Managing Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Managing Resources - Essay Example However strategy exists in all organizations even though it may not be written down and articulated. It defines the organization’s behavior and how it tries to cope with its environment.† In this regard, the essay is written to address three-fold objectives, to wit: (1) to present an analysis of the case, Doman Synthetic Fibres plc (B); (2) to summarize two articles from academic and scholarly journals on the topic, managing resources; and (3) to link the case with the two articles on relevant and critical perspectives. As averred by Johnson, Scholes and Whittington (2008, 13-2), â€Å"resourcing strategies are concerned with the two-way relationship between overall business strategies and strategies in separate resource areas such as people, information, finance, and technology†. The case would hereby highlight options for managing resources in terms of deciding whether what to do with the present product, Britlene, whose patent is about to expire and with a new product, Crylon, with potentials to replace it. Doman Synthetic Fiber (DSF) was founded by Wilfred Doman in 1946 as a chemical/synthetic fiber manufacturing company. Its main product, Britlene, was used primarily in the manufacture of heavy-duty clothing and accounts for 95% of total sales in 2006. The patent protection for Britlene was about to expire in 2008. As a foresight, the research and development department of DSF designed a new product in 2005, Crylon, with the same properties as Britlene but with more heat-resistant capabilities. The current Managing Director, Wendy Doman, is faced with the dilemma of deciding whether what to do with the present product, Britlene, whose patent is about to expire and with a new product, Crylon, with potentials to replace it. In a working party meeting in 2007, several personnel of DSF presented alternative courses of action which the company could consider with regard to the Crylon case, to wit:

Reducing Resistance to Change or Conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 7

Reducing Resistance to Change or Conflict - Essay Example More specifically, seeking to define diversity in such obvious terms is ultimately counterproductive and goes against the very fabric of what diversity is intended to mean. Within such a manner, the future application of this information for this particular student encourages me to attempt to understand diversity from a more nuanced perspective that has traditionally been accepted and/or appreciated. Likewise, an understanding and appreciation that can be evidenced by discussion number two are with regards to the fact that certain barriers continually exist with regards to the diversity that can be appreciated by any group. Whereas it is oftentimes discounted within society that these barriers exist, they nonetheless do and can completely derail the potential of an individual to be taken seriously or to integrate further within the group in question. Within such a level of understanding, it is incumbent upon the leader to seek to promote diversity throughout the culture of the respec tive group/entity in question. Although this may seem as something of an obvious choice, diversity is more often than not viewed as something of a personal decision. Although it is beneficial for the individual to integrate with an understanding of diversity and means by which it can affect their own lives, seeking to promote this level of diversity throughout the culture of the organization and/or entity in question is equally important to engaging the needs of those in question. Furthermore, with regards to the third discussion, it can be stated that cultural intelligence and diversity cannot exist independent of one another. What is meant by this is the fact that cultural intelligence is ultimately required for level of diversity to be exhibited. As a means of applying this in the workplace, or within one’s own life, it must be understood that prior to making any level of decisions one must first consider the unique culture and background of those in question and how such changes and/or discussions might impact upon them in a different manner. Ultimately, this is the core of what multiculturalism represents. Rather than merely being a â€Å"touchy-feely† means of understanding, this approach allows for a heightened sense of realization within the minds of the stakeholders and decision makers of a given group. With regards to applying discussion number four to my own personal and professional life, it must be understood that the leader of any group, or the educator of any class, must be continually aware of the fact that even if the information being presented to this group is uniform, each of the participants will come away with their own unique understanding. Within such a level of analysis, it is necessary to consider some of the possible takeaways that individuals might have from any level of instruction they are given. Seeking to analyze this differentiation and understanding prior to presentation is a highly effective means of seeking to reduce any potential future disconnects that might, to prominence as a result of misunderstood or improperly presented information. Finally, with respect to the article â€Å"Reducing Resistance to Change or Conflict†, it can be said that my future leadership style will necessarily take these factors into consideration.     

