Case study of Jack Welch at General Electric Essay

Case study of Jack Welch at General Electric - Essay Example According to this definition, Welch partly fulfilled the corporate social responsibility. In the Welch era, the General Electric Company fulfilled numerous responsibilities to the society. For instance, the company fulfilled its economic responsibilities by paying taxes worth 5.7 billion US dollars in 2000, and enriching shareholders and pension funds to its employees. In addition, the company enriched its managers, transforming them into multimillionaires. Additionally, the company was involved in sponsorships in 2000 where it established a charitable institution, the GE fund, which completed 40 million US dollars in donations to educational institutions and non-profit organizations in United States. However, General Electric Company under the Welch era can be criticized for its lack of corporate social responsibility. Welch’s leadership was not appeasing to everyone for numerous reasons. He was regarded as a ruthless employment cutter where he laid off a mass of employees during his tenure. Needless to say, he also emphasized on globalization where he transferred labor to low wage countries. This created unemployment within the society and loss of labor within United States. The defective evaluation system and the pollution in the Hudson Rivers also constituted a lack of corporate responsibility to the society. Though no company ever achieves this paragon, General Electric Company should have endeavored to attain it. In order to achieve this, the Welch should have devised a fair evaluation system that would reduce the rate of layoffs in the company and motivate its employees, and device other environment friendly disposal methods that would reduce pollution to the society. The General Electric Company under Welch illustrates a constricted standpoint of corporate social responsibility nearly similar to friedman’s perspective that the only corporate social

Innovating Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Innovating - Essay Example However, social constructivism refutes the object obduracy and assumes that people are the only ones who can take the acting status. New technology may fail to lead to new arrangements of things and humans. They, in addition, may generate new forms and causality orders and, indeed, new forms concerned with the world. This means that technology can also generate both moral judgment and knowledge forms. A big portion of innovating part lies in inscribing the vision of the world in the content, which is technical, of the new object. The end of this work is a script or rather a scenario. This part of innovation is primarily concerned with inscription, followed by invention, the inventor, most significantly technology, scenario, script and vision. The author in page 208 till 209 argues that if one has interest in technical objects contrasted to chimera, it is difficult for them to get methodological satisfaction basing on the point of view of the user and the designer only. In conclusion, sociotechnical facts conversion into simple and pure facts depends on the technical object ability to turn into black boxes. This means that as objects become indispensable, they efface

