Sunday, November 10, 2019

Second Foundation 22. The Answer that was True

An unlocated room on an unlocated world! And a man whose plan had worked. The First Speaker looked up at the Student, â€Å"Fifty men and women,† he said. â€Å"Fifty martyrs! They knew it meant death or permanent imprisonment and they could not even be oriented to prevent weakening – since orientation might have been detected. Yet they did not weaken. They brought the plan through, because they loved the greater Plan.† â€Å"Might they have been fewer?† asked the Student, doubtfully. The First Speaker slowly shook his head, â€Å"It was the lower limit. Less could not possibly have carried conviction. In fact, pure objectivism would have demanded seventy-five to leave margin for error. Never mind. Have you studied the course of action as worked out by the Speakers' Council fifteen years ago?† â€Å"Yes, Speaker.† â€Å"And compared it with actual developments?† â€Å"Yes, Speaker.† Then, after a pause- â€Å"I was quite amazed, Speaker.† â€Å"I know. There is always amazement. If you knew how many men labored for how many months – years, in fact – to bring about the polish of perfection, you would be less amazed. Now tell me what happened – in words. I want your translation of the mathematics.† â€Å"Yes, Speaker.† The young man marshaled his thoughts. â€Å"Essentially, it was necessary for the men of the First Foundation to be thoroughly convinced that they had located and destroyed the Second Foundation. In that way, there would be reversion to the intended original. To all intents, Terminus would once again know nothing about us; include us in none of their calculations. We are hidden once more, and safe – at the cost of fifty men.† â€Å"And the purpose of the Kalganian war?† â€Å"To show the Foundation that they could beat a physical enemy – to wipe out the damage done to their self-esteem and self-assuredness by the Mule.† â€Å"There you are insufficient in your analysis. Remember, the population of Terminus regarded us with distinct ambivalence. They hated and envied our supposed superiority; yet they relied on us implicitly for protection. If we had been ‘destroyed' before the Kalganian war, it would have meant panic throughout the Foundation. They would then never have had the courage to stand up against Stettin, when he then attacked; and he would have. Only in the full flush of victory could the ‘destruction' have taken place with minimum ill-effects. Even waiting a year, thereafter, might have meant a too-great cooling off spirit for success.† The Student nodded. â€Å"I see. Then the course of history will proceed without deviation in the direction indicated by the Plan.† â€Å"Unless,† pointed out the First Speaker, â€Å"further accidents, unforeseen and individual, occur.† â€Å"And for that,† said the Student, â€Å"we still exist. Except- Except- One facet of the present state of affairs worries me, Speaker. The First Foundation is left with the Mind Static device – a powerful weapon against us. That, at least, is not as it was before.† â€Å"A good point. But they have no one to use it against. It has become a sterile device; just as without the spur of our own menace against them, encephalographic analysis will become a sterile science. Other varieties of knowledge will once again bring more important and immediate returns. So this first generation of mental scientists among the First Foundation will also be the last – and, in a century, Mind Static will be a nearly forgotten item of the past.† â€Å"Well-† The Student was calculating mentally. â€Å"I suppose you're right.† But what I want you most to realize, young man, for the sake of your future in the Council is the consideration given to the tiny intermeshings that were forced into our plan of the last decade and a half simply because we dealt with individuals. There was the manner in which Anthor had to create suspicion against himself in such a way that it would mature at the right time, but that was relatively simple. â€Å"There was the manner in which the atmosphere was so manipulated that to no one on Terminus would it occur, prematurely, that Terminus itself might be the center they were seeking. That knowledge had to be supplied to the young girl, Arcadia, who would be heeded by no one but her own father. She had to be sent to Trantor, thereafter, to make certain that there would be no premature contact with her father. Those two were the two poles of a hyperatomic motor; each being inactive without the other. And the switch had to be thrown – contact had to be made – at just the right moment. I saw to that! â€Å"And the final battle had to be handled properly. The Foundation's fleet had to be soaked in self-confidence, while the fleet of Kalgan made ready to run. I saw to that, also!† Said the Student, â€Å"It seems to me, Speaker, that you†¦ I mean, all of us†¦ were counting on Dr. Darell not suspecting that Arcadia was our tool. According to my check on the calculations, there was something like a thirty percent probability that he would so suspect. What would have happened then?† â€Å"We had taken care of that. What have you been taught about Tamper Plateaus? What are they? Certainly not evidence of the introduction of an emotional bias. That can be done without any chance of possible detection by the most refined conceivable encephalographic analysis. A consequence of Leffert's Theorem, you know. It is the removal, the cutting-out, of previous emotional bias, that shows. It must show. â€Å"And, of course, Anthor made certain that Darell knew all about Tamper Plateaus. â€Å"However- When can an individual be placed under Control without showing it? Where there is no previous emotional bias to remove. In other words, when the individual is a new-born infant with a blank slate of a mind. Arcadia Darell was such an infant here on Trantor fifteen years ago, when the first line was drawn into the structure of the plan. She will never know that she has been Controlled, and will be all the better for it, since her Control involved the development of a precocious and intelligent personality.