Kmart and Sears Merger †Summary and Analysis

Kmart and Sears Merger – Summary and Analysis Free Online Research Papers The acquisition of Sears Roebuck Co, cost to Kmart Holding Corporation $ 11 billion (Dess, Lumpkin, Eisner, Strategic Management, 211, 2008). This merger occurred for economical reasons. This merger will benefit both companies in different ways separately and as Sears Holding Company. Kmart will benefit from the planned cost sharing of several of Sears leading proprietary brands as well as present opportunities to capture significant revenue and cost synergies including merchandise and non-merchandise purchasing, distribution and other SGA expenses. Sears will be out of malls, and will benefit from Kmart’ stores locations which are in the high-income customer target of Sears. Moving out off malls means that Sears will sell some of it real estates which will bring money to the company. According to Edward S. Lampert, former chairman of Kmart and new chairman of SCH, the goal were to seek to leverage the combined strengths of Sears and Kmart to obtain greater long-term value either could have generated on a stand-alone basis. SHC will offer a wide variety of products and combining both their strong brands such as Kmart’s brands; Martha Stewart Home and Sears’s brands like Kenmore, Craftsman and Die Hard, they will compete among others. Combining two forces (even in our case where we have two weak companies) increase their merged companys market presence. Choosing from previous companies the best human resources, information technology, operations, finance, strategy lead them to a stronger organization. ¹ Based in all the above SHC will become the third largest retailer in the United States with $ 55 billion in annual revenues and 2,350 full-line and off mall stores and 1,100 specialty retail stores in the USA. Higher market shares often result in greater purchasing power over suppliers. Increased orders result in lower purchase prices for materials and services, allowing the company to be more price competitive. ² The issues SHC will face are internal and external such as organizational culture, organizational structure, organization identity, competition, trained staff, customer’s loyalty and SHC store’s design. Organizational culture is a system of shared values (what is important) and beliefs (how things work) that shape a company’s people, organizational structures and control systems to produce behavioral norms (the way we do things around here) (Dess, Lumpkin, Eisner, Strategic Management, 309, 2008). In merger there will be employees from Kmart and Sears which will share different organizational culture. And according to an AT Kearney research study; in mergers the more powerful partner imposes his culture on the less powerful one. The key to a strategic merger is to create a new organizational culture for SHC. First they need to see what the organizational culture before merger is. They can do this through an OCI which provides a picture of an organization’s operating culture in terms of the behaviors that members believe are expected or implicitly required. By guiding the way in which members approach their work and interact with one another, these â€Å"behavioral norms† determine the organization’s capacity to solve problems, adapt to change, and perform effectively.  ³ First alternative is that they can conduct a separate OCI for Kmart and Sears’s employees and decide which the best organizational culture is and apply it. The advantage is that this will not be time consuming since one part is already used to this organizational culture, the disadvantage is that there will be resistance from the employee’s of the other company since they will see this not as SHC culture but as Sears or Kmart culture (depending on which of the two company’s culture will be chosen) and they will not be willing to share common values and beliefs of another company. The other alternative which I think is the best solution is to cross results from both Kmart and Sears and take the best elements from both companies. The advantage here is that the employees will see this as SHC culture and will share these values. The new SHC culture will encourage individual identification with the organization and its new objectives (Dess, Lumpkin, Eisner, Strategic Management, 309, 2008). This is important because people should start to cooperate; they are not competitors, not anymore. Organizational structure refers to the formalized patterns of interactions that link a firm’s tasks, technologies and people. Structures help to ensure that resources are used effectively in accomplishing an organization’s mission (Dess, Lumpkin, Eisner, Strategic Management, 340, 2008). Since SHC is a new company there should be applied a new structure. I think the best structure in this case is a Matrix structure. Since SHC will operate under at least six different formats and since there were past problems related to the organization’s identity and image, the Matrix structure will keep them in contact and through continuous communication between the ‘’directors of stores’’ they can manage to combine their changes and so keep uniform corporate image and identity. The advantages of this structure are that it: Increases market responsiveness through collaboration and synergies among professional colleagues, allow more efficient utilization of resources, improves flexibility, coordination and communication, increases professional development through a broader range of responsibility. The disadvantages are that: the dual-reporting relationship can result in uncertainty regarding accountability, intense power struggles may lead to increased levels of conflict, working relationships may be more complicated and human resources duplicated and excessive reliance on group processes and teamwork may impede timely decision making (Dess, Lumpkin, Eisner, Strategic Management, 350, 2008). Even after the merger both companies will continue to operate separately under their respective names. And as I mentioned above this is not the right thing to do, because there should not be anymore Kmart or Sears. The quicker they manage to change their previous identity into Sears Holding Company, the better. Buyers need to see that this merger brought changes and the reason they were not preferred from them, are being improved into this new company. As longer they continue to act as Kmart as Sears the more difficult will be for them to be seen as SHC. They need to have ‘’one’’ identity and show improvements and finally get some attention, people must perceive SHC as a new company but which still have the good quality (their brand names are preferred from the clients) and low prices and which continue to improve; they cant effort anymore to be seen as ‘’second hand’’ store. Kmart was placed as a discount store and Sears as a department store. SHC must be placed as a discount store since department stores are not longer liked from customers. Before the merger Kmart was competing against a low-price Wal-mart and a high-style Target and Sears against Home Depot and Lowe. Also as SHC they have to compete against Kmart and Sears as they was and change the way people sees them, and through their past experience try to not make the same mistakes and improve their products. Now as SHC they have to decide against whom they want to compete. Who is more important? They definitely can’t compete against Wal-Mart which is from several years the largest US Corporation. The best move is to compete against Target and Lowe’s who are more easily to compete. They can take advantage of the good allocation of Kmart stores in key urban and high density suburban markets with high-income customers and far from these 2 competitors. They also can fill areas that are overlooked from the others. There are 3 types of competitive advantage: overall cost leadership, which is based on creating low-cost position, which means that SHC must also be able to manage the relationship throughout the value chain and lower costs throughout the entire chain. (Dess, Lumpkin, Eisner, Strategic Management, 156, 2008) The advantage here is that SHC will increase sales but due to cut costs in operating expenses the companies operations will become weaker, and if they offer low prices means they will compete directly with Wal-mart which is a