Technological Applications within Human resource Essay Example for Free

Technological Applications within Human resource Essay Human resource department is moving from the traditional way of doing things that is remote and inefficient to a more modern way through computerization that comes with great benefits and surpasses the traditional methods. A computerized system can be termed as eHR which simply means the use of predictable, web and voice innovations to enhance firm’s dealings, organization and process performance. It is therefore prudent for the CEO of the company to embrace such a modern system for efficiency in the firm in order to enhance the human resource services, in order to reduce operational costs, to improve the relationship between the management and the entire staff, to meet customer demands and to offer quality services to its customers and the staff. Technological applications within HR department have various benefits that include the following: with computerized systems the human resource department can develop a viable information strategy that will lead to increase in accessing the relevant information. Another benefit is that of achieving consistent and streamlined processes. This leads to a good and organized system that ensures that the laid down procedures are harmonized to be applicable to all and without confusion. The other benefits come up through the acquisition of the right information for those who need it to make correct decisions thus avoiding risks and losses that come up from guesswork. Also with technological application the management has the opportunity to achieve and maintain a superior internal profile for human resource that leads to achieving the goals and objective of the organization as stipulated by the mission and the vision of the company. (Hal and Dianna, 2005) However, such technological innovations have their own drawbacks and therefore needing the CEO’s attention; such problems include lack of understanding of the system developed using advanced technologies. There is need for the organization to incur extra funds to manage the advancement and also train those working to be better and efficient in utilizing the new technology. Another problem comes up due to inadequate coding of information that is arrived at when there is poor setting of the structures used to code. The middle level managers and supervisors may also bring a problem by holding and maintaining information that may help both the workers and the company at large. This comes when the managers do not have easy access to the system and a lot of manual that holds them . Lack of clarity of responsibilities for getting information on how the system can be used can also cause a great harm thus needing responsibilities to be well specified to correct the problem Research has shown that there is need to come up with a good computerized system for efficiency in the HR department to ensure that there is ease of managing the human resource. Such systems will include: holding personal details about the individuals workers that will include skills, qualification, career history, leave and absence records. Another system will include the production of reports which summarize diverse aspects of this information. It will also hold particulars about employees’ jobs which include things like their job grades, job description, role classification and pay and their benefits. It will also be of value to the company if the CEO ensures that there is information on recruitment and training administration. The computerized system in the company should also be able to provide information by recording and analyzing absence, labour turnover and attendance that helps management to make decisions on individual workers. It should be able to do job evaluation of the workers. For reward management and human resource planning, it will need a sophisticated system that will be in a position to support strategic decision making. (James, 2002) Provision of linkages to the internet is also a part of computerized system which will ease the function of the management of the company and can be of help in instances where the companies do recruitments and other things through the internet. There will be pitfalls that will automatically come from computerization that will not be received well by the affected in general. This are for instance the need for all the personal details about individuals can be tricky to workers since the management can base it in making decisions about them that may be of negative impact. Those being retrenched for instance will be sorted according to the information on qualification academically rather than experience In the event where the accessibility of workers information is not well protected, it can find way to people who can use it against persons who are the bearers of the said information and it becomes very dangerous to the workers. The personal details that must be handled with privacy include: medical history and discipline, employees qualifications, absence, special skills and competence e. t. c must be kept very private. Some top managers may take advantage and misuse the available information to mistreat those that are vulnerable and result to even others deciding to leave the organization while others will be affected psychologically and lead to reduced labour turnover. Some workers inaccessibility and familiarity with technology will make them feel inferior and will not take into account their various responsibilities and needs thus affecting them in the way they perform their duties. (Hal and Dianna, 2005) Best plan for the CEO The CEO must adopt the modern computerized technology to be in a position to be efficient and more organized for the success of the company. The CEO must establish the current need and also the future needs of the business and also analyze everything that results from information system that will be designed. It will require the company to ensure that the systems developed will be well customized to better serve the company and the whole population at large and it can be in a position to hold all the information of workers and avoid information overload so as to be integrated and