Maternal Behaviors and Their Effect on the Unborn Child Essay Example for Free

Maternal Behaviors and Their Effect on the Unborn Child Essay Pregnancy can be one of the most magical times in a woman’s life. There is nothing quite like taking care of the little person that is growing in the womb, and knowing that everything you do is going to have some kind of effect on that little person. For a vast majority of women, pregnancy is a magical time, one filled with awe and wonder. Pregnant women tend to take better care of themselves, making sure that they are providing the best environment for their growing child. Some women, however, do just the opposite and do not take care of themselves and thus harm the unborn child in their womb. There are several things that can have an adverse effect on the growing child. One of them is the mother’s nutrition. This is an easily adjustable factor, but one that some women don’t actually think about. When a woman becomes pregnant, according to www.americanpregnancy.org, she needs to consume roughly 300 more calories than normal in order to have a healthy pregnancy (http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/pregnancynutrition.html). This will provide the extra nutrition that the fetus needs. If a mother does not consume enough calories, she is putting her child at risk of being malnourished. A poorly nourished infant is more likely to get sick, as they do not have the ability to fight off illness as well as a properly nourished child. There is also a possibility that undernourishment can have an impact on the mental development of a child (Feldman, 329). Proper nourishment is vital to proper development both in the womb and once the child is born. Another behavior that can have an adverse effect on the growing child is alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Alcohol is a teratogen, which is known to be harmful to human development (http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/alcohol.html). Consuming alcohol during pregnancy can cause the unborn child to have fetal alcohol syndrome, or FAS. This condition causes the child to be of below-average intelligence, have facial deformities, and growth delays (Feldman, 309). According to www.marchofdimes.com, alcohol can also cause the baby to have sucking and sleeping problems, behavior problems, and speech and language delays (http://www.marchofdimes.com/pregnancy/alcohol_indepth.html). Even if a mother doesn’t drink every day, even a small amount of alcohol can have adverse effects. Fetal alcohol effects is another condition that a child can develop. With FAE, the child may have some, but not all the symptoms of FAS (Feldman, 329). When my husband and I were foster parents, it was suspected that our foster son had FAE. He did not have growth delays, necessarily, as he was the average size of a child his age, but he did have some intellectual delays, speech problems, and some behavioral issues. Over all, he was a wonderful child, he just needed some extra care and attention in certain areas to compensate for the places he lacked. Drug use is also a behavior that can cause adverse effects on an unborn child. According to www.marchofdimes.com, about 4% of women use illegal drugs during their pregnancy. These include marijuana, ecstasy, heroin, and other amphetamines. To me, that is a staggering number of women. There are many problems that a child faces if the mother used drugs during pregnancy. Premature birth and withdrawal seem to be the most common. There is also the possibility of birth defects, such as heart defects and cleft palates. The symptoms and long term effects of drug use vary depending on the type of drug that the mother used. Some drugs are by far worse than others, but all of them carry a risk. All of the drugs tend to carry a risk of learning disabilities, behavioral issues, and attention problems. There are even some legal drugs, things that you can buy over the counter that can have an adverse effect on an unborn child (Feldman, 329). Aspirin is one such drug. Using aspirin, because of its blood thinning properties, can harm the child and cause excessive bleeding during childbirth (http://drugs.about.com/lw/Health-Medicine/Womens-Health/Medications-to-Avoid-During-Pregnancy.htm). It would be advisable to consult with your doctor before taking any kind of medication while pregnant because any of them can have an adverse effect on the baby during different stages of pregnancy. I know for me personally, I don’t like taking anything other than my prenatal vitamins during pregnancy, because I’m fearful of what effect it could have on my child. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I almost refused to take Tylenol when I had a headache, because I was afraid it would do some harm. I’ve not been quite that way with my son, but I still avoid most medicines because I don’t want to risk doing any harm. Pregnancy is nothing short of a miracle, and should be treated as such. Providing a healthy environment for the baby to grow is of utmost importance, especially for the well-being of that child. Anything and everything that a mother does during her pregnancy has an effect on her unborn child. Getting proper nutrition and not using or abusing drugs or alcohol will help the mother have a healthy pregnancy and thus a healthy child. References: Feldman, Robert S. (2011) Essentials of Understanding Psychology, 9th Edition http://drugs.about.com/lw/Health-Medicine/Womens-Health/Medications-to-Avoid-During-Pregnancy.htm http://www.marchofdimes.com/pregnancy/alcohol_illicitdrug.html http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/pregnancynutrition.html

