Saturday, January 25, 2020

Influences of Immigration to the UK, and the Impact

Influences of Immigration to the UK, and the Impact 1.1 Overview The dissertation aims to thoroughly investigate the main influencing factors that do inspire skilled manpower from Bangladesh to immigrate to other countries especially to first world countries. Simultaneously, the dissertation also purposes to identify, analyse and establish the significance of the ultimate impact of such migration on the country, notably on its business ventures. The economy of Bangladesh is highly dependent on the export of human resources and foreign exchange associated with their remittance. However, there has been a significant change in the global labour market in recent times due to a demand for skilled and educated manpower, which is why Bangladesh is now facing stiff competition from new entrants such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Nepal in this traditional market. While Bangladesh government is trying to create skilled workers and export them, highly skilled professionals are now with the changed scenarios migrating in groups leaving their positions vacant, which is a great concern for the government. Due to such migration, government of Bangladesh as well as private organizations are lacking sufficient and trained high-skilled professionals to fulfil their vacant positions and ultimately suffering from mismanagement. As is the scenario, Bangladesh is a third-world country located in the South Asia, where almost half of the population lives under the extreme poverty line announced by the UN. Being a poor and over populated country, the country is now only a developing one and modern civic facilities here in this country are therefore almost absent or insufficient. The country badly lacks in providing most basic needs such as food, housing and treatment and let alone education, security, and welfare. In spite of remarkable growth in the GDP, per capita income is only about $300 in the country. Besides, with the social disorder, political unrest and ever increasing violence in the society, only a few people have real wish to live here. Above all, environmental threat such as desertification, sea-level rise, seasonal change and natural disasters etc. add up fuel in them to jump off the country. It is warned that if the continual rise in the world-temperature carries on, almost a-third of the country will go under water with the rise in the sea-level by 2040. Eventually, citizens of all walks of the country are migration-oriented and each year, a lot of people shift themselves to the richer countries in order to avail themselves of the economic and social opportunities. However, many others migrate to be with their family members who have already migrated to other countries. Education, being another reason for leaving country, is also responsible for international migration as once students go abroad to pursue their studies, they ultimately settle there and do not bother to return. However, these migrations have a huge impact on the country especially on its smooth supply of killed workforce in a number of sectors due to deserting many positions all on a sudden. Eventually, different sectors suffer much lacking proper manpower. It is a fact that in Bangladesh, there are about 150 millions of people, but no right people in the right place due the shortage of proper training and f requent migration. 1.2 Rationale In their election manifesto, one of the two largest political parties, Bangladesh Awami League, clearly announced that short, medium and long term plans will be made and implemented for poverty reduction, efficient management for quick industrialization that can provide employment, speedy expansion of stock market, maintenance of law order and discipline, elimination of bribe and corruption and administrative difficulties, avoidance of political influence, creation of an investment friendly environment and a competitive market system, adoption of innovative technology, and provision of infrastructural facilities that are able to attract entrepreneurs and expand domestic market. In order to encourage investment by local and foreign entrepreneurs and expatriate Bangladeshis, the ONE-STOP facility will be made effective by simplifying legal and procedural formalities. Measures will be put in place to protect indigenous industries. Development of IT industry, strengthening of RMG and textile sectors and expansion of food processing, pharmaceuticals, leather, chemical products, toys, jewellery and furniture industries will be given priority. Special initiative will be taken for alternative use of jute and to make jute industry viable. Small and handicraft industries and agro-based industry will be encouraged and will be given all cooperation in the expansion of markets at home and abroad. Expansion in tourism sector, increase in labour export, and investment of remittance received from expatriate Bangladeshis in productive sectors will be ensured. All above targets and project implementations need sufficiently skilled, highly educated and experienced workforce. However, once the present government started implementation procedure, they have been facing the problem of not having ‘the right people in the right place’ in almost all sectors due to frequent migration which is why both the government and private organizations are now looking into the rationale of the frequent migrations of their employees that has been affecting their targets terribly. According to Office for National Statistics (UK) report on International Migration, Bangladesh, being one of the smallest countries in the world, is one of the top 10 countries of migrants (Source: Table C(ii): Top 10 countries of last of next residence of migrants who are non-British citizens, IPS only, 2005–2006 combined). Therefore, it is indeed justified to study the reasons of skilled people’s immigration from Bangladesh and its effects and aftereffects on organizations while they are recruiting senior especially officials for project implementation. 1.3 The Research Questions The basic aims of the research questions are establish motivating factors that lead thousands of people over the world leave their homeland every year to journey to the other countries from their countries of origins. They simultaneously aim at establishing the deep-rooted impacts of such migration on companies, organizations and recruiters in their recruitment leaving long-term significance on the country. They research questions are stated below. 1. Do Bangladeshi people leave their native country? The very first question aims to establish a general trend among Bangladeshi people i.e. skilled workforce starting from forecast to find out its way to accumulate more obvious secondary data to be processed based on other primary and secondary data found in the relevant field. 2. Why do they plan to leave their native country? The second question aims to establish typical reasons for Bangladeshi skilled employees to leave their jobs and migrate to other countries. It also aims to organize the factors sequentially from more obvious to less determining the burning issues with employees working in the country. 3. What factors lead skilled and educated employees to plan their migrations? The third question is a less general one concentrating on only educated and skilled employees to demonstrate their motivational factors to migration to a different country. 