Answers to More Questions About Usage

Answers to More Questions About Usage Answers to More Questions About Usage Answers to More Questions About Usage By Mark Nichol Confusion about words or phrases with similar connotations or constructions is common; here are several questions from DailyWritingTips.com readers about usage, and my responses. 1. What is the difference between remuneration and emolument? The words have essentially the same meaning – â€Å"compensation or payment† though remuneration also pertains to payment by a customer or client, and emolument also refers to perquisites, or perks (privileges or offers for employees such as one’s own parking space or free use of a fitness center.) 2. I wish to know when and where to use toward or towards, and what is the difference? The words are variations with identical meanings. Towards is British English, though many Americans use it, especially in conversation. Toward is preferable in formal US English. 3. In my country, bottled, aerated drinks like Coca-Cola and Pepsi are called â€Å"cold drinks† universally. But a sizable community calls them â€Å"cool drinks.† How do I convince and let them know the difference between cool and cold? Also, many people use the term action in place of acting when it comes to describing someone’s performance in a film or a play. â€Å"Cold drink† (and â€Å"cool drink†) may be universal in your country, but there are many terms for carbonated beverages, so I think any effort to try to control usage in this case is futile. As for action used as you describe, English usage evolves, and what may seem like an aberration now will often become standard vocabulary in the future. Even if action never becomes formally acceptable as a synonym for acting, its persistence as a variant is probably inevitable. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Regarding Re:Among vs. Amongst25 Idioms with Clean

A Critical Study of Sainsburys Managing information systems (MIS) The WritePass Journal

A Critical Study of Sainsburys Managing information systems (MIS) INTRODUCTION: A Critical Study of Sainsburys Managing information systems (MIS) INTRODUCTION:MANAGING INFORMATION SYSTEMS ACROSS VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS IN J.SAINSBURY’S SUPERMARKET:Information systems in checkouts:Decision making at three tiers of management in Sainsbury’s:Conclusion:ReferencesRelated INTRODUCTION: Managing information systems (MIS) is a process which provides information to an organization to manage effectively. managing information system(MIS) is a system that combines both the human and computer based resources which can be used to collection of raw data, retrieving   data, storing the data, processing the data and   converting it in to the information which is able to communicate with all levels of management using the information technology. MIS enables the user/organization to manage things effectively. it provides the   base to an organization to   make better decisions and to handle critical problems, controlling and coordinating   the organization successfully. Information system is not a option but it is a essential requirement by any organization. it is also the mediator between different levels of management. it plays very important role in organizational level. it also makes easier to communicate each other effectively. it is also updates the information across various levels and gives a chance to rethink of future plans. it gives the external information about other firms to stand in the competitive environment successfully. it is not only a useful tool but it must be included in any organization to run their business. MIS in any organization is supposed to provide information to their customers. MANAGING INFORMATION SYSTEMS ACROSS VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS IN J.SAINSBURY’S SUPERMARKET: Information systems is very crucial factor to any organization from top level management to employees, manufacturers, suppliers, retailers,   marketing analysts,   warehouses, supply chain management.. Etc. Based on the information system, an organization management could include planning, organizing, directing, controlling, evaluating and reporting etc.. An information system is the heart of any organization to assess the companies past review’s and performance and to plan the present and future organizational objectives. Information system uses the database to store large amounts of data, statically analyzing the data, and to produce it in to useful information that can be used by various levels of management. Information system is used by the managers of their own departments to identify the critical issues occurred in the past activities, discussing about the issue with the other team members of the department and planned to solve and overcome the problems. Managing information systems in Sainsbury’s stores:   Sainsbury’s supermarket is the uk’s largest major food retailing chain.   It has 525 supermarkets and 303 convenience stores, a Sainsbury’s bank. For the big corporate organization like Sainsbury’s, it is essential requirement to managing information systems in an efficient way. Information systems is used in Sainsbury’s at various levels of management and various departments. The information systems are used in a supermarket stores at various levels from stock handling controlling to maintain appropriate temperatures in fridges and freezers. In the supermarket stores uses the several computer systems which can be called LAN (LOCAL AREA NETWORK). These computer systems are aims to operate the stock control and checkout systems. These are one that incorporates the functionality of multiple devices. Every authorised person can access these data base systems.   In stores, hand held devices are introduced and allow the administration staff, shop floor colleagues and stock control staff to change the price of products and creating price labels, and for future deliveries. The hand held devices are also called shelf edge computers (SEC). Every individual product has unique code to identify the product details; the item has a unique barcode which can be scan by the hand held scanners.   