The Boston Tea Party Essay Example for Free

The Boston Tea Party Essay The Boston Tea Party was protested by American colonists. They stood up against Great Britain. In this paper i will closely examine the boston tea party. The hard-fought American Revolution against Britain (1775-1783) was the first modern war of liberation against a colonial power. The thirteen American colonies wanted to be free from rule by Great Britain. The war was resulted with the victory of this thirteen colonies, and Americans reached to the independance. American Revolution is a result of forcing American Colonies to pay more and more taxes by King of England, George III, and this will be the starting point of a new civilization. There were too many acts before the revolution get started. These are Sedicion Act, Alien Act, Quebec Act, Tea Act and Sugar Act. The most important act is Tea Act. The occurrence of the Boston Tea Party on 16 December 1773 was perhaps the most significant event in the period of disagreements between the British Government and American Colonists from 1763 to 1774. It effectively came about when Lord North decided to allow the East India Tea Company to sell tea in America through agents, rather than the traditional public auction system. For financial and political reasons, the Colonists opposed this new development and the crisis exploded at the port of Boston when 90,000 pounds of tea were thrown into the harbour. Whether justified or not, the Colonists felt the British Government were taking away their right to govern themselves. From that point until mid 1772, The Revolution was still unlikely, calmer heads had prevailed despite the undying efforts of Massachusetts native and cousin of John Adams, Samuel Adams. Sam Adams traveled throughout Massachusetts and the Colonies establishing what he called Committees of Correspondence and called for a formal separation from Britain. These Committees were designed to provide a superior communications system between the separate Colonies. Then, beginning in June 1772, a number of events took place which carried all Americans, whether they willed it or not, across the line from malcontent, to revolution, and eventual freedom. One evening in June, near the port of Providence, in Rhode Island the British schooner Gaspee grounded herself and was set upon by a group of Colonists who put ashore English crew and then burn her to the waterline. In the following months Virginia and a number of other colonies establish official Committees of Correspondence in order to keep other colonies appraised of English activities in their respective lands. In May the English passed the Tea Tax, granting a virtual monopoly to the East India Tea Company in order to bail it out of debt and thereby avoid a massive domestic economic tragedy. The tea is not only taxed higher than before, but now the East India Tea Company is able to price gouge without any threat of competition or governmental retribution. All over America, mass meetings are held in regard to what should be done about the tax. Following two meetings in Boston where Royal Governor Hutchinson orders the citizenry to pay the tea tax. On the night following the second meeting, Sam Adams an a number of his followers attacked the tea freighters in Boston harbor. Disguised as Native Americans, they overpowered the crews and threw their loads of tea into Boston harbor. This event was to become known as the Boston Tea Party. In Annapolis, Maryland a similar event occurred resulting in the burning of both ships and cargoes. (â€Å"Prelude to Revolution†The American Pageant) In response to the Boston Tea Party, an enraged parliament passed the Intolerable Acts of 1774. They were designed to punish the whole of Massachusetts, and especially Boston. Worst of all was the Boston Port Act which closed Boston harbor until the lost cargoes were paid for and order was fully restored to the city. Coinciding with the ratification of the Intolerable Acts was the passing of the Quebec Act. The Quebec Act was a skilled move by the English to appease the conquered French in Canada. It allowed them to retain their old customs, the Catholic Religion, and gain large tracts of land extending all the way south to the head of the Ohio River. In French Quebec, it was not expected that people would be able to elect legislative assemblies nor that a jury would be hired for civil cases, the British kept this aspect of the French-Canadian government and was seen by the Quebeckers as just and fair. To the Americans who valued their juries, suffrage, western lands, and often despised Catholicism, it was seen as yet another attack on them and their liberties. It seemed clear in the Colonies that the time for action had arrived. (â€Å"Prelude to Revolution† The American Pageant â€Å"The Revolutionary War†) On March 5, 1770, a mob of Bostonians harassed Red Coat guards outside a customs house and when the harassment became unbearable, a soldier opened fire and the others followed suit. This event, the Boston Massacre, inspired one of the most effective pieces of patriotic propaganda that were becoming popular in newspapers. Paul Revere created an engraving depicting that night showing how brutal the Red Coats were, although it was the colonists who instigated it. These propagandas were important because they influenced the common beliefs of what would define patriotic Americans. The Bostonians were against the new Tea Act, which put a heavy tax on tea. One night, a group called the Sons of Liberty led by such patriots as Samuel Adams, Paul Revere and John Adams, dressed up like Indians a dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. This famous night called the Boston Tea Party infuriated the British government who demanded