4. How does it impact recruitment process? The final question is the core one that will seek out to demonstrate all positive and negative impacts of such migration on the recruitment process as well as the country. It will determine the impacts that skilled-workers’ migrations can cause and will be mostly answered using processed data supplied by different agencies, organizations and recruiters. Firstly, all primary data from individuals will help us here to identify the relevant respondents’ perspectives and then finally secondary data will assist them to intensify. Hypothesis The hypotheses for the dissertation are as follows. H 1. A lot of Bangladeshi people migrate from their country. H 2. Mostly skilled and educated people are migrating from the country. H 3. Employed people who are not satisfied with their salaries and/or other opportunities are migrating. H 4. Those skilled employees are migrating to developed 1st world countries that beckon better facilities. H 5. The majority of the migrating people are deserting their positions in Bangladesh. H 6. This migration is affecting the recruitment process in Bangladeshi a lot. 1.4 Definition of Related Terms In the very beginning of the discussion, it is really important to define the terms that are embedded in the topic. As we see in the topic, the words migration, employees, employers and recruitment as well as their related terms are to be defined for better presentation. It is to be noted that the terms are sometimes replaced by their synonyms which are given below just after their definitions. 1.5.1 Migration: Different organizations have defined the word in various ways. According to the United Nations, it is simply a ‘transfer lasting more than one year’ (Anna Karenina: The Brain-drain in Lithuania, p10). However, there are more appropriate definitions of the word are found which are appended below. The web-based definitions of the word are (http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=migration) †¢ (n) migration (the movement of persons from one country or locality to another) †¢ (n) migration (a group of people migrating together [especially in some given time period]) †¢ (n) migration ((chemistry) the nonrandom movement of an atom or radical from one place to another within a molecule) †¢ S: (n) migration (the periodic passage of groups of animals (especially birds or fishes) from one region to another for feeding or breeding) Again, online thesaurus defines it like the following (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/migration: Noun1. migration the movement of persons from one country or locality to another Related terms: emigration, out-migration, expatriation migration from a place (especially migration from your native country in order to settle in another) immigration, in-migration migration into a place (especially migration to a country of which you are not a native in order to settle there) movement, move, motion the act of changing location from one place to another; police controlled the motion of the crowd; the movement of people from the farms to the cities; his move put him directly in my path 2. migration a group of people migrating together (especially in some given time period) people (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively; old people; there were at least 200 people in the audience The synonyms of the word are immigration, wandering, journey, voyage, travel, movement, shift, trek, emigration, roving, and expatriation. One of the commonest definitions of the word is as follows. Migration: the movement of persons from one country or locality to another (http://www.wordreference.com/definition/migration) What migration refers, however, can be divided into two types. One is emigration and the other immigration. Emigration typically refers to the process of people leaving a nation (Adler and Gielen) . On the other hand, immigration is the process that involves people entering and settling in a country or region to which one is not native (The Free Dictionary) . Secondly, employees refer to the persons involved in doing any job or paid work under any authority. The term employee is defined as a worker who is hired to perform a job (wordnetweb) while an employer is ‘a person or firm that employs workers’ (wordnetweb) . Finally, the term recruitment â€Å"refers to the process of screening, and selecting qualified people for a job at an organization or firm, or for a vacancy† or ‘the process or art of finding candidates for a post in an organization, or of recruits for the armed forces† . External recruitment is the process of attracting and selecting employees from outside the organization. 1.5 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: The main objective of the dissertation is to examine the overall status of international migration of skilled people from Bangladesh. Simultaneously, it aims at examining the influences on recruitment process due to such migration. 2. Introduction to Literature Review It is a fact that literature review is one of the most important components of any research being undertaken. The basic aim of the review is to spot or identify the current status or state of the investigation in relevant field. It also facilitates the facts and findings of others working in the same field by providing some invaluable background information and statistics. 2.1 Brief History of Migration in Bangladesh In this globalized world, the annual growth rate of the global migration increased from ‘1.2 per cent in 1965-1975 to 3 per cent in early 2000’ (Abella, 2002). The increase in the movement of workers is indicative of increased employment opportunity in the global market. One and the same, since its inception in 1971, from Bangladesh, one of the major emigrating countries in the world, migration has enabled many people to obtain productive, fulfilling and creative work. However, for many others, it has failed to provide jobs of acceptable quality. Yet, each year a large number of people voluntarily migrate overseas for both long- and short-term employment. The earliest immigrants from the British-ruled Indian province of Bengal arrived in first-world countries during the late nineteenth century. They accompanied a small number of retired British Indian officers as either servants or workmen. During the independence of India in 1947, the old Bengal was split, and its Muslim-dominated eastern part became East Pakistan and following a struggle for independence Bangladesh separated from Pakistan in 1971. Despite political independence, and development of a clothes and textiles industry, Bangladeshis experienced a low standard of living which is why people started to seek a better life elsewhere. Thus the trend to immigrate among Bangladeshis started since the inception of the country. During the independence war, the operation of the Pakistani military in East Pakistan in 1971 caused an estimated 8 to 10 million refugees to cross the border into India in one of the great mass movements of modern times. Apart from the above, since 80’s educated youth, skilled workers and executives, and unskilled workers have been migrating from the country in regular basis, mainly migrated to the Middle East and other regions. Additionally, Bangladesh have also lost some highly skilled members of the work force to Western Europe and North America. As time has progressed, the country experienced more migration of skilled employees to somewhere. During the past year, 370,000 Bangladeshis have found employment in Malaysia. It has been learnt that a further 100,000 may also be able to go within this year. This recent Reuters article places most Bangladeshi migrant workers in the Middle East, US, UK, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore (The Migration and Remittances Factbook 2008). In fact, migration to other developing countries is more prevalent than it is thought. Mr. Dilip Ratha and William Shaw have estimated in a World Bank Working Paper taking Bangladesh and India for example that Bilateral migration data estimates show 50 million skilled people born in Bangladesh live in outside. The New Nation reported recently that some 370,000 Bangladeshis have found employment in Malaysia and about 100,000 are expected to join them this year. Increasingly, immigration policies of developed countries tend to favour the entry of skilled workers, raising substantial concerns among sending countries. Among many others, the first concern is that a higher skilled content of migration is found to be associated with a lower flow of remittances and second, there is little evidence suggesting that raising the skill composition of migration has a positive effect on the educational achievements in the home country. 