositions into names by eliminating certain apparent symbols. Wittgenstein relegates their pseudo-uses to what is shown in the use of propositions. Ricketts writes: ....Russell takes relations to be a type of thing — they are constituents of facts, objects of acquaintance, and the designata of names.

Symptoms of ADD/ADHD Essay -- Disease, Disorders

You know that person; the one that can’t stay on subject, the one who will be talking then all of a sudden the conversation goes off in a totally different direction, like a squirrel searching for nuts that keeps dropping the one it is carrying because something else caught its eye. Chaotic, frazzled, impulsive, unorganized, daydreamer, procrastinator, inattentive, goof off and lazy are just a few descriptions of an adult that has Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD). At one time ADD/ADHD was thought of as just childhood complications that did not affect adults, but since there is no cure for ADD/ADHD, adults are affected also. Most adults that have ADD/ADHD were not diagnosed with it as children, because ADD/ADHD wasn’t recognized except by a very few people that were aware of it at the time (Smith and Segal, 2012). Instead as children they were labeled as lazy, trouble makers, day dreamers and other labels and they grew into adults with those same labels and tendencies. They may have learned to adjust during the teen years but as they became adults and responsibilities and demands on their time grew, the challenges of dealing with ADD/ADHD also grew. ADD/ADHD affects 4-5 percent of all adults, more than 11 million in the United States (Barkley). When not diagnosed and treated it can impact all areas of life including work, home and social relationships. With treatment adults, and children, with ADD/ADHD can learn to compensate and overcome the symptoms and challenges they face with ADD/ADHD on a daily basis to lead productive lives. Symptoms of ADD/ADDHD aren’t the same in adults as in children and do not present themselves the same in each individual. Some common adult symptoms of A... ...d Treatment. Retrieved from www.helpguide.org/mental/adhd_add_adult symptoms.htm (March 20,2012) Mayo Clinic Staff, (January 8, 2010). Adult ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder)- Comprehensive overview covers symptoms, diagnosis, treatment of adult ADHD. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/adult-adhd/ds01161 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. In Adults Adult ADHD- a Misunderstood Potential/Symptoms/Treatment/Self Help Adult ADHD copyright 2012 Retrieved from http://www.adultadhd.net (March 20, 2012) Reviewed by Amal Chakraburtty, MD March 1, 2010 for Webmd ADHD in Adults: Symptoms, Statsitics, Causes, Types, Treatments, and More Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: ADHD in Adults Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/guide/adhd-adults (March 20, 2012)