leader in low-prices, and SHC can’t afford such direct competition with them. Then there is differentiation which means that SHC must launch in the market products there are unique and valued, and the price is not an issue since because of the high quality customers will pay more. The disadvantages here are that: SHC a merger company of Kmart and Sears can not be easily perceived by customers as a high-quality company and the high prices they will offer will push the customers away. And there is a focus strategy where the company can gain competitive advantage through a combination of low cost and differentiation. This I think is the best strategy since they can compete through their strong brand such as Martha Stewart, Kenmore, Craftsman and Die Hard, which are perceived very well from customers, against Target which is known for the high-style provided, and with low-cost they can compete against Lowe’s. They need also to attract more brands. Both companies had problems with human resources. SHC must recruit talented people-employees at all levels with the proper sets of skills and capabilities coupled with the right values and attitudes. Such skills and attitudes must be continually developed, strengthened and reinforced and each employee must be motivated and his efforts focused on the organization’s goals and objectives (Dess, Lumpkin, Eisner, Strategic Management, 119, 2008). They need to find and train people who are identified with company’s mission and values, and whom trying to achieve their personal goals, achieve also the company’s goals. There will be also lay-offs which SHC need to manage well. Because there will be people affected by this and the biggest mistake companies do is that they focus in the fired people and how to make them feel better through compensations or explanations of the style ‘’ you are a good manager, is not your fault’’ and forget that they should focus in the remaining employees which is their primary resource. The remaining people will be demotivated because of the large number of firings and think they can be next, so this process is crucible; CEO must talk to them, tell them the truth about the situation, explain them the reasons why they fired their colleagues, motivate them and show them that SHC counts on them and that they are part of the merge process which will be a difficult one and there will be a lot of stress. SHC need to keep the remaining staff motivated in order to share the same vision and mission of the company. The most important part of the remaining employees is the former high level managers, who probably will loose their previous positions and need to work in lower positions. So, this is the part there could resist more to the changes and maybe the part where the attention of SHC should be concentrated. Another issue to be solved for SHC is customers. SHC should focus primarily on them and then in profit maximization, which will come if they are able to fill the customer’s need for good quality, competitive prices, service, time and possibility to easily reach them. Marketing should try to anticipate needs and has customer satisfaction as its primary goal. They need to do surveys to see how people perceived them as Kmart and Sears and what they are expecting from SHC. The design of their stores is keeping customers away because they see the stores as old, not attractive and with a cheap design. SHC stores are what people see in first place, and in order for someone to enter the store they need to redesign its ambient. From the internal design people will see that there are being changes in SHC, and this will help SHC being separated from the previous Kmart and Sears. To conclude SHC should do post merger monitoring, and if there are needed additional changes to enhance results do them. References:  ¹  ² investopedia.com/articles/stocks/07/drive_stock_price.asp  ³ humansynergistics.com/products/oci.aspx Research Papers on Kmart and Sears Merger - Summary and AnalysisAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaOpen Architechture a white paperThe Project Managment Office SystemTwilight of the UAWMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalDefinition of Export QuotasHip-Hop is ArtAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of Self

An Analysis of Kristian Leven Photography in London Essay

An Analysis of Kristian Leven Photography in London - Essay Example This is unique from other wedding competitors that provide photography services with specific manufactured (posed) shots. Kristian Leven is able to stand out from competitors with his naturalistic approach to wedding photography that better captures special events and moments as they occur. 1.1 Methodology Research was gleaned for the report utilising a qualitative methodology, involving an open-ended interview structure with the sole proprietor, Kristian Leven. The interview occurred on April 5, 2013 and was scheduled for 45 minutes. Leven was proposed questions on such concepts as motivation, funding sources, problems that occur in daily business operations, the social environment, and the entrepreneurial marketing mix. Findings from the interviews were compared to theoretical secondary literature on entrepreneurship and small business management to determine correlations between theory and actual business practice; or to identify dissimilarities between theory and actual business management. 2.0 Funding sources for Kristian Leven Research indicates that credit cards are the most common funding source for entrepreneurs, due to tightened restrictions with banking institutions and other lenders associated with the credit crunch of 2007 and 2008 (Schmith 2008). Leven indicated that he achieved start-up funding by networking with family members in order to obtain an initial co-signed personal loan for ?5000. Leven further supplemented this funding for the start-up venture with a credit card by which he was able to procure equipment and initial inventories not covered by the personal loan that was utilised to set up a storefront. Leven had considered seeking out a private investor, however he was concerned about the potential of contractual agreements being established that guaranteed shared profitability. Leven trusted in his ability to grow the business revenues early that would provide him with the capital necessary to launch a successful photography business. Leven fit the profile of entrepreneurs that must rely on credit cards as a relevant funding source and networking with family members to achieve start-up capability. Leven had submitted a formal business plan to bankers when he was just 19 years old, but his plan was rejected as the lenders believed he was too young and inexperienced to successfully manage the business. Today, Leven is proud to announce an annual cash flow position of over ?200,000. 3.0 Networking Networking is, according to Leven, one of the most fundamental success factors for how Kristian Leven Photography has experienced growth and gained a positive brand reputation with satisfied customers. Leven does not consider his family members to be viable networks for operating or managing the business, or in improving its position. Leven had personal experience with a family-operated business during his childhood in which many disputes about operations and financing were present. This ties in closely with the theoretica l literature in which Johanisson and Monsted (1997) indicate there is no evidence available indicating that personal network capacity contributes to the success of the small business. Instead, Leven relies on professional networking, which are contacts that are developed through business operations. Leven indicated that nearly 80 percent of his business growth is attributed to word-of-mouth advertising that stems from satisfied clients with personal experien