also give maximum output for the benefit of the company. There is a need to come up with a good statement of all the requirements to make the computerization a success. Taking into consideration the business requirements, the CEO must identify the best options to tackle the problem while at the same time being strategic to realize the business goals set by the company. The CEO must support it by giving financial support after evaluation and analysis and then go ahead to buy the needed facilities. (James, 2002) The system should be in a position to get direct input at source to be able to get the data that is vital for the basis of decision making. It should solve the problems that were experienced there before and help the line managers by giving them information in an easy understandable manner. The system designed must not only help deal with the management information system but should also handle the administrative processes well. The CEO must ensure that they acquire the best technical infrastructure to support the program well. They will include the following; Application Service Provider (ASP) It will help the administration to do its administrative role well through a proper. Smaller or medium sized organizations rely on ASP in outsourcing the burden of running the system. ASP will help the company very much since the number of workers is around 200 HR/corporate intranet It is an electronic system that is networked therefore enabling all the available information to be communicated to departments and the centers that require the information within the organization. The available information that can be relayed comprises HR policies’, links that can be of help to the management to interface with other workers directly with HR applications and make changes or enquiries that can give assistance when required. B2E portal The organization can utilize this system that can help the human resource department by providing it with a single intranet screen that can make the company to collect information on the workers and give the workers and the people ready access to it. Human resource information system It is very important for the CEO to have a human resource information system that helping managing the HR processes and include important data that include, payroll systems, reward and performance management, recruitment e. t. c (Hal and Dianna, 2005) Conclusion It has been proved globally that modern organizations can only succeed when they are equipped with modern computerized system that can help the management of human resource for the growth and success of firms. The CEO has no choice but embrace the modern way that is easily manageable and less costly in the long run. With a number that is between 180 to 200 workers ‘keeping the file system to store information for the whole population can be quite hectic and also expensive since it will require a good number of workers to work in the human resource department to serve the company and the workers. Information required from files takes a very long time to be accessed unlike in the computerized system that is fast and efficient and can be made to perform multi-tasks and handle I perfectly unlike the use of workers who can only give attention to only one chore at a time. The company will now be in a position to assist give crucial information for better management and also handle issues related to their payments and also administer pay reviews, job evaluation e. t. c for the success of the company. (James, 2002)

Consultancy Business Performance Management

Consultancy Business Performance Management Profile of Alpha Consultants Alpha Consultants is a Management and IT consultancy firm. It is a multi-disciplinary consultancy house, which offers services to both private and public sector organizations in a wide range of matters. Alpha Consultants offers knowledge innovation, brings in entrepreneurial drive, helps create bonds between clients and customers and helps organizations to achieve their goals with optimal efficiency. Alpha consultants have a resource pool of over 100 of experts available at their disposal. Depending on the requirement of the job and the expertise that are required for any particular project, services are acquired from the consultants from their resource pool. What makes Alpha consultants stand out from their competitors is the diverse skillset and background of their consultants. It allows the organization to step in a wider and a bigger market and do what others cannot. The professionals seated in the highest level at Alpha consultants bring multicultural experience, mainly in the field of development and health. This allows Alpha Consultants to pitch solid proposals for both public and private sector projects in the development and health sectors. However, over the years, Alpha Consultants has managed to hire consultants from all the various fields and sectors to make sure that they are able to cope with any challenges that a project has to offer. It adds more value and reliability to their profile, while also allowing them to aim at more diverse and new business opportunities. Moreover, Alpha Consultant is an IT firm which has been providing solutions to both private and public sector institutions. By IT, it is clear that there is a significant relation of computer oriented workforce. So, it is not difficult to categorize it as a service concern business organization. It is currently not having a larger span of services so it falls into the class of small and medium enterprises. The illustrative report will provide solutions and information related to management related functions along with other core operations of the consultancy house. Performance measurement is a set of tools to evaluate the performance of a firm. The services offered by Alpha Consultants include1: Research, Evaluation and Assessment Project Management, Design and Planning Strategy Analysis and Policy Reviews Institutional Development, Training and Organizational Management Advocacy IT Media Consultancy Vision Alpha consultants aims to become partner in knowledge based innovation with institutes that are looking to bring change to the world. Their vision is to make a name in service excellence with the help of their skilled and experienced consultants. Alpha consultants looks forward to become a name that is known to provide sustainable and innovative solutions and help their clients in capacity building, partnership building and organizational development. They want to become the bridge to fill in the gap between the clients and customers with a vision for both entrepreneurial and human development. 