Countable and Uncountable Nouns - Proofeds Writing Tips Blog

Countable and Uncountable Nouns Countable and Uncountable Nouns You might not have heard of countable and uncountable nouns before. However, it is useful to know the difference, as they work slightly differently with certain words. In this post, we explain how to use them correctly. Countable Nouns Quite simply, countable nouns are things that can be easily separated or counted. For example, we can refer to three apples, five people, or six guitars. These are also referred to as count nouns. When a noun can be counted, we can use words like number (e.g., a large number of eggs) and fewer (e.g., I have fewer eggs than you) with it. We can also say an egg or some eggs, depending on the number described. Uncountable Nouns Certain things, such as butter or water, cannot be counted as they are typically an undifferentiated mass. Other examples include sand, milk, and coffee. Many abstract concepts are uncountable nouns, too, including music, love, happiness and sadness. Uncountable nouns are also known as mass nouns. As with countable nouns, we have specific words we use with uncountable nouns. For example, amount (e.g., a large amount of sand) instead of number and less (e.g., there is less sand here than I thought) instead of fewer. We can also say some butter, refer to a certain weight, such as 100g of butter, or say the butter, but we never say a butter. Countable or Uncountable If in doubt about a particular word, ask whether it easily be counted or separated into distinct units. If it can be, it is probably a countable noun. Professional Proofreading To get your paper professionally proofread, upload it today at Proofed!

Free Essays on In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens

around, yet the meaning of the text remains the same. Even though Woolf’s essay was written by an economically privileged British white woman, Walker still chooses that essay because even though Walker primarily focuses on black women, she realizes that there are many similarities that exist in the circumstances of those two different groups. Both Woolf and Walker argue that it was a common belief that women were responsible for the household work since they did not go out and work like the men and make money to feed the family. Walker describes her mother’s everyday household chores and says â€Å"she made all the clothes we wore, even my brothers’ overalls. She made all the towels and sheets we used. She spent the summers canning vegetables and fruits. She spent winter evenings making quilts enough to cover all our beds†. Even though Walker’s mother did all this, she still â€Å"labored beside-not behind-[Walker’s] father in the fields† (Walker 168). Woolf argues that women were expected to contribute more to the household than men because they stayed home most of the time. Even though in Walker’s example women work side-by-side with men, their work is still not conside... Free Essays on In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens Free Essays on In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens The Legacies of Two Different Groups of Women In her essay, â€Å"In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens,† Alice Walker builds a case about the legacy of women artists. Walker is searching for the African American women’s identity and the legacy these women left behind. In order to support her argument, Walker quotes Virginia Woolf in many instances. Walker often takes text from Woolf’s â€Å"A Room of One’s Own†, and rewrites it. Walker changes a lot of Woolf’s text to portray the lives of black women. Walker’s text comes into â€Å"conversation† with Woolf’s because both texts are related to the argument that Walker constructs about the legacy of women artists. Walker rewrites parts of Woolf’s text and changes many of the words around, yet the meaning of the text remains the same. Even though Woolf’s essay was written by an economically privileged British white woman, Walker still chooses that essay because even though Walker primarily focu ses on black women, she realizes that there are many similarities that exist in the circumstances of those two different groups. Both Woolf and Walker argue that it was a common belief that women were responsible for the household work since they did not go out and work like the men and make money to feed the family. Walker describes her mother’s everyday household chores and says â€Å"she made all the clothes we wore, even my brothers’ overalls. She made all the towels and sheets we used. She spent the summers canning vegetables and fruits. She spent winter evenings making quilts enough to cover all our beds†. Even though Walker’s mother did all this, she still â€Å"labored beside-not behind-[Walker’s] father in the fields† (Walker 168). Woolf argues that women were expected to contribute more to the household than men because they stayed home most of the time. Even though in Walker’s example women work side-by-side with men, their work is still not conside...

You need to choose a topic from the materials Essay

You need to choose a topic from the materials - Essay Example The report raises addresses about responsibility. Since border executors are significant members of the Department of Homeland Security, they are not subjected to the same open examination as cops who utilize their weapons. It additionally addresses if, in the race to secure the border, operators are constantly enough prepared and it raises the inquiry: why arent these cases being indicted? Also the authorities still are not equipped to give a fulfilling reply. In order to go deeper into the report it is necessary to know the history of the borderlands of Mexico (GOP Legislators Visiting Mexico Concerned About Border Security 2001). The area of land which is presently known as Central America was the original land of ‘Mestizos’, who were partly Spanish and partly native. The Mestizos, started their journey towards south-west of United States for a better living, which is now known as Mexico (U.S.-Mexican Border Violence 2010). As United States of America was expanding, b oth in population and in size, this newly emerged Americans invaded the area, so long occupied by the Mestizos (Bergmark, Regan, Barr, and Garcia 2010). A fierce war broke out. Mestizos were defeated and finally peace was reinstated with the ‘Treaty of Guadalupe’ in 1848. Hundreds of Mexicans lost their lives in the war and thousands of them became homeless. Though some of the Mexicans fought back, the overall situation of the country was pathetic, full of terror and without having any law and order (Salividar 1993). American companies now came into the forefront. They entered by force into the Mexican Territory, and set up factories/mills/companies to maximize their profit by exploiting the local labor-force and the natural resources. Peso, the local currency was devalued and the economy of the country suffered due to large unemployment (Paredes 1991). The people, who were staying near the ‘borderline’ between USA and Mexico, now had to take an important d ecision of their

