The Basics of Chinese New Year

The Basics of Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the most important festival in Chinese culture. It is celebrated on the new moon of the first month according to the lunar calendar and is a time for family reunions and scrumptious feasts. While Chinese New Year is celebrated in Asian countries like China and Singapore, it is also celebrated in Chinatowns spanning New York City to San Francisco. Take the time to learn about traditions and how to wish others a happy new year in Chinese so that you can also partake in Chinese New Year festivities wherever you are in the world. How Long Is Chinese New Year? Chinese New Year traditionally lasts from the first day to the 15th day of the New Year (which is the Lantern Festival), but the demands of modern life mean that most people don’t get such an extended holiday. Still, the first five days of the New Year are an official holiday in Taiwan, while workers in Mainland China and Singapore get at least 2 or 3 days off. Home Decor A chance to leave the problems of the previous year behind, it is important to start the New Year fresh. This means cleaning up the house and buying new clothes. Homes are decorated with red paper banners which have auspicious couplets written on them. These are hung around doorways and are intended to bring luck to the household for the coming year. Red is an important color in Chinese culture, symbolizing prosperity. Many people will wear red clothing during the New Year celebrations, and houses will have many red decorations such as Chinese knotwork. Red Envelopes Red envelopes (ââ€" ºhà ³ng bÄ o) are given to children and unmarried adults. Married couples also give red envelopes to their parents. The envelopes contain money. The money must be in new bills, and the total amount must be an even number. Certain numbers (such as four) are bad luck, so the total amount should not be one of these unlucky numbers. â€Å"Four† is a homonym for â€Å"death†, so a red envelope should never contain $4, $40, or $400. Fireworks Evil spirits are said to be driven away by loud noise, so Chinese New Year is a very loud celebration. Long strings of firecrackers are set off throughout the holiday, and there are many displays of fireworks lighting up the evening skies. Some countries such as Singapore and Malaysia restrict the use of fireworks, but Taiwan and Mainland China still allow the nearly unrestricted use of firecrackers and fireworks. Chinese Zodiac The Chinese zodiac cycles every 12 years, and each lunar year is named after an animal. For example:   Rooster: January 28, 2017 - February 18, 2018Dog : February 19, 2018 - February 04, 2019Pig: February 05, 2019 - January 24, 2020Rat: January 25, 2020 - February 11, 2021Ox: February 12, 2021 - January 31, 2022Tiger : February 1, 2022 - February 19, 2023Rabbit: February 20, 2023 - February 8, 2024Dragon: February 10, 2024 - January 28, 2025Snake: January 29, 2025 - February 16, 2026Horse: February 17, 2026 - February 5, 2027Sheep: February 6, 2027 - January 25, 2028Monkey: January 26, 2028 - February 12, 2029 How to Say Happy New Year in Mandarin Chinese There are many saying and greeting associated with the Chinese New Year. Family members, friends, and neighbors greet each other with congratulations and wishes for prosperity. The most common greeting is æâ€" °Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¥ ¿ «Ã¤ ¹ Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ ââ€" ºXÄ «n Nin Kui Là ¨; this phrase directly translates to â€Å"Happy  New Year.