2[i] Every business has some certified Aims and objectives based on the strategy devised by the governing structure. Alpha Consultant as one a SME aims to extend the IT departments of their clients and provide multi-disciplinary services in the ICT spectrum. The technical facilities can be managed by IT Media Division with a mix of management services or it can deliver a full fledge built IT system to clients. The mixture of both will also be offered by the firm. Mission The fundamental purpose of the organization is to use their expertise and experience to help their clients achieve new milestones. Alpha consultants have highly professional, experienced and skilled experts in the field of Management, Development and IT. It is currently engaged with various NGOs and Public sector organization who are working in development sector in various less privileged and under developed areas. It has worked in various war and disaster struck areas for different national and international organizations. In the future, it aims to expand the target projects and aim to provide consultancy not just in development and health sector, but also in IT, Media, Education and other domains. It plans to move into more professional areas such as organization development and structural environment of organizations and work in more developed areas. Factors Affecting Business Performance Internal Innovation in the technology and the response of employees is considered of the most important factor affecting the business environment. In the case of this firm, which is in a way part of the growing IT industry it is necessary to give response to every change in the technology. The employees or the software engineers are not that much trained as the new technology comes and their expertise becomes outdated. External The political environment and the legislation of the authorities for IT activities have a great impact on management consultancy businesses. The licensing services and the tax structure changes rapidly whenever new technology is introduced that the business policies and strategy has to be changed. In the case of IT one of the most important factors is the availability of low cost substitutes being offered in the international market. Assessing the Situation – SWOT Analysis: Strengths: Extensive experience of the key personals in the assignment and their relations with officials in their major clients is the key strength of Alpha consultants. They have a broad range of clients and get various types of projects on regular basis. Alpha consultants has a wide set of expertise, the diverse resource pool allowing them to select experts from all various fields for any desired job. They have been known around the world and get large scale projects from international clients and get payments in international currency hence generating revenues and enhance profitability. The old presence of the company helps to gain the advantage of trust through which a good base of loyal customers can be maintained. About 64% of the customers of this SME are using it for supplies. This is a very strong feature of a firm. Company has got a strong financial position as there is no Debt to Equity ratios due to absence of Debt. The companys share is with 150 employees but they are serving their own company and they are connected with it (100, 2014). Weaknesses: Most consultants/experts are not employees, rather Alpha consultants has to hire freelance experts who work on contractual basis. Freelancer experts charge handsome amounts of fee and every time services are acquired, company has to search, track and negotiate with experts for each separate job. There are certain weaknesses as compared to other competing companies i.e. the concentration of the firm is divided into multiple segments under the name of Alpha Consultants. There are no separate services entities. Along with this the company is only targeting the local and the concentration towards internationalization is very less while other firms are going international or global. Considering the outreach the companies have got internationally now with the social media and search engine tools the competition has gotten very tough. Moreover, the handheld devices and smartphones influx have changed the dimension of IT industry on a massive level. Adapting to the changing needs of the market and new technologies has become very important for SME like Alpha Co and not being able to expand its outreach to international market has been a very major weakness. Opportunities: Due to their wide and diverse resource pool, they can handle all different sorts of projects and explore new work areas. Yet, Alpha consultants is associated with various NGOs and public sector organizations. Alpha consultants can use their IT and Media professionals to explore new IT grounds, provide services to Telecom giants and Entertainment industry. Also they can form collaboration with defense institutes to provide various services. As they get projects on usual basis, they need young talent as well as experienced staff. They provide employment opportunities to fresh graduates and experienced jobseekers to get benefit from their energetic minds and use them in project developments by providing economic salaries. Many of the IT firms from EU are now outsourcing the basic tasks to south Asian countries like India. This can be a good opportunity for Alpha Co to save costs along with efficiency in work. Another opportunity is to establish umbrella brands and other co-brands for different segment of IT services. Threats: The consultants who are not Alpha consultants’ employees but working only on contractual basis, get to interact with their clients and form bonds. These consultants not only gain experience under the banner of Alpha