that Massachusetts pay for the lost tea. When Massachusetts refused, Britain punished Boston with the Intolerable Acts. The ports of Boston were shut from any ships coming or going. The town meetings were forbidden. Boston was put under martial law and any soldier who misbehaved was to be sent to England to be tried because Britain thought they would not get fair trial in America. The Americans perceived this as the Englishmen getting away with their wrong doings because they were unlikely to be convicted in London. The Americans began to call George III a tyrant. The Sons of Liberty were the first to talk about separation and were the biggest threat to British sovereignty. They began to lose a respected connection with England and would rather govern themselves like Mather Byles who would prefer to be ruled by his own countrymen (black, j 1994). Within a month after Boston was shut down, Virginia contacted the other colonies to meet in Philadelphia. Five people were killed by British soldiers, and Britain’s harsh military tactics also angered the colonists, because even those who were not involved in revolutionary tactics were accused of rebelling against the British. The Boston Massacre exemplifies how British military measures backfired and allowed the colonists to gain a sense of unity in working towards a common goal of independence. Therefore, militarization was also a factor which led colonists to the outbreak of war with Britain, and help towards the dispute between the Britain and its American colonies. The boston tea party led to the so first Continental Congress. Fifty-six delegates assembled at Philadelphia and talked about the issue with Boston. The colonies gathered supplies to be sent and help relieve the citizens of Boston (Black, J 1994). This was a sign of unity and concern for their fellow colonies. During the Continental Congress, the delegates wrote another Declaration of Right and Grievances asking that all laws passed by Parliament after 1763 be repealed. George III wouldn’t even receive the document though. They also began to prepare their military by organizing their militias, gathering weapons and training men. They also established the Continental Association which would not trade with Britain. The American were uniting against there new common foe and becoming Americans (David, D 1990). In the events that led up to the revolution, a sense of unity was definitely acquired, but an American identity was not as prevalent. Although there was a strong opposition to the British government, it did not represent the entire population of the American colonies. Colonists felt the British were trying to take the power away from their colonial assemblies to govern them. They were also angry because they believed they should not be taxed simply to raise revenue for Britain. Therefore, in conclusion, I think that rhetoric of liberty and representation were the predominant issues in the dispute between Britain and American colonies, between 1763 to 1776. Who was to blaim for the boston tea party and the ensuing masacre is up for debate. However, other factors also had an important part, but all of the other factors which have been looked at above, always angered the American colonies because they felt these factors took away the colonists liberty, and felt that it wasn’t fair for Britain to have such control over them if the colonies had no representation. Works cited 1 Black,Jeremy. War For America. New York:St. Martin’s Press,1994 2 Davis,David Brion. Rvolutions. London:Harvard Universtiy Press,1990 3 The American Pageant. Prelude to Revolution 4 From Revolution to Reconstruction. Common Sense Index I. (odur. let. rug. nl/~usa/D/1776-1800/paine/CM/sense01. htm)

Corporate Entrepreneurship and Human Resource Management

Corporate Entrepreneurship and Human Resource Management Introduction Todays economy is experiencing its ups and downs very quickly: rising competitiveness and fast changing technologies create pressure to the companies that want to stay at the top of their markets. This is not going to slow down, so the need for tools of success is arising. At the same time we are moving away from the Morris and Kuratko (2002) belief that entrepreneurs are born, not made. That is why the wanting, believing, hoping, planning must be followed by doing. As already Confucius said: When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, dont adjust the goals, adjust the action steps. It is time for action and one form of it that suits different businesses nowadays is corporate entrepreneurship (CE). Stated by Sharma and Chrisman (1999), corporate entrepreneurship is the process whereby an individual or group of individuals, in association with an existing organization, create a new organization or instigate renewal or innovation within that organization. There are lots of definitions for CE nowadays, but all of them do not change the fact that CE is a tool for differentiation and competitive advantage in todays economy. Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) and Human Resource Management (HRM) A lot of researches, studies were conducted in order to discover the inevitable truth that CE positively affects the performance of a company: it creates competitive advantages, helps to differentiate, adapt to new or quickly changing markets, and deal with external and internal challenges. As CE is seen as a multifaceted tool, the intensity of CE in an organization can be described by five different dimensions identified in a meta-analysis by Saly (2001): innovativeness, risk propensity, proactiveness, corporate venturing and self-renewal. When creating an organizational structure, as well as inside culture, these dimensions should be a scale measuring the future success of a company. Dealing with the globalization and fast moving changes, a company must take risks, be proactive and strive for innovation. Nurturing these traits, adapting to the environment (self-renewal) and fostering creation of something valuable that generates returns are CE key success factors in the economy of today. Of course no CE can be fostered without Human Capital. In order to become an innovative, entrepreneurial organization need the knowledge, skills, experience the human capital can provide. This is why HC should be one of the most important and valuable asset for every organization. Investing in HC will be a first step towards building and encouraging the entrepreneurial direction of the overall company. As from the employee-organization relations (EOR) literature (Rhoades and Eisenberger, 2002), the strongest influencers of employee affect are the organizations leaders. Their HRM practices can valuably contribute to effective enhancement of CE. Different HRM techniques can create a suitable inside culture for an organization to become innovative, flexible and more entrepreneurial. Therefore EOR strengthened with HRM practice can become an efficient tool for creating a collective entrepreneurial atmosphere inside any organization. HRM practices fostering CE inside the company HRM practices should be an important driver of CE because it involves organizational learning driven by collaboration, creativity, and individual commitment (Kaya, 2006). To foster CE in a company the first task is the internal culture and environment. Following different studies conducted on the topic of CE and HRM practices, how to establish a suitable internal environment for intrapreneurship seems to be based on these organizational arrangements/managerial tools: Staff selection the objective of staff selection is to form an appropriate resource base of human capital to foster entrepreneurial activity. As the human capital of any company is one of the most important facilitators of CE, selective hiring can be a tool for influencing the CE level. The selection criteria should fit the organizations culture, be in line with the CE dimensions and reflect the needs of the company. During the process of selecting staff it is beneficial to think about the skills are needed in the industry the company operates, how the employees could work together and create a brain trust. Emphasizing the team spirit is very important, because the emphasis on collective entrepreneurship is growing. New members should have new ideas and complement the staff by being different and experts of their own sphere. New management staff should have relevant KSAOs, be creative, strive for action and be supportive. Finally, a possibility to grow in ones own career should also be seen during this process, because it will serve as a motivation tool and foster better environment in the company. Management support the positive attitude as well as encouragement of the higher hierarchy levels of the company for generating and developing new business ideas. Management support is important because it indicates the willingness of the managers to facilitate, promote and institutionalize the entrepreneurial spirit and activity within the organizations system and processes (Hornsby at al., 2002) which would encourage the intrapreneurs to engage in innovative projects. If the organization provides support and some autonomy it can then count on the commitment coming from employees. Still coordinating the use of resources, contributing to the fulfillment of the separate individual suggestions or efforts will end up with an increase of overall efficiency. Management support for problem solving and conflict resolution in the intrapreneurship process is required in the idea generation, development, and particularly implementation (execution) stages of the ideas (Damanpour, 1991). This will positively influence a corporations entrepreneurial behavior and enhance potential intrapreneurs perceived trustworthiness to their corporations in terms of detecting opportunities and willingness to develop novel or useful ideas and or projects and to take risks to actualize them (Stevenson and Jarillo, 1990). Internal supportive environment, tolerance for risk taking to their intrapreneurs, and a high quality HC will contribute to the innovative performance. As an example could be taken the companys 3M approach this company understood and experienced that capable and motivated employees can turn the company into a profitable innovative and successful organization. That is why the management was trying to create an environment that supports individual entrepreneurship: a climate that stimulates ordinary people to produce extraordinary performances. Allocation of free time provision of sufficient time to work on developing novelties without any burden of routine workload. Delivery of free time inevitably encourages employees to take risks for putting their novel ideas into practice. When given time for convincing the management level about your project success, employees are not so distracted from their main duties and usually show more commitment towards the company. Organizational structure should be convenient concerning decentralization level or decision-making autonomy. Employees should have the opportunity to express and suggest their ideas easily. The suitable decentralization level differs among every company, but it is a tool to become more flexible, innovative, and active suit the dimensions of CE. If organization provides autonomy for employees who actually carry out the work, this will stimulate their commitment to act in the best way for the company. Having a balanced relationship between autonomy and discipline creates an