Critical Perspectives on Management and Organizations Essay

Critical Perspectives on Management and Organizations - Essay Example exualization in the workplace as will be covered by this paper is important because although the impulse to desexualize their operations is found to be quite pervasive across most organizations, it has nevertheless been by most people as being an ideal that will essentially never be realized in full. In her article Sullivan (2014) notes that one of the most popular arguments surrounding desexualization was presented by Burrell (1984) who argued that sexual relations generally tend to exist as a dialectic of resistance and control in a situation whereby the active presence of sexual acts and desires generally exist alongside the impulses to control sexuality. This argument as presented by Burrell (1984) is interpreted as meaning that despite the concentrated efforts on the part of our social impulses to try and create what will be a desexualized society, this feat is nevertheless quite impossible and can never be accomplished in its pure form. In his article, Burell (1984) further goes on to call out both the suppression and general expulsion of sexuality as essentially having beein developed as a form of managerial control, in addition to this, Burrell (1984) also suggests that undertaking to implement a re-eroticization experience of labor might potentially have the effect of signifying resistance. This paper is important as it will show the arguments presented by Sullivan (2014) to show that attempts geared at trying to expel sexuality not only from the various individual employees working on organizations, but also from labor, client relations, organizations and occupations has the effect of creating as opposed to helping mitigate some of the ongoing gendered problems. One of the main gendered problems that will be comprehensively analyzed as presented by Sullivan (2004) is that impulses to desexualize organizations and workers tend to as a necessity exist alongside the sexualization of places and bodies. The paper is crucial to this topic as it examines

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 29

Strategic Management - Essay Example ividuals within a country’s population will have exactly the same characteristics, the cultural dimensions will colour the institutional and administrative arrangements that are made within the country, and will set the norms for behaviour.† Using your understanding of Whittington’s (2000) ‘Systemic School of Thought’, critically evaluate the implications of these cultural dimensions for international strategic managers at KFC in building productive relationships with the outside world. The performance of each industry in the global market is depended on a series of factors. There are industries where competition is extremely high and where the exposure to risks can be significant. Using strategic tools and techniques can help managers to control risks for their organization even if market pressures are strong. KFC is an important competitor in the global fast food industry. The firm is owned by Yum! Brands, one of the strongest rivals of the above industry. Managers in KFC have tried to use the continuous expansion as a strategy for securing organizational growth. This practice has been proved effective, at least up to now. From 2013 onwards, changes should be made in regard to the strategic planning process used in KFC. The use of well known frameworks, such as Whittington’s ‘Evolutionary’ and ‘Systemic’ Schools of Thought could help the organization to increase the effectiveness of its strategies and to strengthen its market posi tion. a) In the context of the process of strategic thinking and strategy formation, outline what SWOT and Porter’s Value Chain techniques are, and explain their practical relevance to strategic planners at Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Corporation. In order to develop effective strategies managers in modern organizations use a variety of tools. Each of these tools responds to specific needs of organizations in terms of strategic thinking and strategy formation. In any case, it has been proved that firms of all

