Prejudice In Organizations Essay

?Question 2: Prejudice can be hurtful and destructive – discuss how you can personally reduce prejudice in your workplace – please provide an example. Prejudice can be described as a word which is derived from the Latin word Prae Judicium meaning ‘to try in advance’ (Clawson et al: 1990). Prejudice happens when we pre-judge individuals on first encounter about their character or appeal. Most individuals who are prejudiced are usually rigid in their prejudices and their beliefs are unsubstantiated. Prejudice can create serious tension in an organization because it has the potential to strain interpersonal relationships in a workplace. People can practice prejudices in various forms. Some of the areas of potential prejudice could be gender, race, age, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity and physical disabilities. Prejudices can be systematically dealt with in the workplace. I work for one of the United Nations (UN) agencies. The UN has noted and is mindful of potential prejudices that can exist in the workplace, especially that the workplace is made up of employees from various countries, backgrounds, ethnic groupings, varying religious beliefs (including atheists), sexual orientation, races and as an organization, The organisation has a very diverse workforce. This diversity has not been ignored. The UN has taken deliberate steps to introduce workplace policies that encourage tolerance amongst employees and in turn, tolerance in the communities in which we serve. The policies are part of the orientation package for every new employee who joins the UN. There are Executive Directives (EXDs) that are issued and reviewed on an ongoing basis. In the current directive, disagreement between a staff member and supervisor is not considered as prejudice. The policies are clear on the definition of prejudices and also on the consequences of perpetuating the vice. If I were to be found in a work environment where prejudices are rife, I would first of all admit that prejudices are real and we all have some form of prejudices. The first step to deal with a problem is to admit that you have one. You can only begin to work on one’s prejudices once they realize they have them, and they can begin to work more carefully with the prejudices of others without anger and force (Clawson et al: 1990). It’s a realization that we all have them that helps us to deal with them. Members of staff in an organization, must be allowed to deal with perceived prejudices. It is not advisable to pretend that the problem does not exist as it becomes difficult to deal with a hidden or unperceived problem. Once the problem has been identified, then comes the process of working on your own as well as the prejudices of others in the organisation. This can be achieved through redirecting prejudiced statements by colleagues towards functional discrimination e. g. instead of lamenting how a workmate or subordinate is not achieving her objectives because she is a woman, this can be countered by a statement that shows how previously, a male colleague had also failed in a similar position to show that, gender has nothing to do with functioning in a position. For prejudices which are merely based on ignorance like â€Å"all Muslims are terrorists†, it would be helpful to team up Muslim staff members and some of the staff members who are holding on to this kind of prejudice. That way, it allows them to interact at a personal level and get the truth about Islam. If this doesn’t work, then interactions between such colleagues should either be kept to the minimum or topics of discussion should stir away from sensitive issues. I would also learn to listen to others with an open mind, not listening with an intention to respond as this is likely to attract judgmental behaviour. In a multi ethnic organisation, learning about the cultures of other countries helps us be more tolerant. People are more likely to react in a certain way because of the environments they have been brought up in. Prejudices will always exist in organisations, it would therefore helpful to encourage tolerance among employees, this can be achieved through deliberate company policy, sensitisation and clear consequences for behaviour promotes prejudice.

Basic Rhetorical Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Basic Rhetorical Analysis - Assignment Example There are applications for the citizens in paying energy bills available on the Internet, and at the local county office. Addresses Certain Users Someone needs only fills in the application with honest answers. If someone does not speak English, and requires assistance filling in the application there is someone at the local county office who is available to assist someone in filling in the application. There are directions available at the back of the application explaining some of the definitions, and offer’s assistance to anyone who is in need of it. The certain users the application addresses are low income families who are in need of assistance with energy bills. There is a large X at the bottom of the application for someone to sign, and the usability of the application was made for anyone who speaks English, and if someone needs assistance there is someone at the local county office who is available to offer assistance. Help readers solve problems If readers are filling in the application over the Internet, some readers need only fills in the highlighted areas of the application. If a reader is in doubt of what information needs to be put in the application readers need only to address this issue by reading the definitions, and explanations that accompany the question.

