Contingency Approach to Management

Contingency approach to management is a modern approach that has attempted to integrate findings of other perspectives. Contingency refers to the immediate (contingent or touching) circum ­stances.This approach was developed during 1960s and 1970s and based on the idea that it is impossible to select one way of managing all situations, and for this reason managers have to identify the conditions of a task, managerial job and persons as parts of a complete management situation and attempt to integrate them all into a solution which is most appropriate for a specific circumstance.The main contributors are Fred Fiedler (1967), Jay Lorsch, Paul Lawrence, Joan Woodward, etc (The Contingency Approach to Management, 2006). According to contingency approach, the manager has to try systematically to identify which technique or approach will, in a particular circumstance or context, best contribute to the attainment of the desired goals.The distinctive feature of this approach is that it see ks to apply to real life situations ideas taken from different schools of management thought. The problem is that there is no a universal approach to management, and for this reason different problems require different approaches. Also, the contingency approach stresses the need for managers to examine the relationship between the internal and external envi ­ronment of an organization.â€Å"Contingency analysis indicates, for example, that a set of complex tasks are necessary to bring about significant educational improvements, planners can sequence the tasks in ways that allow managers to focus on less complex problems before tackling more difficult ones† (Amey, 1986). Organizational requirements, culture and structure are constantly changing and needed continual efforts to maintain effective work ­ing relationships.The con ­tingency approach examines each situation to find out its unique attributes before management makes a decision.This approach can be described as t ask-oriented, because decisions are made in each individual situation. In spite of evident benefits and advantages, this approach is criticized because most of the decisions are intuitive and lack theoretical foun ­dation (Amey, 1986). ReferencesAmey, L.R. (1986). A Conceptual Approach to Management. Durham, NC: Praeger Publishers.The Contingency Approach to Management. (2006) Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Comp-De/Contingency-Approach-to-Management.html