† Another common greeting is æ  ­Ã¥â€"Å"Ã¥ â€˜Ã¨ ´ ¢Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ ââ€" ºGÃ… ng XÇ  FÄ  Ci, which means Best wishes, wishing you prosperity and wealth. The phrase can also colloquially be shortened to just  Ã¦  ­Ã¥â€"Å" (gÃ… ng xÇ ). In order to get their red envelope, children have to bow to their relatives and recite æ  ­Ã¥â€"Å"Ã¥ â€˜Ã¨ ´ ¢Ã§ º ¢Ã¥Å'…æ‹ ¿Ã¦  ¥Ã‚  Ã¢â€" ºGÃ… ng xÇ  fÄ  ci, hà ³ng bÄ o n li. This means Best wishes for prosperity and wealth, give me a red envelope. Here is a list of Mandarin greetings and other phrases that are heard during the Chinese New Year. Audio files are marked with ââ€" º Pinyin Meaning Traditional Characters Simplified Characters ââ€" ºgÃ… ng xÇ  fÄ  ci Congratulations and Prosperity æ  ­Ã¥â€"Å"ç™ ¼Ã¨ ² ¡ æ  ­Ã¥â€"Å"Ã¥ â€˜Ã¨ ´ ¢ ââ€" ºxÄ «n nin kui là ¨ Happy New Year æâ€" °Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¥ ¿ «Ã¦ ¨â€š æâ€" °Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¥ ¿ «Ã¤ ¹  ââ€" ºguà ² nin Chinese New Year é Å½Ã¥ ¹ ´ è ¿â€¡Ã¥ ¹ ´ ââ€" ºsuà ¬ suà ¬ ping Ä n (Said if something breaks during New Year to ward off bad luck.) æ ­ ²Ã¦ ­ ²Ã¥ ¹ ³Ã¥ ®â€° Ã¥ ² Ã¥ ² Ã¥ ¹ ³Ã¥ ®â€° ââ€" ºnin nin yÇ’u yà º Wishing you prosperity every year. Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¦Å"‰é ¤Ëœ Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¦Å"‰é ¦â‚¬ ââ€" ºfng biÄ n po set off firecrackers æ” ¾Ã©Å¾ ­Ã§â€š ® æ” ¾Ã©Å¾ ­Ã§â€š ® ââ€" ºnin yà ¨ fn New Year’s Eve family dinner Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¥ ¤Å"é £ ¯ Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¥ ¤Å"é ¥ ­ ââ€" ºchà º jià ¹ bà ¹ xÄ «n Relace the old with the new (proverb) é™ ¤Ã¨Ë†Å Ã¤ ½Ë†Ã¦â€" ° é™ ¤Ã¦â€" §Ã¥ ¸Æ'æâ€" ° ââ€" ºbi nin pay a New Year’s visit æ‹Å"Ã¥ ¹ ´ æ‹Å"Ã¥ ¹ ´ ââ€" ºhà ³ng bÄ o Red Envelope ç ´â€¦Ã¥Å'… ç º ¢Ã¥Å'… ââ€" ºyÄ  suà ¬ qin money in the red envelope Ã¥ £â€œÃ¦ ­ ²Ã©Å' ¢ 压å ² Ã©â€™ ± ââ€" ºgÃ… ng hà ¨ xÄ «n xÇ  Happy New Year æ  ­Ã¨ ³â‚¬Ã¦â€" °Ã§ ¦ § æ  ­Ã¨ ´ ºÃ¦â€" °Ã§ ¦ § ââ€" º___ nin xà ­ng d yà ¹n Good luck for the year of the ____. ___Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¨ ¡Å'Ã¥ ¤ §Ã© â€¹ ___Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¨ ¡Å'Ã¥ ¤ §Ã¨ ¿  ââ€" ºtiÄ“ chÃ… «n lin red banners è ² ¼Ã¦Ëœ ¥Ã¨  ¯ è ´ ´Ã¦Ëœ ¥Ã¨ â€ ââ€" ºbn nin huà ² New Year shopping è ¾ ¦Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¨ ² ¨ 办å ¹ ´Ã¨ ´ §

Gender Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Gender - Essay Example From this paper, it is clear that interpretations are irrefutable since improving men and women’s status has been a pledge by the lawmakers and supported by governments as a beginning of tasks on gender. It is evident that women have suffered considerable biases since gender issues are concerned, through policies, media, literature, folk songs, and customs. However, religious teachings and mythology have played an essential role in promoting gender awareness and equity. Favoritism, double standards, and attitudes in the society are the regular reminders of inequalities experienced in the modern world (Marshall, 2000).Gender as social phenomena aroused by the differences in our biological makeup has taken by storm the public domain on major issues politicized (Hobson,2002). Nevertheless, citizens of upright religious practices consider gender as not being critical since they cherish their differences. Contrary to my opinion, gender issue has become a concern, since my childhood girls were treated more respectively compared to boys Gender has been taken lightly to some extent whereas in other cases exaggerated. Documentation of male and female in records such as the birth certificates should not be a cause for any alarm for the sake of peace. Our dressing and genetic makeup always been a problem in that ladies have always been perceived as putting on attire that is meant for men, thus a form of disrespect.To some societies like ancient Greece and Rome, cross-dressing was rampant as the norm. There is a slight difference on perceiving gender through expressing ourselves. Despite our biological differences as human beings, we have similarities that profits all (Marshall, 2000). Normally our bodies’ change as we grow towards maturity is when the difference is noticed clearly. Civilization has brought with it complications in the freedom of choice whereby people are altering their gender (Fenster & Lees, 2002). This practice has received mixed reactions from both parties involved.

