Literature Review on Mergers And Acquisitions

Literature Review on Mergers And Acquisitions 1. Introduction: Mergers and Acquisitions refer to buying; selling and combining of different companies that can help a growing company in a given industry grow rapidly without having to create another business entity (Virani, 2007). Traditionally, exploiting economies of scope and scale or taking advantage of market imperfections has been a dominant way of gaining competitive advantage by firms. However, as economies are becoming more and more integrated due to the forces of globalisation, there is an increasing realisation that these ways of competition offer limited profitability for firms. As a result, mergers and acquisitions have become increasingly popular as companies look for higher returns and dominant market position in the global market. Mergers and acquisitions provide means to acquire expertise, technology and products. Over the past two decades, mergers and acquisitions have become a global phenomenon and a popular strategic choice for company growth and expansion (Hansen and Nohria, 2 004). Despite the increasing popularity of mergers and acquisitions, unfortunately, the performance of merger and acquisitions has not been satisfactory. Research studies reported that more than two-thirds of large merger and acquisition deals fail to create value for shareholders. Mergers and acquisitions fail to meet the anticipated goals, as mentioned by Carleton (1997), who noted that the rate of mergers and acquisitions failure range from 55 to 70 percent. These failed mergers constitute a waste of human and financial resources. Given the popularity of this strategic alternative, there is a strong need to learn how to manage mergers better and to make them more successful (Gopinath, 2003). Numbers of studies are quick to point out numerous reasons behind this poor performance of mergers and acquisitions and specifically assert that lack of strategic fit and poor management of the integrative process appear to be the main causes of unsatisfactory performance. Infect, an exhaustive list containing possible causes of poor performance, can be made with reference to the numerous research studies conducted over the last two decades (Epstein, 2004). These research studies have examined the bad performance of the mergers and acquisitions from various aspects. The very observable aspects like finance, stock market and legal issues were given importance and were considered the most sensitive areas for mergers. However, with the growing rates of failure, researchers and business analysts started acknowledging the fact that this poor performance of mergers and acquisitions does not simply has its roots in financial and operational issues or other legal conflicts. The research was then diverted to examine human and cultural aspects of MAs and it was noted that the real problem is not financial but the lack of intercultural synergy between the organizations. The organizational cultural issues create communication breakdowns and therefore act as a barrier for successful integration of the two organizations. On the other hand, Cartwright Cooper (1993) reinforced the previous findings by stating that the financial and other strategic ben efits expected from mergers and acquisitions are undermined by the cultural conflicts. Moreover, the organization who addressed cultural issues properly during merger and acquisitions experienced good results as compare to other organization who neglected this aspect (Epstein, 2004). Hence there exists a strong need to consider the cultural issues as critical during the mergers and acquisitions and address them properly. The focus of this research is to explore and analyse the organizational cultural issues as the major potential threat for the success of mergers and acquisitions. In other words, to highlight the cultural issues as the most import among all other possible causes that affect the performance of mergers and acquisitions. The discussion will cover the effects of cultural issues on the performance of mergers and acquisitions. 2. Literature Review: Growth is an essential aspect of organizational success. It is something for which most of the companies strive for. It is observed commonly that small companies want to grow big and big firms want to grow bigger. Indeed companies have to grow and the reasons behind are almost same for every organization. However, different companies adopt different strategies for this purpose and the most suitable strategy is the one that supports the company to move progressively towards accomplishing its stated goals (Greiner, 1991).The ultimate objective of most companies is profit, therefore whatever strategy is adopted, profit remains at the heart. Although, growth is considered to be one of the key points of reference of success by business analysts and is mandated by investors. However, researchers have also argued that, although, growth is essential for firms, but every growth strategy is not successful in terms of value creation. Not all the growth strategies are values adding, that could result in an improved performance of a firm (Olsen Chathoth, 2007; Slevin Covin 1997). Olsen Chathoth (2007) further argued that it is the firms performance on a long term basis that determines the sustainability of the growth strategy that was implemented in the first place. Companies choose growth strategies that suits best to them in a frame work of market and competitors. The best route to growth varies depending on the market and the nature of business (Churchill Lewis, 1983). 