Functionalism, Conflict, and Internationalism Essay Example for Free

Functionalism, Conflict, and Internationalism Essay The three theories I plan to discuss are Functionalism, Conflict, and Internationalism with education. The need for these theories is what actually makes the system in education work, with the teachers, parents, school boards and committees the institution of education continues to function. The first theory is Functionalism and is about the study by Lawrence Kohlberg. It has been forty-three years since Lawrence Kohlberg published his doctoral dissertation characterizing six stages of moral development and fourteen years since his death. During this period, much has been written that has discredited stage theory and the overarching use of justice as a first principle of moral development. Yet Kohlbergs evolving moral theory continues to be used as a theoretical basis for moral development research and to influence teacher education. While some educators have dismissed Kohlbergs approach as wooden and fossilized, it continues to be central to what teachers know about, and how they think about, moral development. 2] Indeed, one author suggests that every psychology textbook published in the last quarter-century touches upon Kohlbergs work. [3] This consistent message, coupled with continued public talk about character development and moral education in schools, makes it likely that Kohlbergs stage theory continues to influence classroom practice, consciously and unconsciously, across the United States, Henry, (2001). By exposing the structural-functionalist roots of Kohlbergs theory, this essay raises concerns about the application of Kohlbergs ideas in the classroom. Fundamentally, Kohlberg focuses on individual development, a universal conception of justice, and universalizability do not translate well to the institutional-level application that he hoped his Just Community Schools would provide. What Kohlberg failed to realize was that a collection of individuals using a Functionalism, Conflict, and Interactionism in Education universal conception of justice in consistent ways across situations (morally mature individuals by Kohlbergs standards) did not necessarily create a moral community. In a moral community, the degree to which individuals have grown along a continuum of moral development should not be of greater importance than the ability of community members to work together to detect and solve moral problems. Henry, (2001) Foundational to the Just Community model was Kohlbergs belief that schools were important locations for the socialization of children into broader society. School was a childs first formal introduction into society at large. By going to school the child learns to fill the expected public roles of a member of his society (LKA, 21). Part of the power of schooling was the teaching of lessons necessary for successful life outside of school. In particular, Kohlberg stressed that students needed to gain an increased awareness of themselves in categorical terms. [7] In other words, he and his colleagues claimed that students needed to learn the categorical expectations to which they would be held publicly accountable and that school had an important function to play in teaching these lessons: [T]he child has to learn to be one among a crowd of peers in a classroom that is run by a relative impersonal authority figure who gives orders a power to wield praise and blame. What the child learns about how to handle the crowds, the praise, and the power will, from this point of view, give shape to her public morality: her conception of how one ought to act to get along and even prosper in the public domain (LKA, 21). Functionalism, Conflict, and Interactionism in Education These statements make it clear that Kohlberg saw schools as important locations for gradually imbuing children with the expectations they would meet as adults, Henry, (2001). While Kohlberg was focused on the individual the theory of functionalism doesn’t work. It works as a whole at a much larger level, the macro level, the institution of the schools. These system need function to run and for student to learn. With this in place there would dis-function children would not be able to learn and through the learning they learn how to enter into society and act accordingly in their roles into adulthood. The theory of Conflict in regards to education they are there, but one that comes to mind is the quality of the education that is given to students today. All the students are not looked at the same, if they come from a poor family or a minority family they are not thought of as equal in intelligence as the white middle to higher class of student. According to Conflict Theory, society is: A struggle for dominance among competing social groups (classes, genders, races, religions, etc. ). When conflict theorists look at society, they see the social domination of subordinate groups through the power, authority, and coercion of dominant groups. In the conflict view, the most powerful members of dominant groups create the rules for success and opportunity in society, often denying subordinate groups such success and opportunities; this ensures that the powerful continue to monopolize power, privilege, and authority. You should note that most conflict theorists oppose this sort of coercion and favor a more equal social order. Some support a complete socioeconomic revolution to socialism (Marx), while others are more reformist, or perhaps do not see all social inequalities stemming from the capitalist system Functionalism, Conflict, and Interactionism in Educational (they believe we could solve racial, gender, and class inequality without turning to socialism). However, many conflict theorists focus on capitalism as the source of social inequalities. The primary cause of social problems, according to the conflict perspective, is the exploitation and oppression of subordinate groups by dominants. Conflict theorists generally view oppression and inequality as wrong, whereas Structural-Functionalists may see it as necessary for the smooth running and integration of society. Structural-Functionalism and Conflict Theory therefore have different value orientations but can lead to similar insights about inequality (e. g. , they both believe that stereotypes and discrimination benefit dominant groups, but conflict theorists say this should end and most structural-functionalists believe it makes perfect sense that subordinates should be discriminated against, since it serves positive social ends). Conflict theory sees social change as rapid, continuous, and inevitable as groups seek to replace each other in the social hierarchy, McLeod, (2004). In contrast to Structural-Functionalists, who argue that the most talented individuals occupy the highest positions, conflict theorists argue that dominant groups monopolize positions of power, maintaining power from generation to generation and keeping subordinate groups out. Also in contrast to Structural-Functionalists, who argue that the most important positions in society are the best rewarded, conflict theorists argue that dominant groups get inordinate power to define which positions are socially rewarded. Highly-paid positions are not necessarily most important for society, they argue, but keep power in the hands of the privileged and powerful, McLeod, (2004). If conflict theory really see social change coming than that may mean the educators of this country may be starting to focus on the student and their intelligence instead of their financial status or race. Functionalism, Conflict, and Interactionism in Education The last theory Interactionism theory views society as the product of individuals interaction with each other. Through the process of socialization, people learn values, attitudes, and actions that they deem to be correct. People are exposed to a set of reinforcements to maintain or change those views and actions. Learning theory helps explain why people view others in particular ways, such as who is good and who is bad. Our views may have little to do with objective reality. Learning theory may also explain the process in which people come to engage in behaviors that others find problematic, such as embezzling or prostitution. As Sutherland (1940) notes, people learn the motivations, beliefs, and actions to engage in behaviors that some may find problematic. Labeling theory explores how people socially construct reality. People in positions of power and authority have the ability to label an activity as problematic or acceptable; people in lower social positions are less likely to persuade others to stick with their definition of the situation. This is why elites are able to define a situation that benefits them as good, while others may regard it as troublesome. It also helps explain why people in lower classes are more likely to be perceived as the cause of problems, and why elites escape that definition. The reality of any social situation depends on how people define it. For example, when college students drink alcohol, is it partying, is it normal, is it binge drinking, is it alcohol abuse, are they a social drinker, a problem drinker, do they use it or abuse it? We may wish to determine how we will label the alcohol consumption based on when they drink, with whom they drink, how much they drink, what they drink, and what they do when they are drinking. Is the drinking a personal problem, a campus problem, or a social problem? These distinctions areFunctionalism, Conflict, and Interactionism in Education determined arbitrarily through the process of labeling. Functionalism, Conflict, and Interactionism Functionalism, Conflict, and Interactionism underlying conditions probably existed for a long time before it was identified as an issue. The disagreement over whether something is a problem, how much of a problem it is, what and who caused it, and how it should be addressed is all a product of social construction created through the process of interaction, Vissing, (2011). I believe that between parents, teachers, students and the communities if they would allow each of themselves to be treated as people, students and human beings the educational process would be easier and more pleasurable experience and a happier and healthier environment. I know that is an impossibility but if were something even a few people would work at it may change the educational field a little bit at a time. To bring these three theories together to have a functional system, bring students in as one instead of the higher class and more social and control the groups of kids and the way they stand against each other there might be a chance to bring our education back on line and educate the students the way they should be educated and ready for the world after high school.