Grand Met case, on horizontal integration Essay

Grand Met case, on horizontal integration - Essay Example So it is becoming more important for the business managers to redefine the strategies based on the situations in the market and direct the company to attain great success. GrandMet integrated horizontally and also diversified their business by merging with several companies that are either related or not related to the business. That was done in order to acquire the strategic resources that were important for the smooth operation of GrandMet. In this study the strategic choices of Max Joseph and his team would be analysed from the inception of GrandMet, so that the approaches applied for making the strategic decisions can be understood. Apart from this the reasons for choosing the strategies would also be evaluated and scrutinised so that the feasibility of the strategies can be discussed and decisions can be taken regarding the capabilities of Max Joseph and his decision making abilities. External Environment and Internal Strategic Capabilities In order to make strategic choices in the increasingly competitive environment, the firms have analysed the threats and opportunities according to the strategic management process. An analysis of the economic environment which includes the direction and the characteristics of the economy in which the firm is operating or competing has to be analysed. As far as the macro environmental aspects are concerned, GrandMet engaged themselves into the business of fast moving consumer durables (FMCG), which customers required everyday and the rate of repurchase in such cases are also high. So it can be said the choosing the FMCG market was due to the huge potential in this sector (Hitt, Ireland, and Hoskisson, 2012, p. 13-15). However, the fact remains that the FMCG market is dominated by few major players, who are considered to the best brands and they have also got well established distribution channels or supply chain, corporate system, are financially stable and have a sustainable position both economically and strategically. These features of the major players, such as Pepsi Co., or Bread Inc., in the FMCG industry were a major threat for GrandMet. Moreover, the FMCG market is extremely competitive and the customers have various choices, substitute products, and complementary products, which also gives the customers high bargaining power. This also leads to the increase in competitiveness and reduction of the profit margin of the companies or marketers. Customers are also afraid or reluctant to change or try out new products, which are an aspect of psychology or consumer behaviour, so it is also difficult to make the customers switch to a different brand. Only when the company can make sure, as to how the preferences or the taste of the customers’ changes and how it can be changed, the objective of offering new products or services would be successful (Bamford, and West, 2010, p. XVI). The market share of GrandMet was high and the sales figures of the company were higher among the global operati ons in the industry. In the year 1991, the sales of the company were around $14.771 billion, while the asset value was $17.648 billion. There were around 13.8 million employees in the company. On the basis of the sales report of 1991, GrandMet was in the 5th position among the British companies and 78th among the large corporations in the world. Apart from this, the CEO of the company Max Joseph

Explain the contribution of Teresa of Avila to mysticism Essay Example for Free

Explain the contribution of Teresa of Avila to mysticism Essay Transfer-Encoding: chunked i »? Explain the contribution of Teresa of Avila to mysticism (35) Mysticism is an aspect of religious experience that is little understood. This term has been used to describe experiences that reveal spiritual recognition of truths beyond normal understanding, from the mildly ecstatic to the occult. It has been said that there are certain features which accompany such experiences which enable their recognition, such as a sense of freedom from the limitations of time, space and the human ego. Believers may also experience a sense of â€Å"oneness† or unity with God, accompanied with bliss and serenity. Mysticism is seen as the closest a human being can ever come to actually meeting God in this life. Mystical experiences can also be classified into two areas: extrovertive, where one experiences unity in the world through the physical senses and introvertive, where the person loses their identity as a separate individual and slowly merges into the divine unity. A key introvertive mystic is Teresa of Avila. In examining her contribution to religious experience, a good place to start is considering her background. Teresa’s background may be key to understanding her enigmatic personality and experiences. She was a woman from a wealthy background and had a turbulent start in life. When she was seven her mother died, and when she was fourteen she ran away to seek martyrdom. She had an alleged love affair with her cousin that tarnished her reputation and effectively made her unmarriable. This, coupled with her obsession with books of chivalry, may have corrupted her view of what love really is. Her father decided to send her into an Augustinian convent where she was very unhappy. This sense of rejection played a major part in her later religious experience. It was while she was in the convent that her religious experiences began. In 1554 she had a deeper conversion when she saw a statue of Jesus after he had been whipped. She was deeply moved and wrote, â€Å"I felt so keenly aware of how poorly I had thanked him for those wounds that, it seems to me, my heart broke. I threw myself down before him with the greatest outpouring of heart. † After this experience she progressed into a life of intense prayer and the Catholic practice of mortification, so much so that he motto became, Lord, either let me suffer or let me die. She was also deeply influenced by the Confessions of Augustine and other theological books – although she did not have access to the Bible. Perhaps the single most influential experience she had was when she ‘came back from the dead’ after suffering from what is thought to have been malaria. This increased her notoriety. Moving on, Teresa was encouraged to write about her experiences and her books continue to influence mysticism today. Her two main writings are Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle. Way of Perfection is considered her spiritual autobiography. Here she emphasises the importance of praying mentally as well as vocally. In sixteenth century Spain the common people were encouraged to restrict themselves to vain repetitions of learned-off prayers, Teresa rejected this in favour of a more personal relationship with God. Her superbly inspiring classic on the practice of prayer is as fresh and meaningful today as it was when she first wrote it. The Way of Perfection is a practical guide to prayer setting forth the Saints counsels and directives for the attainment of spiritual perfection. Through the entire work there runs the authors desire to teach a deep and lasting love of prayer beginning with a treatment of the three essentials of the prayer-filled life fraternal love, detachment from created things, and true humility. St. Teresas counsels on these are not only the fruit of lofty mental speculation, but of mature practical experience. In The Interior Castle she compares the soul to a castle with seven rooms, with the Trinitarian God residing in the inner room. Growth in prayer enables the believer to reach a deeper intimacy with God, symbolised by a progressive journey through the rooms of the castle. She also describes the resistance that the Devil places in various rooms, to keep believers from union with God. Throughout, she provides encouragements and advice for spiritual development. Teresa’s writings lack Biblical references due to the Spanish Inquisition restricting access to the scriptures, and this grieved her. William James identified four characteristics of religious experience: ineffability; noetic quality; transiency and passivity. All of these care clearly apparent with Teresa’s experiences. Starting with ineffability, this is when one experiences a feeling that cannot be described to anyone else. She wrote that, â€Å"the soul is fully awake as regards God, but wholly asleep as regards the things of this world. † Secondly, noetic quality is when the mystic experience gives insight into truths unobtainable by the intellect alone. This is also apparent in Theresa’s experiences: â€Å"when I return to myself, it is wholly impossible for me to doubt that I have been in God, and God in me. † Thirdly, transiency. The religious experience does not last for long, usually half an hour or so. Though they are remembered, they are imperfectly recalled, but recognised if they reoccur – the recipient usually feels a profound sense of the importance of the experience. Associated with Teresa’s raptures are always visions. Her most famous vision involved her seeing a small angel with a beautiful face holding â€Å"a long golden spear† tipped with a â€Å"little fire† which he thrust into her heart. Finally, there is passivity, when the mystic feels as if they have been taken over by a superior power. In Teresa’s case, her visions were sometimes accompanied by levitation or strange screams. It could be this aspect that led many to believe she was possessed by the devil. In terms of impact, Teresa of Avila had a profound influence on religious experience. She the first female saint of the Roman Catholic Church – the saint of headache sufferers, rather oddly. She was somewhat of a reformer, emphasising a personal relationship with God above rigid sacramentalism. In 1562 she established the strict Carmelite order in various areas of Spain and her writings continue to be studied by believers today.