Two_Short_Paragraphs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Two_Short_Paragraphs - Essay Example The old man, for example, tried to hang himself when at home because of desperation. When at the cafà ©, the same old man drinks his brandy with calmness and dignity. Even when he is drunk, he cannot spill his drink. The cafe is indeed a temporary respite from all the chaos in the world (Hemingway, 372-75). In the story, The Garden Party, the garden represents a place of endless pleasures. It is a place with a lot of promising energies where children and young adult look forward to a great future. The children resemble the arum lilies and brilliant butterflies that grow with an alarming vigor. The garden signifies a kind of Eden land where parents confine their children. The author conveys the land as one with a pleasant and warm feeling similar to the non-existent marvelous fairylands. The garden is covered with exotic flowers, green lawns, and various species of trees. There is a villa at the center of the garden, a tennis court and lake with the Sheridan’s garden. All these features make the garden symbolize a unique place full of potential for growth of its inhabitants. It is a place where all people long, hope or would wish to live (Mansfield

Gangs And Relationships With Drugs And Violence Criminology Essay

Gangs And Relationships With Drugs And Violence Criminology Essay There are very few things new to this world, money, greed, religion, or even science. But like all things, over time, ideas and concepts grow and reform, taking on seemingly new impressions in the eyes of the people. One of these ideas that has seemed to sneak up on the world is gangs, and their new found territory of untold violence and crime, that has rose and spread like the plague across America and many major countries around the world. Even though it seems to be an out of control problem, the complexity is still very simply understood and broke down to help reason why many would put themselves as well as their family in a life of crime. In the definition of a gang, it is explained as a loosely formed group of at least three people through which an organization, formation, or establishment of an assembly, share a common identity. However, gangs in todays society have taken the word to embody fear due to its relationship to criminal organization and the negative connotation that go with it. The group usually has a name to bond around with a structure of leaders or with one sole person in charge. Many of these developed gangs have started to use identifying signs such as colors, symbols or tattoos to distinguish themselves. These groups continuously and regularly commit crimes in support of the gang. As well as being known for trouble, gangs have grown from small street crimes to larger level felonies involving drug and weapon dealing causing a large number of unsettling homicides within the United States and around the world. The first street gang in the United States emerged sometime around the 1820s in New York City, and just thirty years later, there were more than two hundred fights reported. After only a few generations and a still steady flow of immigration, Chicago had reported more than a thousand gangs in 1920. In those days, most of the crimes involved small criminal activities and large brawls. Drug trafficking of todays gangs doesnt play a role until the later 1970s. As the same as in the 1920s, it doesnt take long for gangs to expand, grow, and relocate. In 2006, the United States reported active street gang members numbering around 785,000. Even with its birth in our country being New York, the ideology has spread across the nation and has settled in todays capitol of Los Angeles County, California. The county itself has somewhere around 120,000 with an estimated 41,000 within Los Angeles. To bring light to how fast the populations of gangs grow, in just one year, the number of known active members grew to around 900,000 in 2007. The United States Department of Justice estimates there are approximately 30,000 gangs, with 760,000 members, impacting 2,500 communities across the United States in its most recent reports and steadily growing every year. (Hagedorn, 2008) The numbers produced around the world are not much better. For instance, the Mexican drug cartel may have as many as 100,000 members not only involved in minor gang activity, but also produce a large percentage of the worlds drugs, which has become something the newer versions have evolved into. In addition to that, the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that the four largest Italian organized crime groups to be around 25,000 collectively with as many as 250,000 affiliates around the world. One of the largest single associated crime groups in the world, the Yakuza, has more than 102,000 members from what Japans reports say as of 2005. The United Kingdom has as many as a thousand known gangs as of 2009, and estimating that they are thought to make as much as  £352 billion through the drugs trade (Hagedorn, 2008). Regardless of origin, there are several different types of gangs, separated by race, religion, or simply by goals in life. However the most three concerned by law enforcement, and most influential types, are street gangs, prison gangs, and criminal gangs. Street gangs are the most widely known and fastest spreading organizations. The prison gang exist behind bars and add a new level to the street gang operations. The criminal gangs are normal associated and made popular by mob families, like the Italian Mob. With street gangs, the people involved generally have relatively similar backgrounds, motivations, and struggles with a self-formed union of peers. This formed group becomes united by mutual interests, with identifiable leadership and internal organization. Once the steps to becoming organized have been accomplished, the group can act collectively or as individuals to achieve specific purposes, including the conduct of illegal activity and control of a particular territory, facility, or enterprise. Street gangs often take over territory or turf, as commonly used, in a particular city and use this area as protection for themselves as well as providing protection for the community. Many gangs use the front of protection in the community to influence and gain revenue in an area safe from intrusion. Prison gangs are groups in a prison or correctional facility designed for mutual protection and advancement. These gangs tend to have more affiliates and chapters among the different prisons across the nation that interacts due to the high frequency of transfers. Studies have shown that there is a high correlation between street gangs and prison gangs (Hagendorn 2008). This is due to the fact that many gangs use the protection scare tactic to recruit large amounts of members quickly, transfer them, and expand even more. Even when behind bars, many gang leaders are able to communicate operations to the foot soldiers still on the streets. Like street gangs, criminal gangs also function in and out of the prison system, such as the Mexican Mafia does, where many of its highest members are locked up and still have control. Criminal gangs are involved in all areas of street-crime activities like extortion, drug trafficking, both in and outside the prison system and theft. Criminal gangs are more involved with victimizing individuals by robbery and kidnapping. Cocaine is the primary drug of distribution by the criminal gangs in America, which like to use large cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and New York who all have large ports to export drugs internationally quickly. Often, the larger, more organized groups hire lookouts, which tend to be the smaller less organized street gangs, to warn members of upcoming law enforcement. This team work builds dangerous affiliations that help and make it more difficult to pin point specific gangs involved in crimes. The dense environment of urban cities, like public housing projects, c orruption of police, as well as the division between the relationship law enforcement has with such neighborhoods, has helped gang members escape and hide from police easily. As the gangs have grown and become more intelligent and organized, violence has become an effective weapon for advancement. Gang violence refers to mostly those illegal and non-political acts of violence committed by gangs against innocent people, property, or other gangs. Throughout history, such acts have been committed by gangs at all levels of organization and nearly every major city has been ravaged by gang violence at some point. Modern gangs introduced new acts of violence, which may also function as a rite of passage for new gang members, whether it be a beat into the gang or a killing of a rival member before a affiliate can become a full member. Because