Funtime Inc

Statement of Facts Funtime, Inc manufactures videogames machines. Funtime, Inc encountered decline in profits as a result of the modernized technology. To offset the decline in profits the management team focused on manufacturing economics and increased production by developing an incentive program for production managers whose contribution allowed for an increase in the amount of units produced and a decrease in its cost. The production management team improved manufacturing by increasing the number of completed units beyond normal production levels.To put together the videogame machines the assembly group required parts from the printed circuit boards (PCH) and the reading heads (RH). To achieve increased production, the parts were not carefully produced which resulted in the rejection of the parts that were not tested and modified to meet manufacturing standards. The preventive maintenance that would have been used was postponed and only emergency repair was being carried out to k eep production going.As a result of the pressure on the production group to focus on their machine there was machine downtime in the PCH and RH groups along with the demand for the parts led to more parts being rejected. Analysis Based on Funtime’s newly implemented incentive program, which rewards managers for increased output and cost savings, expectations were to see an increase in output and cost savings. Numbers on the contribution report show how the incentive program is working thus far. It can be seen in the table below that the goal of increasing output is being achieved as output is 200 units over budget.Despite the increased output, the goal of decreasing cost is failing thus far. There is an unfavorable contribution margin variance to budget of $58,660. The components that are driving that unfavorable contribution margin variance are in the analysis below. Direct Materials The first component of the unfavorable contribution margin is direct materials. The contribu tion report shows that direct materials has an unfavorable variance of $40,400. Funtime uses three different material types to build the video game units. A closer look at how efficient the housing units, printed circuit boards, and the reading heads are being used can be ound in the tables below. The first table shows the actual cost that Funtime is paying for the three types of direct material versus what the standard rate says they should be paying. The housing units shows no variance between the actual cost and the standard cost but both the printed circuit boards and the reading heads are both showing an unfavorable variance totaling $13,900. To obtain their goal of increasing production levels the PCB and RH groups have begun rejecting parts that in the past would have been tested and modified to meet standards and then be used in production.Rejecting the parts and bringing in new ones is proving to increase production levels but at the same time costing Funtime $13,900 more i n direct materials than they should be paying for the month of May. The direct material usage analysis gives a picture of how many materials are being used to produce the 2,200 units of output. Using the usage table below Funtime used a total of 2,200 housing units, 4,700 printed circuit boards, and 9,200 reading heads. In the direct material usage table it is seen how those actual units compared to how many units really should have been used.Just like in the direct material cost table housing units had no variance but printed circuit boards and reading heads have an unfavorable variance. It’s shown that 300 more printed circuit boards and 400 more reading heads were used than should have been. This is in line with previous analysis that due to the rushed production more PCBs and RHs are being purchased because of the high rejection rate. Direct Labor The next component that is helping to cause the unfavorable contribution margin is the direct labor cost.Just like in direct m aterial there are three different types of direct labor at Funtime and those include: assembly, printed circuit boards, and reading heads. Similar tables were used to look at the efficiency of direct labor as were used to look at direct materials. The table below shows the actual hours worked for each group versus the standard hours that should have been worked. It’s seen that for the assembly group there was no variance but the PCB and RH groups both had negative variances. Because of the pressure to increase production, preventative maintenance on the machines was postponed causing machines to break down.This in turn caused abnormal machine downtime resulting in employee idle time that required the use of overtime. This explains the unfavorable variance in direct labor hours amongst the PCB and RH groups. With the requirement to work overtime hours Funtime will have to pay higher overtime rates. The table below shows us the actual rates paid versus the standard rates that s hould have been paid. As expected PCB and RH groups have an unfavorable rate variance while Assembly has a favorable variance. This caused Funtime to pay $4,860 in direct labor cost over the standard cost.Sales The last component of the unfavorable contribution margin is the variance in sales and sales price. Looking back at the contribution report it is seen that despite output and sales having favorable variance revenue actually has an unfavorable variance. This can be tied directly to sales price per unit. The table below shows clearly that Funtime is selling their product at a discount and is losing money. Funtime is selling each unit for $20 dollars less than what was budgeted for. In May they lost $44,000 for selling each unit at $20 below budget.Looking strictly at units sold in the table below it can be seen that Funtime has a favorable sales volume variance. Although they had a favorable variance, it was not enough of a favorable variance to help offset the revenue they are losing by selling each unit at a discount. This analysis clearly shows there are three main components causing the unfavorable contribution margin in the month of May. A closer look at the direct material and direct labor tables shows that the PCB and RH groups are foregoing efficiency to increase production.Because of the shift in resources from testing and modifying parts to increasing production it has resulted in just rejecting the parts altogether which is driving up direct labor cost. As well the shift in resources away from maintenance on the machines to increasing production has caused the machines to breakdown often. This has caused much employee downtime resulting in overtime hours being worked which is the main driver in the unfavorable direct labor costs. And lastly the analysis showed that Funtime is selling each unit at a discount to what the budgeted price should have been.