consultants, but if they decide to work alone, they can ruin these connections and the inside knowledge they have to offer competition. Freelancers will be working on organization projects; they may have access to the organizational internal details and may leak out this confidential information to others. If at some stage project accomplished by freelancer comes to the organization for feature addition or updations, the freelancer may not be available to complete that project or charge fee more than the budget. In that case, Alpha consultants has to hire a new freelance expert who will first have to understand all the previous work and this leads to wastage of time as well as money. There are multiple threats associated with IT business and SME sector. To make SME is not at all a difficult task. Most of the IT business and core operations are being performed in underdeveloped countries or the third world countries. The reason is that the cost is lessoned as compared to EU. So Alpha Consultants has threat of new entrants in the same field along with the cost determination in the current scenario of changing business environment. Overcoming Weaknesses There are different strategies to overcoming the weaknesses of SME like Alpha Co. The first solution is to outsource majorly activities for the development of infrastructure and software. Secondly, branding can prove to be a key of success. Human Resource system will be needed if the company is internationalized. According to the research the internationalization of the SME brings in 7% employment chances and gives growth to the firms. So for these methods and alternatives the evaluation is given in this report: Outsourcing: Most of the processes like development of the script of different software can be outsourced to other countries like India, where the IT infrastructure is cheap. In this way the company will be able to earn more profit by covering most of the cost incurred. The outsourcing technique will provide a contribution towards social welfare as the company will provide employment sources. Outsourcing for other activities will also help the company to attain the status of global organization. Branding: The services being offered separately can be considered as different brands like: Alpha Management Consultants Alpha Media Advocacy Consultants Alpha IT Consultants In this way different service segments will be considered as different service entities. These services will be provided under the umbrella of parent brand Alpha Consultancy. It will show the expansion of business in real as well as in imaginary terms. The co-branding technique will provide boost to the company. Compensation System: After going international, the company may develop some compensation systems to provide healthy incomes to the new employees from different companies. So that the motivation level of the employees may get higher and they may contribute towards innovation and development. Constraint and Restrictions There are many types of restriction mounted by the local authorities on small businesses. In the case of consultancy business, there are following restrictions: Registration The business or the SME should be registered under authorities with correct particulars. It should mention everything related to business and prove that is ethical business and there is no harm for environment. Authorization The SME should be authorized by the governing bodies of the country. The trademark should be registered and there should be acquisition of copyrights to run a Small Medium enterprise. This is very important that the name should be unique and in the case of IT, the processes should not be imitated from any other firm. Evaluation: The evaluation of small Medium Enterprise is necessary as the government of EU countries takes the working infrastructure of employees in account. The working of employees and the utilization of human resources are checked and evaluated by different authorities. Responsibilities and Liabilities of Owner Managers Owner In small and medium enterprises there are multiple roles associated with owner of the business. Owner is not only an investor, but is also responsible to make business strategy of the business. Conduct Financial analysis and arrange the finances if needed. Check the legal requirement of the firm along with some attention to the marketing and sales activities of the business. Managing human resource and customer feedback evaluation is also one of the liabilities of owners. In SMEs with more than one owner it is important to contribute in terms of time and finance equally in the business. Manager There are four basic management functions which should be performed by every type of manager. These four basic functions include: Planning Leading Controlling Organizing By planning it is meant to plan the routine and day to day activities in the business. In the case of Alpha Consultants it is necessary to plan activities which are the part of multiple projects on going. Some are the management consultancy projects while other is the IT services being offered different firms. The manager should ensure the good planning. Then the manager should lead the working team of employees in accordance with the policy and objectives of the business. As to provide the solutions for IT and management both, it is necessary for a manager to provide a controlled environment in which the activities are organized to deliver best quality in time. Such services can only be delivered when there is a proper control and innovation is appreciated through the leading role of a manager in business (Fincham, 2000). Finance There financial status of Alpha Consultant is one of the best in its kind. It is a debt free company. There is no incorporation and the proprietorship is sole. The companys profit is increasing gradually with time due to appropriate cost base with respect to other companies. Marketing and Sales The customer base of Alpha Co must be very strong as it has started from providing services only to customers and now it reselling the services to end users as well as public and private sector. Most of the customers were of public sector organizations. The company has increased its