Risk Management Within General Motors Company Essay Example for Free

Risk Management Within General Motors Company Essay This research looks at the General Motors Company and what led to company failure and filing of bankruptcy in 2009. The American automotive industry was poorly managed for years and was almost eliminated when the economy crashed in 2008. Without the help of the U. S. government, General Motors and Chrysler would not have been able to survive. How did GM, as the number one auto manufacturer and seller, go from being at the top to almost ceasing to exist? This kind of financial mess usually takes years of poor decisions and does not happen to a large company overnight. To come to my conclusion I analyzed four books written by people with inside knowledge of the company, as well as magazine articles and a couple of online websites. As a result of my research, I believe that the problems that GM faced stemmed from poor risk management. Rick Wagonner, former CEO, made several poor business decisions that did not take into account any future risks or market changes. A new management team and a fresh perspective were able to turn the company around and put them back at the top of the automotive industry. Risk Management within the General Motors Company General Motors has been in business since 1908 and currently employs 202,000 people in 157 countries world-wide. It is a well-known fact that GM took government bailout money and filed bankruptcy in 2009. How did one of the largest companies in the world fall to needing financial assistance and declaring bankruptcy? One of the largest issues within the company was the lack of risk management practiced by leadership. How did the company then bounce back from declaring bankruptcy to being the auto manufacturer who sold the most cars world-wide in 2011 (Rosevear, 2012)? It is quite a project to overhaul a company, and the end result was more than likely helped by good project management. There were several smaller projects involved in the large project of overhauling the company, including marketing projects, new car model development, forming risk management plans and paying back the government loans to name a few. Problems within the Company The issues that caused GM to lose their money did not happen overnight; years of poor business decisions led them to where the company stood in 2008. Several executives were very short-sighted in their decision making; they failed to set long-range goals and objectives which are important for successful strategic project management. In 1970, GM and the United Auto Workers (UAW) entered a new contract after a sixty seven day strike over wages. The most notable change with the new contract is that it allowed employees to retire after thirty years with the company with a full pension after the age of 57. At the time their full pension was $500 a month, but with inflation and wage increases, this number was much higher more than three decades later. They believed that early retirements would create new jobs for young people entering the workforce. Another strike occurred in 1973. This one resulted in a contract change that employees had the right to retire at any age with full benefits after thirty years working with the company ( Ingrassia, 2010). Men and women were now able to take full retirement at as early as the age of 48. Union members who decided to retire early would also receive extra pension pay until they were able to draw from Social Security. By 2003, GM had over 460,000 retirees and spouses, which outnumbered current employees almost three to one. All of these were collecting pension and healthcare, and the UAW members were still just as well off. The 1970s was the decade that undid GM; it set the stage for the financial hardships that the company would face with the downturn of the economy in future decades (Lutz, 2011). Another large money eater for the Detroit automotive companies was the union job banks, which were created as part of the 1984 labor contract. The goal for the program was to be a temporary option for laid off workers so that they could be retained for new positions when they opened; it was a sense of job security. Naturally, employees first went on unemployment when being laid-off. The UAW contract then required GM to give additional payments that would guarantee an employee 95% of their prior wages for forty eight weeks. Once this time period was over, an employee would enter a job bank. Here they would stay, while being paid, until their old plant reopened or a job became available at a factory within a fifty mile radius. Because nearby positions rarely opened, people would remain in the job banks for years. The requirements for staying in the job bank included volunteer work for company approved rganizations and programs. Or, employees could punch in at their empty building and pass the time by watching television, reading the newspaper, sitting on a computer, or playing Scrabble. The only stipulations were that they had to punch out to use the bathroom or go on their lunch break, and they could not sleep or play cards. Eventually, this program was costing GM an estimated $1 billion a year to compensate their employees who were not even working (Vlasic, 2011). In 2000, Rick Wagoner was promoted to the position of CEO of GM. He immediately instituted several changes throughout the company. He flew to Italy in March of that year to negotiate with Fiat because GM needed their diesel engine technology for their GM Europe divisions. GM obtained 20% of Fiat Automobile by paying Fiat $2. 5 Billion in GM stock (Ingrassia, 2010). In December of the same year, Wagoner announced that GM would be closing their 103 year old Oldsmobile division. This was a wise move since Oldsmobile sales had fallen almost 75% in the fifteen years leading up to this point. Wagoner hired John Devine, the former financial officer of Ford, to be GM’s new CFO, and in August of 2001 he hired Bob Lutz, who had redesigned Chrysler’s product line in the 1990s. To help the economy and sales after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Wagoner offered interest-free financing on every GM vehicle. Naturally, people flocked to the dealership showrooms to take advantage of this deal. Because of this, GM’s factories remained open, and money flowed to parts suppliers, dealerships, and ad agencies. Wagoner received praise from media throughout the country. However, an internal audit in mid-2001 showed that the company was not in as good of shape as the general public was led to believe. The analysis decided that GM had too many brands, too many dealers, too many factories, and too many workers. The report recommended that GM make cutbacks while times were good, but when this was presented to Wagoner he made a poor business decision and ignored the findings. In 2004, National Geographic magazine wrote an article titled â€Å"The End of Cheap Oil. † When Wagoner saw this, he once again ignored the facts. He was under the assumption that profits from SUVs and pickup trucks would continue to be strong- they probably would have if gas had stayed under $2 a gallon like it was in 2003 and 2004. Wagoner made several poor business decisions during his tenure as CEO of GM which led to the company needing help from the outside. In 2005, Jerry York was hired to analyze what was going wrong with the General Motors Company. He gave several ideas to get GM out of the financial crisis that they were in. At the time, GM still had enough cash to turn around the company. York suggested that the company well off Saab and Hummer. He also recommended cutting GM’s annual dividend in half to one dollar a share instead of two (Lutz, 2011). GM also could have cut the pay of their board members, senior executives, and mangers, and