Paul Hindemith Sonata For Flute And Piano Film Studies Essay

Paul Hindemith Sonata For Flute And Piano Film Studies Essay J.S.Bach: Sonata in G minor, for flute and obbligato harpsichord. In a famous remark about J.S.Bach, Beethoven said he should be named Sea instead of Bach, because of his infinite, inexhaustible wealth in tone combinations and harmonies. These virtues are also deployed in his flute sonatas, each with a unique melodic contour and character. Bach was often criticized for being abstruse and redundantly complex, but he was able to prove through his work that he was, and would remain, a great pioneer. The special importance of his chamber music, in which he demonstrated a deep knowledge of the typical idioms and performing techniques of each instrument, was recognized at a very early age. Bach is generally described as a rather austere personality, but that may be the result of a lack of information complementing his character, deemed unfitting for archival storage. The first use of the transverse flute in Bachs works was in Cantata no 137a, performed in 1722, in Cà ¶then for the birthday of Prince Leopold, with whom Bach maintained very good relations. Many significant works, such as the first book of the well-tempered Clavier, cello suites and probably some of the flute sonatas (they are dated between 1720 and 1741), were also composed during the time he spent there, exploiting the qualities and extended experience attained at the Weimar court. It was a period when the transverse flute, technically more advanced, began gaining ground against its rival, the recorder, and when J.Quantz started making it widely famous. The flutists of that era seemed to manifest a particular dexterity, equivalent to that, required not only in the flute sonatas, but also in other flute parts of many of the composers works, such as the cantatas and passions. In one of Bachs biographies, published in 1802, by Forkel, the latter states that the flute sonatas even in our days†¦would be heard by connoisseurs with pleasure. This particular work raises a controversial issue about its paternity. Bachs authority regarding the piece started to become questioned during the third decade of the 20th century. Scholars expressed certainty that Bachs son, Carl Phillip Emmanuel, is the composer of this sonata (the dominant consensus today), but until today, no assumption has been unquestionably proved and no explanation has been given as to why an aspiring composer like C.P.Emanuel would attribute this work to his father without any plausible reason. A recent study, by Keiichi Kubota, speculates that the g minor sonata is the result of a collaborative work between Bach and his son (the latter ascribing authority to his father). The sonata is played today by both violinists and flutists, as it is believed that the piece may have been written initially for violin, as supported in many published articles. Its form is that of the Italian concerto, lively-slow-lively, which reminds the listener of the significant influence of Vivaldi and Italian music to Bach. G.Faurà ©: Fantaisie pour flute et piano, op. 79 Flute has always been associated with France, a relation that is firmly built upon the particular interest of French composers and performers in this technically developed instrument, especially around the turn of the 19th century. Paris stood in the forefront of musical processes at the time, and served as an incubator for new composers and performers, who formed the new trends. Gabriel Faurà ©, a composer, organist, pianist, choirmaster and teacher, is one of the most important French figures of the turn of the 20th century, characterized by Debussy as the master of charms. He was fortunate enough to be a student and later friend of Saint-Saà «ns, at the Ecole Niedermeyer, where he was sent, after his father realized the unique talent of his son. His style, multi-faceted and resourceful, continued to evolve until the composers death, in 1924. For that reason, putting labels on Faurà ©s music can never be precise. His artistic hallmark is regarded as the bridge between Romanticism and Modernism and at the time of his death the second Viennese School was beginning to emerge. He was always self-critical (to the extent of discarding some of his already composed work) and pursued unremitting productiveness. His harmonic and melodic creativeness paved the road for new musical trends and made his style an inextricable element of future teaching of harmony and composition. Faurà © composed the Fantaisie for flute and piano, in 1898, upon a commission from his friend and colleague, P.Taffanel, who was a professor at the Conservatoire of Paris, and to whom the piece is dedicated (later Faurà © would be appointed director of the Conservatoire). This piece was to be used for the annual introductory exams (Concours). Faurà ©, being among the first composers to be commissioned for the morceau de concours, confessed to Saint-Saà «ns in a letter, that this piece constituted a real challenge for him. He sent it to Taffanel asking him to amend any parts that were not appropriate for the flute. Faurà © incorporated the Andante of the Fantaisie to his incidental music, performed in London for the Maeterlinks play, Pellà ©as et Mà ©lisande. This piece, which is dedicated to Taffanel, sets out to explore flutes full potential, by extending to all three registers, covering all of the Romantic instruments range. The performer is required to demonstrate wealth and diversity in his expression and sound, in his effort to trace the unfolding melody. Observation of the piano part reveals the prominence of the instrument in Faurà ©s mentality. It is perceived not merely as an accompanying instrument, but rather as an equal partner, contributing to the melodic and rhythmic development of the piece. Together with the flute they make use of an extensive expressional quiver, alternating staccatos with long legato phrases, as after a sicilienne-like introduction, an increasing complexity in the instruments parts is combined with sudden dynamic changes. Fantasia also exists in an orchestral version. This was realized later, after the composer death, by Louis Aubert, in 1957, at the request of the prominent French flutist, Jean Pierre Rampal. Paul Hindemith sonata for flute and piano (1936) In Hindemiths opera Mathis der Mahler, Grà ¼newald, a painter, realizes that he should never have betrayed his art for the sake of political activism. Hindemith though, never betrayed his versatile artistic personality and established a prominent career both as a performer and composer, demonstrating a manifold expressiveness. He aspired to create a new mentality in music, but not as an end in itself. The term Gebrauchsmusik (functional music) refers to his notion for music, which should be created to serve a purpose, because the days of composing only for the sake of composing were perhaps gone forever. By drawing on multiple styles and forms he explored all aspects of resourcefulness and complexity. His activity was not restricted only to the production of music, but he also took up a dynamic role as a tutor which is colligated with his series of simple works for children and amateurs. His theoretical treatise Unterweisung im Tonsatz, sets the basis for a new approach towards harmony and melodic shaping and the views expressed would influence the next generations of composers. Hindemith lived in an era of political turmoil and his revolutionary style could not have evaded Nazis attention, who deemed his music as Gà ¶bbels put it pure noise-making. Although Hindemith was naive enough to ignore (at the beginning at least) the Nazi threat, his sonata for flute and piano, composed in 1936, has incorporated this aspect, yielding a work that alludes to this sinister political environment and asserting the composers belief that an artist cannot remain untouched by the human suffering around him. The flute sonata was composed at a time of an increasing awareness by Hindemith of the looming danger and the subsequent need to flee his country. His emotional disposition is adumbrated in the second movement which conveys a suffering through its recitativo-like melody of the flute. One cannot fail to notice the fine irony emanating from the sonatas strict rhythmic form which dissolves into a childish-like melody, projecting the image of a child imitating a soldiers march. Hindemith, tried to capture the vanity of human arrogance in conjunction with the suffering and desperation. The flutist is required to render a wide palette of colors and emotions, from triumphant marches to bleak moments of agony and melancholy, by extending to the full range of the instrument. The piano has an emancipated part in the sonata and continuously moves in a contrapuntal way against the flute, hence sometimes its preferred with its lid open. The boundaries between minor and major chords and atonal parts become blurred, much as the boundaries between life and death at the time of the composition, the death which Hindemith eluded only by chance in multiple occasions.

Military Power of the Roman Army

Military Power of the Roman Army OCdt A. Lopez-Espinosa   One of the most iconic images of the Roman Empire is that of the Roman soldier; a visual representation of the Empires power and its willingness to exercise it. Curiously, the popular image of the Roman soldier is not entirely accurate, in that the idealized image that most hold is singular and constant in nature, yet the Roman army was anything but, undergoing many changes in equipment and composition throughout the reign of ancient Rome. In fact, few things remained the same as the years went on; save for the Roman armys tradition of discipline and order, the adoption of new tactics and organizational structures was a defining feature of the Roman military, and here lies the source of the Roman armys superiority.[1] The Roman armys power came from its adaptability, which allowed it to react to new challenges presented by opponents, and from its tradition of strict discipline, which resulted in better trained forces with increased tactical and strategic capabilities. The effects of these factors can be seen in the many campaigns in which Romes forces participated, with the Romans adapting their equipment, tactics, and formations, and adopting those of its enemies, along with their great discipline being important contributors to their success.[2] In Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and Their Decline, Montesquieu states that, the circumstance which contributed most to render the Romans masters of the world was, that having contended successively against all nations, they invariably renounced their own usages as soon as they found better (20), thus effectively identifying one of the Roman armys primary sources of power.[3] Unlike many of the armies of the time, the Romans had no qualms about changing their own practices in order to more effectively combat an enemy, or to even adopt those of other nations that they deemed to be effective. This made it so that the Roman army became not just more experienced with every encounter, but better in any number of practical ways, with changes to their own methods and adoption of enemy tactics and equipment. Ultimately, the Romans military might was so great because it was composed of the strengths of every nation they had defeated. This virtue of adaptability was seen in some of its earliest examples with Romulus adopting the Sabines buckler, which was larger and therefore provided more protection than the Argive buckler that he previously used.[4] While to the modern reader this may seem far from a revolutionary idea, it was at the time, and as such conceded an exceptional advantage to the Romans. As remarked by Montesquieu and translated in A Treatise on the S cience of War and Fortification, It is remarkable, that the nations vanquished by the Romans never inquired into the causes of their repeated defeats; but persevered in the use of their weapons and institutions to the last moment of their political existence (OConnor, 71).[5] Clearly, this doctrine of assimilation and adaptation was fairly unique for its time, and thereby allowed the Roman Legions to continuously evolve, with new tactics, equipment, and training. An even greater testament to the adaptability of the Romans was that they did not only assimilate or adapt to the innovations of the armies after having defeated them, but would do so throughout a campaign as well, learning from every defeat in order to ultimately take victory back. A good example of this was upon encountering the elephants of Pyrrhus, where the unfamiliar animals routed the Roman cavalry, their horses, before they got near the animals, were terrified and ran away with their riders (Plutarch, XVII.3), but the Romans allowed this to happen only once.[6] In response, they first supplied the weakness of their cavalry by taking away the bridles from the horses, [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] and afterwards by mixing velites with their cavalry proper (Montesquieu, 55).