The Patriot Act Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Patriot Act - Research Paper Example Provisions of the Act violate the Constitution and tear down the freedoms for which true patriots have fought and died. This discussion will review provide a brief history pertaining to the subject, analyze the debate surrounding the topic and consequences of the Act then offer a concluding statement. History The PATRIOT Act was enacted in response to the 9/11 attacks and as a tool against terrorist threats. The right wing has actively advocated subverting the rights contained in no less than five of the first ten amendments (the Bill of Rights) to, as they claim, ‘protect’ citizens from terrorism. The name itself, the PATRIOT Act is an acronym for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. The label for this law was cleverly designed and packaged to enlist broad support from a nation that is generally vulnerable to patriotic propaganda but even more so at the time that it was so swiftly enacted. Citizen s and legislators were all too eager to submit to the rhetoric that suggested that sacrificing a certain amount of freedom was a small price to pay for security. Most Congressmen admit to not have reading the Act before voting to pass it but those voting in favor were overwhelming. Only one of 99 Senators (Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold) and 66 of 423 Representatives voted against the law. The PATRIOT Act, as many citizens and legal experts alike have argued, violates the fundamental rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution’s first ten amendments, the Bill of Rights (Savage, 2006). This includes the freedom of speech and assembly (First Amendment); the freedom from unreasonable search and seizure (Fourth Amendment); the right to due process of law (Fifth Amendment); the right to a speedy, public and fair trial along with the right to counsel and to confront the accuser, (Sixth Amendment), the freedom from cruel and unusual punishment (Eighth Amendment) and freedom from pun ishment without conviction (13th Amendment). In March of 2010 President Obama signed a one-year extension of three parts of the USA Patriot Act without any amendments, additions or new limitations on measures he said were essential to safeguard American civil liberties. â€Å"The provisions allow the government, with permission from a special court, to obtain roving wiretaps over multiple communication devices, seize suspects’ records without their knowledge, and conduct surveillance of a so-called ‘lone wolf,’ or someone deemed suspicious but without any known ties to an organized terrorist group.† i Analysis Libertarian organizations such as the Civil Liberties Union claim that the Bush administration had a proclivity for secrecy and rejected the concept of transparency. The PATRIOT Act has reproved its agenda for the â€Å"outright removal of checks and balances.† ii Conservatives are alarmed as well including former Republican Representative Bob Barr, who is best known for leading the attempt to impeach President Clinton. Barr had led a group named â€Å"Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances† which focused solely on challenging the renewal of the Patriot Act in 2004. iii This multifaceted PATRIOT Act modified numerous laws including the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, Right to Financial Privacy Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act and Immigration and Nationality Act among many others. iv According to the Justice Department, the PATRIOT Act gives support to and

Strategic Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Strategic Management - Assignment Example The core competencies of an organisation are focused on satisfying customer needs and demands to achieve more than average returns (Thompson, 2001). The Business-level strategies help the organisation to achieve its targets. The actions of Business level strategies provide value to customers and help the organisation to gain a competitive advantage (Kaplan and Norton, 2001). The Business-level strategies are also concerned with the position of the firm in an industry, with respect to competitors and to the five forces of competition (Hill, Jones and Schilling, 2014). A competitive advantage is a benefit which is gained over its rivals by a company by offering customers value for the products, through lower prices or by providing additional benefits and service that can justify similar or higher prices (Ansoff and McDonnell, 1990). Manufacturers or producers who are involved in niche marketing, exploring a competitive advantage, to them it means increased profit and a sustainable business and its success over the long term (Pearce and Robinson, 2000). The following categorisation defines competitive advantage better and discusses several strategies which help in building a competitive advantage of a company. Cost Leadership is a strategy by which the company makes continuous efforts to cut costs relative to its competitors (Goldman and Nieuwenhuizen, 2006). Here the company aims to compete for a wide range of customers based on price. Differentiation is a strategy by which a unique feature in the product provides value to the customers. It is created by lowering buyer’s cost, sustainability and raising buyer’s performance (Stevenson and Hojati, 2007). In Focused low cost strategy, the company selects a small segment of market to sell its products or services at a competitive price (Thompson, et al., 2008). In

Organizational Change Management Theory

