Letter of Insanitation

Dear Manager, I came into your restaurant for lunch on Saturday, November 2nd, 2013 at approximately 12:30 p. m. Being that your store location is closest to my home and to my work; I dine at your location very frequently with my co-workers and family. This past Saturday, I realized something that I should have always been observant of; however, I made the assumption that it was something that I didn’t need to be concerned about because of the common sense around the issue. I noticed that the man who was making my sandwich was not wearing gloves or a hair net.I realize that most men have short enough hair so that it is not a major issue; however, this gentleman had hair longer than shoulder length. I understand that I came in during the lunch-time hour and that the store was busy, however, these things are not negotiable because of the risks associated with not wearing a hair net or gloves. While I stood at the counter watching my sandwich being prepared, three employees on th e assembly line sneezed within a two minute increment and two of those used their hands to cover their mouths/noses while sneezing.Neither of the two employees left their station to go wash their hands and to clean themselves. They remained working and continued on with making my sandwich, along with the others who were waiting in line. It was not just me who realized what just happened, the man next to me and I both made eye-contact and mumbled a few words to each other regarding the incident. I am sure, that a person in your position knows the magnitude of viruses and diseases that can easily be spread by unwashed hands.Your employees can spread certain germs/microbes like viruses and bacteria by contaminating the objects or surfaces that they are touching. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) instructs that hands be washed before making food AND putting on gloves to make food. The FDA also advices that hands be washed after coughing, sneezing and touching your body, howev er, in the case of your store, this was not taken seriously. I was extremely concerned when watching my food being prepared by your employees and the problem could be solved so simply.I received my sandwich and after watching what I saw, I didn’t even eat the food I purchased because I was not willing to take the risk in getting sick because of poor practices on behalf of your employees and stores location. I have a couple recommendations as to how to fix this problem and any future problems in the future at your location with your employees: 1. ) Take an extra 30-45 seconds and thoroughly wash your hands with anti-bacterial soap. 2.)Advise all working personnel that they are required to wear a hair net if their hair is longer than a certain length. Please remind your staff/employees to take the safety of your customers seriously, especially when it involves personal hygiene. I am sure that even the busiest person on the planet would gladly wait an additional 30-45 seconds so that you can wash your hands and so they do not get an illness and become sick. I hope that this problem gets solved because I do enjoy coming into your stores location for lunch/dinner! Sincerely,

Counseling Assessment Paper

Counseling Assessment Paper Janell Brazeal BSHS 321 June 12, 2012 Joel Sadowsky Counseling Assessment Paper The life of a counselor is spent by talking with and listening to people. The main point of the counselors’ job is to interact with their patients and advise them on personal, family, educational, mental health and career problems they might be experiencing. Generally, counselors specialize in a specific field, such as; school counselors; rehabilitation counselors; mental health counselors; substance and behavioral disorder counselors; and marriage and family counselors.One important thing a counselor needs to have is active listening skills. In reviewing my practice counseling interviews, and the written feedback I received from my colleagues I was able to see my strengths and weaknesses. Behavioral research studies done over the past 40 years have isolated three key characteristics of feedback. They are classified as specificity, empathy, and inquiry. These three eleme nts represent key feedback skills so trainers can teach and assess effectively. Lawrence, 1995). My first interview, my client was sent to me for grades dropping. Before coming to see me, my client was a straight â€Å"A† student until she started working after school and joined a band which practiced three times a week. Her main concern was her parents finding out that she was failing three classes and that they would make her quit band, she didn’t care so much if she had to quit her job. My second interview, my client was referred to me for time management.She needed help figuring out how to manage her time, between being a full-time mom; student; and wife. She feels guilty for making time to work on her studies because it takes time away from her children and husband. Her husband is the main provider for the household, so the only time she gets to work on her studies is when he is home from work. The constructive feedback I received back from my colleagues was that I offered first-rate eye contact; my body language was focused on the client.I saw in my playback video, I sat straight and leaned in a little towards my clients, so I can hear them better. I asked direct questions, such as; how do you think your parents’ would react? How do you feel about your failing grades? What do you think you can do differently to improve your grades? Have you talked with your family about the importance of getting your studies and assignments done one time? Before ending my counseling sessions, I did set the expectations for my clients’ next visits.Watching the video playbacks, I did notice a few mistakes and what I need to work on next time. I missed sharing with my client the confidentiality codes, I was a bit out of words, and I know better not to chew gum during an interview. I also gave advice in one of my interviews, which we were not supposed to do. What I think went well during my interviews is I offered that first rate eye contact, I ha d a formal ending and set the expectations for my clients next visits.What I would’ve done differently during my interviews, is take make notes, asked more questions, and not offer advice. In conclusion, the life of a counselor is to have active listening skills. The counselors’ main job is to interact with their patients and offer advice/suggestions when needed. When we don’t use active listening skills, we’re not allowing ourselves to hear what the other person is saying. References Lawrence, Harriet V. Wiswell, Albert K. Training & Development, Feedback is a Two-Way street, July 1995, pg. 2

Formula 1 Constructor – Choose a Team – Ferrari

The resources, capabilities and attributes that are required for the success in Formula One (F1) can be looked on a number of dimensions taking into consideration the unique and fast paced context of Formula One. F1 is a highly competitive industry and based in a rapidly changing environment, which has been defined by Porter’s five forces (Appendix One). Key resources within F1 are both tangible and intangible and can be considered under the following broad categories: Physical Resources: The car and its components such as engines and chassis are vital resources but the technological advancement determines its ability to win races.Test Tracks are also vital physical resources both in the competitive context and in the ability to test cars, the location of such tracks may also be an important factor. Own testing and development equipment is also important for technological advancement and knowledge gain. Factories are also an important physical resource for constructors. Financ ial Resources: High start up costs and continued running costs involved with the sport, result in the need for high capital investment, for example a medium sized constructor needs ? 30-? 50 million capital investment as a basis for being competitive.The majority of team finance is generated through sponsorship – a lucrative sponsorship deal can help improve a team’s level of performance through cash injection alone. Fans are a huge resource for the sport as they act as a huge funding society for Formula One. At present tickets cost upwards of ? 330 per race and for VIP access ? 