Free Essays on God Exist

One of the most predominate issues that is considered in the human mind today is of the question, "Does God exist?" Logically speaking there are rules, or more often called, laws that govern the way we act and think, one of such laws is looked at as the law of excluded middle. In this rule we basically identify that in some issues there is no middle ground, an object cannot both possess and not possess a certain trait or characteristic at the same time in the same fashion, either something is or it is not. The statement "God exist," is a precisely stated position. Thus, we recognize that it is either true or false. The fact is that one can not logically affirm that God does and does not exist at the same time, atheist believe that Gad does not exist, theist believe He does, and agnostic, exerts the idea that not enough information is available to make the decision. So who is right? Does God exist or does, he not? The only way to satisfy the question is to seek out and study the evidence, proving finally that God does indeed exist. Most predominate among the arguments of an atheist is the creation of the universe and that is self-created, however, the idea is simple improvable and discreditable by scientific reason. The fact stands that God is the Creator, and through Him all things are possible, being as it may God clearly created the universe and likewise everything in it. From this we gather that the universe either had a beginning, or it did not. However, all available evidenced indicates that the universe had a beginning. Since the universe had a beginning it had to have a cause, the universe is an effect, and by definition there is no effect without a cause. Nothing causeless happens. So Nicholas 2 then the question is asked who or what created the universe, (a) an existence before it, i.e., some eternal, uncaused First Cause, (b) is superior to it since the created cannot be superior to the creator; and (c) i... Free Essays on God Exist Free Essays on God Exist One of the most predominate issues that is considered in the human mind today is of the question, "Does God exist?" Logically speaking there are rules, or more often called, laws that govern the way we act and think, one of such laws is looked at as the law of excluded middle. In this rule we basically identify that in some issues there is no middle ground, an object cannot both possess and not possess a certain trait or characteristic at the same time in the same fashion, either something is or it is not. The statement "God exist," is a precisely stated position. Thus, we recognize that it is either true or false. The fact is that one can not logically affirm that God does and does not exist at the same time, atheist believe that Gad does not exist, theist believe He does, and agnostic, exerts the idea that not enough information is available to make the decision. So who is right? Does God exist or does, he not? The only way to satisfy the question is to seek out and study the evidence, proving finally that God does indeed exist. Most predominate among the arguments of an atheist is the creation of the universe and that is self-created, however, the idea is simple improvable and discreditable by scientific reason. The fact stands that God is the Creator, and through Him all things are possible, being as it may God clearly created the universe and likewise everything in it. From this we gather that the universe either had a beginning, or it did not. However, all available evidenced indicates that the universe had a beginning. Since the universe had a beginning it had to have a cause, the universe is an effect, and by definition there is no effect without a cause. Nothing causeless happens. So Nicholas 2 then the question is asked who or what created the universe, (a) an existence before it, i.e., some eternal, uncaused First Cause, (b) is superior to it since the created cannot be superior to the creator; and (c) i...

