The John Lewis Partnership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The John Lewis Partnership - Essay Example 6). The original owner of the business, John Lewis set up this particular business in 1864. Later in 1905, his son John Spedan Lewis became the head of Lewis’s other store (Peter John in Sloane Square). Political pressures to the extent of making major serious decisions regarding the company lured John Spedan Lewis so much. John Spedan wanted the company managed in a totally different manner. He decided that every single employee of the company who was permanent was going to have shares in the business; therefore, he organized the launching of a staff profit sharing plan, which was held at one if the businesses (Peter Jones store). The structure of the organization has become totally different in the sense that, everybody in the company has the say and gets the shares instead of having one director owning the company and making major decision. Everybody who works in the company is a boss and there is no possibility of having rules that can be followed as there is no one in cha rge of that work. This is because everybody in the company is a director. (Pederson 2008, p. 165). Finance Partners in the company have a direct monetary attention, making them exercise their power in the company. This is because in JLP, all partners are entitled to a yearly bonus, which is obtained from the company’s annual profits (that is 10% - 15% of every individual’s annual earnings). ... The partners together with their families have the privilege to enjoy all the leisure and accommodation in the facilities; hence this will most likely result in the collapse of the business in future. Marketing LP works in selections of highly aggressive business surroundings; Tesco, Sainsbury and walmat (Asda), thus controlling the food retail market in the United Kingdom. JLP has also ventured into the clothing business, electronics, furnishings, and even furniture creating competition with various departmental stores. JLP is aware that in order to make it in such business and with so much competition involved, everything that is done will need maximum competence and usefulness. This means that the management of the company has to be taken seriously, otherwise due to the entire staff ownership of the business, some members may not take their jobs seriously, as they may only be focusing on what they have in the company (Lewis 1986, p. 6). The company catalogue shows that the intenti on of John Lewis Partnership is merely to satisfy its members. John Lewis Partnership has come up with a convention arrangement of a massive organization in terms of setting up a main headquarters and varieties of dissections, stockrooms and branches, industries and retail supplies. Waitrose have demonstrated their focus on quality and importance for money, as their way forward to its selling and procedures. Waitrose have since had a tradition of marketing their products together with local products. This is the reason the company has been able to win the attention from all types of customers, both from local and international arenas. They have goods varying from expensive, cheap international and local goods. Waitrose predicted the

Chanels Exhibition Compared to Vermibus Essay Example for Free

Chanels Exhibition Compared to Vermibus Essay Two exhibitions, both held during October 2012, will form the bases of this comparative essay. Chanel’s fashion photography exhibition entitled ‘The Little Black Jacket: Chanel’s Classic Revisited’ held at the Saatchi Gallery 12th October 4th November 2012, and Vermibus’ display of appropriated adverts called ‘Unmasking Kate’ shown at the Moniker Arts Fair 11th -14th October 2012 will be used to explore the links each exhibition has to the themes of advertising and celebrity. ‘The Little Black Jacket: Chanel’s Classic Revisited’ is a celebration of the ‘timelessness’ (Saatchi, 2012) that is the Chanel jacket first introduced in 1953 (Armstrong, 2012), which Karl Lagerfeld, the creative director for Chanel, has revamped for the twenty-first century. ‘The Chanel jacket is a man’s jacket which has become a typical feminine piece’ (Lagerfeld cited Making of- The Video, 2012), co-writer and photographer for the exhibition Lagerfeld, articulates the versatility of the garment, which is a key theme expressed throughout the show. The exhibition consists of 113 photographs of celebrities modelling (Saatchi, 2012) the jacket to which the entire exhibition is a tribute to (Saatchi, 2012). In contention with the notion of product and brand celebration the Spanish-born artist Vermibus presented his ‘Unmasking Kate’ series at the Moniker Arts Fair, †¦now in its third year, the fair†¦[of] contemporary artists with urban roots†¦[is] an assembly united by a desire to rebel’ (Spence, 2012). Amongst the rebels is street artist and ex-branding photographer turned contemporary artist (lamono, 2012), Vermibus. The principle of his work is the appropriation of designer advertising posters found publically, as a statement against the image of our materialistic consumer driven society (Finucane, 2012). The title of Vermibus’ current series ‘Unmasking Kate’ refers to both his method of appropriating the posters and to his subject, namely the model Kate Moss. Vermibus argues that he uses Moss’s image ‘†¦because she has been the flagship of fashion for the last 20 years’ (Lamono, 2012) and is therefore an easily recognizable icon of modern fashion and consumer society Kate Moss had to construct thousands of masks to hide her fears [she] internalized those masks from the beginning and we bought them all†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢(Lamono, 2012) Vermibus reveals his ideas about masks fueled by the advertising industry. He further uses Moss’ image to show, simultaneously, the vulnerability of the human subject and the medias exploitation of the notion of celebrity. This theme parallels the way Andy Warhol used Marilyn Monroe’s image after her death (Modern Masters: Andy Warhol, 2010). Likewise, the Chanel exhibition echoes some Warhol themes, yet using the celebrity image to celebration its brand and product originally from the 1950’s (Modern Masters: Andy Warhol, 2010). The exhibitions work on Warhol themes differently either to criticize or celebrate advertising and product branding (Modern Masters: Andy Warhol, 2010). The title of the exhibition ‘The Little Black Jacket: Chanel’s classic revisited’ uses a play on the now clichà ©d notion of ‘the little black dress’ this seemingly playful reference to an item that Coco Chanel arguably made ubiquitous in 1926 (Fritz, 2012) as ‘a uniform for all women of taste’ (Crystal, 2007) carries the suggestion that the redesigning of the Chanel jacket has caused the garment to become as revolutionary and versatile as the little black dress and thus deserves the same universal appeal and fashionable credibility. This is further reflected in the exhibition’s promotional use of words such as ‘classic’ (Armstrong, 2012), ‘iconic’ (Saatchi, 2012) and ‘timeless’ (The Exhibition Opening The Film, 2012), phrases often made in reference to the little black dress, conveying the item as an essential part of both a man and woman’s collection, in this way almost surpassing t he success of the little black dress. Despite their difference, the most prominent connection between both exhibitions is the use of fashion photography. While Vermibus appropriates already publish photographic based adverts, Lagerfeld endeavours to create a series of fashion photographs, seemingly ready for an advertising campaigns (fig:1) sans the alluring taglines and buyer information. However, perhaps text is not necessary in conveying advertising messages: ‘As advertising has become so subject to the influence of photography that in some cases it is nothing other than fashion photography in its pure form.’ (Zahm, 2003 p.267) Lagerfeld’s photography could, therefore, be read as adverts for the Chanel jacket. This is illustrated in the use of a shallow depth of field added to the blank studio backdrop, uniform in all of Lagerfeld’s shots and reminiscent of many advertising campaigns. The technique seems to encourage the viewer to read the model as the main focus of the shot. The positioning of the models, strictly following the rule of thirds in all displayed images, seems actively styled to further accentuate the Chanel jacket as it is after all the subject of the photographic exhibition and perhaps the product to be endorsed. Looking at the images from this angle makes the work seems more sinister; putting the gallery viewer in the position of a consumer. Vermibus’ acquired advertising posters are often comparable in style and content to those featured in the Chanel exhibition. The Vermibus technique involves the systematic removal of layers of gloss and colour from the face of the models (fig:2) using solvents such as white spirit ‘in a unique painting counter-action’ (Open Walls Gallery, 2012) creating gestural, painterly brush marks reminiscent of Lucian Freud ‘s ‘naked’ series (fig:3). This method of working directly on to the photographic image creates an interesting juxtaposition between the flat, glossy, original photographic elements left untouched in the clothe and hair of the advert compared to the textured, painterly brush marks and colours crated by the solvents application on the glossy flesh of the models image (Finucane, 2012). This all helps to convert the adverts ‘flawless and sanitized icons†¦into harrowing and contorted figures evocative of ‘Francis Bacon’s seminal works’ (Finucane, 2012) (fig:4). Through this treatment Vermibus is trying to uncover the essence of the figures by ‘dehumanizes those figures †¦ trying to find the aura of the individual, the personality that was lost†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢(Moniker Art Fair, 2012) in the world of advertisement, which seems in direct contention with the image and brand driven concept of the Chanel exhibition. Nonetheless, a form of distortion is also evident in the instillation part of the Chanel exhibition (fig:5), large glass etched version of selected prints create intertextual connections to the work of pop artist Roy Lichtenstein (fig:6) namely in the use of the pixelated bendy dots and primary colours. Through pixelating the benday dots Lagerfeld seems to marry a nostalgic past of image reproduction with modern-day digital innovations. This mirrors the merging of past and present in fashion exhibition. The link to Pop Art is further contextualised as the original Chanel jacket would have