Online social networking industry

Online social networking industry Online Social Networking Industry The concept of social networking as a platform for engaging a community is distinctly not novel. What is novel is how technology has facilitated the evolution of virtual social platforms that broaden the reach, ability and latent of community (Web 2.0 in Social Networking sites Industry Analysis, 2009). The new emerging technologies are invariably altering the means through that consumers can interact with each other. Previously, the main technology used by consumers for communicating was telephone but throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, personal computers and the Internet vastly broadened the choices accessible for consumers to intercommunicate with each other with services like email, chat rooms, online bulletin boards, instant messaging etc. The Online Social Networking Industry constitutes companies that are attempting to navigate, analyze, or display social associations of friends, co-workers and acquaintances. The online social networking industry is developing quickly with a kind of both personal and business tailored applications rising tapping into the global marketplace (Web 2.0 in Social Networking sites Industry Analysis, 2009). The more advanced features of the industry players allow weak links and friend-of-a friend links to be tapped for social or business networking aims. Porters Five Force Analysis of Social Networking Industry Online Social Networking firms extend quite a few variations of the products on the basis of their target audience and the aim of the product. Some firms concentrate primarily on one aspect whereas other firms may incorporate all of these offerings and some of these offerings: Business Network Building Business Network Searching Social Network Building Social Network Searching (George, 2003). Usually, the Network Building firms of the industry offer a search potential, whereas the Network Searching firms have concentrated on assembling Internet-based information from public informants or clients. The position and the attractiveness of the industry would be considered effectively with the help of its porters five force analysis that is as follows; Threat of New Entrants: A number of players are entering the industry with an aim to grow and attain a prominent position but still the industry is dominated by few social networking players. The network effects of the companies are not assisting them in retaining their market share. More and more companies are entering but only some of them are able to attain a specific position and in this way, it could be said that the threat of new entrants in the industry is moderate. Buyer Power The prominent buyers of the social networking industry players are advertising companies and the subscribers of â€Å"premium services†. The power of industry service buyers is high as the advertisers and the premium users may also get the same services from other social networking sites at more effective prices (Yang, Kim Dhalwani, n.d.). The switching costs are very low and due to this the buyers easily get switch to different providers. Supplier Power In the online social networking industry, the main supplier to a social networking site is the visitors who visit social networks. The importance of visitors as suppliers is due to the determination of visitors that how attractive the site is to likely advertisers. In contrast, other kinds of suppliers that provide the server hardware, software, or network bandwidth to the site play a comparatively less important role. In this way, it could be said that the power of suppliers in the industry is low. Threat of Substitutes The threat of substitute products or services is moderate in the industry as in present all are trying to come up with something new and innovative. The prominent players in the industry are few and due to this the threat of substitute products and services is not so high (Yang, Kim Dhalwani, n.d.). Industry Rivalry A number of online social networking sites have been launched, since the concept had emerged and employed. More and more companies are trying these products and services that demonstrate that the rivalry in the industry is very high. Assessment of Industrys Overall Attractiveness Key Success Factors With the Porters five force analysis of the industry, it could be stated that the overall attractiveness of the industry is moderate and as soon as the technology will be developed more and more industry players will become more lucrative. The attractiveness of the industry could be analyzed with the example of some famous social networking sites like MySpace, Face book, Orkut and Twitter. All these social networking companies had attained their position in the global market place with the help of effective strategies and continuous improvement and innovation with their sites. The most effective key success factors for a social networking website are as follows: People-to-people interaction Speed of innovation Network effects Availability of Applications User engagement (Web 2.0 in Social Networking sites Industry Analysis, 2009) Competitive Environment of Industry Company Long-term Goals With this detailed analysis of the industry, the determination regarding the companys long-term goals can be made easily. The long-term goals of the company in concern to social networking web sites should be the continuous improvement and innovation with its social sites so that users can get benefits of latest technology and effective intercommunication (Xu, Tjoa Chaudhry, 2007). Only with these long-term goals, the company can attain a significant position in the industry as the competition is increasing day by day in the industry. More and more companies are trying to offer new and innovative features to its users with the help of their social networking sites. In the end of the discussion, it could be said that the company should operate in the industry with the overall objective of be creative and engaging more and more users with effective network effects and applications.

Interest Groups :: essays research papers

Interest Groups Help More Than Hurt   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Voter turnout has declined since 1960 but participation in interest groups has been growing. Participating in interest groups allows people to take action on issues that are most important to them. Unlike some linkage institutions, interest groups have a very close connection to government. Interest groups are an essential part of the democratic system because they allow the public to enter the political system, bring up specific issues in government, and help congress in various ways.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Interest groups specialize in policies where as interest groups are policy generalists. Statistics show that most Americans are neither radically conservative or liberal but in between or moderate. Both parties have lately tried to conform to the moderate view, but this makes it hard for voters to commit to one party. Many people are split-ticket voters. Both candidates and parties are hard to agree with totally because there are so many different issues. Interest groups give people the chance to support specifically what they care about most. These groups are significant to the democratic system because they allow the public to get involved and in their political system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Political parties (policy generalists) have a great amount of issues on their agenda to be concerned with while interest groups get to concentrate on a single issue. Interest groups can call attention to an issue that could be ignored otherwise. Since groups know more about specific issues than the government, they can make sure that an issue is not overlooked. Interest groups bring attention to the issues that government should focus on. Thus, the government can determine which issues have priority.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Through interacting with congress, interest groups motivate the House and Senate to concentrate on their issue. The relationship between congress and interest groups is one where both benefit. Groups interact with congress with lobbying, electioneering and litigation. Groups help congress by giving them information, doing research, providing money, helping with political strategy, helping with campaign strategy, or other chores that congressmen do not have time for. Congress, in turn, helps interest groups by supporting their issues in congress.

