Google Docs Challenges and Opportunities

Problem Statement Most businesses depend on technology in their everyday tasks. From email and phone sessions to websites, there is almost not a single activity which does not involve technology. These technologies, which are now taken for granted, have bridged some great holes in business communication. As businesses grow geographically and internally, there is a necessity for more advanced means of communication.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Google Docs Challenges and Opportunities specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More New trends have caused some new internet-based collaboration tools and software to be implemented in the established or growing businesses. In recent years, some useful collaboration tools, that are enabling people to conduct their businesses globally, have been created. Google Docs, Skype and Drop Box are examples. Virtual teams now need the collaboration tools as well as the project’s success. However, some of the collaboration tools have disadvantages that make virtual project teams suffer. In this paper, I will discuss the Google Docs as a one of the prominent tools for collaboration, and try to present the challenges that are faced in its implementation, and how they are overcome (Geist, 2010). When working in a virtual team, it can be hard to have all the statistics prearranged and easily recognizable. Nonetheless, remaining prepared is an important sign of being fruitful in a virtual team. To do this, it is essential to have a network in which each group member can log, upload, and save parts of their work, as well as the work of other members. With the use of content organization tools, statistics or documents are always at hand, and can be opened and corrected by each member of the group (Geist, 2010). Challenges Opportunities Many researches have mentioned some problems and challenges of the Google Docs. For example, the features of the Google Docs are rather rudimentary and simple, which more tech savvy workers may dislike. Moreover, other programs have extra progressive features that allow the worker to completely modify their documents and databases. Google Doc’s greatest weakness is its lack of organization and synchronous communication purposes. It is, for the most part, a database for documents. There is a lack of type-switch tools, and all oversees and improvements are lost, unless the document has been uploaded twice and one reproduction left complete.Advertising Looking for case study on computer science? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It does offer a tool for sharing folders and documents with a chosen group of people, so there is no need to use Google Groups. Google Docs offers a prompt messaging function that can be used when many operators are reading the same paper, but the letter record is not retrievable once the window is closed. Therefore, if worker s conduct a conversation at different periods, they have no way of reading the messages exchanged before their arrival (Geist, 2010). Business Solutions According to the research and some of the answers provided by Radical Technology, Google Docs as a collaboration tool has several very strong features. Firstly, Google Docs is a user-friendly collaboration tool, with which many users are already acquainted. When using a worksheet as the management border, operators do not need to reinvent the helm to build a traditional one. This protects not only growth time and possessions, but it also maintains constancy, as we only have to instruct the workers on one interface. All that, together with mobility and skills needed to manage Google Docs on multiple platforms, makes for a great collaboration tool. Secondly, since Google Docs is cloud hosted, one does not need to obtain another database system. The statistics or data for your solutions will live in the cloud, and be easily obtainable and redundant, as long as you have an Internet connection. This can, perhaps, remove the need for extra hardware, software, backups and control time from your support team. This can also be a separate advantage for smaller businesses that just cannot have enough money to invest in substructure or hosted solutions (Colley, 2011). For many traditional tools, you need to develop a version of the system with logins, collections, safety and controls. Google Docs is a recognized part of your business area so you can just use the built-in account system. Furthermore, one of the greatest features of Google Docs is the comfort with which you can permit and cancel access to your papers within your team.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Google Docs Challenges and Opportunities specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More By using the built-in safety system, you don’t need to emphasize any growth exertion to that part of you r answer anymore. In addition, you can also make company-wide or separate groups to let quicker sharing choices for teams and sections (Colley, 2011). Lessons Learned/Business Case One advantage of Google Docs that businesses can use is the fact that it saves a lot of money. Google Docs is completely free of charge so it does not entail any initial investment, but it can be more than useful. More importantly, it is web-based so it does not demand any hardware improvements. In fact, it can even reduce the amount of hardware needed for doing business because it can store a lot of data online. One additional promising feature is that with the advent of such software as Google Docs, we can reduce the office space needed for running a business so the costs in this aspect will be reduced dramatically (Hartigan, 2011). Google Docs is focused on improving collaboration. Users are able to control who is allowed to see their documents, and give other workers consent to manage them. Up to 50 u sers can edit a file at one period, and each user is able to see what the other users are doing at that time. Google Docs also has a chat feature within the document to let users communicate while they are collaborating. This means that there is no need for email add-ons and multiple reproductions of papers. Instead, there is one copy of the paper that is available to every person who has permission to see and manipulate it. Google Docs also keeps a record of historical forms of a document, which means that if somebody makes an alteration you are not content with, you will be able to undo all the changes (Hartigan, 2011). In addition, Google Docs is a form creator. Users can easily make communication forms and email them conventionally to the people who need to fill them in. When a form is constructed, it is placed on its individual webpage so the link can be given to the workers. Google Docs will then record their replies in a worksheet for the user in order to simplify conducting studies. This option can be used very successfully for studies and surveys, for example. One just needs to produce a form by using the form creator, send it out to the people he or she wants to survey, and read the responses via the Google Docs worksheet (Hartigan, 2011).Advertising Looking for case study on computer science? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Why do I care? As a future business professional, I find the fact that this type of technology is being developed very interesting because it might be the solution for the challenges that business profession is facing at the moment. Firstly, due to the ongoing economic crisis in the developed world, businesses are struggling immensely to reduce costs and save money so that they could improve their position on the market. Secondly, globalization and the lack of business space are threatening to destroy the traditional conception of a workplace. Finally, the traditional way of doing business has become really devastating for the environment so a lasting solution has to be found in that domain as well. Tools like Google Docs are offering at least partial solution to all those challenges. Google Docs offers a possibility of working on a single project from various locations all over the world. This can help not only to save office space and make the business global, but it can also save a lot of money since the office space is becoming more and more expensive. Furthermore, as we saw above the fact that it is no longer necessary to store and backup all the information on personal computers relieves the owners of the burden to constantly provide more and more hardware equipment. For that reason, they can save a lot of money on hardware, and that way of doing business will also be easier on the environment. Moreover, paper consumption will definitely go down dramatically once Google Docs is adopted by the majority of companies so we can hope for greener business in the future. Finally, the possibility of having many people work on a single project simultaneously will bring the concept of teamwork on the whole new level. In addition, one advantage might also be that not having to spend 8 hours in a crowded office can result in a reduction of stress and personal conflicts, which are inevitable consequences of the way we practice business today. All of these new possibi lities that Google Docs offers definitely bring us closer to the notion of an ideal working environment. References Colley, R. (2011). Why consider using Google Docs as a backend for custom web solutions. | Radical Technologists. Radical Technologists. Web. Geist, D. (2010). Evaluation of Google Docs as a Collaboration Tool. Kennesaw.edu. Web. Hartigan, C. (2011). How Google Docs can help your business. Web Design, eCommerce Website Design Website Hosting – Zeald NZ. Web. This case study on Google Docs Challenges and Opportunities was written and submitted by user Jace Baldwin to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The castle Essay Example