2.2 Number of Migrants Located in the north-eastern part of South Asia, Bangladesh lies between 20 º34 and 26 º36 north latitude and 88 º01 and 92  º 41’ east longitudes. These picturesque geographical boundaries frame a low lying plain of about 1,47,570 sq. km criss-crossed by innumerable rivers and streams having population of about 120 million which makes it the eighth populous country of the world. As is stated before, the country is has been experiencing emigrated people since its inception and the rates of the university-educated people’s immigration tend to be higher than for the general population in developing countries. This is even greater for scientists, engineers, and members of the medical profession.In South Asia, the tertiary-educated people’s emigration rate from the region is more than 100 times greater than primary or secondary educated people. In 2005, total stock of emigration from Bangladesh was 4,885,704, which was 3.4% percent of the population. Among all emigrating countries in the world, the country placed 5th in that year, whereas in the year 2000, it was not in the top 10 list of tertiary educated emigration list. 2.3 Top Destinations In 2005, by a rough estimate, two of every five migrants on the globe were residing in a developing country. Most of these migrants are likely to have come from other developing countries. The extent and issues surrounding migration between developing countries, however, remain poorly understood, largely because data on migration in developing countries are incomplete and unreliable. However, as far as the destination is concern, Bangladeshi emigrants have been regularly emigrated to a selected list of countries. According to siteresources.worldbank.org, the 10 top destination countries of Bangladeshi emigrants in 2005 were India, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, United States, Oman, Italy, Canada, Singapore, Rep. of Korea, and Malaysia. However, the UN Population Division differs a bit. As per them, the top Immigration Countries are the US, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, France, Saudi Arabia, Canada, India, U.K., Spain, Australia, Pakistan, U.A.E, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Cote dIvoire, Jo rdan, Japan, Iran, Singapore, West Bank Gaza, Ghana, Kuwait, Switzerland, Malaysia, Netherlands, Argentina, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. The following bar graph shows the details relating to those counties’ immigration pattern in 2005. 3. Introduction to Methodology: In order to provide a complete up-to-date analysis, both secondary and primary researches were carried out. A variety of methods were considered to find the most suitable ones collecting the specific types of data. 3.1 Secondary Research: Secondary research normally denotes an activity whereby no new original data is collected but where the research project draws an existing sources alone. Secondary data can be seen as books, journals, statistical reports from government and other document . In order to access relevant data, it was essential to use a variety of different sources of information. Majority of time was spent in learning resource centre at Thames Valley University where possible to gain access not only to textbooks, but also to a variety of magazines, journals and online databases. Very useful were search engines like EBOSCOhost and Emerald, which can pull information from a range of academic sources. Some time was also spent in Ealing Library browsing through additional text. A vast amount of articles found was Bangladeshi Language; therefore a fair amount of time was spent on translation of those texts. 3.2 Primary Research: The aim of the primary research is to seek the answer to one the key questions of this dissertation; What are the main factors/motivators affecting the decision of highly skilled labour to migrate form Bangladesh? It is very important to select the most adequate and reliable primary data collection methods. Various ways of collecting data will be discussed in this chapter as well as why have been chosen or declined or specific information collection. Primary research generally refers to that research which involves the collection of original data using an accepted research methodology. 3.2.1 Types of Research: There are two different types of research: qualitative and quantitative. Therefore, first of all it is important to make distinction between these two types of research methods. According to Clarck, Riley, Wilkie and Wood (2003) qualitative techniques rely on the skills of the researcher as an interviewer in gathering data whereas quantities methods place reliance upon the research instruments employed to gather data and analyse it. According to Jennings (2001) qualitative data is based on textual representations of the phenomenon under study, often referred to as phenomenological approach. Qualitative or inductive research commences in the empirical social world, where data about the phenomenon are gathered, and then analysed and theoretical constructions are generated. Research that utilise a qualitative methodology draws on data collection methods such as participant observations, in-depth interviews, semi structured interviews, case studies and focus groups. Veal (1992) argues that data could also be collected through informal interviewing as well as in depth interviews. Qualitative research enables researcher to highlight detailed and in depth snapshots of the participants under study. Quantitative research is grounded in the positivists social science paradigm that primary reflects the scientific method of the natural science. The quantitative approach to research usually involves statistical analysis. The data can be derived from questionnaire survey, observation or from secondary sources . The main quantitative methods for gathering data are: Æ’ËÅ" Questionnaires Æ’ËÅ" Non-participant observation Æ’ËÅ" Surveys Veal (1992) believes that these two approaches complement each other and even that qualitative research should be based on initial qualitative work. Webster, Stephen, Marshall and William (2004) also argue that the contrasting nature of positivism and phenomenological approaches can be used to complement each other. The feasibility of these statements can be backed up with the â€Å"mixed method approach† discussed by Jennings (2002), who states that this type of research is often used to gather information on the tourism phenomenon, which in some extent is migration process. 3.2.2 Data Gathering Methods: 3.2.2.1 Case Studies: Case studies are a complex research activity, which involves the through analysis of a single unit- a person, or a company. However, this method does not allow the researcher to apply theory developed to other similar cases. 