computer basics :: essays research papers

Computers can be intimidating. Educating oneself about some of the basics of computers can lessen this intimidation. In addition, a computer user will be able to get the results that he or she is hoping for. Input devices, output devices, storage, and computer speed are a few areas that will be discussed further. In order to maintain accurate records or create precise results, data input should be done with the best possible input device. I will give examples of a few situations and explain which input device would work best. Printed Questionnaires- For this situation, I believe the most widely used input device, which is the keyboard, would work best. Questionnaires are made up of primarily letters and numbers that are easily found on a keyboard. Most people are familiar with a keyboard and creating a questionnaire should not be difficult. Telephone Survey- In this situation a touch input device may be a better choice, such as a touch screen. This way, the interviewee does not have to wait for the interviewer to finish typing. The touch screen would work best if there were multiple choice answers to the telephone survey. Bank Checks- The MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) is used by the banking industry. This device can scan checks quickly and ensures that checks are sent to the proper bank. Retail Tags- Most stores now use a bar-code scanner for pricing. The bar code scanner recognizes a series of bars of different lengths and sends that code to the computer. Even small retail stores may have a handheld bar code scanner to make pricing and checkout more efficient. Long Documents- Though I have never used this device, a voice input device would make long documents much easier. This requires special software and may require using the keyboard for editing. Because keyboards can cause injury, an individual that has to prepare many long documents may want to consider a voice input device. Just as accuracy and choosing the correct device for input is important, the same applies to output. Choosing the correct device can increase quality and convenience. In the following situations, I will share which output device I feel would work best: Hand held Computer- If an individual has a hand held computer; it is likely they are looking for mobility. Wireless data transfer would be ideal for this situation. Color Photograph- A photo quality printer should be used for color photographs. Some desktop printers will work, but often times the color will fade over time.

Factors Influencing Employee Performance Essay

1. Introduction 1.1 Background of the study There are many challenges which hinder the delivery of public service reforms in Africa (Lienert, 2003). The factors include those relating to human resources like manpower deficiencies and lack of psychological dispositions and shortage of financial and material resources necessary for effective delivery of services. The problems of accountability as well as ethical issues also continue to affect effective delivery of public service. In an effort to mitigate some of these challenges, the Government of Kenya (GOK) has in the past launched several reform programs to improve service delivery. Some of these reform efforts include the Civil Service Reform Program (CSRP) (GOK, 1993) whose aim was to enhance public service efficiency and productivity. The program was designed to contain costs, improve performance in the public sector, and consolidate and sustain the gains made by reform initiatives (Opiyo, 2006). The other reform initiatives included the implementation of Results – Based Management that was guided by Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment creation (GOK, 2003) whose strategies included developing benchmarks and evaluating the performance of public institutions. In order to enhance the performance of public officers, the government introduced a program where rewards and sanctions were to be used to encourage provision of quality services in the public sector. This paved way for the piloting of the process of in state corporations in 2003 which saw the introduction and implementation of performance appraisals in the entire public sector. Most firms in Kenya now employ some performance appraisal system (GOK, 2009). The Performance Appraisal System (PAS) was introduced by the GOK to refocus the mind of the public from a culture of inward looking to a culture of businesslike environment, focused on the customer and results in addition to improving service delivery (Obong’o, 2009). According to the new PAS, the evaluation of staff performance is supposed to run concurrently with the duration of ministerial performance contracts and the Government Financial year. Targets should meet acceptable quality standards and benchmarks as determined in each category of service delivery; the system should be supported by training of staff, particularly those with managerial and supervisory responsibility; and the process should be regarded as interactive, for mutual agreement between supervisors and appraisers (GOK, 2009). Longenecker and Goff (1992), observed that managers and human resource professionals belief that a PAS is a good tool for human resource management and performance improvement. If well designed and implemented it can benefit both the employees and the organizations (Coens and Jenkins, 2000). According to GOK (2009), the PAS has caused a cultural transformation within the public service from a baseline of extremely poor performance before 2003. The GOK has in the past made some efforts in launching and implementing Public Service Reform initiatives aimed at improving the performance of public servants in service delivery (GOK, 1993; GOK, 2003). However, these reforms have not achieved the envisaged results (AAPAM, 2005; Opiyo, 2006). The introduction of the new PAS (GOK, 2006) is yet another attempt by the Government to manage and improve performance of the Civil Service and Local Authorities by enabling a higher level of staff participation and involvement in planning, delivery and evaluation of work performance. Despite the successful roll out of the program, there is evidence of room for improvement in the process (GOK, 2009) and a lack of knowledge on the factors that influence the PAS in the Ministry of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security, (MoSPA) Nyamira district, Kenya. Specifically, this study addresses this gap by: (a) Establishing how the implementation process of the PAS in the public sector influences the system; (b) Determining how rater and ratee interpersonal relationship in a PAS context influences the system in the public sector; (c) Determining how psychometric rater accuracy in a PAS context influences the system in the public sector; (d) Determining how the level of information exchange between the rater and the ratee in a PAS context influences the system in the public sector; and (e) Establishing how the attitudes of employees towards the last PAS rating, towards the rater and towards the PAS influence the system in the public sector.