2.1 Organisational Culture: The concept of culture is frequently being used by the experts in organizational behaviour field to describe how members of groups understand their world and their place in it. Organizational culture can be better understood as the pattern of actions, words, beliefs and behaviours that members of a business organization share (Able, 2007). Soroghan et al (1998) discussed culture as a unique set of values, attitudes and beliefs that creates a shared sense of reality and it has a powerful influence on company and employee behaviour. Handy C (1993) has put forwarded a simplified definition of organizational cultural which suits best to the way this work is oriented. The author has provided a number of aspects that shape the culture of an organization. According to Handy (1993), organizations have deepest set of beliefs about the way work should be organized, the authority should be exercised, people rewarded and people controlled. Similarly, other things like the degree of formalization required, how much planning and how far ahead? Degree of obedience expected from subordinates, do work hours matter or dress or personal eccentricities? Although, these definitions have provided a theoretical frame work to understand the organizational culture itself but the varied definitions have made it somehow difficult to understand the effects of culture on the organizational Performance (Weber Schweiger, 1992). 2.2 Impact of Culture on Organizational Performance: A highly productive business always has a high performing organizational culture that aligns well both internally and externally to support the overall objectives of the business. This organizational culture shapes the employee experience, which in turn impacts customer experience, business partner relationships and, ultimately shareholder value (Able, 2007 p11). Schraeder Self (2003), aptly put forward that the corporate culture can have a significant impact on a firms long term economic performance and will probably be an even more important factor in determining the success or failure of firms in the next decade (Schraeder Self (2003) Deal and Kennedy (1982) asserts that culture is the single most important factor responsible for success or failure in organizations. Kilman et al. (1985) took it further by reporting that strong culture can have a key impact on the success of the business due to its pervasive influence throughout any organization. In order to check the relationship between culture and performance, Denison (1984) studied a suitable sample of 34 firms representing 25 different industries. To validate the study the author used more refined sampling procedures not only for organizations but for the subjects within the organizations .According to him, two indices organization of work and decision making were found to be significantly correlated with financial performance. In addition, the author also found that the strength of the culture was predictive of short-term performance, when performance was defined with broad indicators like return on assets, return on investment and return on sales etc. 2.3 Impact of Cultural on the Performance of Mergers Acquisitions: Mergers and acquisitions are a popular strategy for growth and expansion. The mergers and acquisition activity is increasing and companies are joining together as never before. Also that this expansion process is hampered by certain obstacles and companies suffer from not handling those issues effectively. Among those difficulties, the lack of intercultural synergy between the two organizations has been reported as the most important issue which is affecting the MA performance greatly (Cartwright Cooper 1993). It is a new challenge for companies operating across the globe to understand the organizational culture and its effects on the organizational performance (Fralicx Bolster, 1997). Mergers and acquisitions are effected seriously by the cultural issues and several studies have been conducted till date to investigate culture and people issues as a reason of merger and acquisition failure. The results have shown that up to 65% of failed mergers and acquisitions are due to cultural and people issues. Studies explored that the intercultural differences cause communication breakdowns which affect the productivity of the whole organization (Chatterje et al 1992). Other researchers also supported this line of reasoning and suggested that incompatible cultures are the main causes of MAs failure. Considering cultural issue as a reason of poor success rates, Cartwright and cooper (1993) stated that the financial benefits that companies expect from mergers and acquisitions are often unrealized because of incompatible organizational cultures of the merging organizations. Lodorfos Boateng (2006) have presented a comprehensive overview of the role of culture in the merger an d acquisition process. They have provided a summary of previous research on this issue by concluding that the lack of intercultural synergy is at the heart of MA failure. According to them, Cultural fit is just as important as structural fit in the analysis and evaluation of potential partners and that poor cultural fit has contributed to the failure of several mergers and acquisitions that appeared to be suitable strategic partners. Huang Kleiner (2004) have mentioned that companies can not be integrated successfully if there exits a cultural incompatibility between the two partners and that the cultural incompatibility is consistently rated as the greatest barrier to success of mergers. 2.4 Conclusion: It can be concluded from the above made discussion that cultural problems lie at the heart of merger and acquisition failure. The management and leadership spend time and do efforts to make mergers work. Most of the time, they are busy with planning the strategic and financial aspects, that show negligence to the cultural and people issues. Conversely, in the log run, the cultural issues not only create trouble for the management but the financial benefits are also undermined by cultural clashes in the newly born organization (Cartwright Cooper 1993). The previous sections have provided enough evidence to consider cultural issues as one of the basic reasons behind the failure of MAs. Now it becomes rather necessary to point out some of the cultural related problems that MAs face and which are responsible for the value destruction in this business activity. 3. Research Topic: This research will explore the effects of cultural issues on the performance of merger and acquisitions on organizations around the world. 4. Research Objectives: This research work has the following individual objectives: To explore the strategic motives behind the mergers and acquisitions To evaluate the performance of mergers and acquisitions and identify the major factors affecting the performance. To analyse the effects of cultural issues on the performance of mergers and acquisitions. 