Budgeting Process and Performance Analysis of Vershire

Budgeting Process and Performance Analysis of Vershire Company Description and Background Vershire Company is a diversified packaging corporation with various large divisions. Its most prominent segment; the Aluminum Can division, is one of the largest manufacturers of aluminum beverage cans in the United states. This case focuses on the budgeting process and performance analysis of Vershire. A major concern of the company is pleasing the customers as most of their buyers have several suppliers on hand, meaning that Vershire can be easily replaced if the customers expectations on quality, cost or service are not met. As a result, efficiency and low costs are top priorities to the company. The main problem of Vershire is that they are treat plants as profit centres instead of expense centres, which is an inefficient measurement of performance for manufacturing plants. Questions Vershire Companys Planning System Strengths: Divisional managers submit reports to predict outlook on sales and capital requirements five years forward as a part of the strategic planning process. This demonstrates the companys preparedness for future event predictions and its ability to formulate long term goals Sales forecasting are formulated at the corporate level and then sent to the divisional managers for analysis and fine tuning. This promotes more realistic and accurate numbers as the managers understand and know how each line functions personally Before the submission of budget plans, controller staff from the head office visits each plant to analyze the current operations and gives the opportunity for plant managers to explain their situation and reasoning behind their numbers, improving accuracy and usability of these documents Weakness: Corporate headquarters make fundamental assumptions such as new products, new plants, inventory carry overs, forward buying, and packaging trends, even though divisional managers are responsible for managing the division which lowers the accuracy of the forecast and decrease efficiency due to necessary corrections during review All division lines use the same method of forecasting regardless of size, which impedes on the accuracy due to the different customer base, products and demands each line possesses District managers determine the sales budgets rather than the plant managers even though it is the responsibility of the plant managers to achieve the goal and is tied to their performance report Vershire Companys Controlling System Strengths: Divisional managers are given full control over their own business with exceptions to the raising of capital and labour relations which are centralized at head office. This allows the opportunity for divisional managers to make necessary decisions that is specific to achieving their own objectives Quick and easy communication between various levels within the organization as there are few tiers in the division Consistent effort in meeting the companys budget as large unfavourable variances are to be made aware of on a daily basis by plant managers and variance analysis sheets are prepared monthly Weaknesses: Vershire focuses on profit for measuring the plant managers performance and to determine bonuses. This analysis tool is not efficient as there are other contributing factors to determine the effectiveness of plant managers May Divisional General Managers formulate preliminary report summarizing the outlooks for sales, income and capital requirements for the next budget year and evaluates trends anticipated for the two subsequent years for corporate management Rationale: Divisional General Managers possesses the most knowledge about their own region and is more equipped to create these documents. It also provides a rough idea of where areas of productions can be improved Central Market Research staff develops a more formal market assessment, examining the next budget year in detail and the following two years in general terms Rationale: Uses the information provided by the divisional managers to produce a more refined and detailed market analysis Central Market Research staff develops separate sales forecasts for each division and a combined forecast for the entire company Topics such as economic conditions and their impact on customers and market share for different products by geographical area are taken into account Fundamental assumptions are made to price, new products, changes in particular accounts, new plants etc. in order to produce forecast Rationale: Promotes uniformity in the formulation in all sales forecasts, determine areas for improvement, assesses areas where market share can grow, and ensures that overall corporate sales forecasts were both reasonable and achievable Divisional Managers compile their own sales forecast from bottom up with input from District Sales Managers to be submitted for review by the Vice President of Marketing Rationale: To review of the head offices sales forecast and mark any changes and additional investments needed. District Managers inputs are utilized as theyre most familiar with sales (more accurate estimates) Vice President of Marketing reviews consolidated sales forecasts and submits it to corporate level No changes are made unless the district manager agreed who is originally responsible for the forecast Rationale: Ensures the forecasts accurately reflects both the knowledge of the district manager and the vice president of marketing Process is repeated on the corporate level (approval from District Manager if needed) until budget figures are approved and become a fixed objective Rationale:Ensures that all levels of the company is agreement to the calculated figure and that the budget is sufficient to achieve company goals Overall sales budget is translated and broken down according to the plants from which finished goods would be shipped and sent to Plant Managers Rationale: Sales budget are sent to these plants as they are the ones to generate revenues Plant Managers then categorized the budget according to price, volume and end use Once categorized, the plant managers budget for gross profit, fixed expenses and pre-tax income Can request help for the Industrial Engineering Department to develop cost reduction plans Rationale: All cost standards and cost reduction targets are developed by the Industrial Engineering, therefore, it makes sure that numbers consistent and reasonable for input Before the submitting budgets, controller staff visit each plant and review plans with managers (usually takes half a day) until it is finalized and sent to Division Head Office Rationale: Gives opportunity for plant managers to reason their figures September Division Head office looks over budget and may return it to Plant Manager if discrepancy is found Will ask plant manager to looks for any additional savings if the budget is not quite in line with expectations When it is finalized, the budget will be sent to the Chief Executive Officer Rationale: Due to the plant manger having direct experience with the plants operations, it is necessary for them to make any changes for savings December Chief Executive Officer makes any modifications to the final budget if needed until it is sent it to the Board of Directors for final budget approval Final review and ensures that budget is appropriate for corporate goals Plant managers should not be fully responsible for profits as they arent able to control all aspects of the products profitability. Since profit is calculated from revenue subtract expenditures, plant managers should only be responsible for expenses, a measure that they can control. This includes direct material and labour, variable manufacturing overhead and fixed overhead budget. Revenues are usually controlled by the sales department; which possesses control over the price, sales mix, and delivery schedules of products. Also, since the sales managers opinion is always favoured over the plant manager due to satisfying the customer, it negatively affects the plant managers ability to control profit and efficiency in output costs. In Exhibit 2, the evaluation system focuses on the profits of Vershire which includes revenues and expenses. Since plant managers have no control over the revenue aspect of products, the information provided does not properly evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the plant. Factors such as variances in sales price, sales mix, and sales volume are solely handled by the sales department with no input from plant mangers, making results unreliable and irrelevant. In Exhibit 3, the individual plant level reports give a more detailed insight of the variances shown in Exhibit 2. Once again, it does not provide an accurate representation of the plants performance as it includes variables that are uncontrollable by the plant manager such as sales. Regarding divisional level reports, the comparative profit performance analysis focuses on net sales while the comparative manufacturing efficiency analysis compares varying sized plants that produce different products together, making it another unreliable and inaccurate source of analysis. Some changes I would recommend for Vershire company are to redesign how bonuses are given to plant managers as the current measurement mechanisms do not accurately reflect performance, improve comparisons of manufacturing efficiency between different plants due to the varying size and product offering of each plant and improve communication across the tiers in order to minimize error corrections and time for budget reviews. Possible solutions include organizing meetings to include all managers and corporate levels to discuss about the companys performance, relate managers performance with cost reduction measures to determine bonuses, and develop a universal measurement unit to fairly compare plants together. Conclusion In conclusion, Vershire Company should reconfigure its measurement mechanisms in order to truly analyze the performance levels of the company and begin treating its manufacturing plants as expense centres rather than profit centres. Therefore, Vershire can gather more accurate and reliable information to use for achieving objectives.