3.2.2.2 Interviews: Interviews have been likened to conversations they are merely one of the many ways in which two people talk to one another . There are major advantages to using to using interviews. Researcher can collect more information and more complex information, response rate is generally very good and can use recording equipment. Also, interviewer can take a note of body language, gestures or facial expression of the interviewee . However interviews can be difficult to arrange, might be time consuming and quite costly. There is a range of interview types that can be applied when gathering information. Understand or in depth interviews are those interview where there is no formal schedule. The interviewer has the idea about the issues and might have a list of relevant topics and these are merely used as a guide . Main disadvantage about using those types of interviews is that they come up as a bit of a challenge. Interviewer has to be experienced and leas the conversation in order to gather relevant data. Veal (1992) mentions that in order to conduct a good in depth interview researcher has to have the skills of a â€Å"good investigate journalist†. For those who do not posses such skills, semis-structured interviews might be another option. According to Jennnings(2001) semi-structured interviews can be used by both qualitative methodologies. Those interviews still remain in the way of conversation type; however the interviewer has a prompt list of issues that focus the interaction. The main advantages of such interview are that the questions are not specifically predetermined; therefore the researcher is still able to ask further clarification on the particular issue . Also the semi-structured schedule provides a more relaxed interview setting. Due to a nature of the topic, an interview was not chosen as a method of gathering primary data. In order to complete the research many opinions have to be gathered and that can not be possibly done using interview method. Also, because the research country is quite a bit away from the UK, it would be vary difficult to match times with every interviewee and also very costly (air-ticket, accommodation, food, etc). 3.2.2.3 Focus Groups: Instead of interviewing participants individually, study participants individually, study participants are interviewed together . According to Veal (1992) groups usually comprises between 5 and 12 people. According to Jennings (2001) focus groups are used when the researcher believes that the interaction between group members will add to the richness of data collected. The main advantage of focus groups lies in the possibility between people, generation of new by the participants and the degree of flexibility to follow trends or issues. However, same as in depth interviews focus groups require an experienced facilitator to lead the discussion otherwise it may result in stronger personalities dominating the session. It was mostly the lack of experience that drove the decision of not using focus groups approach as the method for gathering information. 3.2.2.4 Observation: Observation can be participant or not participant, in either way researcher is observing the surroundings around him. In participant observation researcher becomes a participant in the process that is being studied. A participant observation raises a number of problems such as admittance to the particular site of observation and when admitted the way researcher should handle the activity . In the case participant observation is not realistic option because of the nature of research topic. Furthermore, non participant observation is not possible as the subject is not related for example to the length of the queue for breakfast, but requires educated population opinion and attitude. 3.2.2.5 Surveys: Surveys generally ask who, what, how many, or where. They tend to include relatively large samples and wide fields of study, often using questionnaire or standardise interviews. Surveys provide a good what to summarize the status of large group of individuals, companies, etc. (Johns and Lee-Ross, 1998-58) According to Jennings (2001) surveys are methods of data collection in which information is gathered through oral or written questioning. Surveys may also include self-completed questionnaires administered by post, e-mail or in person as well as structured interviews carried out in person or over the telephone. Surveys completed in person can use interviewer completed questionnaires as the tool to gather information. Mail or email surveys use questionnaires to gather data. Pilot surveys, which are small â€Å"trail runs† of a larger survey, are often carried to try our wording of questions, the understanding of terms used, to test sequencing of questions and to gain a preliminary estimate of the likely response rate. A pilot is a simple way of testing whether the articulation of the method(s) selected for use in a research programme is adequate to meeting research objectives. (Clark, Riley, Wilkie and Wood,2003) 3.2.2.6 Questionnaires: Questionnaires rely quite heavily on respondents being literate or familiar with the language used in questionnaire . Questionnaires can be used only when respondents are available and willing to participate as research subjects. The main advantages of using questionnaires are: Can cover a large number of people Relatively cheap Avoids respondents embarrassment Possible anonymity of respondent No interview bias When using questionnaires to perform primary data collection it is very important to remember some major disadvantages of using that method. First of it is very difficult to design a perfect questionnaire from a very first time. Bell (1992) suggests that producing a really good questionnaire is harder than it might be imagined. Another problem with questionnaire is regarding the actual questions itself, which have to be relatively simple. The advantage of questionnaire being anonymous can bring also a disadvantage of not being able offer assistance if needed. The major advantage to use questionnaires is that the reliability and validity of data collected depend upon respondents’ memories and forthrightness . Generally questionnaires are used when the researcher is specific on the subjects of the investigation; the research is covering a relatively large number of people gathering facts or opinions; or when the researcher is trying to establish the extent of something . Special data processing is often needed because of the considerable amount of missing data or simply to evaluate data received and present it in graphs/charts . Questionnaires may be self employed or interviewer completed. The interviewer completed questionnaires give an opportunity for face to face interaction, which can contribute to increased participation; it can also bring it clarification sought by the respondent regarding language problems or terms used . However, that sort of activity would involve high travel cost and tends to be rather time consuming, as well as refuses the possibility of anonymity. Whereas self completed questionnaires at their own time peace. On contrary, respondents are not able to seek assistance or clarification on the questions if needed. Respondents may not understand the language of the questionnaire and therefore it may result in questionnaire being partly completed or non-completed at all, which would lower the response rate . For this particular research it was decided to develop a structured questionnaire and take survey as many emigrate from Bangladesh as possible. In total target are 200 interviews; participation from emigrate person from Bangladesh in this survey via email, face to face interview. 3.2.3 Sampling: Sampling is a process that involves the selection of some members of the larger population . In most survey research and some observational research it is necessary to sample. Usually sampling approach is used where research is concerned with a very wide group of population . Clark, Riley, Wilkie and Wood (2003) suggest that samples are frequently studied in order to learn something about the characteristics of the larger groups of which they are part. Sampling can be random and non-random. The key feature of non-random sampling is that items for research are chosen not randomly but purposively . Random sampling is a sampling technique where a group of subjects for a study is selected by the researcher from a larger group (a population). Each individual is chosen entirely by a chance and each member of the population has a chance of being included in the sample . In the non-random s