Electronic point of sale (EPOS) is a machine located at every checkout. E POS contains a digital display to display , a keyboard, a scanner which can read bar codes, a set of scales, a printer, a debit card reader and a till drawer. All of these components are attached to a till. Each and every item should have a unique code number that is independent of all other product. Even the same product of different sizes needs a unique code to identify the product. The unique bar code numbers are printed on the outside of the product packaging or attached label to that product which is shown in the figure (a) below. Figure (d): hand held system Barcodes are combined with a set of thick black lines and white lines. Ex: Figure(c). Figure (e) : EPOS Information systems in checkouts: The EPOS reads the product barcodes at the checkouts till machine, and identifies the product and it finds the cost of the product, after scanning the product the machine gives an option to the customer whether they have any nectar card, staff discount card, any voucher card. After all it charges the customer appropriately. Each card mentioned above also has barcode on it, and the machine identifies it uniquely. All till machines are connected together with a branch server system via cables. Each and every product information stored in the branch system, it gives the information to tills when it needed. When scanning an item by the scanner the machine sends the product details to the database. So that the server system can identify that how many remaining items of the same product are available in shelves, it gets the information about that particular product such as how many number of items are sold out, how many are left in the shelves, how many product details are totally sold out . After getting the information about all products it stores the information about that product in the database. It helps to identify the number of product are totally sold out, and in out of stock. So the store can order the delivery of that product. Also the system checks that the product has any special offer and it gives discount where it is needed. Each and every product and service related details are stored in the database and it communicates with all the other systems including tills, it exchanges the information at all the times. When scanning the item it tells the customer that it has been read correctly by giving beep sound. If it not gives any sound one can assume that it has not been read correctly. And there is also an option on the screen that without scanning a product, by entering the code number by using the keyboard can identify the product. For example any reduced items that mean the item has short life and store reduced the cost of an item. After billing the cus tomer receives a paper bill which is made by the printer. The printer is attached with every till and it shares the information and prints on a piece of paper. the customers are allowed to pay by cash or debit card. When the customers use the card, he/she is supposed to put the card on the reader, it also use the information system, whether the card is authorised and it is from authorised bank. The card reader shares the information with all associated banks, and assesses the card information and the debit the amount correctly. The processes of using debit cards are called electronic transfer funds. Stock control: the information systems play an important role in stock control in the super market stores. In the process of billing customers it is known to the server that the number of remaining products is available in the store. in fact, there are also some damaged products or expired products are remained on the shelves. Stock fillers dispose the expired one and use the reduced price labels with new barcodes on it , if the product has short life. Stock control department uses the information system, and it orders the products where it is needed, and stores the information about the number of products are delivered to the store when they get the delivery. The price labels are usually placed   on the shelves borders, and the stock controllers scans the price labels where it is empty. Stock control is useful asset in finding the stores profit assessment. The assessment is based on the number of products are delivered to the store and number of products are sold out, the number o f the products are damaged, the number of products expired. This is the important information stored in the database by the stock control team. The each computer in the store is linked with branch server system, which is connected with a head branch of a supermarket computer sever. All the database of an individual store is stored in the head office server system. It maintains the chain of computer systems effectively via extranet sources. Extranet is like a internet but, completely private database network and is connected to internet via satellite. It is because of the process of exchanging information and managing information system of all the stores of the Sainsbury’s stores. Sainsbury’s head office is located in the heart of city of London. It has the database over nearly eight hundred store branches. Figure (f): branch computer link to headquarters visa satellite. Inter communication between the branch stores to head branch of the store: Every day the individual store sends the information about sales of the stores to main branch, the head branch estimates the number of items needs to be delivered to the store. The head branch also gets an overview of the sales of the individual store, and estimates the performance levels and suggests the improvements to the branch stores. Figure (g) network model Every individual store sends the daily report to the head quarters. Based on the store information head branch database system stores the updated information such as stocks, performance levels, etc.. Using the updated information the head quarters estimates need of improvement levels and stock deliveries to the stores. The information about stock deliveries are communicates with distribution of warehouses via information systems. The warehouse department which has large chunks of ready to deliver material delivers the stock immediately to the required stores. The whole Sainsbury’s maintain the same price levels and it updates any change of product prices are communicated to the branch stores. The product price changes are affects the branch stores immediately and followed work by the overnight workers. Human resource management information systems: information systems plays very important role in human resource department in any organisation. Maintaining the thousands of employees in a big organisation like Sainsbury’s is not a simple thing. The HR department uses the information system effectively to employ the