[7] The Romans strategy of adaptation and adoption showed clear results on the battlefield time and time again. In this way, many a campaign that seemed lost at first was ultimately reclaimed by them, careful to ascertain in what respects their enemy might possess some superiority over them; they immediately took action accordingly (Montesquieu, 54), and thereby turn the tides in their favour once more.[8] In short, a great factor in the Roman armys success was its doctrine of constant evolution: if someone was doing something better, do what they are doing. In this way, the Roman army continuously evolved into a force that had the best traits of all powers in the area; as summarized by Josephus: If any nation enjoyed any particular advantage [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] they at once availed themselves of the same. They did not neglect to provide themselves with Numidian horses, Cretan archers, Balearic slingmen, and Rhodian ships. In fine, no nation ever prepared for war with so much prudence, or carried it on with so much audacity (Montesquieu, 56).[9] The Romans exercised another great advantage over their contemporaries: discipline. Many of the armies of their time being composed of non-professional soldiers, and those that did have standing armies had them composed of barbarians and undisciplined troops. As such, it would often come about that the Romans claimed victory despite being grossly outnumbered, [Roman] troops always being the better disciplined, it was likely, even in the most unfortunate combats, that they would rally in part, or that the enemy would somewhere be thrown into disorder [and] although overborne in the beginning [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦], they finally wrested victory from their hands (Montesquieu, 54).[10] This great discipline was of the utmost importance to the Roman armys success, and so it was instilled from the moment that a man would enlist. They began training at military schools, increasing physical strength, dexterity, and weapons handling, with the most famous of these being the Campus Martius in ancient Rome.[11] All of this contributed to the Roman soldier becoming the best version of himself, which in turn resulted in a greater esprit de corps and pride, and ultimately a greater willingness to fight. This transferred directly to the battlefield, where the Roman forces would rarely break formation despite being presented with an overwhelming enemy, and whose formations were therefore powerful and resilient enough to overcome these same enemies. The discipline that Roman soldiers exhibited came from two factors, one being the risk of punishment, and the other being Roman pride, with each being effective in their own right. The pride that Romans felt in their place in the military was an effective component in maintaining order amongst the troops by being preventative; a Roman soldier did not wish to forsake his duty because of his pride. This could be seen in the rarity of Roman desertions, which resulted from the fact that soldiers drawn from the bosom of a people so proud, so haughty, so confident of dominating other peoples, could little think so far undervaluing themselves as to cease to be Romans (Montesquieu, 53).[12] This pride went beyond retention and increased morale and combat effectiveness, as this pride allowed a Roman soldier to believe in himself and his brothers in arms all the more.[13] The other source of Roman military discipline stemmed from the threat of punishment for those who were lacking. This began from the earliest days of a soldiers career; when performance was unsatisfactory they were punished accordingly, and so it became that corporal punishment to enforce discipline was part of a soldiers way of life (Saller, 136).[14] Despite corporal punishment becoming the norm for these soldiers, there existed far more severe punishments that served as extreme deterrents for the most extreme cases of a soldiers misconduct, the most famous of these being the decimation of a unit. As described by Polybius: If the same thing ever happens to large bodies, and if entire maniples desert their posts when exceedingly hard pressed, the officers refrain from inflicting the bastinado or the death penalty on all, but find a solution of the difficulty which is both salutary and terror-striking. The tribune assembles the legion, and brings up those guilty of leaving the ranks, reproaches them sharply, and finally chooses by lots sometimes five, sometimes eight, sometimes twenty of the offenders, so adjusting the number thus chosen that they form as near as possible the tenth part of those guilty of cowardice. Those on whom the lot falls are bastinadoed mercilessly in the manner above described; the rest receive rations of barley instead of wheat and are ordered to encamp outside the camp on an unprotected spot. As therefore the danger and dread of drawing the fatal lot affects all equally, as it is uncertain on whom it will fall; and as the public disgrace of receiving barley rations falls on all alike, this practice is that best calculated to both inspire fear and to correct the mischief. (Polybius, 38)[15] This punishment is exemplary of the array of consequences that could befall a soldier who lacked discipline; if ones pride was not motivation enough, then these would be. Clearly, both methods of encouraging discipline amongst Roman troops were effective, and in turn this discipline was a powerful asset of the Roman army. The Roman armys unmatched discipline on the battlefield proved itself to be a source of strength and a great advantage time and time again. Especially against barbaric forces, even when outnumbered the Romans would hold, and the undisciplined enemy forces would be routed despite their numerical advantage, and they would thereby finally [wrest] victory from their hands (Montesquieu, 54).[16] The Roman Empires military might was what allowed it to expand and maintain its power and influence, and so the Empire was only as strong as its army. The Roman armys power came from their willingness to adapt and their strict doctrine of discipline, and this is further apparent in how the armies of subsequent eras were eager to adopt these same ideals, and when doing so became far more successful. References   Goldsworthy, Adrian. 2003. The Complete Roman Army. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd. Montesquieu, and Jehu Baker. 1882. Montesquieus Considerations on the Causes of the Grandeur and Decadence of the Romans. New York: D. Appleton and Company. OConnor, John M. 1817. A Treatise on the Science of War and Fortification. New York: J. Seymour. Plutarch. n.d. Life of Pyrrhus. Polybius. n.d. Book 6. Saller, Richard P. 1997. Patriarchy, Property and Death in the Roman Family. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [1] Adrian Goldsworthy, The Complete Roman Army (London: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 2003). [2] Montesquieu and Jehu Baker, Montesquieus Considerations on the Causes of the Grandeur and Decadence of the Romans (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1882), 54. [3] Ibid, 20. [4] Ibid, 20. [5] John OConnor, A Treatise on the Science of War and Fortification (New York: J. Seymour, 1817), 71. [6] Plutarch, Life of Pyrrhus (n.d.), XVII.3. [7] Montesquieu and Jehu Baker, Montesquieus Considerations on the Causes of the Grandeur and Decadence of the Romans (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1882), 55. [8] Ibid, 54. [9] Ibid, 56. [10] Ibid, 54. [11] Ibid, 49-51. [12] Ibid, 53. [13] Ibid, 53-54. [14] Richard P. Saller, Patriarchy, Property and Death in the Roman Family (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 136. [15] Polybius, Book VI (n.d.), 38. [16] Montesquieu and Jehu Baker, Montesquieus Considerations on the Causes of the Grandeur and Decadence of the Romans (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1882), 54.

Understanding My Social Location and Experiences Essay -- Personal Exp

The intersection of dominant ideologies of race, class, and gender are important in shaping my social location and experiences. By exercising my sociological imagination (Mills, 1959), I will argue how my social location as an Asian American woman with a working class background has worked separately and together to influence how I behave, how others treat and view me, and how I understand the world. The sociological imagination has allowed me to understand my own â€Å"biography†, or life experiences by understanding the â€Å"history†, or larger social structures in which I grew up in (Mills, 1959). First, I will describe my family’s demographic characteristics in relation to California and the United States to put my analysis into context. I will then talk about how my perceptions of life opportunities have been shaped by the Asian-American model minority myth. Then, I will argue how my working class location has impacted my interactions in institutional settings and my middle/upper class peers. Third, I will discuss how gender inequalities in the workplace and the ideological intersection of my race and gender as an Asian-American woman have shaped my experiences with men. I will use Takaki’s (1999) concepts of model minority myth and American identity, Race; The Power of an Illusion (2003), Espiritu’s (2001) ideological racism, People Like Us: Social Class in America (1999) and Langston’s (2001) definition of class to support my argument. Before I analyze how my social location has influenced my experiences, I need to talk about my family’s demographic characteristics in comparison to our community and the larger U.S. society: In my hometown, Asians make up the third largest racial group (23%). Whites make up 51.3% and H... ...ding white, male superiority. Back in high school, I dated a non-Asian male from my class who often talked about how Asian women are â€Å"hot and sexy† yet â€Å"more faithful to men and less aggressive than White women.† At the time, I thought this was a compliment and I often tried to conform to this stereotype in order to satisfy my partner. Images of Asian-American women as both innocent and dangerous have legitimized any racist and sexist policies directed at Asians and women. Works Cited People Like Us: Social Class in America http://www.pbs.org/program/people-like-us/ Race; The Power of an Illusion (2003) http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm Takaki, R. (1999). The myth of the â€Å"model minority.† In D. M. Newman (Ed.), Sociology: Exploring the architecture of everyday life: Readings (pp. 255-259). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge

H.J Heinz Company :: essays research papers

H.J. Heinz Company   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  H.J. Heinz Company, commonly known as Heinz, famous for its â€Å"57 Varieties† slogan, was founded in 1869, by Henry John Heinz, in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania. In 1869, the 25 year old Henry went into business with L. Clarence Noble as â€Å"Heinz & Noble.† The first product they launched was none other than horseradish. The sauce was unique in that it was sold in clear glass bottles to display its purity, whereas competitors used colored glass to hide the poor quality of their products. There was a reason that founder Henry John Heinz displayed his product in transparent bottles. He took a stand on quality and proudly displayed all of his products to the people and his competitors by using a clear bottle to show that his products where the real deal and the best. From the beginning of Heinz, the driving idea was quality, and quality is what made Heinz the company it is today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After horseradish came pickles, sauerkraut, and vinegar, delivered by horse-drawn wagons to grocers in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Processing, packing and the headquarters offices shared a two-story farmhouse in Sharpsburg, at the city’s northern edge. But within five years, Heinz and partner L. C. Noble had to relocate to larger quarters because of their massive growth. They were on their way to becoming one of the nation’s leading producers of condiments. Heinz & Noble could count among its assets a hundred acres of garden along the Allegheny River – 30 acres of horseradish – along with 24 horses, a dozen wagons and a vinegar factory in St. Louis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After initial success, the company was forced into bankruptcy in 1875, a year of economic downturn and crop surplus. However, this successful young enterprise was not going to let the banking panic of 1875 stop it from becoming the world’s leading tomato processor.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the banking crisis, Heinz started over with brother, John and cousin, Frederick, in 1875. The new partnership with his brother and cousin, â€Å"H. & J. Heinz†, came into being. In the depression brought on by the banking collapse, it was a difficult first year, but one in which a new product was introduced and would become its most well-known product – tomato ketchup. Red and green pepper sauce soon followed, then cider vinegar, apple butter, chili sauce, mincemeat, mustard, tomato soup, olives, pickled onions, pickled cauliflower, baked beans and the first sweet pickles ever brought to market.