Friday, January 17, 2020

Being a Change Agent: Managing Social Change

We believe that the job of being a change agent should start with two kinds of question. First, is a structural question: How do you identify persons and subgroups that are the â€Å"strategic levers† of change in any particular public? This means identifying the opinion leaders and community influential who can influence others in the system to adopt change. Second, is a social-psychological or an interactional question: How do you change the behaviors or the minds of the people in question? The different strategies discussed earlier represent alternative ways of going about change agents can do to reduce resistance to change. What are some of these changes? On can reduce resistance to the adoption of a change by attempting to make the particular innovation (1) simple and easy to communicate, (2) divisible, and (3) maximally compatible with the status quo values and needs (Harper & Leicht). Is it possible that a change agent is for the good, not purely destructive change? In my mind, change is agent is to make people better. Which is something we should all strive for? In addition, cans someone starting being a change agent, can a person successful in being a change agent? In this paper you learn about what is a change agent and who can be a Change Agent, How to create change, The ethics of Inducing change, What makes a good change agent, Define change leaders on five levels of leadership skills, and Five most important competencies of change agents. In addition, I will imagine myself as a change agent trying to change my neighborhood or community for the better. What is a Change Agent? A change agent is a catalyst and when added to the mix, changes everything. It can be a process, an element, a thought, or a person. A social change agent is an individual working to bring about a more life-affirming society. This is a person whose presence or thought processes cause a change from the traditional way of handling or thinking about a problem. They know how to get people involved in solving their own problems. A change agent lives in the future, not the present. Regardless of what is going on today, a change agent has a vision of what could or should be and uses that as the governing sense of action. To a certain extent, a change agent is dissatisfied with what they see around them, in favor of a much better vision of the future. A change agent has a strong ability to self-motivate. A change agent is fueled by passion, and inspires passion in others. Moreover, at the end of the day, change is about people (Stevenson 2012). Who can be a Change Agent? A Persons with Innovative Ideas, Calculated Risk Takers, Person coming with different Industry or sector even from different department, That's why reshuffling is done within an organization, External consultants, Trackers who are tracking market ,competitors ,technology etc secretly, Persons ingrained with sharp business knowledge and skills, Team leader who are having a quality to integrate, People possessing qualities like need achievement, positive attitude, ethical behavior, One who think big and realistic, and Who knows more about your company policy and people. There is no cookbook for creating change. Why? As anyone who has attempted to cook a complex meal knows, exact specifications are always missing and recipes contain many vague instructions: â€Å"Add salt to taste†. How much is that? â€Å"Cook until vegetables are crisp, but do not over cook. † What does that mean? Like cooking, social change requires experience, making do with imperfect ingredients, and often mudding through. There are some issues that a change agents need to consider. Plans for social change involve a number of issues: The first task is to good plan is to define the goals of the desired change. Second task, is that a good plan needs to specify as precisely as possible the target or reference public: Who is to change? Third task is to have a good plan will identify situation or times when the target population is most receptive to change. Fourth task is to have a good plan will develop an inventory resource available. Fifth task is that a good plan should consider appropriate strategies (for example, facilitation, reeducation, persuasion, or power/coercion), how they might be combined, and how their contradictions might be addressed. Finally, a good plan should include mechanisms for the ongoing monitoring of change so that it can be modified, fine tuned, or abandoned (Harper & Leicht). There are various strategies along a continuum in term of the extent to which we believe that they involve ethical problems, as follows: facilitation, reeducation, persuasion, or power/coercion. In the terms of these criteria, facilitation and reeducation (to the extent that the latter can be honestly practiced) do respect the autonomy, rationality, and dignity of person who are the targets of change. Persuasion, in comparison, respects the voluntary choice to adopt change but may overwhelm the person with distorted (or false) information, withheld information, and non-rational appeals to emotion. Power and coercive strategies carry the greatest number of ethical problems because they deny voluntary adoption and rejection and maximally violate people's autonomy and dignity. There is a bottom line here. Granted that creating social change is often costly and demanding to. Granted that success, even partial success, is always uncertain as well. Granted that long-term systemic consequences may be well counter productive to one's original intent. Even so, should one refuse to make efforts to change things if the issues are important? The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s was long, costly, and difficult effort that only partly succeeded. Being aware of its high costs and limited successes, should its organizers have given up? We do not think so. The lives of millions of minority Americans that are better today for those efforts even thought the goal of complete racial justice remains elusive (Harper & Leicht). Due to the dynamics in the external environment, many organizations find themselves in nearly continuous change. The scope reaches from smaller change projects in particular sub business units up to corporation-wide transformation processes. Unfortunately, not every change process leads to the expected results. There are multiple reasons for potential failure: Typical barriers to change are unexpected changes in the external conditions, a lack of commitment in implementation, resistance of people involved, or a lack of resources. The implications