How My Brother Leon Brough Home a Wife Essay Example for Free

How My Brother Leon Brough Home a Wife Essay Baldo and his brother Leon waiting for the arrival of their visitor riding the carretella. Seeing his brother’s wife, Baldo was easily taken away by the beauty of Maria. Baldo describe Maria as lovely girl, tall, have a long nails and fragrant like a morning when papayas are in bloom. When they got home, Leon asks her mother quickly if where is their father. The father calls Baldo to ask some question when they went home. Baldo tell everything. Conclusion The story How _My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife, _is the common story of some people when they get living and find their independency to living. Somehow, the story can tell that it is from the true story or a non-fiction. It tells the differences of two places, the Barrio Nagrebcan of Bauang La Union and Manila, the province and the city. In City there’s people noises, polluted surrounding, many houses and cars while in the province you’ve only seen some houses and wide fields. The differences also on the traditional names and modern ones like â€Å"Maria† can be â€Å"Mayang† or â€Å"Maring†. In characters, Baldo was amazed to the beauty of Maria, and felt some envy to his brother to have her. He describes Maria like as the most beautiful woman he met. But he’s think also if what his father feels when he see Maria. Leon, feels like comfortable and confidence on what will be the reaction of his father. He told to maria the gis father is an OGRE. The word ogre is a symbolism. It symbolizes what Maria’s thoughts to Leon’s father.

Evolution of foreign worker in Malaysia

Evolution of foreign worker in Malaysia Decades earlier, the movement of people from one place to another exist always. Pending their own reasons or motive, people have been moving for centuries from one place to another in order to continue their survival. To date, immigration amongst different countries is no longer a new phenomenon. At the time of world war, many inhabitants were displaced to other nation due to man-made and natural disasters. Until now, the phenomenon still exists which are primarily driven by poverty in their home country. Thus, there are both pull and push factors behind the migration of labour. The situation applies to Malaysia population as well. Multi-ethnic population in Malaysia demonstrated the long history of migration. About 40 per cent of its 26 million people are of immigrants. Due to its geographical location at the crossroads of Southeast Asia, Malaysia had for centuries been open to traders and travellers from the East and the West (Zahid Zamir. 2006). It is during the time of late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that the inflow of foreign workers especially from the Indian subcontinent, China and Indonesia started to come into Malaysia. During the time of British colony, our country confronted with serious labour shortage. A solution has been taken to import the cheap labour resources from India and China to work in tin mines, rubber plantation and infrastructure development. In that period, these immigrant workers contributed cheap as well as adequate supply of local work force when local workers either found not suitable or interested in working under the same harsh conditions faced by the immigrant labours (Zahib Zamir, 2006). With the incoming foreign workers especially from China and India to work in the plantations, mines and the construction sectors, an alien community has formed before the independent of 1957. After gaining independence in 1957 and the establishment of the periodic 5 year Malaysia plan, the increasing population has prompted the country to put emphasis on housing need. As the construction industry outgrow the general economy, labour shortage were particularly acute in many indispensable trades such as concreting, carpentry, bricklaying, painting, tiling, bar bending, and plumbing by the late 1980s and 1990s (Abdul-Aziz, 1995). Phenomenon where local worker markets could not provide sufficient needs happen on that time. The agriculture sector was the first to experience labour shortage and followed by the construction and manufacturing sectors. Foreign workers from neighbouring countries seek employment as workers in these sectors (International Migrations in Malaysia, 27 Nov 2006). Basically, foreign workers who involve in construction industry come from different nationality such as Indonesia, Bangladesh, Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan and others. To date, the presence of foreign workers in Malaysia has become a norm. It is an immediate measurement to solve the labour shortage problem. The foreign workers has become part of Malaysia society as the demand for workforce is growing and poor work environment and image are accelerating existing workers to leave the construction field. In the recent time, foreign workers being largely absorbs to work in tight labour market conditions and low paying fields such as construction industry. Both developed and developing countries are apt to prohibit foreign worker from being legally employed for the purpose of limiting the number of illegal entrants to protect their domestic labourers. Foreign worker are allow to be employed in selected sectors such as plantation, manufacture as well as construction industry with specify limitations and regulations. 2.3 BASIC DATA ON FOREIGN WORKER According to Economic Report 2004/2005, total number of foreign workers rose from 4% of total employment in 1990 to about 10.7% in 1997 and 9% in 2001. As at July 2004, there are about 1.3 million registered foreign workers, constituting 12% of total employment in the country. Foreign workers have steadily increased in number over the past two decades and they have become a key part of the economy for most of the countries. However, for various reasons, the Government and the employers both small and big have tended to down play the importance of foreign labour in the countrys development. The primary objective of foreign worker to come and work in Malaysia was to make some fortune and return their home after some time. Combination of factors including the unattractiveness of manual construction work to local youths, an expanding manufacturing sector that offer better employment conditions, labour attrition, increasing opportunities for tertiary education, a lower birth rate and out-migration of Malaysia workers to high wages country such as Singapore and Japan have make the foreign worker become vital component in construction workforce in Malaysia (Abdul Rashid, Abdul Aziz, 2001). Local people are no longer able to sustain the demand and needs of construction industry (Azian, 2004). In order to maintain the rapid expansion of construction industry, foreign workers is the option to fulfil the needs. According to statistic on regularized foreign workers (Figure 2.1), it indicates that construction sector is the most active in utilizing foreign worker. According to Ahmad, 1996, the Malaysia construction industry has relied on foreign work force since early of 1980s. An estimated 60% of manual workers in the construction industry were foreign nationals in 1987 (Gill, 1988), a figure which increase to 70% in 1991 (Pillai, 1992) and then 80% in 1995 (Balaisegaram and Pillai, 1996). Since then, the local apprentices shed away from working in construction industry