Organizational Culture

Compare and contrast of organizational climate with organizational culture In comparing and contrasting organizational climate with organization culture, I have learned from studying the Army Field Manual on Army Leadership and from other readings that organizational climate is shaped by organizational culture.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Organizational Culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The organizational command climate of a unit is reflected in the behavior of the members. Even if organizational culture is invisible to the naked eye, its power to shape an organization is visibly manifested in the behavior of the unit. The behavior of the unit is influenced by how the members interpret the culture that exists within a particular organization. The unit’s behavior is therefore rooted in the group’s shared beliefs and values. When confronted with a situation, a particular member need n ot consult the manuals, he/she simply reacts based on the type of organizational culture instilled within him. At the same time, his behavior is conformed to the behavior of the group. In the Army, there are two things that stand out when it comes to organizational culture and these are leadership and team work. When a group of individuals are immersed in this particular culture, it will not take long before they experience the transforming power of shared beliefs. When this organizational culture is a part of the unit’s daily life, then, it is the framework used to accomplish the task at hand. Contrast After reading FM-622, I realized that there is a big difference between organizational climate and organizational culture (Field Manual 6-22, 8-4). An organizational culture requires a great length of time to form. On the other hand, an organizational climate requires very little time to manifest because it is an automatic reaction based on how an individual, leader, and group reacts to a particular situation or task at hand. It is, therefore, important to inculcate the positive influence of organizational culture as quickly as possible. Organizational culture provides a clear directive and at the same time compels members of the group to behave in an acceptable manner. Compare and Contrast situational awareness with situational understanding The common denominator between situational awareness and situational understanding is information. Both are based on effective use of information and knowledge management. Information and knowledge management is the byproduct of surveillance and other forms of data acquisition that enable leaders to make informed and timely decisions regardless of the challenges imposed by different circumstances.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More An effective use of knowledge and information management enables commanders to have a clear vision of the tactical requirements involved in a mission. At the same time it provides clear directives to subordinates. The absence of situational awareness and situational understanding forces the leader to make hasty decisions that can endanger the lives of his subordinates. It is, therefore, important for commanders to have access to quality information. At the same time, they must have the capability to sort, store, and analyze information collated through different types of data gathering schemes. They must have the ability to access needed information at a moment’s notice in order to make quick decisions. More importantly, commanders must have the ability to analyze the information that they possess in order to utilize it more efficiently in order to enhance the unit’s decision-making process. The absence of situational awareness and situational understanding can easily lead to defeat. Contrast At first glance, situational awareness and situati onal understanding are synonymous. But upon closer examination, it can be argued that situational awareness is a leader’s less refined interpretation of information at hand. It implies an immediate reaction to raw data made available through different types of surveillance strategies. Situational understanding on the other hand is a more sophisticated application of the information and knowledge management system. Situational understanding is a careful analysis of the different variable involved leading to a more accurate and informed decision. Situational awareness requires little effort and little experience. But situational understanding not only requires a more disciplined analysis of the information available to commanders, it also requires experience so that the commander can fully appreciate the information made available to him. Compare and Contrast Operational art and Operational design Operational art is linked to operational design because commanders are unable to develop a clear vision of the battlefield and how to execute their strategies if they do not understand the importance of operational design. A commander must learn to develop operational design first using principles gleaned from the study of full spectrum operations (Field Manual 3-0, 7-19). These are the byproducts of the careful utilization of end state, center of gravity, and lines of effort and other principles of operational design. It is the first requirement before engaging in a mission. The commander must be able to develop an operational design that considers every known variable. Operational design is an important first step but without operational art a commander will be unable to have a holistic understanding of the operational environment. Operational art enables the commander not only to have a clear overview of the operations but also the ability to dynamically manipulate the different elements of the operational design and translate it into tactics and strategies f or his subordinates to follow and execute.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Organizational Culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Operational art is synonymous to effective leadership because it is the effective use of resources to move equipment and personnel in order to accomplish a particular goal. Operational art goes hand-in-hand with operational design because these two systems enable the commander to have a deeper understanding of the environment and the problem surrounding a particular task. Contrast Operational design and operational art compliment each other but these are two different concepts when it comes to accomplishing a particular goal. Operational design focuses more on operations and tactics. It is a more detailed understanding of the different elements involved in a particular mission. Operational art on the other hand considers other factors that cannot be analyzed quantitatively. Oper ational art is much broader vision of the task at hand. It enables commanders to see the big picture and connects the different factors involved. Operational art enables commanders to understand the importance of fighting a war and the need to deter war. Operational art enables commanders to understand the importance of resolving conflict and promoting peace. Operational design on the other hand is limited to accomplishing the task at hand. Operational art is the ability to consider the long-term effect of a particular action. It is important to have this capability in order for the commander to develop an accurate time-table when to engage and when to end a particular conflict. It is an important framework for decision-making processes because it understands the other elements involve in a particular mission or conflict. Works Cited Field Manual 3-0. Operations. Washington, D.C.: Army Headquarters, 2001. Print. Field Manual 6-22. Army Leadership. Washington, D.C.: Army Headquarters , 2006. Print. This case study on Organizational Culture was written and submitted by user Lauren D. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here. Organizational Culture

Free Essays on All Quiet On The Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front By: Erich Maria Remarque This tale of war takes place in a time where death and violence were part of people’s everyday lives. The battles fought during WWI were both brutal and grueling; the fighting lasted for a total of four years. During this time of war many young men were forced to defend their countries and in most cases this resulted in giving up your life in honor of your country. For most of these young it would be the first and last time that they would see combat and were a little naive before entering the war. They had hopes of honoring their countries and defeating the enemy, but during this war many of them came to realize that the battles they were engaging in would turn out to be pointless as neither side was gaining anything from the war. Millions and millions of casualties resulted from this war with no real outcomes except for the fact that many countries population sizes largely decreased. For Paul Baumer the story began when he was convinced to join the army by his schoolmaster when he was just a teenager. A this time I do not thin that Paul knew what he was getting himself into and would learn this listen very quickly once he joined the war. Paul went under strict training and during this time he was able to make new friendships that would come to be all he would have. When Paul was ready he took to the front lines where he would battle in trench warfare. This was a brutal type of warfare that consisted of long intertwining trenches more than six feet into the ground at some spots and was very cold, dirty, disease filled, and bloody. This first look at how the war was really being fought must have scared all of the young men and opened their eyes as to the way war really was, and that war was not as glorious as it would have been made out to be before they got to the front lines. Luckily Paul received guidance from a veteran of war named Stanislaus Katczinsky w... Free Essays on All Quiet On The Western Front Free Essays on All Quiet On The Western Front All Quiet on the Western Front By: Erich Maria Remarque This tale of war takes place in a time where death and violence were part of people’s everyday lives. The battles fought during WWI were both brutal and grueling; the fighting lasted for a total of four years. During this time of war many young men were forced to defend their countries and in most cases this resulted in giving up your life in honor of your country. For most of these young it would be the first and last time that they would see combat and were a little naive before entering the war. They had hopes of honoring their countries and defeating the enemy, but during this war many of them came to realize that the battles they were engaging in would turn out to be pointless as neither side was gaining anything from the war. Millions and millions of casualties resulted from this war with no real outcomes except for the fact that many countries population sizes largely decreased. For Paul Baumer the story began when he was convinced to join the army by his schoolmaster when he was just a teenager. A this time I do not thin that Paul knew what he was getting himself into and would learn this listen very quickly once he joined the war. Paul went under strict training and during this time he was able to make new friendships that would come to be all he would have. When Paul was ready he took to the front lines where he would battle in trench warfare. This was a brutal type of warfare that consisted of long intertwining trenches more than six feet into the ground at some spots and was very cold, dirty, disease filled, and bloody. This first look at how the war was really being fought must have scared all of the young men and opened their eyes as to the way war really was, and that war was not as glorious as it would have been made out to be before they got to the front lines. Luckily Paul received guidance from a veteran of war named Stanislaus Katczinsky w...