A Brief History of Venice, Italy

A Brief History of Venice, Italy Venice is a city in Italy, best known today for the many waterways which criss-cross through it. It has developed a romantic reputation built upon by countless movies, and thanks to one startling horror film has also evolved a darker atmosphere. The city has a history dating from the sixth century, and once wasnt just a city in a larger state: Venice was once one of the greatest trading powers in European history. Venice was the European end of the Silk Road trade route which moved goods all the way from China, and consequently was a cosmopolitan city, a true melting pot. The Origins of Venice Venice developed a creation myth that it was founded by people fleeing Troy, but it was probably formed in the sixth century C.E., when Italian refugees fleeing Lombard invaders camped on the islands in the Venice lagoon. There is evidence for a settlement in 600 C.E., and this grew, having its own bishopric by the end of the 7th century. The settlement soon had an outside ruler, an official appointed by the Byzantine Empire, which clung onto a part of Italy from a base in Ravenna. In 751, when the Lombards conquered Ravenna, the Byzantine dux became a Venetian Doge, appointed by the merchant families who had emerged in the town. Growth Into a Trading Power Over the next few centuries, Venice developed as a trading center, happy to do business with both the Islamic world as well as the Byzantine Empire, with whom they remained close. Indeed, in 992, Venice earned special trading rights with the empire in return for accepting Byzantine sovereignty again. The city grew richer, and independence was gained in 1082. However, they retained trading advantages with Byzantium by offering the use of their, now considerable, navy. The government also developed, the once dictatorial Doge supplemented by officials, then councils, and in 1144, Venice was first called a commune. Venice as Trading Empire The twelfth century saw Venice and the remainder of the Byzantine Empire engage in a series of trade wars, before the events of the early thirteenth century gave Venice the chance to establish a physical trading empire: Venice had agreed to transport a crusade to the Holy Land, but this became stuck when the Crusaders couldn’t pay. Then the heir of a deposed Byzantine emperor promised to pay Venice and convert to Latin Christianity if they put him on the throne. Venice supported this, but when he was returned and unable to pay/unwilling to convert, relationships soured and the new emperor was assassinated. The Crusaders then sieged, captured, and sacked Constantinople. Many treasures were removed by Venice, who claimed a part of the city, Crete, and large areas including parts of Greece, all of which became Venetian trading outposts in a large empire. Venice then warred with Genoa, a powerful Italian trading rival, and the struggle reached a turning point with the Battle of Chioggia in 1380, restricting Genoan trade. Others attacked Venice too, and the empire had to be defended. Meanwhile, the Doges’ power was being eroded by the nobility. After heavy discussion, in the fifteenth century, Venetian expansion targeted the Italian mainland with the capture of Vicenza, Verona, Padua, and Udine. This era, 1420–50, was arguably the high point of Venetian wealth and power. The population even sprang back after the Black Death, which often traveled along trade routes. The Decline of Venice Venice’s decline began in 1453, when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks, whose expansion would threaten, and successfully seize, many of Venice’s eastern lands. In addition, Portuguese sailors had rounded Africa, opening another trading route to the east. Expansion in Italy also backfired when the pope organized the League of Cambrai to challenge Venice, defeating the city. Although the territory was regained, the loss of reputation was immense. Victories such as the Battle of Lepanto over the Turks in 1571 did not halt the decline. For a while, Venice successfully shifted focus, manufacturing more and promoting herself as the ideal, harmonious republic- a true blend of nations. When the pope placed Venice under a papal interdict in 1606 for, amongst other things, trying priests in a secular court, Venice won a victory for secular power by forcing him to back down. But across the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Venice declined, as other powers secured Atlantic and African trade routes, maritime powers like Britain and the Dutch. Venice’s seaborne empire was lost. End of the Republic The Venetian Republic came to an end in 1797, when Napoleon’s French army forced the city to agree to a new, pro-French, ‘democratic’ government; the city was looted of great artworks. Venice was briefly Austrian after a peace treaty with Napoleon, but became French again after the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, and formed part of the short-lived Kingdom of Italy. The fall of Napoleon from power  saw Venice placed back under Austrian rule. Further decline set in, although 1846 saw Venice linked to the mainland for the first time, by a railway, and the number of tourists began to exceed the local population. There was brief independence in 1848–9 when revolution ousted Austria, but the latter empire crushed the rebels. British visitors began to speak of a city in decay. In the 1860s, Venice became part of the new Kingdom of Italy, where it remains to this day in the new Italian state, and arguments over to how best treat Venice’s architecture and buildings have produced conservation efforts that retain a great sense of atmosphere. Yet the population has fallen in halfsince the 1950s and flooding remains a problem.

Law in Practice UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Law in Practice UK - Essay Example Mr. David Balls, aged 41, has mentioned that he is married to Edwina Balls, 32 years of age. This couple has been married for a total of 8 years. On Valentine’s Day of 2011 (February 14th, to be exact), Edwina did not return home. A man named Harry Williams phoned Mr. Balls and informed him that he and Edwina had been having an affair for the past three months, and, in fact, she was asleep in his bed right now. David found out where Mr. Williams was calling from and he rushed out of his home to go to Harry’s house to confront him. David was driving from his home along Romford road and through the traffic lights (East) at Manor Park junction towards Ilford where Harry lives. At that moment, another driver came from the right and smashed into the driver’s side (offside) of his car. The police and the ambulance were alerted to the scene. David sustained bad bruising to his right leg but otherwise was unhurt. The other driver, however, had been thrown through her windscreen onto her own bonnet, and then onto the ground. The other driver—Katherine Buckingham, age 31 years old—sustained whiplash, a broken nose, concussion, and a badly bruised shoulder. Katherine also sustained cuts on her face and arms from the windscreen. Police officers told David that Katherine had not been wearing a seatbelt. Both drivers were breathalysed but neither was over the alcohol limit for driving. Everyone owes a duty of care to those affected by his or her actions and is liable in law for his or her negligence. Tort is the law that relates to civil wrongs, and in particular the laws relating to negligence. Personal injury is a particular form of negligence which can be brought to the courts on the part of the plaintiff. Mr. Balls does have a case for suing Ms. Buckingham, because personal injury consists of doing damage to s omeone’s person. However, Katherine may have a case when it comes to Mr. Balls running into her on the road, since what he did could be considered driving recklessly in a fit of passion—similar to how second-degree murder is not premeditated but is a crime of passion. Katherine might not be liable for David’s wrongdoing here, although she could be given a fine for not having worn her seatbelt. Here, the law of tort, negligence, and duty of care will be sufficiently explained. II. Law of Tort ‘Tort’ is the French word for a wrong. Torts are civil wrongs. Civil wrongs can be contrasted to criminal acts although one action might result in a potential liability for two claims, one civil and one criminal. If D runs into P on the road, D is liable to be prosecuted for civil sanctions such as fines, community penalties or imprisonment, which might be applied by the civil courts. But P can also sue D in the civil courts for any damages for the injury and lo ss that has been suffered. Negligence is a tort. III. Negligence, Liability for Negligence, and Defences Against Negligence The case of â€Å"Donoghue –v- Stephenson† (2011), set out the basic principles of negligence in English law (pp. 1). The case concerned food poisoning suffered by Mrs Donoghue whose bottled ginger beer was contaminated with the remains of a decomposed snail. As Mrs Donoghue didn’t buy the ginger beer (her friend did) she had no action in contract law (so she wasn’t a party to that contract). The case decided that, in English Law there must be and is a general conception of relations giving rise to a duty of care. The liability for negligence is based upon a general public sentiment of wrongdoing for which the offender pays. The case created the concept of negligence as an action in civil law allowing injured parties to sue wrongdoers for their loss and damage. To find a defendant liable for