The castle Essay Example The castle Essay The castle Essay In Western Australia St Vincent de Paul society leaded by John Gorman first began in Western Australia on the 8th of December 1865 with its first conference. This conference was called the Perth conference and began to carry out the main work of Home Visitation for the society in W. A. In Todays society in Western Australia the St Vincent de Paul has more than 75 conferences helping and providing hope, comfort and dignity to people who are disadvantaged due to sickness, Job loss, mental illness and family breakdowns within W. A Purpose/mission in agency St Vincent de Paul is a prime organisational group that follows Jesuss teachings and living life through the gospel message, by serving others and Christ within the poor and disadvantaged people through giving them their love, respect, hope, Justice and joy by working to shape a more humane, merciful and compassionate society. St Vincent de Pauls vision is to strive to be recognised by the Australian society as the compassionate Catholic charity that offers a helping hand to people in need. hey believe that by respecting others dignity, sharing their hope and encouraging others, t helps the take control of their own dignity. Support Government Funding Most of the work at St Vincent de Pauls society is carried out by members and volunteers however the government does in fact fund the organisation towards aged care facilities, housing and homeless services and supported employment for people with disabilities. Donations Anybody can donate to St Vincent de Paul. Donations of clothing, furniture, household goods and money can be made at any local St Vincent de Paul centre. Those donations will go towards assisting people in your local area. Local/Community Fundraising St Vincent de Paul raise a substantial amount of money each year through their good Volunteering St Vincent de Paul are always looking for volunteers. Volunteer positions are always available to all people who are interested in supporting their causes. If anybody is eager to help they can enquire by contacting the organisation. Once someone becomes a volunteer they are able to help in community fundraisers as well as general aid at their local St Vinnies centre. Conclusion The society of St Vincent de Paul follow the teachings of the scriptures: Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, protect the rights of those who re helpless. Speak out and pronounce a sentence of Justice, defend the cause of the wretched and the poor. The society of St Vincent de Paul are recognising that God created within people the potential to love Justly. This organisation gives voice to those who are voiceless, staring with them and advocating for them. Through their unselfish and compassionate plans to help those who struggle, St Vincent de Paul demonstrates that all people are members of the human family. St Vincent de Paul seeks to share both bread and hope with our brothers and sisters, recognising Christ in their ainful stories and witnessing to the Good News of Justice and compassion. This organisation primarily focuses on poverty and inequality. They strive to meliorate good cause towards these issues because this organisation understands that Just love leads to peace. St Vincent de Pauls cofounder, Blessed Frederic Ozanam said Charity is the oil being poured on the wounded traveller. But it is the role of Justice to prevent the attack. In asking the simple question about the causes of injustice this organisation issues a prophetic call to all people of good will to work creatively to build equality and Justice into our society.