could have worked with the UAW to cut the healthcare costs that GM was paying to workers. On January 26, 2006, the board of directors heeded Yorks warnings and cut the dividends in half, cut executive pay, and eliminated several upper level bonuses. They also elected York onto the board. Another gentleman, Steve Girsky, did a six month analysis of the company in 2006. He estimated that out of the 107 vehicles in GM’s lineup that were produced in North America, 71 of them were unprofitable (Vlasic, 2011). Girsky suggested that GM spend their money on fewer but better products, cut production capacity and employees, be accountable for their goals, and acknowledge that GM was in serious trouble. This last suggestion would not be heeded for a couple more years. GM executives were not ready to admit that they were in over their heads. Heading into 2008, GM as a company was optimistic about the upcoming year. Many new vehicles were being produced or were being considered, and the new Chevy Malibu was named North American Car of the Year, GM’s second in a row since the Saturn Aura won in 2007 (Lutz, 2011). The company had quite a bit of debt, but this did not worry the executives. The first quarter of 2008 brought the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, followed by the financial crisis, failures from banks, and many home foreclosures. These episodes took hundreds of billions of dollars out of the U. S. economy instantly. By July, GM was making layoffs, suspending its dividends, and eliminating health benefits for retired managers and executives over the age of sixty five. In the second quarter of 2008, GM reported $15. 5 billion in losses ($181,000 a minute). With the bankruptcy of the Lehman Brothers Holding Firm came a standstill in automotive sales. Lehman Brothers was the fourth largest investment bank in the U. S. at the time, and when the financial giant declared bankruptcy, the public began to fear for their own finances and worry about the financial situation of the whole country. This is also when banks began to implement more strict policies about who they loaned money to and on what terms. The public was afraid to buy cars, and bankers were afraid to give loans. GM approached Ford asking for a merger, but Ford was not interested; they were the only automaker in Detroit that was still treading water. GM then approached Chrysler about a merger, but the deal never took place. By November, just after the presidential election, General Motors and Chrysler both admitted that they would run out of money by the end of the year (Ingrassia, 2010). A business tradition that hurt the company for years was that GM had cars in the U. S and Europe that looked alike on the outside, but shared nothing on the inside- causing high production costs. Several foreign companies such as Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen, and Audis all have only one headquarters, as well as one engineering and design staff; their vehicles are the same across the world no matter where they are purchased. GM expanded overseas before WWII and through the years acquired the auto companies of Vauxhall in the UK, Opel, and Holden in Australia. Having these manufacturing facilities made it possible for GM to product cars in several different countries. For a long time, this factor was an advantage to GM; brands stayed close to their target markets and the cards that Europe demanded were very different from the cars that American desired (Lutz, 2011). Beginning in the 1980’s, several other car brands were quickly being recognized throughout the world. Federal fuel economy regulations came into the picture, which caused the size of U. S. cars to decrease and they began to look like cars throughout the rest of the world. By this point in time, it easily cost $700 million to engineer a new car design; GM found it hard to create a lineup of competitive vehicles within a reasonable amount of money. The company also lacked innovation in their products. The company was moving quickly, but the competition was far ahead of GM in terms of innovation, especially in the area of fuel economy. The General Motors Company had several poor project management habits in place. When Jerry York joined the board of directors, he was firm with Wagoner. He believed that the CEO worked for the board, and the board represented the shareholders, who owned the company. He too believed that GM was a poorly managed company (Vlasic, 2011). The top management was only concerned about making money, and the board of directors was too afraid of failure. There seemed to be very little (or no) risk management; all of the predictions that Rick Wagoner and the company made about future customer demand were based on the assumption that gas prices would stay at one dollar a gallon indefinitely (Vlasic, 2011). The executives and board of directors were also afraid of aggravating the UAW, which led to billions of dollars of wasted money, overpaying workers and paying for employees who were not even working. GM at one time was the largest company in America; they did not know how to effectively minimize their costs when the economy took a nosedive, nor did they conserve resources for the chance that anything bad would happen to the American economy. Responses to Company Problems The first task on the agenda was finding money to keep the company running. The auto industry needed to ask Congress for money, but it was a tricky time because the country was just about to shift presidents. Neither president (Bush or Obama) wanted to deal with the car companies on their tenure. The Big Three combined were asking for $25 billion of government loans. The CEOs flew into D. C. on their private company jets and then proceeded to be humiliated by the politicians. Eventually, GM and Chrysler were given $14 billion in emergency loans. In order for the companies to receive this money, they have to cut their debt by two-thirds by convincing bondholders to take a stock-for-debt swap. The UAW would have to take stock in GM and Chrysler instead of cash for half that the auto companies owed the VEBA (Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association) trusts, and the union would also have to immediately level their wages with those of the Japanese automotive plants that were in America- including their benefits. This last requirement was the breaking point for the UAW; they refused and argued that the UAW had already given enough to the auto companies in the last few years. Instead, within days President Bush gave $17. 4 billion from the $700 bank rescue package to keep the companies running for three months (Ingrassia, 2010). Bush’s requirement was that the companies needed to submit â€Å"viability plans† on February 17th, which would describe what the companies planned to do to return to being profitable. When President Obama took the office, he created the Automotive Task Force to investigate the American automotive industry and to suggest changes to be made. The task force decided that GM was a company that knew how to build great cars but did not have the necessary ability to market them. In early 2009, plans were drawn up to eliminate Saturn, Pontiac, Hummer, and Saab from GM’s lineup, for a future emphasis on Chevrolet and Cadillac). In April of 2009, GM made the announcement that they would exchange $27 billion of unsecured debt for GM stock. This was how they chose to try to drop the 90% of their debt that the Automotive Task Force was requiring, in hopes to avoid bankruptcy. This did not go as planned, as GM stock was at a low price and did not appeal to their investors. Because of this, the last option was for the government to buy the remaining stock. The government gave $30 million and now owned 60% of GM’s stock (Ingrassia, 2010).