debuted around the time that the pop art movement was emerging (Gersh-Nesic, 2012). Unlike many Pop artists and Lagerfeld’s work, Vermibus eradicates branding from his work. Then returns the adverts to their original places in the advertising shelters as ‘gifts for the passers-by’ (Moniker Art Fair, 2012 p.19). As he stats that private companies have taken over these spaces and what I want to do is return them to the public (Lamono, 2012). Chanel’s exhibition in this way also stands in contrast to the notion that a luxury brand ‘buys its way into our public spaces [and it] must be passively accepted as a one-way information flow. (Klein, 2002). This is an argument held and expressed within the work of Vermibus. Instead of following this traditional model of advertising which relies heavily and spend vast amounts of money on limited single-way communication advertising (Jackson, 2009), Chanel arguably used a credible gallery to advertise under the guise of culture enrichment; a ‘more interactive, experiential and customised communication’ (Jackson, 2009, p. 273). However, Anderson (2000) argues that shows like this ‘illustrates [the] approaches taken by those in the commercial sphere, who are completely unfettered by museological traditions’ (Anderson, 2000, p.386). However, the Saatchi gallery; was set up by Charles Saatchi like many ‘high net worth individuals who operate their collections like museums for the public’ (picassomio.com) thus needs not to uphold traditions of the museum and is not duty bound to provide advertisement-free exhibitions. This may seem like devious undercover advertising however visitors will construct their own coherence.which may or may not comply with that of the curator'(Hooper-Greenhill, 2000, p.7) thus the advertising undertones of the exhibition may be passively accepted or rejected by viewers. In this way Chanel opens the flow of communication, although, arguably ‘even the best fashion photography is still an industry in service of industry’ (Zahm, 2003, p.265). Therefore, in blurring the lines between free cultural experiences and marketing gimmicks Chanel is clearly attempting to increase their revenue, as Lagerfeld affirms ‘I am not a commercial person †¦ but the final complement is†¦when you buy [the product]’ (The World of Karl Lagerfeld, c.2010). The fact that Lagerfeld’s creative and corporate elements merge in the exhibition is sinisterly convenient ‘†¦it is undeniable that the motivations of designers to co-operate with curators in having their work displayed in museums are largely about prestige, self-promotion and profit’ (Anderson, 2000, p. 375) marring the impression of such exhibitions as nothing more than an oblique advertising campaign. The ‘anti-publicist’ (Lamono, 2012) Vermibus’ illustrates his distain for the advertising industry which Lagerfelds work seems to represent, the brands goal is to remove the model’s identity†¦the model is not a person any more but an image whose only value is for selling (Finucane, J. 2012). Vermibus’ ideas are reminiscent of the Situationist International’s concepts of the spectacle (Debord, 1957-61) equally, Vermibus’ appropriated posters carry strong connections to their notion of detournement ‘reusing preexisting†¦elements in a new ensemble’ (Debord, 1957-61). Thus Vermibus’ symbolic use of white sprit on adverts, can act as an allegory for reestablishing identity from the spectacle. This notion of brands taking over ones identity is also suggested in the Chanel exhibition video ‘†¦and with each person’s personality the jacket lives through them †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Chloe Moretz cited in ‘The Exhibition Opening -The Film’ 2012) presenting the consumer product as a sort of symbiotic parasite using and replacing the identity of the wearer. This relates further to Williamson’s (1995) argument that ‘people are made to identify themselves with what they consume’ (Williamsons 1995 p.13). People become use brands and styles to project their identity through non-verbal communication thus: ‘Advertisements are selling us something else besides consumer goods†¦in providing us with a structure in which we and those goods are interchangeable, they are selling us ourselves.’ (Williamson, 1995 p13) This would explain why so many of the videos produced by Chanel surrounding the Black Jacket exhibition continuously stress the versatility of the jacket ‘†¦ You can do a lot with it†¦it suits everyone’ (Carine Roitfeld cited in Making of The Video, 2012) conveying almost subliminally that people need to have this item that can fit their already established style; ‘the bohemian look, the Victorian look, the more kinda [sic] fun Kate Moss look†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Chloe Moretz cited in The Exhibition opening -the film’ 2012) further promoting its value and illustrating the ‘cannibalistic’ nature of fashion (Zahm, 2003 p. 266), which feed into the spectacle (Debord,1957-61) by assimilating and reproducing the same items and feeling of desire within society. The Chanel exhibitions use of celebrity images differs to that a Vermibus, as it seems to reflect the wider marketing idea that using celebrity endorsements is a ‘strong marketing plus†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Jackson, 2009 p191). Along side the photographers the behind the scenes film presents testimonials from celebrities ‘I consider it [the Chanel jacket] a prized possession. I feel very lucky’ (Sarah Jessica Parker cited in Making of- The Video, 2012) enticing the viewer to desire the item. Atkin (2010) contend that this is because humans are prehistorically ‘hardwired’ to want to glean information about how to become successful survivors by watching and copying the most successful in our society, i.e. the celebrities (Star Suckers, 2010). advertisers like Chanel are manipulating this evolutionary flaw to give ‘[a] product which initially has no meaning †¦.value by a person†¦who has a value to us†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Williamson, 1995, p.31). In contrast, celebrities are utilized by Vermibus to liberate the human being from the celebrity ‘mask’ evoking sympathy from the audience however, it is not clear how much the celebrity image entices the viewer’s prehistoric urge and interest in Vermibus’ work. In conclusion the two exhibitions on the surface have very different and opposing motivations. However, on inspection both deal with similar themes of fashion photography, advertising and celebrity in different ways. Although it falls beyond the scope of this essay compare every element of the exhibitions it has attempted to demonstrate that Lagerfeld’s approach has strong advertising undertone, while Vermibus’ work is anti-publicist in nature. Therefore, despite displaying work at arts fair, with the purpose of promoting and selling his work, the artist maintains his anti-establishment ethos ‘Being at [an art fair] is another way to attack from within (Lamono, 2012) which conveys the fundamental difference between the two exhibitions; they both exploit the image of celebrities to draw attention to their work but while Vermibus’ ideology remains paramount it would seem that for Lagerfeld the financial gain is the principal purpose of the exhibition. References: Anderson, F (2000) ‘Museum as Fashion Media’, in Bruzzi, S. and Gibson, C. (eds.) Fashion Cultures: Theories, Exploration and Analysis. London : Routledge pp. 371-389. Armstrong, L. (2012) ‘Chanels Little Black Jacket: How Chanel split the fashion atom’, Telegraph [Online] Available at: http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG9602510/Chanels-Little-Black-Jacket-How-Chanel-split-the-fashion-atom.html (Accessed 3/12/2012 Crystal, (2007) Little Black Dress Quotes. Available at: http://no-white-marks.blogspot.com/2007/10/little-black-dress-quotes.html (Accessed: 3/12/2012) Debord, G. (1957-61) ‘Writings from the Situationist International’ in Harrison,C and Wood, P.J. (eds.) (2002) Art Theory 1900-2000. Oxford:Blackwell. pp.701-707 Finucane, J. (2012) New art New Ideas London: Moniker Arts Fair Fritz, M. (2012) A Short History of the Little Black Dress. [Online]. Available at: http://www.realsimple.com/beauty-fashion/clothing/dresses-skirts/little-black-dress-00000000046948/index.html (Accessed: 29/11/12) Gersh-Nesic, B. (2012) About.com. Available at: http://arthistory.about.com/od/modernarthistory/a/Pop-Art-Art-History-101-Basics.htm (Accessed: 08/11/12) Hooper-Greenhill, E (2000) Museums and Interpretation of Visual Culture London: Routledge Jackson, T. and Shaw, D. (2009), Fashion Marketing Hampshire: Palgrave Klein, N. (2002) No Logos. New York:Picador Lamono (2012) Vermibus, Attack From Within [Online]. Available at: http://lamonomagazine.com/hunter/vermibus-ataque-desde-dentro/ (Accessed 28/11/2012) Making of the video,’ 2012, by Chanel [online] available at: http://thelittleblackjacket.chanel.com/en_GB/makingof (Accessed 16/11/12) Modern Masters: Andy Warhol Documentary Artist, (2010) by Alastair Sooke, UK [Online] available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWU7I6fGpMIfeature=sharelist=LLU15G_d3N4Dd14H85X-eCCg (Accessed: 08/11/12) Moniker Art Fair, (2012) Moniker Art Fair About. [Online] Available at: http://www.monikerartfair.com/2012/ (Accessed: 18/10/12) Open Walls Gallery (2012) Vermibus [Online] Available at: http://www.openwallsgallery.com/artist/vermibus (Accessed 15/11/12) Picassomio, General Art Articles[online]. Available at: http://www.picassomio.com/art-articles/what-is-the-difference-between-a-museum-and-a-gallery.html (Accessed: 28/11/12) Saatchi gallery (2012) The Little Black Jacket. [Online] Available at: http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/current/the_little_black_jacket.php (Accessed: 15/11/12) Spence, R. (2012) ‘Go forth and multiply’, The Financial Times [Online] Avalible at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/0a062f4c-1486-11e2-8cf2-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2EEPdaatD (Accessed: 14/11/12) Star Suckers, (2010) by Chris Atkins UK [DVD] The Exhibition Opening The Film, (2012) by Chanel [Online] Available at: http://thelittleblackjacket.chanel.com/en_GB/exhibition/london (Accessed: 16/11/12) The World of Karl Lagerfeld, (c. 2010) by Anjali Rao China [Online] Avalible at: http://youtu.be/m0ljhBgy0Hc (Accessed 20/11/12) Williamsons, J (1995) Decoding Advertisements: Ideology and Meaning in Advertising. London: Marion Boyars Zahm, O. (2003) ‘On the Marked Change in Fashion Photography’, in Welters, L. and Lillethon, A. (eds.) (2007) The Fashion Reader. Oxford: Berg, pp. 263-269.