Business Practices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Practices - Essay Example While reviewing the work organization in the Company, one should ask themselves: why is the job organized in that manner Will that organization of the work help to meet the needs of the client as well as satisfy the staff responsible for it Are the installed step and operations in the job organization necessary or are there more appropriate approaches of having the job done better In most cases, individuals don't perceive the work operations, more so the connections between the job or operation they are carrying on with and other people's job. Getting all the people working in a certain process together assists in making them elaborate their step in the bigger operation hence able to design together a core sketch of the working operations of the whole process flow. According to USAID, getting a visual image of the real flow of the operation and making comparison with the ideal process indicates the step that is missing in the whole process. This still can show that there are some more crucial steps that can help have a job done better. It also shows that a certain process might be making a bottleneck. This process can be employed to indicate the steps that usually confuse staff or posse some limitations to getting services by the clients. The same way, it would show the tasks which are not assigned efficiently as well as the ones which have no mechanisms to give reassignment of the job to a different worker especially when the staff workers responsible for it are not present. Bringing the staff together also assist in sharing individual's best practices which could be more openly used. This kind of approach would assist the management to start thinking and transforming job organization and operations. That way the manager can employ several tools to address the particular elements of the job operation. Managing the required Change Making improvements in work organization basically demands that individuals and companies understand and transform. One of the common models for transformation management includes 8-step by approach which can be employed to the job organization. Creating the sense of urgency USAID asserts that, one of the most appropriate ways to manage change is to create a sense of urgency in the company. In most cases urgency is derived from the external environment of the organization. His helps the job organization to adopt methods that can reduce time wastage, minimize waste, and perform jobs in a better way as well as finding fresh and better approach of doing things. Creating a powerful guiding partnership Every staff member within the organization needs to take part in the transformation process. They are the ones who understand the operations of the organization better than other people in the company. The staff has the most appropriate applicable ideas regarding the ways to improve their job as well as installing the necessary changes. Vision creation. This makes the individuals affected to see the need for the transformation and appreciate the benefits it will bring to their work. They would be more willing to adopt the change if they see the compelling reason as well as the expected benefit. Communicate the vision to the staff The management ought to persuade and motivate

Global News Agenda Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Global News Agenda - Essay Example When they launched the Al-Jazeera international, their assumed audience became the Arabs and the world at large (Cushion and Lewis 2010). The construction of news to their assumed audience however does not reflect the main aim of launching the media house. This is because diversity does not mean constructing news which reflects distant suffering and violence. Al-Jazeera do construct news not to reflect the ideas of people out their but they construct news in a way in which they portray different instances as though they were speaking out of their own views. Construction of its assumed audience Argument against the construction of its assumed audience Though some of the news constructed by Al-Jazeera meets the aims of which the TV was set up of focusing on development of world issues, most of them do not meet this aims as they are constructed not to bring in diversity but to portray the suffering of other people from other countries (Ginneken 1998). Even though, Al-Jazeera is global n ews form, most of its aims are not met by the construction of its news to its target audience. ... America’s summit ends in acrimony 2. Israel soldier suspended for gun-butt attack 3. Taliban assault on Afghan Capital ‘over’ 4. Breivik says not guilty over the killings in Norway Looking at these media articles, one will get a negative picture of the individual and the countries depicted. The four articles seem to bring the development of world issues to the door step of the assumed audience and also bring diversity to the Arab News. However, the ‘them’ versus ‘us’ is evident in the four articles, and it may have negative consequences like economic consequences to the assumed target (Malek & Kavoori 2000). The Al-Jazeera international news is watched all over the globe, and this means that these four articles have been watched globally and the individual and countries affected may suffer economically due to withdrawal effect from the other countries. The articles paint a bad picture of the individual and the countries and no one would e ver like to be associated with people with a bad image or even invest in a country which has political disability or one with wars(Burton 2010). The satellite TV news is sponsored by Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa. The reasons for his sponsorship are to shore up the Western support in case of any attack. His sponsorship is also a show of his commitment to making Qatar progressive Islamic states that welcome the western investment and to build a global Muslim identity and Tran’s national Islamic imagined community. Judging from the reasons as to why the satellite news were formed, it is evident that the Al-Jazeera the main interest were the Arabs and more so the people of Qatar and that is why the media house reports ‘bad’ things on other countries. In

Performance Evaluations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Performance Evaluations - Assignment Example But if he is frustrated with his job, he will develop a negative attitude which would be reflected in his behavior and low motivation and productivity levels. Whenever a new supervisor is appointed, it is crucial to provide him training not only of his specified job position but also of the important aspects of performance management systems. Filling out a performance appraisal form is critical to the growth of each and every employee and any mistake could lead to serious consequences for him. The supervisor must be aware of every section of the performance appraisal form so that fair evaluation of each of his subordinates can be ensured. In light of this discussion, I recommend imparting a training session to Jill Best so that he can evaluate the employees fairly and with clear understanding of each constituent of the performance appraisal form. As per the rules and regulations laid down by O’Leary and law, every employee of the company has to be appraised irrespective of age, gender, race or color. I believe that you have shown good performance during the last twenty three years but it still needs be evaluated. Chances are that you might have been performing 4 in one area but we cannot be sure that this time it will remain on the same level-it can go up to 5 or come down to 3. Your consistently excellent performance can even get you to act as a mentor and leader to those who are at the beginning of their career ladder. It must be communicated via emails or brochures to all the employees of the company that they all need to undergo evaluation. Even the top most managers are evaluated by the board of directors. It doesn’t matter how long the employee is serving the company, he or she has to follow the rules and get appraised. It is the result of performance evaluation that the employee’s strengths and weaknesses are identified. If an employee is lacking knowledge in an area, training can be