staff to their needs and providing them training. Sainsbury’s HR department in all stores sends the information about new employees that the store employed, the employee details, employee position, contracted hours, employee salaries. Sainsbury’s HR department uses their website to employ the new staff that they required. The each and every individual store of Sainsbury’s sends the information about the need of staff resources in their store, the hours of work required, which department require the new staff. The head office then receives the information about all stores vacancies and posts on line at their website. It updates the information day to day as required. The hr department of head office sends the information to IT department in the head office about vacancy details and need to be posted on line. The IT department then receives the data and posted on their websites. It works effectively by the IT department. The IT department designed the website in an easy understandable form. When the candidate’s checks that there are any vacancies arise, and found their suitable position, they can apply immediately online. The website asks the candidates to register in the recruitment website. The registration in the recruitment website is very easy by following instructions. After registering in the site, they can progress their application. The website stores the candidates registration details and gives them unique id which is useful for the forth communication, the candidates information submitted on the site is very confidential and not known the third person, because of the successful maintenance of the informatio n and database systems. The Sainsbury’s website allows the number of candidates applying for a given position is set to a limit. So as to reduce the huge applications for the position that they might cause problem to selection department. All these limitations are set by the department by the use of the information systems. The website asks the candidates to attempt an online exam, which is used to tests candidate’s abilities as a preliminary test. The number of all limited allowed number of candidates attempts the exam and finish their application. The stored database system can get the result of the candidates test details automatically and sends to the HR department. HR department then assesses the candidate’s ability based on their test further forwards application to progress. All successful candidates information is stored once in the database available to head office hr department. The HR department assigns each successful candidate with a unique id to identify the colleague. Information systems in Accounts department: The HR department maintains the daily report of employees attendance, and their working hours each day and sends the information to accounts department for payrolls. The HR information systems maintains a report of each employees, that the contracted hours of the employees, holiday pay booked by the employees, the salary of the employees, and premium pay of work, bonus of the employees and their eligibility. Every week of the employees details in all individual stores accounts department sends the information to the head office HR department. The head office assesses the information and pays the employees every four weeks based on the information. Online shopping: Sainsbury’s is also become popular with their internet shopping facility.   Sainsbury’s online shopping is responsibility of each store online department. The online department in the Sainsbury’s is called STY(Sainsbury’s to you). Sainsbury’s supermarket online shopping efficiently works with the support of Sainsbury’s IT department. The information systems use of this department is more compare to other departments of this organisation. Sainsbury’s online shopping is easy way for customers to shop their needs by clicking on the computer instead of walking to store and taking the risk of delivery of the goods to their home. It provides the customers a way of easy shopping online, the company’s website provides the online shopping tool. All and every product that available in the individual store are available in the internet online shopping. The customers are expected to type in their postcode on the site, to find out which store is available nearly to their home. After typing in their postcode, clicking the access button the website tells the customer that the store is available to their home. The database of all postcodes and addresses are stored and processed by the information systems. Based on the customer information, the information system decides that which store is to be take care of the customer needs. When customer shops online and pays by card, the information first stored on the database of head office, then the assigned store. In the store, STY department automatically gets print out of the shopping list. The shopping lists are then stored in to the store database, and assigns the work to online shopping workers. The online shoppers in the STY department picks up all the items by the help of handset systems. The handheld systems are designed shortly for the use of wireless information exchange system. The manager of the STY department assigns the work into handheld systems, then the shoppers get order details one by one. The information about product details and in which aisle it is located is displayed on the handsets. So the shoppers are expected to scan the items and followed to delivery room. The information systems is more important in the department because of it is totally depended on the Information Technology. Decision making at three tiers of management in Sainsbury’s: There generally three tiers of management in any organisation. (1) top level management, (2) middle level management, (3) low level management. We can understand the management work at different levels by considering one example: When an organization is supposed to launch   a new product, various people’s involvement should be included in the project. For an example, Sainsbury’s supermarket wants to introduce a â€Å"ready to eat sandwich† into their stores. This is not a simple thing and cannot be introduced directly into their stores, but various issues should be considered about this product. The sandwich may be a two pieces of bread slices with a cheese and some ingredients on it, it should have different approach than where people can make it on their homes. This should be treated as a advantageous to consumers. Sainsbury’s