† The First Speaker laughed shortly, â€Å"In a sense, it is the irony of it all that is most amazing. For four hundred years, so many men have been blinded by Seldon's words ‘the other end of the Galaxy.' They have brought their own peculiar, physical-science thought to the problem, measuring off the other end with protractors and rulers, ending up eventually either at a point in the periphery one hundred eighty degrees around the rim of the Galaxy, or back at the original point. â€Å"Yet our very greatest danger lay in the fact that there was a possible solution based on physical modes of thought. The Galaxy, you know, is not simply a flat ovoid of any sort; nor is the periphery a closed curve. Actually, it is a double spiral, with at least eighty percent of the inhabited planets on the Main Arm. Terminus is the extreme outer end of the spiral arm, and we are at the other – since, what is the opposite end of a spiral? Why, the center. â€Å"But that is trifling. It is an accidental and irrelevant solution. The solution could have been reached immediately, if the questioners had but remembered that Hari Seldon was a social scientist not a physical scientist and adjusted their thought processes accordingly. What could ‘opposite ends' mean to a social scientist? Opposite ends on the map? Of course not. That's the mechanical interpretation only. â€Å"The First Foundation was at the periphery, where the original Empire was weakest, where its civilizing influence was least, where its wealth and culture were most nearly absent. And where is the social opposite end of the Galaxy? Why, at the place where the original Empire was strongest, where its civilizing influence was most, where its wealth and culture were most strongly present. â€Å"Here! At the center! At Trantor, capital of the Empire of Seldon's time. â€Å"And it is so inevitable. Hari Seldon left the Second Foundation behind him to maintain, improve, and extend his work That has been known, or guessed at, for fifty years. But where could that best be done? At Trantor, where Seldon's group had worked, and where the data of decades had been accumulated. And it was the purpose of the Second Foundation to protect the Plan against enemies. That, too, was known! And where was the source of greatest danger to Terminus and the Plan? â€Å"Here! Here at Trantor, where the Empire dying though it was, could, for three centuries, still destroy the Foundation, if it could only have decided to do so. â€Å"Then when Trantor fell and was sacked and utterly destroyed, a short century ago, we were naturally able to protect our headquarters, and, on all the planet, the Imperial Library and the grounds about it remained untouched. This was well-known to the Galaxy, but even that apparently overwhelming hint passed them by. â€Å"It was here at Trantor that Ebling Mis discovered us; and here that we saw to it that he did not survive the discovery. To do so, it was necessary to arrange to have a normal Foundation girl defeat the tremendous mutant powers of the Mule. Surely, such a phenomenon might have attracted suspicion to the planet on which it happened- It was here that we first studied the Mule and planned his ultimate defeat. It was here that Arcadia was born and the train of events begun that led to the great return to the Seldon Plan. â€Å"And all those flaws in our secrecy; those gaping holes; remained unnoticed because Seldon had spoken of ‘the other end' in his way, and they had interpreted it in their way.† The First Speaker had long since stopped speaking to the Student. It was an exposition to himself, really, as he stood before the window, looking up at the incredible blaze of the firmament, at the huge Galaxy that was now safe forever. â€Å"Hari Seldon called Trantor, ‘Star's End,'† he whispered, â€Å"and why not that bit of poetic imagery. All the universe was once guided from this rock; all the apron strings of the stars led here. ‘All roads lead to Trantor,' says the old proverb, ‘and that is where all stars end.' â€Å" Ten months earlier, the First Speaker had viewed those same crowding stars – nowhere as crowded as at the center of that huge cluster of matter Man calls the Galaxy – with misgivings; but now there was a somber satisfaction on the round and ruddy face of Preem Palver – First Speaker. [1] All quotations from the Encyclopedia Galactica here reproduced are taken from the 116th Edition published in 1020 F.E. by the Encyclopedia Galactica Publishing Co., Terminus, with permission of the publishers.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Calidad vs. Cualidad, Spanish Words Meaning Quality

Calidad vs. Cualidad, Spanish Words Meaning Quality Both calidad and cualidad are usually translated to English as quality  - but the two words arent used in the same way and arent interchangeable. A look at these two words show how the meanings of words can change over time  and how corresponding words, known as  cognates, in two languages can take different paths. Calidad, cualidad and quality all come from the Latin qualitas, used to refer to categories or kinds of things. (You can still see echoes of this meaning in the word cual.) Cualidad comes close to retaining that meaning and is used to refer to the inherent characteristics of something. In fact, it can almost always be translated as characteristic as well as quality. Here are some examples: El pelo corto tiene la cualidad de mantenerse en mejores condiciones por ms tiempo. Short hair has the quality of remaining in better condition for a longer time.Mi mejor cualidad como actor es la autenticidad. My best quality as an actor is authenticity.Antonio posee muchas cualidades deseables. Antonio has many desirable qualities.El magnetismo es una cualidad de algunos metales. Magnetism is a quality of some metals. Calidad, on the other hand, suggests excellence or superiority: Siempre queremos la mejor calidad para nuestros clientes. We always want the best quality for our customers.Tenemos que consumir nutrientes en cantidad suficiente y de buena calidad. We need to consume nutrients that are sufficient in quantity and of good quality.La mayorà ­a de las ciudades con mayor calidad de vida estn en Europa. Most of the cities with a better quality of life are in Europe.La baja calidad del servicio hace perder ms clientes que el precio. The low quality of services causes the loss of more customers than does price. Sometimes calidad, especially in the phrase en calidad de, can refer to someones position or status: El representante, actuando en calidad de presidente interino, firmà ³ tres documentos. The representative, acting in the capacity of interim president, signed three documents.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Confidence Interval for a Mean When We Know Sigma