Analysis of Hawk Roosting

Analysis of â€Å"Hawk Roosting† Hawk Roosting is a poem written by Ted Hughes (1930-1998). Hughes was a British poet who often described the destructive aspects of animal life, survival instincts and the brutality of nature. His poem Hawk Roosting deals with the themes evil, power and human nature told from the point of view of a hawk. This poem therefore coheres with Hughes’ other work. In my analysis I will be focusing on a characterization of the first person and what this hawk symbolizes.I will also be mentioning the message of the poem and end the analysis with a contextualization, where I also will be answering and commenting on the two following questions; â€Å"Is man fundamentally evil or good or do we all posses both elements? † and â€Å"What triggers evil? What prevents it from surfacing? † I would like to start my analysis with a characterization of the main character and the symbol of that character. This poem is told in first person through the eyes of a hawk.We are not told directly in the text that it is a hawk but we know this partially because of the title of the poem â€Å"Hawk Roosting† and somewhat because of the description we are given of the main character (the I). We are informed in stanza 1 that the main character is sitting on the top of the wood[1], which could indicate a bird or a rodent (i. e. squirrel or chipmunk) of some sort. The main character also has a hooked head and feet, which still could insinuate both bird and rodent. The reader is however convinced that it is a bird by use of the sentence;†The air’s buoyancy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  which tells us that it can fly thus it is a bird.If not for the title one could still assume it was a bird of prey as we are told that it kills[2]. Hughes uses the simple present tense to describe what the hawk is doing; â€Å"I sit, I kill†[3] with the effect that we understand that this is what the hawk does every day and that it is not an unor dinary circumstance but a regular situation. A hawk is a bird of prey, a predator, a majestic bird and it is at the top of its food chain. It has the power â€Å"I kill where I please because it is all mine†[4], and it sees itself as perfect because it is the final product of evolution â€Å"It took the whole of creation to produce my foot, my each feather†[5].The hawk is nature at its purest intent because there are no lies or arguments in this poem there is simply the truth about the nature of the hawk. Hughes points this out firstly by using the sentence â€Å"No falsifying dream†[6] and secondly by the sentence â€Å"There is no sophistry in my body†[7]. When people dream it is often of a consorted reality where anything can happen, because it is your imagination. A dream is often something you desire or can’t face in the real life, so one lives it through in a dream. A dream therefore consorts your reality or falsifies it.This Hawk does not dr eam of things that are not real. It only dreams about specific things that are a part of its reality. Sophistry is false reasoning intending to deceive. The hawk therefore only tells the truth and explains reality and how things are, no arguments just facts. The hawk knows what it is and is content with that. I believe that the hawk represents the truth behind human nature. How humans deep down are instinctive creatures and that there is a primitive evil in all of us. I believe this because the hawk is like us at the top of the food chain, the ultimate creation and it is driven by power.The only difference really is that the hawk is excused of committing evil deeds because it is its nature and it is therefore acceptable. Humans on the other hand have morals, ethics and a society which holds these norms in place and an act of evil is therefore unforgivable and non relatable. In stanza 6, line 2 the hawk also states that nothing has changed. I think this is referring to the true natur e of humanity, which is to a certain extent evil, and how it has always been a part of the human kind and it will always be a part of us. Even though humanity has become better over time (e. the Middle Ages) it is only due to societies with norms, rules and values which without, one would quicker descend into evil. I believe the message of this poem is that the nature of humankind never changes and evil is a part of us, just waiting below the surface, where if pressured, we will show our true nature. I would like to end off my analysis with a contextualization and a comment to the mentioned questions. I thing this poem has a lot in common with the article â€Å"Bad or Mad†. In â€Å"Bad or Mad† it is discussed what defines evil where they distinguish between natural and moral evil. Moral evil is defined as the evil humans do, by hoice, knowing that they are doing wrong; and natural evil is the bad things that just happen such as natural catastrophes. I would like to wi den the term natural evil to comprehend the evil acts of animals as well. The hawk is an animal and kills because it must to survive and it would therefore belong to the natural evil. However, the hawk is a symbol of the natural/instinctive evil that is in all mankind, which is harder to define. If man commits evil acts we see it as moral evil, because they have chosen to do so out of lust, fascination or even for fun in some cases. On some level the humans are exactly like the hawk.If you took away society and said every man/woman for themselves, you would have chaos and people would do whatever it took to survive. I have thereby already answered the question; â€Å"What triggers evil? What prevents it from surfacing? † I agree with Hughes’ opinion that we all have evil inside of us but it would be defined as natural evil or the will to survive which one would not necessarily depict as evil but simply the human nature. To point it out I believe that this so called evi l is triggered if you are threatened or as a result of the fear of losing your life or a loved one etc. This answer is one side of it.Another thing that has been seen to trigger a certain level of evil is power. The hawk as mentioned also symbolizes exactly that. The Zimbardo experiment is an example of power taking over and of course the lack of a society with norms which I believe is one of the main reasons that why evil does not normally surface. In murder cases where the plaintive committed the act out of grief or rage (emotions) they are penalized less because most people can relate to it and you are not fundamentally evil as for a planned murder where you could get into a more black and white conversation about good and evil.As for the question; â€Å"Is man fundamentally evil or good or do we all posses both elements? † I have to some extent discussed this but I will lay it out further. I believe that everyone has the capacity to commit evil acts if they are pushed to their furthest limits and boundaries but I would not like to think of myself as a cynic and say that man is fundamentally evil. I believe that we posses both elements and that we are capable of both.I think that is one of the main differences when one talks about evil in for example animals and humans. The fact that we understand evil because we understand compassion, love and are capable of empathy whereas animals act on pure instinct. You can therefore not define evil or claim that something is evil if it does not have the capability of righteousness and goodness. Your language is very convuluted in places and sometimes thus also a bit difficult to follow see orange sentence.Do not use contractions. 12. ———————– [1] Stanza 1, line 1; â€Å"I sit in the top of the wood . . . â€Å" [2] Stanza 1, line 4;†Or in sleep rehearse perfect kills and eat† and stanza 3, line 2; â€Å"I kill where I please†. [3] Stan za 1, line 1; â€Å"I sit in the top of the wood† and stanza 4, line 2; â€Å"I kill where I please† [4] Stanza 4, line 2. [5] Stanza 3, line 2-3. [6] Stanza 1, line 2. [7] Stanza 4, line 3.