1700. Revenue is also provided by prize money from winning championship points and through shareholders within each constructor. Human Resources: Team Principles are an important aspect to every constructor.Initially, teams were managed by the founders themselves, but as time has moved on the emphasis has shifted to managers and their ability to run the team in a business manner. The intangible resource of their skills and knowledge is incredibly important in F1 due to the highly competitive environment. For success a team needs a certain level of experience and expertise, either built up over time or recruited from elsewhere. To gather this expertise is expensive and requires investment in personnel as well as technology. Such gains are provided by the knowledge from other important employees including designers, engineers and drivers. Another crucial factor is the motivation to carry-through the bright idea into detailed implementation† (Cross and Clayburn Cross). Drivers are a key human resource; important attributes of a driver include the ability to drive fast, think strategically while racing on the track, good communication skills, and motivational skills. Intellectual Capital: Although patents are not allowed in F1, other intellectual capital includes the constructors brand and reputation – largely used to gain finances. A key brand in F1 is the Maran ello Red used by Ferrari.Complex business systems are required by F1 teams for managing the large amount of data that flows in the organisation. These resources will not reach their potential purely from existence, the way in which they are managed, used or deployed is essential in understanding strategic capability. See Appendix Two for example of resources and the competencies gained. To be on the F1 grid and compete in the market, capabilities gained through the above resources must reach the threshold level. The F1 constructors generally function at the peak of resource utilisation and, therefore, manage resources very efficiently.Hence, almost every resource that becomes a capability for competitive advantage is converted into a competency for competitive advantage. Internal strategic capability allows for successful strategy and is required for survival and success (Johnson et al, 1998). To gain competitive advantage involves adjustment of capabilities, for example acquiring m ajor improvements and advancements in attributes such as technology and from the creation of new opportunities. Stretching and exploiting capabilities in such a way that competitors cannot imitate, results in them becoming a rarity and providing competitive advantage.Though such advantageous technological strategic capabilities have been required by constructors for competitive advantage, they have also become been a pivotal factor for the introduction of increased legislation designed to reduce uncertainty and increase competition, such as the introduction of generic tyres. The factors responsible for the success of the teams in their respective periods of dominance can be considered through analysis of the organisations core competencies, a form of competitive advantage which s usually a result of â€Å"collective learning processes† and are manifested in business and activities and processes. The core competencies are those unique capabilities, which usually span over mult iple products or markets. † (Hafeez 2002). Ferrari’s dominance in the mid 1970’s Much of Ferrari’s success during the period of the mid-1970’s can be attributed to the ability to build their race cars at the Maranello site without the need to outsource for component parts.This created centralisation of knowledge and expertise, thus the ability to transfer knowledge between departments without leakage. When Ferrari sold 40% of the company to Fiat, in 1969, providing huge cash injection thus acquiring the Fiorano test track allowing them to test the change in any aspect of the car on the track and observe real time results. This gave a competitive advantage through testing technology and making changes faster than their opponents. This led to the creation of a team dedicated to engine design and development.A much needed management discipline was also imposed upon the organisation with the appointment of Luca di Montezemolo as team principal in 1974. Luca restructured the management, added focus to the organisation, and enabled the team to reach its collective potential. Montezemolo defined strict areas of responsibility in order to reduce the amount of interference and internal politics. In 1973, along with the arrival of Mauro Forghieri as the technical director, Niki Lauda was recruited. He provided the team with driving skills and racing experience. McLaren’s domination in the late-1980sMcLaren’s domination can be attributed largely to the culture created under Ron Dennis’ leadership and the recruitment of personnel matching this culture. Dennis’ obsessive attention to detail coupled with John Barnard’s ‘technical excellence’ created an atmosphere where new ideas and innovations in technology could thrive. Consequently, McLaren differentiated themselves from other Formula One teams by taking bold steps into unchartered territories both in their strategy and their design of cars , for example by using carbon fibre instead of metal for the chassis of their successful MP4 car.Prahalad and Hamel (1989: Page 64) argue that gaining leadership in any given industry requires a ‘strategic intent’ to guide operational direction and its resource allocations. For example, when Canon sought to ‘beat Xerox’ in the photocopier industry, it was able to do so over a period of years by incrementally attacking all of Xerox’s ‘loose bricks’, the criteria left unfulfilled by its competitors. Similarly, Ron Dennis built an ‘intent’ of having the ‘smartest and the best presented car’ in Formula One despite the risks of failing in its races.This attitude evidently became entrenched in the whole organisation as the element of fear was removed, helping McLaren achieve success even after Barnard’s departure. Although many strategists argue that a company’s core competence cannot be derived from a s ingle person, Tampoe (1994: Page 69) argues that a leader with a personal core competence such as a ‘strong vision and enormous energy to expand’ can help an organisation sustain competitive advantage. Ron Dennis, with his perfectionism and ‘legendary’ marketing and management abilities, was considered by many the best manager in sports.McLaren’s core competence, therefore, appears to have been Ron Dennis’ vision and his skills through which McLaren won 15 out of 16 races in 1988. Tampoe’s (1994) model for ‘Market Survival Strategy’, shown below in Figure 1, explains how companies competing with their core competencies can gain higher competitive advantage. Figure 1: Tampoe (1994): Market Survival Strategy Patents Low High Profit Low Competitive Advantage High Competitor Response Hard Easy New Product Know How Sources of Market StrengthPrice Place Core Competence Tampoe (1994) shows that competing on the basis of lower cost s and technical know-how is easier for competitors to imitate. As patents are not allowed in F1, teams need to compete on the basis of their core competencies to sustain their competitive advantage. Dennis’ abilities could not be imitated or substituted by McLaren’s competitors as he achieved success by synthesising McLaren’s budget, designers, engine, drivers, and sponsors to create a perfect ‘overall package’.McLaren achieved success on the race track through an overall strategy that was invisible to its competitors. This included long term partnerships with sponsors such as Marlboro and TAG, a design team led by John Barnard, and possibly the best management in sports. These core competences are evident as Dennis applied them successfully in other areas including a marketing consultancy operation to help smaller teams find sponsors, while also launching the McLaren F1, the world’s most expensive and fastest road going car.McLaren’s sponsorship partnership with Marlboro cigarettes, lasting 22 years, was particularly helpful as Marlboro were responsible for Ron Dennis’ recruitment when McLaren were struggling against their competitors. Furthermore, McLaren’s relationship with Honda was a key reason for success as the engine makers had recently split from rival constructor Williams and had some of the most talented engineers and expertise. This relationship produced the MP4, Honda powered car which became the most reliable and fastest car on the track in 1988.William’s success in the mid-1990s Perhaps the most important factor in the success of Williams during this period was the relationship between Frank Williams, the founder and owner, and Patrick Head, the designer. The partnership provided the combination of â€Å"entrepreneurial energy and technical excellence needed to succeed in F1†. Williams’ autocratic and frugal approach, paired with Head’s ability to develop g ood ideas, led to the team becoming leader of the â€Å"technical revolution† during the 1990’s.This long standing relationship is unique to a sport where personnel changes frequently, and gave stability to the organisation leading the team to gain its competitive edge. Another key partnership leading to Williams’ success during this period was with the engine supplier Renault, lasting 10 years. Its success led to the development of the Williams FW15 and FW16 cars powered by the Renault V10 engine, still widely regarded to be the most technologically advanced car of the time. It assisted in the team winning 56% of their races between 1992 and 1994, as well as winning the constructors title in 3 consecutive years.Ferrari’s return to winning ways from 1999-2003 Since Ferrari’s success in the mid 1970’s, much change led to a move towards revamping the management, technical department and design development. Appointing British technical director John Barnard led to a change in attitude of the organisation as they were now prepared to imitate the British constructors with a base in Britain. Luca Di Montezemolo, team manager of Ferrari during their dominance in the mid 1970’s, returned as CEO in 1993 to restore Ferrari’s dominance. Jean Todt was appointed to handle the overall management of the team.After Barnard left in 1996 the role left was split up between Rory Bryne and Ross Brawn, and between them they built a new design department based in Italy. Ferrari entered into a commercial partnership in 1996 with tobacco company Marlboro. Phillip Morris, in charge of the Marlboro brand, agreed to pay for the team driver’s, Michael Schumacher’s, salary. They