5. Research Methodology: The main proposed research methodology is secondary research which is based on the critical and comprehensive analysis of the existing published literature related to the specific area of research. Books, published journal articles, published research reports, surveys, organizational records, qualitative research and internet will be used to collect secondary sources data. The secondary research method is very essential for my research work, because a lot of sources are there like books, journals and study articles, websites etc. Some search engines are very popular such as Google, Athens, Yahoo, etc. I think these sources will help me to complete my research work. I will use all the above mentioned secondary research methods for my research work and I am highly interested to use the deductive method because it is more logical and authentic way to prove your research. Moreover I will use both quantitative and qualitative techniques to critically analyze my collected data and to reach the conclusion. But in this research work, I will prefer to use more qualitative method of data collection. Because, according to Lincoln and Guba (1985) a qualitative method captures a more complete picture of individual lived experience instead of a narrow perspective of generalizations. Therefore, the study will be based on experience rich participants, who are able to offer insight a quantitative study would be unable to capture. The qualitative data provide me an opportunity to study the material of the recent or more distant past to gain the more insights information for methodological and theoretical purposes. 5.1 Advantages of secondary research methodology: This kind of research helps in examining large scale trend. It is easy to accessible so researcher can consume most of its time in critically analysing data rather than collecting it. Sometime primary data collection is not necessary for the research, because of the available secondary data is completely suitable to draw a conclusions and answers of the questions and sufficient for solving problem. The collection of secondary data is far cheaper than the collection of primary data. For the same level of research budget secondary research definitely gives relatively more information than the primary research can give. The time consumption is much less in the collection of data and conducting results in comparison with the primary research. The results obtain from secondary source of information may more precise than the result obtain from the primary data collection. It may not happens all the time but if research is about at large scale for example data taken from the surveys obtain by the government census department on large scale, this is likely yield more precise results than custom designed surveys weather these are based on the comparatively small size of sample. 5.2 Problems of Secondary Research: In secondary research the researches have to be careful about authenticity of secondary resources. Because at the same type of data or idea two different types of department or persons have different type of opinion, for example if researcher consult the data about the loss to the economy from the act of terrorism than their must two different type of responses available from the government prospective and non government interpreters. Some time material available for research is too old and out dated, so it may difficult for researcher to interpret results. The source of the data and material may not reliable each time, so it may impact the reliability and authenticity of results of the research. Sometimes secondary research has lack of firmness of perspective. If data and material collected from non authentic sources it is difficult to check its biasness and inaccuracies. The published material and statistics often raise more questions than answers. 5.3 Limitations: There are some limitations the data may have and the problems that could arise if these limitations are ignored. The verification of existing data is difficult. Secondary data can be general and vague and sometimes it may cause difficulties in decision making. It is possible that data could be out dated and the sample used to generate the secondary data maybe small. The data publisher company may not be reputable. While keeping in mind those limitations of secondary data, the data taken for this research is taken from reputable academic websites. 5.4 Conclusion: A use and search of secondary data should be preceding any primary research activity. Secondary data definitely helps to solve and understand the problem and gives valid answers. The process of collecting secondary data for research is far cheaper and quicker in compare with primary data at in some cases it could be more accurate. There is always a need of evaluation about data and its source before using it for research. Where possible it is better to take same data from different sources so the biasness and errors can be double check for the more accurate results. 6. Research Ethics: While carrying out the research, the most important thing to keep in mind and practice is the ethical considerations. And in my research work this is very critical and of prime consideration. I will follow all the ethical considerations and guidelines. As my research work is based on secondary research, so what ever the secondary data I will use to achieve my research objectives, I will follow the all terms and conditions of ethical considerations. Throughout my research I will practice honesty in processing and reporting all the data, this will be my own work and I will not copy the other researcher data or work, I will not be bias in my research while collecting or processing the data. I will try my utmost to avoid the omissions and errors while analysing the data and will keep all the record of the data and their valid sources. I am fully aware that the plagiarism is a serious academic crime, so I will not plagiarise my research. I will quote all the citations and that will be fully referenced. I will not copy other researchers work.