The Emerging Trends or Challenges in the Management of Organizations

The Emerging Trends or Challenges in the Management of Organizations The Emerging Trends or Challenges in the Management of Organizations INTRODUCTION Organizational Behavior studies encompass the study of organizations from multiple viewpoints, methods, and levels of analysis. Whenever people interact in organizations, many factors come into play. Modern organizational studies attempt to understand and model these factors. Like all modernist social sciences, organizational studies seek to control, predict, and explain. There is some controversy over the ethics of controlling workers' behavior.As such, organizational behavior has at times been accused of being the scientific tool of the powerful. Those accusations notwithstanding, Organizational behavior can play a major role in organizational development and success. One of the main goals of organizational theorists is, according to Simms (1994) â€Å"to revitalize organizational theory and develop a better conceptualization of org anizational life. † An organizational theorist should carefully consider levels assumptions being made in theory, and is concerned to help managers and administrators. [1] Organizational behavior is currently a growing field.Organizational studies departments generally form part of business schools, although many universities also have industrial psychology and industrial economics programs. The field is highly influential in the business world. Organizational behavior is becoming more important in the global economy as people with diverse backgrounds and cultural values have to work together effectively and efficiently. It is also under increasing criticism as a field for its ethnocentric and pro-capitalist assumptions. Views on management have changed substantially over the past century – particularly in the past few decades.Organizations have entered a new era characterized by rapid, dramatic and turbulent changes. The accelerated pace of change has transformed how w ork is performed by employees in diverse organizations. Change has truly become an inherent and integral part of organizational life. Several emerging trends are impacting organizational life. Of these emerging trends, five will be examined in this paper: globalization, diversity, flexibility, flat, and networks. These five emerging trends create tensions for organizational leaders and employees as they go through waves of changes in their organizations.These tensions present opportunities as well as threats, and if these tensions are not managed well, they will result in dysfunctional and dire organizational outcomes at the end of any change process. CHALLENGES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF ORGANIZATIONS GLOBALIZATION Organizations operate in a global economy that is characterized by greater and more intense competition, and at the same time, greater economic interdependence and collaboration. More products and services are being consumed outside of their country of origin than ever before as globalization brings about greater convergence in terms of consumer tastes and preferences.Yet at the same time, in the midst of greater convergence, there is the opposite force of divergence at work where companies have to adapt corporate and business strategies, marketing plans, and production efforts to local domestic markets. To stay competitive, more organizations are embracing offshore outsourcing. Many functions are being shifted to India, the Philippines, Malaysia, and other countries for their low labor costs, high levels of workforce education, and technological advantages.According to the 2002-2003 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Workplace Forecast, companies such as Ford, General Motors, and Nestle employ more people outside of their headquarters countries than within those countries. [1] Almost any company, whether in manufacturing or services, can find some part of its work that can be done off site. Communication and information sharing are occurring a cross the globe in multiple languages and multiple cultures. Global competition and global cooperation coexist in the new world economy.One major consequence of globalization is greater mobility in international capital and labor markets. This creates a global marketplace where there is more opportunity, because there are more potential customers. However, there is also more competition, as local companies have to compete with foreign companies for customers. According to Dani Rodrik, professor of international political economy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, the processes associated with the global integration of markets for goods, services, and capital have created two sources of tensions. 