also made a contribution to Ferrari’s annual operating budget. In Schumacher, Ferrari had one of the best drivers in the business, who was able to lead them to success.Schumacher was not only a talented driver, but also a motivator with th e ability to communicate effectively with the team, demonstrated by learning Japanese to communicate with an engine technician recruited from Honda. The change in Ferrari as a constructor is evident. Jeremy Clarkson, a well know auto-journalist, documented this fact: ‘In the olden days they (Ferrari) used to build their cars with a lot of passion and enthusiasm. And then, on lap 3, as often as not, they would explode in a passionate and enthusiastic fireball.But a few years ago they started building their racing cars with science and math and since then, as we know, they’ve been top of the tree’. Reasons for failure Ferrari Ferrari, unlike other competitors in F1, made all parts of their car, including the engine, themselves. Although, this resulted in huge success during the mid 1970s, Ferrari’s uniqueness was also the reason behind their failure. Ferrari’s failure due to technological negligence can be explained using the Quantum Hypothesis: 1. Th e pursuit of efficiency increases internal consistency and cohesion. Ferrari had developed a unique engine-gearbox combination using their ‘flat-12’ engine and a transverse gearbox and applied it in their 312T series of F1 cars. Ferrari chose to develop this combination further and with this revolutionary configuration they were able to stay ahead of the competition from 1975 to 1979, winning the constructor’s title in 1975–1977 and 1979. 2. Overtime, configurations ‘change to adapt’ OR alternatively, match poorly with the environment as it changes (the overtly cohesive ones). * In 1980, new innovations in the aerodynamics brought the ‘ground effect’ revolution.This was developed by Lotus and quickly adopted by Williams and Brabham, but Ferrari was not able to adopt this new technology as their engine design was different. 3. Overtly cohesive configurations resist change for as long as possible. * When the ‘ground effectâ₠¬â„¢ technology was developed, Ferrari knew that their cars would not be competent enough to keep up. Instead of finding a way of incorporating the new technology in their current cars, they chose to concentrate on a longer term project of developing a V6 turbocharged engine.In essence, Ferrari made a crucial trade-off between the current and the future plans. 4. When such configurations change it tends to be sudden and relatively rapid (and often painful). * Although the change for Ferrari was neither sudden nor rapid, it was quite painful. When Ferrari did eventually come out with their new car sporting a V6 turbocharged engine and employing the ‘ground effect’ technology, it was perhaps too late. Ferrari was not able to win a single driver’s championship between 1980-1999, and didn’t win a constructor’s championship between 1984-1998.In Ferrari’s case, the flow of the stages of the Quantum Hypothesis can be easily seen. Ferrari was overtly cohesive and resisted change in 1978 when the ‘ground effect’ technology was developed. Enzo Ferrari’s autocratic leadership style lead to a political environment, causing rivalry and confusion. Good management is of paramount importance in any industrial context and this was proved by the turnaround in Ferrari’s fortunes achieved by Luca di Montezemolo’s restructuring. Furthermore, in 1977, Niki Lauda ended his partnership with Ferrari.This was a major blow for the team as Lauda had the ability to translate what he wanted in the car to the technical team. Reasons for failure McLaren McLaren’s main reason for failure came when Honda pulled out of F1 racing in 1992. Ron Dennis failed to respond to widespread speculation that Honda would be leaving. Due to such failure, Ayrton Senna left McLaren for Williams, taking with him his great ability to motivate designers with valuable feedback. McLaren seemed to have lost their focus on their carâ₠¬â„¢s design, evident in 1995 as both their drivers failed to fit in the new ? 0 million MP4/10, ultimately leading to Nigel Mansell’s departure. Other reasons for failure include the departure of John Barnard, whose presence was seen by many as the reason behind their developing dominance. Despite their poor relationship, the partnership between Dennis and Barnard had been highly successful and held potential for even greater success had it been sustained for a longer period. Another relationship problem leading to failure was the fierce rivalry between two highly competitive drivers, Prost and Senna.This could be attributed to the fact that, rather than applying the usual team ethics of having primary and secondary drivers to support each other, McLaren recruited two top drivers and did not give either driver ‘first’ priority. This left both drivers competing for top position, causing friction within the team even when it had the best car in the sport, the Hond a MP4. Notably, McLaren were able to sustain their success by substituting John Barnard with Gordon Murray, and McLaren’s success was not greatly affected by Prost and Senna’s conflict.Therefore arguable the only factor that led to their complete failure was the lack of a contingency plan for the departure of Honda. Reason for failure Williams The Williams team’s failures, like McLaren’s, show the bargaining power of engine suppliers and drivers, as well as talented designers in the F1 industry, proving to some extent that Ferrari had a degree of advantage by producing their own engines, despite the technical issues. In 1988, Honda’s departure from Williams, like their departure from McLaren left the team reliant on off-the-shelf engines, leading to the departure of their main driver, Nigel Mansell.The importance of a good driver was signified during the early 1990’s as Williams went from winning only two races in 1990 to dominating the race s in 1992 after the return of Nigel Mansell. However, the Williams team remained steadfast in their belief that the driver was not as important as the car’s design process, despite the valuable contributions a good driver can make towards this process. Placing a lack of importance on the driver, as well as the ‘masculine’ approach of Frank Williams led to many successful drivers leaving the team.Due to their technologically competitive car, Williams retained their constructor’s title in 1994 despite Ayrton Senna’s death. With only a more advanced car, Williams’ competitors were soon able to catch up as Benetton used the expertise of Ross Brawn, formerly a junior designer at Williams, to design a car replicating the innovations from Williams. There have been instances in Williams of their knowledge being transferred to competitors as their employees left to join other teams.This shows a fracture in the culture of the team with little sense of belonging. Furthermore, Renault, ambitious in becoming a top engine supplier in F1, had decided to supply Benetton with engines as well, and therefore, by pairing a similar car with a better driver in the form of Michael Schumacher, Benetton were able to break Williams’ three year domination period in the sport by leaving them with no unique competitive advantages. Proposed strategies for maintenance of dominance of each constructor Ferrari: The Crescendo Model of RejuvenationFerrari was a team driven by the ambitions of one man – Enzo Ferrari, when Luca di Montezemolo was appointed the opportunity to rejuvenate should have been taken due to several important signals: * Even after the considerable cash injection by Fiat, the team had not been able to perform very well. * Enzo considered the most important part of the car to be the engine almost neglecting the importance of other parts. * Enzo’s autocratic style of ‘divide and rule’ had created much confusion and rivalry within the team. There was a huge supply of talent at Ferrari and it had not always reached its collective potential, mainly due to Enzo’s management style. There was clearly the need to start a fresh and Montezemolo had this opportunity when he joined the team along with technical director, Mauro Forghieri, and a new team driver, Niki Lauda. Baden-Fuller and Stopford (1994) argue that the obvious thing to do at the start of a rejuvenation process is to establish measures that heighten the sense of urgency to deal with emergent problems before they become serious.Luca could see the problem, which is why he made some managerial changes in the way the departments interact, but was not able to make the problem evident on a broader scale. It can be argued that if Montezemolo had realised the team needed an organisational turn-around and would have started a rejuvenation process, using the Crescendo Model, the team could have started the 1974 season with an a lternative strategy and would have been able to sustain its period of dominance by adopting the ‘ground-effect’ technology in 1978.This process had to be initiated by Montezemolo as â€Å"Rejuvenating a mature organisation is impossible without commitment from the top† (Baden-Fuller & Stopford, 1994). This eventually took place, but at a much later stage in 1992 when Montezemolo was called back to Ferrari as a CEO, to take Ferrari to the top again. SECI – Strategic Knowledge Creation Recent work by Chou and Te (2004) sought to empirically test the roles of knowledge assets in the promotion of SECI outcomes, finding some support for hypotheses which asserts