is a chain of five hundred thirty five supermarkets and a kind of convenience stores included in it. When this big food retailer wants to add this new product to their stores, a detailed research should have made and should communicate with the different parties using the information systems. From it’s product design to sales, a unique code must be assigned to each sandwich to specify the details and allocate value to the product. It is clear that the product designer should specify the required ingredients for the product , and should include right percentage of nutrition values, diets, less fat ..etc. the sandwich design, manufacturer, suppliers through stores requires a shared information system to have a good communication between them. The Sainsbury’s management will create a brief description about the product which the information   shared by the manufacturer. Using of information systems in product life cycle management: product life cycle management is a process of managing a product from its conception   through its design, manufacturing, delivering out. Plc gives product details and specifications to companies. Product design: uses the information systems to assess the features of the product and the requirements for manufacturing of that product, needs of the customers. And it also usable by the product control unit to test the quality control and it again stores the details of the product in to database for further use. The stored data can be accessed by the manufacturing unit and companies to assess whether the design is desirable for company requirements. It gives an overview of the product details i.e the cost of the production, the range of products which can be manufactured and this information available to the all authorised required data bases of the company. Manufacturing of the product:   In recent years, the increasing of information technology in manufacturing increasing rapidly. Information is used to be at every level of an organization. In the competitive environment, there is need to understand the using of information systems and application of information technology in whole the process. In a process, from the raw material to the finished goods and shipping of the goods , information systems must be used to communicate at all levels. The information is important for money flow i.e payments can be paid out when delivery received to the recipient, information is usable by the manufacturer to buy and pay for the material, paying labour charges..etc. invoice can be issued by the manufacturer for right payments when he receives correct payments for the goods. A majority of manufacturing companies are using multiple computer network systems at their process. It is a challenge for the organizations to integrate the data bases in to their computer systems. Integrating the computer systems and data bases used to be the main priority for these organizations. By integrating these systems, the companies can know the required material, planning , directing and get the   knowledge of market position of their system. Sainsbury’s consists of nearly eight hundred supermarkets and a finance. The head office department is located in the Holborn, the heart of London. It operates the whole Sainsbury’s by the help of middle level management. We can clearly observe the role of decision making of three tiers of management by the above example. Conclusion: I conclude that the Managing information systems is important at organisational level, to stand in the corporate competitive environment. It is not an option but essential to run big organisation like Sainsbury’s. However there is no disadvantage of using information systems except system failure, but there is a need to maintain the information system by the effective efficient team of management. It is clear that the managing information systems give good decision making deal to the managers in any organisation. References 1) Management Information Systems 9e T. Lucey, bized.co.uk. 2)Bocij, P. Chaffey, D., (2005) Business Information Systems: Technology, Development and Management in the E-business, Prentice Hall. 3) Chen, S., (2004) Strategic Management of E-business, J Wiley Sons. 4) Laudon Laudon, (2007) Management Information Systems, 10th Edition, Prentice Hall. 5) Clarke Steve (2007); ‘Information Systems Strategic Management: an integrated approach’. ISBN 978-0-415-38187-1; Routledge Printing, Canada 6) Fattahi. R and Ebrahim Afshar (2006), ‘Added value of information and information systems: a conceptual approach’; Library Review Vol. 55 No. 2 7) www.sainsbury’s.co.uk 8) information age journal

Project Management #1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Project Management #1 - Essay Example The origin of Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) or modern version of it known as project life cycle can be traced back to the 1960's when project designers and developers initiated a series of steps in projects in order to track down the progress of a project. As early as in 1976 Archibald first wrote a comprehensive text book on project life cycle management (Archibald, 1976). He came closest to the modern sequence of phases given in SDLC. After Archibald a number of other scholars developed the concept of SDLC so that any project including engineering and IT can be represented. In 1981 Stuckenbruck developed a very formal sequence of phases to represent the project life cycle (Stuckenbruck, 1981). According to Stuckenbruck PLC is essential to adequately represent the various phases of a project from initiation to finish. Stuckenbruck was the first author to discuss budgeting and resource mapping for PLC. According to him there are just four phases in the life cycle of a project. They are Initiation, Growth, Production and Shutdown (Tinnirello, 1999). The figure he drew just represented a unimodal histogram. Writers tend to distinguish between government projects and private projects. However this paper would adopt a general approach avoiding specificities associated with government projects.The subsequent developments in the PLC literature were focused on modifying the above theoretical and conceptual models. In the process many new features were included though these changes did not substantially alter the original frameworks. Since 1980's a series of new developments took place and these developments went on till the traditional SDLC models were replaced with new ones (Westland, 2007). These new