1] First, reduced barriers to trade and investment accentuate the asymmetries between groups that can cross international borders, and those that cannot. In the first category are owners of capital, highly skilled workers, and many professionals. Unskilled and semiskilled workers and most middle managers belong in the second category. [1] Second, globalization engenders conflicts within and between nations over domestic norms and the social institutions that embody them.As the technology for manufactured goods becomes standardized and diffused internationally, nations with very different sets of values, norms, institutions, and collective preferences begin to compete head on in markets for similar goods. Trade becomes contentious when it unleashes forces that undermine the norms implicit in local or domestic workplace practices. [1] Professor Rodrik concluded that â€Å"the most serious challenge for the world economy in the years ahead lies in making globalization compatible with domestic social and political stability† (Rodrik 1997, p. 2).This implies ensuring that international economic integration does not lead to domestic social disintegration. Organizations that are confronted with this challenge will have to manage the tension created by the globa l integration versus local disintegration dilemma. The overall picture as a consequence of globalization is one of turbulence and uncertainty, in which a variety of contradictory processes present a wide range of both opportunities and threats that defy established ways of doing business and working in organizations. Integration and exclusion coexist uneasily side-by-side in organizations.For example, many apparent dichotomies or paradoxes—competitions versus collaboration, market forces versus state intervention, global actions versus local solutions—are losing their sharp edges as contradictory forces appear to converge and reinforce each other in organizations across the globe. Companies that compete fiercely in some markets form strategic alliances in others; government guidance and regulation are required to make markets work effectively; and â€Å"think globally, act locally† has been adopted as business strategy (or as a mantra) to deal with the challenge s of doing business in the globalize economy.As organizations transform themselves to stay competitive, they will need to confront and resolve some, if not all, of these dichotomies or paradoxes. [1] On another level, because of globalization, the fates of people living and working in different parts of the world are becoming intertwined. Global events may have significant local impact. September 11, 2001 has been called the â€Å"day that changed the world†. Heightened security concerns are changing expectations for people in organizations, and the role of organizations themselves.The threat of terrorism continues to be an ongoing concern worldwide. It has created a renewed focus on workplace security as employees experience a heightened sense of vulnerability in the workplace. Employee monitoring and screening are occurring more frequently. Concern over travel for business purposes is resulting in the increased use of alternate forms of communication such as teleconferencin g and videoconferencing. [1] DIVERSITY Globalization is impacting how organizations compete with each other.In combination with changing demographics, globalization is causing a rapid increase in diversity in organizations. Never before have people been required to work together with colleagues and customers from so many different cultures and countries. Diversity is moving American society away from â€Å"mass society† to â€Å"mosaic society†. Organizations reflect this â€Å"mosaic society† in their more diverse workforce (in terms of not only race, ethnic or culture but also in terms of age, sexual orientation, and other demographic variables).More than ever, people have to interact and communicate with others who come from diverse backgrounds. This in turn has meant that employees need new relational skills to succeed. An emerging stream of research in international management has called these new relational skills â€Å"cultural intelligence†. Cultu ral intelligence is defined as the capability to adapt effectively across different national, organizational and professional cultures (Earley, Ang and Tan, 2005). More managers take up global work assignments in industries around the world.They learn how to work with people who not only think and communicate differently but also do things differently. Managers will need to develop their cultural intelligence to manage greater diversity in organizations. [1] Diversity in organizations will continue to increase. The world population is growing at a high rate in developing countries, while remaining stable or decreasing in the developed world. The result will be income inequities and economic opportunity leading to increased immigration and migration within and between nations.More temporary workers will be used for specific tasks, and there will be a greater demand for highly skilled workers. People of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds possess different attitudes, values, and norms. Increasing cultural diversity in both public and private sector organizations focuses attention on the distinctions between ethnic and cultural groups in their attitudes and performance at work. This greater focus can result in the tension between finding similarities and accentuating differences in the face of greater diversity in organizations.There is an on-going debate between the heterogenists and the homogenists concerning the impact of greater