Transformational Leadership in Safety :: essays research papers

Running head: TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND SAFETY Transformational Leadership and Safety Transformational Leadership and Safety The Postal Service in Baton Rouge and cities around the nation has a poor reputation when it comes to safety and health of its employees. In an attempt to debunk this unjust accusation, Management and craft employees alike set out to accomplish a task never before achieved by a postal facility with more than 20 employees. Many managers in the Southwest Area thought it suicide to invite the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in for an inspection and try to achieve the highest recommendation obtainable, the coveted â€Å"STAR† award. The plants 491 employees, supervisors and managers using transformational leadership, prepared for and accomplished this achievement in only 90 days. Transformational Leadership by definition is the broadening and elevating of the awareness, acceptance and attitudes of the workforce beyond their personal interest for the good of a group or company (Bass, 1990) Management, union officials, and craft employees acting as safety captains, worked together to motivate the workforce to see a bigger picture. The first and most important task was building a relationship of trust. The Postal Service is notorious for discipline of its employees when something goes wrong but is slow to reward these same employees for a job well done. The Plant Manager at Baton Rouge, Joseph Tate a 42-year veteran of the service, decided that charisma, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration, as discussed by Sally A. Carless (1998) were necessary in achieving a cultural change. He believed that in order to achieve a STAR rating the employees would have to come onboard. With the blessings of the Louisiana District office, he instituted a new safety program that was fashioned after that of Dow Chemical, 3-M and other industry leaders. Employee involvement, as in every industrial success, was the key. Employees selected their own safety captains from the craft workers. Instead of the supervisors of each unit giving the same old boring safety talks, it was now the responsibility of the safety captains to present relevant safety information for each unit. Safety captains gathered information throughout the week, and used examples, tasks, tools and materials used within the unit for these talks. Weekly safety meetings became participative and interesting from the onset. Monthly meetings attended by the safety captains, the plant manager, and the district safety manager proved extremely productive. Monthly safety contests with prizes, job safety analysis completed by the employees themselves, additional OSHA sanctioned training, and a safety information centers on the workroom floor were but a few of the ideas implemented.

Oedipus Fate and Outline Paper Essay

The play Oedipus the King, translated by Robert Fagles, is a story of drama and tragedy. Oedipus’ pride and morals cause him to take fate into his own hands and it ends up blowing up in his face. He was abandoned as a baby and was raised by the king and queen of Corinth. When he reached manhood, he was informed by an oracle that he would one day kill his father and marry his mother. He left Corinth forever and along his way he came to cart carrying his real father. Out of rage, he killed everyone including his father. In Thebes, he defeated the Sphinx. His reward was kingship and the dead king’s wife, his mother. Oedipus tried to change his future but eventually fate caught up with him. Oedipus, as a king, was both caring and conceited. He talked as though everyone should know his name but at the same time worked to solve the illness that plagued his people. As an investigator, he was harsh, determined, and at times mean to the ones that he interrogated. As a husband and father, he was loving and caring, and as an arch-criminal, he was humble and accepting. His most predominant characteristic is being moral. He ran when he was told that he destined to kill his father and marry his mother. He gouged his eyes out when he found out that he was married to his mother and fathered her children. The characteristics that soften his as being moral were that he was prideful and determined. His pride and determination caused the events of his life to be brought to light and made him look unmoral. His personality causes him to continue with the investigation because he is prideful, determined, and in denial. His determination drives him to push the investigation into who killed King Laius. His pride keeps him from being the royal scapegoat when asked to be. His denial that he actually killed his father, married his mother, and fathered her children kept him investigating the death of King Laius. Eventually in the end he accepts his fate which he tried to avoid for a long time. He accepted his fate which was a humble and noble act by a king. That’s what makes his act the greatest act of kingship of all. He sacrificed himself for the betterment of his people knowing that he had done wrong and needed to be punished. In this play, Oedipus tried so very hard to control his own fate from the time he reached manhood to when it caught up to him. His fate caught up with him. Everything he didn’t want to become and tried to avoid came true in the end. It was a tragic ending for a man who tried so hard not be who ended up being. Oedipus Fate Outline Thesis: Oedipus the King tries to take fate into his own hands and it backfires. I. Discuss the character Oedipus as king, investigator, husband, father, and arch-criminal A. King is caring, investigator he is determined, as a husband and father he is loving, and as an arch-criminal he is reluctant to give up power II. What seems to be his predominant characteristic A. the King’s predominant characteristic is that he moral III. Under what circumstances does he exhibit this characteristic A. He feels for his people and tries to find a cure for them to heal their suffering IV. What additional characteristics does he have that soften this predominant characteristic A. Pride and Determination, they were the down fall of Oedipus V. How does his personality essentially force him to first begin his investigation A. He is caring and determined to find a cure for his people, which turned into an investigation into who killed King Laius VI. In what way is this final acceptance perhaps the greatest act of kingship of all, thus showing forth his arà ªte in the best light possible A.