The School: Postmodernist Ideas Essay -- essays research papers

The School: Postmodernist Ideas Barthelme's "The School" is the first postmodernist story I have ever read. When I read it for the first time, my lips formed a bitter smile. In my imagination, postmodernist stories differed from the classical ones in the arrangement of the ideas and in the standard that postmodernists reject society. True, â€Å"The School† does differ in composition, for example the absence of introduction, but though it sounds somewhat comical, it does also have an incorporated pessimism that makes me reflect on the story. I think this pessimism is the cause that postmodernists reject society. The notion of rejection comes in the story through the death cases. It seems strange why Barthelme uses the notion death in his story, but I think the reason is that this is the best way to stress that every living thing is losing its importance. Hopeless pessimism interweaves with the idea of rejection, and I find them together everywhere, in every death case. For Barthelme, what is lost is unrecoverable. Pessimism, mostly expressed in taking death naturally, spreads uniformly all over the story, from the first paragraph about the orange trees to the last when the new gerbil enters the classroom. In this school, where the children are supposed to receive education, everything dies. The fish, the salamander, and the orange trees die though children take much care of them. The teacher is pessimistic although life goes on and a new ...

Education a Continous Process

Baxter and Tight (1994) noted in their research that in many countries, people are being encouraged to be â€Å"lifelong learners,† people who return to school again and again throughout their lives, rather than looking at education as something that ends with graduation from high school or college (Baxter & Tight, 1994). The â€Å"Lifelong Learning† movement believes that education should be an important part of people's lives throughout their lives instead of restricting it to childhood and adolescence. The authors interviewed people who had returned to education later in life to see what factors supported or interfered with that choice. One of the observations they made was that for many older students, especially women, returning to school represented a real juggling act with their time management. This trend was so strong that a significant number of people asked to participate felt that they could not spare the hour the interview would take. This trend of women being stressed for time to do everything they and others expected of them was so strong that they mentioned that perhaps the idea of people attending school throughout their lives might be a male view because often men do not have to juggle as many important tasks as women. The women who were interviewed noted that they had family, personal and work commitments, all of which had to come before school, with the result that when they attended classes, often there was no room in their lives for any social activities connected to their academic work (Baxter & Tight, 1994). However, Palwak (1999) points out that in an age of rapidly changing technology, it may be necessary to include education in one's career plans to the worker does not become stuck with archaic skills. The difficulty in juggling time is also demonstrated in discussions on this topic by the fact that so many articles focus on retirees who return to learning because they finally have the time to study things that have interested them for many years. Education a Continous Process Baxter and Tight (1994) noted in their research that in many countries, people are being encouraged to be â€Å"lifelong learners,† people who return to school again and again throughout their lives, rather than looking at education as something that ends with graduation from high school or college (Baxter & Tight, 1994). The â€Å"Lifelong Learning† movement believes that education should be an important part of people's lives throughout their lives instead of restricting it to childhood and adolescence. The authors interviewed people who had returned to education later in life to see what factors supported or interfered with that choice. One of the observations they made was that for many older students, especially women, returning to school represented a real juggling act with their time management. This trend was so strong that a significant number of people asked to participate felt that they could not spare the hour the interview would take. This trend of women being stressed for time to do everything they and others expected of them was so strong that they mentioned that perhaps the idea of people attending school throughout their lives might be a male view because often men do not have to juggle as many important tasks as women. The women who were interviewed noted that they had family, personal and work commitments, all of which had to come before school, with the result that when they attended classes, often there was no room in their lives for any social activities connected to their academic work (Baxter & Tight, 1994). However, Palwak (1999) points out that in an age of rapidly changing technology, it may be necessary to include education in one's career plans to the worker does not become stuck with archaic skills. The difficulty in juggling time is also demonstrated in discussions on this topic by the fact that so many articles focus on retirees who return to learning because they finally have the time to study things that have interested them for many years.