Coronary Heart Disease Essay Example for Free

Coronary Heart Disease Essay Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in the United States. There are many types of heart diseases that fall into this title. Two of the most popular forms of cardiovascular diseases are heart attack and stroke. The increasing amount of exposure of known risk factors for these diseases to young adults is why I feel it is necessary to promote what it takes to lead a heart healthy lifestyle in order to avoid becoming another statistic. I feel as though I did not choose this topic as much as it chose me, as 2 years ago my Father was hospitalized and underwent a Quadruple Heart By-pass surgery in order to remove the blood clots in his 4 main arteries. Knowing that this disease is partly hereditary I feel as though it is important to educate myself and others with early intervention steps that could keep you from being affected by any heart diseases. In my research I plan to introduce how heart diseases are caused and also the best prevention techniques to ensure that the number of people affected by Coronary Heart Diseases, specifically Heart Attacks, is falling each year instead of climbing. In my research I came across an article provided by the ProQuest Research Library entitled â€Å"Coronary Heart Disease: Primary and Secondary Prevention†. This article is a published study done by The College of Pharmacy and Drug Topics of the University of Florida and discusses the many â€Å"do’s† and â€Å"don’ts† in order to lead a heart healthy life. The focus of this article is to prevent your body to become a future hot spot for a heart disease. The article counters these risk factors with ways to prevent the â€Å"modifiable factors† from occurring. The article states that risk factors are classified as modifiable or non-modifiable. â€Å"Non-modifiable risk factors include age, family history, and gender. Modifiable risk factors include smoking, diet, obesity, physical inactivity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and metabolic syndrome† (Brenner, Michael, and Allison Butcher). Most of these factors are obvious but some may be less known. Hypertension is the occurrence of high-blood pressure in your body, while dyslipidemia is the occurrence of high cholesterol. Diabetes mellitus can increase the risk of developing a heart disease by 2 to 4 times as likely. A second article I found through ProQuest was the scholarly journal provided by The New England Journal of Medicine titles â€Å"Cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention of coronary heart disease†. This article provides a more detailed look into some prevention techniques used in order to stay healthy in both the physical sense, but in the long term heart health. An idea that this article brought the table was the â€Å"Prescription of Exercise†. â€Å"Preliminary data suggest that a regimen of low-intensity, prolonged, daily exercise, called â€Å"high-caloric training† because it maximizes the expenditure of calories, results in greater fat loss and greater modification of risk factors than does a regimen of more intense but briefer exercise sessions.† (Ades, Philip A) As mentioned in the statement, maximizing the length of time that you are exercising maximizes the fat/calories being burned in your work-out. This in the long run brings my researc h back to the facts stated in my first source, which states that improving the modifiable factors like obesity and physical inactivity can greatly reduce your risk if developing a heart disease. A third article that I found through the ProQuest Research Library was a scholarly journal published by the British Medical Journal entitled â€Å"Triggering a heart attack†. This article allowed me to shine a different light on my research as it discusses momentary impacts on your heart. This article was done in response to numerous news headlines that involved fatalities due to unexpected heart attacks and strokes during a physically and/or emotionally strenuous activity. This study focused on activities like jogging, shoveling snow, and swimming that have been commonly lead to cardiac death due to vigorous physical effort. This idea relates very similarly to that of the â€Å"Prescription of Exercise† idea stated in my other source. The relation between the two stems from the idea of the less beneficial short and strenuous activities and exercise in correlation to the recommended longer low-intensity activities and exercise. This article is proving that not only are the more strenuous and shorter periods of activity less beneficial, but they can also become fatal when asking the body to do too much. Coronary Heart Disease is the leading cause of death in The United States which is why I believe that it is crucial to educate others about the many risks that factor into such a group of fatal diseases in the heart. Thru ought my research I learned that it is often the less suspecting individual that can become a victim of a Coronary Heart Disease simply because he/she did not know what steps to take to lead a heart healthy lifestyle. In order to stop the constantly rising number of fatalities caused by heart disease, we must first become educated on how to prevent them from occurring in the first place. Works Cited Ades, Philip A. Cardiac Rehabilitation and Secondary Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease. The New England journal of medicine 345.12 (2001): 892-902. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. Brenner, Michael, and Allison Butcher. Coronary Heart Disease: Primary and Secondary Prevention. Drug Topics 153.12 (2009): 50-9. ABI/INFORM Complete; ProQuest Research Library. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. Know Your Facts. York Weekly Record: 14. Jun 13 2006. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 23 Oct. 2012 Petch, M. C. Triggering a Heart Attack. British medical journal 312.7029 (1996): 459-. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. Study: Treatment Reduces Risk of Heart Attack by 70 Percent. FDA consumer 2002: 7-. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 23 Oct. 2012 .