Democracy Enable And Disable Social Movements Politics Essay

Democracy Enable And Disable Social Movements Politics Essay Democracy has been one of the greatest aspirations of Modernity and one of its greatest disappointments. The passing of centuries between the collapse of the Ancient Greek precursor and the reestablishment of democracy as a viable system makes its recent globalisation all the more remarkable. The revival of democracy was achieved in part through the victories of social movements over entrenched interests. (Esche 2001: 17) It is true that social movements were determinant for the implementation of democratic systems throughout the world. However, the question concerning this paper is whether democracies are determinant to social movements. Therefore this paper will explore in which ways does democracy enable and/or disable social movements. It will conclude that although democracy is, in theory, the system more prone to the appearance of social movements it is also a regime that, in practice, can prevent and restrict them. The first section of this paper will briefly overview the concepts of democracy and social movements in order to provide a framework for the argument. The second will explore in what ways democracies have provided spaces for social movements to occur. The third, will discuss the opposite. That is, how democratic systems, intentionally or unintentionally, have constrained the rise of associational forms. Both arguments will be illustrated with case studies from experiences within the developing countries. Finally, some concluding remarks will be offered in the end. As Tilly (2003) explained democracy as oligarchy, autocracy for example is a kind of regime and that means that it is a set of relations between a government and persons subject to that governments jurisdiction (p.25). Democracy can also take many dimensions and forms and they differ greatly from one another. For instance, there are liberal democracies and there are representative democracies; there are pluralistic democracies and there are constitutional democracies. This is relevant for the argument because the level of democracy, being the liberal democracy the most flexible one, might have an impact on the creation or restriction at the civil society level. Nevertheless, although they might differ in their construction they also share common values. One of the most important is that it should serve the best interests of their constituents echoing Abraham Lincolns ideal of government of the people, by the people, for the people. In other words, a democracy allows for debate and for decisions to be made according to the will of the majority. It also allows for the creation of spaces between the private sphere and the state. These spaces are the ones where mediation is made between the state and the people or formally known as civil society: Civil society could be viewed as but one form of the political relationship between state and society. [It is] an intermediate associational realm between state and family populated by organisations which are separate from the state, enjoy autonomy in relation to the state and are formed voluntary by members of society to protect or advance their interests and values (White 1996: 181-2). From this definition an important characteristic is worth pointing out. Indeed, an independent civil society is the one who can truly voice peoples discontent. This is because any association with the state can severely undermine their intentions. Without an independent civil society the balance of power can never be challenged; the level of accountability cannot be increased and the chances of having grievances transformed into favourable legislation will be impossible. Furthermore, if the civil society is not independent there is the risk of social movements becoming institutionalised as it will be discussed in a further section. Now that both democracy and social movements it is time to look at the main argument and explore in what ways democracy promotes or disables democracy. It was with the introduction of democracy that the world has seen a dramatic increase in social mobility levels, in more opportunities for education and above all a feeling of individual freedom allied with the right to associate without fear of persecution. Stories from North Korea or China stand to make the argument that democracy is the most open and flexible system. It was with the advent of democracy that previously unrepresented groups began to have both political representation and protection in the form of legislation. One of the most visible social movements throughout history has been the womens movement. Seeking to have representation in the political world women have been fighting in traditional patriarchal societies for their equal place in society. In Ghana the transition to democracy opened a space for women to target their grievances by mobilising women to engage in political activity. This was due to two main factors. First, the pre-democratic regime made impossible for women to even consider the debate of their situation. As soon as democracy was installed women were quick to mobilise and bring the issue into public debate. Second, if a democracy means representation of different groups in society surely women had to be also part of the political life of Ghana (Fallon 2008). This is, however, problematic and sometimes even undesirable. If all groups demand representation then it will be harder to reach consensus, especially in countries with a large number of different ethnicities or religious beliefs. Another feature of democracy, besides the right of freedom of association, is accountability. That is, people have the right to question and protest against any measure or action taken by their government. A key feature for the success of social movements is working governments institutions such as an independent judicial system where everyone, including the government itself, is not free from obeying the law. This was the case in Brazil where President Lulas government faced corruption charges due to misuse of public money. A free press, independent from the government, led the people in searching questions and demanding answers (Flynn 2005: 1260). However, accountability is not only related to the rule of law. It is also attached to a governments position on certain issues as previously mentioned. For instance, the United States (US) war on terror has created much discontent within their own borders and caused an anti-war movement due mostly to unilateral decisions such as going to war with Iraq and Afghanistan ironically in the name of democracy and as leaders of the free world. In 2002, Kellner recommended that the war should be fought not on military terms but by a global movement condemning terrorism. Since then there has been a movement, or several, but condemning US use of violent means. Perhaps the best example on how a democratic system allows for social movements lies in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. In a country with high-levels of inequalities both between classes and between regions the city of Porto Alegre, with an alternative model of participatory democracy, exhibits a high level of social re-distribution (Ponniah and Fisher 2003: 181). There are, however, several ways in which democracy or the process of democratisation disabling or restricting social movements. The first one has to do with the transition from any kind of authoritarian rule to democracy. A transversal problem across several transitions in the developing world is the fact that the same power structures and elites remain in place (Garretà ³n 1997, Gibbon 1997, Prevost 2006, White 1996). Usually, movements that attain power are not organised or powerful enough to constitute a secure government. Therefore they have to make concessions