business portfolio by providing multiple solutions. These multiple solutions include Infrastructure, Microsoft, networking, optimized desktop, Asset Management and security. The other SMEs in this category are only limited to one type of services like only security or networking. Very less firms are giving asset management software oriented services (Eikebrokk, 2007). According to the secondary research given in the assignment, IT firm from UK or EU can easily internationalize on the basis of services provided online. In this way the firm can increase the profit and employment capacity. Human resources There are about 600 people in the SME. They are very energetic and like tradition strong innovation is demanded from the skilled workers of the firm. The detailed analysis provides the competitive advantage of Alpha Co on other similar firms. This advantage is that apart from passionate employees the preference is given to disciplined, flexible and diversified employees. In this way the firm stands at its best among other firms of same category. Use of Technology As this is an IT related firm and knows better to use the technology. The company is using the technology related to multiple fields at once. It has got many advantages along with the disadvantages. It is very difficult for a SME to provide core operations of different or multiple solutions. Especially in IT one business SME can only provide expert solution for one factor of the technology. There are other firms in the category which are having customer base and expertise only in one sector of the technology. Whether it’s the web, security or networking Alpha Consultants is giving multiple solutions which is the good point but customer can perceive a Jack of all trades and Master of None type stereotype. Developing Strategies, Goals and Objectives: Considering the weaknesses and threats faced by Alpha consultants, a number of recommendations can be suggested: Alpha consultants has a huge resource pool. It has professionals and experts in tens of sectors and fields. However, the key professionals inside the organization are development experts, so they key focus is on development projects. It strongly needs a separate department that will be dedicated to hunting new opportunities and finding new projects. That way Alpha consultants will be able to target various new projects and explore untouched domains. As discussed in the SWOT analysis, when Alpha consultants has to acquire freelance experts for various projects, it not only allows the consultants and experts to get access to company’s information, but also allows them to interact with their clients. These freelance professionals can exploit this information. However, if Alpha consultants hires more experts as their employees rather than outsourcing to freelance expert, it can gain a lot of advantage. We have been discussed that Alpha consultants has both the valuable experience and a valued name in development and health sector. It can use this name and use their profile to land in new opportunities. By entering new domains, it is expanding and at the same time giving the business a bigger name. The goal of Alpha consultants at the moment should be to gain multi-sector and multi-regional experience using its already established name in development sector. Areas such as Telecom giants, Defense organizations, Financial Institutions and Entrepreneurial start-ups are key areas of focused. Alpha consultants with their experience can provide assistance to all these clients, while also helping their inner growth. References 100, T., 2014. The Top 100 European Software Vendors: European Software Vendors Ranking 2013. [Online] Available at: http://www.truffle100.com/2013/ranking.php [Accessed February 2014]. Eikebrokk, T.R., 2007. Information and Management: An empirical investigation of competency factors affecting e-business success in European SMEs. Elsevier. Europa, 2012. SoftCat: A Case Study. Europa. Fincham, J.E., 2000. Basic Management Principles. University of Kansas, School pf Pharmacy. ISO, 2012. Quality Management Report. ISO Central Secretariat. Softcat, 2014. SoftCat: Our People. [Online] Available at: http://www.softcat.com/who-we-are/our-people [Accessed February 2014]. www.softcat.com, 2014. Softcat Limited. Terms and Conditions for Customers. [Online] SoftCat Available at: www.softcat.com/explorer/files/SoftcatTerms_Conditions.pdf‎ [Accessed 2014]. [i] Alpha Consultants (2013). Alpha Consultants, Expertise in Detail. Retrieved From: http://www.Alphaconsultants.com/Alpha/closerlook.html

Laplace transforms

Laplace transforms Laplace Transforms – Motivation convenience – differential eqns become algebraic eqns. – easy to handle time delays – frequency response analysis to determine how the system responds to oscillating inputs Block Diagram Algebra – doing math with pictures – arithmetic for manipulating dynamic components using boxes and arrows Laplace Transform – Review Given a function f(t) Notes f(t) defined for t from 0 to infinity f(t) suitably â€Å"well-behaved† – piecewise continuous, integrable Linearity of Laplace Transforms the Laplace transform is a linear operation we will use Laplace transforms to analyze linear dynamic systems if our models arent linear, then we will linearize Useful Laplace Transforms for Process Control We need a small library of Laplace transforms for – differentiation – step input – pulse/impulse functions – exponentials – oscillating functions because these are common functions that we will encounter in our equations Lets think about a simple linear differential equation example: with V and F as constants Library of Useful Transforms differentiation – initial conditions disappear if we use deviation variables that are zero at an in initial steady state unit step function (Heaviside fn.) Library of Transforms exponential – exponentials appear in solutions of differential equations  » a provides information about the speed of the response when the input changes. If a is a large negative number, the exponential decays to zero quickly  » What happens if a is positive? – After we have done some algebra to find a solution to our ODEs in the Laplace domain, we must invert the Laplace