Managing in Hospitality Organizations

IntroductionThe role of management in an organization, especially employee management, is crucial and determines the performance and success of the organization. It is thus essential to measure and address employee apprehension towards any change of scenario within the organization. This paper addresses employee management methods to bring about a change in their perception of a new scenarios as desirable and motivating. This involves bringing a strong shift from an intuitive stance of opposing change that stems for inertial comfort in the current setup.This paper is centered on the decision of a hotel owner to change the target clientele of the hotel from international tourists to the high-end market. The five star hotel ‘Walkerhill’ is located in the suburbs, quite far from the International airport and has this disadvantage over its competitors in terms of location. However this change would possibly be met with resistance from employees and managers, many of whom hav e worked for about 10 years. This paper puts forth approaches and methods to amiably change the perception of employees and managers at two levels – the group level and at an individual level. The objective is to convince them to adopt the changes in full trust and enthusiasm and make the new setup a successful and high-performance driven one.The next two sections discuss methods that can be employed at a group level. The first section concentrates on interpersonal behavior in the organization. It suggests how manager and employee groups can be amiably convinced about the necessity for change by acquiring their trust and involving them in the decision making process, while keeping the change in place.The second section emphasizes on the importance of a good team and processes that help in bringing about the change productively. The third section addresses coping up with organizational change at the individual level. It describes how the owner and management can communicate wi th the employees to reduce apprehensions and stress about the impending change and make them comfortable.The fourth and last section describes the role motivation plays in bringing about a positive change and high performance within an organization. Organizational changes if implemented as a drive to seek higher goals that require increased challenges, positive change in atmosphere and a renewed recognition of individual performance and achievement, can transform the common apprehension into an openly received change.Group level Interpersonal Behavior in the Workplace To convince the management, the owner must be able to communicate his ideas, logic and perceptions clearly. The owner might face some difficulty in bringing this change, since the managers have been around for long, and probably know their trade well as much as hold a strong affinity for their experience in the setup. However, there is an amicable possibility for this change.One of the things that the owner can do is g ain the trust of his managers. However, it cannot be a calculus-based approach to trust or an identification-based approach – it has to be brought through organizational citizenship behavior. Specifically, the owner has to make sure that each member of the management is treated fairly. For instance, with this issue he must give each and every one a chance to voice out his/her opinion regarding upgrading the hotel and explain why he or she is against it. This will let them know that even though the owner’s ideas may be in conflict with those of the management, the owner still values their knowledge and respects their position as managers.Once they all get their chance to share their thoughts, the owner should then explain his side, but without apparently competing with his managers about the better plan, as this will only create friction, in the form of substantive conflict and it will be even more difficult to convince the management to upgrade the hotel. Instead, the party should negotiate or bargain, and try to find a common ground. Since everyone has had his/her side heard under this approach, they can address the questions surrounding the issue of why upgrading to a 5-star hotel might be a bad idea, and what can be done to turn this around, to compensate for or resolve it.Lastly, the owner should try to control his emotions when explaining his side. No matter how harsh or how blunt the management may be, regarding his decisions as â€Å"unnecessary†, the owner must remain emotionally stable. The same goes for the management—if one of them suddenly starts raising his voice, he should be calmed down before proceeding with the meeting. They should also be reminded of their positions—they are managers, not owners—and should respect the owner’s authority over them. The owner himself should not push his weight around.Group Processes and Work Teams At Walkerhill, we value good teamwork, since good teams are more pr oductive.   To accomplish this, most productive teams must be assembled to maximize the value of their productivity.A highly productive team must be assembled that offers maximum productivity. There are no absolute set of rules to follow in assembling a good team, since every situation is different and no two minds think alike.   However, through case studies we will show guidelines in building a good team.A way to build a good team here is to incorporate healthy acceptance of changes required for a new setup that caters to a different clientele, that is, the shift from serving tourists to a high-end market.   