of failed change projects go beyond missed objectives. More important is the negative symbolism and the de-motivation of people involved. People within the change team may become dissatisfied with their own performance or the lack of support they received. In the result, some of them will probably never again be willing to commit themselves to change initiatives. Similarly, people affected by the (failed) change effort will develop growing skepticism. They might perceive future change projects as â€Å"another fancy dea from management†, which brings a lot of work and few benefits. In the light of the many problems and risks associated with change projects, the change agent has a very important function. The change agent’s or change leader’s capabilities have a major impact on success or failure of the project, and on the extent of potential unwanted side effects. The following article describes required capabilities of good change agents. Readers should keep in mind, however, that there is no ‘ideal’ change agent. Particular requirements normally relate to the actual situation in the organization (e. . corporate culture, strategic relevance of the project, acceptance of the project among management and staff, timeframe, resources etc). Depending on these factors, either change agents may need good project management capabilities in order to guarantee timely progress, or they should be good leaders with the ability to motivate people (Recklies 2001). Jim Canterucci defines change leaders on five levels of leadership ski lls. Although he mainly focuses on leadership capabilities and qualifications, his system can easily be transferred to change projects with varying importance. The leader of an organization-wide restructuring project will need different capabilities than the one who is responsible for clearly defined project on departmental level. Levels of Change Leadership Skills, derived from Canterucci: is Level I is to Accepts the need for change, communicates and defends the need for change throughout the organization, creates an open and receptive environment. Small change initiatives with clear direction. Level II Defines and initiates change, identifies advantage points for change in processes and work habits. A change projects at local level. Level III is to leads change, translate the vision of the organization into the context of a specific change initiative and bring this message to the entire organization, redirects approaches in the face of new opportunities. A transformation of a central vision into change initiatives and organization-wide communication. Level IV is to manage complex change, understands the cultural dynamics of the current state of an organization, and creates a strategic practical course, balancing the current reality with the need for rapid adoption of the desired future reality. A generates change with a high degree of transformation. Level V is that champions makes change, challenges the status quo by comparing it to an ideal or a vision of change, causes crisis in order to support dramatic actions and change efforts, transforms the organization. An ability to revolutionize organizations (Canterucci 2008). Buchanan and Bobby have carried out a study on the perceived effectiveness of change agents. On that basis, they compiled the five most important competencies of change agents. These, too, are evidence for the importance of the soft factors. The five most important competencies of change agents are Objectives, Roles, Communication, Negotiation, Managing up. Each of these five most important competencies of change agents has descriptive of how to implement change. The first most important competencies of change agents are objectives. The descriptive of how to implement change of objectives are: Sensitivity to changes in key personnel, top management perceptions and market conditions, and to the way in which these impact the goals of the project. , Setting of clearly defined realistic goals, and Flexibility in responding to changes without the control of the project manager, perhaps requiring major shifts in project goals and management style. The second most important competencies of change agents are roles. The descriptive of how to implement change of roles are: Team-building abilities, to bring together key stakeholders and establish effective working groups, and to define and delegate respective responsibilities clearly, Networking skills in establishing and maintaining appropriate contacts within and outside the organization, and Tolerance of ambiguity, to be able to function comfortably, patiently and effectively in an uncertain environment. The third most important competencies of change agents are communication. The descriptive of how to implement change of communication are: Communication skills to transmit effectively to colleagues and subordinates the need for changes in the project goals and in individual tasks and responsibilities, Interpersonal skills, across the range, including selection, listening, collecting appropriate information, identifying the concerns of others, and managing meetings, Personal enthusiasm in expressing plans and ideas, and Stimulating motivation and commitment in others involved. The fourth important competencies of change agents are negotiation. The descriptive of how to implement change of negotiation are selling plans and ideas to others by creating a desirable and challenging vision of the future, and Negotiating with key players for resources, for changes in procedures, and to resolve conflict. The fifth important competencies of change agents are managing up. The descriptive of how to implement change of negotiation are political awareness in identifying potential coalitions, and in balancing conflicting goals and perceptions, Influencing skills, to gain commitment to project plans and ideas form potential skeptics and resisters, and to have Helicopter perspectives, to stand back from the immediate project and take a broader view of priorities. According to Rosabeth Moss Kanter mentions many emotional components among the most important characteristics of change agents. In addition to the factors described above, she stresses the need to question the knowledge of the organization. According to Moss Kanter, existing patterns of thinking and existing assumptions about the organization, its markets, customers, and relationships have to be challenged. Thus, change agents should realize that there is more than one right solution. The change agent has to be able to evaluate facts from different points of view, e. g. from the customer’s or competitor’s perspective. Furthermore, Moss Kanter stresses the importance of coalition building, which she describes as an often-ignored step in change processes. Change agents should identify and involve opinion leaders, decision makers on resources, functional experts and other important persons as early as possible in the project-planning phase. The importance of the factor motivation is well described with the phrases transferring ownership to a working team and making everyone a hero. In my opinion, Moss Kanter gives the most important preconditions for successful change management – the involvement of the people – with these two phrases. Members of the change team and other employees affected by the change initiative must not feel like as if they are just the tools for change or the subject of change. In my experience, it is not enough to have a convincing vision. Real commitment can only be gained by giving people the chance to become actively involved, to contribute their own experiences. Every employee needs to know that his