Norse, Teutonic, or Scandinavian mythology Essay

   Thought (Hugin) and Memory (Munin) were the two ravens that went unto the world to observe and return to tell of what all men do, Driven by further search for knowledge, Odin begged Mimir, the wise, to allow him to drink from the well of wisdom, for this he consented to lose an eye. â€Å"Wounded I hung on wind swept gallows For nine long nights, Pierced by a spear, pledged to Odin, Offered myself to myself: The wisest know not from whence spring The roots of that ancient rood. They gave me no bread, they gave me no mead: I looked down; with a loud cry I took up the runes and I fell. † (The Elder Edda 56) Here we find Odin once more sacrificing himself for knowledge, In The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology it is said that Odin actually died on the gallows of Yggdrasil, that he traversed Nifleheim, or Hel in order to obtain the nine sacred runes, that seem to be extremely powerful as described in The Elder Edda. The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology adds yet another theory to Odin hanging himself, † The parallel between Odin’s voluntary death on Yggdrasil and the crucifixion remains striking. Odin was pierced with a spear and like Christ, cried out before he died†¦ there is little doubt that his hanging on the cosmic tree had pre-Christian origins and derived from ancient pagan worship. Odin had long been the god of the spear, the god of the hanged. † This could definitely be determined as less than speculation, seeing as we must rely on our sources and to this point one could say that this is a very valid and well thought out work. Regardless of minor differences in text again we must as they did default ourselves to the larger span of information. There were two different groups of gods in Scandinavian Mythology, The Aesir and the Vanir. Each having their own respective dwelling place, Asgard for the Aesir, and Vanaheim for the Vanir. Of the two, The Vanir have been said to be the older. â€Å"Unlike the warrior Aesir, the Vanir were a race of gods associated with fertility, wealth, and good weather. † (The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology 500) Among the Vanir were, Njord, the sea and fortune god, Skadi, the god of destruction, Freyja, the goddess of love, and Freyr the god of Fertility. Among the Aesir were, Odin, Balder, Bragi, Forseti Heimdall, Hodr, Thor, Tyr, Vili, Ve, Vidar, Frigg, Sif, and Idun. At one point in time there was a great war between these two branches of gods, yet both the Aesir, and the Vanir came to terms by exchanging several prominent gods of each side. The Vanir sent Njord, Freyr, Freyja, and Kvasir, while the Aesir sent Mimir, and Honir. The Vanir soon found that they got the bad end of the deal due to the fact that Mimir was the only one who knew what he was talking about, and that in his absence Honir, wasn’t really that bright. The Vanir then sliced of Mimir’s head and sent it back to Asgard, where Odin used Powerful magic to allow Mimir’s head to speak. Little else is known of the Vanir, they seemed to lose importance quickly after it was concluded that the war was resolved however it was noted that Vanaheim, was potentially unaffected by Ragnarok. This shows evidence of two religions colliding with Scandinavian and Germanic mythology. Revealing to us that Scandinavian mythology has most definately influenced by other ancient tales and stories. (Cherry, Vanaheim) Scandinavian mythology might have been the inspiration to several works of modern day literature. It is Nicole Cherry’s opinion that â€Å"Tolkien was very well acquainted with the northern mythos, as can be seen by the use of it in his books. The name of one of his main characters, Gandalf, is found in The Poetic Edda. Gandalf is, in some ways, reminiscent of Odin, the leader of the Norse pantheon. Even the name Middle-earth, the setting for Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, comes from Norse mythology. † There are several other modern day works of literature based on or derived from Scandinavian mythology as well, such as, The Ring of the Nibelung and The Nibelungenlied. These works, may well show the effect and legacy of Scandinavian Mythology in the World. Another notable element of Tolkein’s Lord of The Rings was his use of the ring itself to the Viings the ring meant wealth honor fame and destiny. It was in fact a tradition to give rings to neighboring countries, bringing to notice the ever prominent focal point of the Lord of the Rings. (Day 29) There is no Heaven or Hell in Scandinavian mythology, the only hope is to be brought up to Asgard by a Valkyrie or â€Å"Battle Maiden†. Even then those chosen or the Einherjar (The Heroic dead) faced defeat at Ragnarok in the Final Battle on the Vigrid Plain. This may be unlike any other focal point of religion known. It reasons in many ways that the only way to gain honor is to die in battle unfaltering. Scandinavian Mythology, although comparable to other religions or other pagan beliefs is an original and unique work of the Norwegians, Swedish, Icelandic, and Danish peoples of Europe. Hamilton describes it justly by saying, † Asgard, the home of the gods, is unlike any other heaven men have dreamed of. No radiancy or joy is in it, no assurance of bliss, it is a grave and solemn place, over which hangs the threat of inevitable doom†¦ the same is true for humanity†¦ this conception of life which underlies Norse religion, as somber a conception the human mind has ever given birth to†¦ A heroic death†¦ is not a defeat, but a triumph. † Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE JRR Tolkien section.   