We must incorporate this attitude into the leaders of the hotel, which means this kind of training must start with the managers.   We believe change of attitude is infectious, so changing a negative minded manager into one with a positive mindset towards the hotel’s changes isn’t just adding a positive mind but eliminating one negative mind and adding a p ositive mind.An example we would like to use is to convince the managers that instead of changing our clientele from tourists to the high-end market, we are adding or broadening our market to increase/diversify our target market.   This approach may also assure the employees that we are not abandoning our tourist market.   A positive manager is far more impactful than a positive employee.However, the manager of the team can’t influence the team much if the managers and the employees are not close.   The levels of bonds between the team members are called group cohesiveness.   To strengthen the level of group cohesiveness, we like to use two determinants of cohesiveness: group size and history of success.   We like to minimize the size of each team so the teams can work to their full potential.We can’t put a specific number of individuals per team because the need of minimum number of individuals is different for each department.   Of course, we would not be hesitant to add more individuals to a team if needed.   By minimizing the number of members needed to perform at a high grade, we can cut the labor cost and limit the level of social loafing because smaller groups eliminate social loafing.We also believe that competitiveness is good to have within the organization.   To promote this, we would have a chart indicating which teams had the best performance compared to ones in similar departments.   In addition, the winners would be rewarded for their hard work.   The reward system would reward monthly/annually and individuals/teams.   A 360 degrees approach would be applied to the feedback collection system in order to incorporate feedback at all levels within the organization to help it run more efficiently.Coping with Organizational Life: Stress and Careers In the hotel’s situation, we can raise the issue about the stress in terms of individual level. Usually, people do not like change. Some people feel scared when t hey face some change in their life. In the hotel’s case, the managers and employees were being asked for a big change by the owner of the hotel. As is the common psychology, the managers and employees did not like the change. They wanted to keep the same conditions in the hotel’s operation.In this situation, we can suppose that the managers and employees would have got some psychological pressures such as fear, uncertainty, overload, and heavy responsibility from the sudden request. We can also suppose that they would have suffered from a lot of stress by the pressures. We recognize that the owner should deal with the issue about the managers and employees’ psychological pressures and stress. In short, the owner should consider how he can relieve the managers and employees from the psychological pressures and stress, so for them to accept the new change without any resistance.As a key solution of the situation, we can think of the owner’s effective commun ications skills. The effective communications skills should include the following key points: a reasonable basis for the change, a positive and successful prospect from the change, and vast benefits for managers and employees.As the reasonable basis for the change, the owner can suggest a few examples such as decrease of the foreign tourists, or increase of the demand of the domestic high –end market. In the respect of the positive and successful prospect from the change, the owner can also represent several examples such as upgraded brand image of the hotel, more effectiveness in hotel’s operation, and increase of the profits.   In the respect of the benefit for managers and employees, the owner can suggest a few promises such as more improved work environment, higher valued position for the managers and employees, and wage raise.Through those effective communications skills, the owner would indicate the positive aspects for the change, and, through those positive a spects, he would gradually relieve the psychological pressures and stress existing within the managers and employees. As the result, we can expect that the mangers and employees would accept the change without any resistance.Motivating People to Work Towards a Change One consequential factor in making the employees of an organization accept a change and increase performance in the new scenario is motivation. Once the managers are open to the change, the next step is to cascade the motivation, benefits and ownership of the change down to the employees. This can be done at various levels through a combination of different approaches.The first step towards motivating employees to perform at a maximum level of creativity and be a valuable asset to an organization is to ensure that their basic needs are being met. The change should be perceived as enhancing the facilities that meet their lower and rudimentary needs, like good salary for personal needs, an environment that is physically a nd psychologically safe to work in and is conductive to social affiliation and professional bonding. Once an employee finds that these things are in place, and a change will only enhance these factors, maximized performance, desire for success