Confidence Interval for a Mean When We Know Sigma In inferential statistics, one of the major goals is to estimate an  unknown  population  parameter. You start with a statistical sample, and from this, you can determine a range of values for the parameter. This range of values is called a confidence interval. Confidence Intervals Confidence intervals are all similar to one another in a few ways. First, many two-sided confidence intervals have the same form: Estimate  ± Margin of Error Second, the steps for calculating confidence intervals are very similar, regardless of the type of confidence interval you are trying to find. The specific type of confidence interval that will be examined below is a two-sided confidence interval for a population mean when you know the population standard deviation. Also, assume that you are working with a population that is normally distributed. Confidence Interval for a Mean With a Known Sigma Below is a process to find the desired confidence interval. Although all of the steps are important, the first one is particularly so: Check conditions: Begin by ensuring that the conditions for your confidence interval have been met. Assume that you know the value of the population standard deviation, denoted by the Greek letter sigma ÏÆ'. Also, assume a normal distribution.Calculate estimate: Estimate the population parameter- in this case, the population mean- by use of a statistic, which in this problem is the sample mean. This involves forming a simple random sample from the population. Sometimes, you can suppose that your sample is a simple random sample, even if it does not meet the strict definition.Critical value: Obtain the critical value z* that corresponds with your confidence level. These values are found by consulting a table of z-scores or by using the software. You can use a z-score table because you know the value of the population standard deviation, and you assume that the population is normally distributed. Common critical values are 1.645 for a 90-percent confidence level, 1.960 for a 95-percen t confidence level, and 2.576 for a 99-percent confidence level. Margin of error: Calculate the margin of error z* ÏÆ' /√n, where n is the size of the simple random sample that you formed.Conclude: Finish by putting together the estimate and margin of error. This can be expressed as either Estimate  ± Margin of Error or as Estimate - Margin of Error to Estimate Margin of Error. Be sure to clearly state the level of confidence that is attached to your confidence interval. Example To see how you can construct a confidence interval, work through an example. Suppose you know that the IQ scores of all incoming college freshman are normally distributed with standard deviation of 15. You have a simple random sample of 100 freshmen, and the mean IQ score for this sample is 120. Find a 90-percent confidence interval for the mean IQ score for the entire population of incoming college freshmen. Work through the steps that were outlined above: Check conditions: The conditions have been met since you have been told that the population standard deviation is 15 and that you are dealing with a normal distribution.Calculate estimate: You have been told that you have a simple random sample of size 100. The mean IQ for this sample is 120, so this is your estimate.Critical value: The critical value for confidence level of 90 percent is given by z* 1.645.Margin of error: Use the margin of error formula and obtain an error of  z* ÏÆ' /√n (1.645)(15) /√(100) 2.467.Conclude: Conclude by putting everything together. A 90-percent confidence interval for the population’s mean IQ score is 120  ± 2.467. Alternatively, you could state this confidence interval as 117.5325 to 122.4675. Practical Considerations Confidence intervals of the above type are not very realistic. It is very rare to know the population standard deviation but not know the population mean. There are ways that this unrealistic assumption can be removed. While you have assumed a normal distribution, this assumption does not need to hold. Nice samples, which exhibit no strong skewness or have any outliers, along with a large enough sample size, allow you to invoke the central limit theorem. As a result, you are justified in using a table of z-scores, even for populations that are not normally distributed.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

The role of e-business and the internet for Starbucks Essay

The role of e-business and the internet for Starbucks - Essay Example The paper tells that in the modern day and age, the use of the internet is ever increasing and more companies are getting involved in electronic business, often shortened to e-business. It now plays a major role in the economy at a global level. E-business consists of all the products and services that are offered in the online environment, including things such as online purchasing, customer service, communication of sales and new products. There are many advantages to e-business, not in the least because it can reach a different audience than traditional physical business. In addition, the two are not mutually exclusive; many businesses have a strong e-business component as well as a strong physical business component. One business that has incorporated e-business successfully into its business model is Starbucks. From starting as a single store, Starbucks is now a chain that spans the globe with more than 15,000 distinct stores worldwide. Part of their success is their ability to integrate new type of business into their model beyond the business of being a physical coffee shop. Starbucks offers franchising opportunities; sells coffee, tea, brewing items, food and a wide variety of drinks, with many of their products also being available in their online store. The term business-to-business (B2B) transactions refer to transactions between a manufacturer and a whole sale seller or a franchisee. As the product is sold in a bulk the cost per product is less for the buyer and the sales volume of Starbucks is improved as the selling quantity is large. Business-to-business transactions contribute to a major portion of transactions in any selling company as it is done in bulk. In the example of Starbucks, a B2B transaction would involve selling its products to a supermarket, which would then mark them up and sell them at a profit. In contrast, business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions are direct sales between one customer and the business . Generally an individual con sumer will buy a much