Organizational Change Management Theory People and Organization Management in the Built Environment Organizational Change Management Theory Introduction- To understand change in an organization, it is important to study an organization and its culture. This is because, changing an organization is nothing but changing its culture which ultimately causes change in performance. An Organization can be defined as â€Å"social arrangement of consciously coordinated activities for achieving controlled performances in the pursuit of common goals†. (Price and Chahal, 2006, p. 238) Organizational culture can be defined as â€Å"characteristic, spirit and belief of an organization [†¦] generally held about how people should behave and treat each other in an organization [†¦] and attitudes to change.† (Price and Chahal, 2006, p. 238) Depending on the market requirements, an organization is setup according to- resource allocation, production capacity, technological requirement etc. This is why organizations have to constantly change to adapt to the ever-changing market while securing the organizations perspectives. Depending on the market situation, it can be a crisis change or chosen change. Organizational change can be developmental (doing better than current situation), transitional (implementation of new desired state) or transformational (evolutionary new state). (Price and Chahal, 2006) But whether it is intended or forced, the company needs to change in order to remain competent. Change management helps resist the effect that change in the market has on an organization, increasing the importance of change management over the years. (Cap Gemini Ernst Young, 2004) Changing an organizational culture affects the people involved in it in various ways like change in job profile, learning new techniques, job cut, etc. So, it becomes necessary to manage all the people involved, to successfully implement change while not disturbing the companys goal. This makes change management a complex process. Considering different orientations like planning, stake-holder management etc. change management can be defined as- A continuous aggregation of processes, instruments and techniques, to improve the efficiency of the organization in problem solving and target attainment, achieved by eliminating the causes of resistance to change, working in an organized and systematic way, from both company and employee perspectives. (Cap Gemini Ernst Young, 2004) Change process: Since the whole change process is very complex, let us consider a case-study to understand it better. We will analyze it using three models of change management, after which we will attempt to draw a strategic change management framework which can be used in any organization. Our case-study will also be critically analyzed against this framework. Case-study Aluminium Company of America (ALCOA) (1990) plant at Swansea is the company under review. (Price and Chahal, 2006) Senior managers of this company realized the need to review their plant culture and processes. They presented their case to the ALCOA board at Pittsburg, USA emphasizing on the companys present and desired state. The board was convinced about the need to change. Senior managers then established a taskforce to take the responsibility of the change program. It had 12 members ranging from employees, production managers, engineers, personnel, operators and craftsman. The task force drew the following Vision Statement- ‘To help establish ALCOA, Swansea, as a model company by developing a plant that contributes to the long-term prosperity and security of the company and its employees. (Price and Chahal, 2006, p. 245) In 1991, the taskforce drafted the internal document comprising of some important elements and strategies including vision, need to change, benefits, critical factors, resistance, etc. The ‘plan to overcome resistance was: â€Å"[] we must go forward and improve or cease to do business†. (Price and Chahal, 2006, p. 245) The taskforce reviewed and changed their manufacturing processes and procedures by benchmarking with other companies like ALCOA Tennessee, Cadburys etc. They observed no initial resistance while implementing new processes and procedures. But, later they noticed some symptoms like reduced productivity and they observed the reasons, as employee aspects like working practices, multi-tasking, pay, arising because of the old structure of organization having seniority and unionized systems. To overcome this, the workforce appointed a new team, which developed a system by analyzing the organizations present and desired state. They changed the working philosophy of the plant workforce and the basis for remuneration. They conducted a series of workshop trainings for the entire workforce. Though this entire process was difficult, they observed improved performance at the start of 2000. They were very close to their targets. The new reduced workforce was highly committed and motivated. But afte r all this success, ALCOA Swansea unexpectedly closed down in 2003. The senior management blamed overcapacity and slow market growth for failure. (Price and Chahal, 2006) Analysis: Although the senior management blamed overcapacity and slow market growth, it clearly indicates that they failed to analyze the market and adjust to it by aggressive marketing, necessary lay-offs etc. To understand the reasons for the failure, we will analyze the case-study using three models viz. The Leavitts Model (1965), Weisbords six-boxes (1976), McKinsey 7S Framework (1981-82). Leavitts Model: Leavitt focused on four variables in the organization, their interdependence and their influence on the change process. The variables considered are- * Task and subtasks- Those which are involved in achieving the target. * People- Who carry out the task. * Technology- Which is adapted to achieve the task. * Structure of the organization- In terms of authority, communication, workflow etc. Interlinking of the variables suggests that this is an interactive and continuous process. He did not take external factors into account. (Falletta, 2005) In our case-study, the first factor to vary was ‘Task. Change managers decided to change the companys plant culture and processes. Then they appointed a workforce, so the second variable changed was ‘People. Then ‘Technology and ‘Structure changed as a result of the changed plant processes and procedures that is change in the working philosophy and remuneration. But later on, an outbreak of resistance demanded a change in the human variable as well as the Structure. This resulted in the creation of a new highly motivated workforce. This increased the companys productivity and changed the sub-task, which was to win enough projects for the workforce to keep them motivated and achieve the ‘vision. But, the senior management was not a part of the task force and became an external factor leading to ignorance of vital marketing