Workers Motivation

Workers Motivation Since this day many theories have been developed trying to identify what lies behind the motivation of workers. What is it that pushes workers to improve their performance, increase their effort and ultimately feel part of an organisation? Motivation is a conscious decision to perform one or more activities with greater effort than other competing activities (Roberts and Corbett, 2009, Understanding Organisational Behaviour IB1230 p.240). It could be interpreted that motivation being a conscious decision cannot be forced, but only be triggered by managers using certain methods. However, even today many managers refuse to give up Taylorism and the use of the scientific management. As a result the idea of the rational economic man still exists and managers still treat the workers as cogs in a machine presumed that they are motivated only by pay. This essay will argue that today job has come to be a way to make a living, and pay is just the mean for a better living but not what motivate s people to work (Gostick and Elton). Pay itself does not motivate people to improve their performance or increase their effort. What people desire beyond their material well-being, that pay can offer, is self-fulfilment and a sense of belonging. To begin with, the effectiveness of the scientific management has been challenged many times but the first blow was the Hawthorne Studies conducted by Elton Mayo in the 1920s. Until then workers had mostly no saying on the decision-making or work process, and based on McGregors Theory X, were seen as genetically lazy, with no real ambitions. With his experiment Mayo wanted to show the relation of productivity and the poor working conditions and how this could be controlled by alternating some factors of the working environment. However, productivity was increasing whatever the working conditions, leading to the conclusion that workers wanted to perform better in return of the interest that the managers had shown to them. The results of this study challenged the established conception of the rational economic man and brought the era of the social man and McGregors Theory Y. Workers are still human beings when they enter the factory door with feelings and ambitions, in search of self-a ctualisation. So this leads to the conclusion that motivation is affected by social factors as well, and sometimes workers place more importance to these than pay itself. Self-actualisation needs were what Maslow considered to be the highest level in his Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow supported the view that people must firstly satisfy each before they can move on to the higher-order needs. It is believed that self-actualisation is what continuously motivate workers as it is never fulfilled but always pursued. However, what managers must understand is that once they offered to workers the taste of self-achievement and freedom it is difficult to then remove them.   Also self-actualisation is not only achieved through work and individuals progress in this pyramid. It is achieved at different times by individuals and using different methods by their managers (Fincham and Rhodes). FIGURE 1.1-Source: Lecture Notes Herzberg further developed this idea in his Two Factor Theory where he presented job satisfaction to be a result of the motivators and job dissatisfaction as a result of the hygiene factors. Therefore it was assumed that different factors let to either job satisfaction or dissatisfaction.   Ã‚   Motivators Hygiene Factors Achievement Company Policy Work itself Supervision Responsibility Work conditions Advancement Pay FIGURE 1.2-Source: Lecture Notes It can be argued that there are similarities with Maslows Hierarchy of Needs as motivators satisfy the top needs of the pyramid whereas hygiene factors fulfil the basic human needs. Pay here is assumed to be a factor that leads to job dissatisfaction when is not met and thus included in the hygiene factors. It is broadly believed that workers with a satisfied pay will not necessarily be encouraged to perform better but only manage not to be dissatisfied. On the other hand, if the work itself is challenging and there is a potential of recognition, this is more likely to keep workers motivated and devoted to the organisation. That is why Herzberg talks about job enrichment, a means to encourage motivation by building greater responsibility and variety into a job (Roberts and Corbett, 2009, Understanding Organisational Behaviour IB1230 p.248). After all, as he argued, the very nature of motivators, as opposed to hygiene factors, is that they have a much longer-term effect on employees a ttitudes (Herzberg, 2003, One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees? p. 70). Therefore it can be assumed that pay is just a short-term solution to the motivation problem since when they reach a satisfies economic position then they will turn their attention to the social factors. However, Herzbergs Theory did not come about without criticisms that compromise its effectiveness in motivating the workers. It is argued that his research was not objective as it only included accountants and engineers, occupations that were considered to be profitable. In addition, as it is clearly illustrated by Heiders Attribution Theory people tend to attach successes to internal factors and externalise any failures. As a result the interviewees blamed the managers for feeling dissatisfied from their job and on the other hand, recognised themselves as the main factor leading to job satisfaction. Another strong criticism involves the fact that the workers may not have been honest of what really motivates them, offering therefore a reason why pay is included as a hygiene factor (Fincham and Rhodes). It was argued that this behaviour may exist because workers want to be socially accepted and thus portrait themselves to be motivated by a more noble factor than pay (Rynes, Gerhart an d Minette). Recent studies still draw the same conclusions as the one carried out by Herzberg more than 50 years