diversity in organizations. The heterogenists contend that diverse or heterogeneous groups in organizations have performance advantages over homogeneous groups while the homogenists take the opposing view—that homogeneous groups are more advantageous than heterogeneous or diverse groups in organizations. [2] According to the heterogenists, organizations with greater diversity have an advantage in attracting and retaining the best available human talent.The exceptional capabilities of women and minorities offer a rich labo r pool for organizations to tap. When organizations attract, retain, and promote maximum utilization of people from diverse cultural backgrounds, they gain competitive advantage and sustain the highest quality of human resources. [2] Organizations with greater diversity can understand and penetrate wider and enhanced markets. Not only do these organizations embrace a diverse workforce internally, they are better suited to serve a diverse external clientele.Organizations with greater diversity also display higher creativity and innovation. Especially in research-oriented and high technology organizations, the array of talents provided by a gender- and ethnic-diverse organization becomes invaluable. Heterogeneous or diverse groups display better problem solving ability as they are more capable of avoiding the consequences of groupthink, compared to highly cohesive and homogeneous groups that are more susceptible to conformity. [2] On the other hand, greater organizational diversity ha s its drawbacks.With the benefits of diversity come organizational costs. Too much diversity can lead to dysfunctional outcomes. Diversity increases ambiguity, complexity, and confusion. Organizations with greater diversity may have difficulty reaching consensus and implementing solutions. In many organizations, diversity can produce negative dynamics such as ethnocentrism, stereotyping and cultural clashes. [2] The homogenists argue that homogeneous groups often outperform culturally diverse groups, especially where there is a serious communication problem.Cross-cultural training is necessary to enable culturally diverse groups to live up to their potential and overcome communication difficulties. The diversity movement, according to the homogenists, has the potential to polarize different social groups and harm productivity while breeding cynicism and resentment, heightening intergroup frictions and tensions, and lowering productivity, just the opposite of what managing diversity is intended to accomplish. 2] The challenge therefore is for management to manage the tension produced by heterogeneity versus homogeneity. If properly managed, organizations can reap the benefits of greater diversity. Aside from proper management, organizations need to learn to appreciate and value diversity before the benefits of diversity can be fully realized. To achieve this, diversity training programs may help people in organizations understand and value diversity. FLEXIBILITY Globalization and diversity trends are forcing organizations to become more flexible and adaptable.To be able to function globally and to embrace diversity, leaders and employees in organizations have to become more flexible and develop a wider repertoire of skills and strategies in working with diverse groups of people in the workplace as well as in the marketplace. The response to increased diversity has, in many cases, been increased organizational flexibility. Some organizations allow workers to hav e very different work arrangements (e. g. flex-time) and payment schedules. Some organizations (and workers) have found it convenient to treat some workers as independent consultants rather than employees.In certain occupations, advances in communication and information technologies have enabled telecommuting —working at home via computer. One consequence of this is the blurring of boundaries between work and home, and where and when work occurs. The benefits of greater flexibility may be countered by the negative consequences of working 24/7 including higher stress and burnout. The response to increased competition, however, has resulted in a tension generated by the demands to be flexible and yet maintain some stability as changes are implemented in organizations.To stay competitive, organizations are constantly changing and restructuring to increase flexibility and decrease costs. Business process reengineering, business process out-sourcing, job redesign, and other approa ches to optimize business processes have been implemented to increase operational and process efficiency while reducing the costs of doing business. Changes in business and operational processes need time to stabilize for employees to learn the new processes, become familiar with them, and be able to operate effectively and efficiently.Yet, competitive pressures can cause organizations to go through a series of changes without giving employees adequate time for learning and training, and for the benefits of the change to be fully realized in the organization. FLAT In a greater competitive marketplace, speed or response time is critical. How organizations response to customers and other stakeholders or be the first