function. Considering the slow market growth, the change managers could have changed either ‘Technology or ‘People variabl e; that is they could have sold some machinery or reduced the workforce to achieve the desired productivity. Ignorance of all these resulted in failure of the change process and ultimately company closure. Weisbords six-boxes: Weisbord considered six broad categories as shown above. When compared with Leavitts model, there are three different factors considered- * Relationship- The way in which people interact with each other and with the technology. * Rewards- Given to workforce for performance. * Leadership- Common leadership tasks including the equilibrium between the other factors. External environment is also considered in this model unlike Levitts model. It also tells us about the importance of input and output in relation to the external and internal environments. It does not highlight much on interconnectivity of all the internal factors (Falletta, 2005). In our case study, Relationship between the team was maintained well, making it highly motivated. Relationship between people and technology was also maintained which was achieved through training. Provision for rewards was made by changing the basis for remuneration. But, the Leadership failed. This is because of the failure to analyze the balance between external and internal inputs and outputs like reduced market growth, less productivity and profitability. This may be the result of lack of co-ordination between senior and junior management and non inclusion of senior management in the task force. When the junior managers observed lesser productivity than expected, senior managers should have made an attempt to get more jobs by aggressive marketing or should have reduced the manpower. The ‘vision was partially achieved. Though they tried to achieve employee security by retaining them, the companys perspective of long term prosperity and security was not achieved and the proc ess failed. McKinsey 7S Framework: This model was drawn by the employees at McKinsey, who did corresponding research in business and industry. It considers seven variables which are- * Strategy- The plan in allocating resources to achieve the target. * Systems- Existing processes followed in the organization. * Staff-Different categories of personnel. * Skills- Different capabilities. * Style- How key managers behave to achieve the goal. * Shared value- The significant guiding concepts common among the organization. The interconnectivity between these is shown by the shape of the model. The author advises that the company cannot just change one or two variables to change the whole organization. In order to achieve long term benefit, variables should be changed to become more congruent as a system, suggesting that change is a continuous process. It does not consider external environment. The concept of the performance or effectiveness is not clear in the model. (Falletta, 2005) In our case-study, Shared values are the ‘vision statement as this is the common goal of all the employees. Skills were as per the requirement of the change process which was achieved through training. Production Systems were as per requirements, but Financial Systems needed more check on productivity and profitability. Staff and Style failed because of lack of coordination between senior and junior managers due to non-inclusion of the senior management in the task force, making them an external factor. As a result, they were unable to establish system to take care of shared values. Strategy failed as the company did not allocate more staff in marketing team, while production team needed lay-off. Hence, the vision was not achieved and company closed down. Strategic framework of Change management We will draw a six step strategic framework to help implement change in any organization. We will also analyze our case study using this framework. The main distinguishing characteristic of this framework is, that it considers the detailed role of all those involved in the change management process. 1. Preparing the organization This initiates the thought process. The first step is to study the organizations present state to determine its change capacity to have a realistic vision. Studying the organizations present routines gives an understanding of how the organization operates which guides about its performance in a specific routine. This will again strengthen the understanding of organizational operations and will guide about relevant performance. (Feldman, 2003, p. 729) Change managers then interact with different stakeholders to understand the need to change to achieve the right purpose and agree on the organizations desired state, considering internal and external drivers of change. This helps managers list out broad types of cultural and technological changes required. This is then conveyed to the entire workforce along with the benefits the company and employees would get through the change. This helps win their confidence and make them feel secured and involved. Care is taken not to convey informat ion about a specific group or individual to avoid the feeling of mistrust amongst the whole organization. (Price and Chahal, 2006) In our case study, this step was implemented effectively. Organizational analysis for present and future state was done perfectly and it was conveyed to people in such a way that everybody was convinced about the need to change. 