as they feel that working together with these migrant workers was not conducive. Furthermore, the shortages of construction workers was largely rooted from such well-known causes such as poor image, uncertainty in career path, lack of training and education, declining wages, poor work environment, and the transient nature of construction workers. All of the reasons above have caused large proportions of foreign workers in Mal aysia construction industry. The growth of foreign worker in construction industry is continuing. Figure 2.1 Number of regularized foreign workers by nationality (July 1992- December 1995). (Source; Immigration Department, as quoted in Kassim (1996)) From the statistic of Annual Labour Force Survey conducted by the Department of Statistics, it indicates that the number of legal foreign workers in Malaysia rose to 1,359,632 as at July 2004. Foreign workers are employed in all major sectors of the economy, with manufacturing accounting the largest share at 30.5%, services (25%), agriculture (24.7%) and construction (19.8%). These workers are normally employed in jobs critics label the 3D that is dangerous, difficult and dirty. In others words foreign workers are employ in position where local refused to do. Figure 2.2 Percentages of Legal Foreign Workers in Malaysia by Country (Source: Annual Labour Force Survey, Department of Statistics) From the Figure 2.2 above, majority of foreign workers are from Indonesia, averaging 66.5% of total foreign workers, followed by Nepal (9.2%), Bangladesh (8.0%), India (4.5%) and Myanmar (4.2%). By viewing the steadily rose amount on foreign workers, the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had announced that the government plans to reduce the number of foreign workers to 1.5 million in three years. MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek had recently called for the government to conduct a comprehensive study of the countrys dependence on foreign labour. Dr Chua noted that the countrys local labour force was not sufficient to maintain local industries despite the governments ambitious plans for a high-income economy under the New Economic Model. Hence, the strategy of government to reduce Malaysian dependency on foreign workers will be done after a long run. As long as there is unlimited supply of foreign workers, employer will continue rely on them to their advantage. 2.4 ADMISSION OF FOREIGN WORKER IN MALAYSIA Certain criteria and process have to be observed by foreign workers for entry into Malaysia. Started from 1 August 2005, application for foreign worker is submitted to a One-Stop Centre located in the Immigration Department of Malaysia. There are two types of migrants in Malaysia that is temporary migrants and permanent migrants. For those foreign workers that come into Malaysia in a specified period with single entry visa from Malaysia Embassy abroad, they are considered as temporary migrants. Initially, foreign worker is allowed to work for 3 years only and upon application be extended from year to year to the fifth year. For extension after fifth year, employer must obtain declaration from National Vocational Training Council (NVTC) or Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) that the particular worker is a skilled worker. Basically, foreign workers are recruited to act as construction workers in the construction industry and work predominantly on construction sites and are typically engaged in aspects of the industry other than design or finance (Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia). The job application of foreign workers includes bricklayer, carpenter, concrete finisher, fencer, labourer and etc. Foreign worker who wish to extend working period in Malaysia must obtain either Malaysian Skills Certificate level I II or Skilled Workers Certification from NVTC or Skills Proficiency Certificate or Skilled Foreign Workers Certification from CIDB. 2.5 REASONS CAUSE THE INFLOW OF FOREIGN WORKER TO MALAYSIA There are several factors that attract foreign workers to work in Malaysia. First and foremost, Malaysia is attractive to foreign workers because of its better economic performance and prospective. Most of the foreign workers are come from our neighbouring countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam. It is a reality that the standard of life quality over their hometowns is much lower in Malaysia. In such countries, the populations are much higher with limited job opportunities. The respective country where foreign workers come from is still under developing and some of them live in poverty. Due to greater industrialised and improvement of economy in Malaysia, there has been a massive rural-urban migration drift, which in turn lead to a serious shortage of workers. Hence, foreign worker was attracted to work in Malaysia. As a multi- lingua and cultural country, the multi-ethic people in Malaysia mainly from Malays, Chinese and Indians can live together in a harmony lifestyle. This is the second pull factor to foreign workers to work in Malaysia as they feel that Malaysian are helpful, kind, friendly, cooperative and tolerate. Different with other country, the political and economic stability in Malaysia is also one of the factors tempting the inflow of foreign workers. As we all know, the policy regarding to foreign workers in Malaysia is fair and liberal, the country choose by foreign workers due to its pleasant moderate climate, open and liberal atmosphere. For foreign workers, Malaysia is heaven for them to work along with. Malaysia holds a better prospect for future of foreign labour because it is a fast developing and progressive nation. According to A. Namukundam (2002), the accelerated economic development programmes and the sustained high economics growth rates in Malaysia caused the influx of foreign workers to meet the increasing demand in Malaysia labour market. The demand for foreign labour is increase continuously in tandem with economic progress. 2.6 ELEMENTS THAT CAUSE THE EMPLOYMENT OF FOREIGN WORKER IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY It is too broad to identify each of the reason that responsible for the incoming foreign worker in construction industry. Among the reasons of the local construction industry to employ foreign worker in construction industry are as below: 2.6.1 Shortage of workers especially in the 3D jobs (dangerous, dirty and difficult) In the point of view of local citizen, they consider and known construction job as 3Ds job. The first D refers to dirty, secondly is dangerous and last is difficult demeaning. For Malaysian, they normally prefer easier job. Job offer from construction except with professional knowledge and skill are becoming unpopular among the working population. Basically, foreign worker is place in lower end and heavier kind of job. There are only few participants of local people to be involved in construction sector. When given a choice, locals prefer to work under comfortable environment such as white collar work rather than work under the unstable weather. In this era of technology and industrialization, the job such as site supervisors, contractors, foreman, or general worker been regarded as tough and risk-prone. This is because the construction project will not limited in landed property, somehow, high rise property might be construct. Thus, in the mind of locals, construction work place is much more