to market may make a significant difference as time is at a premium. Organizations that can develop new technologies faster or can adapt to changes in the market faster are the ones that will survive the competition.To maximize response time, organizations have been flatte ning their hierarchies and structures, in addition to other initiatives such as downsizing and networking. Flat organizations make decisions more quickly because each person is closer to the ultimate decision-makers. There are fewer levels of management, and workers are empowered to make decisions. Decision-making becomes decentralized. However, flat organizations create a new tension between decentralization and centralization. Among the drivers of decentralization are communications technologies that allow companies to push decision-making away from the core.Proponents of decentralization emphasize the idea that less hierarchical organizations mirror the efficiencies of the networks that enable them: they are faster, more resilient, more responsive, more flexible and more innovative. Also, they argue, people who work within decentralized organizations feel empowered and energized. They do not need to focus on the chain of command and they do not feel constrained by it. Organizatio ns are caught between the opposing forces of centralization and decentralization.They want to leverage the opportunities offered by decentralization and create more nimble and forceful organizations, but they cannot always do so because the forces of centralization come into play. There are obvious benefits to centralization as control is comparatively tighter and accountability is clearer compared to a flatter, more decentralized organizational structure. Take the example of IT operations. The key to a centralized organization's success is its responsiveness. If the centralized operation can be responsive to the needs of the business, then that approach can make sense.Several companies, such as DaimlerChrysler and PepsiCo, have migrated back to centralizing IT operations after attempts at decentralization. [3] The debate over the centralization versus decentralization of operations in organizations is an enduring one. It is an age-old battle of standardization versus autonomy, corp orate efficiency versus local effectiveness and pressure on costs and resources versus accommodation of specific local needs. [4] Vacillation between centralization and decentralization is both non-productive and unnecessary.Organizations, as they desire to become flatter, will need to be clear about how they need to respond to the tension between centralization and decentralization. [4] NETWORKS Organizations that flatten tend to encourage horizontal communication among workers. Rather than working through the organizational hierarchy, it is often faster for workers who need to coordinate with each other simply to communicate directly. Such organizations are highly networked. Another meaning of networked organizations refers to their relations to other organizations.Organizations that have downsized to just their core competencies must then outsource all the functions that used to be done in-house. To avoid losing time and effort managing contracts with suppliers, organizations hav e learned to develop close ties to their suppliers so that social mechanisms of coordination replace legal mechanisms, which are slow and costly. Networked organizations are particularly important in industries with complex products where technologies and customer needs change rapidly, such as in high technology industries.Close ties among a set of companies enables them to work with each other in ways that are faster than arms-length contracts would permit, and yet retains the flexibility of being able to drop the relationship if needed (as opposed to performing the function in-house). The trend towards networked organizations and structures create a new tension between interdependence and independence. The forces of aggregation and disaggregation throw up new challenges for organizations, for example, the use of independent contractors, joint ventures, strategic partnerships and alliances even with competitors. 1] One advantage of networks is that organizations have greater flexib ility and thus they can become more competitive in the global marketplace. Another advantage is that organizations do not require that many resources such as employee benefits, office space, and financing for new business ventures. [1] On the other hand, networks have distinct disadvantages. Organizations may find it more difficult to control quality of goods or services as they now have to depend on their partners in the networks to deliver the quality that is desired.Legal and contracting expertise as well as negotiation expertise will also be important for networks. Alternative forms of control may need to be developed to control quality. Alternative mechanisms for coordination may also need to be developed to manage the growing constellation and sometimes tenuous nature of other partner organizations in the network. [1] CONCLUSION All the five trends – Globalization, Diversity, Flexibility, Flat, and Network and the tensions they produce result in greater