models are not only complex but also highly technical because many IT projects are designed and planned according to these models. Thus this paper would focus attention on three historical phases of SDLC development. Phase 1 Figure 1: Archibald's Project Life Span Start The Total Project Project Termination The above figure illustrates Archibald's visual representation of the sequence of phases in a project. According to Archibald the initiation phase of the project begins with its start and both the concept and definition continue with this phase. Assuming that the process of conceptualization of the project begins with designing the diverse parameters of the project, then it is possible that the subsequent definition will involve in outline of project outcomes.Next comes the design phase. Yet again Archibald did not elaborate how best to make use of diverse skills and tools to carry out the design phase of the project successfully. However he laid the foundation for a structural feasibility design framework that encompassed a range of issues such as the social dimension of the project and the corporate governance parameters (PMI, 2004).The phase of manufacture according to Archibald is identical to execution of a project. For instance there is a possibility that project

Human Resource Economics Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Human Resource Economics - Term Paper Example The competition is of two kind; internal and external.   In the internal competition employees compete against each others to get promoted or rewarded. This factor was studied and explained by Lazear and Rosen (1981) in their Tournament Theory. As in any tournament here, an employee wins the reward or gets promoted because his performance is better than others in their current level. Tournament theory is one of the approaches to the payments made toe, executives. There are several factors of which impacts the payments to the employees.   These are the supply of the skilled or required workforce in the market, the demand of the workforce, average industry pay package, industrial growth, monetary policies, business cycle, organization growth, and many other micros and macroeconomic factors. In any given scenario, two executives struggle and work for better compensation and rewards for their works. This difference in distribution, according to Feinberg, is based on the five factors of equality, need, merit and achievement, contribution or â€Å"due return†, and effort.   As in a tournament marginal difference, of efforts changes the rewards one gets in the business environment people at same rank often face a similar situation. Even if a company pays same to the employees to justify the raise or promotion one has to work hard for that. In the tournament model performance and payment are directly promotional to each other. It explains the motivation and productivity of workers along with the payment or growth perspective. As in the case of any sport or race where the marginal difference in the performance of an athlete can turn the silver to gold or bronze to no medal at all. The same thing is applicable in the case of people working in any organisation. The promotions or raise in the salaries are linked with the performance. In a broad framework tournament model it does not include certain important points like performance of new employee, performance of people at the optimum level of the organisation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  

Nixon-Kissinger Years Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8750 words

Nixon-Kissinger Years - Essay Example (Nixon- Mao talks) "Henry Kissinger had been the primary architect of the "opening" to communistChina, while working secretly behind the scenes to oust the Republic of China(Taiwan) from the United Nations, which free China had helped to found. He emergedas spokesman for appeasement of and "rapprochement" with the Soviet Union, andpromoted policies which guaranteed the Soviet Union a strategic superiority over the U. S".(Allen)Cold war and domestic political considerations very likely made Nixon and Kissinger less eager todisclose the specifics of the pledges on Taiwan or the candid discussions of Soviet policy. ThatNixon and Kissinger routinely offered the Chinese intelligence briefings has already beendisclosed in declassified documents published by the National Security Archive. Kissinger pioneered the policy of dtente with the Soviet Union, seeking a relaxation intensions between the two superpowers. As a part of this strategy he negotiated the Strategic ArmsLimitation Talks (culminating in the SALT I treaty) and the anti-ballistic missile treaty withLeonard Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party. "The United States is failing as a leader of the free world. It is being outgunned, outflanked, andoutmaneuvered by the world communist movement. A nation which had an unquestioned eight- hundred percent strategic military superiority over the Soviet Union in 1960 was settling,sixteen years later, for second...That Nixon and Kissinger routinely offered the Chinese intelligence briefings has already been disclosed in declassified documents published by the National Security Archive. Kissinger pioneered the policy of dà ©tente with the Soviet Union, seeking a relaxation in tensions between the two superpowers. As a part of this strategy he negotiated the Strategic Arms. Limitation Talks (culminating in the SALT I treaty) and the anti-ballistic missile treaty with Leonard Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party. â€Å"The United States is failing as a leader of the free world. It is being outgunned, outflanked, and outmaneuvered by the world communist movement. A nation which had an unquestioned eight- hundred percent strategic military superiority over the Soviet Union in 1960 was settling, sixteen years later, for second place status†. (Allen) Kissinger also sought to place diplomatic pressure on the Soviet union; to accomplish this he made two secret trips to the People’s Republic of China in July and October 1971 to confer with Premier Zhou Enlai, then in charge of Chinese foreign policy. This set the stage for the ground breaking 1972 summit between Nixon and Zhou and communist party chairman Mao Zedong as well as the modernization of relations between the two countries, ending 23 years of diplomatic isolation and mutual hostility and resulting in the formation of a strategic anti-Soviet Sino-American alliance.