Cultural Perspectives in Education Essay

The word ‘Culture’ refers to civilization or human activity. It can also refer to universal human capability to categorize skills, and to train and convey them characteristically. Therefore, one can say that Culture evolves over a period of time in response to adaptive challenges. What activities are carried out, who should participate, why they are valued and the rules of interaction are coded into the cultural models. There are different ways to educate, express or reveal knowledge to a student. The student’s education very much depends upon the teacher’s philosophy of education. This philosophical point of view appears to be true that could bring a negative influence in the classroom, no matter what syllabus is designed for the student. The students possess different qualities and beliefs that teachers should realize and learn to adapt to in the classroom. If teachers are not able to go beyond the boundaries of social class, religion, race, creed, gender, sex, disability or cultural background, then the focus of the students will also turn heavily upon differences and the classification of students as special needs or underachiever, thus building insensitive pre-expectations toward students in the classroom. â€Å"The primary goal of education is to show students different points of view and encourage them to evaluate their own beliefs. The teacher should help the students to appreciate how one’s observations and interpretations are influenced by social identity and background†. Chang, H. (1993). Students should be allowed to feel free to voice an opinion and empowered to defend it. A student is able to focus on and enjoy learning more when the school and classroom make him feel safe-comfortable with himself and with his surrounding. The learning situation should be made culturally neutral by keeping in mind the potential barriers and obstacles that each student may have. Taking this into account Marda Steffey (2001) suggests a four point motivational framework for culturally open teaching: 1. Establishing inclusion—norms, procedures, and structures woven together to form a learning context in which all learners and teachers feel respected by and connected to one another. 2. Developing attitude—â€Å"norms, procedures and structures that create through relevance and choice a favorable disposition among learners and teachers toward the learning experience or learning goal. 3. Enhancing meaning—norms, procedures, and structures that expand, refine, or increase the complexity of what is learned in a way that matters to learners, includes their values and purposes, and contributes to a critical consciousness. 4. Engendering competence—norms, procedures, and structures that create an understanding for learners of how they are or can be effective in learning something of personal value†. (Nawang, 1999) The main idea of the four points is that when student and teachers find themselves submerged in a unique world of the classroom, the interaction of culture is invaluable for the success of the learning process. Solomon, B. B. (1991). Teacher should recognize any biases or stereotypes in the class room, â€Å"by treating each student as an individual, and respect each student for whom he or she is. Amend any language practices or examples that exclude or degrade any group, should be aware of how students feel about the cultural climate in the classroom†. (Woolbright, 1989) A productive education must start with an awareness of these issues and some basic schemes for overcoming them. Although a variety of teachings can be fruitful, it seems especially cooperative to offer an atmosphere where students can easily hold an open discussion rather than class session in which a correct answer is required. True open discussion will send a message of authority between equal students who have something substantial to add to a common endeavor. Sharing the facts and principles of one’s discipline with students is very important as that helps to prepare an environment of comfort, trust and joint respect. Therefore, such an environment makes it possible for people to exchange ideas and thoughts on complex and often terrifying issues. It opens a way for students to carry out a common ground of joint practices and respect which can bind students together and at the same time make it easier for them to understand and observe many differences. The teacher should not only establish a content of diversity but a procedure that creates and demonstrate appreciation of diversity. It is important to keep in mind that students always observe and learn their teachers’ behavior as well as their expressions. The classroom environment not only represent the fundamental value of appreciation of diversity of cultures nevertheless it also capitulate great rewards in terms of vital thinking skills, especially the aptitude to value sophisticated multiple point of views on complex rational and ethical issues. The school or college should recognize all of the various types of diversities, whether it is cultural or not. Students should understand when they go their classroom that they will be interacting with many different types of students from all walks all of life. Levinson, B. A. , and Holland, D. (1996). They should understand that they are all in this facility for a reason and that it doesn’t matter what they look like or what language they speak, they need to cooperate to make their class environment more conducive to learning. It is very unfortunate to say that not much improvement in this has been made around the world except few countries, while in rest there is still school and colleges where cultural factors are given preferences. Every discipline is influenced by the inequity of power that exists across racial and cultural groups, between genders, and among other socially created classes of difference. In spite of advances in race and cultural relations, gender equality, and religious tolerance, significant documented differences continues to exist around the world. In order to gain a true moderate education, school administration should honor diversity of cultures. It should recognize holidays of other ethnicities and always study new and interesting ways of life. The students of the respective schools and colleges should â€Å"love learning about other cultures and how they interact with one another†. (Harold, 2006) The students should be allowed to do arts and projects that are representatives of other cultures and take great pride in the fact that they now have knowledge of their brothers and sisters around the world. Educators have a responsibility to assist the people who are privileged enough to be students in becoming aware of the inequalities around them. Therefore, each educator should work to infuse each class with the diverse voices that contributed to the knowledge base of the discipline. References Chang, H. (1993) Affirming Children’s Roots: Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in Early Care and Education: California Tomorrow. Hodgkinson, Harold L. (2006) Education in Social and Cultural Perspectives: Prentice-Hall Levinson, B. A. , and Holland, D. (1996). The cultural production of the educated person: An introduction. In B. A. Levinson, D. Foley, and D. Holland (Eds. ), Albany: SUNY Press. Phuntsog, Nawang. Magic of culturally responsive pedagogy: In search of the Genie’s lamp in multicultural education. Teacher Education Quarterly, Summer 1999 Solomon, B. B. (1991) Impediments to Teaching a Culturally Diverse Undergraduate Population: Kendall/Hunt Publishing. Woolbright, C. (Ed. ). (1989) Valuing Diversity on Campus: A Multicultural Approach. Bloomington, Ind. : Association of College Unions-International.