ago. Workers are more likely to contribute to the work process if they feel comfortable in the work environment, close to their managers and have a sense of achievement. Once more, pay did not play a major role in motivating people since the pursue of self-actualisation remains the major concern of workers and their ultimate goal (Bassett-Jones and Lloyd). Moreover, pay has a major role in Adams Equity Theory where workers are presented to be motivated by pay   in relative terms rather than in absolute. Money can be measured and thus it allows comparisons to be made leading to the importance of equity and fairness as a factor of motivation. Therefore it is argued that workers are more likely to improve their performance if they consider their pay to be fair relative to the effort they had put and the effort of the others. This idea is supported by the experiment held out by Adams where the students who they receive higher pay relative to their efforts were motivated to work harder in order to restore equity in the exchange (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, Principles of Organisational Behaviour p.203). However, there is the risk that conflict maybe arise because workers and managers have different perceptions of what the effort the workers must be and the pay that is considered to be fair for that effort.      Beyond the theories the managers can put in practice, they must firstly realise that the workers are individuals with different needs, values, experiences, that have an impact on what finally motivates them. As said before, people are on different levels on the Hierarchy of Needs pyramid and place different value on different hygiene factors and motivators (see figures 1.1 and 1.2). In order for this obstacle to be overcome the managers must concentrate on the individuals who work in the organisation. What drives the motivation of the each worker may change, because of different circumstances. Known the worker on a personal level gives the advantage to change the behaviour towards them. It is true that with the current crisis and the growing fear of the unemployment many workers do not have the feeling of security in their job. Thus this is their motivation for the specific time and what the managers must try to restore. However it could be argued that in this decision-making process the workers must have the chance to be heard and a compromise decision to be reached in order for any organisation to have a brighter future. On the other hand, inter-group conflict may be aroused because of managers expectations concerning certain groups. What managers expect of subordinates and the way they treat them largely determine their performance and career progress (Livingston J.S, 2003, Pygmalion in Management p.176). Therefore if a manager expects a group to perform baldy and not be able to reach a certain target, this demotivates the individuals of the group and their performance is declined as expected. However, this may not always be the case since the individuals desire to prove the manager wrong may drive them to improve their performance and thus raise the expectations which the manager previously had. It could be argued that the conflict is sometimes desirable as it changes the behaviour of the workers to the best which it is in line with the interactionist approach. In this example pay did not play the major part in motivating workers even though it could be claimed that the individuals improve their pe rformance in order to receive a better reward. However Herzbergs followers would argue that what really motivated the group was the job that became more challenging and gave the opportunity of self-achievement and recognition. Of course, the behaviour of the workers is affected by the organisations structure and culture. According to Maslow workers pursue their self-actualisation through work and therefore it could be argued that the organisational performance will depend ultimately on the extent to which individuals are provided with the opportunity to satisfy their own goals by contributing to the goals of the organisation (Mullins J., 2008, Essentials of Organisational Behaviour p.355). People are more likely to be motivated and feel part of an organisation when they share the same values, beliefs and attitudes. Therefore the organisation policy may focus on the pay as a measure to reward better performance and to the individual needs of the workers. It is true that some workers will be motivated through this but for the wrong reasons. The organisations structure encourages them to behave unethical in order to gain a raise in their pay or a promotion (Luecke, 2006). Indeed the ideas that people work for money and that more money rewards mean better performance are only just myths. As argued before, people look for something deeper in doing their work and managers who ignore that and continue to bribe their employees   in fact they pay the price in a lack of loyalty and commitment(Pfeffer J., 2003, Six dangerous myths about pay p.99). Of course the policy of the organisation and its structure depends on which country it operates as there are different perceptions of what motivates people. This is evident from a survey in 2000 where among eight countries   U.K valued good pay the highest. However, this is a result of the different methods used in these countries from which British companies may learn in order to rely less on pay to motivate their workers. In conclusion, pay does motivate people but this will not last in the long-run. Money is the means for a better life but is mostly seen as a condition to work rather than related to particular effort (Handy C., 1993, Understanding organisations p.52). Once the workers achieve their material well-being they will try to satisfy their desire for self-fulfilment. As a result pay does motivate to some extent and mostly at the beginning of someones career but then he/she will pursue recognition, achievement and finally self-actualisation. Therefore managers must strive to learn their workers on a personal level, consider