Treatment and Management of Shyness in Children Essay -- Papers Person

Treatment and Management of Shyness in Children Research and studies have found that shyness in children could be due to genetic, temperamental, and environmental influences (Jaffe, 1991, p. 270, & Zimbardo 1995, p. 56). This paper aims to discuss the types of shyness, the influences on shyness, the difference between normal and problematic shyness. Lastly, strategies will be presented to help the shy child. The basic feeling of shyness is a common problem not only among children but also among adults. According to Zimbardo (1995, p.56-57) and Jaffe (1995, p. 270), shyness is a mix of emotions, including fear and interest, tension and pleasantness. A shy child may display in his/her behaviour a downward gaze, physical, and verbal reticence. That is he/she will try to avoid eye contact or withdraw slightly or totally when being touched or talked to. The speech is often soft, almost inaudible, and at times, very hesitant. Shyness is very often a mistaken and misunderstood emotion. It ought to be distinguished from two related behaviour patterns: wariness and social disengagement. It is very normal that young infants are very wary of strangers as it is a time that attachment to familiar faces of caregivers are very important during this period of growing and trusting in the surrounding physical and human environment (Gonzalez-Mena, & Widmeyer Eyer, 2001, p. 77). For older children who may prefer solitary play and appear to have low needs for social interaction, would usually not experience the emotional tensions of the genuinely shy child (Van Hoorn et al, 2003, p. 242-243, & Cohen et al, 1987, p. 80). Children ... ...docId=5000962656&offset=1. (July 12, 2004). Feldman, R.S.(2003). Essentials of Understanding Psychology. 5th ed. USA: McGraw Hill. Gonzalez-Mena, J. & Widmeyer Eyer, D. (2001). Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers. 5th ed. USA: Mayfield Publishing Company. Hendrick, J. (1992). The Whole Child. 5th ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Jaffe, M.L. (1997). Understanding Parenting. 2nd ed. USA: Allyn & Bacon. Reid, B., & Vans, S. (1989). In J. Valsiner, (Ed.). Child development in cultural context (pp.199-218). Toronto: Hogrefe Inc. Van Hoorn, J., P.M. Nourot, Scales, B., & Alward, K. R. (2003). Play at the Center of the Curriculum. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education. Zimbardo, P.G. (1995). Shyness: What it is? What to Do about it? USA: Perseus Publishing.

Breaking Social Norms

Before proceeding to a detailed discussion of my experience in breaking a social norm, there is a need to define and elaborate some of the types of social norms. Generally, social norms are accepted ways of thinking, feeling, behaving that people in a group agree on and endorse as right and proper. These social norms often take various forms. They can be institutionalized, thus becoming the standard rules of behavior in a society (e. g. law). They can also be manifest rules â€Å"that silently tells someone of the approved forms of behavior† (Light et al. , 1989).Hence, it can be said that social norms comprised most of the conventional behaviors perceived in a given society (it is generally noted that social norms differ across societies – spatially and periodically). Nonetheless, social norms are enforced differently. There are social norms considered to be rigid in application; that is, all members of the society need to follow such rules. These social norms are call ed mores. Frequently, mores are transformed into laws, expected to be followed by all members of the society (violation is considered to be a threat to social organization).There are also norms that are laxly enforced by members of the society. These are called folkways. Generally, folkways are the society’s web of cultural or spiritual rituals, traditions, and routines. Deviance (breaking a social norm is synonymous to deviance) is not considered a threat to social organization. Sanction for violating folkways or traditions is less severe than moral deviance. Breaking a Social Norm As part of the requirements in our sociology course, the professor asked us to break a social norm (without contributing physical or mental danger to other people).A paper will be submitted detailing the specifics of the experience. Initially, I had this fear of social retribution for violating a social norm. Rather than thinking of the form of action I will take in breaking a social norm, I focus ed more on the consequences. However, since the professor assured us that we were only required to break a â€Å"soft† social norm, that is, a norm laxly enforced by the society, I felt relieved. I began enumerating the possible â€Å"soft† social norms I could remember. I remembered that wearing pajamas in movie theaters usually embarrasses many people.Usually, you will hear people talking of your â€Å"fashion style. † Other people usually gossip of the â€Å"strangeness† of the â€Å"person at his/her front† (a person wearing pajamas). However, as a student of sociology, I would never accept such assertions unless validated by experience or empirical research. Thus, for the first time, I became enthusiastic of my forthcoming experience. There were two things I considered before breaking a social norm: the color of the pajama I would be using and of course, the relative number of people in