organizational o r system complexity for both leaders and employees in organizations. The tensions produced by these trends cannot be solved.They have to be managed. Effective approaches in organizational change will involve not one strategy but many alternatives and will require leaders and employees to develop greater resilience in confronting these tensions. Change–Trends and Tensions in Organizations |Trends |Tensions | |1. Globalization |Global versus Local | |2. Diversity |Heterogeneity versus Homogeneity | |3.Flexibility |Flexibility versus Stability | |4. Flat |Centralization versus Decentralization | |5. Networks |Interdependence versus Independence | Planning and managing change, both cultural and technological, is one of the most challenging elements of a leader in an organization. Obviously, the more a leader can plan in anticipation of a change, the better he/she serves her subordinates or employees and the organization.Diagnosing the causes of change and structuring a program to promote a smooth transition to the new process, structure, and so on, is critical to the leader as well as the management’s success.BIBLIOGRAPHY [1] -No Author– â€Å"Trends in Organizational Change†. Available at http://www. referenceforbusiness. com/management/Tr-Z/Trends-in-Organizational-Change. html

Mcdonald’s Healthier Happy Meals Essay

McDonald’s Happy Meals for children came under extreme scrutiny when parents, consumer-advocacy groups, and certain city councils deemed it to be inappropriate to lure children to such an unhealthy meal by including a free toy. In November 2011, the San Francisco city council decided to prohibit the addition of toys to meals that did not conform to specific nutritional values (Melnick, 2011). In July 2011 McDonald’s announced that they plan to provide their customers with a healthier option. In order to successfully make these changes McDonald’s hired a research group to conduct an extensive research and present them with a cost effective solution. The Research Questions The questions the company had to look into to resolve this issue was: * How can they make the meals for the children healthier while maintaining the convenience that fast food is known for? * How can they cut the calories from their existing meals? * How can they make healthy food desirable to children? * How can they keep these healthier options cost effective? * What would be the best marketing strategy to launch these healthier changes? The Hypothesis A hypothesis explores a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation (Merriam-Webster, 2013). In the exploration to raise a question and find an answer, the company has to face the question: how can they make the meals for the children healthier while maintaining the convenience that fast food is known for? Through the years McDonald’s has added a couple new features to their menu like a wider selection in desserts, a value menu, and select new refreshing healthier choices to their fast food chain. But the question now is, how can they further cut the calories from these meals? Yes, McDonald’s has gained a fine respect in the fast food industry for upgrading to healthier choices, but now the kids menu may need some revamping on their own. If the regular menu can provide healthier choice selections like salads, less than 400 calories, and weight watcher approved items, what can they do about happy meals? A solution to providing a healthier selection is to offer a more beneficial meal that kids can enjoy. Apple bags, celery sticks, carrots, reduced milk, baked instead of fried items and healthier meat. Those are just a couple of suggestions to an issue that is easy to solve. The main purpose is to change the world one step at a time, and healthier living for is the new road to take. The Variables Local societies are becoming more health conscience and looking for healthier options when going out to eat. Even though McDonald’s did not follow the popular approach by luring people in through the use of famous celebrities, people felt that offering toys with their Happy Meals were unacceptable. The variables in a research scenario are considered to be independent (IV) and dependent variables (DV). In this research scenario the independent variables are the food and the marketing strategy, while the amount of calories and interest of the children are the dependent variables. Many children were attracted to McDonald’s Happy Meals for the toy they got with it and this is what their marketing strategy revolved around. In April 2012, The Time’s released the article â€Å"Why we’re eating fewer happy meals†. The article’s main focus was McDonald’s use of toys with their Happy Meals and the use of a clown who â€Å"is hell-bent on the creepy mission of luring children into McDonald’s, where they’ll be fattened up and primed for a lifetime of regular fast-food dining visits† (Tuttle, 2012, p. 1). Along with improving their Happy Meals, McDonald’s has also changed their marketing strategy. They still offer the toys but it is no longer their main focal point. Instead they now show Ronald McDonald playing around, participating in healthy activities and proclaiming that a healthier life style is a lot of fun.