lower quantity than a business; however, Starbucks is able to sell their products at a higher price to consumers than it can to businesses. Business benefits to having a website Having a website allows a business to establish an online presence. This is particularly important in modern times as the internet is becoming increasingly important and many more people are making the decisions based on information they find online. There are many competitive benefits that having a website and e-business in general can give a company . Advertising – The internet can be used to advertise new products on the home web page and also on other related web pages in order to reach out to a greater mass . To communicate – Communicating online via chat windows to possible customers can help in easier ordering for the customer and bring more business to the company . Communication helps to maintain customer loyalty . To inform – Any special offers and discoun ts offered can be announced on the web page. This will lead to an increase

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Medieval Dance Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Medieval Dance - Research Paper Example Among the most important aspect for which dance is involved include entertainment, celebrations and worship (MacGee, 26). Therefore, Medieval Dance is an important concept of art to study, since it helps in creating an understanding of the ancient history, citing the particular cultural events and functions that were deemed important by the medieval societies. The study of Medieval Dance also helps us to trace the history of the happy moments that man has had, with a special emphasis on how the concept of celebration has changed over time. Another thing that makes this topic interesting is the fact that, dance has influenced other genres of art such as music, because any dance has to be done alongside a musical play, either vocal or instrumental (Highwater, 2). Thus, dance influences how such musical elements are formulated, if they have to suit the context and purpose of any dance. Cultural Context Medieval Dance was not a popular form of art in the middle ages, with paintings and o ther forms of artwork such as illuminations taking center stage (Mullally, 62). Dance was not considered as an important concept of art which could grow and develop to depict any cultural or social relevance. Therefore, dance did not feature any form of special documentation, until in 1450 and the periods after (MacGee, 30). The first formal recording regarding dance started in Italy, before spreading to the rest of Europe, where this form of art eventually gained some cultural significance. Thus, substantial dance recording in literary context did not occur until the renaissance period. Substantive description of dance was first done by an Italian, Giovanni Boccaccio in the 14th century, who presented literary texts with men and women involved in some form of dancing, accompanied by another group of musicians (Highwater, 7). This marked the first description of substantive dance as a form of art. From then on, many other artists and writers were involved in recording dance in liter ary contexts, though varying the form of descriptions that they gave, since they were influenced by their cultural and social contexts. After the first recording of dance and its description, it was adopted as an element of art, and it spread to other parts of Europe. In England, the first form of popular dance, the Carol dance was described in the book, â€Å"In a life of Saint Dunstan,† where a description was given on how Saint Dunstan went into a church and found maidens singing a hymn, while moving in round circles as they danced to the tunes of the hymn (Mullally, 51). This set the stage for more recognition and consideration of dance as a form of art that has a cultural impact on the society. Analysis Medieval Dance occurred majorly in two categories; the court and the country dance. Among these forms of dance, the Carole dance is considered most popular of the earliest dances, which has formed the basis of the present day Christmas carols. This category of dance was d eveloped from the church hymnal presentations, which involved dancing while moving in circle, chains or processions (MacGee, 43). As opposed to other form of dances which can be categorized as either court or country, carol dance fits in the settings of both categories, making it the most popular dance that was

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Assignment 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 8

Assignment 3 - Essay Example Additionally, the company represents black at many functions and events, for example, BET Awards, Essence Music Festival, and Hoodie Awards. During the beginning of 2011, the company launched advertisements campaigns such as Inspired by color and urban market initiative. These campaigns were calling the people to express their taste and personal styles as exemplified by the features and colors of the new Fiesta launched in 2011. In the campaign, the company selected five black people who appear in the advertisement for the car. The other initiative known as ALL IN, which features videos having Black executives that had played key roles in the revival of the company. The other company is the America Airlines that is associated with the Africa American market. Besides Southwest Airlines, America Airlines has consistently supported Black people in the United States. American Airlines made an agreement with Steve Harvey Show to make advertisements on the radio and the Show official website. In addition, the airline through the social media launched a site known as blackatlas.com dedicated to promoting Black Traveler. The airline company launched a virtual museum. The museum explores all the African-Americans who have worked in the aviation industry from the historical past or the pre-civil rights to the current (Smith, 2006). Ford Motor Company by initiating and supporting the various events such as BET Awards, Essence Music Awards and Hoodie Awards the company succeeded in creating a consumer engagement model that enable them meet their target customers. It also creates awareness of the various products that the business manufactures. Moreover, users can make a clear differentiation of the different motors that Ford Company produced during that period. Additionally, ALL IN an ad successfully engaged their target customers by featuring some of their target clients in their promotions. All these structures have created an efficient