the presence of knowledge assets.For example organisational routines which can have a strong impact on certain SECI outcomes. Such a model can be transferable to Ferrari. In 1978, after the launch of the revolutionary ‘ground-effect’, Ferrari should have started a SECI (Strategic Knowledge C reation) within different departments, particularly in the engine development department. Discussion of the possible solutions to overcome the threat posed by the new ‘ground effect’ technology and the ways of quick implementation, without disrupting undergoing future developments was essential.The managerial implications of such knowledge in a new climate of learning and innovation required collaborative learning and task sharing. Vital questions such as: How great a threat does the new technology pose? should we adopt it? , and if so, in what context? needed to be considered. Ferrari should scrutinize their own motive force mechanism on the basis of defining its objectives, not only considering the intended results but also setting up colony incentive mechanisms to strengthen corporate cohesion. It must be realised that unlike competitive environment within the team, all members should strive towards the same goal, to win the races. Ferrari’s success is gained through their ‘team’ culture and therefore such knowledge transfer may be deemed easier to extract in this environment. The authors of this assignment argue that the transfer of SECI principals to Ferrari are suitable to not only change the team dynamics but also create knowledge that may be turned into suitable technology (Wei, 2007). Introduction of a Project OrientationFollowing the knowledge creation process, knowledge development is needed; it would benefit Ferrari to assign a small team of engineers to the same task – more like a project. The main advantage of adopting a project orientation in this matter is that with this method no major changes need to be introduced in the management of the team. If a separate team is assigned for this aim, then the current developments are not disrupted. This newly assigned project would come under the category of an ERD project (Exploratory R&D project) as the main objective would be to find a way to improve the current technology at Ferrari to remain competitive.The only possible conflict could be the common resources, solved by giving the project team a clear preference in the need to regain competitive edge, and the project team is dedicated solely to accomplish that objective. It is important to note the need for SECI and Logical Incrementalism within the project team as well. Quinn (1978) argues that ‘Logical Incrementalism allows organisational actors to modify the idea behind the reorganisation as more is learned’, hence, giving the option of developing a flexible platform for the project team to work on. McLaren:McLaren’s core competences, as mentioned earlier, lay in Ron Dennis’ management abilities as a leader and his success in fulfilling all necessary criteria to create a perfect ‘overall package’. McLaren had all the components, such as good designers, drivers, and sponsors required to sustain competitive advantage. According to Mintzberg (1978) , organisations need to have a ‘peripheral vision’ to achieve strategic learning not only from their competitors’ successes but also their failures. McLaren’s failure resulted from absence of a contingency plan and lack of strategic learning rom the Williams team, who suffered similar experiences with Honda’s departure. The Deliberate-Emergent Pendulum Due to Honda’s departure, McLaren’s intended strategy to compete in partnership with Honda as an engine supplier was unrealized in 1992. Although an emergent strategy did come about in a successful partnership with Mercedes, it was three years too late. McLaren had lost not only their dominance in F1 but also their main driver, Senna. Dennis could have sustained McLaren’s domination by planning prior to Honda’s departure, creating an emergent strategy involving a different engine supplier.This is demonstrated in Figure 2. Figure 2 Intended-realised strategies by Mintzberg ( 1978) Unrealized Strategy Emergent Strategy Realised Strategy Intended Strategy Deliberate Strategy McLaren’s partnership with Mercedes has been highly successful but could have been achieved earlier, avoiding the organisational inertia following Honda’s departure. Mercedes has made a substantial investment in McLaren, acquiring 40% equity, tying them into the alliance, showing that McLaren learnt from their experience with Honda by negotiating a more secure alliance.An approach that may have better managed McLaren’s success was the relationship between Barnard and Dennis which, despite its success, was not maintained. Ikujiro Nonaka (1998) writes about the concept of ‘Ba’, a shared place for emerging relationships. The space is described as being physical or mental or any combination of the two. The most important differentiator of ‘Ba’ from ordinary human interaction is the platform provided to enhance both individual and collective k nowledge.The relationship between team principle Ron Dennis and John Barnard provided an environment that would lend itself well to the creation and sharing of tacit knowledge. Williams: According to Voelpel et al. (2005) the Red Queen effect, as coined from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, is essentially: â€Å"a comfort trap† where â€Å"running harder is easier to do, it is of an analytic-benchmark nature, it shows short-term success and is less risky in the near horizon, but ultimately holds long term downfall. † The Red Queen effect illustrates that in Williams’ case the organisation walked into a dead-end which moved them faster to failure.They just worked harder to improve traditional industry and organisation success factors rather than looking outside their core competencies. The need for management at a strategic level was to be creative and come up with new strategies to challenge their core competencies. According to Voelpel et al. (2005) â€Å"reinventing old ways, will provide a wide range of options to choose from in dealing with the uncertainty of the environment. † Whilst the industry is a closed environment in terms of technological revolutions, continuous development will push industry boundaries and help keep the organisation on top.Had Williams analysed their business model, they could potentially have moved away from being design led (their core competency) to focus on areas of the organisation in need of improvement and development, whilst still making the technological advancements and improvements that led their dominance initially. Voelpel et al. (2005) provide a practical sense-testing tool for developing and adapting new business models to avoid the traps of the Red Queen principle. According to the theory, a comprehensive and cohesive understanding of a business model and its key elements can provide an important source of sustainable competitive advantage.Figure 2 shows that there are four se nse testing dimensions displayed as: business System infrastructure, technology, customers, and economics/profitability. By analysing the different components of their business model from the four elements, management can determine the feasible business models that possess acceptable success probabilities. Applying this tool would have helped to sustain Williams’ advantage by encouraging development of the organisation outside of their core competencies.Figure 3: Business Model Reinvention by Voelpel, S. (2005) With regards to a business model, a clear understanding of the nature of the business and its core competencies creates a situation where change and development can take place. The sense-testing tool helps companies grasp the concept of adapting and creating business models for strategic inflection, enabling managers to discern where competitive advantage could be achieved and eventually leading to the constructor prolonging their period of dominance.Williams’ c ompetitors imitated aspects of their race car design realising the advantages that a Renault powered engine had in gaining a competitive advantage. Barney (1991) suggests that a firm should aim to have â€Å"causal ambiguity when the link between the resources controlled by a firm and a firm’s sustained competitive advantage is not understood or understood only very imperfectly. † The competition should, in an ideal situation, find it difficult to duplicate a successful firm’s strategies through imitation of its resources, it should be impossible to know which resource is giving a constructor the advantage.According to Barney (1991), Williams’ competitive advantage was not sustained because their methods could be duplicated due to their competitors realising the link between the resource and its advantages enabling them to acquire the same resources taking away Williams’ competitive advantage. Knowledge Management When talking about Knowledge Manag ement (KM) Satyadas at al. (2001) argue that there are challenges in the â€Å"people† aspect of KM outlining several factors that make up these challenges. In the case of Williams, the most disruptive element of knowledge retention is the affinity and sense of attachment felt towards the organisation.A lot of talent departed Williams, which shows the lack of affinity towards the organisation held among the employees. â€Å"Concerns around intellectual capital in a highly competitive environment need to be balanced with social capital benefits. † (Satyadas