and recognition of accomplishments come naturally.Another step that motivates people is the urge to fill the gap between differences of outcomes and efforts in a job and turn relationships into equitable ones where ratios of outcome/input are similar between their colleagues and co-workers. This factor can be employed to increase motivation at two levels. One is by showing that the change put the employees at par in benefits with employees of other luxury hotels, who may be enjoying more remuneration for the similar responsibilities. The second approach is to introduce transparency in the organization so that employees are aware of roles that are fulfilled responsibly and achieve a good outcome/input ratio, thus stimulating them to model it.Th e hotel should have a very transparent scenario for rewarding and growth that makes the employees aware that a good performance is visible and appreciated at the top-most organizational level. The employees feel motivated to increase effort to enhance performance and are confident of being recognized and rewarded. This also recursively adds to the atmosphere of the organization and keeps people happy, which in turn also enhances motivation and appreciation of a conductive setup.One important approach to making employees work towards a new scenario is setting new goals and making them recognize the challenges of a higher goal level. Combined with a reassurance in the possibility of attaining the feasible yet possibly difficult end, goal setting enhances performance strongly by inducing a desire to reach a goal and feel competent while realizing self-efficacy. Difficult tasks and high goal commitment together maximize performance as opposed to low commitment. To achieve this specific, high performance goals need to be defined. Goals should be difficult yet feasible. This should be combined with feedback, which facilitates in gauging goal attainment. And lastly, this should be allowed time as it takes some time to reach and sustain performance at the new level.A new scenario brings about new job responsibilities. Jobs should be designed as to increase the motivation and performance of the employees. Each role should be designed as to appear inherently appealing. Jobs can include more number of tasks at the same level of responsibility and skills (horizontal loading) or with higher levels of skills and responsibilities (vertical loading). The new role should make people feel that they are doing meaningful and valuable work.Meaningfulness of a work is impacted by skills variety, degree to which a task requires responsibility from beginning to end (task identity) and task significance , as to the impact it has on others. Responsibility for outcome of work is determi ned by autonomy the employees have in determining their own task plan, schedule, etc. Knowledge of the actual result of activities is driven by feedback. This gives the employees a measure of their growth and development. All these together result in employee motivation, performance and satisfaction.ConclusionAn organization operates successfully as a function of the employees’ motivation, committed performance, sense of ownership, growth and satisfaction. While any organization constantly changes and evolves during its life, a sharp change almost always accompanies with employee insecurity and apprehension. Thus it requires foresight, planned and calculated effort to assuage the employee mindset and make it welcome the changed scenario as positive. This requires employing various methods at group and individual levels to make the benefits of change apparent.It is important to involve the employee as a part owner of the change and be a proactive participant in the action plan for the change. This also helps the top decision-makers and owners see details that may have been overlooked in planning the strategy to meet change.The organizational modifications can be brought about successfully through adopting productive processes and forming productive teams. Good teams come with a good degree group cohesiveness and healthy competition.Changes come with employee stress and insecurity, which need to be specifically addressed by the top-level management. An organization needs to show the employee it cares, and the key to this is effective communication. Measures need to be taken to overcome individual stress.Lastly, a positive atmosphere is a predecessor of good performance. The rudimentary needs like comfort and security of employees should be enhanced so that they can concentrate on achieving success and maximizing their level of creativity. Awareness of the organizational roles and at par rival-organization roles gives employees impetus to fill the gap in t he ratio of outcome versus input. A positive variation inspires positive traversal.An organization that is transparent and rewarding inspires employees to expect reward for personal effort and makes them go that extra mile. Well defined, challenging yet achievable goals ensure high employee commitment. In addition job roles defined to increase the skills levels used, ownership of a task life and marked by impactful tasks augment the meaningfulness of the work. Autonomy in choosing the action plan for task enhances sense of responsibility. Additionally, feedback enhances measure of goal attainment thus resulting in an employee’s professional growth. All of this together contribute to the performance, satisfaction and motivation of the employees and result in low absenteeism and turnover.

