Organizational Vision and Visionary Organizations Essay

Organizational Vision and Visionary Organizations - Essay Example Therefore it is true to state that vision is strategic, has a long term and lasting effect, remains there in a lengthy notion and must not change in tactical moves and directions that are adopted by the business organizations every now and then. Planning can help a particular company gain so much in accordance with its goals and objectives that had been planned and drafted but in the current times more and more attention and emphasis is making the rounds of the discussion as to whether these plans can actually deliver what was expected of them in the first place. A visionary organization would look to set its objectives in a manner which would be strategically placed and the aims within the working domains would center on relieving the short term gains for the long term benefits. A visionary organization looks at plugging the gaps that are present amongst the different departments of the business organization so that the eventual results in the form of different processes, activities and undertakings on the part of the organization are distinctive from that of its competitors and unique in its own righteous way. A visionary organization would aim to reach the top in the specified period of time since it has to be answerable to its own people, the stakeholders and more than anything else, it has to maintain its credibility of being a true player within the industry. A visionary organization takes care of the upper tier, the middle management (also known as the knowledge management) as well as the lower levels within the organization and thus sets a vision which works to the best effect of one and all within the business organization. It takes input from the stakeholders who have invested their resources in the form of time and money towards the betterment of the business organization in the first place. Lastly, this organization places a great deal of emphasis on the way customers perceive the activities of the business as well.

Leadership in context 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Leadership in context 1 - Essay Example Many incidents occur in management because of the misconception which arises between leaders in the organization where by they should understand that management is doing things right while leadership is dong the right things. Leadership is very interesting because it does not only have a concern with the management task, but it also explores sociological nature of mankind. Critical Analysis According to Burnes (2009) critical analysis of communication approaches applied in organizational change affects the implementation of organizational in the modern society. This is because the approach involved in change evaluates results to less attention. Change in leadership has always been a characteristic in organizational life though many of the people urge that frequency and magnitude are greater than ever before. Today businesses face an increased challenge of funds in competition in the markets for their inputs. According to Lewis (2011) organization must take in to consideration the dri ving forces and restraining forces for change whereby the driving forces must exceed the restraining forces. Regardless of the challenges and dynamics, the business environment organization must adopt their ethical behaviors and practices in real life time and external conditions. Basing argument with Conant and Ashby philosophy in implementation theory outlines that the research agenda in organizational changes towards contingency includes observing an organizational change initiative by using a different process of models. Again it focuses on identifying and diagnosing how and when to respond to break down changes in an organization. Therefore, ones model to fit in an organization results to strategic questioning in the research agenda by comparing the advantages of organizational model fitness (Wagner 2012). According to Burnes (2004), change has always been a characteristic of organizational life, although many argue that frequency and magnitude of change is now greater than eve r before. The implication of this statement with respect to contemporary understanding of the change process is that, management makes the system of the people and technology flow in a systematic way in day to day life thus making the organization technology to run effectively and efficiently. Basically, according to today’s life, change in leadership is much more in relation to putting more effort in order to change the whole process of management in the organization thus making it move faster and more efficiently (Burnes 2009). Change leadership is more about the people, and their decision making plans according to vision and mission in their project activities. Change in leadership has potential of controlling things in an organization; for example, in today’s world, the talks are always on the side of change in management hence the world does not do much about change in leadership since it is associated with the ways on how to make things move in an orderly manner. It maybe hindered by some the challenges, but the fact is that there is nobody who is perfect in doing the right thing, so it is obviously a big deal in most of the organizations. The goal is often set to minimize the distractions and the impact of change which concerns’ with the driving forces and visions in the organization. Models of Planned Change The models have been highly

What are some of the ways that metropolitan areas coordinate Essay

What are some of the ways that metropolitan areas coordinate governmental activites and services accross a region, while at the same timeprotecting the values of suburban independence - Essay Example This is a good example of the consolidated metropolitan area governance, where city and county divide and share the responsibility of providing core services and coordinating activities within its area. Thorough and organized planning between the city and the county helps to make the governance more efficient and economical. The biggest city in the area, Miami, and 34 other towns provide a lower level of services, such as fire, water/sewer, parking, zoning, etc. At the same time, the Dade County provides the higher level of services, such as school, emergency management, airport, regional transit, and public housing. At the same time, the County provides lower-level services for areas that are not incorporated under Miami-Dade County governance. There are some services that are provided at both levels, such as parks and recreation. Both levels of government that coordinate services and activities in the larger Miami area impose taxes. The Dade County operates under an Executive Mayor , who is appointed by the County Manager, and a County Commission. In some regions, however, the above mentioned formal form of governance is not politically feasible, thus some forms of functional governance emerge. An example of the functional governance is Portland, Oregon. Oregon has a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). There are many MPO throughout metropolitan areas in the United States, which are considered an innovative form of functional governance. Their formal role is to develop and manage regional transportation plans. However, more and more responsibilities are delegated to MPOs by the local governments. Oregon has the most powerful MPO in the country, the power of which crosses 3 counties and 25 cities. Unlike typical MPOs, Oregon MPO manages not only transportation, but only parks and recreation, and public facilities, as well as oversees land use and urban growth boundary. Thus, I