Understanding and Managing Resistance to Organisational Change

Understanding and Managing Resistance to Organisational Change Introduction In the ever changing dynamic world, change is inevitable. Businesses have to be adjusted with the changing environment. Change in a business is a gradual process that must be well planned. The management should be actively involved in the change process since support is required from all corners.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Understanding and Managing Resistance to Organisational Change specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More When an organization or a country at large, wants to make a change in the way things are done then the start point is understanding the need that require a change. People are not willing to change, they tend to be in a state of inertia; however if well implemented then it can be a smooth transition. Change in organizations is greatly favoured by the mode of organizational culture, if a company has a freelance culture; this is a culture that embraces a system that the employee s feel free to air their views to the higher leadership, then change can be smoothly implemented. In large organizations, there can be a division into various departments and the departments are supposed to face a certain area; the same departments can be undergoing varying changes. As much as there are departmental meetings, and departments are supposed to come up with their own way of doing things, there are meeting with the larger managements that are not restricted to the team managers alone. Views from all are weighed equally and no one is supposed to be seen as the sole holder of wisdom when a change policy is being discussed. Views from all stake holders must be considered. Though decisions in this type of organizations take a long period of time, in most cases they make informed decisions. They are firms that embrace change and keep changing gradually. Innovations in the organizations are seen as the order of the day and entrants are highly encouraged to be innovative and em brace change. This paper discusses how to manage change effectively. Change The world is undergoing different transition; these translations require organisations to align themselves with the changes in the world. Change can be to improve the current conditions, take a complete strategy or adopt a different way of doing things. Change management is a process where the management learn, understand, and critically think about alterations they are supposed to make in an organization.Advertising Looking for critical writing on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, for an effective change process, change should not be imposed to employees but they should be involved in the change system. When undertaking a change, the employees are the immediate people who will be affected and thus they need to be engaged from the earliest stage. To remain competitive in the changing environment, there is need to a dopt new mechanisms which ensure that a business is up to the task with the changing environments. When a business has taken the path of change, there are mechanisms that must be adopted for a smooth transition from the traditional method, of doing thing to a new mechanism. This takes the form of psychological needs, technical expertise, and structure of a business, suppliers and other stakeholders. To undertake this task, the management need to do their homework well for a smooth ride. The power of inertia will act negatively to the management since people generally do not want to be moved from their areas of comfort to adopt a change. This is where the need for a psychological approach is required. Objectives of a change management program Change is taken for different reasons; each reason has some objectives that it aims at meeting; the universal objectives are; Improve current working condition and strategies Adopt a different way of doing things Make new combinations of resour ces in an organization Adopt new technology Change of business, target market, production formulae, management, job schedules, and job description among others Have a different human resource management system, computer system among others Change process Before a company adopt a new system of doing things, there is need to appreciate that the new way can only succeed if the employees are positive about the change. This calls for a gradual way process of implementing the change. The organizational culture is one of the factors that can affect the change negatively or positively. The change agents should understand this well before implementing the change program. Generally a change follows the following procedure. Problem identification and analysis This is where the agents of change realize that there are / is some process that has to be made. After this there is the looking for the probable solution to the problem that must be alighted with the mission and vision of the organizati on. The staffs that will be affected as well as the entire team should be given the detailed analysis of what the organization want to do.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Understanding and Managing Resistance to Organisational Change specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More At this stage the management brain storms the effect of the program with the employees and let the employees learn how they will be affected. If there is any learning needed it is done at this stage. Generally to have a job well-done, it is of great importance that people involved start from the beginning. Change management is not an exemption. In this stage, a good context of the problem is grasped. It is only after getting the correct understanding of the problem that he/she can make a good decision. Pilot study There is always no guarantee that the new system is going to be more effective than the old system, thus there is the need for the system to be run as a pilot study alongside the old system. This also offers the employees the time to have a hand on experience on the new system. They learn more about it and may even improve on it. If the program is seen as a better one, then the final stage is done. In this stage the manager should gather all relevant data and facts. It is from the facts and data that he develops various alternatives of choices that can be used to solve the problem at hand. The statistics will also be the ones that will support the final decision. There are various methods of collecting data; they include researching, brainstorming, and experimentation. It is the manager’s duty to choose the right method to adopt because different problems call for different methods. Depending on the problem, the people to be consulted differ. However, an effective manager should ensure that he/she consults those who matter and those who know. Consultation assists in making a more informed decision and as sists in generating more alternatives of choice. Their opinions and viewpoints should be considered in the final decision making, but the manager should always keep in mind that it is his/her responsibility to come up with the right decision. Choosing the best alternative After taking time and pondering over the issues (time taken depends on the urgency of the decision on the right change to be adopted), he/she chooses and implements the best alternative. At the initial stage a lot of support of the decision is required to ensure that the whole organization or the departments concerned have adopted it effectively.Advertising Looking for critical writing on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It is not always that a decision made bring the expected results; thus feedback from the people on the ground and the general performance of the business should be sorted, so as areas that need improvement are recognized. In-case an area that needs improvement has been recognized, it should be addressed appropriately Full adoption, control, and monitoring At this stage, all things are alighted to follow the new system and the old one is switched off. All the employees are supposed to adopt the system. Improvement of the system is the major thing that follows this. Manager’s role in change Management Leaders are the people who are mandated with the task of pioneering a business to its desired objectives. In transitional period the leaders is the one who guides subordinates to the desired path. They jointly make rules and policies to be followed in attaining the goals. The role of the leader in this case is to oversee the performance of the roles of subordinates and giving guid ance in various areas. Change needs to be planned at all times when it is being implemented and conducted in such a way that it will be accepted in the business. The role of the leader in such case is the change agent. His (charisma) is put to test. He is supposed