The Standard American-English

The Standard American-English American English also known as United States English, or U.S. English) is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two thirds of native speakers of English live in the United States.[2] English is the most common language in the United States. Though the U.S. federal government has no official language, English is considered the de facto, in practice but not necessarily ordained by law, language of the United States because of its widespread use. English has been given official status by 30 of the 50 state governments.[3] There are no official rules for Standard English because, unlike some other languages, English does not have a linguistic governance body such as the Accademia della Crusca, Real Academia Espaà ±ola, the Acadà ©mie franà §aise or the Dansk Sprognà ¦vn to establish usage. The English language, which originated in England, is now spoken as a first or second language in many countries of the world, each of which has developed one or more national standards of pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. As the result of historical migrations of English-speaking populations and colonization, and the predominant use of English as the international language of trade and commerce (lingua franca), English has also become the most widely-used second language,[1] and is therefore subject to alteration by non-native speakers. Numerous non-native dialects are developing their own standards- those, for example, of English language publications published in countries where English is generally learned as a foreign language.[citation needed] In countries where English is either not a native language or is not widely spoken, a native variant (typically British English or North American English) might be considered standard for teaching purposes.[2]. The effects of local native languages on the creation of creoles or pidgins have contributed to the evolution of the many local and regional varieties of English. But they were not considered to be part of the language until the people that spoke them said that they should be. African American Vernacular English African American Vernacular English (AAVE is an African American variety (dialect) of American English. Non-linguists sometimes call it Ebonics (a term that also has other meanings or strong connotations) or jive or jive-talk. Its pronunciation is, in some respects, common to Southern American English, which is spoken by many African Americans and many non-African Americans in the United States. There is little regional variation among speakers of AAVE.[1] Several creolists, such as William Stewart argue that AAVE shares so many characteristics with creole dialects spoken by black people in much of the world that AAVE itself is a creole. On the other hand, others maintain that there are no significant parallels.[2][3][4][5][6][7] As with all linguistic forms, its usage is influenced by age, status, topic and setting. There are many literary uses of this variety of English, particularly in African-American literature. AAVE includes many of characteristics of other nglish language-forms spoken by people throughout much of the world. AAVE shares pronunciation, grammatical structures, and vocabulary in common with various West African languages.[8] Many features of AAVE are shared with English dialects spoken in the American South. While these are mostly regionalisms (i.e. originating from the dialect commonly spoken in the area, regardless of color), a number of them-such as the deletion of is-are used much more frequently by black speakers, suggesting that they have their origins in black speech.[9] The traits of AAVE that separate it from Standard American English (SAE) include: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢changes in pronunciation along definable patterns, many of which are found in creoles and dialects of other populations of West African descent (but which also emerge in English dialects that may be uninfluenced by West African languages, such as Newfoundland English); à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢distinctive vocabulary; and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢the distinctive use of verb tenses. Phonology of African American English The near uniformity of AAVE pronunciation, despite vast geographic area, may be due in part to relatively recent migrations of African Americans out of the South as well as to long-term racial segregation.[19] Phonological features that set AAVE apart from forms of Standard English (such as General American) include: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Word-final devoicing of /b/, /d/, and /É ¡/, whereby for example cub sounds like cup.[20] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Reduction of certain diphthong forms to monophthongs, in particular, /aÉ ª/ is monophthongized to [a] (this is also a feature of many Southern American English dialects). The vowel sound in boil (/ɆÃƒâ€°Ã‚ ª/ in Standard English) is also monophthongized, especially before /l/, making it indistinguishable from ball.[21] (This is also characteristic of some white speakers from eastern Arkansas, and the vowel is actually the same as that in file, as shown by the transcription of American folksong lyrics, Bile em Cabbage Down, in Standard English, Boil Those Cabbages Down (see Branson[vague]).) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ AAVE speakers may not use the dental fricatives [ÃŽÂ ¸] (the th in thin) and [ÃÆ' °] (the th of then) that are present in SE. The actual alternative phone used depends on the sounds position in a word.[22] (This, too, is a common substitution is many regional dialects, including parts of the South, and in New York, as readily heard in movies and television shows set in these areas.) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Word-initially, /ÃŽÂ ¸/ is normally the same as in SE (so thin is [ÃŽÂ ¸Ãƒâ€°Ã‚ ªn]). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Word-initially, /ÃÆ' °/ is [d] (so this is [dÉ ªs]). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Word-medially and -finally, /ÃŽÂ ¸/ is realized as either [f] or [t] (so [mÊŒmf] or [mÊŒnt] for month); /ÃÆ' °/ as either [v] or [d] (so [smuv] for smooth). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Realization of final ng /ņ¹/, the velar nasal, as the alveolar nasal [n] in function morphemes and content morphemes with two syllables like -ing, e.g. tripping is pronounced as trippin. This change does not occur in one-syllable content morphemes such as sing, which is [sÉ ªÃƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¹] and not à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ [sÉ ªn]. However, singing is [sÉ ªÃƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒâ€°Ã‚ ªn]. Other examples include wedding à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ [wɆºÃƒâ€°Ã‚ ¾Ãƒâ€°Ã‚ ªn], morning à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ [mɆÃƒâ€°Ã‚ ¹nÉ ªn], nothing à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ [ˈnÊŒfÉ ªn]. Realization of /ņ¹/ as [n] in these contexts is commonly found in many other English dialects.[23] Such substitutions are so common throughout the American South that, for example, a sign urging customers to enter a store in Greenville, Texas, was printed, Dont just be setten, come on in! (1985).[citation needed] Grammatical aspect marking for African American English Example Name SAE Meaning / Notes He workin. Simple progressive He is working [currently]. He be workin. Habitual/continuative aspect He works frequently or habitually. Better illustrated with He be workin Tuesdays. He stay workin. Intensified continuative (habitual) He is always working. He steady workin. Intensified continuative (not habitual) He keeps on working. He been workin. Perfect progressive He has been working. He been had that job. Remote phase (see below) He has had that job for a long time and still has it. He done worked. Emphasized perfective He has worked. Syntactically, He worked is valid, but done is used to emphasize the completed nature of the action.[34] He finna go to work. Immediate future He is about to go to work. Finna is a contraction of fixing to; though is also believed to show residual influence of would fain (to), which persisted beyond the late 16th century in some rural dialects spoken in the Carolinas (near the Gullah region). Fittin to is commonly thought to be another form of the original fixin (fixing) to, and it is also heard as fitna, fidna, fixna, finto, and finsta.[35] I was walkin home, and I had worked all day. Preterite narration. Had is used to emphasize complicating points of narration. Although similar in form, it is not semantically equivalent to the past perfect. As its name suggests, it is a preterite, or simple past, form. Affects of African American English in the Classroom The Oakland resolution declared that AAVE was not English or even an Indo-European language, asserting that the speech of black children belonged to West and Niger-Congo languages and are not merely dialects of English.[64] This claim is inconsistent with the current linguistic treatment of AAVE as a dialect of English and thus of Indo-European origin. Also, the differences between modern AAVE and Standard English are nowhere near as great as those between French and Haitian Creole, which are considered separate languages. The resolution was widely misunderstood as an intention to teach AAVE and elevate it to the status of a written language.[65] It gained national attention and was derided and criticized, most notably by Jesse Jackson and Kweisi Mfume who regarded it as an attempt to teach slang to children.[66] The statement that African Language Systems are genetically based also contributed to widespread hostility because genetically was popularly misunderstood to imply that Afri can Americans had a biological predisposition to a particular language.[67] In an amended resolution, this phrase was removed and replaced with wording that states African American language systems have origins in West and Niger-Congo languages and are not merely dialects of English.[68] Chicano English Chicano English is a dialect of American English used by Chicanos. One major variation of Chicano English is Tejano English, used mainly in south Texas. It is mistakenly referred to asSpanglish, which is not a recognized dialect of English but rather a mixing of the Spanish and English languages. Phonological features Chicano English has many features, especially in the phonology, that show the influence of Spanish. Consonants variations à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The devoicing of [z] in all environments: Examples: [isi] for easy and [wÊŒs] for was. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The devoicing of [v] in word-final position: Examples: [lÊŒf] for love, [hɆºf] for have, and [wajfs] for wives. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Chicano speakers may pronounce /b/ instead of /v/: Examples: very [bɆºÃƒâ€°Ã‚ ¹i], invite [imbajt]. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Absence of dental fricatives so that think may be pronounced [tiņ¹k], [fiņ¹k] or [siņ¹k]. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Poor distinction between /j/ and /dÊ’/ so that job may sound like yob and yes may sound like jes. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Poor distinction of nasals in the syllable coda so that seen and seem are pronounced alike. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ /tʃ/ merges with /ʃ/ so sheep and cheap are pronounced alike Vowels variations à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Chicano English speakers merge [à ¦] and [Ɇº], so man and men are homophonous. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ [É ª] and [i] merge into [i] so ship and sheep are pronounced like the latter. Final consonant deletion Only certain consonants occur at the end of words. All other single consonants in English would thus be unfamiliar to Chicano English speakers in this environment. Most becomes mos; Felt becomes fell, Startbecomesstar. Hawaiian English Pidgin (or Hawaiian Creole) originated as a form of speech between English speaking residents and non-English speaking immigrants in Hawaii.[4] It supplanted the pidgin Hawaiian used on the plantations and elsewhere in Hawaii. It has been influenced by many languages, including Portuguese, Hawaiian, and Cantonese. As people of other language backgrounds were brought in to work on the plantations, such as Japanese, Filipinos, and Koreans, Pidgin acquired words from these languages. Japanese loan-words in Hawaii lists some of those words originally from Japanese. It has also been influenced to a lesser degree by Spanish spoken by Mexican and Puerto Rican settlers in Hawaii. Presently, Pidgin still retains some influences from these languages. For example, the word stay in Pidgin has a form and use similar to the Portuguese verb estar, which means to be but is used when referring to a temporary state or location. At times, the structure of the language is like that of Portuguese grammar. For example, You like one knife? means Would you like a knife?. The reason why the word one is used instead of a is because the word um in Portuguese has two meanings: um translates to one and a in English. The way people use the phrase No can (nà £o pode) is Portuguese grammar, as well. In Portuguese, the phrase Vocà ª nà £o pode fazer isso! comes out in Pidgin as You no can do dat!, and in English as You cannot do that! Pidgin words derived from Cantonese are also spoken in other parts of the United States. For example, the word Haa? is also used by Chinese Americans outside of Hawaii. The meaning is Excuse me? or What did you say?. Another word is chop suey, a popular dish throughout America. In Hawaii, it can also mean that someone is a variety of ethnicities. Another word in pidgin that was derived from the Chinese which is also seen in America is lie dat, which means like that but in Hawaii it is pronounced lidat.[citation needed] In the 19th and 20th centuries, Pidgin started to be used outside the plantation between ethnic groups. Public school children learned Pidgin from their classmates, and eventually it became the primary language of most people in Hawaii, replacing the original languages. For this reason, linguists generally consider Hawaiian Pidgin to be a creole language. Pronunciation Pidgin has distinct pronunciation differences from standard American English (SAE). Some key differences include the following: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Pidgins general rhythm is syllable-timed, meaning syllables take up roughly the same amount of time with roughly the same amount of stress. Standard American English is stress-timed, meaning that only stressed syllables are evenly timed. Some Western languages, including English, are stress-timed, while most Romance and East Asian languages are syllable timed. Many pronunciation features are shared with other colloquial language forms or pidgins/creoles from other parts of the world. Even when a person is speaking Standard English, they will tend to pronounce syllables in the same manner, and this is often considered as having a local or Hawaiian accent. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The voiced and unvoiced th sounds are replaced by d or t respectively-that is, changed from a fricative to a plosive (stop). For instance, that (voiced th) becomes dat, and think(unvoiced th) becomes tink. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The sound l at the end of a word is often pronounced o or ol. For instance, mental is often pronounced mento; people is pronounced peepo. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Pidgin is non-rhotic. That is, r after a vowel is often omitted, similar to many dialects, such as Eastern New England, Australian English, and English English variants. For instance, caris often pronounced cah, and letter is pronounced letta. Intrusive r is also used. The number of Hawaiian Pidgin speakers with rhotic English has also been increasing. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Falling intonation is used at the end of questions. This feature appears to be from Hawaiian, and is shared with some other languages, including Fijian. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The distinctive pronunciation of Hawaiian Creole is sometimes called Portagee. The exact reason for this is unknown, as the full extent of the Portuguese contribution to local pidgin modes of speech and vocabularies was probably not great, compared to the Chinese, Hawaiian or Japanese inputs over the years. The Portuguese arrived rather late to The Islands compared to others, and Pidgin was well established by then, especially in the countryside. One possible reason may be the position of authority the Portuguese often had in plantation life as overseers and so on, although what exactly this connection may have been is unclear. How difficulties/limitations become barriers to assistance and how they affect further learning in English, especially in writing Many linguists and teachers claim that written English, as the lingua franca of international business, is evasive and deceptive. SAE speakers in the dominant (primarily middle-class EuroAmerican) culture readily grasp the subtle signals of standard English, whether spoken or written. But children from minority and lower SES groups who speak a dialect of English often do not learn, at an early age, the subtle codes of SAE. As a result, they are often at a disadvantage when it comes to quickly deciphering the implicit cognitive meanings associated with words, phases, and grammatical structures in SAE. Moreover, their body language sometimes contrasts markedly with that of middle class Whites in their age group. The correlation between the lack of mastering SAE and low mean IQ scores in African Americans is well documented. Language skills enter the equation as one of the most profound mediating variables in determining intelligence performance, or IQ scores (note that intelligence performance is not necessarily tantamount to innate intelligence). Behavioral geneticists have argued that African American children reared in the dominant Euro-American culture or adopted into Euro-American families become more familiar with the subjects of school and intelligence tests. As a result of their early exposure to SAE, these children tend to perform on par with White children adopted into higher SES families. Because of its deviation from SAE, Black English Vernacular can be (but does not have to be) a severe impediment to literacy and to understanding basic concepts, even those taught in elementary school. And it puts up a barrier to grasping the fundamentals of inductive thinking, certainly a prerequisite for learning science. However, students cannot overcome the limitations of Ebonics as a communications device in writing unless their teachers are able to effectively translate (both for themselves and their students) Black English Vernacular into standard English (and vice versa) and translate not only words and phrases, but also concepts and cognitive structures. Limitations vary amongst the dialects. For example, fewer obstacles exist for L1 speakers of Chicano English than for those whose L1 is Black English Vernacular. Some suggest that when teachers realize that Black English Vernacular is in fact a distinct variant of the English language, composed of a systematic grammar and syntax , they will consequently acquire an appreciation for the origins and principle features of this dialect. Hence, these teachers will be less inclined to disrespect Black students, and less likely to label them as ignorant and cognitively impaired. If teacher appreciation and, by implication, teacher effectiveness lie at the crux of the Ebonics issue in the Oakland Public Schools, then indeed this issue has merit. Negative attitudes about speech start with the belief that vernacular dialects are linguistically inferior to standard versions of the language. In fact, the language systems of various groups of speakers may differ, but no one system is inherently better than any other. Research clearly supports the position that variation in language is a natural reflection of cultural and community differences (Labov, 1972). Despite linguistic equality among dialects, students language and cultural backgrounds may influence their chances for success. When children from nonmainstream backgrounds enter school, they are confronted with new ways of viewing the world and new ways of behaving. Uses of language, both oral and written, are centrally involved in this new culture (Farr Daniels, 1986). Many studies addressing Chicano youth have found a detailed account of language and culture patterns in various rural working class communities. This, many claim, demonstrates clearly the conflict between language and cultural practices in the community and in the school. To move toward school expectations, children may have to adapt to language structures and patterns of usage that are different from those they have been using: for example, saying or writing They dont have any instead of They dont have none in school settings.

The Yellow Wallpaper -- Literary Analysis, Gilman

Within the troubling novel, The Yellow Wallpaper, the theme in which action takes place is very significant. The woman, who seemingly suffered from post-partum depression, searches for some sort of peace in her male dominated world. The woman’s increasingly intense obsession with the wallpaper leaves the reader with many questions about male-female relationships and perhaps even insanity. Therefore, the manipulation of theme allows the author to delicately introduce symbols in the text. The yellow wallpaper itself is the most obvious symbol that represents the protagonist’s mindset. It contains patterns, angles and curves that all contradict one another, and it can reflect the wife’s emotions during that time. In addition, the nursery symbolically shows the way women of that time were seen as being on the same level as children, as well as the barred windows of confinement of women with respect to the perception of what a woman’s role was. These symbols re present Gilman’s view on the status of women in the patriarchal society of the nineteenth-century. The story takes shape of a journal about the main character. Consequently, the reader’s view is limited to the impressions of the single character, Jane. Considering the background information on Gilman, one can effortlessly draw the conclusion that the story is actually an indication of a personal experience. Gilman had suffered a tremendous mental depression as the result of psychiatric treatments, prior to writing the story The Yellow Wallpaper. The author identifies herself with the main character. As a result of her poor health, Jane listened to the doctor’s advice and redirected the power she previously spent on doubts to â€Å"air and exercise, and journeys† (Gilman 1392)). She ... ...easier about you† (Gilman 1398). In addition, the other characters play a slight role in the story and can be considered part of the theme. In this case, they represent the connection with the real, obvious world. The healing process tends to be an appearance because the body heals as the doctor predicted but, her mind was resonating with the environment in a different way, provoking changes in her perception. Each bizarre event associated with the mysterious appearances of the woman from the wallpaper seemed to have a connection with the two-dimensional world she came from. For instance, the woman was â€Å"Creeping as fast as a cloud shadow in a high wind† (Gilman 1401). Elements of two-dimensional worlds are certainly an exceptionally appealing effect. They symbolize the strained obedient attitude of those characters, given that their movements were rapidly silent.

Poetry Analysis- A Litany In The Time Of Plague Essay

Context Nashe is most famous as a pamphleteer. an odd career that now would see him working for some Chinese restaurant or another. In Elizabethan times a pamphleteer was a bit more prominent as pamphlets were one of the most effective ways to spread ideas or news across the country. Nashe’s pamphlets were apparently pretty controversial in theme and his poetry also caused a bit of a stir, see if you can work out why!: And make me happie, stealing by degrees. First bare hir legs, then creepe up to her knees †¦ â€Å"Unhappyie me,† quoth she, â€Å"and wilt not stand? Com, let me rubb and chafe it with my hand!† Do you really need to know this? No, but has it made you smile? No? Well, on with the relevant stuff then! So, we’ve established he was a naughty boy and in no way deserving of salvation, now let’s talk about the Black Death. It was a plague that swept around Europe for hundreds of years and is estimated to have killed 200 million people. At the time people were particularly put out by it because they had no idea what was causing it and there was seemingly no cure and people from all reaches of life were effected equally: Queen Elizabeth I was really scared of the plague and devised various quarantine measures to protect herself. You can imagine how an unexplained fatal disease killing everyone around you would make you a little terrified for your own life, feeling like the sword of Damocles is hanging over you head and making you seriously contemplate what happens next. Themes The big one here is obviously mortality, but it closely associated with salvations and therefore religious faith could be considered here too. Content Right, it’s six stanzas and it’ll take forever to do if I go through in too much detail so you’re going to have to be satisfied with an overview. Let’s start with the title. The word litany is now quite commonly used, but at the time was derived from and focused on a service in a church. We can take a litany to be a series of prayers or the whole service, which aims to convey a message to a congregation listening to the priest or preacher delivering it. The first stanza gives us an overview of what’s on Nashe’s mind; he’s a bit fixated on what he sees as the certainty of his approaching death. He mentions how much fun and joy there is in the world, but sees them as being overshadowed and made to seem inconsequential by the shadow of death (‘Death proves them [our joys] all but toys’) and our mortality. He tells us that ‘none from his darts can fly’ indicating the inevitability of death; we all know we’ll die, but he seems to be implying that none can escape from death from the plague as he says ‘I am sick, I must die’ as one inevitably leads to the other. The following four stanzas effectively say the same thing: no one is safe from the plague and nothing will protect you. He starts off by addressing the wealthy and assures them ‘Gold cannot buy your health’. He’s a little bit wrong here as wealth probably would ensure a bit of distance from the plague and the wealthy wouldn’t live in the crowded, filthy and rat infested confines of the cities, so would probably be less likely. However, this is besides the point, he’s telling them their money won’t keep them safe. Stanza 3 next addresses the beautiful and warns them that ‘wrinkles will devour’ them and their looks and that even beautiful Queens have died young. He uses a classical allusion in Helen (the face that launched a thousand ships†¦ because she was so pretty the Greeks went to rescue her from her Trojan captors) as well to convey the idea of beauties dying young and thus telling the young that even they are not safe from the plague. Strength and intelligence (‘wit’) are the next two subjects. Even the most powerful will eventually ‘feed’ for the worms, or rotting in the grave, again demonstrated with a classical allusion, this time to Hector (the Trojan hero). The intelligent are unable to argue their way out of their fate as ‘Hell’s executioner’, or the plague, has ‘no ears’ for them to appeal to. So basically he’s saying that everyone is screwed and there is nothing you can do to avoid the plague. That should give you an impression of people felt at the time; this plague was almost like a sign of judgement day as they didn’t know what caused it, it punished everyone equally and it a particularly unpleasant way to die. But hang on! There is one way we can be saved†¦ unfortunately it still requires us to die. Our only salvation is in heaven and Nashe is telling us to embrace our death, but make sure we have lived our lives in a way that will mean we can ‘mount†¦ unto the sky’ and head off to heaven. Lovely†¦ Hmm†¦ Language and techniques Hundreds of things to talk about, so don’t feel confined to the few examples I’ve chosen to zoom in on. First of all I’d analyse the language used to describe the plague. We are told that ‘none’ can escape its ‘darts’ making our death seem like a certainty; it travels ‘full swift by’ as if it is an unstoppable wind; and once we’re sick, we die confirming that once affected there is no hope. These associations suggest that humanity has no chance of survival against this mysterious and unexplained disease. Then we have the really disturbing imagery about how people die. There is certainly no glory in death as we might believe as ‘wrinkles devour’ beauty or consumed and distort it, while the strong are reduced to pathetic  weaknesses as ‘worms feed’ upon their flesh with them unable to fight back. These images both have a literal association with the plague as huge blisters often formed on victims making them quite repulsive, while victims were reduced to extremely frail conditions thanks to fever and sickness (also suggested by the fact the strong ‘stoop to the grave’, almost unable to stand). However, these images are meant to shock us and make us scared of the disease and for our mortality. I’d also mention how fatalistic the poet is. The plague did not effect everyone and yet we have an almost apocalyptic expression of the certainty of death that recurs throughout the poem again and again and again. Each stanza repeats the final two lines that link sickness absolutely with death and then beg for divine mercy, but we also get a unique element of the certainty of demise in each stanza: 1st – ‘None from his darts can fly’ – no one can escape from death/the plague. 2nd – ‘All things to end are made’ – everything dies! 3rd – ‘wrinkles will devour’ – no uncertainty about decay. 4th – ‘Swords may not fight with fate’ – you cannot fight fate, death is inevitable. 5th – the first two lines†¦ less convincing here – intelligence certain to be overcome by the bitterness of death. Then you’ve got that last stanza and the last line of each stanza. ‘Lord, have mercy on us!’ is a desperate plea to a higher power to make things better the next place they go, a plea for salvation and against being damned to hell. The whole of this stanza seems to indicate the importance of faith as we’re told ‘To welcome destiny’ presumably by being morally good to please the lord, and that earth is just ‘a player’s stage’ meaning that it is sort of a rehearsal or an audition for the real deal of life in either heaven ‘our heritage’ or hell. Structure Well, the first thing to say is that this is a litany. It is set out as a prayer and deliberately sounds like one of those religious fables telling us how to live our lives – ultimately with God and faith at the centre. We get the opening stanza setting the scene for the devastating impact of the  plague as if it is actually destroying the whole world, as if it is beckoning judgement day. The middle stanzas show us things that people rely on while on earth, but proves how useless these things are against death/the plague. Finally, we are given the message about how we can defeat this certain death†¦ by dying as good Christians and going to heaven. I’ve already mentioned it above, but you could also discuss why the last two lines repeat in each stanza. Yes, it makes it like a prayer, but also it emphasises the certainty of death and the poet cannot escape this preoccupation with the end being nigh! Tone Pretty sombre as at every turn this guy wants to remind us and himself that he is certain to die†¦ and in a pretty gruesome and debilitating way. However, there is also an element on preaching here as he is trying to tell us what we have to do – be good and die horrible, but live on in heaven.

Mini Company and Kaizen Essays

Mini Company and Kaizen Essays Mini Company and Kaizen Paper Mini Company and Kaizen Paper The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at emerald-library. com IJOPM 19,11 Continuous improvement and the mini-company concept Jan de Leede and Jan Kees Looise University of Twente, The Netherlands Keywords Continuous improvement, Teamwork, Organizational design, Case studies, Kaizen Abstract The key issue of continuous improvement (CI) seems to be the problem of combining extensive employee involvement with market orientation and continuation of CI. In this article we review some existing organisational designs for CI on these three essential characteristics of CI. As an alternative to the shortcomings of current organisational designs for CI we present the mini-company concept, related to the sociotechnical concept of the self-managing team. The minicompany concept incorporates the three key issues: it has a self-propelling capacity for CI, involving everyone on the shop floor. A constant and market-oriented source for improvement is found in the clients and suppliers of the mini-company. Results of an in-depth case-study are presented, showing some strong effects of the mini-company concept. 1188 International Journal of Operations Production Management, Vol. 19 No. 1, 1999, pp. 1188-1202. # MCB University Press, 0144-3577 Introduction Continuous improvement (CI) is viewed as vital in todays business environments. CI is one of the core strategies towards manufacturing excellence, as it appears, for example, within the context of world-class manufacturing (Schonberger, 1986; Schonberger, 1996) or total quality management (Hackman and Wageman, 1995). Furthermore, CI as a concept is nothing difficult to understand or new. Bessant and Caffyn (1997) define the concept as an organisation-wide process of focused and sustained incremental innovation Many tools and . echniques are developed to support these processes of incremental innovation. However, the difficulty lies within the consistent application of the CI-philosophy and the CI-tools and -techniques. As an organisation-wide process, CI requires the efforts of employees on all levels. Here, the CI-approach can be linked with long established traditions of employee involvement and employee participation. This line of research showed that the involvement of employees is not just a matter of the application of tools and techniques alone (among many others: Cotton (1993)). Other organisational elements such as organisational frameworks, leadership and management styles, culture, employee needs, values and norms are needed as well. Only an integrated approach will lead to lasting results. The key problem of CI seems to be the issue of employee involvement (Bessant and Caffyn, 1997; Berger, 1997). How to involve the employees of all levels in the process of market-oriented continuous improvement? What motivational aspects have to be taken into account in making CI a lasting routine? It is our statement that existing organisational frameworks do not address this issue to a satisfying extent. In spite of the recognition of the people orientation of kaizen (Imai, 1986) and the broad participation and high involvement of CI (Bessant and Caffyn, 1997; Berger, 1997), CI still needs thorough elaboration on organisational designs in which these aspects are realised. Especially, the problem is how to direct the CI activities to customer requirements and business strategy, while maintaining true employee involvement. In this article we want to contribute to this issue. We focus on the organisational aspects of employee involvement in CI. Therefore, the focus of this article is the shop floor. We present a concept that is derived from sociotechnical systems theory but is enriched by principles from Shop Floor Management (Suzaki, 1993). This concept is called the mini-company. The most important characteristic of the mini-company concept is the integration of the customer in operations. An interesting example of the mini-company concept is presented in the case of a manufacturing plant. We show its organisational aspects and its effects on the contribution of the operators in improvement activities. This article is structured as follows. First, we present a framework in order to identify the links of the core principles of CI with market orientation and employee involvement. Second, a brief review is presented of organisational designs of CI. We present another organisational design in the next section: the mini-company concept. This concept entails some strong points in which the reviewed organisational designs are weaker. The case of Philips CMA is an illustration of the mini-company concept and shows some good results with respect to the contribution of operators in product and process improvement. Finally, some conclusions are drawn from the case discussion. CI, market orientation and employee involvement We view organisations as configurations of at least three domains. Every domain is related to the outside world. Products are related to the market place, processes are related to technology and human capital is related to labour. The three domains are interrelated. Innovation occurs in each of these domains when we look at product innovation, process innovation and social innovation, but are interrelated as well (Looise, 1996). In Figure 1 this framework is presented in a schematic way. Based on this general framework, one can analyse the strengths and weaknesses of various new production concepts. Some concepts start from the interaction of market and technology, while others are rooted in the interaction between market and labour or technology and labour. For instance classical sociotechnical systems design talked about the joint optimisation of the social and the technical system (Trist, 1981). This is exactly the interaction of technology and labour. The modern sociotechnical approach is aimed at reduction of complexity, and tries to create efficient product flows (De Sitter et al. 1997). The concept of the autonomous group is still very important in modern sociotechnical theory. The main contribution of sociotechnical thinking is to design a structural basis for enhancing the quality of the organisation in line with an increase in the quality of working life and the quality of the industrial relations. However, this approach too is one-sided. It is too much of a design approach stressing the technological and the structural aspects of organising, but to some extent neglecting the market perspective and the social-dynamical aspects of organising. On company level a sociotechnical Mini-company concept 1189 IJOPM 19,11 1190 Figure 1. Organizations as configurations of product, process and personnel (after Looise, 1996) structure intends to enhance the companys responsiveness to the market, but a closer look at the design principles reveals that on the shop floor level the market or even the customer focus is far away. Let us return to CI and characterise CI using this framework. Following Berger (1997), we distinguish some core principles of CI by using the ideal characteristics of Imais kaizen (Imai, 1996). The first principle is processorientation. Before results can be improved, it is the central tenet of CI that processes must be improved. Good results will follow automatically when processes are both understood and controlled. The orientation is towards the activities and work methods and not towards the outcomes. The second principle is small step improvement of work standards. Imai states it very decisively: There can be no improvement where there are no standards (Imai, 1986, p. 74). For all major operations Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are formulated and improved in an ongoing process of small improvements. One requirement of these SOPs is discipline. All employees have to comply with the established standard operating procedures. Adherence to standards is also stressed in a tool for CI called CEDAC (Fukuda, 1989). Another aspect of this principle is the never-ending process of kaizen. It is an ongoing process. This is symbolised in the PDCA problem-solving format for improvement: a wheel. The PDCA-loop itself is a standardisation of the improvement process. The third principle is people-orientation. CI needs the involvement of everyone in the organisation from shop floor workers to top management. Managementoriented, group-oriented and individual-oriented kaizen have their specific focus within the overall improvement process. In terms of our framework, one can see the primary focus of CI in the interaction of technology and labour. The first and second principle both refer to the process, while the third principle is people oriented. CI has an internal focus and looks for the policy, tools and techniques to integrate processes and personnel in order to improve operational and management processes. So, the market is not in the picture. However, CI is often integrated in broader management philosophies like total quality management (Hackman and Wageman, 1995). Then, of course the market orientation is included in CI. Organizational designs of CI: a brief review In this article we focus on organisational designs for CI. Which organisational mechanisms exist in literature to enable such an organisation-wide process of focused and sustained incremental innovation? We reviewed some specific CIliterature (Imai, 1986; Fukuda, 1989; Bailey, 1997; Berger, 1997; Bessant and Caffyn, 1997; Lindberg and Berger, 1997), and analysed their descriptions of organisational designs. Here are the results. The prime source for CI is still the Japanese kaizen approach (Imai, 1986). According to Imai (1986) there are at least three types of kaizen: managementoriented, group-oriented and individual oriented kaizen. The managementoriented type is focused on the improvement of organisational systems, organisational procedures and machinery and equipment. The group-oriented type has its primary focus on the improvement of work methods, routines and procedures. Organisational vehicles to perform these improvements are quality circles and other small-group-activities using various statistical tools to solve problems. The individual-oriented type of kaizen is focused on improvements in ones own work area and resources. Most often, this is organised by traditional individual suggestion systems. Improvement in every type is aimed at cost reduction and the elimination of waste. Although CI and elimination of waste is something like second nature in the Japanese work system, CI takes place in parallel structures and is not integrated in normal work. Group-oriented kaizen occurs in small groups that are established to improve work methods or to solve specific problems. When management approves a solution, it must be implemented and all employees must adhere to the new standard. In sum, employees are performing their routine tasks and at regular times they participate in off-line small groups to improve their daily routines. Berger (1997) presents a typology of organisational designs for CI. The typology is based on two dimensions: basic task design (individual vs group tasks) and improvement task (parallel vs integrated). His typology (see Figure 2) presents five organisational designs: Mini-company concept 191 Figure 2. Bergers typology of organizational designs for CI IJOPM 19,11 1192 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Quality control circles. Wide-focus CI. Organic CI. Expert task-force CI. Individual CI. The two extremes of this typology are Organic CI and Expert task-force. Organic CI means that improvement activities are integrated in the operational multi-functional work groups. Improvements are not left to experts or staff for design and planning and they do not presuppose decision making by other authorities outside the group. On the other hand, expert task-force CI means that staff from outside the operational working group perform the improvement in a temporary parallel team. On the basis of their expertise, it is possible for worker representatives to participate in the parallel team. Widefocus CI is partly a combination of organic CI and expert task-force CI. It combines parallel process improvement teams and CI in (self-managed) permanent work groups. However, it is not experts from higher levels or other functions who are participating in the parallel teams but members of adjacent work groups at the same level. The parallel CI-teams are covering a complete process. To be complete, individual CI is organised in some form of an individual suggestion scheme. Quality Control Circles are similar to the Japanese group-oriented kaizen approach: a parallel structure where ideas are generated and tested and where senior management approves good solutions. Another typology of CI organisational designs could be found in Bailey (1997). She found three types of manufacturing team improvement programs in the semi-conductor industry: (1) Continuous improvement team programs. (2) Quality circle programs. 3) Self-directed work team programs. The first two programs are parallel structures with off-line teams. Operators participate on a voluntary basis to solve small problems (1) or on a mandatory basis together with direct supervisors to solve problems within a specific work area adopted by the operational work group (2). Within the third program (SDWT program) the work teams are held responsible for CI. The y create temporary teams with other staff or work group members for problems beyond their capacities. We see significant overlaps in these three sources on organisational designs for CI. The CI team programs and the QC programs of Bailey are similar to the QCC of Berger and group-oriented kaizen of Imai. In addition, individual CI of Berger is similar to the individual-oriented type of Imai. There is one major difference: both Berger and Bailey mention one type of CI (wide-focus CI, organic CI and SDWT programs) in which CI is integrated in normal day-today operations of the shop floor. Imai does not mention this kind of integrated group-oriented CI. The provisional conclusion must be that western literature on CI is providing more alternatives to organisational design for CI than Japanese literature does. What do we learn from this short review of organisational designs for CI? . Parallel versus integrated. We see a fundamental distinction of CIactivities parallel or integrated with routine tasks. Traditional kaizen activities are performed within parallel structures, like small-group activities, quality control circles, process improvement teams and so on. In Scandinavian countries (Berger, 1997; Lindberg and Berger, 1997) and in North America (Bailey, 1997) on-line CI activities are also in use. Here it seems that CI is seen as a normal, daily activity performed by work groups. On-line CI is made possible because basic task design  ± inspired by sociotechnical systems theory  ± is an enabling mechanism for such activities. That means that tasks are broadly defined, members of work groups are more functional and highly educated, work groups are responsible for a complete part of the process and last but not least work groups do have a lot of authorities. . Fragmented work versus team-based work. A second fundamental distinction is between fragmented and individual work design and teambased work design. Again, traditional kaizen activities are performed within highly standardised, fragmented work environments. Employees have to improve their own small task and related procedures. Unlike in team-based structures it is the team that is responsible for both operations and improvement of the team tasks. A good example of this basic distinction is the discussion on fragmented versus holistic learning in Volvo Uddevalla and NUMMI Fremont (Adler and Cole, 1993; Berggren, 1994). This can be traced exactly to the difference in basic task design. . Many options. Within these two fundamental dichotomies, we encounter in the reviewed literature and in practice (De Leede, 1997) many options and combinations. Combinations of parallel CI-structures and CI integrated in normal daily activities are possible, for instance for CIactivities with different focus. That is, integrated CI for problems within the scope of the work group, and parallel CI for problems beyond the groups scope. Individual CI can be used in combination with grouporiented parallel or integrated CI. In short, every context requires its own CI design. In addition, it is also a matter of management choice: how do we want to involve our employees in CI? . Source of improvement: management, staff or workers. Three sources of improvement are derived from literature. Problems are generated either by management, by staff or by workers themselves. These problem generators have to be constantly active to generate new problems or goals. We did not find a problem generator built into the organisational design to ensure a constant flow of issues to improve. This is a serious weakness in these organisational designs. Mini-company concept 1193 IJOPM 19,11 1194 In the remainder of this article we present a relatively new organisational design for CI: the mini-company concept (Suzaki, 1993; De Leede, 1997; Verkerk et al. , 1997). The mini-company concept builds upon several elements of the reviewed organisational designs. It is developed to address the major shortcoming of the existing designs in generating a continuous source for improvement. That is the special feature of this concept: its self-propelling capacity. A dynamic and constant source for improvement is found in the clients and suppliers of the work groups. The mini-company concept It was Suzaki (1993) who coined the term mini-company for work groups who are responsible for their supplier-client relationships. Each work group within the company has its own process. The next process is viewed as the customer and the previous process is viewed as the supplier of every unit. Involving the chain of processes is potentially powerful in cases where improvement and innovation is needed, since it is known that diverse contacts outside ones own group enhance innovation ideas generation (Pelz and Andrews, 1966). In fact, it is an external criterion that stimulates improvement and innovation. For our purposes, here we adapt this insight from Suzaki and transform it into a European concept of team-based work: sociotechnical systems design (Trist, 1981; De Sitter et al. 1997; De Leede, 1997). We use the term minicompany as a metaphor in thinking on the organisation of the factory (Verkerk et al. , 1997). The word mini-company provides us with ideas like ownership, commitment, entrepreneurship, client-supplier relationships. The structural basis of the mini-company is similar to the sociotechnical view on the semi-autonomous group, albeit complemented by the concept of client and supplier relationships. The mini-company has four characteristics, distinct from sociotechnical semi-autonomous groups: (1) The mini-company has a name and a mission statement. Both are formulated by the mini-company itself. (2) The mini-company identifies its clients and suppliers and is responsible for managing its relationships. While external clients and suppliers are not always appropriate for having direct contacts with the mini-company, the internal client-supplier relationships are in most cases suitable. (3) The mini-company is responsible for its own improvement programme. Based on its contacts with clients, suppliers and management, the minicompany is able to identify its weak points, which are due for improvement. 4) The mini-company presents its name, mission, members, customers, suppliers, improvement programme and results on display walls. This has been called glass wall management (Suzaki, 1993). Everyone, including a stranger, must be able to see and understand the process and the actual state. The mini-company process is the dynamic side of the mini-company concept. It represents a cycle in which in every period the name and mission are un der discussion, and in which in every period the relevant clients and suppliers are identified and visited. These visits are oriented at overall assessments of the mini-company. In realising the cycle of the mini-company process every time the requirements of (internal or external) customers and suppliers are made visible for the mini-company by itself. These requirements are the inputs for the improvement programme. At the end of each cycle, the results are reported to management. Since every cycle in the end is restarted in fact this is a regular evaluation of the functioning of the mini-company on the basis of market requirements. Case study design The question now remains how this concept performs in practice. What is the contribution of mini-companies to improvement? Therefore, we next present a case-study of the application of the mini-company concept in a Philips business unit. The case-study design consisted of the following methods: document analysis (notes and company reports), observation techniques (one of the authors took part in the action team program and did a two-week internship on the shop floor) and interviews (a total of 30 interviews with all-level managers and operators). In addition, two surveys have been carried out on some socialdynamic aspects on teamwork and on the effects of the mini-companies. The first survey (N=102) was answered by 80 per cent of the (first) operators. The second survey was answered (N=23) by 50 per cent of indirect staff. The time span of the case-study was from early 1995 until mid 1996. Case Philips CMA Market and product In 1992 Philips Components decided to start a new business unit. The new business unit was to be held responsible for the development, production and marketing of Ceramic Multilayer Actuators. It was located at Roermond, The Netherlands, because there was available both an industrial infrastructure and a development laboratory for ceramic and multilayer technology. The market perspectives were promising from the start. The demand for the main product (CMA) was rapidly increasing. However, the market for ceramic multilayer actuators is very dynamic. The product is an important device for ink-jet printers. In fact, Philips CMA is a sub-contractor for a company operating in the turbulent market for ink-jet printers. Short time-to-market, high flexibility and very tough competition are typical for this market, and these are part of the market situation of Philips CMA. The dynamic situation caused by the market is even increased by the complexity of the product. CMA is a new product, applied in a new technology. The product itself was not completely ready for production. Further development was needed in co-operation with the (Japanese) customer. Co-development  ± both in co-operation with the customer Mini-company concept 1195 IJOPM 19,11 1196 and some suppliers  ± was needed. Only then could some technological problems be tackled. These characteristics of the market and the product do imply high demands on the organisation. At Philips the solution has been sought in concurrent engineering  ± that is, development and production at overlapping stages. The product is in production, though not fully developed. Test series are made in the shop floor, not in the laboratory. This implies a very strict co-operation between production and development. In addition to the concept of concurrent engineering, continuous improvement is needed to ensure higher yields, better quality and timely delivery. To cope with the growing demand for the product, it is necessary to enhance the production capacity. Design and implementation of mini-companies at CMA The mini-company concept was introduced in 1994, after two years of operation. In fact it was no more than an intensive continuation and formalisation of former management policies. In the years 1992 ±1994 the business unit was growing from 25 to 125 people. The quality and the yield of the production had to be enhanced dramatically. The general approach was characterised by a focus on process control and step by step improvement. No breakthrough by one big innovation, only many small improvements were attained by an interdisciplinary approach: many joint efforts of development, factory engineering, repair and maintenance, quality department and purchasing. In addition to this, operator involvement was arranged by teamwork. Many so-called Process Inventory Teams dealt with problems for one specific part of the process. Members of the teams were one developer, one factory engineer, at least one first-operator and, depending on the problem, other indirect people. The results of these teams were very promising. Quality and yield increased, and products could be delivered to the customers. In 1994 the specifications of the customers were set even more tightly. Again, the organisation faced a challenge. Then, factory management introduced the minicompany concept. The structural basis of the mini-company is the unit structure, already designed on sociotechnical principles. The units are responsible for a complete part of the process, which is well identified. The boundaries of the units are carefully chosen, based on the principle that the number of internal relationships exceeds the number of external relationships. The mini-company is designed to be the unit. It is not their own shift, it is not the entire factory, but it is the unit with which they should identify themselves. In five shifts the operators make one discernible product, which is a distinct phase in the process. The production structure consists of five units: foil casting, screen printing and pressing, furnace processes, dicing, visual inspection and packing. The hierarchy within Philips CMA includes four layers: general manager, factory manager, unit leader and operator. Every shift has one first operator and several other operators. Operators are working in a five-shift schedule. There are three unit leaders, who have a span-of-control varying from 16 to 55. See Figure 3 for the organisation chart. The units, i. e. all operators including the unit leader, form a mini-company. They have followed a training programme. In this programme, the minicompany philosophy and the mini-company process was explained. Also the improvement techniques were trained. The mini-company process The mini-company process incorporates two separate cycles, a nine-step-cycle and a seven-step-cycle. The nine-step-cycle is a long-term cycle lasting one year. This cycle is a modification of the cycle mentioned in Suzaki (1993). The most important activities of every cycle are the formulation of the mission statement, the identification and interviewing of suppliers and customers, and the design and implementation of an improvement programme. Based on the interview results with suppliers, customers and management, the minicompany itself sets the priorities of the needed improvement activities. Management has to affirm the improvement programme, and demands thorough arguments; however, it never happened that the programme of the mini-company was changed by management. In this way, management values the contribution of the mini-companies on the basis of solid arguments. The improvement programme is realised by improvement teams, so-called action teams. These teams carry out the seven-step cycle, a short-term cycle, which is in fact an extended version of the plan-do-check-action circle. The planning stage consists of four phases. The action teams consist of one operator of every shift in the mini-company and  ± depending on the problem  ± several indirect people from quality, factory engineering, development, etc. The chairman of this action team is in most cases the unit leader. Some examples of improvements realised by the mini-companies are the following. Several mini-companies improved their shift change procedures. One mini-company changed the layout of their process. Another mini-company tried successfully to reduce the frequency of some maintenance activities. Also Mini-company concept 1197 Figure 3. Organization chart Philips CMA IJOPM 19,11 the registration procedures to the computer-aided-manufacturing system were reduced. Another action team focused on a specific quality problem and identified the hidden process parameter causing the problem. Effects What are the results of this application of the mini-company concept? We only resent four effects: (1) the contribution of the mini-companies to improvement; (2) the number of contacts with internal and external clients, suppliers and experts; (3) the power relations within the business unit CMA; (4) the trust relations within the business unit CMA. The results presented in this section are based on the two surveys, respectively among the (first) operators (N=102) and the indirect employees (N=23). The results are supported by the interviews and documents. First, we give an indication of the kind of contribution the mini-companies deliver  ± three different types of innovation. We distinguish between small improvements, rather big improvements and big innovations. Improvements are changes within the existing process, while innovations are changes resulting in radical new processes. In Figure 4 the results are presented, based on the survey among the (first) operators. A similar picture arose from the survey among the indirect employees, with one exception. The indirect employees indicated that the operators usually delivered valuable observations and experiences also in the case of big innovations. According to them, this is a prerequisite for a smooth innovation process. They view the operators as the eyes, ears and hands of the developers on the shop floor. The conclusion is that the mini-companies in most cases deliver a contribution towards improvements, and they play a relatively small, though valuable, role in innovations. Their role is in the co-operation with developers in Failure Mode and Effect Analyses in the assessment of ergonomic aspects of new equipment, in the design of the lay-out of new workplaces, in the support of new tests and samples, and so on. Another effect in this area is that the number of improvement actions increased so much, that the department of 198 Figure 4. Contribution of minicompanies to improvements/ innovations (percentage of (first)operators (N=102); 0=no contribution, 1=contribution) technical maintenance was not able to respond to all requests for assistance. This seems to be an indication of the self-propelling characteristic of CI in a mini-company process. A second effect of working in mini-companies is the number of contacts with internal and external customers and suppliers. Figure 5 shows the results of the survey, indicating the percentages of (first) operators who have regular direct contacts with the relevant outside world. Included are also the contacts with internal and external experts. It is obvious that most operators have regular contact with internal clients and suppliers and internal experts (developers, factory engineers, technicians). External contacts are not usual. The third effect of the mini-company concept is the change in the power relations. We have measured the power relations with the control graph, an instrument developed by Tannenbaum (1968). In Figure 6 the control graph of this case is presented. This control graph is based on the survey among the (first) operators (N=102). This control graph shows high levels of influence among all hierarchical levels, as perceived by (first) operators. In the words of Tannenbaum (1968), this indicates a large total amount of control, which is an indicator of effectiveness. The fourth effect is on trust relations. When we view the relationships between hierarchical levels, it is not only power that comes in. It is also a matter of trust. In this case 85 per cent of the (first) that they had operators stated to have trust in the management, which is quite high. Both observation and Mini-company concept 1199 Figure 5. Internal and external contacts of the minicompanies (N=102) Figure 6. Control graph (N=102; 1=very little influence, 6=very much influence) IJOPM 19,11 interviews confirmed this result. These high trust relations are in line with the successful implementation of the mini-company concept and in the real changes in management style the operators report. Discussion and conclusion We interpret these case results as a good illustration of the mini-company concept. In the case, this concept proved to be implemented carefully, with a balanced attention to both structural and social-dynamic matters. This appears to be crucial: it is not only the structural features of the mini-company concept that are important, but also the social-dynamic factors like power and trust of the mini-company process. The control graph of the Philips case illustrated this. Some authors (Van Haren, 1984; Van Oostrum, 1989) have elaborated on the reasons for the relation between total amount of control and effectiveness. They view the relationships between the hierarchical levels as exchange relations in which power plays an important role. The higher the total amount of control, the higher the intensity of the exchange relationships between the levels. It is necessary to have information exchange and joint decision making to increase this intensity. This joint decision making, and at least the information exchange, is a prerequisite for effectiveness in many situations. They specify also some situations in which it is not effective to have a high amount of control. In short, in standard situations this is not appropriate, but where uncertainty plays a role, it is wise to incorporate in decision making processes as much knowledge and as many stakeholders as possible. In cases of improvement and innovation, uncertainty by definition plays a role. Therefore it is important to create a structure fostering intense exchange relationships between the different hierarchical levels and between the different groups in production, development and support. The mini-company concept is an attempt to provide such a structure. How can we characterise the mini-company concept in the light of our theoretical review of organisational designs for CI? First, the mini-company concept embodies parallel CI-activities as well as integrated CI-activities. Integrated activities include the job consultation mechanisms with all minicompany members and the awareness of all employees in the need for improvement and client orientation. The parallel CI-activities strengthened this awareness by circulating the progress of the action teams by shift representatives. In addition, the glass wall is the medium for information sharing. Second, the mini-company concept is based on a team-based work design. The sociotechnical analysis created the boundaries of the minicompanies, indicating a natural group-orientation of the involved employees. The combination of these two characteristics implies the hybrid nature of the mini-company concept in terms of Berger: the most dominant type is widefocus CI, but for some activities this is combined with expert task-force CI and organic CI. Third, the factory management of this case strongly advocates a true involvement of employees in improvement activities. This is illustrated in the positive power and trust relations. Also, the co-operative 1200 working styles of operators, factory engineers and developers are illustrations of this consistent approach of operator involvement. Fourth, the mini-company concept incorporates the self-propelling capacity for improvement: from clients, suppliers and management a constant stream of ideas for improvement is regenerated in every cycle. Particularly at this point, the mini-company concept seems to be powerful, compared to other organisational designs for CI. This is in line with old findings like Pelz and Andrews (1966). Our final question is this one: Is the mini-company concept as an organisational design for CI the promising bridge between day-to-day operations and improvement activities, with a strong market orientation and with true and sufficient employee involvement? The answer is yes and no. On the one hand, the concept offers promising elements in the integration of market and client relations. The mini-company process ensures a constant connection with clients and suppliers, which starts a continuous source of improvement possibilities. When it is managed well, the concept enhances the decision latitude of the employees including CI activities. On the other hand, this is precisely the Achilles heel of this concept: the management. True employee involvement  ± which is a prerequisite for successful and lasting CI  ± depends on the way management is willing to share power and to build trust. In the Philips case, we demonstrated the success of this application of the minicompany concept, but highlighted also the relatively flat power relations and high trust relations. We think power sharing and high trust both are essential in managing an effective CI programme. References Adler, P. and Cole, R. E. (1993), Designed for learning: a tale of two autoplants, Sloan Management Review, Spring, pp. 85-94. Bailey, D. E. (1997), Manufacturing improvement team programs in the semiconductor industry, IEEE Transactions on semiconductor manufacturing, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 1-10. Berger, A. 1997), Continuous improvement and kaizen: standardization and organizational designs, Integrated Manufacturing Systems, Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 110-17. Berggren, C. (1994), NUMMI vs. Uddevalla, Sloan Management Review, Winter, pp. 37-45. Bessant, J. and Caffyn, S. (1997), High-involvement innovation through continuous improvement, Int. J. Technology Management, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 7-28. Cotton, J. L. (1993), Employee Involvement. Methods For Improving Performance and Work Attitudes, Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA. Fukuda, R. (1989), CEDAC. A Tool for Continuous Systematic Improvement, Productivity Press, Cambridge, MA. Hackman, J. R. and Wageman, R. (1995), Total quality management: empirical, conceptual, and practical issues, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 40, June, pp. 309-42. Haren, T. H. C. van (1984), Power in Organisations, PhD thesis, University of Utrecht, Utrecht (in Dutch). Imai, M. (1986), Kaizen. The Key to Japans Competitive Success, Random House, New York, NY. Leede, J. de (1997), Bottom-up Innovation; on the Contribution of Semi-autonomous Groups in Product and Process Innovation, PhD thesis University of Twente, Kluwer Bedrijfsinformatie, Deventer (in Dutch). Mini-company concept 1201 IJOPM 19,11 202 Lindberg, P. and Berger, A. (1997), Continuous improvement: design, organization and management, International Journal of Technology Management, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 86-101. Looise, J. C. (1996), Social Innovation is a Must, but How? , oration University of Twente, Enschede (in Dutch). Oostrum, J. G. M. P. van (1989), Power and Control in Organisations in an Uncertainty-reduction Perspective: an Experimental Approach, PhD thesis University of Utrecht (in Dutch). Pelz, D. C. and Andrews, F. M. (1966), Scientists in Organizations; Productive Climates for Research and Development, Wiley, New York, NY. Schonberger, R. J. (1986), World Class Manufacturing: The Lessons of Simplicity Applied, The Free Press, New York, NY. Schonberger, R. J. (1996), World Class Manufacturing: The Next Decade: Building Power, Strength, and Value, The Free Press, New York, NY. Sitter, L. U. de, Hertog, J. F. den, and Dankbaar, B. (1997), From complex organizations with simple jobs to simple organizations with complex jobs, Human Relations, Vol. 50 No. 5, pp. 497-534. Suzaki, K. (1993), The New Shop Floor Management; Empowering People for Continuous Improvement, The Free Press, New York, NY. Tannenbaum, A. S. (1968), Control in Organizations, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Trist, E. L. (1981), The sociotechnical perspective; the evolution of sociotechnical systems as a conceptual framework and as an action research program, in Ven, A. H. van de, and Joyce, W. F. , Perspectives on Organization Design and Behavior, John Wiley Sons, New York, NY, pp. 19-75. Verkerk, M. J. , Leede, J. de, and Tas, H. J. van der (1997), Market-oriented Production Management; from Semi-autonomous Group to Mini-company, Kluwer Bedrijfsinformatie, Deventer (in Dutch).

Congrats on your Graduation! Now Read This

Congrats on your Graduation! Now Read This There’s a peculiar sinking feeling that often follows the exultant glee of donning a cap and gown, seeing your diploma for the first time, and updating your resume to include your new graduate status. Ronda Lee, a blogger and first generation college and law school graduate, has several tips and suggestions to help you take the steps that come next! Wisely, she observes that â€Å"You never know who will be the person who will lead you to your next job, client, or big idea. . .Many times jobs are filled before the posting because the hiring person sent an email to friends and contacts asking for names of potential candidates.† Even more important, she frames networking as a mutually beneficial relationship, rather than a series of awkward one-sided coffee meetings. Be generous with your contacts, pass along opportunities that aren’t right for you, and trust that it’ll come back to you with long term benefits.  When saying goodbye your classmates and prof essors, it’s crucial to be gracious and lay the groundwork for future relationships. Your mentors may be the ones writing your first recommendations; your classmates may be the gatekeepers who interview you before the hiring manager does. Write thank you notes. Return emails. Don’t burn bridges!Once you’ve landed that first job out of college, a team player’s attitude is crucial. Manage your time and be self-sufficient–but don’t be so caught up that you forget to ask questions when you’re confused. Communicate clearly and courteously with everyone  you come across–there’s no substitute for a good track record as a conscientious and responsible coworker! Be flexible and willing to adapt, especially in the beginning of a new position where your responsibilities may be in flux. If you become known as someone who’s ready, willing, and able to take on new tasks and complete them successfully, you’ll have stand ing with your employer when it’s time to advocate for yourself, your skills, and future opportunities.Millennials have a reputation as being cocky or unwilling to pay their dues–having a self-driven, entrepreneurial spirit is a terrific thing, but make sure you’re willing to learn the ropes before you start breaking new ground. Find mentors who will call it like they see it–even when it’s hard to hear–and take advantage of your alma mater’s career center resources if you need support at any page of job-seeking or early employment.

The Impact of Non-Financial Resources Essays

The Impact of Non-Financial Resources Essays The Impact of Non-Financial Resources Essay The Impact of Non-Financial Resources Essay The Impact of Non-Financial Resources In this assignment I will provide information for the Human Resources Director of Babcock Plc, about how my chosen business uses physical, technological and human resources. I have chosen to research about Marks and Spencer’s, which is a private limited company and sells high quality clothing, home products and food. They operate internationally, but mostly concentrating on UK. Managing the human, physical and technological resources are very important for Marks and Spencer’s because, they help the company operate efficiently, and productively. Managing these resources well helps them with the day to day running of the business. Physical Resources Physical resources are the resources that are available for the day to day running of the business, and they’re made by humans. For example they can be in the form of buildings, or machinery. Buildings and locations are very important for the company, so they will attract more customers and the buildings will be functional for their shops. Marks and Spencer’s have successfully managed their buildings and locations because, most of their shops are located in the high street which has a high footfall and is easily accessible. This increases the number of customers, which means there are more sales for their business. Also their buildings stand out and their shops are spacious and functional. Another thing is that they have shops located in more than 41 countries, which means the sales increase because there are more customers in different countries. Secondly, shelving is also important for Marks and Spencer’s to function, and to make their products easily accessible to customers, and stand out. In their stores the shelving is well located, and spread out in different segments. This makes the customers find the product they’re looking for, easy to find. Also it makes the customers have a good experience with Marks and Spencer’s and reduces the time to look for the products. Another thing that the company does is that they put direction signs, which tell the customers where everything is and makes shopping around the store easier. Additionally all Marks and Spencer’s stores are laid out the same way, so wherever customers shop, they will know their way around the store. By doing this, it helps to improve shopping experience for the customers, and retain heir existing customers which will increase their sales and improve their profit. Lastly, another physical resource that Marks and Spencer’s use is the CCTV cameras. These are important for the business because they keep the business secure and decrease the chances of people stealing so they have less chances of loosing profit. Marks and Spencer’s have security cameras all a round their stores, which also keep record of number of the customers that they get. This is useful because they can prevent people from stealing so, less stealers will come into the shop. Therefore the business keeps safe, saves money and doesn’t lose out profit. Human Resources Human resources are the people that work for the organisation, and are essential for the business. Without human resources the business would be impossible to operate. Marks and Spencer’s use human resources to recruit new staff when the business can’t keep up with the demand. They make sure the recruitment process goes well and that they recruit the right person for the job. This helps to avoid recruiting the wrong person, and wasting money on training them. This saves money and time on training new staff. Marks and Spencer’s have managed their human resources well because, they keep mostly the same staff, which is good for the business because they know about the job and there’s less risk for mistake. Also they are more trustworthy because, they work for a long time for the company, and know more about the job than a newly recruited person. Marks and Spencer’s provide different incentives for the right staff, so they will be more likely to work harder and provide a higher quality work. This helps the business to run more smoothly and avoids mistakes being made. Also more customers will be coming to the shop if the staff is kind and helpful to them, which will increase the sales and therefore profit. The human resources department monitors performance of the employees and makes sure they are well trained for their job. They provide training for the staff, for each sector they work in, which will help them to do their job more easily and successfully. If an employee doesn’t do their job right, they could fire them and recruit another person to fill their space. Also they make sure that they fill up work for people on holiday or sick. This is to make sure that the work that needs to be done is not affected by people being on holiday etc. Another thing that human resources in Marks and Spencer’s do, is that they make sure there is the required number of staff on each shop floor to keep the business run smoothly and provide the right customer service. This has been successful because there is always available staff to help on the shop floor, which means the customer service is improved therefore sales increase because customers keep coming back to the store and this increases profit. Technological Resources Technological resources are the resources that help the business to function more efficiently and quickly. However these are not as important for the business as the human resources. Marks and Spencer’s used BizTalk which is a server that helps the business to manage business processes more productively. They have changed the way that information about sales was delivered to the central systems. Now, rather than collecting sales information and then transferring it to the central systems overnight, they transfer sales to the central systems, at the time they happen. Also they use this to link their web sales into their existing back-end systems. This helps the business to run more efficiently and productively. Without using this, the information about sales would take longer to collect, and the business would run as quickly and smoothly as it does now. Marks and Spencer’s use automated stock control to optimise stock management. They improve product availability by using this, because it keeps record of how much stock is in the warehouse, so the company knows when to reorder stock. This avoids running out of stock. Also by using automated stock control, the company can order their products in a good time from suppliers, which improves the relationships with them, and they are less likely to run out of stock. This meansthat they will always have their products available for their customers, which increases sales and profit. Every business needs to manage their resources effectively, and control their budget costs for the business to perform well. If the business doesn’t control their budget costs, they could invest more money in their business than they would get back. Also they could run out of money to buy their products , or to pay their employees, so they need to control the budget costs to avoid those mistakes. A business needs to control their physical, human and technological resources, so that their business will operate more productively and efficiently, at the same time reducing the costs of the business. This will make sure that they reduce spending money on things that are not needed, and therefore increase the profit. For example Marks and Spencer’s manage their physical resources well by having their buildings in a good location, with a high foot fall. This is good for the business because there is more customers coming into the stores, which means there will be more sales, and therefore more profit. However locating a store in a good location, could be hard and expensive, because places with a high foot fall and easy access to customers, are often sought after. Another good way of managing resources are having CCTV cameras around the stores because, these improve the security of the business, therefore more customers will want to shop in the store. Also if more customers shop there, the sales increase and business makes more profit. Another way that CCTV cameras help to improve performance of the business is that they keep the stealers away from the business. This means that less people will steal in their shops, so they will lose less money and therefore it increases the profit. However having CCTV cameras around all the stores is very expensive, but for a big international company like Marks and Spencer’s it is a good way to invest their money in. This is because by having them it will increase the profit if their company. Marks and Spencer’s also manage their human resources effectively, because they don’t hire not needed staff, to reduce their costs, and keep the number of staff in their stores to minimum. This reduces the costs that they have to pay their employees, and therefore increases profit. However sometimes, recruiting new staff can bring new ideas for the business and can improve the performance of it, so Marks and Spencer’s should sometimes recruit new staff. Also the Human Resources Department makes sure that people that don’t do their job well are fired and they replace them with new employees. This makes sure the company has the required number of staff at all times, and that they can do their jobs easily and smoothly. Another good thing is that without the human resources department the business might not have enough employees, and therefore they would not be able to provide the right service for the customers. Consequently, the sales would decrease and there will be less profit. To improve the performance of the business, the human resources department needs to make sure that the employees work as hard as they can and produce high quality work. If they don’t, they need to give them incentives so they will work harder. However to make the incentives effective they need to know the employees, so the employees will benefit from the incentives. For example, they cannot gives a voucher for a free kids meal, for an employee that doesn’t have children. If the company gives bad incentives they would lose money because, the employees would be unlikely to work harder if they receive incentive that is not useful for them. Marks and Spencer’s use automated stock control which is a good way of improving performance of the business because; it helps to avoid human error. This helps to make sure that the company keeps the record of their stock, and they know when they need to reorder it. This is a good thing for the Page 4 company as they can easily make sure that they have their stock available at all times, so operating of the business becomes easier. If they didn’t have the automated stock control it would be hard to control their stock in the warehouse, and they could run out of their stock. Also without the automated stock control, the business wouldn’t be able to order their stock in a good time, so the company would be unable to run smoothly. Overall, it is very important for the business to manage their resources well, so the performance of the business will be improved. If they manage their resources in a good way, they will reduce their costs and increase the profit. Also they need to control their budget costs so they will not run out of money, and will be able to pay for the costs to run their business efficiently. Bibliography * Lecture notes * Marks and Spencer’s website, 4th/11/11 , About Us http://corporate. marksandspencer. com/aboutus * What is BizTalk, 7th /11/11, microsoft. com/biztalk/en/us/overview. aspx * PowerPoint presentations, 4th . 11. 2011