of this level of violence in the gang culture 58 percent of Los Angeles murders were reported to have been gang-related during 2006. Gang related homicides are concentrated mostly in the largest cities of the United States, where largest number of documented gang members reside. Ethnic solidarity is a common factor in gangs. Black and Hispanic gangs formed during the 1960s in the United States and often adapted independent style. Both majority and minority races in society have established gangs in the name of identity, like the Igbo gang or the Bakassi Boys for instance, who defend the majority Igbo group violently and through terror. As for the whites who feel threatened by minority, defensive counter rights have formed their own groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan to threaten minority groups back. Responding to a sudden increase in black and Hispanic migration, a white gang called Gaylords quickly formed in Chicago. If a person carries a gun while committing any crime, he or she can expect to face harsh penalties. State prosecutors or the United States Attorneys Office, depending on the nature of the crime and the severity of the violence, may prosecute firearms offenses. Illegally carrying a handgun is a Class A misdemeanor, unless it is carried on any premises where alcohol is being sold, in which case it is a third-degree felony. A person who allows a child to gain access to a loaded firearm may be charged with a Class A misdemeanor if the child discharges the firearm and causes death or serious bodily injury to himself or another person. Federal gun laws are very strict. A person can be punished by up to 10 years in prison if convicted of illegally possessing or receiving a gun or ammunition. A person may also receive a minimum sentence of 15 years without parole if the person has three or more prior convictions for a violent felony and/or a drug trafficking felony. Certain individuals, such as felons or drug users, are prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition. Using, carrying or possessing a firearm in connection with a federal drug felony or crime of violence may result in punishment ranging from at least five years up to life in federal prison without parole. It is illegal under federal law for most citizens to possess certain firearms such as machine guns, assault weapons, silencers, sawed-off shotguns or rifles, or certain other destructive devices. Possessing or receiving a firearm with an obliterated or altered serial number is also illegal and is punishable by up to five years in prison. These crimes may range from Class C misdemeanors to serious felonies. It is illegal to be a member of a gang on a public school campus. It is illegal to coerce, induce or solicit a child to actively participate in the activities of a criminal street gang through the use of threats or violence. It is a state jail felony to threaten a child into joining a gang and a third-degree felony if bodily injury is caused. If you have been threatened or coerced into joining a gang, you are a victim of a crime. It is natural to feel intimidated or be fearful of retaliation when this occurs, but what happened to you was not your fault and it was a crime. Report this criminal activity immediately to your school resource officer or the local authorities. State law provides for punishment enhancements for offenses committed with a gang. Simply put, gang membership gets you into more trouble and gets you a harsher sentence. Who gets to say they are wrong for wanting to defend themselves. The concept of the gang as a form of protection reaches back centuries, from immigrants grouping to stay alive on the streets, to the foreign villages battling over land. There have been many researches done on gangs and their reason for existence to try to find the core of the problem. One of the many studies done on the youth searched to single out and concentrate on the relationship between gang members and individual levels of criminal behavior. The research done in both the United States and Canada has shown the obvious, that even after separating mass triggers from individual level characteristics, gang members are more delinquent and tend to be more involved in committing crimes than do non-gang members. The conclusion drawn from these findings is that the observed relationship between gang membership and offending levels cant be explained through a simple process singling out individual traits, but instead by understanding additional influences that gang members bring to allow higher levels of criminal behavior among the individuals who join, especially for behaviors relating to guns and violence. Case in point, involvement in gangs significan tly increases the probability that a juvenile will be involved in an exchange involving a firearm. The above information leads to implications that patterns and levels of firearm violence is evident at the community level. As membership in a gang opens the door for the possibility for a gun to be used, there becomes an increase in firearm related violence. The violence tends to be concentrated around the activity space of gangs, or on their turf. The research was conducted in what is now being referred to as an emerging gang city, or the class of cities that only recently have been introduced to gangs and have began to experience serious problems with violent urban street gangs in the last twenty years. The other classes of cities include places like Los Angeles and Chicago, which have had a much longer story of gangs and are now known as chronic gang cities. Though some of the initial emergent gang cities have experienced a significant decline in gang activity, others appear well on their way towards becoming chronic gang cities. (Tita, 2007) A small amount of information is known about how inner-city street gangs evolve over time within an emerging gang cities. Other countries that are relatively new to the gang territory, like Canada, may provide researchers with an invaluable opportunity to study juveniles and gangs to determine the scenarios that support the development of local gangs from loosely associated groups into stronger, organized, local neighborhood establishments. Furthermore, it is important to learn and understand more intervention activities that could be most efficient at inhibiting such growth before gangs and gang violence becomes a chronic problem in more cities. This is especially important as studies have shown that gangs and the gang violence correlation often begins in heavily populated areas and spreads to smaller cities. The participation in the drug market has also revealed a relation to gun violence. Even though many studies involve gangs as the primary ignition source responsible for increased levels of gun violence, the participation in dealing drugs has also made firearm involvement more probable. That is, those who buy or sell drugs do experience higher levels of gun violence than non-drug participants (Tita ET AL). With the information, a strong case can be put together that the arrival of the crack cocaine market was accountable for the explosion of guns within the urban communities of the United States. Guns became an essential tool to promote and produce, and deal in the drug market. This seems to suggest that drug markets do serve as a source of conflict that ends up closing with gun violence more times than not. This relationship has not only been evident in the United States, but in England, Wales, Scotland, and Canada as well. Tita (2007) also gave to that: Given that sellers carried large sums of cash and valuable drugs, they needed to protect themselves against acts of robbery. As youth participation in the drug markets increased, carrying firearms soon became a status symbol and the carrying of guns soon diffused to non-drug youth as well.  (p. 11) But other than gun and drug prevention efforts, more can be done to further remove the problem from a much deeper source. Studies of juveniles, done within the United States, made it clear that juveniles who decide join gangs tend to have lower levels of parental attachment. This can be due to many situations, but most commonly due to the crumbling importance of family value and structure as well as the poor economic situation in many areas. This has caused parents or guardians to work two to three jobs, missing out on valuable time to be a childs deterrence from getting involved in trouble with gangs. Along with missing guidance in their lives, the young members that were prone to join gangs also exhibited aggressive behavior early in life, did poorly in school, and have lower levels of self-control. Gang members also tend to be among the lower members of society in terms of social and economic status and are said to have little to no chance to create the drive necessary to make it in the world. Being part of a minority groups is also a main characteristic in a gang community, combined with the members residing are in high levels of concentrated poverty, joblessness and crime give them all something in common to bond to. For these people to move away from these characteristic, investment in the community to produce better education, access to jobs, basic public services, and possible recreation alternatives the people is needed before they learn the negative behaviors. There are many major reasons that these gangs feel the need to be violent. One of the main focuses between gangs is their belief in respect and control over their turf which motivates most gang-on-gang violence. To many peoples disbelief, the drug dealing business plays a very small role in the violence, yet still just as serious. Compared to non-gang homicides, gang homicides tend to involve multiple suspects in an outdoor environment, more likely concentrated in the neighborhood of the gang, more often involving a gun. Even though it is known that gangs have designated missions to take out other gang members or acting in order to defend themselves, much of the violence that is recorded is opportunistic with more than one-third of all gang homicides occurred in areas where neither the victim nor offender resided. Regardless of the numbers recorded, there is definitely a link between drug use and the increased likelihood of being involved in an incident in which a firearm is present. Young adults and juveniles that have been questioned about using or dealing drugs reported carrying a gun far more often than do peers not involved with illegal drugs. These finding are elevated among gang members with a far larger margin within the gang. Not only do they carry and use guns at a higher rate, but they are also much more likely to be involved in a homicide. These results hold true for females as well. There is an ongoing debate regarding the relationship between firearm accessibility and levels of gun violence. Compared to the rest of the world, citizens in the United States have greater access to the legal purchase of firearms causing many to point to this as a factor for why the United States has a much higher rate of violence than do other developed nations. However, there are some findings from studies conducted by other countries, Canada, Australia, Asia, and Europe, that contradict this believe. Many believe that lower murder rates in foreign countries prove that gun control works, however this is false. Lower murder rates have been one of the favorite arguments for gun control, and yet the numbers show that there is no direct correlation between gun control laws and murder rates across a wide spectrum of nations and cultures. In Israel and Switzerland, for example, a license to possess guns is available on demand to every law-abiding adult, and guns are easily obtainable in both nations. Both countries also allow widespread carrying of concealed firearms, and yet one of the foremost medical advocates of gun control, Switzerland and Israel have rates of homicide that are low despite rates of home firearm ownership that are at least as high as those in the United States. A comparison of crime rates within Europe reveals no correlation between access to guns and crime. The basic premise of the gun control movement, that easy access to guns causes higher crime, is contradicted by the facts, by history and by reason. In fact, within the United States, the states that allow registered citizens to carry concealed weapons have lower crime rates than those that dont. Out of the 31 states that have shall issue laws allowing private citizens to carry concealed weapons have, on average, a 24 percent lower violent crime rate, a 19 percent lower murder rate and a 39 percent lower robbery rate than states that forbid concealed weapons. In fact, the nine states with the lowest violent crime rates are all right-to-carry states. One large finding shows that guns are used for self-defense more than two million times a year, which is somewhere between three to five times the estimated numbers of violent crimes committed with guns. Conclusion: Lampo, D. (2010). Gun Control: Myths and Realities. Cato Institute: Daily Commentary. The Cato aaaaaaaInstitute. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=4706 Tita, George. ET AL. (2007). Strategies for Reducing Gun Violence: The Role of Gangs, Drugs and aaaaaaaaFirearm Accessibility. National Crime Prevention Center, Research Report, 3, 1-53. Braga, A., Pierce, G. McDevitt, J. (2008). The Strategic Prevention of Gun Violence Among Gang-aaaaaaaInvolved Offenders. Justice Quarterly, 25 (1), 132-157. Melde, C., and Rennison, C.M. (2010). Intimidation and Street Gangs: Understanding the Response of aaaaaaVictims and Bystanders to Perceive Gang Violence. Justice Quarterly, 27(5), 621-657. Archbold, C., Meyer, M. (1999). Anatomy of a Gang Suppression Unit: The Social Construction of an aaaaaaaOrganizational Response to Gang Problem. Policing Quarterly, 2(2), 201-224. Garcia ET AL. (2007). Impacts of Violent Crime and Neighborhood Structure on Trusting Your Neighbors. aaaaaaaJustice Quarterly, 24(4), 680-702. Freng, A. and Ebensen, F. (2007). Race and Gang Affiliation: An Examination of Multiple aaaaaaaMarginality. Justice Quarterly, 24(4), 600-628. Hagedorn, J. (2008). Tutor Gig Encyclopedia. Gangs. Retrieved April 27, 2011, from www.tutorgig.com/ed/Gangs Hochstetler ET AL. (2007). Toward an Integrated Model of Offending Frequency: A Replication aaaaaaaaStudy. Justice Quarterly, 24(4), 582-597.

Free Essays: There is No Certainty in Dover Beach :: Arnold Dover Beach Essays

There is No Certainty in Dover Beach How can life or anything be so wonderful, but at times seem so unbearable? This is a question that Matthew Arnold may have asked himself one day, while writing Dover Beach. This is a poem about a sea and a beach that is truly beautiful, but hold much deeper meaning than what meets the eye. The poem is written in free verse with no particular meter or rhyme scheme, although some of the words do rhyme. Arnold is the speaker speaking to someone he loves. As the poem progresses, the reader sees why Arnold poses the question stated above, and why life seems to be the way it is. During the first part of the poem Arnold states, "The Sea is calm tonight" and in line 7, "Only, from the long line of spray". In this way, Arnold is setting the mood or scene so the reader can understand the point he is trying to portray. In lines 1-6 he is talking about a very peaceful night on the ever so calm sea, with the moonlight shining so intensely on the land. Then he states how the moonlight "gleams and is gone" because the "cliffs of England" are standing at their highest peaks, which are blocking the light of the moon. Next, the waves come roaring into the picture, as the y "draw back and fling the pebbles" onto the shore and back out to sea again. Arnold also mentions that the shore brings "the eternal note of sadness in", maybe representing the cycles of life and repetition. Arnold then starts describing the history of Sophocle's idea of the "Aegean's turbid ebb and flow". The sea is starting to become rougher and all agitated. Also the mention of "human misery" implies that life begins and ends, but it can still be full of happiness, and unfortunately, at the same time, sadness. "The Sea of Faith was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore." The key word in that stanza is once, because it implies that he (Arnold) used to look at the sea in a different way than he does now. Throughout the whole poem, Arnold uses a metaphor to describe his views and opinions. Now he only hears its "melancholy, long, withdrawing roar." It seems as though Arnold is questioning his own faith. The whole poem is based on a metaphor - Sea to Faith.