Marbury v. Madison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marbury v. Madison - Essay Example The facts that surrounded Marbury’s case were very complex. To begin with, following the election of 1800; the emergent Democratic-Republican Party led by Thomas Jefferson won the election against the John Adam’s Federalist Party. This defeat by Thomas Jefferson created an atmosphere of partisan anxiety for the lame duck Federalists2. As Adams became close to completing his term in office, he appointed several justice of peace for the District of Columbia who were approved by the Senate and received the president’s approval. The President’s signature was affixed with the government’s official seal. The commissions were not delivered; nonetheless, upon President Jefferson’s assumption of office by March 5, 1801, he ordered his Secretary of State by the name of James Madison, not to deliver the commissions. One of the appointees called William Marbury, and then filed a petition to the Supreme Court for a legal order or a writ of mandamus that aimed at compelling Madison to show the reasons behind him not being eligible to receive his commission. Chief Justice Marshall was called upon to solve the case, and was to respond to three questions. One of the questions was to determine whether Marbury has a right to writ for which he petitioned. The second one was whether the U.S. laws permitted the court to grant Marbury such a legal order. The third question was, if they did, could such a writ be supplied by the Supreme Court3? Responding to the first question, Marshal made a ruling that stated that Marbury had been legitimately appointed in accordance to the law, and thus, had a right to the writ. He further stated that since Marbury had a legal right to his commission and the law was to award him a remedy. The Chief Justice went ahead and indicated that it was the particular obligation of the courts to protect

PSY 420 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

PSY 420 - Essay Example I have been drinking alcohol since the past five years and it seems that I am not leaving this habit in the distant future. It started off with family problems and seeing my father drinking it influenced me to start with the habit of drinking. Emotional distress and parental influence was the main reason to start off with the habit. In order to handle the increasing misery which was caused due to many problems (financial and family) I resorted to the drinking of alcohol. At first it provided me a sense of relief but a point came when the distress began to mount all over again. People start the habit of drinking due to many reasons which mainly include emotional distress. According to some theories drinking of alcohol provides relief to increasing stress. (Cooper et al., 1988) A time comes when a person feels like evading himself from the reality and that is the time when he gets the urge to drink.(Wills and Hirky, 1996) Drinking of alcohol is commonly found amongst the young generation. This is because young people start the drinking process thinking that it would lead to the betterment of their frame of mind. (Frone and Windle, 1997) Recent research has proved that if alcohol does not satisfy one’s emotional needs then it can lead to the usage of more alcohol. (Wunschel et al., 1993) To further prove this a ten year model research was conducted to find out about the relationship between alcohol consumption and the coping up with emotional distress. The ten year model showed that if drinking helped in coping with the emotional distress the consumpt ion of alcohol increased but if it did not the consumption decreased. (Holahan, Moos, Holahan, Cronkite , & Randall 2001) The relationship between a child and parent is an important one and the parent is a great source of influence for the child. Through the observation of ancestral and parental habits children pick up the influential practices. Observing

Discuss and Examine the Free movement of Lawyers to provide services Assignment

Discuss and Examine the Free movement of Lawyers to provide services and establish a practice in another Member State of the Eur - Assignment Example Heremans (2010) indicated that by ratifying several laws the EU’s actions are geared towards integrating the national systems for legal practice within its jurisdiction. This paper is aimed at assessing the structures guiding the legal practice within the larger European Union. The main challenges facing the regulations and the implications of legal practice within the territory are also covered in this paper. In understanding these issues, the paper analyses the Treaty upon which the European Union is anchored, EU Directives on legal practices within the region, and authorities issued by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). This paper focuses on movement of legal professionals within the European Union to provide services. History of EU Regulations Hill (1995) noted that the establishment of the statutory structures for legal practice within the EU is a process that has lasted for many decades. The issue first arose in 1957 when various countries within the region signed the EU Treaty (Hill, 1995). The then Article 59 provided for the freedom to legal practice within the territory. ... Article 50 also states that without partiality to the letter and spirit of Article 43, which confers upon EU citizens the right of establishment, a legal specialist may briefly render services in another country where the client is based, under the national legal structures of the place of service. Article 43 covers actual carrying out of economic activity in different EU Member States everlastingly by integrating into the economic system of that state (Tucker, 1997). Regardless of its unifying foundation, Giesen (2005) has noted that the EU Treaty is only the universal legal structure guiding the free movement of people and services across states within the EU and falls short of providing the finer details of service provision. In light of the EU legal limits, the invocation of the freedom of establishment is dependent upon secondary laws, which are passed to complement EU regulation of service provision in particular fields (Hill, 1995). ECJ Authorities At first, the issue of wheth er a legal practice needed to be excluded from the universal liberal clauses supporting freedom to offer services and the establishment of one’s self was contentious (Hill, 1995). Notably, the EC Treaty provides for exceptions only where freedom to render services and establish oneself may have an impact on execution of national government policy (Giesen, 2005). But Guild (1999) noted that the activities of legal professionals have no bearing on the implementation of government policy. In light these ambiguities the ECJ has delivered landmark rulings in favour of economic integration. Previous verdicts of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) have been imperative in setting aside the legal hindrances imposed by member states on individuals who are willing to enjoy their right to

Effective Leadership Strategies in the NHS

Effective Leadership Strategies in the NHS The emphasis on leadership in the National Health Service (NHS) Plan has been one of the most important priorities for nurses and their health professional colleagues. Leadership throughout organisation and across the whole health economy is viewed fundamental for implementing and sustaining change (Department of Health (DH 2002).The NHS Plan clearly articulates the need to modernise the healthcare service with the intention to improve publics health (DH 2000). The goal of public health is to fulfil societys interest in assuring conditions in which population can be healthy through organised efforts and informed choice. To achieve this, the NHS requires dynamic intelligent leaders at all levels of the organisation. The following paragraphs attempts to critically discuss how effective leadership strategies can contribute to the delivery of high quality health within contemporary public health through health protection in combating infectious diseases. Additionally, the paper presents a definition of public health, health protection, and leadership. Some leadership contemporary theories are examined before considering which theory is relevant to health protection and provides a rationale for choice. Key leadership competencies such as vision, communication and creating the environment will be outlined and discussed. The term Public health is defined as the science and art of preventing diseases, prolong life and promoting good health and well being through organised efforts and effective leadership skills (Rowitz 2009). The concept is concerned with the health of the population rather than individuals. It has been stated, that public health is not just dealing with illness, and looks at the impact on health of social, economic, political and environmental factors but also acknowledges human behaviour. Public health correlates with health protection. Both concepts play an integral role in protecting health of general public through effective leadership strategy such as prevention and emergency planning. As a consequent, reducing potential threats to health which includes infectious diseases both communicable or non communicable diseases, and environmental hazards such as chemical or radiation exposures. Furthermore, protecting the health of the public has emerged as a distinct area of practice as well as top priority on the government agenda (Reference). WHAT IS LEADERSHIP Leadership is imperative for the NHS to sustain success in Public health. Leadership is a very complex multidimensional concept and has been defined in various ways. The concept leadership and what makes an effective leader has evoked strong debates in the late 1970s and 1980s (Tamkin et al 2010). In addition, it was at this time that theorists started to defined leadership. From the wealth of available literature there appeared to be several common features central to the phenomenon of leadership. Leadership is a process (Bass 1990), involves influence, occurs within group context, involves goal attainment and leadership exist at all level (Northouse 2001). In other words leadership is seen as unifying people around values, constructing the social world for others around those values and helping people to mobilise change (Stanley 2009). Management and leadership Cook (2004) has found that leadership and management are two concepts that are used interchangeably. However, these words describe two different concepts (Day 2001). Leadership is a process which is similar to management. Both functions involve working with people. While management have to do with providing order and consistency in organisations; leadership produces change. On the other hand, Cannella and Monroe (1997) argued the difference distinction between leaders and manager are narrowing. Emotional intelligence In order to demonstrate and maintain effective leadership characteristics an individual has to utilise emotional intelligence. Furthermore research on emotion intelligence has confirmed that this concept is what differentiate the good from outstanding leader Goleman (2000) thinks that leaders who developed emotional intelligence becomes aware of the emotions of others and are more likely to promote a healthy working environment. Gould (2000), further argued that leaders who show characteristics associated with emotional intelligence are more likely to have a positive impact on staffs. Thus this will contribute to the delivery of high quality public health which could improve organisation outcomes. There are several types contemporary theories of leadership such as the trait theories style theories and contingency theories. The trait theory developed from the great man theory assumes that effective leaders are born not made. This derives from the belief that there is a common set of trait of successful leaders. This theory provides foundation for considering the traits require of a leader. This theory is likely to be rejected by many people. Shaw (2007) argued that the trait approach is limited because the context in which leadership take place is not acknowledge. In contrast, the contingency theory which is based on situational theory argues that the effectiveness of leadership style depends on the particular situation and that leaders are more effective when they are able to change their style to adapt to different situations (Bolden et al 2003). The essence that underpinning this theory is that there is no single best style of leadership approach and that different situation will require different style of leadership (Bolden et al 2003) which is important in todays health service. For instant should an emergency situation arise, the leader would demonstrate autocratic leadership skill rather that participative. Effectiveness correlates with transactional and transformational leadership. Transformational leaders use transactional leadership strategies as well to be effective and this combination corresponds closely to ideal leadership (Lowe, Kroeck Sivasubramaniam, 1996). Transactional theories Also, emotional intelligence has a strong connection with transformational leadership. Transformation leaders are well suited to todays fast changing health care environment where adaptation is extremely important. Within this leadership theory there is an emphasis on empowerment and the development of potential for the achievement of long term goals (Shaw 2007), through mobilisation in order to make change (Bolden et al 2003). Recent research states that transformational leadership style is positively associated with higher employee satisfaction and better performance thus would improve public health. According to Taylor (2009) it is possible to use transformation leadership skills within a transaction setting. On the other hand, transactional leadership is concerned with influencing others to achieve goals through rules corrective actions, and contingent rewards (Burn 1978 and Bass 1999). Transactional leader avoids risks, is result focused, not flexible and adaptive to situations. It could be said that the environment in which the NHS operates lends itself to transactional leadership for the achievement of targets, performance management and impact of competency or outcomes. Whereas, transformational leaders are creative, innovative, takes risks and influences and inspires others.. For this reason, many theorists in leadership theory advocate transformational approach in organisation to enable people and organisation to achieve their fullest potential. Leadership styles Theorist have indentified many different leadership styles. Firstly the trait theory as known as great man theory identifies characteristic that such as intellect, personality and class. The can be considered as genetic influences. Tamkin agrees that it is very difficult to teach people the traits they need but says that some of these can be learned. Some forms of management training, an example of this is psychometric profiling as this will give staffs an insight into what they are like and what might be areas for improvement Discussion health work environment As the shortage of nurses increases and resources remain limited leadership in the NHS setting has become a topical point for discussion. Thus organisations are searching for ways to create a healthy work environment in attempt to recruit and more importantly retain staff. Tamkin et al (2010) argued in their report that outstanding leaders are also able to see things holistically. Tamkin et al 2010 adds. outstanding leaders act in a way that makes a difference to the immediate recipient and they also think about how this will impact on the organization; that is to say, creating a good atmosphere in the workplace will not only affect staff but feed through to the public. This can be achieved through flexibility, trust and respect. Support, consideration and motivation are also some of the characteristics of an effective leader which correlate with transformational leadership. Furthermore Tamkin et al (2010) confirms that flexibility trust and respect are the corner stone of effective leadership. Such leadership characteristics are the key thus, can result in positive outcomes and therefore a healthier work environment. Communication Many of the problems that occur in an organization are the direct result of people failing to communicate. Leadership has its corner stone, the ability to communicate.ÂÂ   When theÂÂ   word communicate used, it is referring not only to the words one uses to transferÂÂ   factual information to others, but also to other messages that are sent andÂÂ   received.ÂÂ   The purpose of communication in an organisation is to make agreements on what action is going to be taken to achieve the desired outcomes to create results of shared vision. The NHS need to create an effective communication cultures within it organisation to sustain success. In fact Tamkins et al (2010) points out that, listening may be the single most powerful skill of communication because it is an act of respect and valuing others. Being a good listener enables individuals to understand where each team members are coming from and analyze how each individual thinks. Communication correlates with pro ductivity, profitability, public satisfaction and employee retention. Effective communication is a key to bring confidence and trust among employee. Effective communication skills are therefore essential. Effective communication needs to be straightforward in order to aid and understanding (Tamkin et al 2010). Tamkin et al (2010) illustrates some essential aspects of communication, slowing the thoughts processes, increasing understanding, testing conclusion, listening constructively, getting to the essence of things and exploring areas of disagreement. This indicates that, to be an effective leader one has to understand all the factors that influences communication which transform into effective message in order to address current public health issues such as infectious diseases (Rowitz 2009). Conclusion Effective leadership is essential if the health service is to modernise and provide improvement through health protection and public health. The leadership qualities required in modern health care service derive from transformational leadership theory and include the ability to motive and influence others to produce change to provide high standard of care for patients and a harmonious working environment for staff. Leadership provides vision and mobilisation to achieve goal. In essence, for organisation to run effectively including the NHS there need to be leadership and management. While leaders develop and articulate strategic vision to produce change and move organisations forward managers co ordinates to ensure that the job gets done. One thing that is certain is that change will always be a part of the NHS and learning how to work within this culture to the benefit of the public will remain a priority. Leadership describes the ability to influence, motivate and enable members of an organisation to contribute to the effectiveness and success of the organisation. Leadership is valued in the healthcare setting, especially when it helps to achieve goals that are beneficial to protecting health, such as the enactment of effective preventive- health policies. Most importantly, individuals with effective leadership qualities can foster a culture of cooperation which may improve public health. Thus, it is evident that meaning of leadership and management are noticably different. Indeed some managers may dislike the distinction, because it illustrates that managers are not leaders, however leaders are actual managers (Machie1987). Seeing the bigger picture Outstanding leaders recognise the interconnected nature of their organisations and act accordingly. Understanding that talk is work Outstanding leaders talk to staff to find out what motivates them and how they can boost enthusiasm. Giving time and space to others Outstanding leaders allow people more freedom and influence over the work they do. Growing through performance Outstanding leaders invest in their workforce and use challenges presented to encourage growth, learning and engagement. Putting we before me Outstanding leaders work hard on team spirit, shared decision-making, collaborative working and forming strong bonds between teams. In short leadership should be trustworthy.