Assignment - Team Work in Business Essay Example for Free

Assignment – Team Work in Business Essay Some management teams are bound to succeed while other are not due to a number of factors. A team, according to Adair (1986), is more than just a group with a common aim. It is a group in which the contributions of individuals are seen as complementary. Collaboration, working together, is the keynote of a team activity. Adair suggests that the test of an effective team is: â€Å"whether its members can work as a team while they are apart, contributing to a sequence of activities rather than to a common task, which requires their presence in one place and at one time. † Below is a discussion of some of the major factors that create a difference between winning and losing management teams . Management teams are usually formed by a sponsor who recognizes that reaching an organizational goal will require a group of individuals working together to provide the leadership necessary to move a company, division or unit towards the organization’s goals. It is the sponsor’s responsibility to create a ‘charter’ that establishes the management team and its primary focus. In addition, the sponsor establishes specific goals the team is to accomplish. The sponsor will also select the team leader and gain his or her commitment to lead the leadership team in defining and carrying out the needed actions. Lack of will or proper direction by the sponsor ( e. g board of directors in a company) can lead to team failure. These include physical factors such as working proximity, plant or office layout. In general, close proximity aids group identity and loyalty, and distance reduces them. Other environmental issues include the traditions of the organisation under which the management team operates, and leadership styles. Formal organisations tend to adopt formal group practices. Autocratic leadership styles prefer group activities to be directed. Small groups tend to be more cohesive than larger groups; small groups tend to encourage full participation; large groups contain greater diversity of talent. A shared understanding of the management team’s stakeholders, their expectations of the team, and the values the team embraces is essential to create the focus needed as the management team members plan and execute the actions necessary to achieve the team’s goals. Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound goals should be established by the team’s sponsor and then broken into sub-goals by the management team. Without SMART goals, the team will lack the milestones necessary to drive action. Team leadership is the most critical success factor for the performance management team. A leader with strong performance management skills and the ability to develop others virtually guarantees a successful performance initiative. Every management team needs a leader who focuses the members of the team on the mission, purpose, and goals of the team. This individual must be committed to the team’s results and must be willing to be held accountable by the team’s sponsor and other stakeholders, for leading the team through processes that insure the team’s goals are reached. The team leader must engage each team member in the processes of the team and build a platform of mutual trust that leads to open debate, collaboration, individual commitment, and personal accountability. The most important element of successful team work is the establishment of a platform of mutual trust that enables the management team to engage in open debate and decision making that leads to commitments to action by individual members of the team. Building this trust requires an openness that allows team members to know and understand the beliefs and behaviors of all members of the team so that team actions can be structured to take advantage of each member’s uniqueness and talents. Behavioral and values assessments are powerful tools in developing an understanding how each member of the management team views themselves and responds to others in the team. An effective management team will have team members who are actively engaged in the work and focus of the team. This will require that each team member emotionally commits to actively and openly participate in the team’s processes in the pursuit of the team’s goals. The team member must willingly commit to carry out action plans to complete individual actions necessary for the team to reach their team goals. The team member must be dependable and carry the full weight of personal responsibility to complete their individual commitments by the date committed to. Engaged team members enthusiastically support each other and add value to other team members. They prepare for team processes and choose to engage others in a positive manner to find solutions to issues and challenges they individually or as a team face. They constantly seek to improve themselves for the benefit of the team and never, never, never quit. The Apollo Syndrome is a phenomenon that having too many people with a high mental abilities grouped together to solve a problem is, in many instances, detrimental to the teamwork process. Team members spend much of their time trying to persuade the team to adopt their own views as well as figuring out ways to point out weaknesses in the rest of the team’s ideas. They have difficulty reaching consensus in decisions and are focused on their own work, paying little attention to what their fellow team members agree doing. Occasionally the team will pick up on the fact they are having problems, but will then overcompensate to avoid confrontation. This leads to even more problems in making sound decisions. A knowledgeable team, skilled at group working, and with a wider range of talents is much more likely to succeed than an inexperienced group with a narrow range of talents. The work of a management team is carried out by individual members of the team. When a team has developed a plan of actions that are necessary to achieve their goals or overcome barriers, individual members must commit to carrying out specific actions which in many cases will include actions by the individual teams they in turn lead. The management team’s collaborative processes must include steps to: * Define individual actions, * Gain the commitments by individual team members to complete the actions, * Document due dates, and * Establish status reporting processes. Team goals will usually not be realized until individual commitments are completed. Management team members must embrace a discipline to complete their commitments as scheduled. They must agree to hold each other personally accountable for completing, as scheduled, the commitments each person has made to the team. Each management team member must continuously report the status of their open commitments to the team so that barriers to completion can be identified early in order to permit the management team leader and other team members the opportunity to deal with the issues before overall deadlines are impacted. 12. Identification and Removal of Barriers Barriers to team and individual progress will occur in every management team effort and must be dealt with quickly to continue progress towards the team’s goals. The team leader must continuously monitor the status of each individual’s commitments and initiate barrier removal processes where appropriate. Team-based processes for developing action plans to overcome barriers impacting individual commitments should be instilled as a part of the team’s culture. The ability for a management team to clearly state it’s goals and objectives and gain buy-in among the people they lead ( e. g. employees )along with a synergistic team that can carry out their responsibilities is vital to performance success. The vision and/or mission of the team must be accepted by all the team members and critical goals viewed as the collective responsibility of the team. If a return to profitability is a critical goal of an executive team, priorities and time commitments must be pulled from elsewhere. Focusing on results that in any way does not support the critical goal(s) of the team will lead to team failure. While a skilled management team can improve performance with very little tools and only an effective approach, with proper technology to support the team’s needs, and the proper data to drive decision making, there is almost no limit to the improvements an organization will yield. Innovating is a key aspect of teamwork and involves challenging the way things are currently being done. Technology is changing so quickly that the way you are currently performing tasks may no longer be the best way. If you are not up-to-date in your practices, your cost structure may be too high or you may no longer be delivering competitive service. Innovating is essential for all work teams. There are always better ways of doing things if you only take time to discover them. To obtain the resources – people, money, and equipment – to carry out your work, you have to ‘sell’ what you are doing to other people. Resources to implement new ideas will only be given if your team can persuade and influence people higher in the organization. Promoting to customers or clients both inside or outside the organization is also important if you are to continually deliver what people want. Many ideas don’t see the light of day because they are impractical. The Developing activity ensures that your ideas are molded and shaped to meet the needs of your customers, clients, or users. It involves listening to their needs and incorporating these in your plans. Developing will ensure that what you are trying to do is possible, given the resource constraints of your organization. Regular checks on work activities are essential to ensure that mistakes are not made. Quality audits of your products or services will ensure that your customers or clients will remain satisfied. Inspecting also covers the financial aspect of work in your team, as well as the security aspects, the safety aspects and the legal aspects. All management teams need to uphold standards and maintain effective work processes. Your car will fail if it does not have its regular service. Teams can fail too, if the team processes are not regularly checked and maintained. Maintaining ensures that quality standards are upheld and that regular reviews of team effectiveness take place. Linking is the activity that ensures all team members pull together, and makes the difference between a group of individuals and a highly effective and efficient team. It covers the linking of people, linking of tasks and leadership linking. Assignment – Team Work in Business. (2016, Nov 20).