African American and Their Rights Essay

Since slavery, African Americans have gone through a lot to reach their current state. In the early 20th century, African Americans faced discrimination, isolation, and were segregated according to their skin color. It started when Europeans brought the first Africans to America, and continued throughout the Civil War. The American government made some changes in policies. A variety of leaders shaped the successful struggle toward black equality in America (Bowles, 2011). Ever since slavery begun, African Americans have been determined to end segregation, discrimination, and isolation. Activists such as, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, and others, joined together to put an end to segregation, discrimination, and isolation to attain civil rights and equality. Slavery had changed dramatically in the late 1600s. About this time the slave trade to American colonies also began increasing to meet the demand for cheap labor. Traders sold slaves to the Northern colonies, but English and other European immigrants satisfied the demand for labor there (Echerd, 2009). Slaves in America came from western and central Africa. African tribes sometimes enslaved those defeated in intertribal wars and sold their captives to European slave traders. The tribes raided villages to obtain slaves to trade for European goods. Slave traders had even offered the Africans guns and other goods for the slaves. Slaves lived a rough, hard life. Cheap labor was a huge part of their lives. They had to work from sunrise to sunset. The work consisted of clearing land, tended to fields of tobacco, rice, and vegetables. They also performed many other tasks that had helped make plantations almost completely self-sufficient. No slaves saw any money for their tasks that they had performed, but they did receive food, clothing, and shelter. The slaves had resided in small one-room huts, which had no windows and the floors were all dirt. Most slaves accepted their living condition, however, they knew no other way of life (Koehler, 2009). However, white Southerners regained control of state governments in the South during the late 1870s, however, and reversed most of the previous gains made by former slaves. For example: segregation. What is segregation? According to Webster’s Dictionary, to segregate is defined as to separate or set apart from others; isolate or to require, often with force, the separation of a specific racial, religious, or other group from the body of society. Segregation has been a part of our American heritage, almost from the moment slaves arrived on the shores of the New World (Bowles, 2011). In 17th century Virginia, the theocratic government feared that racial mixing between freed and enslaved blacks and white indentured servants would become a means to usurp government power. They passed laws in which the color line was clearly defined in any criminal punishments. By treating whites and blacks separately and unequally, these Virginian leaders set up a system of white supremacy that would become an essential component of American slavery. Separation and segregation was the order of the day, with African Americans being forced to ride in separate railroad cars, have their own hotels and courthouses, and even get water out of their own drinking fountains. Their children could not attend the same schools with the White children. To further push the color-line, they then added in segregation with the Jim Crow Laws. This is mainly because the Whites were considered to be superior, and hence were thought to deserve better schools with better facilities. African Americans on the other hand were considered inferior, and hence their children attended low-quality schools that lacked adequate facilities (Sitkoff & Franklin, 2008). The Northern States, which had grew and prospered during the war, believed the former slaves to be equal as any other person. The Southern States, still angry over the loss of the war and their firm belief in White superiority, took a different approach. They created and enforced what were known as the Black Codes. These were legislations passed in Southern states to control labor, migration and other activities of the freed slaves. Black Codes allowed legal marriage, property ownership and limited access to the court systems. It prohibited them from testifying against whites, serving on juries or militias, voting and publicly expressing any form of legal concerns ( www. history. com). Any former slave that did not sign yearly labor contract with the plantation owners could be arrested and hired out. The Black codes in short allowed for the continued and legal discrimination against the former slaves (www. history. com). Congress quickly responded to these laws in 1866 and seized the initiative in remaking the south. Republicans wanted to ensure that with the remaking the south, freed blacks were made viable members of society. But the strong southern legislatures finally gave in; in 1868 they repealed most of the laws that discriminated against blacks. Things were starting to look up. But by 1877 Democratic parties regained their power of the south and ended reconstruction. In 1882, southern states passed Jim Crow laws that enforced strict segregation between blacks and whites and limited African-American civil rights. This was devastating to the blacks. After all the strides they made were reversed. From holding political offices, the right to vote, and participating as equal members of society was changed. The south gradually reinstated the racially discriminatory laws. The two main goals they wanted these laws to achieve: disenfranchisement and segregation. To take away the power that the blacks had gained, the Democratic Party began to stop Blacks from voting. There were many ways to stop blacks from voting. Some of these things were poll tax, which were fees were charged at voting booths and were expensive for most blacks, and the literacy test. Since teaching blacks were illegal, most adult blacks were former slaves and illiterate. And the other goal, segregation, causes the democrats to create laws that segregated the schools and public facilities. The Northern States, which had grew and prospered during the war, believed the former slaves to be equal as any other person. The Southern States, still angry over the loss of the war and their firm belief in White superiority, took a different approach. They created and enforced what were known as the Black Codes. These were legislations passed in Southern states to control labor, migration and other activities of the freed slaves. Black Codes allowed legal marriage, property ownership and limited access to the court systems. It prohibited them from testifying against whites, serving on juries or militias, voting and publicly expressing any form of legal concerns. Any former slave that did not sign yearly labor contract with the plantation owners could be arrested and hired out. The Black codes in short allowed for the continued and legal discrimination against the former slaves. Just like some African Americans activists fought this segregation, some Whites had some groups of their own to carry the segregation on and on. The Ku Klux Klan was one of them. The Ku Klux Klan, Knights of White Camellia, and other terrorists murdered thousands of blacks and some whites to prevent them from voting and participating in public life. The KKK was founded in 1865 to 1866. They directed their violence towards black landowners, politicians, and community leaders. They also did this to people who supported Republicans or racial equalities (Anti-Defamation League, 2012). After the abolishment of slavery in the U. S. the KKK formed. They hated blacks and would commit crimes against them. Murders, hangings, and lynches are just some of the crimes against the blacks (www. kkk. bz, n. d. ). The Ku Klux Klan claims to be just defending their people like other races do. What is a lynching? Lynching is a form of punishment with no legal permission. Most times lynching occurred against African Americans by hanging them. This was very popular during the Gilded Age after the American Civil War when African Americans were freed from slavery. Many White men would use lynching against Black men for being in a mixed relationship with a White woman. However, because lynching had no legal basis, it was thought to have been a tool that was used against freed slaves that had achieved financial stability and authority in order to remain a White-dominated nation. Lynching was most likely performed by White Supremacy groups like the KKK. Lynching was done by hanging or shooting, or both. However, many were of a more hideous nature. Burning at the stake, maiming, dismemberment, castration, and other brutal methods of physical torture are all part of a lynching. Lynching therefore was a cruel combination of racism and sadism, which was utilized primarily to sustain the caste system in the South. Many white people believed that Negroes could only be controlled by fear. To them, lynching was seen as the most effective means of control. Defending your people is one thing, but to torture another human being is inhuman. The KKK has several stories out there today on how they treated the blacks, whether they did anything wrong or not. For instance, a Louisiana woman is in critical condition after she was set on fire, resulting in burns on roughly 60 percent of her body, and her car appears to have had racial slurs written on it at the time of her attack (Mach, n. d. ). They had even gone as far as church bombings. The KKK launched a bomb into a church during a Sunday service, which left four innocent teenage girls dead. The men responsible hid behind the cloak of secrecy, intimidation and the white robes of the oldest terrorist organization in the world, the Ku Klux Klan (Gado, n. d. ). Therefore, until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, racial discrimination is an issue that was not seriously tackled. The act was a successful result of most wide-ranging civil rights legislation and Civil Rights Movements for close to a century (Finkelman, 2009). The act declared discrimination on the basis of color, race, ethnicity, religion, and many other aspects as unconstitutional. During the critical years from 1954 to 1963, a variety of leaders with different backgrounds, such as lawyers from the NAACP, women sitting on buses, ministers from southern black churches, militants from black power organizations, and youth from colleges had shaped the successful struggle toward black equality in America (Bowles, 2011). In 1896, the Supreme Court’s Plessy v. Ferguson decision established that â€Å"separate but equal† facilities for whites and blacks were allowable under the U. S. Constitution. Local governmental officials could designate separate public facilities like drinking fountains, restrooms, and schools. Even courthouses often had separate Bibles according to the defendant’s race. The problem was that separate usually meant unequal, and segregation subverted the freedom of every African American (Sundquist, 1993). Now, it is time for the African- Americans to fight back. The incident that made them want to make a difference was the Rosa Park bus ride. After a long day of work on December 1, 1955, Parks, feet hurt, looked forward to sitting on the bus for her ride home. At the time, there was a city ordinance stating that African Americans had to give up their seats on a train or bus if a white man asked for them. When a white man approached Parks and told her that he wanted her seat, she simply said no. Although she acted as a private citizen, her response was as an informed, committed member of the NAACP movement. The bus driver had asked Parks to move. When she did not, the bus driver said, â€Å"Look, woman, I told you I wanted the seat. Are you going to stand up? † When Parks again said no, the driver threatened, â€Å"If you don’t stand up, I’m going to have you arrested. † She gave no reply but at the next stop, Rosa was