What Is An American? :: essays research papers

What was an American?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Western Europeans came to America to start new lives, with new laws, a new social system but all in all to become new men. In contrast African emigrants were brought to America to tend to the needs of the settlers from Europe. They were brought over to be slaves. Each of these views are views of St Jean de Crevecoeur and Fredrick Douglass.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  St Jean de Crevecoeur, was an emigrant of Europe. Crevecoeur, had no desire to go back to the land in which his forefathers had lived. He was going to a more diverse way of living â€Å"where all races melted into new race of man.† (pg 308) He believed America was a place to go to be a free man, â€Å"who leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, that he receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he hold.†(pg 308) Crevecoeur knew that his life as a new man would entail new ideas and new opinions. Hoping that the new laws protect him, â€Å"from involuntary idleness, servile dependence, penury and useless labor, he has passed to tolls of very different nature, rewarded by ample subsistence.† (pg 308) Crevecoeur lived the life of a free man in which he was paid for his labors, he owned land and was a farmer. His view of an American, â€Å"is a new man, who acts upo n new principles; he must therefore entertain new ideas, and form new opinions.† (pg 308)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fredrick Douglass, was an African American and owned by an American. He was taken care of in his early years by his grandmother and grandfather. Slave children were children they could play and do what most children would do. The only fear as a child was being seperated from his grandmother. Throughout, Douglass’s life he taught himself to read and to write. He became a knowledgeable man, which help him to succeed in being a free. However, Douglass did go through the trials and tribulations of being a slave. He went through the sleepless and hungry nights, and lashings. â€Å"Make a man a slave, and you rob him of moral responsibility.† (pg 191) When Douglass describes America he describes the beauties of nature and then the horrors of being a slave. â€Å"When I remembeer that all is cursed with the infernal spirit of slaveholding, robbery and wrong.