et al. 2001). Perhaps Williams was not able to provide these social capital benefits which ties in with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (Appendix Three), Williams might not have been able to satisfy the higher level needs and therefore, their employees tried to fulfil these needs with other teams.The suggested solution for Williams would be to modernise their management style and steer away from the current autocr atic style. There is a need for a more democratic management style – where the manager allows the employees to take part in decision-making: therefore everything is agreed by the majority, making the employees feel more valued and bringing a sense of belonging to the team. The Future Ferrari won 5 consecutive championships from 1999 – 2004. Schumacher played an important role towards Ferrari’s success.Hence he has been brought back as Jean Todt’s assistant linking to knowledge retention. In 2007, Ferrari returned to top form by winning both the drivers and constructors championship. McLaren has evolved as a business by applying their core competences in marketing and technical excellence successfully. They have gained finances from Abu Dhabi and Bahrain governments, along with sponsorship from Vodafone among others. McLaren has also developed an Electronic Control Unit that has been deemed mandatory by the FIA to be used by all other constructors for the 2008 season.Recent news speculates the retirement of Ron Dennis with Martin Whitmarsh, current CEO of McLaren, as his replacement (Appendix Four). It will be interesting to see if McLaren retain the successful culture created by Ron Dennis. In 2005, Williams had to rely on off-the-shelf engines once again, when BMW, their engine suppliers, created their own team. This shows that Williams failed to learn from their experiences with Honda and Renault, repeating the same mistake for the third time. This can be attributed to a lack of managerial focus and the inertia to change.While other teams are being managed by professionals, Williams has stuck with its orthodox ways, a major factor for Williams’ poor performance. In 2007, Williams ranked 4th in the constructor’s championship, no longer being a threat to McLaren and Ferrari. References Journals Baden-Fuller & Stopford (1994) The Crescendo Model of Rejuvenation from rejuventing the Mature Business. Harvard Business Scho ol Press [In MLQG: pp. 189] Barney, J. (1991) Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage, Journal of management, Volume 17. Constantinides, E. 2006) From strategy to e-strategy: Lessons from two success stories, handbook of business strategy, Emerald Group publishing limited. Cross, N. Clayburn Cross, A. (1996) Winning by design: the methods of Gordon Murray, racing car design, Design Studies, Volume 17, number 1. Hafeez, K. Zhang, Y. Malak, N. (2002) Core competence for sustainable competitive advantage: A structures methodology for identifying core competence. IEEE transactions on engineering management, Volume 49, Number 1. Hamel G and Prahalad C K, Strategic Intent, Harvard Business Review, Vol 67, No 3, 1989, pp 63-78.Heracleous, L. (2002) The contribution of a discursive view of understanding and managing organisational change, Strategic change, John Wiley and Sons Limited. Jenkins, M. And Floyd, S. (2001) Trajectories in the Evolution of Technology: A Multi-Level Stud y of Competition in Formula 1 Racing, Organization Studies, 22 (6) pp. 945-969 Lampel, J. , and Jha, P. P. (2004) Models of Project Orientation in multi-project organisations, The Wiley Project Management Resource Book, (eds: Pinto, J. K. and Morris, P. W. G. ) New York: Wiley. Nonaka, I. , & Konno, N. 1998) The Concept of Ba: Building a Foundation for Knowledge Creation, California Management Review (Spring) 40(3): 40-47. Quinn, B. (1980) Strategies for Change: Logical Incrementalism, Irwin, Homewood Ill. [In MLQG pp 10: Ch 1 and 5] Quinn, J. B. (1978) Strategic Change: Logical Incrementalism, Sloan Management Review, pp. 1-21 [In MLQG: pp. 183 ] Rice, J. & Rice, B. (2004) The Applicability of the SECI Model to Multi-Organisational Endeavors: An Integrative Review, International Journal of Organisational Behaviour, Vol. 9, Issue 8. Stalk, G. Evans, P. Shulman, L. E. 1990) Competing on capabilities: the new rules of corporate strategy, Harvard Business Review, 1992. Tampoe, M. (1994 ) Exploiting the core competences of your organisation, Long Range Planning, Vol. 27 No. 4, pp. 66-77. Voelpel, S. (2005) Escaping the Red Queen Effect in competitive strategy- how managers can change industry rules by sense-testing their business models, European Management Journal, Volume 23, Issue 1, P. 37-49. Wie, L. (2007) Reflection upon Present Competition-orientated Corporate Culture: in Knowledge Management Perspective, Wireless communications, Networking and Mobile Computing BooksIkujiro, N. & Hirotaka Takeuchi,(1995), The Knowledge-Creating Company; How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation, Oxford University Press, New York Johnson, G. , Scholes, K. , Whittington, R. (1998), Exploring Corporate Strategy, 7th Edition, Pearson Education Limited, Essex Mintzberg H, Lampel J, Quinn J B and Ghoshal S, The Strategy Process, Concepts Contexts Cases, Fourth Edition, Prentice Hall, 2003. Appendix Appendix One: Porter’s five forces Threat of New Entrants: A n ew entrant to the Formula one industry faces many barriers. * High start up cost Excessive running cost (The total spending of all 11 teams in 2006 was estimated at $ 2. 9 billion) * High level of resources required, also act as a barrier for potential new entrants to the industry. * Certain level of experience and expertise is necessary which requires investment in personnel and technology * Sponsorships and a lucrative sponsorship deal can help improve a teams level of performance * The rules and regulation that exist regarding the design and construction of the car Bargaining Power of Buyers: The buyers in F1 enjoy high power.They play a vital role in the popularity of the sport as well as a considerable contribution to the funds for various teams. * Fans * Media * Sponsors Competitive Rivalry within the Industry: Formula One is, like any other sport, a highly competitive industry. Each constructor places emphasis in different capacities on a number of variables. * Engineers * Dr ivers * Management * Sponsorships * Designers * Technology Bargaining Power of Suppliers: The primary suppliers of F1 constructors have a lot of power. So much so that in a few instances, suppliers have been the cause of the end of the period of dominance of some constructors. Drivers * Engine manufacturers * Designers * Technical team Threat of Substitutes: All the other popular racing and sporting events can be considered to be a threat for F1 as they may take away resources such as money, drivers, sponsors, popularity, etc. from the F1 industry. * Soccer * Cricket * Olympics * Le Mans * BTCC * WRC * Moto GP Appendix Two: Resources and competencies gained Appendix Three: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs Appendix Four: Speculation of Ron Dennis Leaving the McLaren Team Source: The Guardian, Monday March 3 2008, pp. 15 Appendix Five: MinutesMinutes were taken at every meeting since October, meetings took place either weekly or fortnightly depending on work load and no meetings wer e held over the Christmas vacation. Meeting 1- Pret a Manger Minutes 15th October 2007 * Introductions to the group * Confirmation of group members * Vanessa Barnes * Laura Bentley * Ankur Dawar * Aashir Agarwal * Saqib Munir * Joe Abernethy * 2 people were assigned (or chose depending on personal preferences) which company they would like to be responsible for initially researching. * Ankur and Aashir: Ferrari * Laura and Vanessa: Mclaren Joe and Saqib: Williams * Arranged a set time and day for the meetings: Tuesdays 11-1 * The task for the next meeting: * Each read the article * Print off background information about our particular company (from the website) * All think about how the questions could be answered Next meeting: Tuesday 16th October in the Library Meeting 2- Library Minutes 16th October 2007 * Group discussion of how the essay should be structured * Each member of the group gave feedback about their company and interpreted the competitive strategies adopted by each c ompany. * Question oneAttempt to answer it using the model of porters 5 forces to firstly analyse the general industry of formula one * On a large piece of paper- we mapped out all the key issues that need to be considered in each aspect of porters 5 forces model and related them to Ferrari, Williams and Mclaren. Tasks for next meeting * Each member has been assigned one of porters 5 forces discussed and the individual has to relate the discussion to the three companies and bring a copy of the written up notes for the next meeting. * Find any relevant information to your ‘force’ e. g. e-journals etcNext meeting: 23rd October 2007 in Library Meeting 3: Library Minutes 23rd October 2007 * Feedback to the group our individual pieces of work from last week and make key points for improvement * From the case study made a list of all the apparent resources, capabilities and attributes of formula one * Linked all of the information to the strategies of each constructor Resourc es * Capital Investment * Money * Manager * The car * Sponsorship * Research facilities * Raw materials Capabilities * Skills * Extensive driver training * Engineering * Design * Performance * Racing tactics Different strategies for every track Attributes * Technology * Corporate Identity * Design * Tactics * Strategy * Track knowledge * Constructors have different strategies for different tracks therefore the design of the car changes with the track Discussion of case study: Amazon * Read the article and picked out key points Things to do for next meeting * In our constructor groups, identify the resources capabilities and attributes of Ferrair, Mclaren and Williams Next meeting: 6th November: Bistro Study Area Meeting 4: Library Minutes: 6th November 2007 * Main emphasis of the meeting was on question 2 Divided the work up between the team: Ankur and Aashir: Ferarri success in the mid 1970’s Joe and Saqib: Mclaren and Honda 1980’s Vanessa and Laura: Williams 1990â₠¬â„¢s * Decided on the word counts for each section * Set deadlines for each section Next meeting: 20th November in Bistro Study Area Meeting 5- Bistro study area Minutes 20th November 2007 * Incorporate the crescendo model into the assignment, particularly in questions 2 and 3. Link this to logical incrementalism and how was it implemented? * The next task is to focus on question 3 and look at each F1 constructor and find their reasons for failure.Some of the problems were then discussed in the meeting: * Breakdown in relationships * Unreliability of technology * Alliances pulling out * Drivers leaving * Discuss the possible reasons for each of the above factors and then in our teams, produce a document which states the reasons for the failure of each F1 team. * Ferrari: Ankur and Aashir * Williams: Joe and Saqib * Mclaren: Vanessa and Laura * It is also important to consider why and how Ferrari have sustained success!! Tasks for next meeting * Each team member should be responsibl e for finding e-journals and bring at least one journal on competitive strategy to the meeting. Competitive advantage * Competitive Strategy * Formula One * Is it possible to get hold of any financial statements for any of the companies? * Conduct a PEST(LE) analysis of your particular team to go into the appendix of the assignment. Next meeting: Tuesday 4th December at 12pm in Bistro Study area. Meeting 6 in Library Minutes 4/12/2007 Tasks for after Christmas * Look at the reading list and pick an item each * Got through the lecture notes so far and highlight what needs to be included in the assignment. * Find 2/3 journals each on our selected topics: read, highlight and make notes. Highlight the reasons for failure for each constructor and type up (300 words) * Do a PEST analysis for each constructor E-journals to look at: Vanessa and Laura Porters 5 forces and the value chain Critique of Porters five forces Saqib and Joe Emergent, intended and realised strategies Ankur Resources and capabilities Aashir Focus differentiation Cresendo model Constructors to look at reasons for failure: Vanessa and Laura Mclaren Joe and Saqib Williams Ankur and Aashir Ferrari Next meeting: After Christmas meet 6th Feb due to exams Meeting 7 in library Minutes 6th Feb 2008 Discussion of previous work that has been done over Christmas * Identified the need for theory to now be integrated into the questions * Discussion of peer assessment- decided to give each other equal marks * Discussion of question 4 and the theory that needs to be built into it * Discussion of the basic strategies for each constructor Theory for question 4 * Growth strategies: Alliances Alliances with suppliers and sponsors To gain sponsors and get more money the company needs to pitch a strategy if they are not already achieving success. * Imposed strategiesThe constructor doesn’t want to do it but the environment imposes change: e. g. legislation * It is difficult to innovate due to the imposed limit ations on the industry * Quantum Hypothesis * Cresendo Model * Logical Incrementalism Used generally throughout Formula one, small changes being made all the time * Red queen principle After Ankur and Aashir have sent the first draft of question 4 to the group- we all need to go through it before the next meeting and have some improvements on it and things that we need to add to it. Tasks to be done for 8th Feb * Format question 1: Laura Type up the minutes: Laura * Put question 2 together from everyone’s answers for each constructor: Joe * Put question 3 together from the reasons for failure for each constructor: Saqib * Do a first draft of question 4 taking into account the notes and discussion that was produced today: Aashir and Ankur. * Send all questions to Vanessa, she will format the questions and make them into ‘one voice’. * All look at previous lecture notes and the review of semester 1 to see what else we need to include in the questions What needs to be in the Appendix? * Porters five forces model * Minutes Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs * Resources and the competencies gained Discussion of the unipart and Sony Case studies Next meeting: 22nd Feb Meeting 8 in Library Minutes 22/02/08 * Cutting down the word count from 7000- 5000 * Checking all theories used and adding any relevant material * Reading the Guardian news article and discussing it’s relevance Tasks to be done * Front cover of assignment: Aashir * Word count- cutting words out: Vanessa, Laura, Saqib, Joe, Aashir * Formatting: Laura * References: Laura * Proof reading: Laura * Printing: Aashir * Compile appendix: Aashir, Laura, Vanessa

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Psychopathic behavior Essay Example for Free

Psychopathic behavior Essay Mike Tyson, or Iron Mike, the world’s youngest heavy weight boxing champion, has been involved in several problems with the law. A brief look at his life will show that it is possible that he is suffering from antisocial personality disorder or psychopathy. Mike was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 30, 1966. He came from a broken family as his left them when he was two years old. At his younger years, before 12 years old, he became a member a street gang and was involved in numerous bouts with the law. At the age 12 he was arrested for armed robbery and was sent a correctional center for juveniles in New York. At the age of 16 his mother died, and having no parent, he lived with his boxing trainer D’ Amato, became his legal guardian. There were rumors that he sexually abused a 12 year old girl. At age 20, in 1986, he came the world’s youngest WBC heavyweight champion. At age 21, he became the WBA heavy weight champion, and earned $20 million. Later he was married to actress Robin Givens, but they subsequently divorced. In 1992, he was convicted of rape and he spent 3 years in prison. In an official match, he bit off a chink of Evander Holyfield’s ear, which caused him to be banished from boxing for quite some time. In 1999, he was again sent to prison for assault. In a 2002 press conference, he attacked Lennox Lewis and bit his leg. In 2005, he was in debt for $34 million, despite earning hundreds of millions throughout his career. In 2006, he was again apprehended for driving while under the influence of alcohol. Based on these, it can be believed that Mike Tyson is possibly suffering from antisocial personality disorder. The key symptoms of antisocial personality disorder are; repeated lawbreaking, which can be seen from his repeated arrests; deceitfulness or lying; impulsivity, irritableness and aggressiveness, which can be seen from his assault and attack charges; reckless disregard for own safety and that of others, which can be seen when he was driving without a license; irresponsibility as seen unreliable employment history or not meeting financial obligations, which can be seen is being in debt for millions of dollars; lack of remorse; conduct disorder, which can be seen as he was already a member of a gang conduct disorder before 15 yrs of age. Lacks of affection, severe parental rejection, and lack of discipline from parents, are considered to be the primary causes of psychopathic behavior. In Mike’s case, he came from a broken family. He had no father since he was 2 years old. He had no mother since he was 16 years old. One might assume that mike never that the affection from his parents. When his father left their family, Mike might have taken it as being rejected. Their family set-up provided no or little room for discipline. Experts have found that it is futile to try to alter the nature of psychopaths (Davidson et al, 2004). A reason for this is that psychopaths just play along with therapists, indicating the manipulative character of psychopaths. It is also believed that it is unlikely that psychopaths would want to be in therapy. Recent studies however show that there can benefits from psychosocial treatment for younger patients with the said disorder (Davidson et al, 2004). Because of these, I believe treatment for Mike would be futile. Considering that he is already 42 years old, and that research have shown that treatment for psychopaths are often unsuccessful, and that psychosocial treatment would only benefit younger patients, it would be safe to assume that he will derive minimal, or no benefit at all from treatment. However since, he is already 42 years old, it can also be said that it would not be needed since psychopaths often settle down in middle age and after. In this stage in his life, antisocial behavior is believed to be less evident (Davidson et al, 2004). Reference Davidson, G. C. , Neale, J. M. , Kring, A. M. ( 2004) Abnormal Psychology. USA. John Wiley Sons, Inc.