Saints Lives in the Moissac Cloister Research Paper

Saints Lives in the Moissac Cloister - Research Paper Example The abbey itself has several versions as to who was its founder. However, it is known that it was founded during the middle of the 7th century (Fletcher). Even though the abbey has witnessed numerous events and tragedies around it, there are still portions that have withstood the test of time. Its walls are the storytellers of what transpired from the time it had been built to the time the abbey was engulfed by flames and up to the present. There are sculptures that will speak about the beliefs of people during that era or what was foreseen. A catch though is that the original art pieces that are seen at present at the St. Peter’s Abbey in Moissac are the same pieces that have been displayed there during the times of its foundation. As the story books tell, there were two names that popped as to who founded the abbey in Moissac. One of the names was Desiderius of Cahors who later became Saint Desiderius of Cahors. Then Bishop of Cahors, St. Desiderius administrated the monastery under the diocese of Cahors (NewAdvent.Org; Schapiro and Finn 253). Before the 7th century ended, the possessions and resources of the abbey grew vastly. The construction of the abbey has been changed by the raids that it encountered during the building period. It is not just the abbey that were destroyed or damaged during these invasions. Several buildings from this era have also been destroyed (Brabbs 41). Louis the Debonnaire aided the reconstruction of the fallen Abbey church. However, it seemed like history just repeated itself when the same ruthlessness that the church experienced during the late 10th century occurred again but this time from the hands of Huns and Normans. What remained of the original abbey after the invasions was destroyed during the later periods of the first century. The original roof casing of the church collapsed in 1030. The remains of the original church after the