dangerous and accident rate is higher over site when compare to other industry. The working condition in construction industry also poor compare to other job scope such as in service sector and manufacturing sector. The construction industry does not provide a good image in front of locals. The poor image of construction industry include absence of job security, lack of management, lack of opportunities for career advancement has make local citizen decline to join the construction line. Foreign workers offer cheaper wages For employers in construction industry, they are allow to recruit foreign worker once they proof that effort have been done to recruit local but they are fail at last. As long as the foreign labour is allow entering and work in Malaysia, the employers can easily bring them to fill up the job deficiency in construction sector. It is obvious that employer can select their workers amongst locals or foreigners. Be realistically, most of the employers are cost-conscious. MTUC president Zainal Rampak stated that employers were more inclined to hire foreign worker who were prepared to accept low wages. Foreign worker offer much lower wages compared to locals. Beside than inexpensive, the foreign workers also possess some basic skill in construction and will work in accordance with discipline and working hard. Therefore, most of the employers in construction industry will have preference on foreign worker. Foreign workers willing to work for longer hours Foreign workers are the one who will accept both cheaper wages and worse term and conditions of employment, as their purpose is earn much money in shorter time frame. From the opinion of employer, the newly arrival labour willing to accept lower wages and less attractive work conditions (Michael, 2001). They being paid lower even they perform the same job as locals do. Sometimes they even perform longer hours of working time than local without blaming on it. Addition, Local Authorities Employees Association Chairman Abdul Rahman Mahad added that besides getting cheaper labour from foreign workers, employers also hired such workers as they were ready to work longer hours (The Star, 05 August 2004). According to Tey (1997), it is believed that they are no real shortages but employers prefer aliens especially illegal ones because they can easily be exploited as they have no resource to justice in front of law. As a conclusion, the employers who willing to recruit foreign labour were interested in lower wages and the hardworking character of foreign workers. Foreign worker easy to recruit There are only minimum requirement to be fulfil by foreign worker to take part in Malaysia construction industrys job. For foreign worker, only those who have passed the Induction Course and recognised by NVTC will be allowed to be brought into Malaysia. The Foreign Workers Orientation Course in Malaysia is a course that compulsory for all foreign workers brought in between 1/1/2004 and to date (M. Vivekanandan, 2008). After gone through the course, employer must ensure that foreign labour is insured with an insurance company appointed to the panel of Foreign Workers Compensation Insurance Scheme (SPPA) which under Workmen Compensation Act 1952. For requiring of additional foreign labour, the employers need Certificate of Registration of Foreign Worker under section 60K of EA 1955. After all the cost included had been paid by the employer and the foreign worker is allow to work in Malaysia with condition that he must pass the test on FOMEMA by registered clinic. Friends or relatives work in construction industry Aside from recruiting of foreign workers through Agent Company, there are some of the companies employing them through introduce of existing foreign workers at construction site. Some of the foreign workers being employ to Malaysia because of the relationship between relatives and friend. The working condition in their hometown is limited with job vacancies. Most of the foreign workers working in Malaysia with the reason to reunion with his family and meet their friends because mostly from them choose to work in other place such as Malaysia rather than stay in their hometown. This subsequently made the other foreign workers to choose Malaysia as the place they hope to go and work. Apart from that, local construction industry willing to employ them because they can save on the introducers fee and at the same time, they can recruit a well behaved foreign workers because the existing recognise relationship such as friends or relatives. Plentiful job vacancies on site Although in the opinion of locals that the wages paid off by construction industry in Malaysia is considered as low and insufficient, it is in the viewpoint of foreign that the basic salary that they gain in working in Malaysia is high. Due to greater industrialisation, urbanisation of economy and higher education levels, the general youth in Malaysia community always complain and dissatisfied with the income if they work in construction sector. For locals, they will only take part and work in construction sector if they are recruiting as project manager, site engineers, architects and so on who earn higher income. This situation creates a lot of job vacancies on site, foreign workers has been recruited to fill the empty space. From site coordinator, carpenter, ceiling worker, bar bender, roofer, plasterer to plumber, aluminium worker and painter, the job availability in construction sector is wide and many. All of jobs mentions above are always available in every project construction site which offers moderate wages and opportunities to foreign workers compared to jobs in their homeland. 2.7 CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY Construction industry is a sort of service- industry that form real things like residential building, industrial facilities, infrastructure facilities and national land development (Kim, Hee Jin, 2002). This industry is comprised of a multitude of occupations, professions and organizations (Wong and Fung, 1999; Kanji and Wong, 1998; Sommerville, 1994). The complicated nature of operation has brought numerous of problem to construction industry. In construction industry, it comprises various parties such as architect, construction engineer, design engineer, project manager, construction manager, contractors, sub-contractors and also general workers. They are involved in the different phases of a construction project, which, include: feasibility, development, finance, concept development and review, estimate, detailed engineering, procurement, construction and start-up (Schultzel and Unruh, 1996). When either one of the party involved do not have co-operation or do something out of ord er, this will normally bring to project failure. Unlike the others industry such as manufacturing, the members of construction players usually change with each project. When different team meet together in one brand new project, their idea will be different and hence the product of construction industry is always unique and seldom mass produce. 