arrested (Garrow, 2004). A pastor known as Martin Luther King Jr., organized a boycott, the Montgomery bus boycott. King Jr. took this to a higher level and maintained and organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), which coordinated similar bus boycotts in other cities. Shortly after the boycott, King had found a bomb on his porch. King went to Birmingham, Alabama, where he continued his nonviolent protests and marches. However, the police authorized force to disband King’s followers by using electric cattle prods, tear gas, and fire hoses (Bowles, 2011). King was arrested with the others, but upon his release from jail he went to Washington, D. C., where he and demonstrators met at the National Mall and addressed them with his famous â€Å"We Shall Overcome† speech on August 23, 1963. King’s words at the capital that day were a defining moment of the Civil Rights movement. Other demonstrations and civil disobedience campaigns sought to increase African-American voter registration and win better jobs. Malcolm X actively promoted the Black Muslim cause. Even after speaking about non-violence and wanting peace, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. The civil rights movement dramatically increased participation of African- American voters in both the South and the North today. By the mid-70s some 4000 African-Americans have been elected to political office at all levels of government. Qualified African-Americans now have a wider range of opportunities than ever before. Whether you are White or African-American, each group has faced its own peculiar challenges on its approach to democracy (Rappaport, 2001). This racism is wrong and unconstitutional. The 13th Amendment is ratified, abolishing slavery, which some people still went against it. The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to the former slaves and forbade states from denying any person life, liberty, or property without due process of the law. The 14th Amendment also guaranteed equal protection of the law for all citizens. The 15th Amendment barred states from denying citizens the right to vote based on race, color, or previous servitude (Hertz, 2009). In a perfect world, everyone would be equal. The color of one’s skin, religious beliefs or sexual preference would mean nothing. We would accept everyone for whom and what they are. We would rejoice in the differences between each other instead of belittling, hating and discriminating against those differences. We don’t however live in a perfect world. We live in a world filled with distrust and hate. If we don’t know or understand it in our society, then it is wrong. It will be discriminated against in one form or another. We as a country have made major strides in overcoming racism, however we still have far to go. In conclusion, African Americans faced isolation, discrimination, and segregation during the post-construction period. Racial discrimination was also prevalent in the military where back soldiers were considered inferior to white soldiers and hence poorly trained and equipped. The issue of racial discrimination, isolation and segregation was not seriously tackled until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted. Civil rights activists such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. organized the famous 1963 protest in Washington that eventually forced President John Kennedy to pass the Act. It is therefore, clear that the journey to end isolation, discrimination, and segregation to attain equality and civil rights has been hard but worthwhile. ? References Bowles, M. (2011). American History 1865- Present End of Isolation. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint. Retrieved at: https://content. ashford. edu/books/AUHIS204. 11. 2 Finkelman, P. (2009) Encyclopedia of African American history, 1896-present, Madison Avenue, New York: Oxford University Press Rappaport, D. (2001). Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sitkoff, H. , & Franklin, J. (2008) The Struggle for Black equality. Hill and Wang Publication http://www. adl. org/learn/ext_us/kkk/default. asp? LEARN_Cat=Extremism&LEARN_SubCat=Extremism_in_America&xpicked=4&item=kkk http://www. history. com/topics/black-codes Civil Rights Act of 1964 http://www. ourdocuments. gov/doc. php? doc=97&page=transcript.

Case Study on Cost Efficiency

Introduction It is not easy to compete in the market today. Rising prices, shifting fuel rates, global competition, varying labor rates around the world, and spiraling health insurance costs have made cost control a moving target. Sometimes it seems that a company gets one set of expenses under control, and in the meantime, another area of the company begins experiencing cost overruns. It is a never ending battle to maintain company profitability. The importance of cost efficiency programs within a company cannot be overstated.Companies that are losing money, need to increase profits, or must become more competitive need to cut expenses in order to succeed. Knowing how to implement effective cost reduction strategies can be the determining factor in the survival of a business. Every organization strives to reduce cost and accomplishment of work at minimum resources to gain maximum output and financial performance. Cost efficiency is a measure of the level of resources used to create a given level of product value.How much resources are being used to create an optimum and defined level of outcomes need to work out to determine the cost of resources and cost of ultimate output it brings in existence. Company can offer lower price product for its customer benefits or can provide more features for the same price of product. While allocating Budget Company would like to maintain same level of service provisions and quality but at reduced cost and try to earn profit as much as it can. Objectives of the subject †¢ To study the concept of cost efficiency. †¢ To study importance cost efficiency. To study consequences of cost inefficiency. †¢ To study the case study on cost efficiency with reference to Google purchase Motorola mobility. Research methodology The information for the present study is collected through secondary sources i. e. from books, journal, magazines, internet, etc. Limitation of the study- The information for the present study is collec ted through secondary source no primary source is used. Organization’s Profile Google History of Google Google began in January 1996 as a research project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin when they were both PhD students at Stanford University in California.While conventional search engines ranked results by counting how many times the search terms appeared on the page, the two theorized about a better system that analyzed the relationships between websites. They called this new technology Page Rank, where a website's relevance was determined by the number of pages, and the importance of those pages, that linked back to the original site. A small search engine called â€Å"Rank Dex† from IDD Information Services designed by Robin Li was, since 1996, already exploring a similar strategy for site-scoring and page ranking.The technology in Rank Dex would be patented and used later when Li founded Baidu in China. Page and Brin originally nicknamed their new search engine â₠¬Å"Back Rub†, because the system checked back links to estimate the importance of a site. Eventually, they changed the name to Google, originating from a misspelling of the word â€Å"googol†, the number one followed by one hundred zeros, which was picked to signify that the search engine wants to provide large quantities of information for people. Originally, Google ran under theStanford University website, with the domains google. stanford. edu and z. stanford. edu. The domain name for Google was registered on September 15, 1997 and the company was incorporated on September 4, 1998. It was based in a friend’s garage in California. Craig Silverstein, a fellow PhD student at Stanford, was hired as the first employee. In May 2011, the number of monthly unique visitors to Google surpassed 1 billion for the first time, an 8. 4 percent increase from May 2010 (931 million). Mission of Google Google Inc. s an American multinational corporation which provides Internet-r elated products and services, including Internet search, cloud computing, software and advertising technologies. Advertising revenues from Ad Words generate almost all of the company's profits. Google is a global technology leader which focuses on improving the ways people connect with information relative to the industry Internet and Computer software. The company mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.Its product lines include Search Advertising, Display Advertising, Mobile Advertising, Tools for Publishers, Local, and Enterprise. Google has became one of the most recognized brand in the world and achieved Market Share of 65. 5% (May 2011) in Search Engine Business. Google became the 4th largest technology company in USA. Rapid growth since incorporation has triggered a chain of products, acquisitions, and partnerships beyond the company's core web search engine. The company offers online productivity software including email, an office suite, and social networking.Google's products extend to the desktop as well, with applications for web browsing, organizing & editing photos, and instant messaging. Google leads the development of the Android mobile operating system, as well as the Google Chrome OS browser-only operating system, found on specialized net books called Chrome books. Google has been estimated to run over one million servers in data centers around the world and process over one billion search requests and about twenty-four peta bytes of user-generated data every day. As of September 2009 Alexa listed the main U. S. focused google. com site as the Internet's most visited website, and numerous international Google sites as being in the top hundred, as well as several other Google-owned sites such as YouTube, Blogger and Orkut. Google also ranks number two in the BrandZ brand equity database. The dominant market position of Google's services has led to criticism of the company over issues including privacy, copyright, and censorship. Google’s Organizational Structure According to Fortune and All Business magazines, Google is the fourth-most admired company in the United States.Google was also listed as the top company to work for in both 2007 and 2008. The main reason for this employee admiration is Google’s cross-functional organizational structure, which the company maintains though stellar leadership and innovative management techniques. Motorola History of Motorola Paul V. Galvin and his brother, Joseph E. Galvin, purchase a battery eliminator business in Chicago. In September 1928 they named the company Galvin Manufacturing Corporation. Galvin Manufacturing Corporation's first product they develop is a battery eliminator which allows electronic devices to run on electricity rather than batter.The name Motorola was given to Galvin’s first car stereo. ‘Motor’ stands for car and ‘ola’ stands for sound. From 1936 onward s, Galvin production lines dominate by manufacturing radios for cars and receivers up to 1947 where they produce their first television and the company name changes from Galvin Manufacturing Corporation to Motorola but then continue manufacturing communications mediums. In 1967, Motorola expands into the following countries: Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and West Germany.In 1969, Motorola starts to supply the National American Space Agency (NASA) with radio equipment so astronauhts can communicate with their Earthly bases. The first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong communicated with Earth whilst on the Moon using a Motorola Radio. In 2000 Motorola and General Instrument Corporation merged to enhance their services and in 2001 Motorola introduces the Motorola v60 phone the world first metal mobile phone which is available on the cellular