2. Developing the process Vision is the guiding statement of the change process which relates the companys ultimate goal, making it the most important step of the change management process. The vision and objectives should be realistic and clear. (Cap Gemini Ernst Young, 2004) Change managers first decide three groups viz. implementation team, range of stakeholders and workforce. Feedback from step one is analyzed and used as the basis to find out different change strategies. All these strategies are then evaluated against certain questions which are * Does the option have a clear perspective and a systematic approach? * Does the option support organizational or personal goals? * Were all the working environments and source perspectives considered? (Price and Chahal, 2006) Different change strategies analyzed above are again brainstormed and evaluated within the group and a final strategic process is decided which can even be the combination of some of the options evaluated. Finally a working document is drafted. Different sections in the draft include- Background, Vision, Goal, Objectives, Design, Implementation plan, Timescales, etc. (Price and Chahal, 2006) Implementation plan should include important aspects like cultural development, employee mobilization, knowledge management, incentive systems, transformation map, and stakeholder management. It is observed that 10% to 30% of companies fail to plan for this. (Cap Gemini Ernst Young, 2004) Cost-benefit analysis is a very important aspect of change. Every change costs something which can be categorized as economic and psychological. Economic cost is related to expenditure incurred, while psychological cost is the strain caused when people try to adjust to the change. (Newstrom and Davis, 2000) So this cost-benefit analysis is required to determine the worthiness of change. Only 40% of the companies think that cost-benefit analysis is a must because all activities are investments that must pay off in the end. (Cap Gemini Ernst Young, 2004) In our case study, the vision statement was well written and the implementation plan was fairly drawn. But they failed to apply the Cost-benefit analysis at the right time and could not recognize that their resources were over assigned. Also, they failed to plan for the changing market situation, therefore could not adjust to the market growth. 3. Test support This is the phase before the final planning stage. Once the strategic process is decided, management ensures that the team is still enthusiastic about the plan. This is the last opportunity to review all the documentation and accommodate any last minute developments before the actual implementation. This stage confirms the decision about the strategic process. (Newstrom and Davis, 2000) In our case study, this step was either not taken or not mentioned in the article. But, it ultimately did not affect the process. 4. Communication Successful communication of vision and objectives at the right time, to the stakeholders and the people affected by the change is the key to success. In order to link strategic and operational change, it is necessary to communicate it ending on a warning. (Whipp and Pettigrew, 1992) Implementation team should identify the effect change has on the groups as well as on the individuals. While assigning new jobs, they should try to cooperate with the employees to the highest degree possible and make them feel involved. â€Å"When people think about what actions they are to take in an organizational routine, they are not confined to thinking about performances of the routine they are enacting but may think broadly about a wide variety of organizational performances†. (Feldman, 2003, p. 729) Change managers need to be proactive in reducing the amount of resistance by having the ‘plan to overcome resistance ready. (Price and Chahal, 2006) Personal communication, conflict management, leadership development and team building are the most important aspects of effective communication. Retention management is the most overlooked aspect observed in nearly 50% of the companies. (Cap Gemini Ernst Young, 2004) In our case study, communication with employees ended on a warning note as given in the plan to overcome resistance. Change was communicated successfully and the managers cooperated with the workforce resulting in successful restructuring of the organization; correcting all the defects. 5. Implementation This is a crucial phase of the process. Change managers follow the implementation plan and continue to do so till the end. If not done properly, there is a great risk of encountering resistance which can be recognized through symptoms like reduced productivity, gossips/rumors, etc. When recognized, its source needs to be identified and treated according to the ‘plan to overcome resistance drawn at step 4. (Price and Chahal, 2006) There are some common implementation barriers observed, such as- too many activities without prioritization, no sustained monitoring of activities (observed in more than 40% of the companies). Other barriers are- constant reorganizations of the company, inadequate support from line management, inadequate readiness to take responsibility etc. (Cap Gemini Ernst Young, 2004) In our case study, implementation of the plan was successful in the beginning. When they observed resistance, they took necessary action against it. But it was not followed till the end. The plan was to increase the productivity. When the market slowed down, necessary action should have been taken like workforce reduction or aggressive marketing to bring sufficient jobs for the highly motivated workforce. 6. Evaluation Change managers can evaluate the effectiveness of the process using Key Performance Indicators, at any stage of implementation. Generally, planning engineer or implementation team is not involved because of the obvious vested interests. Middle management can do it better, with unbiased views. This can be done with process inspections and audits. New processes can be reviewed and compared with the chosen process. After doing so, if any problem is identified, necessary adjustments need to be made to the process; this can be repeated several times. This continues and the process becomes a driver for the next change. (Price and Chahal, 2006) In our case study, this step was almost neglected by the change managers. They either failed to analyze the less productivity resulting from the slow market growth or failed to incorporate necessary changes in the process to achieve the vision. Conclusion: Change management is a very complex process because of the different factors involved in it. Though there is no globally accepted model, we can use different models in the same situation. Some models are easier to use, while others need more critical analysis according to the situation. It depends on the change manager to adapt a certain process. If all the steps are followed through, keeping the vision in mind, we can successfully implement change. Otherwise it can be as disastrous as company closure.