The Indian History Essay Paper

OB Notes Paper Pattern: 100 Marks: Q1. Compulsory. Based on â€Å"Ek ruka hua faisla† (Answer any 4 out of 7 options). Example question: Personality & Leadership Traits of Character No. 7 in the movie†¦ Q2 – Q7. Answer any 4 (20 marks each) Q2. would be Short Notes Q3. – Q7. – Each question would be of two parts (A&B). Part A – Theory & Part B – Caselets in DPA format Tip: Please answer in Bullet points only. Topics: 1. Basic of Behaviour 2. Organisation – context of opp and Interdependence 3. Personality 4. Beliefs & Paradigms 5. Groups & Teams – Composition, Advantages, Disadvantages, formal, informal, How best teams come into existence. . Core Values & Adaptive Values 7. Five levels of change 8. Adaptation & Leadership Theory 9. Learning 10. Conflict 11. Basic of Motivation – stress management & Time management, Traits from 6 Personality Traits for Transformational & Transactional, Motivation & Morale Theories: 1. Blate & Motoun Managerail Grid. 2. Ringlemen Effect 3. Bruce & Tactman Model of Team formation 4. Malow’s Pyramid 5. The Medici Effect – franz Johamsson 6. The fifith Discipline – Peter Senge 7. Classic Conditional Theory of Learning 8. Stimulus Response Learning 9. REBT – Rational Emotive Behaviour Theory 10. The Ice berg model 1. The Big 5 model 12. Cattell’s 16 Personality Factor 13. Thomas Profiling 14. FIROB 15. MBTI 16. Johari Windows 17. Transactional Analysis 18. DISC # Genesis of OB: -Psycology -Sociology -Social Psycology -Anthropology -Political Science †¢Behaviour is an Action †¢Communication leads to behaviour †¢We communicate at all times †¢Types of Communication -Verbal -Non-Verbal -Written # Unsound Behaviour & Sound Behaviour # Sound Behaviour is Type B Behaviour -Communication is Basic -You communicate all the time -â€Å"B† is a form of communication, it is external. -Value at bottom â€Å"B† is adapted value Core values are common to all of us # Value: (Ringleman Effect) – Core Values & Adapted Values: Sound Behaviour is outcome of sound values – Value is a 3 leg Tool: Comfort Zone, Meaningfullness, Identity #Structural Conflicts of Values: Value Level Person APerson B HighHonesty Money ————– ————– – ————- LowMoneyHonesty -Nature of Human is â€Å"Dynamic†, not static -Self Deception # How to resolve conflict in such situation? Approach – Diagnosis, Prescription & Action 1. Individual Discussion (with person A & person B separately) 2. Value check of each individual 3. Identify individual goals . Common Goal (Creation of super ordinate goals so that values of both the person are not diluted) Topic 2: Team & Group #Team: -Team is like entity -It does not form by itself. It is created outside -Taken as human being, it has its own value -Team i s considered as organic body & has emotion & cohesiveness -Team has to be flexible to achieve the super-ordinate goals (common goal/combined goal of different persons) -Team is only when it is comprised of experts -Every member of team has to be an expert in a particular field -Success or failure of the team is because of the leader †¢Stages in Formal to Informal: 1.Forming: Introduction, bringing team together, bringing about unification 2. Storming: Conflict management & leadership, ego clashing, most important parts are resolved, it is always never ending. 3. Norming: Settle down. 4. Performing †¢Steps a Leader has to take: 1. Cohesiveness 2. Team building (strengthening the team together towards an activity) 3. Differences have to be brought down to convergence of difference 4. develop dependence between team members to have convergence of difference # Group: -It is collection of resources (money, men, material, machine) – denominated by man power -Can be formed externally or internallyFormal GroupsInformal Groups 1. Goal forms outside1. Stated bonding 2. It is governed by certain rules2. Discipline is lacking 3. Restricted3. Impenetrable 4. Goal oriented4. They make or break the organisation 5. Communication & bonding not very strong5. Communication and bonding is very strong 6. Conditional behaviour towards goal achievement 7. Values may or may not exist6. Values do exist 8. Motivation driven by goal # Merits of Formal Groups: -Structured -Rule oriented -Disciplined -Goal oriented -Goal focused -KRAs, Duties are very clear -Stakes are very high, hence behaviour based on stakes # Demerits of Formal Groups: Restricted Behaviour -No transparency, not genuine -No natural bonding -No values & conflicts are always hidden # Informal Groups: -Within every formal structures group, we always have informal groups -In an organization each one is at a level & has got: i. Power ii. Authority iii. Accountability iv. Responsibilities -Energy of informal groups should be used towards productivity -They can make or break an organization -They would not allow or permit a member from another informal group with value or value system different from his group as the values and the comfort zones & identities are different. 2 Laws of Communication: 1. Law of Entertainment: When 2 bodies are in proximate they eventually entertain – get affected by each other. 2. Law of Synchronicity: When 2 bodies entertain over a period of time they eventually synchronize – characteristics of one tends to rub of into the other & viz (emotional exchange). â€Å"Reprimand in private and praise in public† # 4 Zones in Life: 1. Internal Zone: Where you operate from your home. It is suppose to have nurturing, advice, criticism, corrections. 2. Spiritual Zone: Individual Commitment with spirit 3. Work Zone: 4.Social: Outside the work place & home. All the people you meet outside the work & home. # Organisation Structure # HR Audit # Upward Spiral # Learning Curve # Attitude: -Congruent (Behaviour in line with thoughts) -Dissonant (difference in behaviour and thoughts) # Stagnation Stage # Learning: Knowledge + Actions (repeated actions) = Skills â€Å"A learning is a learning when certain body of knowledge is effectively transferred into actionable skills† -Skill development: Intensifying existing & enhancing new skills -Phase of Learning of an employee in an organization: 1st Phase: Technical Skills nd Phase: Behavorial Skills 3rd Phase: Conceptual Skills -Two types of Learning: a)Active: Self-driven desire to learn. When an individual experiences the need to change, the learning becomes active. b)Passive: Forced by situations & circumstances -It is upto the individual driven by his values & perceptions to choose to actively learn or reject the learning till it reaches its higher stake -When an individual a change about to happen in future & that to with meaningfulness, he/she is on critical path of learning - Awareness of change normally initiates active learning Learning is the courage of acquiring knowledge & putting into action -Learning has ethical & moral needs # Why do we learn? -Need to Change -Situations -High Stakes # Learning Block -Unawareness -Attitude (Is the knowledge really required by me?