OLINE SECURITY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

OLINE SECURITY - Essay Example High intensity of network attacks has pushed organizations to invest in more secure systems that can resist external attacks and limit access of organization resources. However, cybercriminals use a broad range of techniques to attack networks including use of Trojan programs, fishing mails, and indirect attacks. Although various approaches to guarantee online security are available, there is evidence that cybercrime is still a challenge that information systems have to address. A close analysis of the problem of cybercrime shows that the problem has become severe and needs immediate remedy. For instance, in the UK, the banking sector loses approximately  £1 billion to cybercrime and customer trust is at stake in this sector (Barclays, 2013). The banking sector is a major contributor to the economy of the country contributing about 8% of the UK Gross Domestic Product, but now falls under great threat from cybercriminals. According to United States Department of Crime and Justice, (2013) about 5 million Americans are hacked every year and their identity information is used and at least $50 million dollars is lost to cyber-criminals. In China, Anderson reports that in China, over 700,000 web users fall victim of cybercrime every without their knowledge and over $874 million is lost to fraudsters. Despite the imperative efforts that have been engaged to tackle the problem, cybercrime continues to be a big problem in many countries. The 2013 cybercrime report presented by Sophos new cyber threats have brought new trends in online business. This report indicates that Blackhole is a new malware that has heightened the problem of cybercrime. Surprisingly, US host over 30% of the Blackhole sites while China hosts over 5% of these sites. These trends indicate that there is a need for stricter policies to curb cybercrime in the business market. Hackers are people who exploit weaknesses within computer

Media law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Media law - Essay Example In spite, cyber law tries to integrate the problems caused by individual actions in the cyber space with better set of laws prevailing in the societies. This illustration of the particular crisis can be without difficulty settled by means of numerous set of laws. The global convenience of Internet means that it has no lawful authority but has to de facto the control over these actions. The cyberspace myth admits the challenges in deciding the authority of an online agreement. A wide range of concerning issues has been applied to launch the jurisdiction of an agreement carried out by the electronic media. The general myth concerning the cyberspace is that internet has an innovative jurisdiction in which the present polices and systems apply. All the players concerned in internet operations exist in the present authority. Much of the rules and regulation is conflicting, very difficult or is not possible to obey. The worldwide outlook of the primary lawful issues emerged by the arrival of the internet as a global media of communication device. The universal tendencies in the advancement of the lawful matters are addressed and the efficiency of possible instrument for the lawful variation is related to the internet rules. Internet governance is the growth request by governments, the personal segment and the public in particular positions of the shared values, rules, regulations and managerial principles where the programmers’ form the growth and make use of the internet. One of the treasured fallacies regarding the cyberspace is that Internet is completely decentralized and naturally unmanageable. Also, there are two wide governance problems lifted by the Internet. The first one is that how the Internet handled itself in a scientifically difficult worldwide communication system. Secondly, how to lawfully manage actions carried out on the Internet. In any of the network several