the theater. Usually, people going to movie theaters are embarrassed to see persons wearing yellow pajamas.I really do not know the reason behind this observation. What I really cared is that it is possible that the people are reacting not on the appropriateness of wearing pajamas in movie theaters but on the color of the pajamas. Hence, I used a white pajama to eliminate this possibility. The relative number of people going to theater also poses another problem. If I chose a theater which is seldom visited by people, then I will not be able to fully substantiate my deviance. Because deviance is partially measure by the degree of disagreement by the deviant and the society (this is really hard to measure), number is a factor.Hence, choosing the â€Å"right† movie theater (which is observed to be a frequent visiting place for many people) is a factor in executing the experience. I wore a white pajama that day. The movie theater was four blocks away from my residence. I decided to walk. It was about 4 o’clock in the afternoon. In the streets, I noticed that some people were staring at my pajamas. Some of them laughed; some threw a smile on me (most of the persons who laughed were men). It was clear to me that my pajama was causing the â€Å"disturbance† (or more appropriate, the social labeling of a deviant).Then I entered the entrance door of the theater. I noticed that the guard was somehow reluctant to allow me to enter the movie theater. Because I bought a ticket, he had no choice but to allow me to enter the place. Upon entrance to the theater, I saw some persons staring at me. Definitely, they were thinking that my dress is not an appropriate one when going to movie theaters. After a few seconds, they fixed their eyes on the movie screen. Then, I began to walk in the stairs of the movie theater just to take note of the reactions of the people I passed by.Some people were annoyed at the â€Å"inappropriateness† of my dress. I could trace it on the movements of their eyes. I knew that t hey were directing their view to my dress. Then, I settled on a seat located on the right side of the movie screen. I noticed that the person at my back was directing a laugh to his date. I guessed my dress was the cause. I felt a little distressed on the reactions of the people on my dress. Added to that, because I was the only one â€Å"wearing a strange dress†, I felt that I was the focus of attention (disregarding the fact that most of the people in the movie theater focused on the movie).Then, I noticed that almost all people in the theater were back in their usual â€Å"business. † The person at my back stopped from laughing. Most of the people fixed their eyes on the big screen. During the climax of the movie, I felt that everything was back in the normal. It seemed that that movie altered the focus of the people. Instead of fixing their eyes on my dress, they directed it to the movie screen. The movie screen (and the movie, of course) was a big help. When the m ovie was about to end, I noticed that some people were again fixing their eyes to my dress.Some people passing by my seat just ignored me. I felt a little relieved having observed that many people were ignoring me. I felt a little surprise when one of the movie-goers asked me the reason for wearing a white pajama in the movie theater. I said that it was my custom in when going to movie theaters. The person threw a smile at me. I know the thing running in his mind. He was really struck to see a person wearing a white pajama in the movie theater. Breaking the social norm I chose was not really easy. I knew that people would perceive me as a deviant once I start breaking a norm.Although it was a â€Å"soft† social norm, the propensity of a general reaction from people would surely be manifested in their covert behavior; that is, their â€Å"silent† disagreement over the inappropriateness of my dress would surely result to gossip and laughter. These general reactions thoug h were proven (through my experience) to be momentarily. These reactions were the result of initial discomfort or uneasiness to some people going in the movie theater. Gender difference with regard to the intensity of reaction was significant. Most of the people who laughed at my dress were men.Since the norm I broke was a â€Å"soft† one, I did not experience any harsh moral sanction. The reason lies on the nature of the norm itself. The norm is part of the routine activities of the people (that going to movie theaters with pajamas is not appropriate), hence does not constitute any moral evaluation. Thus, the sanctions (gossip and laughter) that were directed to me by some of the movie goers were correlated to the type of social norm I broke. Personally, I would really like to repeat this experience (not for experience’s sake) for empirical validation.Empirical validation is usually effective when multiple points of experiences are examined. In this case, repetition s erves as factual and theoretical validation of some elements of social deviance. References Light, Donald. (1989). Sociology. NY: McGraw-Hill Companies. Social Norms. (2007). Retrieved on October 27, 2007 from http://72. 14. 253. 104/search? q=cache:eMCHZe0mVroJ:www. buec. udel. edu/kimt/Leading%2520People/10. 11%2520Social%2520Norm%2520%26%2520Communication. ppt+definition+of+a+social+norm&hl=tl&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=ph&client=firefox-a.