Function of Public Relation

Functions of Public Relation It has been reported that Public Relations or PR is the art of managing communication between an organization and its key publics to build, manage and sustain a positive image (â€Å"†, 2006), and is an important function in the desire of any business organization or company to establish its reputation and brand image to its target market. For this reason, it is essential to determine the several functions of public relations, categorized as organizational and societal. This paper seeks to discuss the organizational and societal functions of public relation. In addition, it also seeks to explain the differences and similarities that exist between the two functions. Organizational Functions of Public Relations Organizational functions of public relations are activities that interact with or affect organizations, and these include functions, such as communications management, media, government affairs, publicity, investor relations, community relations, consumer relations, and employee relations (â€Å"†, 2006). These functions involve processes or actions that unite the different teams or functions within the business organization or company. The company can use them these functions to distribute or dissipate useful information to the employees of the company, to stakeholders and to other organizations involved in the company. The organizational functions can be used for fostering an effective and efficient workforce, to increase the productivity of the company, and to establish its reputation in the market. One of its important functions is employee relations or human resource management. Human Resource Management is concerned with all the activities that contribute to successfully attracting, developing, motivating, planning systematic approaches, and maintaining a high-performing workforce that result in organizational success (, 2002). In addition, it gives an increasing emphasis on the personal needs of the organization and its members, where the challenge is to create an organizational environment in which each employee can grow and develop to his or her fullest extent, and it aims at developing strategies for the total organization focused on clarifying an organization’s current and potential problems and developing solutions for them (, 2002). Another important function is managing customer relations or customer service. This strategy is used by business organizations or companies to learn more about the needs and behaviors of customers to develop stronger relationships with them. Managing customer relations is essential for companies for they need to value its customers based on the total value of their relationship with the company, the potential value of their relationship, the profitability of their relationship, the insights they can provide the company, and the influence that they exercise over other customers (, 2000). With proper management of customer relations, the company and its customers will be able to create a good relationship and benefit from one another. Both the employee and customer relations are functions of the organizational function of public relations because both functions are processes that involve distributing useful information. Employee relations are responsible in dissipating useful information within the company, while customer relations is responsible for giving out information regarding the company and the company’s products and services. In addition, both functions are essential in the company’s aim to sustain and maintain their operation, and with these processes, the whole organization will be able to continue to produce products or render services, both internally and externally. Societal Functions of Public Relations In contrast to the organizational function of public relations, societal functions of public relations have to do with actions that connect to the public, and these functions include marketing communications, consumer relations, public affairs, and issues management plus social responsibility (â€Å"†, 2006). These are mainly external functions, for these involve the processes that would enable the company or the business organization to relate to the public properly. Without the external or societal functions of public relations, companies will not be able to have the chance to communicate with their consumers or clients. Effective communication includes giving out information regarding the company’s products or rendered services and receiving feedbacks from the consumers. One of the important functions of public relations’ societal functions is marketing communications. It has been reported that marketing communication consists of the messages and related media used to communicate with a market (â€Å"†, 2006), and this includes disciplines such as advertising, sales promotion, marketing public relations, personal selling, direct marketing, sponsorship, and Internet communications (â€Å"†, 2006). The use of marketing communications is important because through its use, companies or business organizations will be able to effectively and efficiently distribute information to their customers, and with the use of the various promotional disciplines mentioned, companies will be able to generate ideas, use their creativity and encourage effective communication and relationship with their customers. Another important function of the societal functions of public relations is social responsibility, for this element encompasses its entire function. At present, companies relate effectively with their consumers using many forms of media. With this, they have the social responsibility of distributing and informing their customers of useful and relevant information regarding their products and services. Moreover, companies have the social responsibility of setting a good example to other companies, through being true to their words and to their actions, by using available forms and means of media and communication. With the use of effective public relations and dissipation of proper information, companies will be able to communicate effectively with their consumers, in line with their desire to establish their reputation in the market and in the industry. Both marketing communications and social responsibility are functions of public relations’ societal functions because both elements are external means of distributing information and data to the consumers of the company. Both are also responsible with the main aim of public relations, which is to build and manage information and the reputation of the company to the public. Differences and Similarities Both the organizational and societal functions of public relations are involved in conveying messages and encouraging communication of a business organization, internally and externally. Both functions serve as good means of developing communications and gathering data, and both use different forms of media for better