The Nineteenth Century America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Nineteenth Century America - Essay Example In the year 1819 the Transcontinental Treaty proposed by the then American President John Quincy Adams was signed by the United States and Spain. This treaty reinforced the American belief of territorial expansion. The desire to spread towards the west increased when John Jacob Astor expanded his fur trade company to the Pacific Northwest. With trade expansions the legendary â€Å"mountain men† became popular as they were financially facilitated by the fur trade companies to move to other countries in search of profit. During the 1830s and 1840s the Americans expanded their territory westward towards the Pacific Ocean. Besides economic there were other reasons like avoiding religious persecution. Their attempt to establish American ideals into areas that fell into the boundaries of Mexico or Great Britain created diplomatic crisis. The phrase Manifest Destiny was coined in 1845. It manifested the American belief that God has given them the right to expand their territories bec ause of their growing population. The largest acquisition took place in 1803 when America acquired Louisiana territory for $15 million. With this America got control over Mississippi River and the size of the nation became double. America was greatly affected by the era of expansion. The territorial expansions resulted in dividing the nation by causing diplomatic crisis, war and internal conflicts. The economic expansion that took place internally increased class differences and America began to be recognised as a â€Å"land of opportunity and upward mobility† (Divine et.al, ch.8, 9, 13). II.Transportation Revolution During the first half of nineteenth century America experienced a growth in market economy. This was helped by development in the transportation sector which created an economic link between different parts of the nation and strengthened the national economy. It was the era of expansion in America when the nation expanded its territory towards the West. Most of the land in the east of Mississippi river became marketing centers to fulfill the needs of the farmers. There was a growing awareness among the political leaders regarding the need of connecting these distant areas with the rest of the nation through a well developed transport system. The initial focus was on developing the road network by building new highways and improving the older roads. Overland toll roads or turnpikes could not provide cheap transportation to cover long distances during bad weather because of their poor conditions. More economically efficient was the water transport. Many canals were constructed to estab lish links between the rivers Ohio and Mississippi as canals were cheaper to transport heavy agricultural goods than on poorly maintained roads and highways. The most important canal, the Erie Canal, was constructed in 1825. This canal helped in extending the commercial market to New York and this led to economic development in the region. There were also other improvements made on water transport. Steamboats became popular after they were invented in 1807 by Robert Fulton. (Divine et.al, ch.9) The growth of railroads in the 1840s and the 1850s reduced the importance of canals as primary means of freight transport. The expansion of the railroads helped the iron industry of America. It also facilitated financing of business sectors and paved the way for governments to provide land grants (Divine et.al, ch.13). III. Jackson presidential administrations During the 1820s and 1830s the concept of â€Å"self-made man† was celebrated in the political culture. It promoted the idea th at leaders of the