environment where employees can act, take weighted risks and innovate towards successful outcomes of the company. Companies that are becoming rigid really slow down all the innovative processes as well as cannot implement all of the possibleWindows User2010-12-28T20:09:00 Case example improvements. When thinking about new ventures, projects in order to boost the competitive advantage and profitability of the company it is important they fit the organization in terms of context and organizational structure. There is a possibility to foster integrated or separate CE. Taking the example of the company Polaroid, one can see that the impact of bureaucracy, biases and downsizing was a big obstacle for nurturing inside entrepreneurship. The company was big-sized and stagnant, becoming a market follower. In such cases, when an organization becomes rigid, does not answer market needs mostly because of the compilation, slow processes CE must be fostered and implemented. One of the first steps should be an entrepreneurial-oriented structure that allocates the power of decision making not to the higher level employers, but takes into account the employees who know the most about the projects being undertaken. In the case of Lucent (a telecommunication equipment manufacturer), their New Venture Group formed a separate organizational entity. In this way it does not suffer from the bureaucratic rules of the parent company, still can use the support needed, creates its own inside environment and culture that can foster CE more easily. That is why, when forming new entrepreneurial project each company has to evaluate its fit in the organization. Usually small projects are of better use inside the company: they can be accessible for all employees, motivate them to work on their projects too, but at the same time not to be too distracted from the mainstream of the company. An example of such an approach would be the case of the company Ohio Bell. Windows User2010-12-30T10:39:00 Patikrinti Incentives and rewards availability of a performance based reward system encouraging innovativeness is a way to foster entrepreneurship among employees. If the management tries to convince the employees to act like intrapreneurs, it must also be willing to pay them as entrepreneurs (Thornberry, 2003). Having trust in the rewarding system boosts the employee commitment, willingness to take risks and reveal the projects that could benefit both sides. A reward system that is based on achievements in innovation projects, may lead the brightest and most ambitious players to avoid innovation projects with uncertain outcomes. Building a reward system shows a positive attitude towards the employees and can significantly increase their motivation to benefit the organization. It is important to see the reward practices as a long-term thing, make resources available and not punish the employees straight after the first failure of an entrepreneurial project. Failure or errors tolerance in case of creative undertakings or risky project implementations. Such showed tolerance together with managerial support is a strong tool creating positive environment for CE. A conservative managerial attitude will block the willingness to innovate and cause lack of confidence of the employees. In order to overcome the possible frustration, organization should support the human capital even during failures and continue investing in the projects that have high potential. Taking failures as an inevitable step towards success will help to maintain the level of confidence for further innovations and profitable ideas. Of course, in order not to lose control and take healthy risks, companys should build an organizational mechanism to decide which innovation projects are likely to bear fruits and which should be cast aside without having trial-errors. Windows User2010-12-28T20:52:00 Case example For example, a well known company 3M implemented a more disciplined approach to defining, selecting and funding projects. Instead of running 100 of them as earlier, the process shifted to 12 projects from which 10 are expected to be successful. In this way companies are more oriented, quickly reacting and can create true competitive advantages through expedient CE. Training and development appropriate abilities can be acquired through training and development strongest results towards boosting CE. Training can overcome the factors that decrease employees job performance and satisfaction. Staff development seen as activities that increase employees qualifications and performance at all hierarchical levels through education, career management, and work structure. All these practices can promote entrepreneurial behavior and improve the environment in the company.Windows User2010-12-28T21:53:00 Case example Training programs should be oriented towards building useful CE skills, fostering the dimensions of it inside the company: change acceptance, willingness to take risks, assume responsibility, and the value of teamwork and shared achievements. Training activities that enforce interpersonal skills should be fostered. Also training that supports creativity will strengthen innovativeness and potentially strengthen self-renewal and new business development. Finally training on how to transfer new ideas into business will lead to higher intensity for risk propensity and proactiveness. For effective training, programs should fit the companys strategy and work process. To unfold their full effect on CE, expert knowledge, social competence, creativity, and methodical expertise are especially important to be considered. Specialist assignment specialists can anticipate and estimate specific problems earlier and thus identify needs for modifications more quickly. As CE is