their worries and needs in order to discover what ultimately motivates them to give their best effort. The Tandem Computer took this step, and moved away from offering money for better performance to being more concerned of keeping their workers satisfying through the work itself. Therefore it would not even tell you your salary before expecting you to accept the work (Pfe ffer J., 2003, Six dangerous myths about pay p.93). More organisations must take this difficult step in order to depend less on money and offer their workers greater opportunities for personal growth. Bibliography Roberts, Ashley and Corbett, Martin,2009. Understanding Organisational Behaviour IB1230 Warwick Business School: McGraw-Hill Custom Publishing Fincham, Robin and Rhodes, Peter,2005. Principles of Organisational Behaviour Fourth Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press Mullins Laurie J.,2008. Essentials of Organisational Behaviour Second Edition. Harlow: England; New York: Financial Times/Prentice Hall Timpe Dale. A, 1986. Motivation of Personnel. Aldershot: Gower Publishing Company Limited Gostick Adrian And Elton Chester, 2009. The Carrot Principle. London: Simon Schuster UK Ltd Handy Charles, 1993. Understanding Organisations Fourth Edition.   London: England; Penguin Group Grey Chris, 2009. A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book About Studying Organizations Second Edition London: SAGE Publications Ltd Herzberg Frederick, Mausner Bernard, Snyderman Barbara Bloch, 1993. The motivation to Work Second revised Edition. New Brunswick: New Jersey; Transaction Publishers Latham Gary P., 2007. Work Motivation: History, Theory, Research, and Practice. Thousand Oaks: California; Sage Publications, Inc. USB!!!!!!!!!!! LECTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Manville Brook and Ober Josiah, 2003. Beyond Empowerment: Building a Company of Citizens Harvard Business Review, 81(1), pp. 48-53 Fryer Bronwyn, 2003. Moving Mountains Harvard Business Review, 81(1), pp. 41-47 Herzberg Frederick, 2003. One More Time: How to you motivate Employees? Harvard Business Review, 81(1), pp.86-86 Luecke Richard, 2006. Harvard Business Essential: Performance Management. Boston: Massachusetts; Harvard Business School Press Kerr Steve, 2003. The Best-Laid Incentive Plans Harvard Business Review, 81(1), pp.27-37 Nicholson Nigel, 2003. How to motivate your problem employees Harvard Business Review, 81(1) pp.57-65 Livingston Sterling. J, 2003. Pygmalion in Management Harvard Business Review, 81(1) pp.97-106 Levinson Harry, 2003. Management by whose objectives? Harvard Business Review, 81(1) pp.107-116 McClelland David C., Burnham David H., 2003. Power is the great motivator Harvard Business Review, 81(1) pp.117-126 Goleman Daniel, 2000. Leadership that gets results Harvard Business Review, 78(2) pp.78-90 Manzoni Jean-Franà §ois, Barsoux Jean-Louis, 1998. The Set-Up-To-Fail Syndrome Harvard Business Review, 76(2) pp.101-113 Pfeffer Jefferey, 1998. Six Dangerous Myths About Pay Harvard Business Review 76(3) pp.109-119 Goffee Rob, Jones Gareth, 1996. What holds the modern Company together? Harvard Business Review, 74(6) pp.133-148

Grade Retention Essay example -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Grade retention, better known as â€Å"staying back†, â€Å"being held back† or â€Å"repeating†, has been the topic of much debate within the educational system. The controversy which surrounds this long-standing issue has been reinforced by such topics as the recent endorsement of academic standards. Research indicates that â€Å"the rate of retention has increased by approximately 40% in the last 20 years with as many as 15% of all American students held back each year and 30-50% held back at least once before ninth grade† (Dawson, 1998). These discouraging statistics pose copious problems within a school system. The difficulties can be appreciated at the organizational level, as well as inside the classroom and, most troubling, within the individual students. The consequences, both positive and negative, reverberate throughout the school system. Grades retention is an issue which requires a prodigious amount of examination and shou ld be considered carefully and thoroughly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Formally, grade retention is defined as the practice of requiring a student who has been in a given grade level for a full school year to return at that level for a subsequent year (Jackson, 1975). Unofficially, the practice is employed as a tool to enhance the academic or developmental growth for students who are unable to meet the curriculum requirements due to a variety of reasons. These reasons can include decreased cognitive functioning, physical immaturity, social-emotional difficulties and failure to pass standardized assessments. A child may be considered for retention if he has poor academic skills, is small in stature, is the youngest in the class, has moved frequently, has been absent repeatedly, does poorly on prescreening assessments or has limited English-language skills (Robertson, 1997). Additionally, the typical profile of a retained child is more likely to reveal an elementary school-aged student who is a black or Hispanic male with a late birthd ay, developmental delay, attentional problems, low socioeconomic status, single-parent household with a parent who either does not or cannot intervene on behalf of the child (Robertson, 1997; Mattison, 2000). Also seen in retained children are the predictive health factors of hearing and speech impairments, low birth weight, enuresis and exposure to cigarette smoke within the home (Byrd... ...ommended, what should parents do? ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education. Champaign, IL. Parker, Dennis R. (2001). Social promotion or retention? Leadership, 30 (4),12-16. Jackson, G. (1975). The research evidence on the effects of grade retention. Review of Educational Research, 45, 613-635. Holmes, C. T. (1989). Synthesis of recent research on nonpromotion: A five-year follow-up. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American education research Association, San Francisco, CA. Natale, J. A. (1991). Rethinking grade retention. Educational Digest, 56 (9), 30-34. Slavin, Robert E., Karweit, N., & Wasik, B. Preventing early school failure: What works? Educational Leadership, 50 (4). Darling-Hammond, Linda. (1998). Avoiding both grade retention and social promotion. The School Administrator, 48-53. Byrd, Robert S., & Weitzman, Michael L. (1994). Predictors of early grade retention among children in the United States. Pediatrics, 93 (3), 481-488. Mattison, Richard E. (2000). School Consultation: A review of research on issues unique to the school environment. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolscent Psychiatry,