Politics Essays Charismatic Politics Leader

Politics Essays Charismatic Politics Leader Charismatic Politics Leader Charismatic Leadership and its Effect on Politics in History The role of charismatic leadership in modern political history can be considered a controversial topic. The subject has most recently come about in regards to Democratic Senator Barack Obama, and his campaign for the American Presidency, but can also been seen in smaller contexts globally. In some respects, charisma seems difficult to define or explain. In theory, it would seem that if one should implement the appropriate policy and make difficult decisions at the right time, they should succeed in politics. It appears that this is not always the case, and that charisma does play a vital role in politics. Robert A. Caro said in his biography of Lyndon Johnson, â€Å"You only have to look at the crucial moments in the history of our time to see how crucial it was to have a leader who could inspire, who could rally a nation to a standard, who could infuse a country with confidence†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . (Caro) It seems that charisma is an important aspect of being a political leader, yet defining and explaining exactly what makes the person so appealing, inspiring and trustworthy is not easily delineated. Early sociologist Max Weber defined charisma as one of the three â€Å"ideal types† of authority, and rested upon a kind of magical power and hero worship. This definition was considered unsuitable for modern times, and its use became metaphorical – ultimately becoming a synonym for heroic or popular (Zernike). This leads us to the questions examined in this paper; to what extent is charisma necessary in politics and what are the positive and negative effects of a leader holding charisma as a political figurehead? It is the belief of some that there is a high risk of charismatic leaders to be all talk and no real answers of substance. The charismatic leader seems to thrive in times of crisis or national hardship. Arthur M. Schlesinger referred to a â€Å"new mood in politics† in the 1960’s, in which there was dissatisfaction with official priorities and concerns with the character and objectives of the nation. It appears that this is the very same climate that supporters of Barack Obama feel now. It is here that the proposed negative effects of a charismatic leader come into play. Some feel that Obama’s messages of hope and change are only talk, and lack serious substance and real answers on policy changes that would be required to make said transformations. â€Å"He speaks loudly and clearly and crowds flock to him like bees to honey. Many blindly follow a man who will lead them to dangerous waters. They fall for his words and not the policies he is going to use to run the nation† (Woerner). Since charismatic leadership typically results in strong, unchallenged levels of obedience, there is also the risk of weak minded individual followers that do not employ their individual thought processes and are blindly agreeable (12-Manage). This can manifest into a more serious problem and can result in â€Å"group think†, especially in politics, where there is the need for constant re-evaluation and challenging of ideas. In politics, it is imperative to examine all angles constantly, as major decisions made for a country can be life or death and have an impact on the citizen’s lives directly. On a smaller scale, the recent provincial election in Alberta exhibited some key issues pertaining to charismatic leadership. Alberta has been a strong Progressive Conservative province, in which the party has held power uninterrupted since 1971. The most recent reign of leadership has been under Ralph Klein, who was Premier of Alberta from 1992 through 2006. The retirement of this long standing leader has brought about some issues pertaining to charisma and their place in politics. Ralph Klein was an outspoken leader, who eventually developed an overwhelming rapport with Albertans, his approval rating being 77% at the end of his run as Premier (Markusoff). The eventual devotion and loyalty of Albertans to Klein brings forth the issue of emotions and feelings of the voters towards the candidate superseding the importance of being informed about current issues and platforms being addressed by the candidate. Thomas Lukaszuk, Conservative MLA commented on this issue You know, strong feelings in politics are dangerous, You want rational voters to vote on policies and on merit, not whether they hate or love an individual in a party or a leader (Markusoff). This leads us to the question of whether the majority of voters are actually informed on current issues, or if they tend to cast their ballot based on their personal feelings of the candidate. The Progressive Conservative party, currently headed by Ed Stelmach, won by an impressively substantial amount in the recent election that occurred in Alberta on March 3, 2008. Many felt that the new candidate held little