Ornette Coleman Paper Essay

Ornette Coleman is one of the most influential artists in jazz and considered an American icon and legend. There are not many musicians that emerge who dramatically changed the way we listen to music. Ornette Coleman was of the major innovators of free jazz as well as a great saxophonist and composer. Coleman’s bluesy, playful music revolutionized jazz by ignoring regular harmonies and rhythm. He even created his own theory â€Å"harmolodic† and applied it to rock instrumental in his group Prime Time. The musician’s new style helped to regenerate jazz by allowing for the genre to go into a new direction and be placed for his music to be placed in a group of major 20th century composers. This paper will discuss how Ornette Coleman borrowed from the world of jazz to influence concert hall compositions. Ornette Coleman was a revolutionary saxophone player who expanded contemporary boundaries of music. He gained those remarkable skills by teaching himself how to play saxophone at the age of 14 and by playing with musicians in local rhythm and blues bars while growing up in Fort Worth, Texas in the late 1940s and early ‘50s. Some of his legends include Charlie Parker and two local musicians in Fort Worth Ben Martin and Reed Connors. Coleman loved Charlie Parker and bebop and thought of it as the most advanced collective way of playing a melody and at the same time improvising. Parker taught Coleman many lessons especially about the quality of what he could play and knowing the audience (Ratliff 63). The musician decided to travel to L.A. and played in various establishments. He eventually made his way to New York with his first band having a good sense of melody and ideas of playing without any preconceived chord changes (Ratliff 55). People thought of him as a genius and others denounced him as a charlatan. His music was considered controversial for instance in his quartet th ey had no chordal instruments such as the piano. Listeners said his music was radically rejecting jazz traditions, but a few praised him and said the music was an extension of the historical practice (Martin,Waters). As he was traveling  in R&B jazz bands across the country, he switched back and forth between alto and tenor sax. Resistance was normal for Coleman, and he was use to being fired. In 1950, he wrote an unpublished book that deals with a theory that melody has nothing to do with harmony, chords, or key centers. In 1958, he formed his own band that was established on a mode of playing which no one player had the lead but anyone could come out and play at any time. Beginning in 1959, Coleman and his quartet went to New York and developed the concept of free jazz (George-Warren and Pareles). Free jazz and improvised music did away with any of the strict forms of jazz and classic music such as tonality, chord changes, formal shape and structure, etc. Coleman was put into the category along with Cecil Taylor and Albert Ayler, and they abolished the traditional hierarchy of instrumentation in jazz, classical rock, and pop allowing for any instrument to be equal in improvising. Many performers were encouraged by these individuals to go beyond the regular technique to develop â€Å"extended† techniques (Cox, Warner 252). Coleman’s group debut in New York was unlike anything anyone had ever heard. The bassist or drummer did not function in a conventional rhythm sense, and there was no piano to provide chordal harmonies. When Coleman played with his group, they did not have any idea what the end result would be. The group was even able to get the attention and approval from conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein and composer Virgil Thompson along with other writers and painters (Europe Jazz Network). Each player in his group contributed what he felt in the music at any moment, and each member is not told what to do but play what they hear in the piece themselves. He also stated that in a sense that there is no start or finish to any of his music, but there is a continued expression, continually evolving strands of thoughts that link all of his compositions together (Coxer, Warner 254). Other things that summarized Coleman’s style of music include: fragmented, pointed melodies, melodic connections based on motive structure and large-scale gestures and abstract relations among pitches, little or no use of conventional harmony and voice leading, but solos often have loose shifting tonal centers, variety of melodic rhythm, nasal insistent tone, loose rhythms, use of middle and upper range o n instrument, passionate expression, and deviation from standard intonation (Martin, Waters 271). Coleman started to explore different music possibilities by mixing and  extending elements of honky-tonk, blues, funk and bebop in areas of harmony, rhythm and the melodic structure. His musical styles alienated him from the jazz world that musicians walked off the stage when he showed up for a show. His new innovations later became known as â€Å"harmolodic†, which helped change jazz by pointing it in a direction away from the musical styles of bebop, but also established a place in a group of major 20th century composers such as Charlie Parker, Harry Partch, Charles Ives, and John Cage (Europe Jazz Network). From 1962 to 1965, Coleman withdrew himself from the spotlight and taught himself to play the trumpet and violin. He began to turn his attention to writing compositions for various musical forms such as woodwind quintets, chamber orchestras, string quartets, symphonic works and vocal works. This is the point in his life where his music began to affect the concert hall. The first public performance of one his pieces was the string quartet piece Dedicated to Poets and Writers. Performances of some of his works are scarce and have not been performed or recorded. The release of his two pieces Saints and Soldiers and Space Flight performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra cleared the way for his most famous piece Skies of America symphonic suite. The piece is scored for jazz ensemble and orchestra and debuted in 1972 at Newport in New York Festival and recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra (George-Warren and Pareles). This work stands as Coleman’s harmolodic manifesto. There are some themes that people can recognize. Coleman enters the scene halfway through the piece with his saxophone during â€Å"The Artist in America†. His modulations have a fresh, sometimes abrupt sound as a result of movement of the melody and the chords. There are a number of different c hord changes which are considered correct even though it does not sound correct. Throughout the piece the works of Charles Ives comes to mind with the jumble of melodies and heavy densities. The entire work introduced his â€Å"harmolody† theory in which harmonies, rhythms, and melodies function independently and equally (George-Warren and Pareles). The theory relates to the use of similar melodic material in different clefs and keys, producing a texture of predominately parallel motion (Martin, Waters 271). He wanted to be like famous musicians George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, and Charles Mingus so that he could help break down boundaries between â€Å"modern jazz† and â€Å"serious concert† music. Coleman translates his ability as an improviser into orchestral terms. With his  orchestral works, he was able to create a peculiar timbre and certain licks unlike any other composer writing orchestral works. During the 1970s Coleman’s musical horizons continued to expand. He formed the group Prime Time which incorporated rock and funk rh ythms and melodic fragments similar to R&B music along with its harmonic possibilities. The free jazz/classical composer now created dance music that combined elements of jazz, funk, R&B, and rock with an unusual mix of instruments two guitarists, two drummers, two bassists, Coleman on the sax, violin, and trumpet. This group’s music included multi-layered melodies, polytonal and polyrhythmic textures which were defined as harmolodics. This style shaped more music other than jazz, and Coleman’s music influenced affected many rock musicians during the 70s especially Frank Zappa (Europe Jazz Network). While Coleman influenced rock musicians, he continued to diversify his music and became interested in African cultures. He traveled throughout Africa with Prime Time and created a new album Dancing in Your Head featuring field recordings with the group while they were working with tribal musicians in Morocco. In the 1980s Coleman revised and completed Skies of America after being commissioned by Caravan of Dreams, an arts center that opened in his hometown of F ort Worth, Texas. Coleman continued to write for all instrumentation and group sizes. He continued compositions for the concert hall such as the Meet the Modern series and The Sacred Mind of Johnny Dolphin. His group Prime Time eventually mixed ac (Martin and Waters)oustic and electric instruments. In 1993, his most monumental recordings from Atlantic were released in a box set entitled Beauty Is a Rare Thing. He went on to be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was featured by the New York Lincoln Center which hosted a festival of his works featuring a performance of the Skies of America by the New York Philharmonic and surviving members of his band Prime Time (Europe Jazz Network). One of the greatest jazz artist and composer of all time is Ornette Coleman who influenced music for the concert hall and popular music genres such as jazz and rock and roll. His music for the concert hall was innovative and creative as stayed true to his artistic style and capabilities. One of his most influential pieces for the concert hall was Skies of America which helped blend many different styles of music into an orchestral work. Individuals were influenced by his pioneering work in  creating free jazz and the use of improvisation styles as well as his newly created harmolodic theory. Coleman was not afraid to step out on the limb to perform and create music without boundaries and that did not follow the traditional Western theory practices. He did receive a lot of criticism for his approach but affected and changed many by his abilities. Bibliography Cox, Christoph and Daniel Warner. â€Å"Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music.† Change of the Century. New York: The Contiuum International Publishing Group, 2004. Europe Jazz Network Musicians . 20 February 2010 . George-Warren, Holly and Jon Pareles. â€Å"Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock And Roll.† Ornette Coleman. Boston: Simon & Schuster , 2001. Martin, Henry and Keith Waters. Jazz: the frst 100 years. Belmont: Thomas Schirmer, 2006. Music, The Jazz Ear: Conversations Over. â€Å"Ratliff, Ben.† I Know Who You Are Ornette Coleman. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2008.