creativity and convenience. The scope of organizational functions of public relations involves actions concerning the company, while societal functions are interested in activities regarding the society (â€Å"†, 2006). The organizational functions of public relations are involved in internal development of communication, while societal functions are involved in dissipating useful information towards consumers. From the functions discussed above, it can be deduced that it is crucial for any business organization or company to use both the organizational and societal functions of public relations. With its use, companies will be able to encourage effective communication and distribute information to their employees and to their consumers. Using these functions, companies will be able to efficiently establish its reputation to the market and to the industry, and also establish its brand image and brand identity to its consumers. Professionally speaking, public relations means the activities that management undertakes to evaluate and measure the attitudes, opinions, and sentiments of the public toward your organization. A public relations plan will be an integral part of who determines policies, processes, and procedures with regard to public interest that your organization will follow and implement. In conventional marketing public relations is employed to influence customers and their buying habits. Public relations is also part of a comprehensive marketing communications amalgam which also includes advertising, sales promotion, and direct sales. The effective use and practice of public relations theory which results in the organization being viewed in the general publics’ eyes as a responsible and ethical company that is concerned about the welfare of its customers will soon manifest itself in the organization’s bottom line. What Are The Functions of Public Relations? Community Relations. Any organization must be seen as a good community citizen and should have the goodwill of the community in which it operates. An effective community relations program will need to be continuing and comprehensive. Organizations can implement various programs to improve community relations on a regular or even ongoing basis. So, clearly, one of the major functions of public relations is to bridge the business/community gap. When organizations support activities and programs that improve quality of life in their communities their image and reputation will be enhanced. Employee Relations. Maybe the most important resource that a company has are its employees and the customer service they provide. The functions of public relations in regards to the company’s employees is the maintenance of employee goodwill. The image and reputation of a company among its employees is also another responsibility of public relations in its function of employee relations. Product Public Relations. When new products are introduced to the market the role that public relations plays is crucial for creating awareness and differentiating the product in the public’s eyes from other similar products. When existing products need a push public relations is often called on the improve product visibility. Sometimes there are changes instituted in existing products and public relations has to focus the attention of consumers on the product. If a product needs to be positioned in the market a properly executed public relations campaign, much like an effective viral marketing campaign, it can overcome buyer inertia and remove negative perceptions on the part of the public. Financial Relations. This function involves communication with the wide variety of individuals and groups that the company deals with in the course of its operations. This includes the stockholders and investors but is not limited to them. Financial analysts and potential investors have to be informed about the company’s finances. A well planned and executed financial relations campaign can increase the value of the company’s stock because of improved image and reputation. This improved image can also make it easier to gather additional capital. And if you are seeking free money for your small business, your pr will put you in a better position to be seen in a good light, by the people that write the checks. Political and Government Relations. The wide range of activities that public relations has to cover in the political arena includes influencing legislation that can be hindrances to the proper operation of the company. Public relations in politics may have to stage debates and seminars for government officials. So one of the functions of public relations can actually be to not only change the way your community works, but your state, and even your nation. Crisis Communications. When anything untoward happens like an accident in a production plant it is the job of public relations to provide honest and accurate information so that the uncertainty by the people involved directly or indirectly can be assuaged. Natural disasters, management wrongdoings, bankruptcies and product failures are crises which public relations must play a large part. We all want justice, and the truth to come out. That is why it is nice to know that one of the functions of public relations – crisi communication – makes this happen. 1. ) OBJECTIVES OF PUBLIC RELATION 1)To promote mutual understanding. 2)To persuade individuals, groups etc. 3)Help in fund raising. 4)Change the behavior and attitude of the public. 5) Influence people. 6)To win friends. 7) Avoid risk involved in misunderstanding. 8) Prepare and supply the public with information about the organization like price, quality, export, employment and other special features. 10) Provide infor mation about the activities of the company, to the press and writers. 11) Liaise, counsel and advise. 12) Improve internal staff relations. 3) Help the public to love life and work for better or for worse without conditions. 14) Undertake a public relation education programme. 15) Forestall attack by the competitors or opponents. 16) Create and maintain image and reputation of the company. 17) Promote goodwill. 18) Correct misconceptions and clarify on criticisms of its policies and practices. 19) Establish relations with the federal and state legislators, agencies. 20) Undertake a campaign of public education about an industry or profession and its contribution to the public. 1) Communicate with the employees on their benefits, accident prevention, labor relations and collective bargaining. 22) Establish press relations, publicity articles preparation, press release, photographs. 23) Undertake programmes like sales training courses for retailers, whole sellers. 23) Undertake progra mmes like sales training courses for retailers, wholesalers. 24) Sponsor dealer and distributor relations schemes. 25) Ascertain public opinion, conduct opinion research and understand public attitudes on the organization, profession and practice.