networks GSM, TDMA and CDMA. In 2002 Motorola de veloped released a GPS chip that could be installed into consumer electronics to enable location positioning.Also Motorola released a 3G which is transmitted over CDMA network. Finally, Motorola releases the Cross-Technology PoC product line that enables subscribers to have â€Å"push-to-talk† connectivity across and between GPRS, CDMA2000 1X, and WiFi networks and Motorola releases Ojo Personal Video Phone. Ojo promises broadband connectivity and a video phone that doesn’t break up which is commonly known with video phones. Mission of Motorola Motorola wants to make phone chargers to strap onto millions of owners' bikes in emerging nations because mobile phones are often the only type of phone they own.For many people in those countries, he said, a mobile phone is often the first interaction with a computer or the Internet. Globally and locally, Motorola's mission is to make everything mobile: communication, music, photos, Internet, television. And especially putting content wherever customers want it. Chris White from Motorola's multimedia experience department discussed what Zander called the two biggest customer frustrations: getting music onto a mobile phone and getting pictures off of it. Motorola has partnered with Microsoft to bring DRM technology to its phones.Users will be able to download music from a variety of online music stores into Windows Media Player. Songs can then be dragged, dropped and synched with the phone. In regard to photos, Motorola's new Rizr Z6 phone will have a 2-megapixel camera whose pictures can be sent wirelessly over Bluetooth to a Kodak EasyShare printer. Organizational structure of Motorola The company adopts a more flat organizational structure compared to Nokia and Ericsson and grants more authority to the second level management.Within divisions, the Vice Presidents of the respective segments are authorized to adopt the ideal organizational pattern as an example, matrix approach for new product development divisions/departments, whereas a line or staff structure for production area. The company favors interdepartmental and cross functional teaming of employees and also adopts employee empowerments schemes to make good the lacunae in organizational structure, caused due to centralization of functions. The flat organization of Motorola enables the implementations of management decisions at a faster rate.Concept of cost efficiency Definition of cost efficiency â€Å"Efficiency is the ratio of output to input. A system is cost efficient if, relative to another system, its output cost less per unit of input. A system increases its cost efficiency when it maintains output with less than proportionate increase in input. Efficiency is divided into 2 parts, they are- allocative efficiency and x-efficiency. Allocative efficiency is concerned with the allocation of given resources between alternative uses in ways that maximize social welfare.X-efficiency is concerned with producing more output without any change in the allocation of inputs. It therefore focuses on inefficiencies such as overstaffing and managerial waste†. The act of saving money by making a product or performing an activity in a better way is nothing but cost efficiency. Cost efficiency is a concept which is concerned with comparing different ways of achieving the same objective such that the most cost-effective choice will be the least costly of the alternatives being compared. Cost efficiency takes into account not only the price, but other factors too.Cost efficiency is more expensive at first but in the long run it will save money. This cost efficiency refers to the use of resources so as to maximize the production of goods and services. In accountancy, the cost is said more efficient than another (in relative terms) if it can provide more goods and services for society without using more resources. In absolute terms, a situation can be called efficient if: †¢ No additional output can be o btained without increasing the amount of inputs. †¢ Production proceeds at the lowest possible per-unit cost.These definitions of efficiency are not exactly equivalent, but they are all encompassed by the idea that a system is efficient if nothing more can be achieved given the resources available. The term cost efficiency is a situation in which an organization maximizes benefit and profit, while minimizing effort and expenditure. Maximization of efficiency is a balance between two extremes. Managed correctly, it reduces costs, waste, and duplication. The greater the efficiency, the more successful organization becomes.The organizations today attempt to be more customer-responsive than efficient in this sense, and the notion of such an ordered and impersonal efficiency has lost favor in an era when creativity and innovation are valued as a competitive advantage. A goal of media marketing that is aimed at minimizing advertising expenses incurred while maximizing product publici ty to a target market in terms of breadth and frequency of exposure. Maximizing cost efficiency in a marketing campaign is highly desirable for a business since the greatest product exposure is achieved for the least amount of financial investment.Importance of cost efficiency The importance of cost efficiency programs within a company cannot be overstated. Companies that are losing money, need to increase profits, or must become more competitive need to cut expenses in order to succeed. Knowing how to implement effective cost reduction strategies can be the determining factor in the survival of a business. Keeping a Competitive Advantage A good manager understands the importance of cost reduction to the health of a company. Bloated expense accounts can eat up profits quickly.A cost efficiency plan is one that focuses on lowering costs in every business activity. The activities vary by type of business but the concept of cost reduction and its efficiency does not vary. The importanc e of cost reduction and efficiency plans is related to the most common reasons why expenses must be cut in a business. †¢ Need for increased profits †¢ Improved competitive standing †¢ Preserve company resources †¢ Reduce waste †¢ Improved productivity It is not easy to compete in the market today.Rising prices, shifting fuel rates, global competition, varying labor rates around the world, and spiraling health insurance costs have made cost control a moving target. Sometimes it seems that a company gets one set of expenses under control, and in the meantime, another area of the company begins experiencing cost overruns. It is a never ending battle to maintain company profitability. Cost efficiency can be achieved utilizing different approaches. A company can: †¢ Reduce existing expenses †¢ Eliminate unnecessary expenses Modify business strategies which affect the types of business expenses †¢ Replace higher expenses with lower expenses for sam e items The importance of cost efficiency strategies cannot be understated, especially when a company is struggling to maintain profitability. Areas that can be reviewed for expense reductions include the following. †¢ Telecommunications †¢ Leases †¢ Materials †¢ Office supplies †¢ Maintenance costs †¢ Rent †¢ Utilities When a company must generate more cash as fast as possible, management will have to decide which costs can be most effectively reduced.If the reduction is needed quickly, expenses cut first will normally be those that are not fixed or directly tied to production. It is not a good idea to drastically reduce expenses that produce the company product or service without careful evaluation. If your company understands the importance of cost efficiency as a tool to increase profitability, the company will have a much better chance of remaining profitable no matter what stage of the economic cycle is occurring. That is because cost efficie ncy is an effective tool that can be responsive to a company's need. Managing expenses is just as important as managing revenue.A regular review of costs can prevent a company from wasting money resulting from ‘bad habits'. No matter whether it is good times or bad, the importance of cost efficiency strategies never changes. Consequences of cost inefficiencies The theory of inefficiency states that the distribution of resources between alternatives does not fit with consumer taste (perceptions of costs and benefits). For example, a company may have the lowest costs in â€Å"productive† terms, but the result may be inefficient in allocative terms because the â€Å"true† or social cost exceeds the price that consumers are willing to pay for an extra unit of the product.This is true, for example, if the firm produces pollution (see also external cost). Consumers would prefer that the firm and its competitors produce less of the product and charge a higher price, to internalize the external cost. Cost plays an important role in running of the business. Unfortunately, a business or a firm or an organization faces many problems due to improper use of cash held with them. In other word, it is also said as facing the consequences of cost inefficiency.Organizations have different range of problems than their larger counterparts, due to their inability to enjoy some of the same advantages in the marketplace. Most of these problems are due to revenue and cash-on-hand availability when the bills come due. But confronting these obstacles before they become a headache can help you to prevent them from becoming a major issue for your company through the study of cost efficiency. Following are the consequences faced by an organization:- Cash Flow The most important issue to any small business entrepreneur is cash flow.It does not help a small business to have a profitable upcoming quarter already signed on the dotted line, if the payroll for this Friday do es not have sufficient funds to pay your employees. Businesses which book revenue in advance, but do not realize the income for a period of months afterwards, must be especially careful with this timing. The future ledger may be showing nothing but green, but if the cash-on-hand dips into the red, a crisis may be coming sooner than your revenue can forestall it. Maintain lines of credit sufficient to keep your cash flow healthy as necessary, and keep a rainy day account if possible.Unforeseen Expenses Start-up companies and small businesses frequently run close to the bone and may be profitable only so long as unplanned events never occur. A retail store which clears $150,000 per year after expenses may seem to be in good shape, until a slip-and-fall lawsuit against the store awards the plaintiff $1. 3 million and there is no insurance coverage. Even smaller expenses, such as a one-time government levy on all businesses in a region, or a rise in the cost of goods, can cause a major change in the bottom line.Use your available credit when you need to tide over your short-term cash crunch, but keep a close eye on your long-term profitability to ensure that your overall liquidity is not threatened by the change in costs. Catastrophic Change A large corporation will probably survive the loss of a key executive to a debilitating injury or death, but these things frequently close small businesses when that person represents a large chunk of the available labor force–especially when the entrepreneur herself is that person. Likewise, a natural disaster or other major disruption can close a business for weeks or months.Whenever possible, have cash on hand and business policies to ensure that you will be able to reopen as soon as possible, or wether the temporary loss of a key employee, and then check your business plan to see if any of your prior assumptions have been changed by the new circumstances Once the organization identifies the sources of waste, and how much it is costing business, it should look at the most cost-effective way to reduce it. It's a good idea to focus initially on quick wins – things you can do immediately that will reduce waste almost instantly. You might also want to consider uick fixes – putting in place a temporary solution to a problem to give you time to design a more permanent answer. It is essential to give priority to cost improvements, as making a change to eliminate a problem might not always be cost-effective. The main focus should be on dealing with those problems which are most costly to the business because it will have the biggest impact on your profits. A case study Google purchase Motorola mobility About the Deal The Google, online giant on 15 August, 2011 made an announcement to buy Motorola Mobility, a maker of handsets and other electronic devices.Google Management Agreed to buy Motorola Mobility for $ 12. 