British Airways Story

British Airways Story Background British Airways (BA), which is a multinational firm and holds a key position in the flight services industry has been thriving with the success of the organizational change process. There has been a continuous effort by BA administration to establish change within the organizational system (Cawsey et al., 2011, pp.17). The challenges are there, but BA leaders have stood firm to retreat these challenges as time has projected it to do so. This paper is going to produce a report on British Airways’ change process.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on British Airways Story specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More British Airways on Organizational Change According to the theoretical perspective, a cultural change is a transformational process. It is a process, which travels along with one organizational stage of experience to the next organizational state of knowledge (Myers et al., 2012). Organizations, which h ave gone through experiences, are successful to apply the concept of cultural change (Hellriegel Slocum, 2007). Hence, time (experience) itself is a replication of cultural change within organizations and their systems. According to Burke Litwin Model (1992), change is possible when the leadership is committed and highly skilled. It is possible when leadership have will, clear vision, and method to roll the change within the organization system (Falletta, 2008). High levels skills are required for leadership in projects, which involve revolutionary instead of evolutionary interventions to be made. No organization can accept change in a sudden manner as none of the organizational components can take sudden impositions. Hence, time and leadership are both critical factors to adjust for a change within the organizational system (Cameron, 2004). British Airways a leading multinational firm in the flight service industry that has gone through different phases of change and experiences. The organization has shown its strong presence in the market over last five decades or more (Bowhill, 2008, pp.324). There have been certain ups and downs, which BA has faced throughout its corporate history. Cultural change is a part of the BA’s system, which has been achieved through continuous struggles and efforts from its leadership (Bowhill, 2008). As literature projects, it was 1980 when British Airways recognized the need of change at the organizational level. It was the time when BA was facing serious business challenges and aimed to bring a complete change in order to stabilize its position in the competitive industry. These challenges were persistent and directly related to the continuity of the company (Burke, 2010, pp. 238-240).  There were many problems of rising fuel prices, high competition, low financial performance, low efficiency, and low profit projections, which actually turned down the airline’s business in the 1980s.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This demanded a cultural change within British Airways’ system as it had an organizational culture that derailed the company’s performance, and it was this culture which bottlenecked new modifications (privatization) of the system. Hence, as old trends and culture hindered the performance of British Airways, the leadership started to rethink and redo things in the same period (Burke, 2010). This was the starting stage of the cultural change as the leadership became much concerned about the problem, and was highly engaged to revamp the BA system. From the theorists’ perspective, it has been noted that organizations start to change when there is a rethinking or reconsideration process going on. It starts off with the leadership as it is the leadership that takes the stand and has the authority to make powerful decisions (decisions of ch ange). The same was realized in the BA during 1980s, when the leadership was highly committed and well intended to adjust the organizational level of change â€Å"the cultural change†. This was the origin of cultural change within the BA system as there was a seed for change planted and actuated in the 1980s to make the organization change instinctive and progressive (Burke, 2010).  According to modern contemplations, rethinking itself is a sign of change within the organization system (Kotter, 1996). When enterprises start to realize their weaknesses and recognize their problems by themselves, it is this time that organizations begin with the change journey. This is the time when the organization expects change as it is in the profound stage of rethinking (Kotter, 1996). This rethinking stage is when the change process begins. Applying it to British Airways’ context, the rethinking process began in 1980 when the organization was in the cover of problems, and recogn ized that it should dissolve its old trends that had derailed the organization’s performance. The culture of relying on the governmental financial support, the centralized decision making, the military mentalities, and the rigid culture of organizational politics introduced the first state of BA change â€Å"the rethinking process†. This is how the culture change propelled within BA when the leadership started to contemplate and repent on their past mistakes (Burke, 2010).  It was the state of rethinking which actually extended the vision of BA leadership, and they started to put impressions on other business segments. According to Schein (2004), there are two things that are essential in the culture change process.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on British Airways Story specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The first is the management of the organizational anxiety â€Å"human behaviours† and second the assessment of organizational potential to change. In 1980, BA leaders identified the organizational potential in the human element (Burke, 2010). They recognized that if humans are changed-improved, it could precisely change the overall system of the organization. This was firstly understood by BA leaders, and they kept the method of human behaviours management at the highest decision level. This was a part of the rethinking process as it was this process that identified people as potentials for BA leaders, which further led the management of the human activity in the organization (Burke, 2010). They tried their best to change mentalities and perceptions of people at both internal (employees) and external (customers) levels of the organization. This was how Marshall, CEO of BA, improvised the cultural change within the organizational system. He first sorted out intact segments in the system to initiate the process as they were easy and more flexible to accept the change p ractice (Bowhill, 2008). Engineering and Maintenance was the first segment which Marshall tried to adjust. It was the segment that was intact and remained highly influenced by the centralized system of leadership. Marshall thought that by changing people in the engineering wing would surely bring improvements in other sections like marketing or planning (Burke, 2010). So, it was this human behaviours management practice, which was the second salient feature of the BA’s culture change practice during 1980s (Hellriegel Slocum, 2007).  The policy of â€Å"putting people first† was another example of efficient human resource management by British Airways. This policy was another feature that administrated employees and prepared them to display the highest level of performance (Burke, 2010). It was the time of cultural change (1981-1990), when British Airways started to let go of the military mentality, which never wanted to see employees grow and flourish. The concepts of dedicated customer service and managing employees’ efficiently were implemented in the same period. These steps were taken to promote the notion of â€Å"putting people first†, and also to influence human behaviours at the highest level of consideration (Cameron, 2004). It was a stage wise approach adopted by the BA administrators to bring a cultural change within the system. It took time, but things got on well when BA stood on the change practice apprehensively (Cameron, 2004).Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In the striving period, BA was identified with problems in the leadership side. The military mentally in leadership and rules based on power and authority traditionalized the organization system. The employees and the managerial staff all were influenced from the centralized style of leadership in BA (Burke, 2010). This required a cultural change as from top to bottom all organization segments were under the impression, and required a revolutionary upstanding of the enterprise. Actually, those were the customs that brought the whole system under the influence. Before change employees had to confront rigid decisions from the leadership as the management was highly politicized, and it concentration was more on the authority, which actually divided the whole system of BA. The administration after 1980s rethinking stage signified its presence within the organization (Kotter, 1996). It recognized that once the old trends are wiped out then the organization will inevitably stabilize its p osition. The leaders started to focus on the cultural change first, and brought in parallel decisions to change existing customs. The mentality of just flying off planes and treating customers as luggage also hindered the new leadership style. It was the conservative mentality that actually stopped employees, workers, and managers to perform. This was the main hindrance that the new leadership faced in all functioning areas of British Airways (Bowhill, 2008). All areas of BA including maintenance, engineering, management, planning or operations were affected by rigid behaviours, culture, and norms imposed by previous military style of leadership. There was less motivation among employees which was recognized by the new leadership in the declining period of BA (1979). All of these were leading issues when the second leadership took charge in 1980s (Burke, 2010).  Among other humanly issues new leadership at BA also confronted coordination issues. There were relatively weak relation ships between bosses and subordinates, which affected the overall teamwork within the organization system. According to Schneider’s Study, the boss-subordinate relationship is particularly important for organizations. This relationship develops an interactive chain of command which is significantly among for building team work at the work place (Burke, 2010). The MPF program within BA change period was one resemblance of Schneider’s study as it endorsed the coordination feature among the managerial staff (Burke, 2010). The program developed trust between managers and employees, which further on eliminated organization politics within the BA system. It provided open chance to BA subordinates to learn from their managers and also an opportunity for managers to team up with their subordinates (Hellriegel Slocum, 2007). The MPF program took a time to adjust, but once team leadership got established things eventually came out positive for British Airways (Hellriegel Slocu m, 2007). In the striving change period, BA was brought with a couple of financial modifications (Burke, 2010). During the change period administrators reformed the financial and accounting system. They updated the activity by assuring annual reporting systems. This was to transform the slow reporting structure into quick annual reporting system. The accounting managers were told to release annual financial reports, which was for the clarity of stakeholders and investors’ bench. The financial reform took periods to get transformed, and it was one of the stagnant issues which leaders addressed at the time of change (Cameron, 2004). The struggle was continuous and took a lot of time to adjust change within the BA system, in which functional reform was part of the process (Burke, 2010). Change A Systematic Process According to the theorists’ perception, change is no way possible unless it emerges as a stage wise process. Organizations in the global scenario never change as quickly as they require time to adjust to the transformational process. This is a systematic process that alters all components of the organization over a long period of time. For this reason, theorists propose a three way model of the organizational change, which includes structural change, cultural change, and then human change (Porter et al., 1975). When organizations pass on with this three stage model they have a probable chance to achieve the organizational level of change. The first stage in this process is the structural change, which is achieved by making new quality reforms. Talking about British Airways, which was first a state owned firm failed to drive the structural change process. There was a lack of commitment, which brought a lack of deliverance in the organization system (Porter et al., 1975). Actually, the organization was not structurally prepared to satisfy its customers and even employees of BA. Hence, the first proposed stage to launch the change is the str uctural change, which is done by adjusting quality reforms instead of minute rigid reforms as sought in BA before the change (Burke, 2010). The quality reforms include powerful vision, high performance standards, deliverable constituencies, and sound communication systems, which further lead the change in other parts of the organization (Kotter, 1996).  The second level of change is the cultural change. Organizations that ignore the cultural change make a big mistake as this is the kind of change required to transform the whole system. There are different components of the organization including leadership, managers, and employees, which are part of the organizational culture (Cameron, 2004). It is culture that influences all components of the system. BA, which was at the fringe of conservativeness before 1980s, was unfortunate to revive its culture. There were trends of high complacency, disrupted direction, low motivation, and less determination that kept the organization at low performance levels (Burke, 2010). Cultural change is the second key feature of the organizational change. No organizations can transform unless and until they allow cultural reforms and modifications. Trends formed by cultures and cultures are manipulators for the organizational functions. To change functions it is necessary that cultures are tainted, and this is what directly fits in the case of BA an organization which has significantly strived to change its cultural policy. The last and third most important feature of change is the ‘peoples’ change’. The main reason for 1980s BA crises was its conservative style of leadership (Hellriegel Slocum, 2007). There was authoritarian rule, which lagged the performance of BA. The change needed efficient and effective human resource management, which mobilizes people from top to bottom in the organization. When people are managed and well engaged, there are high chances that the organization’s performance exce ls. This is the most decisive area and requires a persistent consideration from the organization’s administration (Hellriegel Slocum, 2007). According to John Kotter (The author of the book Leading Change), there are three main reasons of why enterprises fail to transform (Kotter, 1996). One of the reasons is the lack of vision by the leadership, which allows inspiring functions and actions necessary for change. The same was sought by the leaders at British Airways, which faced a lack of vision and determination by the leadership. Employees’ performance was low just because they could not find any moral support or boost from the leadership. There were low opportunities to grow because the vision of leadership was limited and not open to recognize and extract employee skill and talent (Kotter, 1996). Similarly, due to lack of vision (1970) BA confronted low synergy and fewer competencies at the operational level. John Kotter has also related lack of vision to low empl oyee engagement. Kotter in his book described that when the leadership has a lack of skill (vision), there are more chances of high complacency, which negatively affects the organizational system (Kotter, 1996). At British Airways, it has been seen that leaders remained reactive instead of being proactive, which raised complacency among its employees in the period of 1980s. Due to high complacency employees were not satisfied and enthusiastic to grow or perform. The carelessness in the attitude stained employees’ behaviour, their performance level, and also their commitment towards the BA system. For such reason, BA crew was just on flying airplanes on time and getting them to destinations on time and not more than that. This attitude was a major hindrance for the BA change, and also was against Kotter’s method of leading the change (Kotter, 1996). Humans’ Management-Importance for Change At the time of change, British Airways came up with a three way model appr oach. The model was based on managing human element of the organizational structure, and it was based on the philosophy of â€Å"managing people first† (MPF). Nick Georgiades (formal head of the human resources department) came up with a three leg stool approach to imply the philosophy of MPF (Burke, 2010). He proposed that if three legs of the stool are managed then the human element becomes the source of achieving the change (Cameron, 2004). Here is the discussion of three legs stool model proposed by former BA officer Nick Georgiades: Leg 1 The leg 1 of the approach dealt with strong communication in BA. It was the first basic component that was required in BA to adjust the organizational level of change. Georgiades proposed that when managers are without paranoia, and they have full confidence in their subordinates and teammates, change is possible. He further recommended that removing the gap between BA managers and employees will open up ways for change. Leg 1 implement ed the concept of managing people at earlier stage (Burke, 2010). Based on this model, BA projected employee-manager interaction as a necessity for integration in the organization system. Direct employee reporting and performance based appraisals were also implemented as part of the first leg of Georgiades’s stool. This was the starting phase when the human factor started to receive high value and encouragement, and it was an early sign of change within the enterprise (Cameron, 2004). Leg 2 Leg 2 dealt with the performance appraisal process. Nick Georgiades wanted to see his employees growing, and he identified performance appraisal to be one of the methods for increasing performance. Previously (before times of change), there were also performance appraisal programs in BA, but not aimed at raising employees motivation. By implementing leg 2, the performance appraisal systems got modified in the BA. The appraisals were made on two bases including evaluation of results generat ed by managers and methods used for achieving those results (Burke, 2010). This allowed evaluation of performance in a precise, effective and detailed manner, which eventually became a route to the BA’s change. Such modified performance appraisal systems introduced by Nick Georgiades became drivers to organizational change, and the system started to progress later on after Nick Georgiades left up (Kotter, 1996). Leg 3 With this leg, the model of Nick Georgiades was completed which fulfilled requirements of the BA’s organizational level of change. Leg 3 was all about compensations; it dealt with rewards according to the ranks attained by managers. In the organizational practice, it has been seen that when employees get justified rewards, they are more determined and motivated towards work (Burke, 2010). It is the organization’s successful compensation system that allows satisfactory employee rewards. This leg permitted clean rewards in BA to raise employeesâ€⠄¢ satisfaction and motivation (Kotter, 1996).  The three leg stool model was completed in BA, which was implemented by Nick Georgiades to raise the performance of employees. The model replicated the concept of managing people in BA, and also promoted consideration of the human factor at the highest organization level (Burke, 2010). The three leg stool was therefore, about human resource management, a route to embody the organizational level of change. This was a deliberate effort made by the former officer Nick Georgiades. The credit goes out to him as he recognized humans to be major carriers of change. He recognized that if complete change is opted then it is necessary that organizations should start with its employees. It is the same concept that Georgiades identified in the three leg stool model, which later on became a door for the organizational change in BA. Nick also clarified that if one leg of the stool gets damaged or removed then the entire stool will collapse. Hence , it is necessary that all legs are fixed, managed and adjusted to make way for the cultural change in BA (Burke, 2010).  In all of these projects, the human element played a decisive role in the BA organizational change. By managing humans and adjusting â€Å"MPF† concepts, BA was able to achieve change in a comprehensive manner (Cameron, 2004). The same is true from the theoretical point of view as organizations cannot stand or affirm change without invoking human attributes such as â€Å"determination, passion, and motivation† (Hellriegel Slocum, 2007). These are all human behavioural elements, which play a central role in conducting the organizational change. The same were sought after by few gentlemen in BA, a time when BA revamped, and leaders became prominent figures to manage people of the system. The trend followed and brought concepts of managing people first, which deliberately came out positive for overall BA’s system (Cameron, 2004). List of Refe rences Bowhill, B 2008, Business Planning and Control: Integrating Accounting, Strategy, and People. John Wiley Sons, San Francisco. Burke, W 2010, Organization Change: Theory and Practice, SAGE, Singapore. Cameron, K. 2004, A Process for Changing Organizational Culture. Research Report, Michael Driver, Ann Arbor. Cawsey, T, Deszca, G Ingols, C 2011, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, SAGE, Singapore. Falletta, S 2008, Organizational Diagnostic Models A Review Synthesis, Leadersphere, Sacramento. Hellriegel, D Slocum, J 2007, Organizational Behaviour, Cengage Learning, Mason. Kotter, J 1996, Leading Change, Harvard Business Press, Boston. Myers, P, Hulks, S Wiggins, L 2012, Organizational Change: Perspectives on Theory and Practice, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Porter, L, Lawler, E Hackman, J 1975, Behaviour in organizations, McGraw-Hill, New York.