CD Review :: essays research papers

Jay-Z Blueprint Here you have it, all you Jay-Z fans; a much anticipated review of the hot new CD!! 1)The Ruler's Back 3:49 This song is Jay-Z singing about...Jay-Z. In this song he sounds very conceded. He is 'the Ruler', and when he says "I'm back n***a", there are trumpets playing in the background, jsut like you'd imagine them being played for royalty. He talks about how rich he is, and how he doesn't care if he goes to court, he says"What's a couple dollars to me?" and the only thing he cares about is that you respect him. I dunno, it's kinda tough respecting someone with that big an ego. But it's kinda cool, in the beginning the beat goes with his laugh, it reminds me of how we're supposed to get the virbrato on flute, the whole "hahaha" thing. 2)Takeover 5:13 I like the beat to this song. it's the type you'd go cruising with, turn the bass waaayyyy up. so that you can't even hear the words. Int his song he advertises his record label Roc-A-Fella, and how powerful he is, and how he and his rappers are "runnin' this rap sh*t". He talk about how many more records he's sold than DMX, and disses him. At one point he uses a DMX clip where they're shouting "NOOOO!" And every time, it never fails, I jump out of my seat, it sounds as if someone is sitting right next to you screaming bloody murder. 3)Izzo (H.O.V.A.) 4:00 This is one of my favorite songs on the cd, in fact, this song is the reason I bought the cd. This song has a peppy beat, and talks about how he, inspite of everything that has happened to him, he comes out on top. Honestly, i have no idea what "H to the izzo, V to the izzy" is supposed to mean. The chorus has a girl singing that line, and Jay-Z saying "Forshizzo my nizzo, used to dribble down in VA", then the girls sing "H to the izzo, V to the izzy" again, and then Jay-Z says "That's the anthem, get your da*n hands up". It's the type of song you can't help but bop your head to. It's also the perfect length, by the end of it, you aren't tired of the song unlike some of the other songs on this cd. 4) Girls, Girls, Girls 4:35