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Models of Change Tasks at Tata Motors

Models of Change Tasks at Tata Motors Tata Motors Limited is Indias largest automobile company, with consolidated revenues of US$20.5 billion in 2009-10. It is the leader in commercial vehicles in each segment, and among the top three in passenger vehicles with winning products in the compact, midsize car and utility vehicle segments. The company is the worlds fourth largest truck manufacturer, and the worlds second largest bus manufacturer. The companys 25,000 employees are guided by the vision to be Best in the manner in which we operate, best in the products we deliver, and best in our value system and ethics. Established in 1945, Tata Motors presence indeed cuts across the length and breadth of India. Over 5.9 million Tata vehicles ply on Indian roads, since the first rolled out in 1954. Following a strategic alliance with Fiat in 2005, it has set up an industrial joint venture with Fiat Group Automobiles to produce both Fiat and Tata cars and Fiat powertrains. The companys dealership, sales, services and spare parts network comprises over 3500 touch points; Tata Motors also distributes and markets Fiat branded cars in India. Tata Motors, the first company from Indias engineering sector to be listed in the NewYork Stock Exchange (September 2004), has also emerged as an international automobile company. Through subsidiaries and associate companies, Tata Motors has operations in the UK, South Korea, Thailand and Spain. Among them is Jaguar Land Rover, a business comprising the two iconic British brands that was acquired in 2008. In 2004, it acquired the Daewoo Commercial Vehicles Company, South Koreas second largest truck maker. Task 1: a) Kurt Lewins change management model The concept of change management is a familiar one in most businesses today. But, how businesses manage change (and how successful they are at it) varies enormously depending on the nature of the business, the change and the people involved. And a key part of this depends on how far people within it understand the change process. One of the cornerstone models for understanding organizational change was developed by Kurt Lewin, a physicist as well as social scientist, Back in the 1950s, and still holds true today. His model is known as Unfreeze Change Refreeze, refers to the three-stage process of change he describes. Unfreeze This first stage of change involves preparing the organization to accept that change is necessary, which involves break down the existing status quo before you can build up new way of operating. To prepare the organization successfully, you need to start at its core you need to challenge the beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviours that currently define it. Using the analogy of a building, you must examine and be prepared to change the existing foundations as they might not support add-on storeys; unless this is done, the whole building may risk collapse. This first part of the change process is usually the most difficult and stressful. When you start cutting down the way things are done, you put everyone and everything off balance. You may evoke strong reactions in people, and thats exactly what needs to done. By forcing the organization to re-examine its core, you effectively create a (controlled) crisis, which in turn can build a strong motivation to seek out a new equilibrium. Without this motivation, you wont get the buy-in and participation necessary to effect any meaningful change. Change After the uncertainty created in the unfreeze stage, the change stage is where people begin to resolve their uncertainty and look for new ways to do things. People start to believe and act in ways that support the new direction. The transition from unfreeze to change does not happen overnight: People take time to embrace the new direction and participate proactively in the change. A related change model, the Change Curve, focuses on the specific issue of personal transitions in a changing environment and is useful for understanding this specific aspect in more detail. In order to accept the change and contribute to making the change successful, people need to understand how the changes will benefit them. Not everyone will fall in line just because the change is necessary and will benefit the company. This is a common assumption and pitfall that should be avoided. Time and communication are the two keys to success for the changes to occur. People need time to understand the changes and they also need to feel highly connected to the organization throughout the transition period. When you are managing change, this can require a great deal of time and effort and hands-on management is usually the best approach. Unfortunately, some people will genuinely be harmed by change, particularly those who benefit strongly from the status quo. Others may take a long time to recognize the benefits that change brings. You need to foresee and manage these situations. Refreeze When the changes are taking shape and people have embraced the new ways of working, the organization is ready to refreeze. The outward signs of the refreeze are a stable organization chart, consistent job descriptions, and so on. The refreeze stage also needs to help people and the organization internalize or institutionalize the changes. This means making sure that the changes are used all the time; and that they are incorporated into everyday business. With a new sense of stability, employees feel confident and comfortable with the new ways of working. The rationale for creating a new sense of stability in our every changing world is often questioned. Even though change is a constant in many organizations, this refreezing stage is still important. Without it, employees get caught in a transition trap where they arent sure how things should be done, so nothing ever gets done to full capacity. In the absence of a new frozen state, it is very difficult to tackle the next change initiative effectively. How do you go about convincing people that something needs changing if you havent allowed the most recent changes to sink in? Change will be perceived as change for changes sake, and the motivation required to implement new changes simply wont be there. As part of the Refreezing process, make sure that you celebrate the success of the