with old power structures such as the military in order to form a government. In South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) had to accept that: [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] the old government bureaucracy would have to be maintained. [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] It did not have the people to fully replace the existing government bureaucracy both in terms of their sheer number and out of a lack of appropriate skills in a wide range of areas (Prevost 2006: 170). As a consequence the same kind of policies and reluctance in accepting a black majority rule prevented in specific the actions of the black movement to be fully realised and in general democracy to be deepened. In South Korea a similar pattern, of restrictive democracy, emerged in the late 1980s. With democracy a large number of organizations entered civil society causing some social and political unrest. However, the political elite joined the two opposition parties into the government and formed a new hegemonic party. White (1996) explains the advantages of forming the latter. First, it absorbs opposition leaders. Second, by doing that the established elites maintain their power and influence in decision-making. The second way in which democracies disable social movements happens when democracy is already in place. If the movements were focused on one aim to overthrow the government then when they achieve it they lose their main thrust and, eventually, become fragmented. As mentioned, democracy opens spaces for unrepresented groups and because within any society there are so many different groups demanding political representation it becomes difficult to mobilise any kind of collective action as there is not a coherent and unique grievance (Melucci 1988, Menon 2000). In some cases, and because there is not a wider movement to support it, some forms of protest are not organised and are destined to fail (Dong 1997). Furthermore, movements might actually compete with each other which further weaken the movements (John 2000, White 1996). A third way in which movements might be disabled is when they become institutionalised (Berger 2003, Flynn 2005, Melucci 1988, Prevost 2006). Becoming institutionalised is when movements lose their independent status. This can happen in three ways. Firstly, in order to have access to power, or resources, social movements might need to associate with mainstream political parties (Houtzager 2000). Secondly, governments in order to gain support but also to avoid contestation co-opt key community leaders into the political system (Prevost 2006: 169). By doing so they are eliminating the radical and influential individuals from their natural habitat the civil society. Both the ANC in South Africa and President Lulas Partido Trabalhador (PT) have used this tactic to gain acceptance and to diminish to possibilities of social movements to mobilise. But movements can also be co-opted by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Disillusioned with the lack of political space offered by the gover nment and lacking funds, movements often resort to NGOs for support. Eventually, this relationship turns into dependency and because of that they have to accept external policies from NGOs which in turn restricts organizations agenda-setting as this becomes set by western donors priorities. In Guatemala, the womens movement known as Guatelmatacas became a provider of social services replacing governments functions. This was in part because they were representing the interests of NGOs and not their own. As Berger (2003) described it womens groups in due course shifted from a strategy of confrontation to one of conciliation (p. 205). A fourth way that accelerates the weakening of social movements is the advancement of capitalism and its instrument neo-liberalism. Esche argued that capitalism and democracies have developed a special relationship, that it to say that capitalism prefers democratic environments and that democracy favours the introduction of capitalism. He also argued that this simple account of democracy and capitalism should be avoided mainly because capitalism is also able to penetrate in authoritarian governments. However, Roberts (1998) points out that capitalism and market forces at work in democracies accelerate the fragmentation and weakening of popular collective subjects, the labour movement in particular and that neo liberalism has the remarkable capacity to neutralise and dissolve its opposition (p. 270). Capitalism thrives on inequalities and therefore these have to be maintained in an elegant way by governments. This shows that governments and for that matter democracy itself are unable to protect the interests of their citizens. To finalise the argument on how democracies disable social movements it is important to explore the role of the media. One might think that media and specifically the internet, is only used as a propaganda tool in authoritarian countries but the fact is that it is also used in democracies such as the US. In other words, internet technology can be used [..] for democratic or non-democratic means (Hand and Sandywell 2002: 212). If the internet is restricted and controlled in China it is also used as a propaganda tool for democratic countries. The war on terror ideology of good versus evil, the election of Barack Obama as president of the US have shown how democratic countries can also use the internet as a political tool. More recently the Tea Party movement is using the internet to mobilise a grassroots movement with vested interests pro-corporate, anti-tax, anti-regulation. (Monbiot 2010: 29) However, in the context of social movements this is to ignore the fact that it is also a to ol for movements to mobilise groups and create networks of activity beyond the physical world. It is true that the internet is not at the moment a democratic arena but like the majority of the transitions to democracy it will take several social movements to democratise it. This paper has shown that democracy can enable and disable social movements. These possibilities are dependent on the type of democracy but also on how much the civil society sphere can remain autonomous from governments apparatus. If it remains truly autonomous then it is possible to alter the balance of power. As an enabler it was discussed in this paper that democracies allow for the creation of a space between the state and the private sphere. It also allows, on the one hand, for people to associate and express their grievances and, on the other hand, for previously represented groups to engage in political activities. One would say that these two allowances should be enough to guarantee success for all movements. However, there are several ways in which democracy disables movements. First, the transition to democracy does not mean that old elites and power structures are removed meaning that although the terminology has evolved maybe the ways of doing politics have not. Second, on the instalment of democracy movements become fragmented. Movements fight different, smaller, and unfocused battles and this lead to either their extinction or their relevance. As democracies mature so do their governments. In order to control possible future movements, governments co-opt leaders and thus, movements lose their autonomy. This is aggravated with western NGOs advocating westernised ideals. Finally, the spread and level of capitalism penetration in developing countries means that no means are excluded in order to maintain both inequalities and special interests in place. Regarding the media, and with special attention to the internet it was explained that it can work as a force for both democratic and non-democratic fields but above all it allows for the creation of virtual transnational networks of social movements.