A Deeper Understanding of the Stressors of Psoriasis Professor Ramos Blog

A Deeper Understanding of the Stressors of Psoriasis Society dictates of how beauty should be defined when it comes to how proportionate the person’s facial features are as it fits the golden ratio, and more importantly, how flawless a persons skin has as visibly seen by the eyes of the beholder. Nevertheless, the skin is the first line of defense when it comes to protecting the body from external harsh environment. Skin problems and illnesses are frequently noticeable and visible to others that even a physician can generally diagnose what a person has by looking at the abnormal skin level. The social stigma customarily correlated with different types of skin conditions is hard for people to cope with their skin issues and diseases, as well as negative reaction they receive from others. Moreover, many people suffer from variety of skin problems whether it is hereditary, autoimmune, infectious, environmental, or of unknown cause. Thus, it is the goal of this paper to look into a deeper understanding of one of the prevalent skin d iseases, such as psoriasis, though untreatable, yet can be prevented as long as the underlying causes are known intracellularly and externally. Fig. 1. Healthy skin and skin with psoriasis. â€Å"Growth and Shedding of Keratinocytes in Psoriasis.†Psoriasis Plaque, PubMed Health, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMHT0030407/ Normally, the skin regenerates itself about once a month, or approximately every twenty-eight days (Pagano 18) or 4 weeks as shown in Fig. 1 in a healthy skin (Growth and Shedding of Keratinocytes in Psoriasis). However, in psoriasis, the process speeded up; the skin attempts to renew itself every three or four days instead of the twenty-eight days. The surface area becomes red, inflamed, extremely sensitive, visibly raised, and scaly (19). The word psoriasis is from the Greek word psora, which means â€Å"itch† (Raychaudhuri et al. 61). Psoriasis is a long term, immune-mediated inflammatory disease (IMID , a disease that lacks definitive etiology) that occurs from the hyperproliferation of skin cells, thus thickening the layer of skin, which causes erythema or redness, scaly silvery plaques, itching, and bleeding. It is genetically inherited from a mother or father who has the disease. Psoriasis is not an unusual disorder; a prevalence of 2%-4%, with a peak incidence between 15 and 25 years age and without sex predilection, has been reported (45). Fig. 2. Common affected areas in psoriasis. â€Å"Main Features of Psoriasis.†Psoriasis E-Chart.HC-HealthComm, loc. 63, hc-healthcomm.com The manifestation of psoriasis can be triggered by many factors. It can be triggered by external and internal environmental factors in genetically susceptible individuals. These factors include infections, drugs such as allergic drug reaction, antimalarial drugs, lithium, beta blockers, interferon alpha, withdrawal of systemic corticosteroids, local trauma (Koebner’s phenomenon), and emotional stress, as these correlates with the onset or flares of psoriatic lesions (Weinberg 11). These lesions are distributed symmetrically and frequently occur on the elbows, knees, lower back, and scalp. These plaques can be intensely pruritic and bleed when manipulated, referred to as Auspitz sign (12). Thus, emotional stress, drugs, and infections can trigger clinical signs and symptoms experienced by psoriatics such as itching, bleeding, and lesion at the more prominent body sites such as the knees, elbows, back, and scalp as shown in fig. 2. Fig. 3. Pathophysiology of psoriasis at a cellular level. â€Å"Evolution of Psoriasis and Immune Factors.† Psoriasis E-Chart.HC-HealthComm, loc. 51, hc-healthcomm.com In many diseases that most people suffer, it seemed psychological distress plays a huge role in the exacerbation of the disease. Doctors and many people believe psychological ‘stress’ to be a major triggering factor in many skin diseases, specifically psoriasis (Shuster 614). The correlation between skin and mind may be a result of the skin’s role as biological structure of transmitting information, and perhaps also the social response to the infectious nature of skin disease in the recent past; consequently a disorder of the skin may have a very severe effect on the mind (615). He infer this is the basis of the erroneous belief that mind is a significant etiological aspect in skin disease. Moreover, he believes that there is a strong proof that both mind and ‘stress’ transform certain skin circulatory and immune responses but in a direction which might be anticipated to improve psoriasis (615). Therefore, based on the belief by many expertise in the field of medicine, psychological stress can worsen psoriasis. There are many cases have been reported that stress can exacerbate psoriasis. Scientific research reports roughly 40% of cases in the beginning or worsening of psoriasis, psychosocial stress has been reported to play an important role (Gupta et al. 166). A few studies have been published that about 80% of patients with psoriasis are stress reactors. Many psychosocial intercessions have been reported to be a vital addition in the typical therapeutic management of psoriasis (166). Based on the study of 127 patients with plaque psoriasis who got admitted to Dermatology inpatient unit, the psychosocial stress measures such as major life events, psychological or personality factors, social support, and minor daily stressful events or hassles were used to evaluate the severity of the disease of psoriatic patients (168). Based on the result of the dermatologic measures that were done, it revealed that the high stress reactors (i.e. stress exacerbates psoriasis) had extensive psoriasis on he ad (face and scalp), neck, upper extremities, and genital area which are classified as â€Å"emotionally charged† because psoriasis in these anatomical parts are more likely to induce emotional reactions in the patients †¦ In retroactive study, the high stress reactors also reported a larger number of flare-ups of their psoriasis during the 6 months prior to admission (170). In this study, the psychocutaneous traits have identified the high stress reactors from the low stress reactors (i.e. less significant link of stress and psoriasis). The high stress reactors had more disfiguring psoriasis because it affected many regions of their body. Aside from what Gupta and his colleagues had mentioned above, another scientific study suggests that stress can cause psoriasis. Based on Al’Abadie et al research on the effects of stressful life events on the beginning and progress of psoriasis, their studies showed that psoriasis patients’ disease is affected by stressful events differing from 40 to 80% based on whether it is an acute or chronic stress, and based on patients self reports or responses based on standardized check-lists (199). They also added that stress can affect the immune system directly through neuroendocrine changes or indirectly through poor healthy habits in regards to diet and sleep, or by taking drugs such as alcohol and therefore lowering their immune system (199). They found that chronic stress of everyday struggles can worsen psoriasis (200). The results of the study supports that the experience of stress may take a significant part in the onset and exacerbation of psoriasis. Many credible researchers continue to emphasize stress as one of the causes of the progression of psoriasis. In the study performed by Griffiths and Richards, they stated that psoriasis suggested as a psychosomatic disorder wherein stress or psychological distress is a cause in expressing the disease. Also, in their article, â€Å"Psychological influences in Psoriasis,† emotional stress was mentioned as the most convincing precipitating factor in psoriasis (338). The result of their study reported over 60% of a sample of psoriasis patients who attended a specialty clinic were convinced that stress was the main reason to the cause of their psoriasis, and this was not related to the clinical severity of their condition as measured by the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) (338). In addition, they also examined the Psoriasis Life Stress Inventory (PLSI) which is another way in rating everyday life struggles or recurring substandard stress associated with having to live with pso riasis. They were able to identify that the two main factors to stress in psoriasis were â€Å"engaging in anticipatory and avoidance coping behavior, and belief of being evaluated on the basis of their skin† (qtd 339). Furthermore, they deduce that if psoriasis patients engage themselves in anticipatory and avoidance coping behavior which is not related to their skin condition, then it might be hypothesized that â€Å"thoughts related to stigmatization and rejection may be influencing such behavior† (qtd 339). In other terms, psoriasis patients are expecting horrible situation when they are not aware that this will actually happen. One good example would be a psoriasis patient will not take her children to a public water park for fear of being asked to leave the premise due to the fact that they have psoriasis even though this might never have occurred to them in the past. They tried to avoid this kind of situation because they feel being stigmatized because of the cl inical condition of their skin. Therefore, emotional or psychological stress of daily struggles with psoriasis manifests the progression of the disease. Fig. 4. Commonly affected areas of psoriasis and types of treatment. Armstrong, April W. â€Å"Psoriasis is a Common Condition Where the Skin Gets Red and Scaly; Psoriasis can Cause Itching, Discomfort, and Sometimes pain.† JAMA Dermatology, vol. 153, no. 9, Sep. 2017, p. 956. There are different types of treatment for psoriasis (see fig. 4). It can be topical medication, phototherapy, biological agents, oral medication, and diet. Though psoriasis can be stress related, having psoriasis self-help groups and group therapy that help the psoriatic patients to deal with the daily stresses related with their disease should be part of the whole therapeutic programs (Gupta et al. 172). The dermatologist should tailor the treatment plan based on patient individual needs since everybody has different and unique biochemical makeup. Though there is no cure for psoriasis, all the possible treatment mentioned above can possibly prevent the onset and exacerbation of the disease. Topical medications are used to treat the symptoms of psoriasis. Salicylic acid, corticosteroids and vitamin D analogues are few of the topical agents used to alleviate the symptoms of psoriasis. Raychaudhuri states that due to increased water loss and increased formation of keratinocytes in the skin, the skin becomes dry and itchy (246). Salicylic acid emollients are applied on the psoriatic skin to moisten the epidermal layer and prevent it from pruritus or itching (246). On the other hand, inflammation of the skin is another symptoms experienced by psoriatic patients. Since psoriasis can be an autoimmune disease, the keratinocytes in psoriasis are not well regulated causing an inflammatory response. Vitamin D has many important roles in immunity and the absorption of calcium according to Fett (163). Vitamin D supplement added in diet of psoriasis patients has a moderate or greater improvement in psoriasis in at least 50 percent of patients in five separate studies that have been r eported (164). Some psoriatic patients who take higher doses of vitamin D supplements completely resolved their disease (164). Vitamin D analogues are used to strengthen the immune system, and it binds to intracellular vitamin D receptors to regulate the genes responsible in the proliferation of keratinocytes and keratin (Raychaudhuri 249-50). The same effect as vitamin D ointment happens when corticosteroid is used to treat inflammation in psoriasis. Corticosteroid, a steroid hormone, is produced in the adrenal cortex regulates inflammatory response. It attaches to glucocorticoid receptor in the cell and regulates the gene responsible in inflammation (248). Therefore, the symptoms of psoriasis such as itching and inflammation can be treated with salicylic acid, vitamin D compounds, and corticosteroid topical agents. Another treatment used to relieve the symptom of psoriasis is by the use of phototherapy. Ultraviolet (UV) light therapy