Lisa Delpit

Fortunately or unfortunately, in the modern materialistic civilization deeply impacted by the industrial and internet revolutions, education and career are linked emphatically and inseparably.   The real purpose of education is lost somewhere. The essence of education is the transmission of knowledge, to mold noble human beings. More education can help the individual and the society only if it produces more wisdom. Education is not mere training; it is something more than it; it is not mere acquiring knowledge; it is something more than it. Education is something more than mere diversion in life. Education must lead to the true manifestation of the inner personality of an individual and assist the generation of peace and prosperity in the society. Lisa Delpit on education†¦. A) What are some ways a person can be made to feel different or invisible in our educational system? The one important problem zooming in the American classrooms is simple and obvious. Nearly 40 percent of the children belong to minority groups and the teacher is white. The issue of miscommunication is real. The teaching time becomes the mental struggle for the children and if their domestic conditions are also poor, it is double tragedy for them. A sincere teacher has to waste lots of time on account of this communication gap and to reduce the inferiority complex among such children. What Lisa propounds is not anti-white. She is pro-poor and for the downtrodden and wishes to make the best out of the education system for their future growth and suggests improvements. She is African-American but her analysis of the malady in the educational system, is honest and impartial. Misunderstanding about cultures is really great in American Schools. B) What are some ways you have felt silenced, different and /or invisible in your own education? Describe some specific examples and how each affects you. As a young student, I belonged to a poor family, and from the recollection of the past, I could clearly see how most of the teachers, differentiated between the rich and the poor students. The rich could afford private tuitions, from their own teachers, and the parents of such students had good rapport with the teachers. There were occasions, when such students brought costly gifts for the teachers on their birthdays, etc. But as for teaching in the class, the teachers took pains to teach, treated the students well and did not differentiate on counts of economic status. C) What were some helpful insights you gained from this book for bringing the gap between a child’s home and school culture (or therapeutic setting)? Lisa has succeeded in dealing with the issue of multi-cultures with a human face. This is not the problem of the school education alone. It is only the part. The problem has bigger dimension, as it affects the social set-up of the whole of USA. The ripples of the problem are naturally expected to impact the school-life of children. The tactful handling of the situation by the teaching community is one of the solutions to the vexed problem because the values taught to them at the formative stage of their lives, will leave positive or negative imprints for their entire lives. I do get the feeling, as I go through the contents of the book that the honest philosopher in Lisa, who touches the borders of spirituality, speaks for the benefit of humanity. The contents of the books are like the gush of fresh spring-water. Classrooms are the miniatures of the US society, and Lisa is aware of the implications of what is taught in the class. D) Are there any ideas and / or beliefs that you disagree with the book? The argument of Lisa that many minority students are erroneously labeled as â€Å"underachievers† due to failures of communication between teachers and students is part of the truth, not the whole truth. The teacher is always supposed to be more intelligent and experienced than the students, and the students hailing from poor families and minorities, in their endeavor to learn the topics detailed in the syllabus, have to mostly depend upon what is taught in the school, within the limited hours. They can not be expected to get support from the family and social environment in which they live. This is the main problem of such students, but there are many instances when such students have tackled this obstacle and converted it into an opportunity, and have sterling academic achievements to their credit. I have nothing to strongly disagree of what is propounded in the book. Conclusion: The problems of the American classrooms are linked to big and vexed social issues of the country. To expect that a white or black teacher will find the permanent solutions for them in the classroom, is asking for the moon. But the teachers, whose influence carries immensely, need to provide a sense of direction to the students, to enable them to understand the perspective of American life impartially and without bias/hatred. Reference Cited: Delpit, Lisa: Book: Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom (Paperback) Paperback: 206 pages Publisher: New Press (February 1996) Language: English ISBN-10: 1565841808 ISBN-13: 978-1565841802               

Species and Its Descendants

Species and Its Descendants Species and Its Descendants Species and Its Descendants By Mark Nichol An assortment of diverse words stem from the Latin word species, which had two distinct meanings, one of which is â€Å"a particular kind, sort, or type†- the pertinent sense for the following terms. special: This word, coming into English from Old French, originally meant â€Å"better than ordinary† but later acquired the additional senses of â€Å"marked by a distinguishing quality† and â€Å"limited in function, operation, or purpose†; the noun specialist carries the latter connotation in describing someone with a narrow set of skills. The variant especial, taken from an Old French term meaning â€Å"important† or â€Å"preeminent†- treated in Modern French as spà ©cial- originally had the same meaning as special but later acquired the additional senses of â€Å"particular† and â€Å"peculiar,† as well as â€Å"intimate.† The adverbial form, especially, is now much more common than the adjectival form. specie: This technical term for coins, as opposed to paper currency, stems from the phrase â€Å"in specie,† meaning â€Å"in the actual or real form,† which in turn derives from an identical-looking phrase in Latin that means â€Å"in kind.† (The notion is that coins actually have monetary value, whereas paper currency merely represents such value.) species: Species denotes a distinct type of life-form, but this biological sense was preceded by multiple now-rare connotations such as â€Å"appearance,† â€Å"notion,† and â€Å"resemblance.† Originally, it was associated with a classification in logic. specific: This word, meaning â€Å"particular,† â€Å"precise,† or â€Å"special,† is an antonym of generic, just as, in biology, a species is more, well, specific than a genus. (Like species and specific, genus and generic are related.) specious: This term has undergone the most deviation from its original sense, which is â€Å"fair† or â€Å"pleasing.† (It stems indirectly from the Latin word species by way of speciosus, which means â€Å"good-looking† or â€Å"beautiful.†) Now, it pertains to superficial attractiveness or false validity or value. spice: This unexpected descendant of special, which denotes plant products used to season foods, derived from a later sense of species in Latin of â€Å"goods or wares,† pertaining to spices as a commodity. The additional, centuries-old, figurative sense of â€Å"something that provides relish or zest† survives, but the meanings â€Å"sample† and â€Å"trace† do not. The second sense of the Latin term species, derived from the verb specere, is discussed in this post. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Capitalize Animal and Plant Names15 Words for Household Rooms, and Their SynonymsOne "L" or Two?