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Earnings Misstatements Research Paper

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Earnings Misstatements - Research Paper Example The Fraud This section describes the business activities of Fannie and Freddie before the fraud occurred. Since the 1990s, lenders have been increasingly using automated underwriting systems (AUSs), a technology that changed the mortgage industry (DiVenti, 2009, p.236). These systems executed underwriting criteria and statistical algorithms to foresee the default likelihood of loan applications (DiVenti, 2009, p.236). GSEs became industry leaders in the growth and adoption of these systems, which they used to appraise their loan purchases. Fannie Mae’s system, Desktop Underwriter, and Freddie Mac’s system, Loan Prospector, significantly decreased the expenses and time linked with loan approvals (DiVenti, 2009, p.236). In 2000, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac broadened their procurements to comprise â€Å"Alt-A,† A-minus, and subprime mortgages, aside from private-label mortgage securities (Blackburn & Vermilyea, 2010, p.5). In order to expand their mortgage purchases, Fannie Mae used the Expanded Approval system and Freddie Mac enlarged its Loan Prospector system to contain risk-based pricing (DiVenti, 2009, p.236). ... ly, Fannie and Freddie bought, packaged, securitized, and re-traded residential mortgages into mortgage-backed securities, with an assurance that the principal and interest payments would be paid to investors, thus, making a profit from the disparity between the sales price of the mortgage-backed securities and their first cost of funding (Bonander, 2013, p.843). Since 2004, Fannie and Freddie abandoned their stern underwriting standards and started to purchase and guarantee subprime mortgages, while also investing in subprime-mortgage-backed securities (Bonander, 2013, p.844). They bought more than $434 billion of subprime mortgages from 2004 to 2006 (Bonander, 2013, p.844). Their greatest purchase occurred from 2004 to 2005, when altogether they bought â€Å"$175 billion (44% of the market) and $169 billion (33% of the market) of subprime-mortgage-backed securities, respectively† (Bonander, 2013, p.844). In 2006, lax standards and actions affected Fannie and Freddie, when th e housing bubble burst, thereby pushing them to insolvency (Bonander, 2013, p.844). The problems of Fannie and Freddie are not over yet though. In 2003, Freddie revealed that it used unacceptable accounting practices to inflate its earnings. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise (OFHEO), its regulator during this time, discovered that the company had â€Å"misstated earnings by $5 billion between 2000 and 2003† (DiVenti, 2009, p.237). Freddie underreported its earnings, however, which is the â€Å"interesting† part of the fraud (DiVenti, 2009, p.237). The OFHEO investigated Fannie Mae too, where it learned in 2004 that Fannie overstated earnings â€Å"between 2000 and 2003 by $6.3 billion† (DiVenti, 2009, p.237). OFHEO discovered significant accounting, disclosure, and management concerns that

International retailing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

International retailing - Essay Example On the 28th of July in 2006 Wal-Mart sold its 85 chain German outlets to Metro AG, which is a diversified cash and carry retail chain that has Germany's largest market share (Clark, 2006)1. 1997 marked the year that Wal-Mart entered Germany when it completed negotiations to acquire 21 outlets belonging to the Wertkauf hypermarket chain (Wal-Mart Facts.com, 2007)2. This was following by Wal-Mart acquiring 74 stores of the Interspar hypermarket chain that is a subsidiary of Spar Handels AG (Wal-Mart Facts.com, 2007)3. The preceding represented Wal-Mart's entry into the European market, using Germany as the launch point. Listening to customers represents one of the first and most important aspects in entering a foreign market as the nuances of consumers differs in their respective countries, thereby requiring adjustments in marketing, presentation, operational and other procedures. Wal-Mart's extraordinarily successful American operations that meshed leading edge marketing, a new approach to its corporate culture as well as organisational structures, resulting in the company being vaulted into the largest and most successful retailer in the world. ... The preceding success in the United States does not necessarily represent an effective, and or workable game plan in other markets. Given Wal-Mart's reputation and successes, the company only entered the international market in 1991 that pales in comparison to Carrefour, which has been retailing in foreign markets for in excess of thirty years (Incandela et al, 1999)4. The international market represents a different set of challenges, experiences as well as internal operating dictates that need to be understood and incorporated into a retailer's operational mode, a lesson that Wal-Mart learned in Germany. This study shall delve into Wal-Mart's entry into the German market to determine the reasons as to why it was not successful there. Wal-Mart and Germany Wal-Mart's lack of success in Germany is a classic example of using a business model that is not applicable in terms of the market it is applied in. A look into the facets that represented a contribution to the foregoing entails delving into the market entry strategies as well as operational tactics that were employed, with the foregoing compared with market entry and expansion theories as well as practices. Wal-Mart's entry into Germany represented the fact that it has the largest market in Europe as represented by its population, strong economic underpinnings, affluence of its citizens as well as the awareness of products made in the United States (United States Department of Agriculture, 2004)5. Germany ranks third internationally in terms of consumer food expenditures (United States Department of Agriculture, 2004)6. Critical recommendations as offered by the United States Department of