change this helps people to find closure, thanks them for enduring a painful time, and helps them believe that future change will be successful. McKinsey 7S framework The McKinsey 7S model involves seven interdependent factors which are categorized as either hard or soft elements: Hard Elements Soft Elements Strategy Structure Systems Shared Values Skills Style Staff Hard elements are easier to define or identify and management can directly influence them: These are strategy statements; organization charts and reporting lines; and formal processes and IT systems. Soft elements, on the other hand, can be more difficult to describe, and are less tangible and more influenced by culture. However, these soft elements are as important as the hard elements if the organization is going to be successful. The way the model is presented in Figure 1 below depicts the interdependency of the elements and indicates how a change in one affects all the others. http://www.mindtools.com/media/Diagrams/mckinsey.jpg Lets look at each of the elements specifically: Strategy: the plan devised to maintain and build competitive advantage over the competition. Structure: the way the organization is structured and who reports to whom. Systems: the daily activities and procedures that staff members engage in to get the job done. Shared Values: called superordinate goals when the model was first developed, these are the core values of the company that are evidenced in the corporate culture and the general work ethic. Style: the style of leadership adopted. Staff: the employees and their general capabilities. Skills: the actual skills and competencies of the employees working for the company. Placing Shared Values in the middle of the model emphasizes that these values are central to the development of all the other critical elements. The companys structure, strategy, systems, style, staff and skills all stem from why the organization was originally created, and what it stands for. The original vision of the company was formed from the values of the creators. As the values change, so do all the other elements. The model is based on the theory that, for an organization to perform well, these seven elements need to be aligned and mutually reinforcing. So, the model can be used to help identify what needs to be realigned to improve performance, or to maintain alignment (and performance) during other types of change. Whatever the type of change restructuring, new processes, organizational merger, new systems, change of leadership, and so on the model can be used to understand how the organizational elements are interrelated, and so ensure that the wider impact of changes made in one area is taken into consideration. You can use the 7S model to help analyze the current situation (Point A), a proposed future situation (Point B) and to identify gaps and inconsistencies between them. Its then a question of adjusting and tuning the elements of the 7S model to ensure that your organization works effectively and well once you reach the desired endpoint. John P Kotters eight steps to successful change American John P Kotter (b 1947) is a Harvard Business School professor and leading thinker and author on organizational change management. Kotters highly regarded books Leading Change (1995) and the follow-up The Heart Of Change (2002) describe a helpful model for understanding and managing change. Each stage acknowledges a key principle identified by Kotter relating to peoples response and approach to change, in which people see, feel and then change. Kotters eight step change model can be summarised as: Increase urgency inspire people to move, make objectives real and relevant. Build the guiding team get the right people in place with the right emotional commitment, and the right mix of skills and levels. Get the vision right get the team to establish a simple vision and strategy, focus on emotional and creative aspects necessary to drive service and efficiency. Communicate for buy-in Involve as many people as possible, communicate the essentials, simply, and to appeal and respond to peoples needs. De-clutter communications make technology work for you rather than against. Empower action Remove obstacles, enable constructive feedback and lots of support from leaders reward and recognise progress and achievements. Create short-term wins Set aims that are easy to achieve in bite-size chunks. Manageable numbers of initiatives. Finish current stages before starting new ones. Dont let up Foster and encourage determination and persistence ongoing change encourage ongoing progress reporting highlight achieved and future milestones. Make change stick Reinforce the value of successful change via recruitment, promotion, new change leaders. Weave change into culture. Task 1: b) Change should not be done for the sake of change its a strategy to accomplish someoverall goal. Usually organizational change is provoked by some major outside driving force, e.g., substantial cuts in funding, address major new markets/clients, need for dramatic increases in productivity/services, etc. Typically, organizations must undertake organization-wide change to evolve to a different level in their life cycle, e.g., going from a highly reactive, entrepreneurial organization to more stable and planned development. Transition to a new chief executive can provoke organization-wide change when his or her new and unique personality pervades the entire organization. Tata Motors was predominantly a manufacturer of commercial vehicles, and that is a very cyclical business. The commercial-vehicle market in India shrank by more than 40 percent, with massive consequences for both the top and, more particularly, the bottom lines of the company. The 110 million US$ loss was the first time something on this scale had happened in the companys history, and it really shook everybody within the organization. They tried to understand what had gone wrong and wanted to create a path for the future to ensure that they never got into such a situation again. So they decided on a recovery strategy that had three distinct phases, each of which was intended to last for around one and half years and 5 years in all. Phase one was intended to stem the bleeding. Costs had to be reduced in a big way, and that was going to be a huge challenge for a company that was not only the market leader but had been used to operating in a sellers market and employing a cost-plus approach to