2.8 QUALITY IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY According to Hart, 1994, the term quality has a three-fold meaning in construction. Quality means getting the job done on time, ensuring that the basic characteristics of the final project fall within the required specifications and lastly it means getting the job done within budget. To achieve acceptable levels of quality, a project must be included three aspect that is time, satisfaction and cost. The quality of building will be affected when either one of it did not be fulfil. When the project of construction industry has inefficient quality levels, it will reflect to great expenditures of time, cost and resource in order to make up the shortcomings. Actually, the project quality is directly associated with conformance to specifications and fitness for use. Similar to other business activities and sectors, construction industry also has a lot of competitors. The construction industry neither faced aggressive competition at the regional level nor in international level. Therefore, it has to impose higher quality levels to ensure their position in the emerging international market. 2.8.1 Quality of workmanship The construction industry is being viewed as one with poor quality emphasis compared to other sectors like the manufacturing and service sectors (Kubal, 1994; Kanji and Wong, 1998; Wong and Fung, 1999). One of the criticisms directed to the quality of building is shoddy workmanship. The quality, cost and timely delivery of products in the construction industry very much depends on workmanship (The Hindu, 2006). Quality of workmanship can be measure through workers effectiveness and efficiency. The skill, experience and personal ability of the workmen go a long way in determine their quality of workmanship (COBRA, 2009). The workmanship refer to skill of workers on site during the time to processes, the peoples supervise, the materials, the product and etc. Workmanship is skill in an occupation or trade of different workmen based on their training or profession (Adetayo, 1995). Workmen according to Ogunmakin (2005) is the most important factor of production since it is the only factor that creates value and sets the general level of productivity. Workmen on site normally comprise of foreign workers, contractors, main craftsmen, apprentices of various trades and so on. The quality of workmanship produce by these workers is important because it is a main factor to produce quality building. Normally, foreign workers performing all kinds of labour work that does not require specify training. According to Ogunsemi, 2002, poor quality of workmanship makes it difficult or impossible for workers to perceive and apply the concepts of quality control and limits of tolerance for building production thereby, resulting in poor construction which may finally lead to building collapse. Quality of workmanship should be take note especially on the skill of foreign workers. 2.8.2 Quality of building materials Building materials are various substance or items that form the basic components of various elements of a building (COBRA, 2009). Two types of building materials can be found in construction industry that is natural occurring and mixture. Both of the building materials are prepare in adequate proportion to suit the purpose it is intended. Along the way in building construction, materials of varying shapes, sizes and amount are extensively used. The primary building materials on site are cement, sand, aggregate (of various classes), iron rods, water and timber (hard or soft wood) which is widely use in foundation works and structure works. These are referred to as star materials (Odulami, 2002) and they are usually mixed together to give different components and elements found in the erection of any building structures (COBRA, 2009). For a building with good quality, the materials used must be of some specific ultimate strength, which have been tested and certified to established its quality such as quality control (QC), quality assurance (QA) and quality level (QL). Aside of primary building materials, glass, aluminium, ceramics and etc. is secondary importance and have wide application in construction industry. Refer to Bolaji, 2002, due care must be taken in the selection of materials either primary or secondary where improved building techniques are a necessity because both of the materials are not separable. It is on record that, good building techniques are enhanced by building materials of good quality (Adebayo, 2000). If the building materials are not properly handed or stored, they may be seriously vulnerable and effects to quality of building. Before any material should be incorporated into building works, the issue of confirmation of quality of building materials must be taking serious. This is essential to avoid situations where majority of buildings fail in meeting safety obligations to the general public which may finally result into building collapse. COMPONENTS OF BUILDING Building failure occurs when there is a defect in one or more elements of the building which caused by inability of the material making up the components or incapability of workmanship. This further lead to impacts such as the building elements fall to perform its original function effectively and if seriously will lead to building collapse at last. A research was carried out by Bamidele (2000) and in Fadamiro (2002) , the causes of buiding collapse may be cause from natural disaster, design error, poor materials and workmanship, procedure error and poor maintenance. Every kind of building has a lifespan and all components and elements put together to make it functional are expected to sustain this lifespan (Odulami, 2002). Roofing The roof system functions as the primary sheltering element for the interior spaces of a building. Its form and construction should control the flow of water, air, heat and cold. A roof system must be structured to span across space and carry both its own weight and live loads such as wind. Roof system are the primary gravity loads for a building and its structural layout must correspond to the wall and column systems through which its loads are transferred down to the foundation system. Flooring Floor systems are the buildings primary horizontal planes which must support live loads people, furnishings and movable equipment and dead loads- the weight of the floor construction itself. Floor systems must transfer their loads horizontally across space to either beams or columns or to bearing walls. A floor systems edge conditions and connections to supporting foundation and wall systems affect both a buildings structural integrity and its physical appearance. Floor system must safely support the moving loads. Hence, it should be relatively stiff while maintaining its elasticity. Except for exterior decks, a building floor is normally not exposed to weather. Since they are all support traffic, however, durability, resistance to wear, and maintenance requirements are the factors to consider in the selections of a floor finish and the system required t support them. Wall Systems Wall systems are the vertical planes of a building which define and enclose its interior spaces. They may be bearing walls of homogeneous or composite construction, or they may be constructed of linear columns and beams with non-structural panels filing between them. How these walls and columns support floor and roof systems above, and how they are supported in tun by wall and foundation systems below, are determined by the structural capability of these systems qand the types of materials and connections used. Walls can also serve as shear planes which are designed to resists lateral winds and earthquake forces. Exterior walls