Concurrent Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Concurrent Engineering - Essay Example The rapid growth and expansion of various organizations into different parts of the world has made it necessary for organizations to form a reliable process that supplies raw materials to the company and distributes the finished products to the vendors all over the world. Another major factor is the impact supply chain management has had on customer service. Supply chain management ensures that the right amount of a certain product is made available to the customer at the right time. In addition proper supply chain management also ensures that the product is where the customer expects it to be. Other than that supply chain management help Company’s cut down on costs by cutting down the use of assets such as warehouses, transport and manufacturing plants (Mentzer et al., 2001). According to La Londe and Masters (1994), supply chain management is a process in which different companies provide raw materials. Multiple organizations use those raw materials to manufacture a product and placing that product in the hands of the customer. Wholesalers, transportation, raw material, producers and assemblers all fall under the category of supply chain management (La Londe & Masters, 1994). Concurrent Engineering: Concurrent engineering is a type of work approach where different processes and tasks are carried out at the same time. The main aim of concurrent engineering is to reduce the time it takes to manufacture and distribute a product. Concurrent engineering in the recent past has experienced a number of changes. With each change companies have tried to refine and shape the processes of concurrent engineering to suit their needs (Ma et al., 2008). It is for this reason that concurrent engineering has gained a lot of popularity amongst different organizations. Concurrent engineering is based on two main concepts. The first concept states that the nature and lifespan of all the resources being used must be taken into account during the design phase. The lifespan o r the lifecycle of all the resources can vary in amount and in type. Information regarding any resources can be qualitative or quantitative and can be sometimes very difficult to manage. The variation in volume and type causes different designers to focus on a particular subject or a particular domain of the product being manufactured the rest of the information is either ignored or is handed over to someone else to ponder over. Second concept revolves around the fact that the later stages of design phase must be carried out simultaneously that is concurrently. Any errors would be discovered early on in the design phase and would be rectified without any significant delay and without any trouble. Early detection of these errors also reduces the number of costly mistakes that the company can encounter in the latter stages of production. In 2006, a study showed that concurrent design process can help organizations save large amounts of money (Quan & Jianmin, 2006). Concurrent engineer ing is opposite to the traditional and sequential waterfall method. Waterfall method moves in a sequence with the sequence already defined. Any mistakes within the waterfall method could lead to the heavy alteration in the design which eventually leads to wastage of time. Concurrent Engineering in Supply Chain Management In the last decade, various organizations and governments have made a lot of effort within framework of research and development of concurrent eng

Sustainable Event Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Sustainable Event Management - Essay Example One of such companies is Seventeen Events, a sustainable event management agency that produces events for a number of consumers and is an expert in managing table plans as well. Being proud of its sustainable approach, the company goes far beyond recycling and organic beverages and it is in its heart what make a business successful (Sustainable Event Management, 2015). Following the creativity and transparency values, the company perceives innovation and creative thinking as critical to its performance, while its transparency approach allows the company to share its best practices to customers and be open with suppliers. In the past decades sustainability has become one of the main goals of most businesses; however, it can be difficult to measure the degree to which they are sustainable. Slaper and Hall (2015), consider that using a triple bottom line or TBL framework it is possible to go beyond the usual measures of earning and ROI, shareholder value to include dimensions of society and environment. However, if focus on the investment outcomes with respect to profit, people and the planet dimensions, TBL can be used as an important tool to assist sustainability goals (Sridhar & Jones, 2012). At the same time, the TBL is considerably old approach, while social and environmental institutions are changing and improving. In these terms, the following paper will illustrate critical approaches toward TBL and will analyze the theory and the sustainability policy of Seventeen Company. The idea behind the TBL approach is that business’ success is defined and measured through traditional financial bottom line, while its social, ethical and environmental performance is not taken into consideration much (Norman & MacDonald, 2004). However, following the environmental activities, the companies are able to inform its

Logistics and Supply Chain Management at Wal-Mart Coursework

Logistics and Supply Chain Management at Wal-Mart - Coursework Example Wal-Mart is known for its price leadership strategy and strives to provide customers with quality products and services at the cheapest possible price which is in tune with its famous strategy of ‘Every Day Low Price’ (Popularly referred as EDLP). The strategy of low price is in turn aligned with Sam Walton’s strategy of helping people save money. Wal-Mart presently provides goods at the cheapest possible price and has positioned itself as a price leader in the mind of the customers.Against the backdrop of this bold positioning strategy lies an efficient and technology-driven logistics management which has provided the firm with advantages like cost reduction to an extent that it is able to provide the best quality products at the cheapest price in the market. Logistics form the USP of Wal-Mart. Its supply chain initiatives involving the latest technology like RFID, cross-docking aided by an efficient integration of all its business processes using Enterprise Reso urce Planning have created benchmarks for the company. The efficiency of logistics management of the firm could be analyzed from the fact that its logistics management model has become the benchmark in the global retail and logistics industry. The distribution centers of Wal-Mart which are the backbone of its supply chain management strategy are considered to be the most advanced technologically. Presently Wal-Mart has more than 40 regional centers for distribution with each center spreading over one million square feet on an average.