Barkha Dutt

Barkha Dutt Essay NDTV 247 is a premier English language television network that carries news and current affairs in India, it is owned by New Delhi Television Ltd. NDTV 247 won the Asian Television Award for Best News Channel in 2005. NDTV 247 is home to a team of award winning journalists who spearhead the news campaign, including Dr. Prannoy Roy and Barkha Dutt. NDTV 247 is also available outside of India, broadcasting in the UK on the Sky Digital platform, in the U. S. n the DirecTV platform, in Canada on the ATN platform, in Australia on the Vision Asia platform, in Europe on the WorldTV platform, and in Singapore on the mio TV platform. We the People is a television talk show in India and running over NDTV. TV journalist Barkha Dutt hosts this show. The program broadcasts every Sunday. About the show It is a discussion-based programme on burning issues. Seven to eight panelists are invited for every discussion. It is an audience-based show. This Show airs in New Delhi Television network. The programme can generate controversy, but showcases a diversity of views thanks to its host. Barkha has been awarded as the most intelligent TV host by Indian Television Awards, and also as Best Talk Show Anchor. We The People has recently won the 14th Asian Television Award for Best Talk Show for the year 2008. The show has received critical acclaim and has won several key awards {{{{{{{{{{{{{Barkha Dutt is a television journalist. Her frontline reporting of the Kargil conflict in 1999 raised her to prominence in India. She has reported on many conflicts, ranging from Kashmir to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. Currently, she is Group Editor-English News, NDTV, a leading Indian television network, and the host of We the People, a weekly discussion show on current events. Barkha also writes a weekly column for The Hindustan Times and Khaleej Times. Some awards she has won: Global Leader of Tomorrow Award from the World Economic Forum, 2001 Commonwealth Broadcasters Award, 2002 Broadcast Journalist of the Year by the Indian Express, 2005 Padma Shri Award (Journalism), 2008}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} The channel airs one of Indias most successful opinion-based shows: We the People with Barkha Dutt. .. s india an english speaking country? Were all of us educated in elite schools and fashionable colleges? Do all of us have fancy,phirang accents that would put the real angrez to shame? Is Barkha Dutt the ultimate arbitrator of all things bright,beautiful and otherwise. Indeed this famous programme called ’We the people’ on NDTV 24*7 is certainly not for a common person. Certainly not for a per son who has not read all the correct books and magazines. Barkha Dutt uses this opportunity(as always) to emphasize just how talented she is. How greatly our wretched country needs her services as the super-judge of anything that she sets her eyes on. Indeed the program is supposed to be a free,open discussion between people whose voices are not otherwise heard. What it actually is,is a kind of drawing room discussion between celebrities. These celebrities pretend to become very humble and approachable. They are surrounded by some doctorates and super specialists who are sometimes allowed to make a few noises. What the show turns out to be in the end is a weekly meeting of th

Historicising knowledge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Historicising knowledge - Essay Example Scientific proof, scientific explanation and scientific approach are the fashionable terms of our contemporary life. What do we really mean by ‘scientific’? Is it just a set of hypotheses designed in some controlled conditions?Or is it merely based on certain mathematic calculations and observations? Or is it something like a convenient tool used by politicians to usher their political interests in the name of service/grant to society? This term has transcended all walks of life.Labour management too talks of Taylorism, which in effect separates conception and execution. The ‘scientific management’ of Taylorism is just decoupling the labor processes from the skills of the workers. Scientific approach is not alien to mankind. It had emanated from the moment of realization of human needs and attempts made to get satiated. Right from the Stone Age, starting from the invention of wheels several numerous inventions have come up. The growth of knowledge of science is grotesque to such an extent that many processes, which were really scientific, have become our way of life. Although we tend to admire a village school boy using his socks to fishing in the wayside pond, we are not prepared to call him an innovator or scientist. However, the approach adopted by the boy is really scientific. Man’s everyday perception with theoretical powers had well been conceived by Foucault. Creativity is the means to an end and not an end in itself. Innovation is the end, where the realization of the creative idea is felt in its fullest depth. Innovation means taking all the promising ideas and testing them for real. Despite failures en-route, goal-focused creativity leads to success. (Sloane. P, 2003: p.8) Thus, we can accept science as a way of life but not a superficial guide from the sky to give us always extraordinary. The over conscious style of life has created a sort of numbness giving way to ramification of ‘normal science’ and â⠂¬Ëœrevolutionary science’. Kuhn’s conception of paradigm although is subjected to criticism by many successors, could not be right away rejected as a misfit. Because, in Kuhn’s view science, whether normal science or revolutionary science, moves in traditional path of progress involving problems, anomaly, crisis and revolution. At