Impact of the Ratification of the 13th Amendment on Commerce Essay

Background Information on the Thirteenth Amendment: The 13th amendment to the United States’ constitution was introduced in order to free the slaves from slavery and make united states a free country by abolishing and prohibiting slavery. This amendment finalized the abolition of slave trade in the United States. The 13th amendment has its origin in the proposition made by Abraham Lincoln to his cabinet in relation to the freeing of all slaves in the rebellious states. It was proposed by the 38th congress of the United States and passed by the senate on 8th April 1864 before being adopted on the 6th of December in 1865 following the announcement of the secretary of state who declared it to have been adopted. President Lincoln made an emancipation proclamation which was aimed at outlawing slavery in the ten confederation states which resulted in the abolition of slavery in the confederate states. However slave trade continued on the Border States until the thirteenth amendment was formulated. This amendment ended slavery in all parts of the United States including the Border States. Section 1 of this amendment provides that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the United States except in conditions where the individual was being punished because of crimes committed. The ratification of this amendment was completed on 6th December 1865 following the approval by most of the states (Goluboff 1609). The ratification of the 13th amendment had a significant impact on commerce since slaves were the main source of labor in most industries, factories and agricultural plantations. After this ratification, slaves were released from plantations and factories which forced more white men to work in plantations and fa... ...y or other heavy equipments. There was a significant decline in exports in these states which was followed by the collapse of their currency and this made it difficult for these states to obtain credit (Engerman 208).Significant reduction in agricultural production across the state resulted in scarcity of agricultural commodities which in turn increased the prices of agricultural products as well as export surpluses. References Goluboff, R. (2001). The 13th amendment and the lost origins of civil rights. Duke Law Journal, 50 (228): 1609 Engerman, S.L. (1982). Economic adjustments to emancipation in the United States and British West Indies. The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 13(2): 191 – 220 McGlynn, F., and Drescher, S. (1992). The meaning of freedom economics, politics and culture after slavery. Pittsburgh, Pa: University of Pittsburgh Press.

Effects of Music on the Growth of Mung Beans

CHAPTER V SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS This chapter presents the summary of finding the generalization of the conclusion and the recommendation for the further improvement of the study. I. Summary of Findings 1. Music affects the growth of Mung beans. As established in the experiment and based on the data gathered, music has a great effect on the growth of Mung beans. The varying degree of effect is dependent on the type or tempo of music to be played. 2.In general, music helps in the growth of plants. It hastens the growth of plants. As we conducted and observed our experiment, we noticed that classical music helps the Mung beans' growth. Plants exposed to rock music grew slower than those exposed to classical music; however, they grew faster than those exposed to no music. 3. The growth of the green variety of Mung beans is faster than those of the yellow variety in any of the environment they were subjected to.II. Conclusions 1. Music affects the growth of Mung beans as we observed the set-ups. The different aspects that we have observed where music was involved were the plant's height and the number of leaves produced. 2. Music helps the Mung beans' growth and does not hinder their development. 3. Music, more specifically the classic music, has effects on the growth of Mung beans especially on the growth of the green variety. III. Recommendations 1.As we have proven through the data gathered that music hastens the growth of plants, we recommend promoting the use of music in planting and other agricultural activities. This can be done through discussions in the different fora to bring to the awareness of the authorities and the agricultural sector the benefits of music in planting. 2. We recommend that in the utilization of music for plant growing, you should use classical music in order for you to grow your plants faster. 3. We recommend that further study be conducted to validate the findings of this paper.