Marshall McLuhans Theory Essay Example for Free

Marshall McLuhans Theory Essay How might Marshall McLuhans theory of hot and cold media be used to explain the surge of interest in mobile technology, especially text and picture messaging? Any invention or technology is an extension or self-amputation of our physical bodies, and such extension also demands new ratios or new equilibriums among the other organs and extensions of the body, Marshall McLuhan in Understanding Media (1964, p43). A comment which has possibly never been truer than when understood with regard to a mobile phone. McLuhans theories have recently been given new life with the onset of the Internet; however, they can also be usefully applied to the massive explosion of mobile technology. Given it is a medium which some may consider to be cool; its impact on society has been immeasurable. In todays society it is difficult to meet a person between the ages of fifteen and fifty who do not own a mobile phone. Like televisions, it is the electronic accessory of the moment and it is advancing fast. Only five years ago text messaging was in its infancy and not all phones offered it; picture messaging was unheard of. Nowadays picture messaging is very much here and already the technology has moved towards video messaging. Some mobile phones would be more accurately described as hand held computers as the telephony is only a fraction of its capabilities and often not even its main function. As with most mobile phones the main function consumers use is text messaging. According to McLuhan in Understanding Media (1964) the advent of a hot explosive medium can cause drastic changes to politics and society. This can be seen in the effects that such technology has had on not only the telephone but the way people communicate in day to day life. However, when contrasted with a hot medium such as television or cinema, text and picture messaging are comparatively cool. They provide far less information and demand more participation from the receiver to fill in the gaps. Pictures received in messages are only small and very symbolic rather than detailed. There is also only limited space for text and language is often limited to abbreviations and annotation. Of course when compared to the standard telephone, mobile technology is considerably hotter, however, in order to stay within McLuhans theory, and for the medium to cause such a change in society, one would assume that the medium itself would need to be hotter. Such a change could be better explained and explored by the theories of Roland Barthes, particularly his writings on myths and semiotics. In a collection of articles entitled Mythologies (1973) Barthes explores practical objects and their cultural meanings. Examining such objects as cars and haircuts he scrutinizes the signifiers and signs that they contain. Barthes begins by making explicit the meanings of apparently neutral objects and then moves on to consider the social and historical conditions they obscure (McNeill 1996). He examined cars, comparing them to Gothic cathedrals, due to their uses over and above their basic functions. Cars carry status and tell a lot about the person who owns them (Barthes 1973). Such meanings can also easily be drawn from mobile phones. Far more useful than assessing whether or not they are hot or cold, deeper more analytical conclusions can be derived from Barthes methods. By examining the semiotics of the medium its position in society and cultu re and its effects could be estimated. In Mythologies (1973) he argued that myth was a mode of signification. He argued that in myth, the link between the signifier and the signified was motivatedso that a culturally constructed sign becomes a signifier, thus allowing what is signified to become naturalised (Hartley 2002). Hartley goes on to apply this theory to brand named sports wear and their attached meanings. Such an application could be used with mobile technology as not only are there many different mobile phones with different functions but many different brands. Nokia, in particular, as the apparently leading brand, has different model phones which contain different signifiers. Some appear fun and contain lots of features and gadgets; others appear sophisticated and look sleek and small. Others exist for practical purposes for uses who are less taken by mobile phone culture. Given the huge range of choice on offer, not just by Nokia but all brands, the decision of which phone to purchase is an active one which takes serious contemplation. More can be said for a person who uses pictu re messaging. Society has not quite reached a stage where its considered a necessity like text messaging so those who do use it are those who are particularly interested in the culture. More so as these phones and messages cost more it signifies how much money a person has or at least how they prioritise their spending. More meanings could be drawn from how often a person uses their phone and how many different people they know who can accept picture messages. Barthes also wrote about Text itself and its semiotics, arguing that words are strong and can be used as political weapons, as they have been in post World War II politics. He charts the beginning of the moment of the text as 1968 (Hartley 2002). This seems to have affected the whole of society as people now talk to each other less, preferring to e-mail or send text or picture messages. McLuhan has commented on discourse and text. According to a website called Marshall McLuhan: spinning the web of the future, accessed 13/12/03 specifically, McLuhan feels that the best way to convey information between two people is to maximize