Colonial South Carolina Report Essay -- American America History

Colonial South Carolina Report George the Second, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, King, Defender of the Faith, I write to thee from the heart of South Carolina, Charleston to impart my knowledge of the region. My travels have been long and arduous. I arrived by way of a freight ship bearing finished goods for the colony on the twenty-eighth day of March, in the twenty-third year of thy reign. All that province, territory, or tract of ground, called South Carolina, lying and being within our dominions of America is well. The environmental conditions of South Carolina differ dramatically to that of England. The days are long, hot, humid, and at times damp. The people of the colony deserve admiration for dealing with such unfavorable weather. Occasionally, storms stemming from the Atlantic Ocean wreak havoc on the villages, upturning the soil and damaging the trees, but the majority of the days are bright with sunshine. During the spring and summer there is a combination of rain and scorching heat, whereas during the fall and winter it sometimes snows in the northern section of South Carolina, but throughout the rest of the region the climate remains moderately cool. The land is undulating and layered with an abundance of forestry. Yet, the terrain does not consist entirely of woodlands and smooth hills. The land is far from perfect. A large portion of the territory is made up of marshlands. The ground is somewhat blemished by the scattered swamplands. These quagmires are abode with vicious alligators and infested with countless mosquitoes. These bloodsucking mosquitoes in turn spread malaria amongst the populace. Despite the threat of malaria and fierce alligators, the economy thrives from the environment. South C... ...no loyalty to the Crown now, in future conflicts, the colonists may turn against us and become our enemy. Radical action must be taken in order to regulate their behavior. They must recognize the royal authority. The beneficial aspects of South Carolina outweigh the detrimental aspects. South Carolina is a powerful asset. The economy is strong and provides a priceless resource of indigo and rice. Our woolen industry would not be able to cope without the dye from the indigo. The colony produces an abundance of rice. The colony is also strategically located, to stop the Spanish from expanding north. Although there is a political predicament, it is not beyond thy Majesty to resolve it. By and large, the colony is a worthy investment and should receive immediate financial backing accompanied by British officials to reinforce the policies and taxes of thy Divine Grace.

Leading Group Challenges Paper

There are many important elements of organizational behavior in a criminal justice or security agency. These elements of organizational behavior are guidelines to organization hire valuable employees with values, morals, and ethnics. Commitment to ethical behavior one of the elements among others that will be discuss in this paper. Commitment to ethical behavior is when unethical behavior and illegal business practice in an organization is publicized.This is element that is use in the criminal justice and security agencies because the public and businesses trust the agencies to perform their duties with professionalism, morality, and diligence. The public sees through the media about police officer who have been caught breaking the law and conducting unethical behavior while on and off duty. The public has the see that the agencies are not tolerating unethical behavior from their personnel official because to restore the public's faith in the agency.Importance of human capital is an element use because employee love to know that they are being value by the organization he or she is employed with. Human behavior is very complex in an organization because of the demographic increase in the country, which results in employees with different cultures and background. This makes it hard for other employees to sustain success, so experience, knowledge and commitment to people plays a major part in sustaining that success. This true when it comes to a criminal justice and security agency where they come into contact with different cultures and backgrounds on a daily basis.Pervasive influence of information technology with penetration of computers and communication in all aspect of the workplace, it is important for a organization to keep up with the advancement of technology in the criminal justice and security agency. Technology is playing a major role in how criminals for committing crimes, which is why there has been a increase in cyber crimes because a criminal can bedazzle money, commit identity theft, and launder money from anywhere there is a computer with a capability to commit the transaction, even sex offenders are using cyberspace to search for victim.Many law enforcement agencies has development special division and hired computer experts to help combat the increase of cyber crimes. Emphasis on teamwork is a very important element in organizational behavior in the criminal justice or security agency. Many criminal organization are starting to work together to goal of making a huge profit in illegal activity, which is making it difficult for law enforcement to infiltrate and investigate a criminal organization because most of the criminal organization have knowledge of law enforcement personnel around their local area.Law enforcement agencies have teamed up and used other undercover officer from different local, state, and federal agencies to infiltrate and investigate illegal activity by criminal organizations. The United States may a lso team with agencies on an international level to help combat international criminal organization, in an effort to stop terrorism, drugs, human trafficking, and etc. Most organization have develop an element called a mission statement. A mission statement describes and helps focus the attention of organizational members and external constituents on the organization's core purpose.This is use in the criminal justice and security agency use mission statement for the success of the organization and better serve the community or businesses that they have agree to serve and protect. Demise of command-and-control because the handling of new environmental pressure and demands are proving incapable of a traditional hierarchical; organization are replacing them with a flexible structures and participatory work setting fully, which value human capital.Criminal justice and security agencies hierarchical are adapting to flexible structure to appreciate the value of human capital to keep the m oral high within the organization, and with the hierarchical still in place complaints and incident can be reported to a supervisor. Respect for new workforce expectations this is when the new generation of workers are not tolerating of hierarchy, more informal, and status is the least of their concerns.Organization are supporting their workers by paying more attention to helping the new generation balance their work responsibilities and personal affairs. This is true in the criminal justice and security agency, because employee must be totally focus on the mission statement an agency can't afford for an employee's job performance to suffer because of personal issue, so some have set up programs or counseling to help their employees deal with their issues. An agency knows personal issues can affect the value, morals, ethnics, and professionalism of the job.

Free Energy Definition in Science

Free Energy Definition in Science The phrase free energy has multiple definitions in science: Thermodynamic Free Energy In physics and physical chemistry, free energy refers to the amount of internal energy of a thermodynamic system that is available to perform work. There are different forms of thermodynamic free energy: Gibbs free energy is the energy that may be converted into work in a system that is at constant temperature and pressure. The equation for Gibbs free energy is: G H – TS where G is Gibbs free energy, H is enthalpy, T is temperature, and S is entropy. Helmholtz free energy is energy that may be converted into work at constant temperature and volume. The equation for Helmholtz free energy is: A U – TS where A is the Helmholtz free energy, U is the internal energy of the system, T is the absolute temperature (Kelvin) and S is the entropy of the system. Landau free energy describes energy of an open system in which particles and energy may be exchanged with the surroundings. The equation for Landau free energy is: ÃŽ © A - ÃŽ ¼N U - TS - ÃŽ ¼N where N is the number of particles and  ÃŽ ¼ is  chemical potential. Variational Free Energy In information theory, variational free energy is a construct used in variational Bayesian methods. Such methods are used to appoximate intractable integrals for statistics and machine learning. Other Definitions In environmental science and economics, the phrase free energy is sometimes used to refer to renewable resources or any energy that does not require monetary payment. Free energy may also refer to the energy that powers a hypothetical perpetual motion machine. Such a device violates the laws of thermodynamics, so this definition presently refers to a pseudoscience rather than hard science. Sources Baierlein, Ralph (2003). Thermal Physics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-65838-1.Mendoza, E. (1988). Clapeyron, E.; Carnot, R., eds. Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire – and other Papers on the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Dover Publications, Inc. ISBN 0-486-44641-7.Stoner, Clinton D. (2000). Inquiries into the Nature of Free Energy and Entropy in Respect to Biochemical Thermodynamics.  Entropy Vol. 2.

How to job hunt without your boss finding out

How to job hunt without your boss finding out The job search can be a bit weird if you already have a  job- everyone does it, or no one would ever have a new job. But it has to be done in a top secret way, because you can’t let your boss know what’s going on. Even if he or she knows you’re unhappy, you don’t want this person knowing that you tried to leave- especially if you don’t get a new job right away. And even if you have a great, open relationship with your boss and she wants you to do what’s best for yourself, it’s still awkward. You don’t want to be marked as a flight risk†¦so how do you manage the process without tipping off the boss? Don’t check out from your day-to-day work.If you’re clearly not putting time and effort into your daily work, it’ll be a first sign that something is off. It’s not only bad practice in general to let your performance suffer, but it’s also a clear sign to your boss that you’re trying to get out the door, one way or another.Don’t use your boss as a reference.This one probably seems obvious, but you’d be amazed at how many people think they have to use their current boss as a reference. I once had a friend who listed her current boss’s contact information on a (stealth) job application, then freaked out when the new company actually called the current boss. If you need a reference but don’t want to tip your hand with your current boss, use a trusted colleague who is familiar with your work and can vouch for you.Don’t use your work computer.At this point, it’s safe to assume that Big Brother is always watching- and in this case that could include your boss. Don’t use your work computer to search for new jobs, work on your resume, or reach out to potential employers. There’s a good chance this runs afoul of your company’s computer usage rules, for one, and if you’re applying to competitor companies, it could be a legal issue as well. So make sure you’re doing your job hunt stuff on your own time, on your own devices.Don’t shout about your plans on social media.If you’re not Facebook friends with your boss or connected on LinkedIn, you might think it’s safe to talk about your job search or send out a â€Å"hire me!† blast. Don’t count on that â€Å"friends only† post to stay private. There’s nothing stopping one of your other contacts from letting it slip that you’re hunting, or from sending your boss a screenshot of your â€Å"I hate this place, get me out of here† rant. If you really don’t want your boss to know you’re looking elsewhere, don’t post anything on social media that you wouldn’t want him or her to read.Ideally, your boss won’t know about your job search until you have an offer in hand and a lovely resignation letter ready to go. But if you practice some basic di scretion, it doesn’t have to feel like a Cold War spy mission, either.