12 Angry Men Movie Analysis Essay Example

12 Angry Men Movie Analysis Essay Example 12 Angry Men Movie Analysis Paper 12 Angry Men Movie Analysis Paper Essay Topic: 12 Angry Men Course: HRMG6200 Organization in New Economy Assignment: Twelve Angry Men Movie The movie Twelve Angry Men is about the twelve jurors that could adjust their influence in a decision-making process for conviction an eighteen years-old boy, whether the boy guilty or not guilty in murdering of his father. It represents a perfect example for applicable of a work group development framework. It also has examples of influence techniques among a group’s members. This paper is looking at those specific examples in the movie and focusing in analysis the reasons why Juror 8 is so much more effective than others in the meeting. According to Bruce Tuckman, healthy work groups need to go through four stages of development: Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. Forming define as members get acquainted and organized to select a leader, a given example for the forming stage in this movie is the twelve men were up for the first vote, engaged in social oriented behavior to become acquainted with one another. The lead juror introduced to everyone â€Å"why are we here. † Storming are power struggles and sub-grouping, given example here is one juror voted â€Å"not guilty† while other eleven jurors voted â€Å"guilty†. It formed a perfect conflict that led group members device by two sub-group, vote guilty group and vote not guilty group, seat back for digging deep into the provided evidences to make sure if they are worthy of declaring the boy guilty of the charge. Norming define as group chooses rules to coordinate interaction and facilitate goals, given example here is when the twelve men rejected the prejudice of a tired voting, six â€Å"guilty† versus six â€Å"not guilty. † Another good example for Norming is when â€Å"We nine need to understand why you three still think he is guilty. † Performing define as the group structure enables working together smoothly toward one goal. It is when they all agreed on only one common right answer â€Å"the boy is not guilty†. The twelve jurors were going through the four main stages of developing a healthy work group in the meeting even it seems complicated and needed high-intensity efforts from certain members. According the five Methods for Influencing Other Group Members use of reason, assertiveness, coalition building, higher values, and bargaining when Juror Eight said: â€Å"we are talking about somebody life here, we can’t just decide within five minutes, suppose we are wrong†, he used the youth human-being life’s mportant and the danger of a false decision as good reasons to force other jurors in analyzing the facts carefully. He then talks about the boy’s backgrounds for appealing to logic and rational thinking of other jurors. Juror Three was overt prejudice, hostility, and used â€Å"assertiveness† to influence the other ten jurors of jury provided an antagonist for juror Eight. Juror eight used â€Å"coalition building† method to seek alignment with other group members. He never says that he believes the defendant is innocent but his mantra throughout the movie was â€Å"it’s possible! referring to the reasonable doubt, which he convinced others’ thought. Juror Eight continued to appeal other eleven juror’s higher values by repeatedly reinforcing their moral and judicial obligation to convict only if there was no reasonable doubt. He challenged each juror to look at the facts more thoughtfully. â€Å"Bargaining† is offering an instrument exchange. Juror 8 used this method when he said: â€Å"I want to call for another vote†¦ If there are 11 votes for guilty, I won’t stand alone†¦ But if anyone votes not guilty, we stay here and talk it out. Twelve Angry Men incorporates the five methods for influencing group members. According to a leader’s framework for decision-making process in a study research at Harvard Business School in 2007, the framework includes discovering context ’s characteristics, fact-based management, doing the leader’s job, discovering danger signals, and responding to those danger signals. The scenario of the decision-making process in this movie is a complicated context, where cause-and-effect relationships are discoverable but not immediately apparent to everyone. There were possibilities of false testimony. Juror 8 was so much more effective than other because he was aware of the responsibilities of a juror and how important his decision on the eighteen years-old boy’s life is. The decision could send the boy to the electric chair for finishing his life. At the beginning, he was not sure that the boy was guilty but he was sure that the evidences provided are not strong and sufficient enough to proof the boy guilty of charge. He discovered the danger of a possibility that the provided proofs are not influential and need verified before any decision, the danger of other jurors could overconfident in their own solution or in the efficacy of past solutions. He tried to draw other jurors into analysis the evidence technically and making sure if they are worthy of declaring the boy guilty of the charge. He knows the unknown factors, analyze facts, and set goal for his decision. He arranged a similar knife and brought