the use of the senses[therefore] ancient oral civilizations appeared to have the greatest and most clear form of communication. That is not the written word, but the spoken. This has, however, been criticised by Miller (1971) who disagrees with this assumption because he feels that humanity has evolved with technology and that this is not necessarily a bad thin g. The reality is that further technological advances have given humanity the ability to communicate using mediums that are essentially extensions of the spoken word. McLuhan expressed concern over the effects of technology and its result in the loss of human identity, although he did not see it as a bad thing, it was something to be maintained and supervised. His concerns could be justified, however, in that nowadays people talk to each other less, preferring to communicate by the written, or typed, word. Concern should probably not to be so extreme as to fear the breakdown of society but it has seriously affected how we communicate and what we now spend our money on. According to McLuhan in Understanding Media (1964) intense, hot media needs to be cooled off by our senses before it can be assimilated. Possibly then the appeal of the text and picture message is that they are easier to take in on a sensory level. They are quick, take only seconds to read and write and enough time is given to process the information between each message and response. Radio and cinema act as an assault on the senses demanding that attention be paid in order to take it all in, although fewer gaps need to be filled. In two-way communication, however, it allows the user time to consider their response and therefore reduces the risk of saying something which one may regret later. If we put together the two theories of McLuhan and Barthes it is possible to achieve composite critique of the phenomenon of mobile technology. Although much of what was written by, particularly McLuhan, has been excessively criticised, some disregard it all together, he makes some points which are useful when examining this area of contemporary media and technology. Using McLuhan to explore the more technical aspects of text and picture messaging, suggesting why it may be so popular. Due to its being hotter than a normal telephone it is likely to be the next step in technology and its convenience makes it so popular. Also fact that it is cooler than other direct forms of media and allows more time and less information for the brain to process ensures it is easier on our senses. Its very presence has caused an upheaval in our society and we have taken the next cultural and technological step in our ever progressing development. Barthes, on the other hand, we can look to for inspiration in analysing the cultural aspects of such communication technology and what it means. Using his methodology of examining mobile phones for signs and signifiers many conclusions can be drawn. As phones differ widely in style and in what features they contain each person can be judged on the phone they own, or the phone they wished they owned. Someone who has a phone that looks good, rather than containing many features is clearly saying something about the way in which they want to present themselves. Furthermore, a person who cares less about how the phone looks and more about what it does suggests something else. Most phones which contain more features, particularly a camera are usually larger and look less neat than those with fewer features. Phones that can be used to record short pieces of film or watch videos on are bigger still yet there are already people who own them. Such people may be looking for a phone with more f unctional value, as well as their having an interest in gadgets. That said, however, we can assume they gain intrinsic pleasure from showing a person what their, apparently less attractive, phone can do. We could also assume that such people wish to be ahead of technology and enjoy being one of the first to own such items. Near enough all young people own mobile phones and few would deny that they gain pleasure and enjoyment from them. Texting has become a common, everyday form of communication; one that did not exist during the lifetimes of Marshall McLuhan or Roland Barthes and it can be assumed that neither would have anticipated this surge in technology. Both would express concern at its immense popularity as it risks people becoming less sociable and having less actual conversation. Another side to that argument, however, could be that it increases human interaction, it just takes place in a different way. People can now contact their family, friends and acquaintances much easier and faster. To send a text message to say hello is far quicker and easier than making a phone call which could result in lengthy conversation. Whereas once a person may have decided against the phone call for that reason they will now send a text message. It is probably safe to say that, given that human beings are an inn ately social species, and indulge in conversation for pleasurable as well as functional purposes that if what they desire is a conversation then that will be sought above a text message. It is hard to predict where society and culture will go with this ever increasing technological development. In the next year or so we can assume that videophone will become much more popular and that mobile phones will continue to develop into small computers than phones. Living in a century where convenience is emphasised and encouraged and our lives are busier it is likely that less face to face interaction will take place however with the help of the mobile phone we can avoid losing contact altogether.