contribution to the project is important and is valued. Thus, people will develop a sense of ownership for the project, which, in turn may serve as a major source of motivation when it comes to the inevitable problems and barriers. Kanter 1999) provides a great summary of the characteristics of good change agents when she writes that the most important things a leader can bring to a changing organization are passion, conviction, and confidence in others. Imagine myself as a change agent trying to change my neighborhood or community for the better. What are some issues that I would consider to change in my neighborhood or community? Assume that I have some, but not having unlimited resources and money to use. How would I go about it? What things would you consider in order to change that particular issue? As I sit here and imagine myself as a change agent, a few things come to my mind that I want to change in my neighborhood or community. I would consider changing in my neighborhood or community is they way we go about our health on a daily basis. Having limit to the resources and money it can consume. If that limit is a problem, then the project may really end up being a waste of time. With limited resource, I would go about it by make a plan to pull out of the project or at least good backup plans for handling failures. At worst, make sure to minimize any risks. Get more resources. Sometimes this is hard work, but it may pay off. Get help. Sometimes someone with more experience may know of resources or can spot misuse of resources in a project. Just be willing to accept criticism. Cut out any parts of the project those are unnecessary. However, one part of a project it be well liked, it may not be truly important. Plan, study, research, prepare. There is a saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Good preparation can eliminate the need for many resources (wikihow). With limited money, I would need to raise some extra capital; there are a number of different ways that I can raise money. The good thing about this strategy is that they cost little, if anything, to use. After all, the last thing you want is to spend a lot of money to raise the cash you need. How I would raise, money is to have an online auction. By cleaning out my closets and I can make some extra money at the same time by posting unwanted belongings on online auction sites. Pay a small listing fee when I post each item, then another commission based on the final selling price. To start me need a free online auction account as well as having a good digital camera for taking photographs. Then I can make even more money by offering to sell unwanted items on commission for family members, friends, and co-workers (ehow. com). I can bring in to friends that I would help my neighborhood and community on dieting and fitness tips. They will explain the ten essential elements of good health. If you take all of the actions listed below, you will be much healthier. Eat a Healthy Breakfast, Drink at Least 8 Glasses of Water, Take a Good Quality Multiple Vitamin/Mineral, Connect with Other People, express Your Emotions Appropriately, Eat Fruits and Vegetables, Spend at Least 30 Minutes Outdoors Active, Take Some Quiet Time for Yourself Keep Regular Sleep Hours, and Establish a Relationship with a Doctor You Can Trust (Bauer 2009). In conclusion, a change agent has a strong ability to self-motivate. There will be many days where everyone around does not understand and will not offer props. The change agent needs to find it within themselves to get up every day and come to work and risk being misunderstood and miss-appreciated, knowing that the real validation may be far in the future and may be claimed by someone else. A change agent must understand people. At the end of the day, change is about people. If you change everything but the people, I doubt you will be effective as a change agent. Change will really â€Å"stick† when people embrace it. Therefore, change is part sales, part counseling, and part encouragement. It is all about people, at the end of the day. Reference Bauer, Carl H: (2009); Ten Simple Things You Can Do to Get Healthy and Stay Healthy. http://www.somaacupuncture.com/healthy.html Buchanan D. & Bobby D. (1992);  The Expertise of the Change Agent: Public Performance and Backstage Activity  . Prentice Hall. Canterucci, Jim: (2008); are You a Change Leader?http://www.corpchange.com/Resources/Articles/Areyouachangeleaderarticle.asp Recklies, Dagmar: (2001); What Makes a Good Change Agent? http://www.themanager.org/Strategy/change_agent.htm#_ftnref2 Haper, Charles L. and Leicht, Kevin T. (2010); † Exploring Social Change: America and the World, 6nd ed.† Upper Saddle River, NJ; Prentice Hall. Moss, Rosabeth K. (1999):  The Enduring Skills of Change Leaders. In Leader to Leader; Nr. 13. Recklies, Dagmar: (2001); What Makes a Good Change Agent? http://www.themanager.org/Strategy/change_agent.htm#_ftnref2  Stevenson, Dennis: (2012); What is a Change Agent? Http://www.thechangeagents.net/what-is-a-change-agent.html htt p://www.ehow.com/info_8026713_ways-money-quickly-limited-funds.htmlhttp:// http://www.wikihow.com/Work-With-Limited-Resources-on-a-Project

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Is Sayano Shushenskaya a Power Station Plant - 2234 Words

2.0 Management and operation Management structures is the most essential arrangement, it appears in every type of organization including government departments, non-government organizations (NGOs), charities, and even the local sporting association. Therefore selecting the proper management structure makes certain an organization has nonstop expansion, In other hand choosing the wrong structure produces tensions between employees and managers, which allows unproductive work practices to burgeon and reduces company profitability. In the worst case, a faulty management structure can lead to company finality (Bombaci,CPA., n.d., pp. 1-3). For that reason, there are a number of key components that strengthen a management structure and should be considered when put into practice a new structure. Several of these key components are: †¢ Complexity †¢ Task definition †¢ Co-ordination †¢ Type of Influence †¢ Vertical †¢ Communication Style †¢ Horizontal differentiation †¢ Centralization †¢ Spatial differentiation †¢ Formalization Figure 2 3.0 Industrial process RusHydro is established as part of Russia’s privatization movement in December 2004, even though the Russian government owns most of its shares (about 60%). RusHydro still possess 55 hydro plants, is the leading power company in Russia by installed capacity estimated (25.4 GW) and the second-largest hydroelectric power company in the world. The energyShow MoreRelated2009 Sayano–Shushenskaya power station accident case study2802 Words   |  12 Pagesï » ¿ Sayano-shushenkaya Hydroelectric Power Station Disaster 1.Introduction 1.1.Brief Dam Description Sayano-Shushenskaya Hydroelectric Power Station was biggest hydroelectric power station ever built in Russia history, and also the sixth biggest in the worth, which is located on the Yenisei River, near Sayanogorsk in Khakassia.[3]The plant operated ten hydro turbines, made total 6,400 MW of output, average annual produced 23.5 TWH,which peaked in 2006 at 26Read MoreEffect Of Hydraulic On Hydro Power Stations1089 Words   |  5 PagesAbstract Water hammer or hydraulic transient is an unsteady flow phenomenon which is commonly found in closed conduits of hydropower station, water transmission networks, and liquid pipeline systems. Acute transients events in a hydraulic system often result from accidents and mishaps. Significant disturbances may occur in a hydro power station and causes a rapid change in the flow rate of the system during some operational conditions such as load rejection, load acceptances, and instant load rejection

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

German Myth 13 Teufelshunde - Devil Dogs and the Marines

Around 1918, artist Charles B. Falls created a recruiting poster that was emblazoned with the words Teufel Hunden, German Nickname for U.S. Marines - Devil Dog Recruiting Station. The poster is one of the earliest known references to this phrase in relation to the U.S. Marines. You may have heard stories about how German soldiers nicknamed the U.S. Marines devil dogs, and even today, you can still find this World War I tale used online in Marine Corps recruitment.   But the poster commits the same error that almost all versions of the legend do: It gets the German wrong. So is the story true?   Follow the Grammar The first thing any good student of German should notice about the poster is that the German word for devil dogs is misspelled. In German, the term would not be two words, but one. Also, the plural of Hund is Hunde, not Hunden. The poster and any Marine references to the German nickname should read Teufelshunde — one word with a connecting s.   Many online references spell the German wrong in one way or another. The Marine Corps own website spells it wrong, in references to so-called Devil Dog challenge in 2016. At one point, even the Marine Corps own Parris Island Museum has it wrong. The sign on display there  read Teuelhunden, missing the f and s. Other accounts omit proper capitalization.   Details like these make some historians wonder if the story itself is true. One thing we can state with certainty is that  few historical accounts of the devil dogs legend get the German right.   Pronunciation Key der Teufel  (dare TOY-fel): devil der Hund  (dare HOONT): dog die Teufelshunde  (dee TOY-fels-HOON-duh): the devil dogs The Legend Although the spelling is inconsistent, the devil dogs legend is specific in some ways. It is related to a particular battle, a particular regiment, and a particular place. As one version explains, in World War I during the 1918 Chà ¢teau-Thierry campaign near the French village of Bouresches, Marines assaulted a line of German machine-guns nests on an old hunting preserve known as Belleau Wood. The Marines who were not killed captured the nests in a tough fight. The Germans nicknamed those marines devil dogs.   Heritage Press International (usmcpress.com) says the shocked Germans coined it as a term of respect for the U.S. Marines, a reference to the ferocious mountain dogs of Bavarian folklore.   ... the Marines attacked and swept the Germans back out of Belleau Wood. Paris had been saved. The tide of war had turned. Five months later Germany would be forced to accept an armistice, Heritage Presss website states.   Did the devil dogs legend actually come about because German soldiers compared the Marines to wild mountain dogs of Bavarian folklore? H.L. Menckens Take The American writer, H.L. Mencken, didnt think so. In The American Language (1921), Mencken comments on the Teufelshunde term in a footnote: This is army slang, but promises to survive. The Germans, during the war, had no opprobrious nicknames for their foes. The French were usually simply die Franzosen, the English were die Englà ¤nder, and so on, even when most violently abused. Even der Yankee was rare. Teufelhunde (devil-dogs), for the American marines, was invented by an American correspondent; the Germans never used it. Cf.  Wie der Feldgraue spricht, by Karl Borgmann [sic, actually Bergmann]; Giessen, 1916, p. 23. A Look at Gibbons The correspondent that Mencken refers  to was journalist Floyd Phillips Gibbons (1887-1939), of the Chicago Tribune. Gibbons, a war correspondent embedded with the Marines, had his eye shot out while covering the battle at Belleau Wood. He also wrote several books about World War I, including And They Thought We Wouldnt Fight (1918) and a biography of the flying Red Baron. So did Gibbons embellish his reporting with a made-up devil dogs legend, or was he reporting actual facts? Not all the American stories of the words origin agree with each other. One account claims that the term came from a statement attributed to the German High Command, who supposedly asked, Wer sind diese Teufelshunde? That means, Who are these devil dogs? Another version claims that it was a German pilot who cursed the Marines with the word.   Historians cannot agree on a single root of the phrase, and its also unclear how Gibbons learned about the phrase  Ã¢â‚¬â€or whether he made it up himself. A previous search in the archives of the Chicago Tribune couldnt even pull up the actual news article  in which Gibbons is alleged to have first mentioned the Teufelshunde tale. Which brings up Gibbons himself. He was reputed to be a flamboyant character. His biography of Baron von Richthofen, the so-called Red Baron, was not entirely accurate, making him appear to be a totally reprehensible, blood-thirsty aviator, rather than the more complex person portrayed in more recent biographies. Of course, thats not proof that this means he made up the Teufelshunde tale, but it does make some historians wonder.   Another Factor Theres yet another factor that could cast doubt on  the devil dogs legend. The Marines were not the only troops involved in combat in Frances Belleau Wood in 1918. In fact, there was an intense rivalry between the regular U.S. Army troops and the Marines stationed in France. Some reports say that Belleau itself wasnt captured by the Marines, but by the Armys 26th Division three weeks later. This makes some historians question why the Germans would have called the Marines devil dogs, rather than the Army troops who fought in the same area. NEXT Black Jack Pershing General John (Black Jack) Pershing, the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, was known to be upset about the Marines getting all the publicity — mostly from Gibbons dispatches — during the battle of Belleau Wood. (Pershings counterpart was the German General Erich Ludendorff.) Pershing had a strict policy that no specific units were to be mentioned in reporting on the war. But Gibbons dispatches glorifying the Marines had been released without any of the usual Army censorship. This may have happened because of sympathy for the reporter who was thought to be fatally wounded at the time his reports were to be sent off. Gibbons had handed his earlier dispatches to a friend prior to his jumping off in the attack. (This comes from Floyd Gibbons in the Belleau Woods by Dick Culver.) Another account at FirstWorldWar.com adds this: Fiercely defended by the Germans, the wood was first taken by the Marines (and Third Infantry Brigade), then ceded back to the Germans — and again taken by the U.S. forces a total of six times before the Germans were finally expelled. Reports like this note the Marines certainly did play a vital role in this battle — part of the offensive known as the Kaiserschlacht or Kaisers Battle in German — but not the only one. German Records To prove that the term came from Germans and not a U.S. journalist or some other source, it would be useful to find some record of the German term actually being used in Europe, either in a German newspaper (unlikely for the home front for morale reasons) or in official documents. Even pages in a German soldiers diary.   The hunt continues.   Until this, this 100-plus-year-old legend will continue to fall into the category of tales that people keep repeating, but cannot prove.