this point of revolution he sensed a normal phase to recur allowing an acceptable alternate paradigm to evolve. (Mouton J, 1993: p.77) Kuhn’s work although restricted to problem-solving within the continuously developing domain of interpretations of the paradigm itself, he termed the continuous elaboration of ideas which constituted the original paradigm as ‘normal science’ (Wallace, 1972: p. 467, 469) PERCEPTIONS OF SCIENCE: Science is perceived currently as a provider of extraordinary comfort. The evidence based empirical results – of scientists, (Merquior, 1985: p.40) the ‘workers of evidenceâ€℠¢ – have formed a strong foundation of connotations in which the theories and hypotheses evolved in the process of scientific problem-solving are construed as the best and only reliable tools to near the truth. This is what we currently mean scientific approach. An approach that confirms each and every stage of progress is termed scientific approach. Scientists however are expected to evolve imaginable and sometimes unimaginable theories on issues. Such scientists are alone are construed as innovators. Darwin was hesitant to publish his idea of evolution in 1842, since a radical theory required massive observational evidence to be marshaled in its support. (McGrath, 2010: p.34) In fact theorization gets evolved after a long process of perceptions and necessities. (Pearson, p.134). The theory of planetary motion is in itself as logically necessary as the theory of circle (†¦) The necessity lies in the world of conceptions and is only unconsciously and illogically transfer red to the world of perception. While talking about the law of motion of a planet, Pearson

Apple commercial Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Apple commercial - Essay Example Many people believe that this ad did succeed in causing enough damages to Microsoft and also to cement the supremacy of Apple over Microsoft. The competition between Apple and Microsoft was often labeled as the competition between charismatic leaders of these companies; Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates. So, the advertisement, "Im a Mac, Im a PC" was also accepted by the public as a comparison between the abilities of Steve and Gates. It should be noted that in 80’s and 90’s Microsoft caused enough damages to Apple’s growth prospects because of the introduction of their Window based operating system. In fact Apple was on the verge of total destruction during this period. However, the capabilities of Steve helped Apple to think differently and also to regain their lost supremacy in the market. Steven introduced many innovative products such as iMac, iPhone, iPod, iPad etc during the beginning of 2000 with the help of some thought provoking ads. "Im a Mac, Im a PC", was one such ad formulated for Apple computers or iMac. The commercial "Im a Mac, Im a PC", was directed by Phil Morrison. Justin Long and John Hodgman were acted as a Mac and a PC, respectively in this commercial. In the beginning of these ads, Long introduces himself as a Mac and Hodgman introduces himself as a PC. Then each of them started to say something about their capabilities. It should be noted that in all these ads, Long dressed casually with jeans and t-shirts whereas Hodgman dressed formally with pants, coats, ties etc. Apple wanted to spread the message that Microsoft is not as cool as Apple. In other words PC is designed for high level executives whereas Mac is designed for ordinary people ("Im a Mac, Im a PC"). The actor who represents PC in this ad appears to be fatty than the actor who represent Mac. Apple deliberately did so in order to spread the message that Mac is stronger than PC. It should

The Distinction Between Common Law and Statute Law Essay

The Distinction Between Common Law and Statute Law - Essay Example 4. The appeal dealt with three salient aspects – firstly, whether there had been an oral agreement between appellants and respondents to share the costs for the pumping station (b) whether there was a common obligation on the part of appellants and respondents to augment the sewerage supply system and whether the appellant was entitled to reimbursement from the respondent for his contribution (c) whether the trial judge’s order on costs for the counterclaim was to be set aside. 5. The appellants argued about contribution under a common obligation to construct the pumping station, such that respondents were obliged to reimburse Appellants for their share of the cost of the station. 6. The Court rejected the Appellant’s appeal of the District Court decision declaring that contribution under common obligation did not arise and ordered the Appellants to pay respondents their appeal costs. However, where the counterclaim of the Respondents was concerned, the Court dismissed the trial court’s order on costs and ordered respondents to pay Appellant’s costs on the counterclaim. 7. In a civil law case, the burden of proof requires the Plaintiff to produce evidence that will convince the Judge of their entitlement to receive relief. The requirement, in this case, was the evidentiary burden of proof, to support the Plaintiff’s claim for contributory costs. 8. One of the cases that were considered in this Appeal was Cockburn v GIO Finance Ltd (No 2) (2001) 51 NSWLR 624, where the views of Mason P at 631 that the right to contribution depends on matters of substance not form were taken into consideration. (b) The ratio decidendi, in this case, was whether the entitlement to contribution arose out of common obligations or coordinate burdens and obligations created by the Deeds since contribution depends on substance not form. The judges that no such obligation had arisen given the circumstances of the case.