is used as a phototherapy to slow the growth of the affected skin cells in psoriasis (Raychaudhuri 170). Since psoriasis is a T cell mediated disease, the abnormal functioning T lymphocytes attacks the skin cells causing an inflammatory response by increasing the keratinocyte proliferation and keratinization (Dolgin 1219). Thus, with phototherapy, it slows down the process of the T lymphocytes in attacking the keratinocytes. Aside from the topical agents and phototherapy, diet also plays a vital role in the treatment of psoriasis. It is very essential to maintain the proper pH balance in the chemistry of psoriasis patients. Diet assists in the maintenance of a proper acid-base homeostasis of the chemical activity in the body according to Pagano (71). He suggests that psoriatic patients should be on the basic (alkaline) side than the acidic side as nature demands. The body chemistry that is leaning more towards the alkaline is more resistant to all kinds of disease (71). Furthermore, he recommends eating alkaline-forming foods such as raw carrot, celery, beets, parsley, romaine, lettuce, and spinach juice extracts, and avoids acid-forming foods such as strawberries, citrus fruits, citrus juices, and avocados (73-75). He mentions that a person’s blood should be always on the slight alkaline side (pH 7.3-7.5) to maintain the ideal health and immunity (71). Therefore, psoriatic patients should be awar e of their diet to maintain alkalinity in the blood and body chemistry to have a better resistance to disease and strengthen their immunity. Psoriasis is a very serious disease when it comes to the personal well being of a person who suffers from it. Knowing the possible stressors of psoriasis can help psoriatic patient treat its symptoms before its onset and exacerbation. Though the exact cause of psoriasis is unknown, bacterial or viral infections, toxic drugs, and psychosocial distress are few possible stressors of psoriasis. These stressors can cause the skin cell to behave erratically causing itchiness and inflammation of the skin. Many clinical studies have suggested that psychosocial stress can cause the exacerbation of psoriasis. Furthermore, a good mental attitude towards the disease is important to look at because they need a strong support group as they live their life daily with all the struggles they experience with the disease. In addition, different types of treatments such as topical agents (salicylic acid, vitamin D compounds, and corticosteroids), phototherapy (ultraviolet light), and diet are used to tr eat itching, inflammation, and other symptoms of psoriasis. Diet plays a very important role in alleviating the symptoms of psoriasis as long as the body chemical atmosphere is within the alkaline side for it aids a person from being resistant to diseases and increase its immunity. A deeper understanding of the stressors of psoriasis can help many people to win their battle with psoriasis. Al’ Abadie, M. S. et al. â€Å"The Relationship Between Stress and the Onset and Exacerbation of Psoriasis and Other Skin Conditions.† British Journal of Dermatology, no. 130, 1994, pp. 199-200. The article discusses the relationship between stress and beginning and progression of psoriasis. Dr. Mohammed Sami Al’ Abadie has worked in Dermatology since 1989, obtaining his PhD in Dermatology from Sheffield University, DSBD Diploma in Dermatology from University of Wales, working as a consultant Dermatologist since 1997. He is also a senior lecturer and visiting professor of medical students from Birmingham University, and has published numerous specialist papers in peer review journals in Dermatology. The article is important to utilize in the research paper due to one possible cause of psoriasis is stress. Armstrong, April W. â€Å"Psoriasis is a Common Condition Where the Skin Gets Red and Scaly; Psoriasis can Cause Itching, Discomfort, and Sometimes pain.† JAMA Dermatology, vol. 153, no. 9, Sep. 2017, p. 956. The article talks about common symptoms experienced by psoriatic patients. Dr. April W. Armstrong is an Associate Dean of Clinical Research at Keck School of Medicine at USC. She also serves as Director of Clinical Research for the Southern California Clinical and Translational Research Institute. In the Department of Dermatology at USC, she serves as Vice Chair, Director of Clinical Trials and Outcomes Research, and Director of the Psoriasis Program. The article is very useful in knowing the symptoms of psoriasis. â€Å"Evolution of Psoriasis and Immune Factors.† Psoriasis E-Chart.HC-HealthComm, loc. 51, hc-healthcomm.com The article accounts for the pathophysiology of psoriasis and anatomical areas affected by psoriasis. The information provided by this article can be helpful in knowing what really is going on at the cellular level in psoriasis. Fett, Rebecca. Healing Arthritis and Psoriasis by Restoring the Microbiome: The Keystone Approach. Franklin Fox Publishing, 2018, pp. 163-164. The author helps us understand the root causes of the autoimmune diseases, for instance, the psoriasis. She affirms, based on scientific research, that the balance of bacteria in an individual’s microbiome can have a huge impact on inflammation throughout the body. She also reveals the importance of a low-starch and microbiome-restoring diets for people who are suffering psoriasis. The author is a science writer with a degree in molecular biotechnology and biochemistry from the University of Sydney. She previously spent ten years as a biotechnology patent litigation attorney in New York, where she specialized in analyzing the scientific and clinical evidence for immune-targeting biologic medicines. I will use this source to support my research paper regarding the connection or roll of diets in psoriasis. Griffiths, C. E., and Richards, H. L. â€Å"Psychological Influences in Psoriasis.† Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, no. 26, 2001, pp. 338-339. The article explains how patients with psoriasis experience psychosocial activities like high anxiety level, depression, worry and avoidance of social activities. It also suggests that one of the main sources of stress experienced by patients with the said skin condition is due to apprehension of how others will react to their disease, which leads to avoidance behavior and extreme worrying. C. E. M. Griffiths OBE (Order of the British Empire) is Foundation Professor of Dermatology at the University of Manchester, Director of the Manchester Centre for Dermatology Research and Head of the Dermatology Theme of the National Institute for Health Research Manchester Biomedical Research Centre. He is also an Honorary Consultant Dermatologist at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust. On the other hand, H. L. Richards of Mercy University Hospital, Cork is also a researcher with an expertise in Positive Psychology, Health Psychology, and Clinical Psychology. I will use this source to get more inf ormation between the relationship of psoriasis and stress. â€Å"Growth and Shedding of Keratinocytes in Psoriasis.†Psoriasis Plaque, PubMed Health, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMHT0030407/ Gupta, Madhulika A. et al. â€Å"A Psychocutaneous Profile of Psoriasis Patients Who Are Stress Reactors: A Study of 127 Patients.† General Hospital Psychiatry, vol. 11, no. 3, May 1989, pp. 166-173. PubMed, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0163-8343(89)90036-4. Gupta and his colleagues have identified some psychocutaneous distinctiveness that clinically differentiates psoriatirc who report that stress aggravates their disease (high stress reactors) from the psoriatics who do not report a considerable relationship between stress and their psoriasis (low stress reactors). The high stress reactors have more distorting illness as result of severe psoriatic flare ups in â€Å"emotionally charged† body parts. Madhulika Gupta is a scientist and affiliated at Division of Maternal, Fetal Newborn Health, Children’s Health Research Institute, and assistant Professor in the Department of Paediatrics and Biochemistry in the Schulich School of Medicine Dentistry in Western University. She is a very credible author that I can utilize in my research as it relates to the stressor of psychosocial influence to the exacerbation of psoriasis. â€Å"Main Features of Psoriasis.†Psoriasis E-Chart.HC-HealthComm, loc. 63, hc- healthcomm.com Pagano, John O. A., D.C. Healing Psoriasis: The Natural Alternative. John Wiley Sons, 2009, pp. 18-19, 71, 73-75. Dr. John Pagano defines in his book what is psoriasis and its etiology. He discusses the importance of diet and mental attitude in overcoming psoriasis. He also reveals how acid-forming diet, stress and any negative emotions such as hatred, anger, fear and the likes can aggravate the psoriatic condition. The author is a chiropractic physician in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, for forty eight years. His motivation to conduct research on and study psoriasis is due to His first encounter with his psoriasis patients while doing his internship at a hospital in Denver has motivated him to conduct research on psoriasis to alleviate the suffering of the people with the said disease. He wants to prove that psoriasis and other skin problems or diseases can be controlled and healed naturally. I strongly believe that the author is a reliable source and his book will be able to help me on my research paper to validate some claims and answer questions regarding the causes of psoriasis, and how it c an be treated. Raychaudhuri, Siba P. et al. Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis: Pathophysiology, Therapeutic Intervention, and Complementary Medicine. Taylor Francis Group, 2018, pp. 37, 61, 170, 246, 248-250. The authors present information on pathophysiology, disease epidemiology, and genetics of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. They cover the current treatments for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, which includes topical preparations, light therapy, and the idea of total care. In addition, they discuss the numerous nutriceutical supplements and functional foods available for psoriasis and its accompanying inflammatory conditions. Siba P. Raychudhuri, MD, FACP, FACR, is the chief of the Rheumatology Division at the VA Medical Center in Sacramento, California, and a senior faculty in the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the University of California, Davis. Smriti K. Raychaudhuri, MD, is a professor of medicine and medical microbiology at California Northstate University College of Medicine. She is also the director of the Cellular and Clinical Immunology Research Laboratory at the Sacramento VA Medical Center, California. Lastly, Debasis Bagchi, PhD, MACN, C NS, MAIChE, is the chief scientific officer at Cepham Research Center, Piscataway, New Jersey; a professor in the Department of Phamacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy, Texas. I will use this source to explain the pathophysiology of the disease process of psoriasis. Shuster, Sam. â€Å"Stress and Psoriasis.† British Journal of Dermvatology. vol. 100, no. 5, 1979. pp. 614-615. The article discusses the relationship of stress and psoriasis. Dr. Sam Shuster is a British dermatology educator, consultant, and researcher. He is an honorary consultant at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital since 2009. Consultant on various pharmacological and chemical industries worldwide, television and radio programs on medical and general topics. The article provides information about how stress affects psoriasis. Weinberg, Jeffrey M. Treatment of Psoriasis. Birkhauser, 2008, p. 11. The book expounds the pathopysiology of psoriasis and the triggering factors of it. The author describes, as well, the different types of psoriasis like erythrodermic psoriasis, pustular psoriasis, inverse psoriasis, nail psoriasis, oral psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis. He also discusses the different ways to treat psoriasis- oral therapy, topical therapy, UV and laser therapy. Furthermore, he points out some medications that can trigger psoriasis. The author is a Dermatology specialist in Forest Hill, New York. He attended and graduated from University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1993. This book will be helpful to fully understand the disease process and treatments