brainstorming with the evidences. He used experiments to force other members to think outside the familiar. He focused to his objective and responsibility. He projected himself unbiased and he was not working in self-interest. He used logical reasoning, leadership skills, and effective communications for influence others’ decision successfully. In conclusion, beside of learning the applicable of a leader’s framework for decision-making process and methods for influencing other group members, the movie Twelve Angry Men also showed its audiences factors that help in forming a productive work group. A productive work group should have necessary factors such as: A diversity group members from difference backgrounds and religions; A perfect conflict like voting â€Å"guilty† versus voting â€Å"not guilty† to helps in drawing member’s attention into group’s duties; An environment where group members are open and honest as the painter helped in protecting the old man’s speech, where members can question the process and the content as the watchmaker asked the baseball fan to give the right reason why he changed his vote but not just changed it because he tired and wanted to change for speeding up the process of this decision-making, where members recognize the role that bias plays in decision-making and void biased decisions, where members agree and disagree in the right way without forces as members changed their votes when they see any sense of false testimonies, where members realize that it is possible for one person is right and all others are wrong as the old man helped juror 8 by changing his vote to keep the group meeting going, and that group members always can learn from each other. Refference: 1/ Robbins Judge, Essential of Organizational Behavior, 10th 2/ Reginald Rose Sidney Lumet, Twelve Angry Men movie, 1957 3/ Snowden Boone, a Leader’s Framework for Decision Making, Harvard Business Review, Nov 2007

Agriculture Revolution Essay Example for Free

Agriculture Revolution Essay The agriculture revolution occurred in the Eighteenth Century. It was the age of new inventions and methods which caused agriculture to boom and end the long problem of famine. The agriculture revolution also caused social and economic consequences. What are some of these methods, inventions an also, the downfalls and consequences of the agriculture revolution? In the eighteenth century it was important to improve agriculture to feed the rapidly increasing population. This meant they needed to make inventions to grow more food at a more rapid rate. This is about the time when they discovered crop rotation, which is rotationing the crop to refurnish the nutrients in the soil by switching the crops that used the nutrients in the soil with the ones that replaced it. This system gave farmers the opportunity to farm all their land at all times, instead of having to let some land set for a long period of time. Some of the important crops were peas, beans, turnips, potatoes, clovers and grasses. Other inventions like the seed drill, threshing machine, along with the enclosure of fields helped produce enough food for the growing population. The enclosure of fields was a new invention, which took a farmers scattered land and put it together in fenced in fields to farm a lot smarter and more efficiently. Not all the people of the eighteenth century went to farming in this new style, they were used to the traditional style and preferred to continue farming that way. The Low Countries and England were the main people that used crop rotation. New crops made ideal feed for animals, which meant farmers could increase their herds, which ultimately meant more meat and better diets for all. Some downfalls of the agriculture revolution meant that if a farmer wanted to experiment with new methods they would have to get all landowners in the village to agree. Enclosure didn’t seem to help the poor rural families; this meant that they couldn’t do the things they traditionally did. They liked using common pastureland to graze stock, forests and marshlands for firewood and berries, therefore the poor highly opposed the idea of enclosure and created allies with the wealthy land owners. The wealthy land owners were also against enclosure, because it required large risks and investments? The agricultural revolution had a very big impact on women; the new inventions and the machinery were much harder for them to handle. This meant women had to find another role in society, working at Cottage Industries or as Domestic Servants. The agriculture revolution was the start of a great stepping stone. The new inventions like Crop Rotation and Enclosure helped form the age we live in today. There were ups and downs to the agricultural revolution, as there is in any new ideas that are trying to be implemented. The revolution ended famine, the methods used caused distress with the poor and even the wealthy at times; they also wanted to keep the traditional ways of farming. The transformation and experimentation of new crops and systems of crop rotation was not completed until the nineteenth century. Agricultural revolution allowed farms to be more compact and increased investments. The agricultural revolution was an essential prelude to the Industrial Revolution. Agriculture Revolution. (2016, Sep 07).