Cattle Ranching and It’s Increasing Affect on Deforestation Essay

One may not look at the hamburger in their hands and automatically think, â€Å"What was done to our environment in order to make this delicious piece of meat?† but it really is a question that any meat consumer should consider. Believe it or not, eating that one hamburger indirectly causes the rate of deforestation to increase every single day! It actually is quite simple how this hamburger affects both our environment and agriculture. In order for meat industries to be able to distribute their products to consumers, they need the cattle to be raised, fed, and grown and of course, cattle ranchers need a place to raise their cattle. In order for these ranchers to have space for the cattle to do so, trees are actually being cut down to make room for these pastures. In turn, one of the largest impacts that the meat industry has on our environment is its contribution to the ever-increasing rise of deforestation all over the world. The thing that most people do not realize is that the land being used to raise the meat that they consume, was once a flourishing forest. This process of deforestation starts when the land inside a forest is cut through to make a reasonable enough size path for a road to reside. Once the area for the road is cleared, commercial farmers will move in and start to grow crops. The problem with this is that rainforest soil is not efficient enough to handle crops that need sustainable soil. Needless to say, the crops do not endure for more than two to three years. More often than not, ranchers use the remnants of these now beaten down crops and grassy fields for their cattle to graze. There are many negative impacts caused by this deforestation and pasture conversion. With every tree cut down and cleared away, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are emitted into our atmosphere and pollute the air. The trees act as a sort of â€Å"canopy† and absorb much of the carbon to convert into woody tissue. Without having trees as tools of absorption, the carbon instead invades the air in which we breathe. Along with deforestation, the actual production of the aforementioned farming and meat industry emits many harmful chemicals into our world. According to Environmental Defense, if every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegeta rian foods instead, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than a half-million cars off U.S. roads. (Goveg.com). This goes hand in hand with deforestation because the production, from the cutting down of the trees and the processing that must occur, there are many harmful gases, like carbon dioxide, being emitted into the air. Soil degradation is also an outcome of this deforestation caused by the need for grazing land. The soil in the rainforests is very fragile. The different nutrients that the soil gains come from fallen leaves and branches from the trees. The trees also help to protect the soil from the radiating sun and any torrential rain. Native grasses provide few nutrients and little protection for the soil and the overgrazing actually accelerates the nutrient loss and erosion. The worst part is that livestock production compounds this damage, making it irreversible. To put things even more into perspective, here is another frightening fact: it only takes between five to ten years for the overgrazing and nutrient loss caused by cattle and deforestation to turn the rainforest land into an eroded wasteland. An area of rainforest the size of seven football fields is destroyed every minute to make room for grazing cattle (Goveg.com). In contrast to those who eat meat, vegetarians save one acre of trees every year by eating a meat-free diet, thereby saving the need to cut down the trees for grazing purposes (Goveg.com). This is the true because if there is a decrease in the demand for meat, then there is a decrease in the amount trees being cut down since fewer cattle will need room to graze. The next time someone picks up a burger, I suggest you say to them, â€Å"I bet you didn’t know by eating that burger you are also killing acres of trees†¦.† Works Cited Achor, Amy Blount. Animal Rights: A Beginner’s Guide. Ohio: WriteWare, Inc., 1996. Brown, Michael L. â€Å"Limiting Corrupt Incentives in a Global REDD Regime.† Ecology Law Quarterly (2010): 237-267. â€Å"Cattle Ranching and Deforestation.† Live Stock Policy Brief. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 13 Sept. 2010 â€Å"Eating For Life.†GoVeg.com: Vegetarian and Vegan Information. PETA. Web. 8 Apr. 2010. . Fox, Michael Allen. â€Å"Vegetarianism and Planetary Health.† Ethics and Environment (2000):163-174.