5 billion. This is the largest  Ã‚  Ã‚   surprising acquisition by Google paying a premium of 63% to the 12th August, 2011 closing price ($40. 00 per share) of Motorola Mobility. The deal not only treated as a surprise, it will have a big impact on the mobile industry too. Motorola shareholders will get $40 a share in cash, the companies said in a statement today. That’s 63 percent more than Motorola Mobility’s closing price on the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 12. Both boards have approved the takeover.This is a Vertical Merger (which companies at different places in a chain of products join together). Here, Hardware Client (Motorola) acquired by the Software Client (Google) Google expects to complete the transaction by early 2012. As recently as March, the deal was slowed to a crawl when the Chinese government expanded its investigation of the purchase. China finally cleared the deal this past weekend. Google had received approval for the deal from both the U. S. Department of Justice and the European Commission in February. The purchase also was approved by officials in Israel and Taiwan, leaving China as the last holdout.The purchase will help Google defend itself against various patent infringement lawsuits over the Android operating system, since Motorola has one of the smart-phone industry's largest patent libraries. Page also hailed the purchase as something that will allow Google to gain a bigger foothold in the mobile market. A Google phone running Android could be very marketable not only to consumers but to IT departments that need to outfit workers with mobile devices. Basically, owning both the handset hardware and the operating system could be a powerful combination that could drive Android adoption.Google has been working to expand its business into other hardware ventures. With Motorola, Google may be better able to push its way into the home entertainment market with its Google TV platform. In addition to being a world-renowned smart-phone maker, Motorola also is a major player in the home set-top b ox sector. Why Google plans to buy Motorola mobility? â€Å"Google is moving into hardware, which is very different from what they've done all along,† said Darren Hayes, a computer science professor at Pace University. â€Å"It's very difficult for a company to be able to be a successful software and hardware company.It worked for Apple to be in the hardware and software industries, but not all companies have been that successful. † Google's move toward Apple's close management of software and hardware signals a departure from its previous path and suggests Google may be dissatisfied with its current software licensing arrangements, which have led to the proliferation, but also fragmentation, of its Android mobile operating system. â€Å"Google is moving into hardware, which is very different from what they've done all along,† said Darren Hayes, a computer science professor at Pace University. It's very difficult for a company to be able to be a successful softw are and hardware company. It worked for Apple to be in the hardware and software industries, but not all companies have been that successful. † Google's move toward Apple's close management of software and hardware signals a departure from its previous path and suggests Google may be dissatisfied with its current software licensing arrangements, which have led to the proliferation, but also fragmentation, of its Android mobile operating system.Most directly, the deal marks a defensive maneuver in the high-stakes patent war that has pitted the world's largest technology companies against one another in dozens of drawn-out intellectual property (IP) disputes. Google CEO Larry Page framed the acquisition as a means to protect Google's Android mobile operating system against â€Å"anti-competitive threats† by shoring up his company's arsenal of patents.Analysts agree that Motorola's 17,000 patents and 7,500 patent applications are a major win for Google, which lacks a robus t portfolio of wireless patents relative to more established players and has been vulnerable to lawsuits from the likes of Apple, Microsoft and Oracle. Over forty lawsuits have been filed against Android, and ongoing patent disputes threaten to impose licensing fees on the software Google has given away to phone manufacturers for free, potentially jeopardizing Android's explosive growth. Google is a relatively new entrant in the mobile space and does not have a lot of mobile IP, so anything it can do to build up its IP in the wireless space will help reduce potential risk to the company from lawsuits in the future,† said Ovum analyst Nick Dillon. â€Å"If you look at Motorola's history and role in pioneering mobile communications from the very start, you'll see they have some really key patents that will be useful to Google. † Yet patents are only part of the story, experts say. The acquisition suggests that Google sees itself as unable to adequately compete in the mobi lity market without its own handset manufacturer.Google's bet is that having greater control over smartphone software and hardware will help it move beyond the desktop and beyond search. Owning Motorola will allow Google, more than ever before, to create mobile devices that satisfy the web giant's vision for what cellphones and tablets should be able to do. A new breed of Motorola smart-phones could be designed from the ground up to integrate Google products at every turn, from featuring the Google-plus social network to adding near field communication chips that allow cell-phones to be substituted for credit cards via Google Wallet.Fundamentally, Motorola offers Google a bridge from the digital to the physical world, and with it, a means of gaining valuable information about its users, such as their locations or what applications they use the most. Though Google said that it will continue to license its Android software, its mobile strategy will cease being at the mercy of third-pa rty handset manufacturers like HTC and Samsung. Instead, Google will able to dictate the price, distribution and features of its own line of devices. Google also stands to bolster its efforts to gain inroads into the living room by preading to TVs. Google TV, which was unveiled lat year but was unable to gain much traction, may stand a better chance when paired with Motorola's set-top box offerings. Until now, Google has been essentially hands off when it comes to hardware: it has offered its Android software to manufacturers at zero cost, without a having a say in the form of the phones Android will power. This disruptive and unorthodox strategy has allowed Google to gain enormous market share in very little time, overtaking Apple to claim 48 percent of the global smart-phone market, according to Canalys.To some extent, quality has been sacrificed for quantity as Android has expanded to more than 150 million devices made by more than thirty different manufacturers. Google frequentl y updates its Android software, but app developers, manufacturers and carriers are not always able to keep up, resulting in a proliferation of different versions of the Android operating system offering a range of experiences for users. Depending on Google's relationship with the handset manufacturer, or the manufacturer's approach to upgrades, a consumer could purchase a smart-phone running outdated software, straight out of the box.Not all Android apps perform equally on different versions of the software, an issue that has been a source of frustration for users and developers alike. Google's new approach — controlling the smart-phone experience from end-to-end — mirrors the vertical-integration strategy Apple has pursed with spectacular success, but one that has lately been a bust for the likes of Nokia and Research in Motion. Nokia, for example, recently ceded its top spot as the world's largest smart-phone vendor to Apple and announced it would retire its Symbian operating system in favor of Microsoft's Windows Phone software.Google is staking billions on its ability to successfully control both the software and hardware components of its company's devices — all while not alienating its partners, who have been instrumental in Android's rise and with whom Google will directly compete once the Motorola acquisition is complete. â€Å"Google has had history of picking favorites, but it's never directly competed with manufacturers,† said Ovum analyst Dillon. â€Å"Manufacturers have come out with statements of support. But what's said in public in one thing, and what's said behind closed doors is another. Benefits of the deal †¢ Google and Motorola Mobility together will accelerate innovation and choice in mobile computing. Consumers will get better phones at lower prices. †¢ Motorola Mobility’s patent portfolio will help protect the Android ecosystem. Android, which is open-source software, is vital to competition in the mobile device space, ensuring hardware manufacturers, mobile phone carriers, applications developers and consumers all have choice. †¢ The purchase of Motorola Mobility by Google has excited some technophiles and alarmed others.The first point of concern, at least from the customer's perspective, is whether or not Motorola's Android smart-phone platform would become the exclusive domain of Google customers. The acquisition certainly puts Android operating systems on better footing as they compete against Apple's iPhone, and with Google's capital resources, more money is sure to pour into Android technology. Following are some reasons why the Google-Motorola deal makes sense: Integration may be all that matters in the wireless industry.Apple’s hardware-software-ecosystem business model brings better profit margins, can grab market share and seems to delight consumers. Google’s Android effort could be a bit like herding cats. The larger question is whether t he vertically integrated model is the only one that works in the wireless industry. Google lands its patent treasure trove. If you consider that Google was going to pay nearly $4 billion for Nortel’s 6,000 wireless patents, $12. 5 billion for Motorola Mobility doesn’t look like a big chunk of change. With Motorola Mobility’s patents, Google can fend off lawsuits.In other words, Google builds out its patent portfolio. On a conference call, Page called out patents as a big reason for the Motorola Mobility acquisition. Google gets a TV play. While Google’s Motorola acquisition primarily revolves around wireless devices, there’s a significant living room play here. Why? Motorola Mobility has a significant set-top box business. In the cable box world, there are two players: Cisco and Motorola Mobility, which is the leader. Google will get significant relationships with cable providers and give Android more of a foothold.There’s a good chance that Google can keep hardware partners in the fold—for now. Page reiterated that Google will keep Android open source and work with partners such as HTC and Samsung. Also keep in mind that this Google-Motorola deal could win it some goodwill with hardware partners. Motorola was thinking about suing other Android hardware makers over patents. Google’s acquisition would put an end to that. The deal forces Microsoft’s hand. When it comes to the art of war, Google and Motorola force Microsoft’s hand a bit.With the Google-Motorola deal, Page is basically acknowledging that there’s no money in third-party operating systems in the mobile space. The upshot: Mobile software players need a hardware component. As a result, Microsoft may be forced to acquire a hardware player. Research in Motion and Nokia are prime takeover candidates. In any case, Microsoft will be distracted by a big acquisition. And Android boxes in Nokia and RIM. With Motorola, which has some enterprise credibility and Android innovations, Google can enter the enterprise easier.As a result, RIM increasingly looks like the odd man out. Nokia is already under fire as it waits for Windows Phone 7 to gain traction. RIM is betting on QNX as an operating system. Google is indicating that the wireless market is a two-platform race. And those two horses are going to be Android and iOS. Challenges of the deal: Google acquisitions may lead to serious channel conflict, it will lead to a direct competition with other hardware partners like Samsung, HTC etc. , and the hardware manufacturing is a very different area with  Google’s core business.The deal raises the following major challenges 1. HTC  and Samsung, two of the leading  Android-based smart-phone makers, feel about the fact that their â€Å"partner†Ã‚  Google  is now competing directly with them for hardware sales. 