to guide his subordinate in a way that will inspire them and give intellectual stimulation. He will consider what is referred to as individualized consideration, where by the focus will be on making each individual in the business comfortable with the change and be able to contribute to decisions as expected. One of the major hindrances of change is organizational culture. A manager when pioneering a company from one wave of leadership to another should first of all understand the culture of the company. The use of opinion leaders is another way that a manager can use. Change is inevitable however it is one of the things that need to be planned by the concerned change agents since human being repel change; but when well de veloped and implemented it is adopted freely. Major barriers to an effective change system The first step in successful business change is to identify the communication channels to use in coaching employees. This can be through brainstorming where challenges facing the business can be identified. Such challenges can be obtained through reviewing the day to day activities of the business. Some questions may serve as a guideline, these include: Have employees been provided with a good working environment? Are they happy with what they are doing? Has the business been able to satisfy all the clients? Is proper information provided to all stakeholders? Is there good flow of conversations? Four communication weaknesses or barriers at any company are overload of messages, failure to share information among major stakeholders, failure to include employees in decision making processes, and personal attributes. Employees are given many instructions and they are not given room to practice the m nor to show their expertise. Communication means more than just giving out messages; it involves speaking, listening, sending, and receiving messages. In communication, listening is the key to success and most of the time listening gets people into problems because they do not practice it. For business communication to be successful, listening has to be proficient. Listening simply means holding back one’s judgment and allowing answers to come from outside. Sharing of important information is poor and most of the time it is withheld from the staff. The top managers are responsible to make different ideas and views concerning the development of the organization which may be influenced by their knowledge and culture. If incompetent decisions are made effecting a change is a hard task. Good communications will assisting employees embrace change effectively, transition period will also be reduced and efficient. Change and Organizational culture Organisational culture is a set o f belief that exists in an organization and determines how the employees interact with each other as well as how the workers respond to a certain situation. Culture of an organisation determines how employees are going to perceive change. The culture like any other society defines issues and expected response to them. It is worth saying that the culture is not written down somewhere but is exists and controls the behaviour of the organization. There are some values that the organization holds, and for one to be seen as a â€Å"compliant† member of the larger group, you need to act in line with the expectation. As individuals we have our personality that is different from others, the same happens with other organizations; they have an organizational personality that is can be termed to as the organizational culture. An organisation which has a freelance culture adopts change more easily than one with a power culture. A certain language is developed, signs and symbols start def ining situation in the organization. As much as there is no set way of punishing those who don’t act in line, with the culture, it is self reinforcing. The culture after it has developed is very hard to change. The entire entity seems to have deep roots in the culture and anybody who goes against is seen as an outcast and don’t interact smoothly with the other colleagues. There are different issues of organizational culture and have different effects on the leadership of the organization as well as well as the conduct of the employee (Jones 12). Eight steps to successful change by John P Kotters Increase urgency This is involving all the people affected by a change in understanding the current position and the need for change. The management should let their employees understand how the change will affect them. One of the barriers to an effective change is negative perception of employees. The perception is brought about by lack of people understanding of change effect s. Build the guiding team Depending with the kind of change to be implemented, management should develop a team of change agents. They are people who should be well informed about the change to occur and used to train others on the way forward. They are opinion leaders. The most effective people for this task are leaders in departments. Get the vision right This is the stage where objectives and timeframes for change are set and discussed with the people who will be affected by the change to occur in a business. Objectives should be attainable. Communicate for buy-in This is the most important stage where there is communication to employees on the change. It is the time for training of the new way to employees. An effective communication strategy should be prepared to be proactive. This is a plan that is prepared after defining a business’s success and getting solution from the listening activities. Things to be included in the plan includes: taking employees to seminars that cover topics such as customer care, organizing get together between employers and employees, rewarding employees, holding regular meetings, including major stakeholders in business decision, assurance to personal service, among others. This plan does not concentrate in solving past troubles but in laying down a good foundation that guarantees business future success. A communication plan should take into consideration the availability of resources and whether the business aims at a long term or short term objective. Once a communication plan has been prepared, the company now focuses on its implementation. The expected result should be kept in mind and the main constitute of the plan reviewed to make sure they are in line with the expected result. The implementation process should involve as many people as possible but it should have one person who is answerable to it. Empower action This is the stage where practical change is undertaken although operated with the traditional syste m. This stage assists in polishing any issues which may have been ignored in the initial stage. Employees learn more about the new system and its operations. Create short-term wins This is timely evaluations of the system to ensure that it is efficient and can replace the old system. There is no need to wait for long periods for results but can even be done on daily basis. Dont let up This is polishing any deficits recognised as the new system is undertaken. This is support from all angles where the system is made more understandable to the users. At the same time polishing of areas and people who have not grasped the system well is done. Make change stick Monitoring and sticking to change. This is where the old system is forgotten and focus is put on the new system. Those people who are repelling the new system are expelled from a company and those entering it will only hear of the old system as some stories of the company (Kotter 57-78). Conclusion In the ever changing environment , change is inevitable. Business processes need to be adjusted with the changing environment. Change is a gradual process that must be well planned. Management should be actively involved in the change process since support is required from all corners. The main objective in a change management process is to facilitate better methods of doings things for a cost effective business. For an effective change, employees should be involved right from the start. They should understand how the change is going to affect their employment; this is through training and good leadership. Leaders are the people who are mandated with the task of pioneering a business to its desired objectives. In transitional period the leader is the one who guides subordinates to the desired path. They jointly make rules and policies to be followed in attaining the goals. One of the major barriers of change is communication barrier and organisational culture. Jones, Helen. Managing Change. Businessdate 11.1 (2003 ): 1. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. Kotter, John P. Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail. Harvard Business Review, 73(2), 59. 1995. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Complete. (Document ID: 4470386).