Toxicology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Toxicology - Essay Example At the same time, new methods may be able to point out where chemicals interact to produce disease. But because of human safety numerous animals are used for experiments and testing. Most of them are killed or subject to unacceptable pain and distress. This state of affairs shook the scientists conscience. A movement was started within the scientist community to change the conditions. During World Wars nations were more involved in producing chemical weapons. These chemical agents were tested on animals in many warring countries. The shocking results of these tests initiated the thought process in scientists to do something for the welfare of animals. The first proposal in this regard using three R's term was presented in 1954 by Charles Hume, founder of the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW). He proposed that UFAW start a scientific study of humane technique in laboratory animal experiments. Christine Stevens, founder of the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) also contributed financially from U.S. Soon this movement gathered momentum and spread all over the world. Legislators in Europe and the United States proposed use of laboratory animals under certain regulations. Laws were introduced for restraining use of animals in laboratories. The three R's stand for replacement, reduction and refinement. ... Various organization were established for safe guarding and monitoring the matters related to animal usage in laboratories. The proposed use of three Rs is described here briefly. First R Reduction The reduction proposes some alternative methods for getting similar level of information by using less number of elements. Thus reducing the number of elements used in laboratories. It was observed and proved that poor experimental methods and inadequate information leads to increased usage of animals. It was proposed that measures should be taken to reduce repeated experiments. The data gathered previously should be used. The revolution in information technology has made it easy to access variety of information available at far off places so that experiments may not be repeated and thus number of animals used in laboratories may be reduced. Second R Refinement Refinement means to use such methods that lessen pain and distress and increase animal wellbeing. The pain and distress can be reduced or removed by using various drugs like anesthetics, analgesics etc. It can be materialized by a program of animal care to find and reduce animal sufferings. It was proposed to evolve ways and methods of assessing animal suffering during various experiments. Accomplishment of refinement depends on the ability of scientists and experts willingness to contribute and coordinate for refining the methods and quality of their experimentation. They should realize that any method that inflicts suffering on animals should be avoided. It is unfortunate that not much funding is provided to investigate and refine experimental techniques and

Carter's brand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Carter's brand - Essay Example Most of the families have two wage earners. In general, Carter's is focused on three different markets namely infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. (Carter's Company Profile, 2006). Strategy Statement. Be in one of the most highly rated industries for stability and success, Carter's offers a high quality clothes to everyone who wants excellence for their children. It is advantage is that Carter's meets the requirement of wide audience marketing fashion made of high quality materials. The high quality materials are the main criterion for Carter's. It does not want to reduce costs of production as it can worsen quality of goods (Caster's Inc, 2006). Recommended Message Strategy. In order to compete on the market, Carter's can implement new product line based on natural materials only for those who are health conscious and are willing to pay for natural fabric and dyes. This strategy will help to create a core of loyal supporters and repeat buyers. The target audience of Carter's will not be changed greatly, although Carter's can attract high income market segment that can afford high quality baby clothes at high price. This new line will help to penetrate to new market and create a strong target audience. The sales strategy is to build and open new locations on schedule in order to increase revenue. This strategy will help to overcome possible demographic changes and attract new market segment in order to sustain strong brand and market image as a leader in the USA baby clothes and apparel for fashionable youngsters SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths 1. Brand Recognition. Carter's brand creates a complex bundle of images and experiences in the customer's mind. It represents a promise about a high quality children clothes and the latest fashion designs. Carter's brand recognition helps it to differentiate the company's offering from all others. Customers integrate all their experiences of observing, using, or consuming children clothes with everything they hear and read about it (Carter's, Inc. Reuters, 2006). 2. Brand Equity. Brand equity represents the added value that accrues to a product as a result of Carter's prior investments in the marketing of the brand. Brand equity is thought of as an asset representing the value created by the relationship between the brand and customers over time. The stronger the relationship, the greater the equity. For example, the value of Carter's has been estimated to run in the billion of dollars (Caster's Inc, 2006; Fill, 1999). 3 Stable Financial Growth. Carter's retail value is about $17 billion, and expected to jump up to $20 billion by 2010. Also, "total wholesale sales increased $8.4 million, or 9.3%, to $99.0 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2005 from $90.6 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2004" (Quarterly Report: Carter's, 2005.). This tendency shows that Carter's is able to react to changing economic conditions and increase sales volume which is about 17.0% a year (Caster's Inc. Hoovers, 2006). 4. Technological Innovations used by Carter's include Internet marketing. Internet marketing has a wider possibility than traditional marketing. For instance, Carter's uses bolt-on systems based on the addition of an e-business system as a value added service to existing supply chains. These types of B2C systems are common among retailers like Carter's and help to attract more customers and