Baroque Architecture Characteristics

Baroque Architecture Characteristics Introduction The Baroque period took the humanist Roman view of Renaissance architecture and showed it in a new rhetorical, theatrical and sculptural fashion they expressed the triumph of absolutist church and state. The main view of Baroque architecture was more concerned about color, light and shade, sculptural values and intensity which could be seen in its characteristics. Baroque is defined periods in literature as well as music; however critics perceived it to be unstructured, over ornamented, theatrical and grotesque. Although many things influenced the Baroque period it was also influenced by religion as well as the countries politics. Architects were interested in the space of the unfolding universe as well as the workings of the mind and attempted to portray passions of the soul through facial expressions. Features The features of the baroque era showed long, narrow naves that were replaced by a broader, or occasionally with circular forms. It displayed dramatic use of light that could be either strong light-and-shade contrast (known as chiaroscuro)effects; or they used uniform lighting by means of several windows. Another feature was opulent use of ornaments (puttos made of wood (often gilded), plaster or stucco, marble or faux finishing), they used large-scale ceiling frescoes and Baroques external faà §ade is often characterized by a dramatic central projection, however the interior is often no more than a shell for painting and sculpture which was seen in the late Baroque period. Baroque features also include illusory effects like trompe loeil and the blending of painting and architecture and in other countries such as Bavaria, Czech, Polish, and Ukrainian the Baroque style contained, pear domes that were are ubiquitous. Characteristics The main characteristics for the Baroque era were energy, great amounts of tension and a sense of movement from the buildings. Its painting, sculpture and architecture evolved from mannerism and broke away from the rules of contemporary architecture, they demanded freedom to plan, design and decorate their buildings with what they wanted. Columns had twisted shafts which were placed in front of pilasters surrounded by cornices and covered with curved and broken pediments. They contained â€Å"over the top† and often unsuitable details with carved decoration. Interiors had gilded sculptures often in awkward poses; the architecture was noted for its curved lines. Many of Baroques additions were finished in bronze, marble, gold and silver. Baroque had a dynamic look and feel to its design; it was a useful classification for isolating the tendencies and products of stylistic change. It was seen as spacious, brilliant, theatrical, passionate, sensual, ecstatic, opulent, extravagant , versatile and virtuoso. It was an age of expansion following on an age of discovery, its expansion led to still further discovery about architectural design and decoration. Section A: Interiors S.Maria Della Salute (1631-1682) The interior of S.Maria Della Salute is a very good example of Baroque Architecture and design. It displays the Baroque essence in a way but is not completely over ornamented nor does it contain any unsuitable details. Marble is mainly used in the columns and the base appears to be gilded in bronze. Sculptures are carved from marble and stand high in the round of the dome. An altar can be seen and one might assume it is also gilded in bronze. It is an artwork in a way but it is not â€Å"over the top† in any way which can be seen from this view point. S.Pietro (1656 – 1667) The S.Pietro is another great example of Baroque architecture and design. In this photo we can see the bronze altar that stands just in front of the apse, we can see paintings that are decorated with gold boarders, marble columns and high walls, the domes contain gold ceilings. Walls are decorated with sculptures in free standing positions in the walls also made of marble. Light is given through high standing windows and the main dome from above through a sky light. Versailles (1660 – 1685) The Palace of Versailles is the most well known piece of Baroque Architecture and design known to date. It defines what the baroque period was about. It was extravagant, sensual, dynamic, passionate (paintings), versatile and opulent. Decorations were not silver but pure gold. Soft fabrics, bright colours and beautiful sculptures decorated the interiors of the Palace. In the Hall of Mirrors as seen in figure 8 sculptures themselves were cast in gold high windows offered light and glass chandeliers hung from a ceiling decorated in painting and gilded gold boarders. In the Queens Chambers as seen in figure 7 one can tell that not even the bedrooms were kept simple. Gold was also used and to an extent it was overly used. The focus of ones eye is led to the gold decoration and not the architectural values of the building. The exterior as seen in figure 6 one can see that the balcony railings were gilded in gold decoration as the sun makes this easy to see. Marble is also used on the faà §ade of the building but it is mainly decorated in gold. Rich vibrant colours can be seen throughout the palace as seen in figure 7 of the Queens Chambers. Section B: Interior Design Although the Baroque era contributed to the great buildings we see today, one cannot forget about the interiors. Although lavishly decorated the interiors are very well designed to accommodate certain aspects. Architects need to think like that in order to obtain a good sense of what works and what does not. I believe interior design does actually hint about it along the lines. We design what we think the client would like and then get an idea if the client likes it of not, if not we simply make a few changes to get a better feel and a better view of what they want. It is the same now as it is then. Interior designers design the space in which the client will be in every day. It requires a great deal of insight and a knowledge about a person, one might consider reading your client by talking to them, when you do that you can get better ideas. Simple designs often make better designs in these days however in the past if it was big, spacious and contained lavish decorations it was clas sified as good. Conclusion So from looking at the baroque architecture one can say that it played a great role in the design of buildings today. Many people who obtain an over and above salary sometimes have one or two rooms that give remembrance to the baroque style. It was certainly lavish, dynamic and â€Å"over the top† decorations were definitely a bit much for today’s modern society. Bibliography Tansey, R.G Kleiner, F.S. 1954. Chapter 24. Gardener’s Art Through The Ages: tenth edition. United States of America: Ted Buchhloz. Pages 816 – 904. Gardener, L. Chapter 10. Gardener’s Art Through The Ages: fourth edition. United States of America: G.Bell and Son Ltd, London. Page 397 onwards. Honour, H Fleming, J. 1982. Part 3: Chapter 13. A World History of Art. United Kingdom: RB Macmillion. Page 426 onwards. Wikipedia. 2008. Baroque.[online].[Accessed August 20, 2008]. Available from world wide web: Versailles. [online]. [Accessed August 20, 2008]. Available from world wide web: History of Baroque Architecture. [online]. [Accessed August 20, 2008]. Available from world wide web: Baroque Age. [online]. [Accessed August 20, 2008]. Available from world wide web:

A Tale Of A Tub Analysis

A Tale Of A Tub Analysis Swift criticizes by employing the literary device called satire in which the author exposes folly or absurdity in the behavior of an authority or society. His works are skeptical and sarcastic as well as intelligent and enjoyable. Swifts writing and patriotism influenced British literature profoundly. With it he taught the reader to question injustice and societys conception of civilization. His works continue to impact British literature and the body of its readers to the present. The satire in A Tale of a Tub is historically novel for several reasons. First, Swift more or less invented prose parody. He explains that his work is, in several places, a parody, which is where he imitates the style of persons he wishes to expose. What is interesting is that the word parody had not been used for prose before, and the definition he offers is arguably a parody of John Dryden defining parody in the Discourse of Satire. Prior to Swift, parodies were imitations designed to bring mirth, but not primarily in the form of mockery.Additionally, Swifts satire is relatively unique in that he offers no resolutions. While he ridicules any number of foolish habits, he never offers the reader a positive set of values to embrace. While this type of satire became more common as people imitated Swift, later, Swift is quite unusual in offering the readers no way out. He does not persuade to any position, but he does persuade readers from an assortment of positions. This is one of the qualities that has made the Tale Swifts least-read major work. A Tale of a Tub is a mass of text seemingly thrown together with the purpose of deliberately confusing the reader, but its digressions upon digressions cannot mask the inevitable theme of loss, which is ultimately found in all of Swifts works. The satire holds the present against an ideal of past perfection, and the comparison always shows the modern to be lacking. The church adulterates religion; moderns, the ancients; critics, the author. The narrator of Swifts text seems to believe that the moment a great work or idea is put forth, it can be pure, but will always degrade with time. Because it is impossible to return to this former state, there is a heavy sense of disappointment that weighs down the more transparent wit and humor. The entire tale could be nothing more than a joke, which is aimed at not only the moderns and the church, but the audience as well. But no matter how many crude attacks Swift makes, the purpose of the story is not just to laugh at the expense of others, b ut to mourn the fall of an ideal that can never exist again. It is impossible to return to an original source in the Tale because it seems as if the narrator holds a model of a linear time-line in his head. As time passes, the distance between each passing moment and the originating point must increase, and any attempt to return to the beginning must fail. Just as it is impossible for someone living in the eighteenth century to return to the first, a man who is taught to be a modern can never think exactly like an ancient. Because of this view, the narrator can almost be seen as a modern-day phenomenologist. This philosophy asserts the impossibility of observing any object as it actually is, since the viewer is separated from the object and only has a representation of it inside the mind. Once disconnected with a source, all that can be known of it is derived from a limited, outside perspective that is warped by the distance between the observer and the object being studied. In short, the further people are separated from the classics or relig ion, the more skewed their