serve as a protective shield against the weather for a buildings interior spaces and control the passage of heat and cold, air, moisture and water vapour, which also resistant to the weathering effects of sun, wind and rain. The interior walls which subdivide the space within a buiding may be either non-structural or load-bearing. Their construction should be able to support the desired finish materials. Doors and windows Doors provide access into a buildings interior from the exterior and passage between interior spaces. Exterior doors should provide weather tight seals when close and maintain the approximate insulation value of the buildings exterior walls. At the same time, the doorways should be large enough to move through easily and accommodate the moving of furnishings and equipment. Door performance include ease of operation, requirements for privacy and security, and any need for light, ventilation, and view. There are many types and sizes of windows, the choice of which affects not only the physical appearance of a building, but also the natural lighting, ventilations, view potential, and spatial quality of the buildings interior. As with exterior doors, windows should provide a weather tights seal when closed, have insulation valve, and resists the formation of condensation on their interior surfaces. Door and window units are normally factory- build, manufacturers may have standard sizes and corresponding rough-opening requirements for the various door and window types. From the exterior point of view, doors and windows are important elements in a buildings facades. The manner in which they break up a buildings surfaces affects the massing, visual weight, scale and articulation of the building form. Finish work There are severals materials and methods used to finish a buidings exterior and interior surfaces. Exterior wall surfaces should be durable and weather-resistant. Interior walls should be wear-resistant and cleanable. Floors should be durable and safe to walk on while ceilings should be relatively maintenance free. Additional factors to consider include a finish materials fire resistance, and thermal insulation value. Surface finishes have a critical influence on the aesthetic qualities of space. In the selection use of a finish material, the colour, texture, pattern and the way it meets and joins with other materials should be considered. WAY TO DIMINISH THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS THAT BRING BY INVOLVEMENT OF FOREIGN LABOUR In the past, there is always a prediction that the demand for foreign worker is going to be rise in the coming future in construction industry. To date, it is already a truth that the inflow of foreign worker into our country has achieve a high rate and the government or the private sector have the responsible to construct strategies to stop the inflow of new foreign worker and decrease the dependency on them. Several ways has been formulated by the authority governing the industry with the assistant of construction associations to overcome the problems faced by local construction company and developer firm when dealing with the issue of foreign workers. Government tighten hiring rules of foreign labour It is a true where Malaysia industries is bringing more foreign worker than needed in the country and the government has to plug loopholes that cause the oversupply. Drastic measurements has adopted by the government and for most recently topic is the amnesty programme that done by government to repatriate the immigrant workers especially illegal immigrants. As we all know, the foreign workers were needed to fill the shortage of local supply but it is not a long term measure to enable employers to cut cost. Hence, s

Strategic Importance of Knowledge Management Essay -- Philosophy Knowl

Strategic Importance of Knowledge Management Today the world has more and more of free flow of information leading to transfer of knowledge from a person or an organization to others. Whereas this invariably leads to faster development, it also impacts the competitive advantage held by the innovators of processes or technology. It has therefore become strategically important for one and all in business to understand the knowledge, processes and controls to effectively manage the system of sharing and transferring the information in the most beneficial fashion. This paper dwells upon definition, types, scope, technology and modeling of knowledge and Knowledge Management while examining its strategic importance for retaining the competitive advantage by the organizations. What is knowledge? Plato first defined the concept of knowledge as ‘‘justified true belief’’ in his Meno, Phaedo and Theaetetus. Although not very accurate in terms of logic, this definition has been predominant in Western philosophy (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). Davenport et al. (1998) define knowledge as ``information combined with experience, context, interpretation and reflection''. The terms ‘‘knowledge’’ and ‘‘information’’ are often used inter-changeably in the literature and praxis but a distinction is helpful. The chain of knowledge flow is data-information-knowledge. Information is data to which meaning has been added by being categorized, classified, corrected, and condensed. Information and experience, key components of definitions of knowledge, are put into categories through the process of labeling with abstract symbols. This allows the process of synthesis to occur more efficiently than when dealing with masses of individual bits of information. Information coded into symbols to make it â€Å"knowledge† may be stored both inside and outside the individuals. Thus, knowledge may be stored within a person in his mind or outside the person in books, manuscripts, pictures, and audio and videotapes or discs. However, while only the individual himself may retrieve knowledge stored within his mind, kn owledge stored outside can be retrieved by anybody familiar with the storage systems. In organizations, knowledge is often embedded not only in documents and presentations but also in â€Å"organizational routines, processes, practices, and norms,† and through person-to-person cont... ...ress, New York, NY. Schultze, U. and Boland Jr, R.J. (2000), ‘‘Knowledge management technology and the reproduction of knowledge work practices’’, Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Vol. 9, pp. 193-212. Stoner J.A.F., Freeman R. E. and Gilbert D.R. (2004): Management, Pearson Education, U.K. Swan, J. and Newell, S. (2000), ‘‘Linking knowledge management and innovation’’, in Hansen, H.R., Tissen, R., Andriessen, D. and Depres, F.L. (2000), The Knowledge Dividend, Financial Times and Prentice Hall, London. Van Buren, M. (1999), ‘‘A yardstick for knowledge management’’, Training and Development Journal, Vol. 53 No. 5, pp. 71-8. Wagner, E. (2000), ‘‘Communities of practice: the structure of knowledge stewarding’’, in Despres, C. and Chauvel, D. (Eds), The Present and the Promise of Knowledge Management, Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston, MA, pp. 205-24. Wheelen T.L. and Hunger J.D. (2004): Strategic Management and Business Policy, Pearson Education, U.K. Winter, S.G. (1987), ‘‘Knowledge and competence as strategic assets’’, in Teece, D.J. (Ed.), The Competitive Challenge: Strategies For Individual Innovation and Renewal, Ballinger, Cambridge, MA, pp. 159-84.