more often seen as a collective process, instead of putting the emphasis on one individual, firms must encourage cooperation among specialists to increase successful innovation processes. This is stressed because as environment impacts on organizational behaviors it is also seen in change of relationships between employees and employer or managers inside the organization. In order to become competitive and innovative, firms have to adopt new strategies, as well as different employee-organization relationship (EOR) patterns. The importance of this is significantly growing, because corporate entrepreneurship involves not only product innovation, risk taking or proactive responses to environmental forces, but also organizational learning, driven by collaboration and commitment. Here the collaboration of specialists could be seen as a link between employees, managers and their potential to foster corporate entrepreneurship together. As it can be observed in the Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG (SNI), a company that confronted financial and inside environment problems with a program called Change Agent Program, managerial support, concentrated staff selection and employee training and development are the tools that foster corporate entrepreneurship spirit and help to overcome the downturn a company can experience. The Change Agent program looked to replace Siemens Nixdorfs rigid corporate hierarchy with a more flexible and entrepreneurial attitude that would be more responsive to market demands. The company operated in a very competitive European market, was undermanaged and over consulted. As the employees at SNI experienced restructuring at the company during the early 1990s and four years of losses, the inside culture was far away from a company one could call innovative and lead thinking (as the ones operating in IT industry in US). The program though was focused on employees, emphasizing the importance of the people at the company and expanding the opportunities open to them. The goal of the 13 week program was to build an understanding of business fundamentals and business change along three dimensions: customer, competitiveness and culture. It combined presentations, discussions, workshops, case studies, best practice site visits, internships, and coach research. An important goal was to provide participants with new perspectives about their projects and give them the know-how to implement them upon return to the company. The programs aimed to have the sponsors (each member had two of them) provide leadership, guidance and support in order to help them achieve their project goals. This is also an example that specialists assistance is a tool fostering corporate entrepreneurship and improving the employees input. It was also aiming to help find innovative ways to approach and implement their projects. Each participant of the program had a project drawn from the area that concludes the most important challenges the company faces which were fostered by the program and implemented upon the employees return to SNI. Although the 21 Change Agents had varying degrees of success, it was clear that they played a role in driving SNI to profitability in the 1994 1995 fiscal year (for the first time in the companys history). That was reflected in the decision by the SNI Executive Board to perpetuate the Program on an annual basis. Such training and development programs foster collective and individual entrepreneurship inside the company. This example shows how important it is that such tools would fit the aim and strategy of the whole company. By addressing the right problems, training the right people (at SNI they were thoroughly selected) this training program helped the company to enhance the communication within the company, improve its international operations, flexibility and determine new possible directions. The employees felt the more entrepreneurial spirit of the companys culture and were able to channel their enthusiasm for changes and revitalization, feel more responsibility, and support what opened the ways for their projects. Conclusions Trends in the global economy require established companies to become more and more entrepreneurial in order to handle uncertainty and environmental dynamism. The studies provide positive relationships between HRM practices and CE. HR practices are a source of sustained competitive advantage for organizations. CE-related HR practices are unique to the extent that competitors cannot imitate them. There must be support from HR practices consistent with that particular culture and consistent with what is needed from employees. The key factor is determining what is needed from employees to be effective at CE. Once this is determined, the firm can describe the specific HR practices the organization needs to use. Conclusions: HRM practices play a significant role in fostering and maintaining high levels of CE. Companies should focus on the HRM practices of staff selection, staff development and training, and staff rewards that align employee motivation and entrepreneurial firm development. Support, tolerance, and reward are found to be related to innovativeness, while work discretion and time allocation are not. Considering the combined effects of all the OS factors, managerial support and tolerance for risk taking have still exerted significant effects on innovativeness. That is why firms should invest to build such an organizational milieu where first, support and tolerance exist to a large extent. On the other side, organizations firstly should spend less time and money on rewards and empowerment, and more on recruiting and training managers to be supportive and hold a philosophy that failure is a stepping-stone to success.