“Growing Up” Paper Essay

The book â€Å"Growing Up† is about the author Russell Baker and about his life growing up in the early 1900s. He lived through many hardships while he was growing up including his father, Benny, dying, his mother having to give up one of her children for adoption, and living through the great depression. Although his experience with the great depression was very bad I think that Russell had a little bit above average life compared to other people living in that time period. Russell was affected by the depression in many ways while growing up. Because his mother couldn’t find a job she had a very difficult time supporting her family. Because of this, His mother let Benny’s brother adopt their daughter Audrey to ease the financial burden on their family. (Baker p.85) Russell grew up without a sister that he would had had if it weren’t for the great depression. Not only did the great depression break up Russell’s family, it also forced them to move away from his childhood home and live with his uncle Allen. (Baker p.88) Russell writes that his mother was originally going to stay there until she found a steady job and could rent an apartment for herself. (Baker p.88) However this didn’t work out and she ended up staying there a lot longer. Allen is confident that he has a steady enough job to make it through the depression just fine but he eventually takes in his brothers Charlie and Hal as well. It proves too much and Russell and his mother move yet again, this time to Baltimore, where Russell is forced to find a job as a paper boy to help his mother out all that he can. The Bakers still fall on hard times and at one point they have trouble getting money even for food. As a result of this they turn to the government to receive handouts just to eat. (Russell p.200) In the book, Russell explains how his mother had to move out of their house and live with her brother and his uncle Allen because the great depression had started and his mother couldn’t find a job. (Baker p.88) Although this  is a bad situation to be in I feel that during the great depression it wasn’t so bad considering there were people who had no home at all and actually had to sleep outside on newspapers.. (As shown by photo 3 in the powerpoint.) There were lots of people during the depression that has it a lot worse than Russell Baker. Russell and his family never actually had to deal with being homeless. It was very common in large cities to have ramshackle shantytowns called â€Å"Hoovervilles† spring up on abandoned land that was basically a town of homeless people seeking shelter in homemade huts. (Foner p.637) (Photo#6) Baker and his mother also managed to both find jobs in the city Baltimore. They weren’t well paying jobs and they still had to turn to the government for food handouts but they still managed to get jobs. Unemployment was such a big issue during the depression that whole companies were going under and closing down, like U.S. Steel, who had 225,000 employed workers before 1929 and by the end of 1932 had zero. (Foner p.636) The fact that Russell and his mother both managed to find and keep jobs in Baltimore meant that they had it better that a lot of other people living in that city and they were very fortunate, The depression hit so hard in the major cities that people decided to start moving out to the country to try to grow food for their family on farms. In fact during the great depression more than 33 million people lived on farms. That was more than any previous point in American history. (Foner p.637) Russell Baker and his family never had to resort to such extreme measures. They never had to grow their own food to be sure that they could eat that night. Not that conditions were any better in the rural farm areas. By 1930 some unusually dry weather had devastated the rural America, causing the soil to dry up and a very severe drop in crop production. (Foner p.650) Things got so dry that the wind started blowing the topsoil away, creating the dust bowl which was basically giant sand storms that would decimate entire towns and homes. (Photo #5) It’s safe to say that it was a good thing Russell and his family didn’t have to resort to living out in the dust bowl like so many other Americans. Russell was also able to attend college after he graduated high school. This is another point that illustrates how good Russell had it during the depression. Not many people had the privilege to go to college during this time period. Lots of people were either unemployed or working very hard at a job they were desperate to keep. The job situation had become so bad that the government started organizations specifically for creating jobs in America such as the NRA the AAA and the CCC. (Foner p.67) Knowing that there were so few jobs that the government had programs specifically to create jobs makes you think just how lucky Russell was to be able to go to college during the great depression. I do not believe that Russell Baker’s experience was the â€Å"average† experience during the great depression. Knowing what I’ve read from the Foner text and looking at the pictures on the powerpoint, I think it paints a much different picture for the average experience of the great depression. One of desperation and sadness that just doesn’t show up in Russell’s story. Compared to today’s life for most people He absolutely had it rough but in a nation filled with homeless starving desperate people Russell didn’t have it so bad. I think that he was very fortunate to live the way he did during the depression.