Essay --

The Solutions to Note-Taking Problems for Students By: Timothy Cooks 12/3/2013 Learning Challenge/Solution Project Dr. Samuelson Note taking is a process that involves the writing down of information that has been received from another source such as a professor or boss. Note taking provides the user with reference material to use for future use. Note taking is one of the most important and useful study skills to have while in college. Students must expect to take a lot of notes in college. Professors will expect their students to take notes during lectures in order to go back and review at home alone or with other classmates. Note taking is a skill, so in order to make this skill efficient, we must develop multiple techniques in order to make note taking more profitable. Chapter 6 in our textbooks gives us plenty of techniques of note taking to improve our note taking skills. But before that lets point out that note taking has two basic functions that note taking serves. Note taking serves as a way to help you store or encode the material and a way to keep the information in written form until you need it for later reference (Pintrich & VanderStoep, 137). Chapter 6 serves as a good guide in presenting students with strategies for effective note taking. The chapter focus is on strategies instead of style in order to help us think about the process of note taking while we are in class. Before we begin note taking we should ask ourselves these questions: What should I pay attention to? What should I write down? How should I organize my notes? We are now at the beginning stages of improving the process of taking notes (Pintrich & VanderStoep, 137). This will help being organized while taking notes. Remember that good note ... ...es. In result, my quiz and exam scores dramatically increased. When I enter anatomy I used the more the same method but I needed to incorporate more techniques such as comparing notes with other students in my class because we had less instruction from the professor. Exchanging notes with other students helped me not fall behind or miss out on important information. In my current semester, I have learned more techniques and methods to include with what I already know. The results are fulfilling allowing me to potentially have straight A’s. I learned that it’s beneficial for every student to become a stronger note taker because it’s necessary for successful studying and researching. I recommend anyone who read this to become proficient in note taking for one main reason which is, to remember important information such as dates, times, key points or facts.

The Individual vs. Society in Mrs. Warrens Profession Essay -- Mrs. W

Often in life there is a conflict between what is good for the individual and the moral values placed upon the individual by society.   This is true of the characters in George Bernard Shaw's play Mrs. Warren's Profession.   Shaw clearly demonstrates that actions frowned upon by society are not necessarily evil so long as they benefit the individual.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Perhaps the most obvious example of societal morals conflicting with individual need is the case of Mrs. Kitty Warren.   Mrs. Warren is a woman whose economic standing and lack of any professional skills forced her into becoming a prostitute. Obviously such a profession is against the beliefs of the society that she lives in.   Not only is she not ashamed of her occupation, she is proud of the amount of money that it, as well as managing several houses of prostitution, has made for her. When asked of any shame about her job by her daughter she states, "Well of course dearie, it's only good manners to be ashamed of it: it's expected of a woman." This statement shows that the only reason that one would be ashamed of it is because of society says that one should be.   She feels that the restrictions that society has placed on women has made it impossible for her to pursue any other lifestyle.   She demonstrates this by saying, "It's far better than any other emp loyment open to [women]...   It can't be right, Vivie, that there shouldn't be better opportunities for women."   Shaw is attempting to evoke sympathy for the character of Mrs. Warren by pitting her against a society that is against her.   He is quite obviously in favor of the actions that Mrs. Warren has taken, as demonstrated by the very reasonable rationalization for what she has done and the approving reaction of her daughte... ...in acting as the representative of Shaw's views, is constantly blowing off his attempts at winning her affection.   Finally gives up his attempts when he realizes how her mother earns the money. He states , "I really can' bring myself to touch the old woman's money now."   Vivie is quite glad to be rid of him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shaw's opinions on society against the individual are clearly outlined in this play.   Through the actions and words of the character Vivie it can be clearly seen that he finds nothing wrong with breaking the rules placed on people by society, providing that it is for a good reason and not simply for self indulgence.   The conclusion could be drawn that Shaw feels that these morals are fine in a perfect society, but since we do not live in one they must be broken occasionally in order to attain a better life, providing that it is done only in moderation.