transform if we want to get a solution in the time domain. We sometimes use partial fraction expansion to express the Laplace expressions in a form that can be easily inverted. CSTR Example Transform Model (in deviation variables) using our library of transforms, the Laplace transform of the model is: For a step change in feed concentration at time zero starting from steady state. Tank Example Solution Solve for CA(s) If we like, we can rearrange to the form: This is the solution in the Laplace domain. To find the solution in the time domain, we must invert the Laplace transforms CSTR Example Solution inverse Laplace transform – Can be determined using a complex integral easiest approach is â€Å"table lookup† Use Table 4-1, entry 5 Maple is good at inverting Laplace transforms too The Impulse Function limit of the pulse function (with unit area) as the width goes to zero and height becomes infinite transform CSTR Impulse Response physically dump some pure A into reactor, all at once input function Transform time response Interpretation of Impulse Response dump a bag of reactant into the reactor in a very very short time we see an instantaneous jump to a new concentration due to the impulse input concentration then decays back to the original steady-state concentration Time-Shifted Functions Representation of Delays Laplace transform for function with time delay Just pre-multiply by an exponential. How could we prove this? – change of variables in integration in expression for Laplace Transform (see p. 103 of Marlin, p. 115 in first ed.) Reactor Example with Time Delay Suppose we add a long length of pipe to feed – assume plug flow – It will take a time period, q minutes, before the change in concentration reaches the tank, and begins to influence cA – delay differential equation  » difficult to solve directly in time domain  » easy to solve with Laplace transforms Tank Example with Time Delay – Solutionresponse to step input in cA0 time response Final Value Theorem An easy way to find out what happens to the output variable if we wait a long time. We dont have to invert the Laplace transform! Why is it true? – Consider the Laplace transform of a time derivative now let s approach zero provided dy/dt isnt infinite between t=0 and t ®Ã‚ ¥ (i.e y(t) is STABLE) This will be true if Y(s) is continuous for s ³0 Using the Final Value Theorem Step Response Reactor example final value after a step input What can we do with Laplace Transforms so far. Take Laplace transforms of linear ODEs (in deviation variables). Substitute Laplace transform expressions for different kinds of inputs we are interested in: – Steps, pulses, impulses (even with dead time) Solve for the output variable in terms of s. Invert the Laplace transform using Table 4.1 to get the solution in the time domain. Find the final steady state value of the output variable, for a particular input change, even without inverting the Laplace transform. Laplace transforms are mostly used by control engineers who want to determine and analyze transfer functions. compact way of expressing process dynamics relates input to output p(s), q(s) polynomials in s – q(s) will also contain exponentials if time delay is present Once we know the transfer function of the process, we can use it to find out how the process responds to different types of input changes:

Ronald Reagan Essay -- essays research papers fc

Reckoning with Reagan:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ronald Reagan was more than a president. He was a phenomenon. Since he left office in 1989, many authors have tried to effectively identify who this man really was. He was an icon to some, and an enigma to others. He stood up to the worst economic, domestic, and international threats of the time and yet, took naps in the middle of cabinet meetings. At the height of his popularity in 1986, he had, as Time magazine put it, â€Å"found America's sweet spot. â€Å" Reagan had ideals of what he felt America should be like, and made it his number one goal to share his unrelenting optimism with every person in the country. He pledged to bring Americans a â€Å"little good news.† and created a strong bond with the public. Throughout his eight years in office, he continually motivated and energized his supporters while at the same time, confounded and mystified his detractors. Reagan stood tall among the thirty-nine presidents that preceded him, and was one of the most popular leaders of the twentieth century. In his book, Reckoning with Reagan, Schaller attempted to reconcile the facts and myths that surrounded Reagan during his entrance into public service, his back to back terms as governor of California, and his eight years as President of the United States. Although, he briefly outlined Reagan's earlier years as a Hollywood actor, corporate spokesperson and motivational speaker, Schaller concentrates on the presidency and how Reagan impacted America to such a degree, that it would be felt for years to come. And for the first time since Kennedy, an era would be defined by a single man: Ronald Reagan.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Though he would stop short of saying that he was born in a log cabin, Ronald Reagan grew up in humble beginnings. The son of an alcoholic father whom couldn't hold down a job and a religious mother, Reagan was encouraged at an early age by his mother to act in school plays. An activity in which the young Reagan showed much promise. Because of a difficult home life, Reagan created a distance between the reality of his troubled surroundings and the fantasy of how things should be. Many believed that such mental redirection at this early age played a big role in his vision and ideals for America years later.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After he graduated high school in 1932, Reagan went to wor... ...le of a charasmatic leader in that he remained above the fray. That ability was not so much due to his personal political saavy, but rather, the public's refusal to allow him to be portrayed in any negative light, similar to a famous movie star or professional athelete caught in a compromising situation that would spell disaster for the average citizen. Instead of public outrage, the celebrity is met with sympathy and understanding as well as an odd public comdemnation of his or her accusors. As Schaefer charasmatic authority, he defined Reagan. â€Å"Charasmatic authority is derived more from the beliefs of followers than from the actual qualities of leaders. So long as people perceive a leader as having qualities setting him or her apart from ordinary citizens, that leader's authority will remain secure and often unquestioned.† (p. 431). Bibliography   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shaller, Michael. Reckoning with Reagan: America and Its President in the 1980s. Oxford University Press: New York, 1992. Shaefer, Richard T. Sociology, Eighth Edition. McGraw-Hill: New York, 2003