Langston Hughes Essay -- essays research papers

Few poets in the twentieth century, and perhaps even in any century, can be compared to Langston Hughes. Hughes wrote with his heart and soul, creating poems that everyone could understand. He expressed love for all races, colors, and religions and did not judge anybody until he had reason to judge them. He wrote to entertain, to inspire, to teach, and to make a point. His way with words made him the most popular and prolific black writer of the twentieth century (Offinoski, 32). Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri on February 1, 1902. He was born into a black family of abolitionists and his parents were both bookkeepers. When Hughes was young his parents separated, causing his father to move to Mexico and his mother to leave him for quite a while in search of a steady job. Hughes could never call a place ?home? for too long because he was always moving from one place to another or living with different family members and friends. This constant movement affected his writing because he learned about many different people and life styles from the places he lived. Hughes started writing poetry in high school, but the major turning point in his poetic career was when he was working as a bus boy in Washington, D.C. A very famous critic, Vachel Lindsay, was at the place that Hughes worked. Hughes had always admired him and looked up to him, but he was too timid to confront him. Instead, he ran up to Lindsay, gave him a few poems that he had written, and ran away without saying anything. The next day Hughes was bombarded by reporters because Lindsay had published his poems in the paper. Since Lindsay had not known his name, he had received the name ?bus boy poet? in the paper. That was the jump start of Hughes?s career. In 1919 and... ...te101.com/article.cfm/modern_us_poetry_97582>. Haskins, James S.. Always Movin' On. London: Franklin Watts, 1976. "Langston Hughes." America's Story from America's Library. 19 December 2008 . "Langston Hughes (1902-1967)." Books and Writers. 2003. 2 January 2008 . Modern American Literature G-O. Curley, Dorothy Nyren, Maurice Kramer, and Elaine Fialka Kramer. Vol. 2. New York: Frederick Unger Publishing Co. Inc., 1969. Otfinski, Steven. Great Black Writers. New York: Facts on File Inc., 1994. Page, James A.. Selected Black American Authors. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1970. Warlick, David. "MLA Web Document." Son of Citation Machine. April 2006. Landmark Project. 2 Jan 2008 .

Fuel of the Future Essay -- Energy Oil Crisis Shortage Essays Papers

Fuel of the Future It is obvious that this country has a knack for vast and rapid consumption of oil. Increases in greenhouse gas emissions, global warming threats and surging gas prices are just some of the warning signs. In the last two decades, this country has made great bounds in new, energy efficient technologies that have played a major role in the United States’ energy conservation efforts. â€Å"It’s not about turning off the lights or unplugging the refrigerator. It is a story about better technology. Industry and economics, not virtue or government control, are the driving forces† (Brown, 2007). New technologies in everything from simple household appliances to transportation methods have had a major impact in reducing this country’s rate of energy consumption, and more importantly its need for foreign oil. â€Å"The most important exception to this trend is in transportation. While fuel mileage in cars continues to improve, the fuel efficiency of U. S. automobiles has actually declined since the mid-1990’s. That’s because many drivers have switched from ordinary cars, to light trucks or so-called sport utility vehicles† (Brown, 2007). Vehicles and public transportation methods account for a critical portion of our nations energy tab. One way scientists have countered this problem is the development of alternative fuels, specifically the use of Hydrogen Fuel Cells. Advancements in the research and development of this alternative fuel have proven to be a vital solution to this nation’s increasingly prevalent energy crisis. â€Å"The world’s demand for energy is projected to double by 2050 in response to population growth and the industrialization of developing countries† (Crabtree, 2004). Through its react... ...uwyo.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=27077584&site=ehost-live 3) Crabtree, G, Dresselhaus, M, & Buchanan, M (2004, December). The Hydrogen Economy. Physics Today, 57(12), Retrieved March 16, 2008, from http://search.ebhost.com.proxy.uwlib.uwyo.ed/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=15210897&site=ehost-live. 4) Hutchinson, H (2007, December). Going for Distance. Mechanical Engineering, Retrieved March 16, 2008, from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.uwlib.uwyo.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=27761367&site=ehost-live 5) Leal, D, Velez, A, Prelas, M, Gosh, T, & Leal-Quiros, E (2006). Hydrogen Storage in Diamond Powder Utilizing Plasma NaF Surface Treatment for Fuel Cell Applications. AIP Conference Proceedings, 875(1), Retrieved March 16, 2008, from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.uwlib.uwyo.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=23421089&site=ehost-live.