2. Need to change the perceptions of the Investors that are not perceived the deal in a p ositive way. 3. Management Cultures of Software and hardware companies are almost different it is one of the challenge for the Google while framing the policies that would not reach to management destructions or management failures 4.By this Acquisition Google employee strength would increase by 19000 which eventually decrease the profits of the business. It’s question to the management in effective utilization of man power in value generation. Valuation of the Deal |Swap ratio determination using market value method | |Particulars |Google Motorola | |Market capital |1,71,94,00,00,000 |11,21,00,00,000 | |Equity |46,24,10,00,000 |1,73,20,00,000 | |Market capitalization of the merged entity |1,83,15,00,00,000 | |Share of google |93. 8% | | |Share of mmi | |6. 12% | |Post merger equity of google | |49,25,57,81,959 | |Post merger equity of mmi | |3,01,47,81,959 | |Hence, 1 equity share of google is equal to | |11. 6019003 | |11. 56 of mmi | | | |Market price at the time of de al (august 12) |563. 77 |24. 47 | |Additional premium paid to mmi |280. 8921499 |49. 82% | By this Market Valuation Method this deal is Viable for Google at a premium of 50% Why is Google willing to pay a 63% premium?Google is expecting the following benefits from MMI by this Acquisition. Operational Benefits †¢ Google can Access all the product lines of MMI cell phone, set-top boxes and tablet which are having a very good market share Android software has made considerable inroads in the smartphone market with 150 million devices and 550,000 activations a day. †¢ Now, Google can compete with Global Leader like APPLE in future in hardware and software industry Accounting Benefits †¢ Tax benefit:   Acquiring loss making company by a profit making companyGoogle can make a tax advantage each year till 2019 can utilize the losses. Synergy Expectations: Fragmentation and a Better The Android market is currently heavily fragmented but the developers facing problem for d esigning the applications by this synergy Google will solve this problem by building a better Android OS with a lot of applications. Diversification and Google Vallet: Despite being a little over a decade old Google maintained the same portfolio now this deal brings new business focus hardware products, mobile computing. Invasion of Living RoomThe Google TV user interface that was launched earlier in May, 2011and Motorola is a strong player in the set-top box and home devices market this bid can expand presence of Google TV products into the living room. Patent The mobile computing industry has become a hotbed for patent disputes and thrust in the patent war. Google having about 1,000-odd patents this acquisition gives access to more than 17,000 patents and 7,000 pending patents held by Motorola. Google will now be able to successfully defend itself against a barrage of patent lawsuits filed by Apple, Microsoft and other rivals Hardware and Software synergy (Vertical Integration):Th is results in product efficiency and cost efficiency. Apple secret to become No. 1 Technology Company Integrating hardware and software and the results are iPhone, iPad, and iPod – devices that have become leaders in their respective market segments. Views about the Deal Management View: †¢ Larry Page, CEO of Google, said, â€Å"I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers. † †¢ Mr. Page said I was â€Å"confident this deal will be approved† by regulators it tremendously beneficial to consumers,† †¢ For consumers, Once Motorola is owned by Google the handset maker could more aggressively ncorporate a technology called Near Field Communications (NFC) that is used for mobile payments and is supported by a version of Google's Android called Gingerbread. †¢ Investors Perception about the Deal †¢ Google: This Adventurous move in entirely different kind of business, one that could destroy its partnerships (and margins ) in one of its most important new Business Lines. Early Investors not perceived the deal in a positive way it results Google stock has gotten smacked in the pre-market. Another fact that could be worrying investors is that the Google-Motorola deal includes a $2. billion reverse break-up fee. †¢ MMI: The Internal Intention of MMI to get separated from its parent company is to get out in a better price and by showing its market growth among its products it got a chance to exit in a premium price leads to huge hike in the stock prices. The official SEC report outlines how Google bid against themselves and paid $4 billion more than the initial high-end target for bidding. The Self-Bidding War In July, Google started by floating the idea of buying Motorola for a high-$20s, low-$30s (per share) figure. On August 1st, an official bid of $30. 0 per share was made. Over the course of the next week and a half, however, Google would make two additional bids – $37. 00 and $40. 00 p er share – representing a full 33 percent increase from their initial offer, or $4 billion extra in total spent. How did Google get into a bidding war when no one else was bidding? It started before Google even made its initial offer. Google's Andy Rubin first approached Motorola in July, looking to purchase the company's patent portfolio. This attempt to expand mobile patent assets stemmed from a failed attempt to acquire Nortel's patent portfolio in April.However, Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha indicated that â€Å"that it could be problematic for Motorola Mobility to continue as a stand-alone entity if it sold a large portion of its patent portfolio,† according to the SEC filing. This prompted Google to look at buying the whole company rather than just its patents. Google then floated a low-$30s bid as an initial cap. On August 1, Google â€Å"sent a letter to the Motorola Mobility Board of Directors proposing an acquisition of Motorola Mobility by Google for $30. 00 in c ash per share. † Motorola has approximately 299 million shares currently, so that bid equated to $9 billion.In response, Motorola brought on Quatalyst Partners, an independent investment bank. It was a Quatalyst representative who contacted Google on August 5 and suggested a bid of $43. 50 per share – or a total bid of approximately $13 billion total, according to  the New York Times. Google upped their bid to $37. 00 per share ($11 billion), but continued to push for a fast and confidential buy. Motorola and Quatalyst leveraged Google's intensity by declining the second bid and suggesting â€Å"a proposed price of $40. 50 or higher. † Google made the offer of $40. 00 per share, or $11. 96 billion.Added to the additional options and awards (approximately 29 million shares with alternate sources or pricing), we come to $12. 5 billion – our final figure. Did Google Overpay? From the moment the $12. 5 billion figure was released, analysts called the purchas e an inflated buy, and the realization that Google's initial cap would have been would have been closer to $9. 4 billion just affirmed that notion. After all, $40. 00 per share was a 63 percent increase when compared with Motorola's last after-market trading value. But Google wasn't just buying a company. More than anything, Google was buying patent protection.In the world of mobile, manufacturers are already signing patent licenses with Microsoft that cost $5 to $12 per unit, fighting battles against Apple, and Google themselves are involved in their biggest lawsuit yet with Oracle. In total, these lawsuits and licensing fees may cost Google and their partners billions of dollars, which explains why Google is willing to pay an inflated price. Google was also buying Motorola's silence: They didn't want to get involved in a bidding war with competitors who could then use Motorola's patents against Android. By bidding against themselves, they removed the incentive to open the floor to public bids.It was an expensive move, but one that offered important legal protections and access to hardware technology in a key industry. Suggestions: †¢ Key factors that we feel need to implement in order to make this deal successful Google need to strengthen the following segments that creates synergy in value positioning. †¢ Management Efficiency: Focus on stretegy that make effective use of newly added 19000 manpower †¢ Patent Efficiency: First 17000 and plus remaining 7500 patents been used in new technology creation need by the market space †¢ Cost Efficiency: Strict Implementation of control mechanisms over the business. Profit Maximization: This was the ultimate objective of this acquisition if Google implemented all the strategies as per mentioned in this case it has more possibility to reduce the chances of failure of the deal. Can achieve its targeted mile stone Conclusion The concept of saving money by making a product or performing an activity in a better way is nothing but cost efficiency. So with the help of this project we can conclude that cost efficiency helps in increasing profits of the business organization.Cost efficiency improves the standard of an organization and makes it more competitive in today’s business world. Most importantly, with the help of this theory of cost efficiency a company can preserve its resources and more obviously can use it in its future. Cost efficiency also helps in reducing wastage in organization. This leads to earning of more profit and less cost expenses. On the other hand, a business or a firm or an organization faces many problems due to improper use of cash held with them. In other word, it is also said as facing the consequences of cost inefficiency.Organizations have different range of problems than their larger counterparts, due to their inability to enjoy some of the same advantages in the marketplace. Most of these problems are due to revenue and cash-on-hand availabilit y when the bills come due. But confronting these obstacles before they become a headache can help you to prevent them from becoming a major issue for your company through the study of cost efficiency. In case of Google purchasing Motorola mobility Huge Experts have been watching the current scenario what will be the Google’s next step, how efficiently will manage this Hardware product line.How effectively use these synergies if this synergy became successful Google will reach to the sudden highs in a short span of time can became the competitor to the Market leader Apple. Now, Google can compete with Global Leader like APPLE in future in hardware and software industry. Well, up till now Google have faced less consequences as the employees of the Google Inc. have being studying cost expenses and try to reserve its resources and patents. Bebliography and webliography List of website:- www. mba. com www. marketing. about. com www. ehow. com www. ebrd. com