Japanese films that depict the Japanese atomic bomb experience Essay

Japanese films that depict the Japanese atomic bomb experience - Essay Example In Japan, manga artists developed stories with sharp edges because their heroes tackled not only villains but also calamity, anguish and eventually a call for accountability. Although comic book/manga industries had different roles in their societies, post-war cartoonists on both sides spilled a great deal of ink in trying to grasp the promise and perils created by the onset of atomic age. For the Japanese, when the bomb was dropped, it marked the actual onset of the story and the horrors of Hiroshima form the dominant image of the Japanese collective memory of the war, which meant many Japanese considered themselves victims of unwarranted aggression (Szasz and Issei 729). However, the American occupation of Japan between 1945 and 19950 saw the censorship of all references to atomic themes from Japanese writers. Nevertheless, from mid 1950s onward, voices of Japanese politicians, intellectuals, cartoonists and people affected by the bomb gradually began to emerge (Szasz and Issei 730 ). The post-war culture reflected a polarized perspective because the Americans considered it a triumph while the Japanese considered it a tragedy. If the atomic power produced American animals determined to bring about justice, the Japanese writers approached the theme from very distinct perspectives. An example of radiation-powered creature rests in Japanese film Godzilla in 1954. Based on the heated atmosphere with regard to the atomic bomb, came the infamous fictional monster Godzilla where the film begins with the Godzilla attacking a fishing boat. After the monster became exposed to radiation from hydrogen bomb test, the creature emerges as a forty-five-foot monster. Godzilla acts as a powerful allegory regarding the dangers of hydrogen, which depicts their collective memory of the attack and its consequences (Szasz and Issei 744-745). In its initial form, Godzilla was an allegory and not a direct atomic statement and because of the relative silence with regard to the moral is sues involved, Barefoot Gen holds a unique position in the history of the literature (Szasz and Issei 746). The period between 1945 and 1970 witnessed few American or Japanese creative artists raise the question of responsibility for the decision of using the atomic weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This shows that although it was few years since the end of the war, the people’s memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were fresh in the minds of Japanese citizens. Barefoot Gen is truly extraordinary within manga, Atomic-bomb related films and atomic anime because of the way it deals with the issue. While other works dealing with the issue focus on lives of survivors in post-war period, Barefoot Gen offers a wide focus because it does not shy from the crucial issues regarding restriction on freedom of thought and freedom of speech in pre-war Japan. Barefoot Gen is one of the main Atomic-bomb related works developed in Japan to address the issue of residents were treated during that period; hence, offering collective memory of the war (Szasz and Issei 749). Despite the gravity of the issue and the tragedies that occurred throughout the tale of Barefoot Gen, the tale is infused with life-affirming joviality, which is not a small part because of the way Gen and other children are portrayed (Szasz and Issei 750). It clear that by living their wits, children amid the post-war confusion were far energetic and resilient compared to the adult

Vulnerable Populations - Homeless People in Los Angeles County, Research Paper

Vulnerable Populations - Homeless People in Los Angeles County, California - Research Paper Example m homelessness problem that last for a long time having this disability which is often complicated by means of getting addicted to drugs and suffering from some physical illnesses. According to the statistics regarding Los Angeles County in California, almost one quarter of the county’s homeless population are homeless as they are chronically ill. The chronic homelessness is described as an unaccompanied disabled person who has been made homeless for more than a year or has at least suffered four periods of homelessness in last three years (National coalition for homelessness, 2009). In Los Angeles County, there is increasing number of youngsters who have become homeless and there is also growing number of homeless veterans in the area. According to the report submitted by the government of Los Angeles, cited by Burt (2011), about 18% of homeless in County are veterans which are a 3% increase from last year i.e. 2010. Even the number of male and female veteran homelessness has increased by 51% and 22% respectively. According to Einspar (2010), homelessness is described as a lack of permanent housing that usually results either from extreme poverty problem or inability to have instant access to living environment which is suitable and ideal for the people. Recently, there has been growing trend of family homelessness and the main factors that have contributed to increase in this problem are decline in rental housing as they are unable to cover the rent amounts charged to them and widening of gap between income that is earned and cost of housing for families that have low income. Almost all vulnerable populations are facing extreme poverty and are at great risk for both mental and physical illnesses (Nooe & Patterson, 2011). In Los Angeles County, families that have children have received attention from government authority as it is the rising area of population that is homeless. Most of the cases have revealed that homeless families mainly comprise of mother