Any American Reform Movements since 1877 Term Paper

Any American Reform Movements since 1877 - Term Paper Example Progressives used wealth and intellectual arguments to garner political influence. By 1910, progressives had enough political influence to sway major legal amendments and enact their progressivist ideas into law. However, progressivism received a lot of criticism because of its impacts on government, society, and especially the economy. The following paper critically analyses the progressivism reform movement as a controversial issue in United States history. Many Americans shared a series of beliefs about the motive of government, its organization, and policies briefly following the civil war. This consensus was shaped by the principles of the founding fathers.1 However, a new orientation slowly started to replace this early one between 1877 and 1920.2 The new orientation, progressivism, became more and more widespread and extreme through its conversion into modern liberalism. The progressives did not have a definite explanation for their identity. The progressives lacked a political party and instead included a number of them. These parties supported diverse representative and workplace reforms that frequently discriminated against minorities or just demeaned them. Founders of the progressive reform movement argued that God created human beings equally and gave them absolute rights.3 As a result, all human beings had to abide by the natural law that gives all men rights and responsibilities. Latter progressives like John Dewey rejected the founders’ idea of natural law and equality stating it is naà ¯ve and unhistorical as God did not create all men free4. Gradually, Dewey and other latter progressives deduced there are no permanent criteria of rights.5 The motive of government was not as important as a man’s existence and independence for the founders of the progressive reform movement. Dewey later argued against this motive of government by stating that the government is obliged to form institutes that

Exchange Rates Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Exchange Rates - Essay Example However, the opposite happens in fixed rate regime. Furthermore, in fixed exchange rate the price of one currency is permanent comparative to all other currencies by state authority. However, in flexible or the floating exchange rate system, the value of a currency is permitted to vary in reaction to the forces in the market. Alternatively, under the fixed exchange rates, expansion of money reduces interest rates thus leading to outflows of capital. The eventual loss in coffers lowers the money supply (Jones & Lumby, 2003). On the flip side, under the flexible regime the exchange rate is depreciated by the capital outflow resulting to a stimulated output (Mukherjee, 2007). Finally, under the fixed exchange rate, positive demand increases interest rates and provokes an inflow of capital that balances the loss of the coffers through deficit of trade. In contrast, under the floating rates the inflow of capital appraises the exchange

Technical feasibility of using forest biomass for energy Term Paper - 1

Technical feasibility of using forest biomass for energy - Term Paper Example Woody feedstock can be utilized to generate power and useful heat energy. Wood pellets are considered as a renewable energy source as it has low moisture content and give a great amount of thermal energy by a controlled combustion. According to the article â€Å"Wood to Energy: Use of the Forest Biomass for Wood Pellets† (2009), the writer states â€Å"Harvesting debris  or logging residues such as tops, limbs, and roots, and forest understory are promising feedstock alternatives for wood pellets†. Forest’s raw wood and wood from the sustainably managed forests can be utilized to produce wood pellets, which can be burnt on a small or large scale to produce energy (TheBioenergySite.com 2009). In the article â€Å"Sustainable Forest Biomass: Promoting Renewable Energy and Forest Stewardship†, Caputo (2009) writes â€Å"In fact, improved markets for woody biomass have potential to reduce costs associated with hazardous fuels reduction, wildlife habitat man agement, ecosystem restoration, and other proactive stewardship activities† (Caputo 2009). Today the feedstock used for the production of pellets comes from pulpwood chips. Logging residues can be a feedstock for the wood pellets (TheBioenergySite.com 2009). Because the smaller size of a pellet, it can be burnt easily and the residue could be utilized as a fertilizer. The residue which is a charcoal is mixed with soil to increase the water holding capacity of the soil. The produced large amount of energy can be utilized generate large amount power. The main factor that is associated with the wood pallets is that the controlled combustion of the wood pellets costs less as compared to any other conversion. Wood pallets can be gasified to produce synthetic gas which can be a simple process. The wood pallets are heated at a certain temperature. The heating of the wood pallets gives wood gas that is highly combustible gas and is capable of replacing natural gas. The wood gas can be utilized to produce steam in the