†¦. ) # Change # Types of Change: -Percieved & Non- Percieved -Fast Change & Slow Change †¢Those changes which are perceivable by our sensory experiences are perceivable changes, whereas those which do not fall under perceivable changes are termed as non-percievable changes. # 5 Levels of Change: 1. Cosmic Change (Changes in Galaxy) 2. Environmental (Global Warming) . Social Changes (Society) 4. Organic Changes (Body) 5. Cellular †¢The whole universe is in the process of eternal change. Change is required for evolution. †¢The purpose of change is to adapt & evolve †¢Adaption mean acceptance of change by addressing values & perception & thereby behaviour †¢Adj ustment is painful, adaption is powerful †¢Adaption occurs when an individual develops self awareness of change, continuously learns & develop lateral skill # 4 Stages of Learning: 1. Unaware of incompetency (Ignorance) 2. Aware of the incompetancy (Knowledge) – Stage where you stay or quit 3.Aware of competency (Skills) 4. Unaware of competency (Competance) †¢Competancy is a process centric and not content centric # Learning Theories: 1. Classical Conditional Theory of Learning/Stimulus Response Learning 2. Response Stimulus Learning 3. Cognitive Learning 4. Social Learning 1. Classical Conditional Theory of Learning/Stimulus Response Learning: Russian Psychologist Evan Paulov conducted an experiment: Dog-Meat & Bell Meat called as the unconditional stimulus, unconditional stimulus creates unconditional response along with the meat he rings the bell. The bell called as neutral stimulus. . Response Stimulus Learning: – Trial & Error Learning – ABC Lear ning: A-Antecedent, B-Behaviour, C-Consequence – For every behaviour ‘B’, there is an antecedent ‘A’ to consequence ‘C’ any trial & error is accidental. 3. Cognitive Learning: – Meaningful mental map, which we create of a reality, which varies from person to person – Recognise repeated cognize 4. Social Learning: – Learning from society (e. g. peers, friends) – This is the highest form of learning followed by cognitive learning and then Stimulus response and there on †¢Dominant vs. Back-up style of learning †¢Trusteeship & ownership Leadership †¢Learning Style -Ignorance -Knowledge -Skills -Competency # Emotional Intelligence: -Empathetic Listening -Focus to the issue and not on person -Empowerment -Who is learning & what type -EI is experiential learning # Leadership: -Leadership is a â€Å"Style† -A good leader has a good ET – Emotional Intelligence # Steps to be a Good Leader: 1 . To be an empathetic listener 2. Tries to focus on the issues & solution path & not on the person 3. He empowers the followers 4. Brings in confidence building 5. To understand the learnig curve of the follower 6. He recognizes his own skills as well as others . He develops trusteeship (detachment) and not ownership (attachment) 8. He is known by his absence and not by his presence 9. He is a risk taker as he has a focus on locus of control 10. Leader is not a position, it is a process # Types of Leadership: 1. Autocratic 2. Democratic 3. Laissez Faire 4. Situational Leadership â€Å"Personality + People + Effectiveness = Leadership† â€Å"Situational Leaders has two styles – Dominant (own skill) & Back-up (learned skill)† -During critical situations, dominant style comes in place #Categories of Leadership: 1. Trasactional Leadership: Creates followers 2.Transformational Leadership: -24Ãâ€"7 approach, creates leaders, creates vision -Communicate it very clearl y to everybody -They act on the vision himself first. This develops inspiration among others and creates followers -People on their own join the leader -He creates future leaders -To develop EQ : – He has to take risk (emotional) which comes only through experience – He needs to be aggressive, go getter, pushes others & himself in achieveing goals †¢Emotional Intelligence is the separator between Manager & Leader # 6 Personality Traits: 1. Locus of Control: strong internals, control over situations 2.Machawallism: -High Mach (highly manipulative) -Low Mach (Less Mach) 3. Type ‘A’ & Type ‘B’: -A = Aggressive, go getter -B = Laid Back 4. Self Motivating: pause —? Listen –? Reflect –? Respond. -It starts with self-awareness of one’s thoughts, words & action. It converts a reaction to a response. A good leader will have a moderate level of self-monitoring 5. Risk Taking 6. Self-Esteem # Blate & Motoum Managerial Gr id (Training model) (1, 1) – Impoverished leader – least concern for result & people (9, 1) – High concern for results & least for people – Autocratic (1, 9) – Termed as ‘Country Club Manager’.High concern for people but less for result (9, 9) – Ideal, Proactive Manager – The leader. Equal concern for both. It’s not a destination but a journey which a leader constantly tries to achieve. He is a situational leader. He uses the people’s competencies toward’s achieving goals. He is always ‘Ethical’. Requires tremendous self-discipline. Role Personality is a connectivity between the Role & the Goal. They have personal sense of humility (5, 5) – ‘Middle of the Road Manager’. It is a process. Tries to rise from the strategic level to visionary level. # Personality: 1.Definition 2. Traits 3. MBTI/Thomas Profiling 4. 16 PF/FIROB/DISC 1. Definition: â€Å"It is a sum total of inner & outer attributes†, where – Inner Factors: Values, attitudes, perception, belief, paradigms Outer Factors: Physical disposition, mannerism, habits, behaviour. All the factors put together comprises of personality -Role Clarity is subjective whereas Goal Clarity is objective -Inner factor drives the outer factor -When meaningfulness of the goal is aligned with values, perception of role, the individual develops the role personality in line with the goal. In most cases he is effective in achieving goal. For e. g. : Student has a goal of learning a subject: i. He must have a clarity what he is learning ii. Learning, as we know is absorption of knowledge into doable action called skills. iii. This is of the purpose of acquiring knowledge is to transform an adopted behaviour then the learning is effective iv. The individual needs to focus this aspect of learning & align these aspects with consistently, he tends to play the Role Personality effectively v. Although all goals are measurable, the measurable may not indicate his learning (at times he may get higher %age, at times lower) vi.All in all his focus should be to absorb knowledge & change his behaviour. So long as this focus is maintained, we can see him maintain Role Personality quite effectively. This is seen through his behaviour of active participation in all situation to acquire and assimilate indulging & convert them into skill & behaviour changes †¢Scenario: A, B, C, D are team members in a certain vertical. – ‘A’ is hardworking but, stickler to time – he works strictly 9. 