External/Internal Factors Paper Essay

The Frito-Lay is a worldwide recognized organization that began from the union of two companies in 1961. Within this organization, management has had to deal with internal and external factors that affect the four fundamental functions of management: planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Globalization, technology, innovation, diversity and ethics have also had their impact on the four functions of management in the Frito-Lay organization. Managers for the Frito-Lay organization have found ways to use delegation to manage the different factors and functions and perform in an effective and efficient way. The planning function of an organization is important because it involves determining the goals for the success of the company. An internal factor that may affect the planning function of management at the Frito Lay organization is attention to competitors. When Frito-Lay plans to incorporate new ideas and demands, they look to the competitors for insight of how to approach th ese new ideas in a positive and well-thought out process. According to Leyla Norman, â€Å"a hurried entrance into a new market can cost the company money in the long run and not make full use of managers’ planning abilities† (Norman, 2004). This means that if the Frito-Lay organization does not take the planning process into full advantage when rushing to compete with other companies, they could end up losing instead of gaining profits and customer preference. An external factor that could affect the planning function of management is the economy. While determining the goals of the organization, the economy plays large role. When the economy is not at a high point, planning within the Frito-Lay company may be â€Å"stopped, adjusted or taken in a new direction† (Norman, 2004). As the economy recovers planning may be resumed as needed. The organizing function of management involves â€Å"assembling and coordinating the human, financial, physical, informational and other resources needed to achieve goals† (Bateman & Snell, 2011). An internal factor that could affect the Frito-Lay company is a financial necessity. If funds are not  available to pursue and achieve the plans of the organization, then it could affect the realization of the goals for the company. An external factor that could affect the organizing function within the Frito-Lay company may be any new technological advance. If the Frito-Lay company is not up-to-date with their technological capabilities, this could affect the implementation of the goals mapped out in the planning function. The leading function is described by Bateman and Snell as â€Å"stimulating people to be high performers† (Bateman & Snell, 2011). A factor that could internally affect Frito-Lay management in the leading function could be lack of employee performance. If employees do not have the motivation to achieve the goals of the organization, the whole company could suffer. An external factor that could potentially affect the organization and management of Frito-Lay is ethical issues. When there are ethical issues outside of an organization, it could affect the company in a negative way. This could be a major reason that Frito-Lay creates opportunities and depends on the â€Å"minority and women-owned entrepreneurs (M/WBEs)† (Frito-Lay, 2014). In the controlling function of management, performance is closely monitored and changes are implemented as necessary. When employees deviate from the established performance standards, an internal factor that could affect the management function is a conflict of interest. When there are conflicts of interests, such as family relationships, it could internally affect the performance monitoring. An external factor that could affect the controlling factor in the Frito-Lay company could be labor laws. Although Frito-Lay has standards of performance and expectations, they must still comply with labor laws as they are established for the safety and security of employees. There are many internal and external factors that impact the leading function of management. One internal factor that impacts it is employee morale. â€Å"Morale is defined as the end result of many factors present in the workplace environment.† (Javitch, 2005). Morale can make or break any business. If your employees have poor morale, it will affect customer service and customer satisfaction which is the key component to businesses. Competition is an external factor that can impact the leading function of management. If there is an outside company that is doing better than yours, it can discourage employees and supervisors as well. This can lead to poor attitudes and morale in the workplace which then turns into  internal issues for that company. An internal factor that impacts the controlling function of management is technology. Having up to date technology can help improve things ranging from order accuracy to financial management which are both essential things for Frito-Lay as they are a very large corporation with consumers around the world. The economy is an external factor that impacts the controlling function of management. The economy affects their profitability and competition as well. The economy’s condition could potentially impact their sales and profitability. â€Å"Globalization is an elimination of barriers to trade, communication, and cultural exchange. The Theory behind globalization is that the worldwide openness will promote the inherent wealth of all nations.† (Jones, 2014). Globalization impacts all four functions of management. Globalization opens the doors for more business opportunities around the world and increases management globally. It allows production to increase and allows employees to transfer to other positions within the company to other locations around the world. Globalization also increases competition due to the increase in an increase in customer base. Larger customer bases increase the profitability of businesses. Not having globalization previously would decrease the values of products due to their limit of customers. It increases a company’s ability to compete worldwide instead of limiting it to its country of origin which also increases profitability. The four functions of management that are impacted in the technological sense would be planning, leading and controlling Utilizing the function of management process within the Frito-Lay’s organization has made it one of the most popular and long standing companies in the snack food industry. How they plan, organize, lead and control is important to the continued success of the organization. Because of the large scale volumes they have to produce and distribute efficiently and continuously to all their customers they have to utilize the planning process in order to stay in the competitive market they are in. They also have to look for new and better ways to process their product. Frito-Lay is in a competitive industry and they always need to know what technology is available to them that when used it saves cost and increases productivity. When implementing new technology you have to ensure that those leading and controlling the  employees have knowledge of the new technology. Frito-Lay also has to ensure that those operating or involved with the new equipment are trained well and capable of continuing to do the job they were previously doing, but better. When they implemented new packing equipment in their Kern County facility, they ensured that everyone was trained. Because the equipment was to eliminate jobs the managers communicated with the employees and assured them they would avoid lay-offs. (Mohsen & Grijalva, 2001). With the management functions used and a good management team in place they were able to implement the new equipment and improve productivity by 30% on the line. (Mohsen & Grijalva, 2001). Innovation is defined by Merriam-Webster as, â€Å"The act or process of introducing new ideas, devices and methods.