Man Wildlife Conflicts

The problem of Man – Elephant conflict is more severe in the districts of Hassan and Madikeri where large herds of elephants can be seen roaming and marauding the farms especially in or near the forest areas damaging the valuable agricultural crops. At times there have been loss of human lives which only accentuates the problem taking this conflict to an entirely new level. Naturally people can tolerate the loss of agricultural crops but not the loss of their family members.But then who is responsible for all this? It is we who have intruded into their territory, converting the forests into agricultural farms, growing crops and inviting the elephants to our doorsteps to come and have their stomach fill. Its we who have fragmented their habitat by making roads, dams and canals. We have honeycombed their habitat by our so called developmental activities eating into their homelands and this appetite of ours for their areas is only increasing day by day with the bulging human popu lation.The elephants in these areas seem to have a very peculiar habit. First they have their stomach fill. After that they roam around in search of arrack which is usually being distilled in local bhatties. The arrack or the distil waste gives them a nice kick and these drunken elephants are responsible for the loss of human lives. The tools employed by the forest department like bursting of crackers, gunshots or fire torches are too primitive to stop or scare away the marauding pack of drunken elephants.The Man-Leopard conflict is more visible in the transition zone between dry plain lands and the green hilly areas. In the Chikmagalur district it is more a problem in the dry taluqa of Kadur particularly bordering villages of Kadur and Chikmagalur taluqa where the dry tract ends. Kadur is the place which earned a bad name for it about 10 years back. It was here where large number of panthers had to be shot and killed by employing and bringing so called sharp shooters from all over the state in search of an illusive so called man-eater panther.The end result of all this hunting spree was that every day and night several panthers were shot and brought to the post mortem table, post mortem was carried out and the killed panther was declared innocent as no human remains could be detected inside till finally some human hair remnants were detected in one and then only this shooting spree came to a halt. It is debatable whether it was really required to kill such a large number of panthers which is an endangered species but perhaps the department had no means to identify the rrant panther and hence large number of panthers had to be killed in search of that illusive wayward one. Moreover at times one is driven by the urge to be seen as trying his best. Probably this urge opened the floodgates and gradually people took the law into their own hands thinking that why to wait for the forest department when they can themselves teach panthers a lesson. Same happened some time back. A family of a mother panther and its two grown up cubs was seen in the vicinity of a village.They hunted a calf and ate it partially before they were chased away by the villagers. Once they left, the carcass of the calf was nicely poisoned. When the mother and the cub returned unsuspectingly next day, they consumed the remains and in the process died themselves. Leopards by nature tend to stray into the habitations in search of their kill. Their natural prey is becoming rare in the forests and the omnipresent cattle and dogs in the vicinity of the villages on the periphery of forest brings them in close conflict of the human beings.In some other areas also few panthers have had to lose their lives being caught in the snares. These snares are fixed in the barbed wire fence of coffee estates, not necessarily by the estate owners but at times by their labour in order to catch wild boars or smaller animals. However it is the panthers and Sambars who have had to pay the price with their lives for their adventure in to the estates. The Man- Tiger conflicts are by and large restricted to the high forests and the coffee estates in the vicinity of forests in Chikmagalur district.These conflicts also arise due to depredation by tigers on the cattle or getting entangled in the snares fixed in the fencings of the estates. Few tigers have been killed due to such snares. In Chikmagalur, Hassan, Kodagu and other Western Ghat districts Coffee plantations are an integral part of the topography. The conditions available in the coffee estates make them very close to look like forest. Presence of cattle in such areas makes them ideal hunting grounds for the tigers and leopards bringing them in direct conflict with the villagers.Moreover there are large number of authorized and unauthorized muzzle loading guns available making it very difficult for the wild life to survive. Primary reason for all these conflicts is fragmentation of the wild habitat. Whereas few patches have been brought under the Conservation network by declaring them as National Parks or Sanctuaries, about 85-90% of the forest areas are still outside this network. While there can be no doubt that establishing this network has contributed significantly to wildlife conservation. But real problem is that even these networks are also fragmented.Whereas total concentration in these parks and sanctuaries is on wildlife protection making the conditions ideal for wildlife, but what about the wildlife staying in forest areas outside these networks. Wildlife knows no boundaries. Creation of ideal conditions in sanctuaries has helped wildlife to multiply rapidly but where is the additional habitat required to take care of the additional population of animals, which tries to flow over to the adjoining areas only to get killed. This is particularly so with regard to the wild animals having territorial tendencies.There is need to have a continuous conservation network with sufficient area and resources to take care of the progeny. Right now almost no effort is being made to take up wild life related management works outside the parks and sanctuaries. The lands outside the parks and sanctuaries (even inside also) are constantly under threat of encroachment. Honeycombing of the forestlands has already reached extreme. The tools employed by the government in reducing the Man and Wildlife Conflicts are highly insufficient and hence not producing desired results.If we think that paying a few hundred or thousands Rupees to a person as compensation for crop damages by elephants or for a cattle killed by a leopard or tiger would save our wildlife from getting poisoned or shot, then it is nothing but our shortsightedness. Even this so-called wildlife compensation is paid to him after making innumerable trips to the concerned office. The farmer has to forego his earnings for each day he has to visit the office, he has to pay from his pocket for the bus charge and has to undergo ph ysical strain †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.And what he gets is just few hundred rupees. Such hardships discourage him and in the process he gets encouraged to take the law into his own hands and to settle scores with his tormentor- the wildlife. There are only losers on both the sides. The Forest officials are also at times not acting in tandem. There is no coordination among the adjoining units. Particularly in case of elephant herds movements between the adjoining units it can be seen. Everybody wants to drive away the herds to another adjoining unit without giving any thought.It only complicates the problems. Need of the hour is to have a stock of the real problem. And then only solutions can be found. We tend to take each problem in a routine manner. There is a tendency to leave the things to lower subordinates. The powers that be have to take everybody into confidence, discuss the issue threadbare and then have to take a conscious decision. A conscious policy decision need not be essentially sweet and liked by all but it may herald a new era where people and wildlife both can coexist beneficially.