view of them becomes. The main grievances of A Tale of a Tub is not only the fact that society is so separated from the origins of these subjects, but that it tries to earn the virtues they promise through a modern method rather than imitating the circumstances in which they were created. Phenomenologists believe that the closest a person can get to holding an accurate representation of anything is to extract the interpretations and personal ideas the viewer has added from the object itself. Swift writes this scathing satire in part to criticize those that do not even attempt this. Once the great classical ideas were presented, each year that followed further separated the circumstances of the reader from that of the author. By Swifts time, the gap between the cultures was so wide that the majority who wished to learn these ideas had to read translations, dissect each section into small parts and insert contemporary comments. But, rather than studying ancient texts from the modern perspective that is the very cause of the gap, it is much more beneficial to be immersed in the classics and to be separated as much as possible from the current. Because Swifts contemporaries failed to do this, the texts were corrupted through their attempt to apply them to succeeding societies. The structure, or more aptly, the deconstruction of the Tale is modelled after the shredding of historical texts by modern thought. The narrator is firmly on the side of the Ancients, and views any deviation from classical works to be degenerative. So the author repeatedly jumps from the allegory of the three brothers to commentaries on critics, digressions and madness to mock the method of his contemporaries. The digressions are just as important as the allegory because he considers them to constitute a major part of all that is wrong with learned society. As he sees it, we are wholly indebted to Systems and Abstracts, in which the Modern Fathers of Learning, like prudent Usurers, spent their Sweat for the Ease of Us their Children. For Labor is the Seed of Idleness, and it is the peculiar Happiness of our Noble Age to gather the Fruit (338). But rather than properly appreciating the gifts of these texts, the moderns reject the study of the Greek and Latin languages. They must then tear the texts apart to understand and benefit from the knowledge held within them, even if it does require compromising the original work. The narrators attitude towards critics follows along much of the same lines, since they too take away from the works they are studying to further their own ends. Hacks, who make up the bulk of this group, prefer to trash literature so they may appear intelligent and discerning. They ruin texts because they stray from the purpose they should be striving for: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦it is the frequent Error of those Men (otherwise very commendable for their Labors) to make Excursions beyond their Talent and their Office, by pretending to point out the Beauties and the Faults; which is no part of their Trade, which they always fail in, which the World never expected from them, nor gave them any thanks for endeavouring at (271-272). For the narrator, there is only one way to do anything, and that is to remain as close to the original intention as possible. The critics damage the works they analyse as the moderns do the ancients, because they use their own method rather than that which has been as signed for them. Subsequently, the critic is no longer a fair judge, but becomes a Discoverer and Collector of Writers Faults (313). Supposedly, the main subject of the Tale is the history of three primary branches of Christianity: Catholicism, as represented by Peter; the Church of England, represented by Martyn; and the Dissenters, as shown through Jack. The beginning of religion, seen through the father, is pure because it is simple. There is only one man and one doctrine, but this basic structure cannot last since corruption must always occur. The father dies, and there are now three who must uphold Gods will. Greater numbers create a greater opportunity for temptation, and the first to stray is Peter. The narrator then spends a significant portion of the allegory describing how the Catholic Church manipulates the Bible to satisfy its materialistic desires and assert its own authority, which is done in every way from hoarding wealth to worshipping tailors to cursing everyone to hell if they fail to believe it. It becomes intolerant of any opposing view and excommunicates the other two branches. No longer under their elder brothers influence, Martyn and Jack begin to reform. With the inherited coats symbolising religion and its decorations revealing the superficial state it has fallen into, the two brothers remove the shoulder knots, Indian figures and other unnecessary additions in order to restore their coats to the original condition. But Martyn realizes that removing all the stitching will tear the fabric, and lets some of it remain to ensure that nothing will be damaged. Jack, however, is overcome with zeal and rips his coat in his eagerness to purge all the impurities. The corruption of the church is a given because almost two thousands years have passed since the beginning of Christianity. What is important in this aspect of the Tale is that three courses of action are detailed which show not only incorrect choices, but also the correct one. The obvious, right choice is represented by Martyn, who follows the advice of the narrator and does his best to recreate the original integrity of the church that existed in the beginning. Even though this can not be exactly replicated, it at least attempts to come as close as possible. Peter does the same as all of the hack critics and follows his own designs with no regard to any damage he might cause. Jack makes the same mistake as the moderns and ruins that which he is wishes to preserve, all because he uses the wrong method. Whatever Reader desires to have a thorow Comprehension of an Authors Thoughts, cannot take a better Method, than by putting himself into the Circumstances and Postures of Life, that t he Writer was in, upon every important Passage as it flowd from his Pen; For this will introduce a Parity and strict Correspondence of Ideas between the Reader and the Author (286). Though this passage is written in a teasing manner like most of the satire, it is a firm belief held by the narrator. Whether it is reading the works of the ancients, the Bible, or a contemporary author, the most benefit and the least damage will be ensured by mimicking the situation in which a work was written. But theres a hopelessness that pervades the Tale, as if the narrator knows that perfection can be imitated, but only a few will bother to try and the result will only be a shadow of what existed before. Only a few words are written to describe the first years in which the church was true to Christianity, and the entire reformation in which Martyn makes his compromise is summed up in one paragraph. The rest of the allegory details each folly of the Catholics and Dissenters with great relish. Far more wit and energy is used and pleasure taken in condemning those that fall short of the ideal than those who struggle to recreate it. Swift dwells on the negative, offering little forgiveness for the sinners and faint praise for the reformers. Once the ideal is lost, all he finds worth commenting on are the faults. Because of the narrators pessimism, the best and the worst of mankind are intermixed, as if to show that humans have great potential, but being human also means that it can never be reached. And if the most sublime element of humans is based in the mind, particularly intelligent thought, then the worst is rooted in the physical, i.e., bodily functions. When the narrator makes such conclusions as the gift of BELCHING being the noblest Act of a Rational Creature, his combining of the highest and lowest aspects of mankind is a reflection of his disappointment that the two must exist together and thereby limit the rise into the intellectual (341). Because he dwells on the worst, not only does he remind the reader of the most base acts of humans, but he writes that it is the greatest we can expect to ever achieve. He implies that the physical is behind most all of our actions, including war: Having to no purpose used all peaceable Endeavours, the collected part of the Semen, raised and enflamed, became adust, converted to Choler, turned head upon the spinal Duct, and ascended to the Brain. The very same Principle that influences a Bully to break the Windows of a Whore, who has jilted him, naturally stirs up a Great Prince to raise mighty Armies, and dream of nothing but Sieges, Battles, and Victories (347). Because it is impossible to reach the intellectual greatness of the past, he concentrates on the worst of the body, as if that is all we can ever depend on and might as well be the reasoning behind all we do. The path that leads to intellectual achievement is very narrow and leaves no room for digression: Thus, Wit has its Walks and Purlieus, out of which it may not stray the breadth of an Hair, upon peril of being lost (286). And though a few do attempt to follow it, they can never reach the sublime state that once existed, and every day that passes only limits their potential even more. The narrator does try to guide his readers by making the correct path clear, but he has little expectation that they will heed his advice. He can only see the loss of once was, so he invariably focuses on mans inescapable decline into hopelessness. Even if he did desire to write in the manner of the great classics he admires rather than just criticizing others for not doing so, it would be pointless. As he sees it, anything he composes could never rival the historical texts because he is so separated from them. He has intensely studied their works and culture, but any attempt to imitate them must fall sh ort of the original. And if his talent cannot be used to add to the glory of the classics, then it might as well be used to condemn the moderns. If all writing is ultimately a corruption of that which preceded it, as the narrator seems to believe, then it is better to write of something that is despised rather than revered. At times the Tale appears to be nothing more than a prank, due to all of the digressions and unintelligible passages that are inserted. Swift states that he is giving his readers exactly what they want, because mankind receives much greater Advantage by being Diverted than Instructed, and happiness is a perpetual Possession of being well Deceived (327, 351). Swift views this as the exact problem that is ruining current learning, and puts it under the readers nose to frustrate them with the same method they are promoting. Conclusion One of the great themes that Swift explores in A Tale of a Tub is the madness of pride involved in believing ones own age to be supreme and the inferiority of derivative works. One of the attacks in the tale was on those who believe that being readers of works makes them the equals of the creators of works.