pricing. Phase two was to be about consolidating their position in India, and phase three was to involve going outside India and expanding operations internationally. Task 1: c) To be an effective leader of an organization requires you to do five things: Understand and interpret the environment in which he operate Develop winning strategies Execute them brilliantly; Measure the impact of your strategies followers. If you get results, people will support you, systematically, adjusting strategies as often without caring too much about how you got indicated. Develop organizational, departmental; the world wont retain the support of your followers team and personal capabilities. Team building is an application of various techniques of Sensitivity training to the actual work groups in various departments. These work groups consist of peers and a supervisor. Task 2: a) In recent times Tata Motors have faced a lot of challenge especially from the growing competition and globalization. To fight back these external evils, Tata Motors came out with plans of expansion to fight back competition via mergers and acquisitions and to fight back globalization it decided to cut costs and thereby introduced the worlds cheapest car. But all these activities had severe implications on its internal organizational change. Change was seen both on the management and at the employee level. At the management level change was seen for cutting costs and providing the cheapest car to the world market and at the employee level change was seen because of the much needed Tata Motors to merge with Daewoo, which caused a lot of change in its employees. Task 2: b) Enterprise-wide change is undertaken as a matter of survival. It is not an option and it is not a whim. Change carries high costs in terms of human and physical resources, share prices, stakeholder insecurity, customer dissatisfaction, receivables and cash flow. The reality is often a painful period of change, during which resistance is high, morale is low, productivity is falling, and confusion is rampant. (Calvello Seamon, 1995) No organization undertakes this lightly. So, the question is, if the cause is just, the need is clear, the alternatives evaluated, and the path to success communicated so that anyone in the organization can see that the change is not optional but essential, why does the change fail? The answer, Just being right isnt enough: you have to win the hearts and minds of the people who will make the change happen. (Marsh, 2001) There is no disembodied organization that can be changed. Only the people within an organization can make planned change a reality by changing their behaviours and the ways they relate to one another. Implementing change in an organization forces people to alter how they relate to one another. Not only do their goals, processes, equipment, and reality change but the very way they deal with others in the organization changes. This causes anxiety and anxiety causes resistance. only people who instigate change enjoy it; other have to suffer it. (Marsh, 2001) Faced with forced change many employees feel threatened believing that they will lose power, prestige, competence, and security. They feel that what is happening is beyond their control, outside their sphere of influence, and they fear it. Depending on how the particular organization has managed past change, the fears may be well grounded in experience. Task 3: a) The changes that have happen within organizations around the world over the last five years, have revolutionized how organizations will continue to operate for the next five years.    Businesses have realized that people are more important, whether that be the customer or the employees.    Employees must be happy, self assured, educated, trained, motivated, and leaders in order to be able to create the type of business that produces quality product.    The customer must be happy, and if the employees are not happy, they have a hard time making the customers happy.    Task 3: b) Stakeholder Analysis is the process that: Is intended for group stakeholders and Understands what stakeholders expect from the project and what they need in relation to potential risks Identifies actions to minimize project risks and maximize benefits by working with the stakeholders. This covers organisational stakeholder analysis but you might ask What do I do about directly involving people? There are two basic approaches to this which can be summed up as Representation v Delegation. Both have advantages and drawbacks. Representation: Attempts to take in the full range of views, interest groups and organisational units as part of the full decision making process. Characterised by democratic, committee-type decision-making. Advantages Disadvantages Covers full range of views An obvious route to gain widespread acceptance of decisions Involves people who may have limited knowledge of the subject area Slows decision-making Can result in compromises which dont really represent best fit in any particular area Delegation: Delegates responsibility to those identified as being best suited to the job. Advantages Disadvantages Work carried out by those with appropriate skills and knowledge Permits project to move forward more rapidly Acceptance relies on trust in those delegated may be an alien approach in the education culture Needs care to ensure that all relevant issues are properly understood and covered Task 3: c) A change management strategy identify, prioritise, engage and assess stakeholders. Explicit areas of spotlight include: Ensure that all key stakeholders have an adequate understanding of the objectives, timeline and process. Ensure that stakeholders who will be significantly impacted by the initiative or the change resulting from it have a clear understanding of how and when they will be affected. Influence stakeholder attitudes to become more positive (or at least less negative) towards the initiative and/or the change that it will bring about. Establish an effective feedback loop between the stakeholder group and the project team. Task 3: d) The three greatest barriers to organizational change are most often the following. Inadequate Culture-shift Planning. Most companies are good at planning changes in reporting structure, work area placement, job responsibilities, and administrative structure. Organizational charts are commonly revised again and again. Timelines are established, benchmarks are set, transition teams are