00am – 5. 00pm. His output is remarkable – ‘B’ – Intelligent, genius, erratic, maverick – available only when a crisis occurs.Arrogant & individualistic – ‘C’ – Quiet, laid-back, seemingly unintelligent, very obedient, slow worker, everyone likes him – ‘D’ – Into mood swings, creates goals, disappear for days & returns & works for long hours to complete his tasks, rarely talks, very helpful though, does not like to be asked questions The above 4 team members are assigned a project for SMG (self-managed groups) The time frame is 1 month. All 4 team members need to be optimally used. Design a goal & perform a DPA by mapping characteristics, personality Create roles & goals to attain effectiveness Strengths & weakness of each team member:Team Member ‘A’: S: Time management, hardworking, goal oriented, focused, commitment, disciplined, organized W: Rigid Team Member ‘B’: S: Crisis management, confident, go-getter attitude, individualistic W: Arrogant, selfish, individualistic (low people skills) Team Member ‘C’: S: Strong values, obedient, strong interpersonal skills, approachable, quiet, laid-back, good follower W: laid-back, slow coach, quiet Team Member ‘D’: S: Goal setter, Innovator, compassionate, helpful W: Disappe aring act, moody, does not like to be asked questions # Need Drive theory of Motivation: -All needs are basic requirements for organization When a need arises, it indicates a deficit -This deficit leads to a disturbance in comfort zone -There arises instantly within the organism, a type of drive that propels the organism to fulfill this deficit, thereby restoring comfort zone -When this fulfillment is complete, the organism is set to achieve total satisfaction -This drive is called motivation -This drive is automatic, instant, since it has its origins on survival of species, inshort it is instinct driven -Hence motivation is a term given to instinct driven that almost instantaneously develops the need deficit into need fulfillment -This is the animal side of the humanIn day-to-day scenarios, we need to identify the diference between needs & wants. Needs are basic, wants are desired NEED(instinct) + DESIRE = Want (Rational) Need when fulfilled gives 100% satisfaction (does not leave any memory). A need is always an instant gratification # Frustration Model: It is derived from need-drive theory of motivation. If a need deficit arises in an individual, it creates a drive almost instantly to fulfill this need. While in process of fulfilling the need, if there arises an obstruction or barrier, the organism will anyway be fulfilling it through alternate means.This altered behaviour is always unsound behaviour This behaviour is a repetitive behaviour. â€Å"Without action there is no motivation† # Fundamental Theories of Motivation: 1. Reinforcement Theory of Motivation 2. Goal Path Theory of Motivation The individual’s motivation is a result of 2 influences – Internal & external # What motivates you? -Content theories of Motivation: i. Maslow’s Theory of needs ii. Fedrick Hersberg’s – Two factor theory of needs iii. ERG Theory of Needs – albert iv. David Mc Cleeland’s Theory of Needs # Why and how are people mo tivated? – Process Theories of Motivation i. Stacey Adam’s Equity Theory i. Victor Vroom’s Theory of Expectancy iii. Poter Roller’s Theory of Intrinsic rewards 1. Reinforcement Theory of Motivation: It has 2 parts: a. Positive Reinforcement b. Negative Reinforcement Encouraging behaviour that are desired by an organization constitutes the frameqork of +ve reinforcement. The employees are encouraged to regret & certain behaviour that are desirable for the end customer of goal This is usually done by rewards, hence also termed as motivation by Rewards On the other hand there are certain behaviours which are not in line with organizational needs. These behaviours need to be discouraged.Instead of allowing these behaviours to repeat, organization resort to collapsing these behaviours. This is brought about through the process of punishment termed as motivation by punishment or –ve reinforcement. Historically such reinforcement is resorted to at the fun ctional level of organization, where rewards & punishment form the value criteria of employees’s behaviour As 1st time learners, all of us resort to stimulus response learning, our behaviour are also stimulus response based. Hence, it is natural for us to respond to the reinforcement method of motivation 2. Goal – Path theory of motivation:

Jones Fernyhough 2009 Caffeine, Stress, and Proneness to...

Personality and Individual Differences 46 (2009) 562–564 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Personality and Individual Differences journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/paid Short Communication Caffeine, stress, and proneness to psychosis-like experiences: A preliminary investigation Simon R. Jones *, Charles Fernyhough Department of Psychology, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t In diathesis–stress models of psychosis, cortisol released in response to stressors is proposed to play a role in the development of psychotic experiences. Individual differences in cortisol response to stressors are therefore likely to play a role in proneness to psychotic†¦show more content†¦study. 2. Method 2.1. Participants Students (N = 219, 154 women) at a United Kingdom university, with a mean age of 20.1 years (SD = 1.34, range = 18–28) were recruited through e-mail invitation. No ï ¬ nancial incentive was offered and the likelihood of repeated participation was thus considered low. Answers were given anonymously, with only the age, gender and weight of the participants being recorded. Cigarette smokers were excluded from the study. 2.2. Measures Participants completed the following questionnaires in the order stated below: Durham Caffeine Inventory (DCI): Caffeine was assessed utilising a new tool designed to assess caffeine intake in a contemporary UK student population. The DCI presents speciï ¬ c types of drink and food containing caffeine (see Table 1), of which participants rate their typical intake over the past year, using a 12-point response scale ranging from ‘‘none/less than one per week† to ‘‘8+ per day†. In addition to predeï ¬ ned categories (e.g., instant coffee, tea) participants are also asked about coffee purchased from coffee shops, other energy drinks, and caffeine tablets. Participants use the same response scale, but are free to enter the name of the beverage or make of tablets used. A full copy of the DCI is available upon request. Hallucination-proneness: This was assessed using the modiï ¬ ed Launay-Slade Hallucination Scale (LSHS-M: Laroi van der Linden, 2005), a 16-item instrument designed to measure predisposition to