Writing a Thank You Note

Writing a Thank You Note Writing a Thank You Note Writing a Thank You Note By Ali Hale Sending a thank you note is always a lovely gesture – and often an expected one. I’m sure that when you were a child, your parents encouraged (or forced) you to write thank you notes for birthday and Christmas presents. As an adult, you should still make a point of writing a thank you note to express gratitude in a number of situations. These come in both personal and business contexts: Personal It’s appropriate to send a thank you note: When you receive a gift (especially important for wedding gifts). When you’ve been a houseguest in someone’s home (this is sometimes called a â€Å"bread-and-butter letter†). When someone has done a particular favor for you. Business It’s appropriate to send a thank you note: After attending a job interview. After receiving a promotion or payrise. After a business lunch, dinner or party. When an acquaintance has given you their time and advice. When a manager or professor has supplied you with a reference letter. To co-workers who’ve given you a gift (this last one may fall into the â€Å"personal† category, depending on how well you know your colleagues). Obviously, the types of thank you notes you write in a personal context (to your grandma, for instance) will differ considerably from the types you write in a business context (to an interviewer whom you barely know). I’ll cover the â€Å"personal† and â€Å"business† notes separately, outlining the general structure and giving you some examples. Writing a Personal Thank You Note If merely expressing your gratitude doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to write a thank you note, you might like to read these words of advice from Leslie Harpold. I will also grudgingly tell you the hidden secret of thank you notes: They improve the frequency and quality of the gifts you receive. People like being appreciated, and if they feel you actually notice the nice things they do for you, they’re more likely to give an encore performance. How to Write a Thank you Note Ideally, your letter should be on paper rather than emailed. If you are emailing, you must send individual thank you notes rather than mass-emailing everyone who gave you a gift. In most cases for a personal note, it’s not appropriate to set it out as a formal business letter. Instead, use good-quality notepaper or a nice greetings card. Structuring a Personal Thank You Note You should put your address at the top (or, if you know the recipient will already have your address, simply put the name of your town and state). Add the date. Address the recipient as â€Å"Dear [[name]]†, then open the letter by thanking them for the gift, hospitality or kindness offered. Your second sentence or paragraph should give some indication of your enjoyment or use of the gift. Some people like to go on to share a little news, especially if they have been out of touch with the recipient for a while. Some etiquette experts, though, suggest that the thank you note should purely be about the recipient’s kindness, not about your own life. I believe that in a personal context, it’s fine to share your news. A good closing sentence or paragraph is one which looks forward to seeing or speaking to the recipient – especially if a reunion or holiday is coming up. Mentioning â€Å"thank you † again is a good idea, to emphasise the point of the letter. You should not end with â€Å"yours sincerely† but with a less formal phrase; â€Å"love† or â€Å"love from† is often appropriate for relatives, or â€Å"best wishes†, â€Å"warmest wishes† or even â€Å"thanks again†. Example of a Personal Thank You Note Here’s an example, from the Etiquette Grrls’ book More Things You Need to Be Told (p56): September 1, 2005 Dear Katherine, Thank you so much for the wonderful book about nineteenth-century architecture of Long Island that you sent me. Not only was it the perfect present (I haven’t been able to put it down!) but it will certainly come in handy for my studies. You always pick the perfect thing! Again, thanks so much, and I’ll talk to you soon. Love, Bitsy As you can see, a thank you note needn’t be long to be friendly, polite and effective. Writing a Business Thank you Note Thank you notes are mandatory and expected in some situations. A recent survey by CareerBuilder.com found that: Nearly 15 percent of hiring managers would reject a job candidate who neglected to send a thank you letter after the interview 32 percent said they would still consider the thankless prospect but that their opinion of him or her would diminish advice from Write Express As you can see, after a job interview, a thank you note may be a must. (This will depend on your career area and the business etiquette in your country.) And in any business situation, it never hurts to send a polite letter, whether or not you think it’s absolutely required. A business thank you letter is somewhat different to the sort you send to your Grandma in gratitude for your Christmas slippers. Your business letter should: Be typed, ideally on letter-headed paper. (Handwritten or emailed letters are okay if you know the recipient will prefer this.) Be sent promptly (within 24 hours of an interview, for instance). Be friendly but also professional. It would be very inappropriate to end a business thank you with â€Å"love from†. Structuring a Business Thank You Note As with the personal thank you note, there’s an easy formula to follow. Set your letter out as a proper business letter, using letter headed paper and including your address, the recipient’s address, and the date. (You can find instructions on US business letter format and UK business letter format here on Daily Writing Tips.) Address the recipient as â€Å"Dear [name],† erring on the side of caution regarding formality. (â€Å"Mr Jones† or â€Å"Dr Smith† rather than â€Å"Bob†). Start by thanking them for the interview, pay rise, promotion, event, or other occasion that you’re writing about. Go on to mention something specific about how it has helped you, or how you enjoyed the event. Be sincere, and make it clear how much you appreciate their time and effort. You may want to mention the next occasion on which you hope to see them – though try not to be presumptuous. If you’re writing a thank you note for an initial interview, don’t act as though you’ve already been given the job! End with â€Å"Yours sincerely† when writing to someone you don’t know well (an interviewer or acquaintance from another company). If you’re writing to your boss or manager, â€Å"Best wishes† or â€Å"Many thanks† might be an appropriate way to close your letter. Example of a Business Thank You Note There are some good examples at Business Thank You Note Samples, including this one: Dear [City officials names], Wed like to express our gratitude for the school administrators luncheon last week. The luncheon itself was very well done and enjoyed by all, but of course its the sentiment behind the gathering that means the most. The citys renewed united commitment is a boost to the administrations morale and a vote of confidence in the schools future. For that, we thank you . Best wishes, As with a personal note, a business thank you letter needn’t be long. Indeed, since the recipient is likely to be busy, you should try to be concise and stick to the point. And make sure you double and triple proofread your letter – especially if it’s one you’ve sent after an interview, in the hopes of being hired. Early impressions really do count for a lot. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What Does [sic] Mean?8 Writing Tips for BeginnersI wish I were...