Cognitive Development and Cognitive Views of Learning Essay

Cognitive Development and Cognitive Views of Learning - Essay Example Children in the concrete operational stage of development accept the rules and seldom deliberately move outside them. According to Piaget's theory, children from age 7 to 11 move from preconventional to concrete operational where these children have experienced interaction with others in a school setting and have begun to care what others think about them. Children in the 7-11 age group have the most potential for establishing a positive moral behavioral base. Morality becomes an issue for this age group because this is a time when children move from how a situation will affect them personally to how their behavioral choices will affect someone else. However, throughout this stage, conflicts occur that create moral dilemmas and children in this age group are influenced by so many ideas about what is or is not moral that it is easy for them to make some wrong choices. It is important for a teacher to stress the fact that it is all right to make mistakes because that is how we learn. It is the positive or negative result of the choice made that will help them determine right or wrong in future dilemmas. In other words, they first learn the rules, then how the rules affect behavior, and finally, whether trying to follow the rules might create a moral dilemma while breaking the rule would seem to be the proper choice. Appropriate strategies to use to teach the selected topic One problem with trying to teach morality in the classroom is that different children have different concepts of the rules of behavior when it comes to moral issues. However, by creating different moral dilemmas and setting up discussion groups within a classroom, individual students can present a dilemma and its possible resolution, and other students can debate or accept the resolution. The result of this is that the class can establish a moral code of behavior that they can accept. Once that has been accomplished, a further situation could be presented through a children's book that discusses morality, such as The Complete Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault (1993) newly translated by Neil Philip and Nicoletta Simborowski from Perrault's original collection, or in a book such as The Children's Book of Virtues (1995) by William Bennett. Bennett offers what he considers conventional role models for young people while the fairy tales present characters with debatable morals that can gen erate discussion within a group. Over the years, well-known fairy tales have evolved into versions that are influenced by changing moral concerns within society. In keeping with today's moral breakdown, Sleeping Beauty's story in its original format doesn't end when the prince awakens her. In a passage from Marjorie Allen's discussion of the translation (1999) her life continues: She marries him in secret and has two children-a boy and a girl. But she and the prince do not live happily ever after as king and queen, at least not for quite some time, because the queen mother happens to be part ogre

A critical analysis of the local, national and international context Essay

A critical analysis of the local, national and international context of Inclusive Education - Essay Example anchored on consolidation of the existing capacity, policies and practices of the education system in a country to reach out to students with special needs and disability and seeks to eliminate the distinction between SEND as well as regular students (Sovic & Blythman, 2013). Students with special education needs experience learning difficulties when subjected under the normal school environment caused by diversified factors such as the autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), physical impairments, and cerebral palsy. The National Association for Special Educational Need (NASEN) has classified students with special educational needs under three broad categories including School Action, School Action Plus and statement plus special education, which facilitates the implementation of policy and practice for students with SEND as well as inclusion in various educational institutions. Over the years, legislations, policies, and strategies have been implemented to set an inclusive school environment for SEND provisions, which have been accommodated in the education school system such as the Special Education Act 20that has had a global influence in the promotion of inclusive education. Initially, the subject of whether children with special education needs should be included in special or mainstream school was controversial and it was only until 1990 that saw the inception of inclusive education (Black-Hawkins, Florian & Rouse, 2007). Special Educational Needs Act was implemented on 2009, which highlighted the policies and legal rights of students with disabilities in the UK. Similarly, a number of strategies have also been placed to ensure students with SEND swiftly adapt to the mainstream schools such as provision physical amenities that are friendly to students with disabilities including ramps (DfE, 2011). On an equal measure various local and international le gislations and policies have also been enacted to ensure that students with SEND are provided with equal

Family and Medical Leave Act Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Family and Medical Leave Act - Research Paper Example It is applicable to all public employees and those in private companies with at least 50 employees. Certain FMLA provisions are favorable for employers and employees. However, the area of Human Resources (HR) has struggled with some of its aspects, especially those in regards to episodic or chronic conditions, sporadic use of leave or serious conditions of health. HR departments are facing challenges in terms of keeping track of intermittent leave; chronic abuse of such leave; morale problems arising from employees required to cover for absent colleagues; associated costs of productivity loss due employees being on leave; vague medical leave certification documentation by healthcare professionals; and the uncertainty of the leave requests’ legitimacy (Merkle, 2012). On the employers’ part, they are challenged by the realization that employees will not always notify them promptly when they require FMLA leave, more so in cases of unexpected conditions. Regulations stipulate that employees give a notice of at least 30 days in advance, but this is not practical in unforeseeable emergencies. Therefore, it becomes a considerable problem for the employer and HR department to plan for the absence of their employees. Eligible employees are the greatest beneficiaries of FMLA, so long as they can give sufficient notice with supporting evidence of the need for leave. They have enough time to address family and personal obligations while their jobs are still guaranteed. The Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a pitch in 2011, aiming to promote the clarity of behavior associated with leave-taking (BLR, 2012). According to the DOL, it is imperative for employees, employers and HR departments to develop compliance programs and regulatory priorities based on current and credible data rather than anecdotal and outdated information. An example of pending legislation is that of