appointed, etc. Failure to foresee and plan for resultant cultural change, however, is also common. When the planning team is too narrowly defined or too focused on objective analysis and critical thinking, it becomes too easy to lose sight of the fact that the planned change will affect people. Even at work, people make many decisions on the basis of feelings and intuition. When the feelings of employees are overlooked, the result is often deep resentment because some unrecognized taboo or tradition has not been duly respected. Lack of Employee Involvement. People have an inherent fear of change. In most strategic organizational change, at least some employees will be asked to assume different responsibilities or focus on different aspects of their knowledge or skill. The greater the change a person is asked to make, the more pervasive that persons fear will be. There will be fear of change. More important, however, there will be fear of failure in the new role. Involving employees as soon as possible in the change effort, letting them create as much of the change as is possible and practical is key to a successful change effort. As employees understand the reasons for the change and have an opportunity to try the change on for size they more readily accept and support the change. Flawed Communication Strategies. Ideal communication strategies in situations of significant organizational change must attend to the message, the method of delivery, the timing, and the importance of information shared with various parts of the organization. Many leaders believe that if they tell people what they (the leaders) feel they need to know about the change, then everyone will be on board and ready to move forward. In reality, people need to understand why the change is being made, but more importantly, how the change is likely to affect them. A big picture announcement from the CEO does little to help people understand and accept change. People want to hear about change from their direct supervisor. A strategy of engaging direct supervision and allowing them to manage the communication process is the key to a successful change communication plan. Task 4: a) RELEVANCE OF THE MODELS OF CHANGE Kurt Lewin theorized that there are three stages to change: Unfreezing: Old ideals and processes must be tossed aside so that new ones may be learned. often, getting rid of the old processes is just as difficult as learning new ones due to the power of habits. Just as a teacher erases the old lessons off the chalkboard before beginning a new lesson, so must a leader help to clear out the old practices before beginning the new. During this part of the process you need to provide just a little bit of coaching as they are unlearning not learning and a lot of cheerleading (emotional support) to break the old habits. Changing: The steps to the new ideals are learned by practicing: W h a t I h e a r , I f o r g e t . W h a t I s e e , I r e m e m b e r . W h a t I d o , I u n d e r s t a n d . Although there will be confusion, overload and despair, there will also be hope, discovery, and excitement. This period requires a lot of coaching as they are learning and just a little bit of cheerleading due to the affect of Arousal Overloading. Refreezing: The new processes are now intellectually and emotionally accepted. What has been learned is now actually being practiced on the job. Just a little bit of coaching is required and a lot of cheerleading is used to set up the next change process. . . remember it is c o n t i n u o u s process improvement! Task 4: b) 1. Formulation of a clear strategic vision: In order to make a cultural change effective a clear vision of the firms new strategy, shared values and behaviours is needed. This vision provides the intention and direction for the culture change. 2. Display Top-management commitment: It is very important to keep in mind that culture change must be managed from the top of the organization, as willingness to change of the senior management is an important indicator (Cummings Worley, 2005, page 490). The top of the organization should be very much in favour of the change in order to actually implement the change in the rest of the organization. De Caluwà © Vermaak (2004, p 9) provide a framework with five different ways of thinking about change. 3. Model culture change at the highest level: In order to show that the management team is in favour of the change, the change has to be notable at first at this level. The behaviour of the management needs to symbolize the kinds of values and behaviours that should be realized in the rest of the company. It is important that the management shows the strengths of the current culture as well, it must be made clear that the current organizational does not need radical changes, but just a few adjustments. 4. Modify the organization to support organizational change: The fourth step is to modify the organization to support organizational change. 5. Select and socialize newcomers and terminate deviants: A way to implement a culture is to connect it to organizational membership, people can be selected and terminate in terms of their fit with the new culture. 6. Develop ethical and legal sensitivity: Changes in culture can lead to tensions between organizational and individual interests, which can result in ethical and legal problems for practitioners. This is particularly relevant for changes in employee integrity, control, equitable treatment and job security. Change of culture in the organizations is very important and inevitable. Culture innovations is bound to be because it entails introducing something new and substantially different from what prevails in existing cultures. Cultural innovation is bound to be more difficult than cultural maintenance. People often resist changes hence it is the duty of the management to convince people that likely gain will outweigh the losses. Besides institutionalization, deification is another process that tends to occur in strongly developed organizational cultures. The organization itself may come to be regarded as precious in itself, as a source of pride, and in some sense unique. Organizational members begin to feel a strong bond with it that transcends material returns given by the organization, and they begin to identify with in. The organization turns into a sort of clan. Marsh, Christine. (2001, March). Degrees of Change Resistance or Resilience. Performance Improvement, v40 n3 pp 29-33.