Implied and ExpressTerms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Implied and ExpressTerms - Essay Example In other words, different tests are applied when it comes to look for evidences regarding terms implied in fact and terms implied in law. Two tests are applied to terms implied in fact: business efficacy and officious bystander tests. Two tests are applied to terms implied in law: type of contract and necessity tests. All of these tests are completely different from each other, and they serve as guidelines at the time of finding evidence in relation to the characteristics of the terms. Koffman and Macdonald establish the difference between both kinds of terms as follows: "Terms implied in fact are individualised gap fillers, depending on the terms and circumstances of a particular contract. Terms implied in law are in reality incidents attached to standardised contractual relationships" (Society of Lloyds v Clementson [1995] CLC 117, Steyn LJ at 131 in Koffman and Macdonald, 5th ed.). On the other hand, David Atkinson from Client Plus (1999) and Gillhams Solicitors & Lawyers (2005) deal in separate publications with the issue of implied terms from a general point of view. Their conclusions are similar when they explain the different elements that are necessary for a term to be considered as implied. Atkinson quotes His Honour Judge Thayne Forbes QC enumerating five elements in the case of Davy Offshore -v- Emerald Field Contracting (1991) 55 BLR 1. These five basic points are the following in order for a term to be implied: (1) it must be reasonable and equitable; (2) it must be necessary to give business efficacy to the contract, so no term will be implied if the contract is effective without it; (3) it must be so obvious that it goes without saying'; (4) it must be capable of clear expression; (5) it must not contradict any express term of the contract.'" (Atkinson, 1999; Gillhams, 2005). Asif Tufal (2005b) in the Contract Law Page entitled "Terms of the Contract" published in LawTeacher.Net makes a classification of implied terms as follows: 1.- Terms Implied by Custom: "The terms of a contract may have been negotiated against the background of the customs of a particular locality or trade. The parties automatically assume that their contract will be subject to such customs and so do not deal specifically with the matter in their contract. See: Hutton v Warren (1836) 1 M&W 466." (Tufal, 2005b). 2.- Terms Implied by the Court: These terms are classified into two types of implied terms: terms implied as fact and terms implied by law following the next criteria: A.- Intention of the Parties/Terms Implied as Fact. Tufal makes the following assertions about the two different tests that are applied to terms implied as fact: In relation to business efficacy, Tufal explains that "The courts will be prepared to imply a term into a contract in order to give effect to the obvious intentions of the partie (.) the court will supply a term in the interests of 'business efficacy' so that the contract makes commercial sense. See: The Moorcock (1889) 14 PD 64." (Tufal, 2005b). Regarding the "officious bystander", Tufal states that "A more recent test is the 'officious bystander test' used to incorporate implied obvious terms (Shirlaw v Southern Foundries [1940] AC

Full scale research proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Full scale research proposal - Essay Example This research recognizes the need for employee motivation most especially in the era characterized by intense competition. Previous researches conducted with regard to this topic point out that this motivation will significantly increase the productivity of the employees, thereby bringing more profit to the company. In the same manner, it will also allow the employees to work hand in hand with each other in the attainment of the company’s goals. This study then concentrates on how employee motivation is enhanced in Morrisons supermarket. In order to yield valid and reliable conclusions, the researcher closely intertwines the qualitative and quantitative approaches. Under the qualitative aspect, a review of literature shall be undergone in order to examine previous studies conducted with regard to the topic at hand, thereby allowing the researcher to grasp the topic at hand. On the other hand, the quantitative aspect of the study deals with the conduction of surveys to gather the opinion of two hundred respondents (150 are employees of Morrisons while 50 are from its administrative department) with regard to initiatives pertaining to the enhancement of employee motivation. Morrisons supermarket is considered to be the fourth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom (Morrisons.co.uk, 2009). In Match 8, 2004, Morrisons finally merged with rival retailer, Safeway, after months of bidding, counter-bidding and other major investigations conducted by the government (Stevens, 2005; Wigham, 2004). With this, the Safeway brand has forever disappeared and hundreds of its employees have been effectively integrated into Morrisons supermarket (Wigham, 2004; Johnson 2004; Goudge, 2006). Naturally, employees coming from the acquiesced corporation face certain barriers with regard to the effective conduction of their duties as a part of Morrisons supermarket, thus affecting