† (Innovative, 2014) With innovation comes change. Since innovation has an impact on the leading and controlling portion of the functions of management, management has to have an open line of communication in order to hear new ideas that their employees may have. The more involved Frito-Lay allows their employees to be, the more opportunity they have to receive and enact their innovative ideas. It is important that an organization utilizes the knowledge and experience of their resources by encouraging them to change methods that may work better than what has been done in the past. Frito-Lay is a diverse organization with their workforce as well as the products they offer their customers. Diversity also impacts the leading and controlling functions of management. Communication and networking are important aspects of a diverse organization also, because they allow people to interact with others that they may not normally interact with. Diversity has allowed Frito-Lay to be successful in the global pursuit of introducing their products as well. When transitioning into another country they utilize someone that is familiar with the market and culture to ensure a smoother transition into that particular market. As far as the diversity of their products they are currently conducting a contest to find new flavors for their chips in an effort to diversify their product even further. With all the misconduct that occurs in the business world, ethics is an important factor that can impact all the functions of management. In all aspects an organization has to avoid unethical behavior within the business they conduct, how the deal and address their employees and customers. Because of the products that are available through Frito-Lay management has to concern  themselves with the employees behaving in an ethical manner as well. To ensure that the employees know and understand the ethical implications that can occur, they are required to attend an ethics course and sign a certification that they have done so on a yearly basis. Frito-Lay has to take all precautions in avoiding unethical behavior throughout their organization. The top managers over at Frito Lay © over see many parts of their overall organization. They continuously have to adapt to different factors that may arise, excel in efficiency, excel in effectiveness, and monitor daily operations. It would be almost impossible for one person to do all of these functions, while planning strategies for existing goals and new ones. In order for a manager to accomplish all of these objectives they must delegate their work to their subordinates. Using delegation has many advantages that help the mana ger and their subordinates. For top managers, they are able to take on more of the strategic planning of the company than the operational managing. The sixteen executive managers of Frito Lay © that oversee different divisions of the company cannot possibly specialize in each part of the department (Frito Lay 2014) They must delegate the work out to middle managers and line managers in order to complete operational tasks and planning. These levels of management have a more intimate knowledge of their division or department (Bateman 2011). A manager in marketing may have a clearer understanding of globalization and how to reach an international market. Managers in human resources or compliance will have a more precise view of ethical dilemmas could arise. Although upper management might be delegating out their work, they still have a final say on what choice to make. This makes the final responsibility land on the upper management. Managers must be adaptive to all the different factors that come up in business. The world market is a continuously changing and growing environment. In order for a business to survive in this environment the managers that are employed must recognize the issues that could arise and know how to adapt to them. External issues could range from global economic changes to environmental changes that limit resources. Some internal issues that should be considered could involve the growth of the company. Recognizing the company has out grown its current structure will allow managers to implement a new structure that will fit the growing company  better. Management will always need to know how to adapt to these changes as well consider them in their overall planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Changing environments can shift how a manager views their own organization and how it is standing up against its competition. Sometimes, though, management needs to use their most crucial resource as efficiently as possible. This resource would be time, and a manager needs to use this resource as wisely as possible. In order to free up managers they have to delegate their work amongst their subordinates. Delegating their work frees them up to make all of the important planning that will guide the organization to their next achievement.

Richard and the Battle of Bosworth Essay

On 22nd August 1485, King Richard III lost the Battle of Bosworth to Henry Tudor. One of the main reasons for him losing was due to his unpopularity with the people and his nobles. Richard was disliked by many of his nobles because he gave power to nobles from the north, which he knew, annoying the nobility in the south of England. This meant that in the battle he had little support, and some of his nobles, such as the Stanley’s fought for Henry. Richard was also disliked by the people of England. He seized the crown in 1483, and rumours spread that he killed his two nephews. This made him disliked, and few people supported him. Another reason Richard lost the Battle of Bosworth was because of the Stanley’s changing sides. The Stanley’s controlled around 6000 of Richards troops, around half of his overall army. Although the Stanley’s began the battle on the side of Richard, they changed during the battle. This meant that Richard has far fewer troops than he may have anticipated, and had the Stanley’s not changed sides, it is possible that Richard would have won. Many of Richards other nobles were also unreliable, such as Northumberland. He did not help Richard when he needed it, refusing to bring in Richards reserves, and eventually surrendering, giving Henry an advantage over Richard, helping him to win. Another reason Richard lost was because of the support Henry had from the King of France. In 1485, the King of France wanted to distract Richard from invading France, so he gave Henry an army to invade England. When Henry landed in Wales with these extra men, many people joined him on his march through Wales to Bosworth, increasing the size of his army greatly. Another factor leading to the defeat of Richard at the Battle of Bosworth was Richards’s hesitance on the battlefield. Richard did not take advantage by attacking Oxford whilst he was deploying his troops. This allowed Oxford to launch an attack on Norfolk, who was soon killed. Although Surrey takes command, Richard lost men fast. Richard was so hesitance because he was so unsure of his support. A final factor which lead to the defeat of Richard at the Battle of Bosworth was the growing mistrust for Richard. Many Yorkists became so unhappy with the situation in England that they looked elsewhere for help. Many of them turned to Henry, and supported him in training and creating an army for him to fight with. This support from people once loyal to Richard led to him losing the battle because he did not have enough people fight for him, as many people in England were behind Henry.