Kafka’s Metamorphosis: Transformations in Gregor’s Family Essay

While it is apparent that the term metabolism chiefly pertains to the unaccountable alterations that Gregor Samsa faced. it may besides be said that the other characters experienced a metabolism of their ain. Specifically. despite Gregor’s bad luck and eventual death. considerable alterations have manifested for the benefit of Gregor’s household such as his male parent recovering enthusiasm in work ( Mallison 15 ) . To farther explain. Gregor Samsa’s sudden alteration in an insect has caused his household to alter their ways in order to last. Taking into consideration that Gregor chiefly provided for the demands of his household prior to his transmutation. it was decidedly no longer a pick for his male parent. female parent. and sister to pass their yearss lazily or fruitlessly. In add-on to such alterations. their mode of perceptual experience was altered throughout the patterned advance of the narrative every bit good. In peculiar. a metabolism besides occurred in how they perceived Gregor Samsa’s humanity and being. Therefore. it is so incontrovertible that Gregor’s father. female parent. and sister all underwent a procedure of metabolism as good albeit non in visual aspect but instead in footings of their actions and beliefs. Gregor provided for the demands of his household wholly. as they no longer had to busy themselves with any signifier of labor and labour. As noted in the narrative. Gregor â€Å"felt a great pride that he was able to supply a life like that in such a nice place for his sister and parents† ( Kafka 22 ) . However. upon recognizing that holding no 1 to back up the household due to Gregor’s unfortunate transmutation into an insect. Gregor’s father knew that he had to alter his ways and one time once more effort to do a life. This was non an easy undertaking though as Gregor’s male parent. holding suffered from unsuccessful concern chases in the yesteryear was â€Å"lacking in ego confidence† ( Kafka 28 ) . However. the male parent that Gregor one time knew. who ever acted and presented himself in a laid back mode. has undergone a considerable metabolism of his ain. Not merely did Gregor’s male parent get a occupation at a banking house. hence explicating a alteration in facets of vesture. a genuinely across-the-board transmutation is signified by holding â€Å"piercing dark eyes. that looked out fresh and alert† ( Kafka 36 ) . With such great alterations. it becomes evident that by the terminal of the narrative Gregor’s male parent was no longer a adult male haunted by failure. but alternatively embodied deserving and gained a renewed hungriness for achievements. In add-on to his father’s transmutation. Gregor’s female parent and sister underwent metabolism every bit good. First. it may look that Gregor’s female parent. being faced with a serious wellness status would non be able to alter her ways or to presume more duties. Particularly. Gregor’s female parent â€Å"suffered from asthma and it was a strain for her merely to travel about the home† ( Kafka 28 ) . However. as brought Forth by the alterations in their family. in add-on to perchance seeing the notable transmutation of his hubby. she was besides able to populate a more productive life style. Interestingly. the undertaking that Gregor’s female parent accomplished in order to farther procure the fiscal stableness of her household required minimum physical strain ; she â€Å"sew fancy underclothes for a manner shop† ( Kafka 39 ) . Grete. Gregor’s sister. on the other manus really got a proper occupation. following the stairss of her brother as she â€Å"had taken a gross revenues job† ( Kafka 39 ) . Albeit antecedently non seeing the demand to procure duties of her ain. her metabolism really foremost occurred when she felt the demand to care for her brother ; holding to carry through the most basic jobs without fail. even though she ne'er became accustomed to his brother’s new signifier. Throughout the points mentioned above. it becomes clear that the other members of Gregor’s household underwent a metabolism in their actions or more specifically in their duties and chases. Regardless. it transformations in footings of belief or perceptual experience should non be disregarded. To elaborate. the mode in which they believed or perceived Gregor as a household member. despite his abhorrent province. has besides undergone a metabolism throughout the narrative. Once earlier. Gregor’s mother even questioned the impression of taking all furniture from Gregor’s room. claiming that â€Å"it’d be best to go forth the room precisely the manner it was before so that when Gregor comes back to us once more he’ll happen everything unchanged† ( Kafka. 32 ) . With such words. it is obvious that there is still a belief that Gregor is so the insect before them. merely holding gone through a impermanent metabolism. a mere ordeal which would shortly go through. However. as Gregor’s household shortly became more self-sufficing. their perceptual experiences sing Gregor finally changed. In the terminal. even Gregor’s most darling sister exclaimed the followers: â€Å"I don’t want to name this monster my brother. all I can state is: we have to seek and acquire rid of it† ( Kafka. 49 ) . The metabolism of each member of Gregor’s household would non hold been possible if his ain metabolism has non occurred. Hence. metabolism in this sense may besides be pertained to as an exchange or tradeoff between luck and bad luck. or between accomplishment and debasement. Particularly. such a position would most be most interesting to farther emphasize in the context of Grete. As Hill specifically references in a unfavorable judgment of Kafka’s work. â€Å"the narrative unhappily implies that merely false semblance can go a redemptive ideal. merely under its clasp can life blossom† ( 162 ) . Even though non faced with a desperate demand to gain or to accomplish fiscal success. as other members of the household have gained proper occupations. Grete still aimed to prosecute similar ends. It is decidedly challenging to larn that she has acquired a similar occupation to that his brother one time held. connoting that she may be seeking to finish the spread left by her brother as a gesture of regard. In decision. Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis is non simply a narrative sing peculiar alterations experienced by an single but most significantly Tells of how such alterations may convey forth a myriad of possible results for others. Works Cited Hill. Stanley. â€Å"Kafka’s Metamorphosis. † Explicator 61. 3 ( 2003 ) : 161 – 162. Print. Kafka. Franz. The Metamorphosis. Vista. Calcium: Boomer Books. 2008. Print. Mallison. Jane. Book Smart: Your Essential Reading List for Becoming a Literary Genius in 365 Days. New York. New york: McGraw Hill Companies. 2007. Print.