pitch perception :: essays research papers

page References Baharloo, S., Johnston, P. A., Service, S. K., Gitshcier, J., Freimer, N. B. (1998). Absolute pitch: An approach for identification of genetic and nongenetic components. American Journal of Human Genetics, 62, 224-231. Retrieved 11/16/2004. Deutsch, D. (1985). Dichotic listening to melodic patterns and its relationship to hemispheric specialization of function. Music Perception, 3, (2), 127-154. Gregersen, P.K. (1998). Instant recognition: The gentics of pitch perception. American Journal of Human Genetics, 62, 221-223. Retrieved 11/16/2004. Heaton, P., Hermelin, B., Pring, L. (1998). Autism and pitch processing: a precursor for savant musical ability? Music Perception, 15, (3), 291-305. Lenhoff, H., M., Perales, O., Hickok, G. (2001). Absolute pitch in Williams syndrome. Music perception, 18, (4), 491-503. Levitin, D., J., Bellugi, U. (1998). Musical abilities in individuals with Williams Syndrome, Music Perception, 15, (4), 357-389. Pechstedt, P., H., Kershner, J., Kinsbourne, M. (1989). Musical Training improves processing of tonality in the left hemisphere. Music Perception, 6, (3), 275-298. Simpson, J., Huron, D. (1994). Absolute pitch as a learned phenomenon: Evidence consistent with the Hick-Hyman law. Music Perception, 12, (2), 267-270. Sloboda, J. A. (1985). An exceptional music memory. Music Perception, 3, (2), 155- 170. Nature or Nurture: The origins of pitch Perception For most of us, quick and accurate perception of the visual world is essential for getting around in life; we take for granted our instant recognition of color, shape, distance, and the physical relationships between objects. Many aspects of the auditory world are also apprehended in an effortless manner: a nighttime whistle is easily identified as a distant train, without any deliberation. However, identifying the pitch of an isolated whistle is beyond the abilities of most people. This is also the case for most musicians, despite the fact that they spend every day working in the context of a standardized system of pitch relationships. Those rare individuals who can instantly recognize the pitch of a random piano tone or passing car horn, without the use of a reference pitch, possess a cognitive ability that is termed "absolute pitch." The range of useful musical pitches is 20-5,000 Hz, which is, roughly the range of a piano keyboard Pitch is a one-dimensional attribute defined by the number of vibrations, per second, emanating from a sound source, such as a plucked string The peripheral auditory organs are designed specifically for frequency analysis. The cochlear basilar membrane vibrates, at each point along its length, with an optimal resonant frequency. The fact that all humans are quick to appreciate the differences in timbre between instruments illustrates the extreme sensitivity of this organ to complex frequency spectra.

Great Expectations Essay -- Great Expectations Essays

The novel Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens is a compelling book which many people consider to be one of Charles Dickens’ greatest works. Great Expectations is a novel that has many elements that help the growth and development of Phillip Pirrip, better known as Pip. But none of these elements can be more evident than the kinds of love and their different roles in Pips life. In order to answer how love has influenced Pip’s life we must first define what love is. According to Miss Havisham love is, The different types of love and their roles in Pips life is represented differently by the different characters. The type of love Joe represents in Pips life is the type of love that one can feel between a father and son. Estella represents the lack of love because of the way she treats Pip and the other men in her life. She can also be considered an example of courtly love because of the way she motivated Pip to become a gentleman to win her heart. The type of love that Miss. Havisham represents is selfish love for only oneself. This can be seen by the way she raised Estella to grow up and break the hearts of men. The love that Magwitch represent is compassionate love that is shared between friends, because of the way that Pip treated Magwitch even though he was an escaped convict. Herbert Pocket is also another represents the love that friends have for one another, because he helped add stability Pips life. This is also seen when Pip helped Herbert Pocket reach business success through his donations to his business. Jaggers and Wemmick can also be considered fatherly figures because they helped mentor Pip, and they taught him how to be a gentleman. The love that Biddy represents is both an example of romantic love and the love tha... ... social mobility in England. Despite of all of the obstacles that got in Pips way he was still able to make something of himself other than a mere village blacksmith. The love between friends that was shown by Magwitch gave Pip all of the financial and social resources Pip required in order to allow him to pursue his dream of becoming a person of class. Estella impacts Pip through her lack of love because of the way she cruelly manipulates men into loving her only to later betray them. Miss Havisham’s love of herself enables her to seek revenge through her step-daughter Estella without regard to the suffering she caused to both Pip and Estella. Because of the love some of these characters show to Pip he is able to realize that wealth and your position on the social ladder does not make you a good person, and it can stop you from seeing the finer things in life. Great Expectations Essay -- Great Expectations Essays The novel Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens is a compelling book which many people consider to be one of Charles Dickens’ greatest works. Great Expectations is a novel that has many elements that help the growth and development of Phillip Pirrip, better known as Pip. But none of these elements can be more evident than the kinds of love and their different roles in Pips life. In order to answer how love has influenced Pip’s life we must first define what love is. According to Miss Havisham love is, The different types of love and their roles in Pips life is represented differently by the different characters. The type of love Joe represents in Pips life is the type of love that one can feel between a father and son. Estella represents the lack of love because of the way she treats Pip and the other men in her life. She can also be considered an example of courtly love because of the way she motivated Pip to become a gentleman to win her heart. The type of love that Miss. Havisham represents is selfish love for only oneself. This can be seen by the way she raised Estella to grow up and break the hearts of men. The love that Magwitch represent is compassionate love that is shared between friends, because of the way that Pip treated Magwitch even though he was an escaped convict. Herbert Pocket is also another represents the love that friends have for one another, because he helped add stability Pips life. This is also seen when Pip helped Herbert Pocket reach business success through his donations to his business. Jaggers and Wemmick can also be considered fatherly figures because they helped mentor Pip, and they taught him how to be a gentleman. The love that Biddy represents is both an example of romantic love and the love tha... ... social mobility in England. Despite of all of the obstacles that got in Pips way he was still able to make something of himself other than a mere village blacksmith. The love between friends that was shown by Magwitch gave Pip all of the financial and social resources Pip required in order to allow him to pursue his dream of becoming a person of class. Estella impacts Pip through her lack of love because of the way she cruelly manipulates men into loving her only to later betray them. Miss Havisham’s love of herself enables her to seek revenge through her step-daughter Estella without regard to the suffering she caused to both Pip and Estella. Because of the love some of these characters show to Pip he is able to realize that wealth and your position on the social ladder does not make you a good person, and it can stop you from seeing the finer things in life.

Athletes are Overpaid

Athletes are indeed overpaid. According to the â€Å"May 2007 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates†, chief executives, managers, legislators, public relations persons, farmers, ranchers, educators, real estate brokers, hospital managers, and other â€Å"management occupations† only earn approximately â€Å"$40.60 per hour† (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007, n.p.).The same is also true for agents of artists and athletes, logisticians, financial analysts, and other â€Å"business and financial operations occupations† who only receives about â€Å"26.87 per hour† (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007, n.p.).Similarly, software engineers, systems analyst, computer programmers, and other workers who belong to the category, â€Å"computer and mathematical science occupations† only get â€Å"$33.21 per hour† (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007, n.p.).Even landscape architects and civil engineers just get â€Å"$31.14 hourly † (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007, n.p.). In addition to that, food scientists, economists, psychologists are only paid â€Å"$26.59† (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007, n.p.). Substance abuse counselors and mental health counselors get even much lower since they are only paid â€Å"$17.87 hourly† (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007, n.p.).This means that people who have the aforementioned occupations earn only about $40,000 – $90,000 annually (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007, n.p.). Meanwhile, athletes earn millions; in fact, â€Å"an average NBA player†, for instance earns â€Å"$2.2 million† (CBS Interactive Inc., 1997, n.p.).Farmers for instance play a large role in feeding people, hospital managers contribute largely in saving lives, financial analysts help a lot in making the economy flourish, engineers and architectures build shelters which is one of man’s basic need as well, mental health counselors/psychologists he lp people keep their sanity, while logisticians ensure the security of the country and yet these employees are only receive about $40,000 – $90,000 annually (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007, n.p.).Considering that athletes are paid for punching someone, running, shooting/kicking a ball, etc or for entertainment’s sake only and taking into consideration that they are not even playing a role in saving people’s lives or their job does not even require too much intelligence or thinking (unlike other people for instance educators, doctors, etc) yet these athletes receive extremely high salaries, then this only means that indeed, â€Å"athletes are overpaid† (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007, n.p.).ReferencesCBS Interactive Inc. (1997). Blacks Top Salary List of NBA Players.Retrieved November 24, 2008 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n3_v93/ai_20097766U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2007). Wage by Area and Occupation. Retrieved Novem ber 24, 2008 from   http://www.bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm