ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Heimer, Perrow, Reskin, and Williamson present four critical sociological arguments that represent the current organizational setup. Each of these scholars presents a counter argument to a known claim by offering logical explanations. The readings present the sociology and the economic aspects of the organization. The social aspect of a firm has a significant impact on the economic and financial status of the organization. Similarly, the economic stability of an organization determines the cohesiveness of social ties within the organization (Friedman 45). Organizations that place more emphasis on the social structure of their institutions achieve success for a long time. On the other hand, firms that focus majorly on economic gain while disregarding the social aspect of the institution enjoy success for a short period. For this reason, the four authors provide ideal material for managers to embrace in the transformation of organizations. Additionally, the articles offer insight into the nature of the 21 st century organization. In his article, Reskin aims at assisting people to focus on a different aspect of discrimination within organizations. Discrimination in organizations is a rather a highly discussed topic in the sociological field. People have identified many forms of discriminative activities that exist in organizations with the hope of convincing policy makers to improve on equity. However, the solution to discrimination in organizations can only be achieved if sociologists focus on the causes of discrimination in the organization rather than the existence of discrimination. In the 21 st century organizations, discrimination results mostly from non-conscious cognitive activities such as in-group and out-group perceptions. People discriminate against one another unknowingly because the societal setup allows it (Reskin 320). For instance, in class, the academic excellence of a black student will be highly publicized because it is a non-expected occurrence while the success of a white student is considered normal. In business operations, successful women running billion dollar companies receive many invitations to media houses to explain their secret to success. In contrast, their male counterparts who are even more successful rarely get on the spotlight because success for a man is a norm. Additionally, the proximate causes of employment discrimination continue to pose a great danger to the notion of equality in organizations. The heterogeneity of work groups, interdependence between groups and salience within an organization determines the level of discrimination problems that affirm endures (Reskin 322). Heimer, on the other hand, emphasizes the need to particularize relationships rather than employ a Universalism approach in business. She argues that the emphasis that the running of any organization should involv
Dred Scott v Sandford (60 U.S. 393) was an ironic case decided on March 6, 1857, by the U.S. Supreme Court. For our studies, the relevant part of the decision was the part regarding Dred Scott’s petition to be judged a free man. Dred Scott as a man of African descent and his wife, who was also an African, were still considered slaves and property of their owner even if they had already resided in Missouri, a state the held slavery illegal. The court justified its decision based on the fact that the fifth amendment prohibited the deprivation of property without due process. Property, in this case, included chattels like slaves. The decision also denied citizenship and all its privileges to slaves. Personally, I found this case dehumanizing because despite the earliest constitution saying “all men are born free and equal” here is an example of hypocrisy, saying one thing and then doing something completely different. It bothers me that there is no freedom or equality for Scott instead he is a piece of property and giving him freedom is tantamount to stealing him from his owner. I think the travesty of the decision would have helped inspire my author to write her book Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The Fugitive slave law of 1850 was the final law of its sort to be passed in the U.S. was an oppressive retrogressive law that strengthened slavery as an institution in the U.S. its most controversial aspects could be found in sections 5 to 7. Section five made it mandatory for any federal marshal or government official in any state to arrest a runaway slave and bring him back to his owner. Section 6 said that a runaway slave should be brought back to his master regardless of how far he had succeeded in fleeing. Section 8 punished with a huge fine anyone who aids and abets a known slave. In other words, the law made a run-away slave a criminal, and aiding them is akin to being an accomplice to a crime. In other words, a slave by running away becomes a criminal stealing himself from his owner therefore he has to be arrested and brought back. Another terrible law brought to us from the day civil liberties were a sham. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s abolitionist tendencies were inspired by the travesty of the Fugitive Slave Act. Abolitionism is the movement that seeks to abolish slavery. John Brown, the 19 th century’s most tragic American (Blue 481) was perhaps the most famous of these radicals. The Abolitionists were considered radicals because they often resorted to illegal means to achieve their goals. John Brown for instance tried to start a rebellion in Virginia by walking there with armed men and inciting the slaves to rebel. Others helped Blacks by hiding them from the authorities that tried to arrest them and force them to go back to their slavers. In General, the abolitionists believe
Introduction Reflective practice is an essential part of human personality that enables a person to self-discover his inner qualities. This concept is meaningful to my professional and career destiny because it enables me to understand my talents and abilities. Therefore, I have gained insights my behavioural instincts and how they either favour or weaken my ability to excel in various leadership roles. More importantly, the reflective process allows me to use my intellect to set higher standards for myself in different engagements I am pursuing (Mackoff & Wenet 2001, p. 96). As an aspiring leader, the reflective practice models I have been exposed to have made me understand the importance of behavioural as well as situational factors that make me a better professional. Moreover, I have acquired beneficial traits that allow me to motivate myself and other people I work with to enable them to actualise their true potential. Experiential learning models have helped me to familiarise myself with relevant tools that provide benchmarks for leadership success and performance in various organisational environments. Therefore, through reflective practice, I am able to understand values which are meaningful to people that I am required to lead and how I need to adapt to make a positive impact (Donaldson 2008, p. 312). Reflective practice allows a leader to use critical thinking skills to make a positive impression on people that work under him to encourage them to change their attitudes towards work processes. I have also learnt that organisational culture influences roles and relationships between various stakeholders in a firm. Moreover, the prevailing organisational culture in a firm directly determines the quality of performance a firm achieves from different processes. As an aspiring leader, the reflective process I have undertaken has made me realise that major organisational functions are directly influenced by a leader’s vision. Self –Examination through Exchange and Interaction Exchange and interaction are important factors that influence the manner in which a leader executes his responsibilities in a particular organisation. I have examined my personal behaviour and attitudes and realised that I do not share my thought and opinions with other people. According to Bass’ theory, behavioural and environmental factors allow a leader to exhibit positive qualities that inspire people working under him to register good performance. He insists that personal traits make some people natural leaders and they are able to stand out in the way they organise different functions and resources in organisations they lead (Jones 2001, p. 56). In addition, he insists t
Propaganda is a method of communication which is used to influence the attitudes of specific groups of individuals towards a particular cause or position (Propaganda, 2010). In essence, instead of a sense of impartiality propaganda actually presents information in such a way so as to influence an audience through selective dissemination of information in order to create an emotional rather than a rational response to certain issues (Propaganda, 2010). For example in the case of the Australia’s cancellation of the Fuel Watch program Senator Xenaphon utilized propaganda stating that Fuel Watch was not an effective means of helping consumers stating the need to tackle the big four oil companies using another method, what most people fail to notice is that he omits the details the successes the Fuel Watch program actually had which indicates possible ulterior motives on his part (Battersby, 2008). His actions resulted in the end of the National Fuel Watch scheme which to an extent could be considered a step back from giving consumers more control over how they purchase gasoline (VACC, 2008). What must be understood is that propaganda utilizes elements such as loaded questions, partial synthesis or even lying by omission in order to gain the desired response (Wilcox & Cameron 2009). One use of effective propaganda can be seen in the online article “Cultural Cringe where the writer selectively introduces facts which lambasts and derides the Australian video presentation for its World Cup 2022 bid (Hunter, 2010). Throughout the article there is little mention of the creativity that went into the video, the unique approach that Australia took or the overwhelming positive response viewers had for the commercial, rather, what is mentioned is nothing more than a continuous tirade focused against commercial itself (Hunter, 2010). It must be noted though the use of the term propaganda, as stated by Wilcox, has been connected to falsehoods, lies and deception (Wilcox & Cameron, 2009). It is true though that propaganda used by various PR departments have been utilized in various political campaigns as a form of political warfare where detrimental facts on rival candidates are released to the general public (Propaganda, 2010). On the other hand propaganda is also used in various public information campaigns by governments for positive effects such as the Australian governments fight against illegal downloads connoting their use with stealing and its use by the U.S. during the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq as a supposed “war on t
Obesity is defined by most people simply as a person who is fat. That definition holds a little bit of the actual truthful definition of the word. In reality, obesity is the result of excess proportion of total body fat and is usually calculated using the body mass index formula. A person is overweight once his BMI falls between 25 and 29.9 while obesity kicks in once the BMI goes over 30. Since obesity is caused by sedentary lifestyles that do not allow for exercise, this reason is most often pointed to as the common cause of the disease. However, there are other factors that contribute to obesity. For instance, as a person ages, the body metabolism changes and so the body needs lesser food to complete the same rudimentary activities of a person. Gender issues aside, women also tend to weight more than men since men are more physical beings and therefore have a more constant calorie burn. A woman’s body also undergoes more chemical changes and thus make them prone to more weight gain as they age and the chemical make up of the body changes. Other factors that contribute to obesity also include genetics, environmental and psychological factors, illness and medication. In the United States, obesity affects majority of the children. Recent surveys by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that there has been a plateu in regards to the rate of the disease growth among children between the years 2003 – 2006. Based on the study, in the combined years of 2003—2006, 16.3% of children and adolescents aged 2–19 years were obese, at or above the 95th percentile of the 2000 BMI-for-age growth charts. The scientific community, although at odds when it comes to how people can actually lose weight effectively, all agree that the best way to combat obesity among children and adults is by encouraging more physical activities such as exercise and sports. By having regular activities that bring up the heart rate to a fat burning level, we actually burn off excess calories and implement effective weight loss. The body is composed mostly of water and muscle. Most of the weight that is visible to the human eye is actually water retention and by sweating it out during exercise, we lose water weight. Eventually, this weight is brought down to a normal level and exercise then begins to work on tightening our muscles. This tightening or resizing of the muscles cause weight loss because the muscles are shrunk down to its proper and normal size that it lost during the obesity stage. It is a known fact that people will try the most outragous diet in order to lose weight. Some also put their weight loss faith in old wives tales and beliefs such as smoking helps a person to lose weight. The reason that smoking seems to help a person lose weight is because the activity ruins the taste buds of a person. Since smoking changes the taste of the food to something bad, people lose interest in eating and thus suppresses the appetite of a person. In reality, when a person quits smoking, there will be some sort of weight gain. But appetite suppression through smoking is highly
Introduction Population aging is becoming a more prominent global demographic trend affecting every person and countries. Dorfman, Richard and David (2008) observe globally, “the population of older persons is on the increase at a rate of 2.6 percent per year, significantly faster than the population as a whole, which is increasing at 1.2 percent per year.” The older population is expected to continue growing more rapidly than the population in other age groups. Statistically, in developed countries more than a fifth of their population is aged 60 years and above and it is estimated that by the year 2050 approximately a third of the populace in the developed countries would be aged over 60 years. A steady increase of the older age bracket is foreseen in many industrialized developed countries such as the United States. This is profound in the United States due to the decline in fertility levels begins relatively early and as a consequence, population increase is witnessed among the elderly (Federal Interagency Forum on Aging Related Statistics 2006). These population structures are constantly changing due to the frequency of migration and immigration witnessed among the populace. This constant change is as a result of changes in mortality or fertility factors. The older population will continue to grow overwhelmingly if the number of the current birth rate that is associated with the preceding one reduces due to fertility drop hence dropping the number of the youngest age sets. Such a huge population of older persons and rapid pervasion of aging will undoubtedly have alarming challenges to the social and economic development of the country. The impact of these demographic changes brought about by the increase of elderly people, will affect the socio-economic factors within a country, including taxing policies and the distribution of economic resources, “labor markets, economic development, investment and consumption rates, pensions, savings, property and care from one age group to another and it could also have dire consequences on the provision of healthcare services” (Dorfman, Richard & David 2008). Some of the other vital issues that the population aging will keep on affecting include housing, immigration, living arrangements and the relations composition. The implication of population ageing According to Kinsella, Kevin and Wan (2009), “the shift in age structure in relation to population aging has a profound impact on a range of economic, political and social process for example; the intergenerational of social support which is vital for the well being of both the young and the old.” This can be helpful to societies where provision of care within the family becomes extremely difficult as family size decreases and women, who are usually the main caregivers, are engaged in employment outside the home. Population aging presents unique challenges that also force public institutions to operate within a dynamic culture that allows them to smoothly adapt to changes that occur in the population
Introduction This project deals with the development of a network based inventory management application for a company located in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai Computer Services is a system development company based in Dubai. The company is a small to medium enterprise that mainly deals with computer repair services such as fixing / upgrading parts, software and hardware installations, networking services and similar services. Thus, their market focus is primarily on the sale of existing products and services in the information technology services sector of the Emirates. Overall, the company has seven branches around the country. It is a fact that they have no external branch or any other form of foreign presence what so ever. In total, they offer a range of ten different services that confine to this internal domestic market. They provide and sell computer services to individual customers and small companies. Thus, they focus on a particular sector of the information communication technology of the UAE market that deals mostly in retail sales. Such types of sales are of low monetary value in nature but can be multiple in quantities. The reason for this is that such type of products appeal to a large base of customers. Practically they appeal to every individual and small business which possess an information technology related device or product. Since the United Arab Emirates are a well-developed country, we find many users of technology. This is true especially for computer hardware and software products. Thus, Dubai Computer Systems, Inc. positions itself strategically in a rapidly growing market. In order to take full advantage of such position, it is necessary to be well prepared, fast and accurate in all its operations. The Problem A business offering solutions and products in the IT area should have accuracy and velocity as its cornerstone values. Without a fast and accurate service provision, the company soon would find itself out of business. Furthermore, generally IT related products are special in that the responsibility of the seller does not stop when the product sale to the customer. Meaning that after sale support and help provision is essential to gain customer confidence. That is the problem: how to design and implement an order system that considers all aspects of the supply chain and after sale support to the customer. The Proposed Solution The proposed solution for the above problem statement is the formation of a fast and error free coordinating system between the sale, inventory and finance departments. Coordination among these departments is the crucial link for successful sales. Nowadays, the fastest, more secure and reliable way to coordinate within a company is through
James Baldwin’s self-determination as a “bastard of the West” To Baldwin, the descriptive statement that he selects to describe himself as a “bastard of the West” meant that he was an individual whose struggle was to adopt, or perhaps adapt to the culture and identity that preceded him. This self-estrangement was an illustration of the process that related him to the other racial identities, subjects, and objects. In his endeavors, he struggles to identify himself with a culture rendered as weak as well as incompetent of talent through a critique of both “his” people and place for failure to challenge the status quo (Mahalingam 178). It was simply a recognition of his African ancestry as well as a step to reconcile his consciousness with the fact that he was a hybrid race that found itself in an alien land by way of racial accident. He acknowledges that his brutal birthright legacy acted as an exemplar not only in his country but also in the west. To him, the description serves to mean that the only place where racial reconciliation was possible was in the west in which it was necessary to be changed and claimed by African-Americans. The discussion presented in Baldwin’s autobiography conforms to the notion of “self-determination” as demonstrated in the article, “identity politics.” To illustrate this conformity, Walter (2006) says that shared blackness to create a bond between African-Americans at Princeton as well as on the streets of Baltimore shares an expectation of a different moral story far from that of racial impediments (4). This statement shares a similar horizon of determination just as Baldwin describes his struggle to gain identity within the confines of a hybrid social and racial identity. This means in the politics of identity, to take the race away and what the upper-middle-class sees as the opposite of its success (Walter 4). Benn Michael’s position as to identity politics and poverty In this analysis, I explore Benn Michael’s position that identity politics distract the nation’s attention from the fundamental problem that is poverty. In his argument, he proposes that trivializing the concept of poverty and its extent of impact on American society was an injustice far beyond comprehension. The general shift from the acknowledgment of inequality of individuals and households within the wide American spectra was an affirmation that the politics of identity had succeeded in compelling the elites to “love identity p