Employment at Will Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Employment at Will - Article Example Employee Inability to learn and acquire new skills and competencies In any workplace environment, expectations must be met while maintaining professionalism at all times (Osborne & Wennerberg, 2010). In this particular situation Jennifer fear learning new skills to enhance her performance. This emotional reaction can be countered by the manager initiating the following procedure. Ask for questions and concerns: the manager should validate the legitimate concerns and the negative effects that Jennifer is expressing. Jennifer will automatically reveal where the problem really lies and what is making her not to effectively acquire the needed computer skills and competencies (Osborne & Wennerberg, 2010). Ask for feelings and opinions: Jennifer seems withdrawn from what she is required to learn, in this regard the manager should reassure her that what she is feeling is common and it is safe and better to express her concerns. The manager can for instance also express the importance of com puter skills and how they are vital to the company (Osborne & Wennerberg, 2010). Resist becoming defensive: the mistrust between the manger and Jennifer is detrimental and must be addressed. The manager should not be defensive but rather make an effort to listen to Jennifer instead of arguing with her. He/she should encourage communication to win Jennifer’s trust (Osborne & Wennerberg, 2010). Be visible and involved: it is the duty of the manager to make sure that he/she is visible and accessible to Jennifer. The fear of the unknown in Jennifer will be alleviated only by the present and transparent management style. The manager should spend some time with Jennifer to encourage her to learn the needed skills (Osborne & Wennerberg, 2010). Provide information: the constant provision of information will help Jennifer manage her learning and working processes. The current facts should be made available to her; this will help Jennifer understand what is required of her and work har d enough to meet her expectations (Osborne & Wennerberg, 2010). Management, behavior and performance In this particular circumstance, the manager should follow the following disciplinary procedure to address Jennifer’s situation. Establish the facts: the manager should carry out an intensive investigation to establish Jennifer’s gross misconduct. The investigation can be conducted by different people thus allowing the manager not to rely on evidence from one person in the disciplinary hearing. Similarly Jennifer can be summoned to an investigatory meeting and if possible she should be suspended to allow for thorough investigation (Freelance Advisor, 2008). Inform the employee of the problem: if Jennifer is found to have a disciplinary case to answer, she should be notified through writing, where the notification contains enough evidence of the alleged misconduct; in this case lateness to work, poor performance, and unruly behavior. The notification letter also provides the employee with details of the time and venue where the disciplinary meeting will be held and her right to be accompanied at the meeting (Freelance Advisor, 2008) Hold the meeting to discuss the problem: the disciplinary meeting should be held without any delay and also Jennifer should be allowed enough time to prepare. Both the manager and the employee must be present. The manager

Corporate Responsibility in Fashion Retailing in Europe Essay

Corporate Responsibility in Fashion Retailing in Europe - Essay Example The European fashion retailers are faced with the responsibility of reducing environmental pollution (Grace, & Cohen, 2013). This is because these organizations conduct numerous activities that harm the environment, and thus need to be reduced. For example, the industry deals with clothes that are made with inputs such as nylon, synthetic, and acrylic that are made from non-renewable mineral oil (Balsiger, 2014). This means that the use of these resources leads to the disappearance of mineral oil from the environment. Synthetic fibers also do not degrade when disposed of in landfills, thus they cause pollution in the environment when they release harmful gases and particles to the air (Dupuis, & Dawson, 1999). The fashion industry handles the problem of the non-degradable materials by recycling them. The fashion retail sector also practices social responsibility to the environment by reducing the use of toxic chemicals, too much energy, and water. The industry uses these resources es pecially in the end processes of processing that include dyeing, bleaching, and cleaning (Martinuzzi, Kudlak, Faber, & Winam, 2014). Fashion retailers are also minimizing environmental destruction by minimizing the sale of clothes made from fabrics such as cotton that contribute to high amounts of pollution. The industry does this by selling apparel made from friendly inputs such as organic cotton and bamboo; Eco-Fiber is a retail organization that specializes in selling these types of clothes.