Subliminal Advertising :: essays research papers

Subliminal advertising: A collective term for public announcements designed to promote the sale of specific commodities or services while being integrated below the threshold of perception or awareness. To sell products, merchants consciously use subliminal advertising as a basis for general consumerism. This seems like an unnecessary task, but when taken into consideration all the people, who have expressed their disbelief in its effectiveness, it is obvious to see how vital and necessary such a task commands. Through this, corporations must take on new strategies and methods of persuasion and justification. The importance is that advertisers rely on a trust relationship with consumers in order to successfully subliminally sell products. In other words, those who don't believe in subliminal advertising, are its likely victims. The effect of subliminal advertising on the individual and the culture has been influenced and promoted by many different elements. Let it be magazines, newspapers or radio; but the most prominent in this field is television. Television advertising influences the choices we make, perhaps more so than anyone cares to believe. It may not be so obvious, but even teachers face competition with advertising. Television stations, for example, have some four billion dollars a year from industry to spend on programming for the same students that teacher’s face. Nicholas Johnson, a former Federal Communications Commission Commissioner from 1966 to 1973 writes that television is diametrically opposed to almost everything a teacher tries to do: TV tells them that the only thing necessary to give them all the joys in life and the values that are important is the acquisition of yet another product. TV is telling them to sit still and don't think. TV is telling them that they are to be treated as a mass. He writes that it is extremely important to understand this force in our society if a teacher is to deal with it. He writes the most important thing to know is that advertising is a business. Johnson continues: It is the business of selling. But what it is in the business of selling is you and your students. You are the product being sold. Who are you being sold to? You're being sold to an advertiser. It is the advertiser who is the consumer in this equation. The advertiser is buying you. The advertiser is buying you from the broadcaster. And why the advertiser is buying you is because he wants you to look at his message; his billboard, his magazine ad, and in this instance, his TV commercial.

So Much Media, So Little News

So much information, so little Idea The disease of new media has greatly shrink human minds that rub off on more and more people in this technology-accelerating world at present. Daily life nowadays has significant changed compare to ten years ago that office workers used to waiting for subway by reading a daily newspaper, housewives seating at balcony and reading a newspaper in the morning. But now, most people read news on their cellophane or television instead Of newspaper.What is rubbing off on their behavior? Peter Fun who is an pop-deed writer for the New York Times, writes about polysyllable on his essay â€Å"So much media, So Little Nevus†. Neal Gabbler who is a journalist and culture historian, writes about the relationship between big idea and post-idea world. On his essay â€Å"The Elusive Big Idea†, he argues that people don't care as much about ideas as they used to be. The connection between the two authors has one of the most important reasons that new m edia gradually twisted the true value of newspaper that smother big ideas.Thus, in order to correct the twisted value that media are rubbing off on news, the society needs to redefine the value of news and reexamine the concept of big ideas. The broadsheets offered daily coverage by publishing company, but no commentator or analyst gave any context and readers were left to make up their own minds. Peter Punt believes that there is barely people would create ideas on news, men sad truth is that while some of us are naturally curious about what we don ‘t know, an increasing number of readers and viewers want only reinforcement of what they already know. Pig. 1 98) Newspapers believed that their prime duty was to report what had happened the previous day and give a space to reader a way to think, to brainstorm rather than make argument to an event or judge on someone that post online. Were newspapers then better or worse? Certainly, they seem calmer, just followed a formula that required true story rather then come along with a high quality argument to rub off on reader and offer them a ready-made idea.Neal Gabbler argues a social fact that people loss attitude to create ideas in his say, â€Å"It's not because we are dumber than our forebears but because we just don't care as much about ideas as they did. In effect, we are living in an increasingly post-idea world that fewer people are generating them and fewer outlets are disseminating them, the Internet notwithstanding'(Pig 533) New media offers a way that what people can get idea from others immediately. Post-idea is a shortcut to make someone become lazy without thinking or taking advantage of technology as the modern science to make unceasing progress.But more and more people choose new media in order to save effort and expect a quick result, which is called the culture of instant gratification. New