charisma or ground-breaking ideas compared to his predecessor, Klein. Dave Khalon said of Stelmach Everythings just formatted. I see him on TV, and he just reads off the script. But nobody else seems to stick out, either. Khalon admitted that he planned to vote Conservative in the election because of family tradition and his fondness of the party’s prior leader, Klein (Markusoff). This leads us to consider that it is a very real possibility that Ed Stelmach’s win had little to do with his abilities and ideas as a candidate, but the charisma of the prior leader and the lack of other inspirational candidates as alternatives. A major problem in current politics is voter apathy, which could be partly attributed to a lack of inspirational candidates. This said, too much emphasis on the charisma of candidates can be viewed as a downfall in politics, leading to uninformed voters. Some voters seem to be placing a great deal of weight on the personality of the candidate rather than the campaign platforms and plans, which, in theory, should be the backbone of the campaign. The largest risk is posed by what is sometimes referred to â€Å"the black hat of charisma†. What this essentially encompasses is the use of charismatic power for self-serving purposes. The more charisma a potentially dangerous leader possesses, the greater the risk to society. This is emphasized because the base for charisma is emotional rather than logical or rational (Daft). Jerry Wofford says of this risk â€Å"If a person’s values are destructive, insane, then the more charismatic the leader, the worse off you are† (Tenenbaum). Unfortunately, these types of leaders have existed throughout the history of politics and continue to exist in present day. Adolf Hitler’s reign as fuhrer of the German Reich is a prime example of what can happen when power is in the wrong hands, and the accelerated negative effects that can occur if that person exhibits any sort of charisma that has the potential to be used for the wrong purpose. As mentioned, charismatic leaders seem to come about in times of crisis, as was the case with Hitler. Germany’s economy was in a precarious position after World War I and Hitler â€Å"wooed† the German people with his charisma, promising to fix the problems and make everything better. Meanwhile, he had his own agenda, which was elimination of all people he didn’t think met the criteria of â€Å"ideal† (Shay). This turn of events ended up being one of the greatest tragedies in modern history. More recently, charismatic leadership was exhibited in Osama bin Laden and his terrorist group al-Qaeda. In this case, the group was considered more of a cult, where brainwashing tactics were used. Charismatic power was used at the forefront, during recruitment of members to the group. The recruits were usually young idealists, recruited under the facade of â€Å"liberation† and â€Å"Islamic beliefs†, initially unaware of the real commitments of the group. The underlying concept that is common of those falling under the category of cults, or alternately â€Å"the black hat of charisma† is when a charismatic leader increasingly becomes an object of worship as the general principles that may have originally sustained the group lose their power (Ross). This leaves the dangerous charismatic leader to their own agenda. The values that the people originally stood for become irrelevant and the situation becomes personality driven. Ultimately, it is a risk that will always be prevalent pertaining to charismatic individuals. This risk is driven even higher with an uninformed, easily influenced society of voters. The only possibility of mitigating this risk is for each individual to stay as informed as possible and look for the warning signs of a leader that possesses ulterior motives. Charisma can be seen as an ingredient in a recipe for disaster, based on the charismatic leaders that have been prevalent in recent history. The other side of this story starts with uninformed, uninspired citizens. It is the view of some that these individuals need a charismatic leader to light a fire under them and get them believing that the political process is not just a big waste of time. This is especially prevalent in America’s youth, in which approximately a quarter of the eligible population actually makes it out to vote (Dashek). Even if a candidate has a strong position and ideas, they may be viewed as the typical uninspiring politician if they do not have the charisma to bring their campaign and ideas to life and get the general public excited about the proposed changes. Barack Obama and rival democratic candidate Hillary Clinton have the similar stands on a large portion of their policies. Gabe Pressman says â€Å"She claims experience. He promises change. As the race for the Democratic nomination for president intensifies, the differences in policy between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama seem less than the images they project and their shortcut slogans.