media provides a fast way to help them to get to know the others' opinion of news directly. Obliviousl y, newspaper is a better choice to help people create idea and prompt advance of society. Although 24-hour radio news stations had been established, TV equivalents were some years away. The pages may have been fewer, but the number of news stories was, if anything, slightly higher than in today's papers.Peter r-nut argues that people pay less attention on on what they not interest, â€Å"today's boutique media allow many people to skip news altogether. You can set your Internet home page so that it serves up only what you're interested in. â€Å"(pig 97) New media has diversity format of news, video, audio and fancy advertisement catches people's attention. Fun is pointing out a very important social trend in how people approach news media although they have the same nostalgia for the old days. People are seeking out information that confirms their own beliefs and interests as opposed to seeking to be informed†.This creates myopic views of the world resulting in corrupting. The prevalence of more and more â€Å"information isolation† is one of the causes of divisiveness. Like what Fun said the best prescription has always been a combination of what Want to know and what we Ought to know. Neal Gabbler proposes the reason why people would pay more attention on new media, â€Å"It keeps us in the loop, and keeps us connected to our friends and our cohort. Ideas are too airy, too impractical, too much work for too little reward. Few talk ideas. Everyone talks information, usually personal information. (534). New media takes more advantages from newspaper that could direct to readers mind. Newspaper still has a strong positive influence on both spread information and help inspire people's ideas, but the effect was less overwhelming. This was not just because newspapers had fewer intemperate columnists. It was also because even the miners' strike did not dominate page after page, creating a kind of emotional tsunami, as a similar issue might now. On the broadsheets particularly, width of coverage counted are more than PPTP of report.People have come to learn more and more and to be given more definite ideas about less and less. We live in a golden era of information when you don't have to passively rely on the news sellers but can go directly to the source yourself. New media effectively endows us with common eyes, ears, and brain. People should not blindly believe some rumored event occurred as described. Anything remotely of interest is available permanently available for anyone curious enough to look for its true different big idea.

Michelangelo’s Sculpture “David” Essay

David â€Å"† Analysis and Structure It is obvious that Michelangelo was meticulous when creating this sculpture. His sculpture, David, must have been done after studying the human form a great deal. The lines he has used are very natural, and though his figure is rather chiseled, the lines seem very gentle. Michelangelo has paid special attention to shape. Every ligament, muscle and bone seems as though it is alive. I especially noticed the shape of the legs, the back of the knees particularly. The muscle in the right leg (looking from the rear) is stuck out, almost as if David is about to walk. The direction seems very human and natural as well, all except for David’s hand. It seems to be cocked in a very unnatural position. The fingers on the left hand (looking from the front) are also in an odd position. The sculpture stands more than 14 feet tall and Michelangelo has done a great job keeping all extremities and the head and body in proportion to one another. The texture that Michelangelo was able to achieve is amazing. I know from personal experience that it is often very difficult to achieve the proper texture for hair, teeth, etc. but he seems to make it look effortless as well as flawless. The hair looks very natural, but the skin is even more interesting. He has achieved an even texture, without making the skin look fake. The color of the sculpture is gray. I believe that the value throughout the sculpture is the same, although with the use of lights, this can be changed, giving the sculpture different values due to shadows. There is repetition with variation throughout the sculpture. This makes sense since most everyone has two of each limb, and many muscles. The head seems to be the dominant point of interest for me. It fascinates me that Michelangelo could create such a realistic body, but the head requires extra care. Michelangelo paid close attention to unity. Everything seems linked. There is uniform shape to the body. The body seems as though it all joins together and the unifying link is the torso. The sculpture is made from marble, and has subtle veins of â€Å"color†. David â€Å"† History In 1501, the city of Florence commissioned Michelangelo to sculpt a statue of David. They had adopted the Biblical figure as their city’s symbol to tell the world, and their neighbors who were constantly fighting with them, that though Florence was a small city, it was fierce and would take on any giant of an enemy who dared to challenge them. They presented the artist with a banged up, 18 foot block of marble that had laid abandoned in a church work yard for 35 years. Undiscouraged, Michelangelo took on the project. For three years, he etched the marble, bringing forward his own unique vision of the Biblical hero, and creating the epitome of the Renaissance ideal of man in the process. With only the strengths of his body and his beliefs, David awaits the appearance of his challenger. David’s right hand is disproportionately large to symbolize his courage and physical power. The sculpture is a tense psychological portrait of David before he kills Goliath. The characteristics that David relies on are completely manifested in him, and in the foundation of Renaissance art and philosophy. Michelangelo has been called the father of the Renaissance because all of his art pays homage to the physical, emotional, and spiritual strengths that each human being possesses. Michelangelo’s statue of David is now permanently installed at the Galleria Dell’ Accademia in Florence.