† (Pressman) It seems then that it comes down to charisma as a deciding factor in what will set them apart, and the ability to reach and inspire those that most need inspiration. It is the belief of some that Barack Obama will be able to provide a balance of substance and inspiration to the American people. Tom Butcher, a sophomore at the University of St. Louis says â€Å"In contemporary politics, it is not enough to have merely style or substance alone. Mere substance will have no one caring about your policy (think Al Gore). Style alone leaves the vacuous impression of an incandescent bubble. Obama is in the unique position of offering the combination† (Butcher). From the views examined above, the conclusion can be reached that charisma is a necessary element in politics, but can be extremely dangerous in the hands of the wrong leader. It has been noted that the general public needs to be aware of the substance behind the charisma in order to cast an informed ballot. It is also crucial that voters separate their personal feelings of the candidate from the facts behind the policies in order to make an informed decision. Skepticism is actually an important quality for voters to bring into play to ensure the initial issues are being focused on, and that the leader is not shifting the focus to ulterior motives. Finally, it was noted that although charisma brings about many risks, it is necessary in a political figurehead in order to inspire the people. Encouraging the people to get involved and believe in something is the only way to avoid voter apathy in a political environment where democracy is undeniably underutilized. Works Cited 12-Manage. Charismatic Leadership (Weber). 3 March 2008 . Butcher, Tom. Charisma in Politics: Not an Empty Promise. Student Life 27 February 2008: 1. Caro, Robert A. The Path to Power. New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1982. Daft, Richard L. The Leadership Experience. Mason, OH: Thomson South-Western, 2005. Dashek, Ryan. Apathy is Unacceptable for American youth vote. The Daily Cardinal 18 February 2008: 1. Markusoff, Jason. Charisma Gap mires parties. Edmonton Journal 20 February 2008: 2. Pressman, Gabe. Gabes View: Will Charisma Carry the Day? WNBC 18 February 2008: 1. Ross, Rick. Cult Education and Recovery. November 2001. 9 March 2008 . Shay, Virginia. The Virtual Voice. 6 March 2008 . Tenenbaum, David. The Character of Charisma. 15 July 2004. 20 February 2008 . Woerner, Tom. Helium.com. 3 March 2008 . Zernike, Kate. The Charisma Mandate. The New York Times 17 February 2008: 2.

Colosseum and the Speckles Organ Pavilion :: Compare Architecture Architectural Essays

Colosseum and the Speckles Organ Pavilion The city of San Diego has always been a popular site for tourists. Balboa Park is one of the main tourist sites that is home to an enormous collection of art, history and science museums, galleries, and the old globe theatres and the world famous San Diego zoo. Many of these buildings and musuems are based on Aztec and Spanish architecture. Unlike other buildings in Balboa Park, the Speckles Organ Pavilion has a unique blend of ancient Roman and western architecture. The Pavilion was designed by architecture Harrison Albright in 1914, a native San Diego. The Pavilion has remarkable resemblance to the Colosseum in Rome, Italy. Although the Organ Pavilion and the Colosseum are not exact duplicates, they are alike in basic structure format and share a purpose for similar contributions to the city. The Colosseum was an enormous entertainment center. Roman audiences watched a variety of athletic events and spectacles, including animal hunts, fights to the death between gladiators or between gladiators and wild animals, performances of trained animals and acrobats, and even mock sea battle. The colosseum is designed in an oval shape, like many stadiums today, and seats up to 50,000 spectators. The concrete core, with its vaulted corridors and stair ways is devised to ensure the smooth flow of traffic to and from the arena. The semi-circle outer walls of the Colosseum consist of three levels, the three Classical orders are superimposed according to their "weight": Doric, the oldest, on the first level, it's followed by the Ionic, then the third level the Corinthian capitals. These are the basic structures of the Colosseum in Rome. The Organ Pavilion is not a exact duplicate nor does it look anything like the Colosseum. There are some similarities between the the two architecture. For instance, the stage is elevated beneath a detailed arch, the arms "a Corithian peristyle effect" that curve out on the south side to encircle the outdoor audience. Along the arms are two row of 12 Corithian columns on each side. There are no vaults that are formed, the roof top is flat. This creates a walk way leading to the stage. The amphitheater can seat up to 2400 people. The seats are metal seats laid across a flat plane. This was hard for people in the back to see from the back because the seats were not elevated from the back.