Research Foundational Theorists Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Foundational Theorists - Research Paper Example He is the main foundational theorist without question—even if some of his ideas today seem somewhat controversial and difficult to agree with. The great Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freund was very influential. He came from the psychoanalytical school (which he founded). He worked hard to deconstruct what up until that point had been considered the unitary personality or identity of individuals. Freud’s emphasis on subjectivity, the unconscious, and perspective powerfully effected artists and writers of the period. Theorists in the psychoanalytic school frequently believed that people had a fractured identity, creating a multiplicity of perspectives and views on the world, none of which was especially better than the other. In a way this is a legacy of Freud’s ideas about subjectivity. A somewhat contrary psychological school is Behaviouralism and its founding theorist was B.F. Skinner. This idea holds that psychologists who talk too much about philosophical issues lose sight of what science can prove. Skinner wanted to focus on observable data rather than people’s secret thoughts about things. These theorists that people acted in certain ways because they were conditioned to do so and had less free will than believed. A good example of a behaviourist experiment involves Pavlov’s dogs—these were dogs that were trained to salivate at the sound of a ringing bell. A third important school of psychology is Humanism. These theorists, led by Abraham Maslow, didn’t like what they saw in the literary, over philosophical aspect of psychoanalysis or in the rigid scientific way of doing things in behavioualism. They wanted to take a more common sense approach and look at what things were important to people. They showed that there were many different needs people had, and that if these needs were met, then people would be happy. A fourth school of psychology that could be said to precede all of the theories above

Report on Organisational Change and Multiculturalism in IKEA

Report on Organisational Change and Multiculturalism in IKEA The following is an integrative report on organisational change brought about by multiculturalism in organisations with specific emphasis on the concept of diversity management in relation to organisational culture. With the help of a study on IKEA, the international chain of home and office furniture stores, the report will attempt to analyse the challenges faced by international managers in the process of keeping up with the demands of multiculturalism, a direct consequence of globalisation. Although the values and practices of IKEAs corporate culture will be discussed in general, in order to narrow the geographic area of research, the report will focus more on IKEAs franchise in Dubai, UAE. The report will make extensive use of relevant literature in order to understand the issues in question by applying the literature to the organisation and by doing so, will attempt to make further recommendations and meaningful conclusions. I.1 IKEA Background: IKEA prides itself to be the most successful and largest furniture retailer in the world, and boasts provision of everything and anything for a home, having products suited for people of all ages, and all this at low prices. The company promises excellent value for money spent with all of their products designed with an emphasis on natural colours to bring a light and airy atmosphere within a home. This concept is based purely on IKEAs Swedish origins, where people pride themselves in living in harmony with nature with simple home designs which offer maximum efficiency in all weathers (http://www.iamaceo.com/marketing/ikea-brand-success-strategy/). IKEAs vision, to create a better everyday life for the many people is reportedly largely aimed at the global middleclass which is also evident from their business idea, to offer a wide range of well designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford the m (http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_GB/about_ikea/press_room/student_info.html). With 265 stores worldwide, where 235 are owned by the IKEA group while the remaining 30 by franchisees outside the group, the extent of IKEAs expansion is obvious (IKEA, 2007). IKEAs corporate culture is based on the concept of shared values, some of which, as the organisation proclaims, are togetherness, cost-consciousness, respect, and simplicity. These values project a very democratic form of leadership where considerable freedom is given to employees to contribute to the companys success. IKEA claims to treat all employees, no matter what rank they carry, as partners in the business. The company also boasts no restrictions upon employees in using their own initiatives and offers full support to meet each individuals needs, ambitions and capabilities. I.2 IKEA Dubai and Al Futtaim Trading: The IKEA franchise in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) was first initiated in 1991 with the local Al Futtaim Trading Company taking ownership. This collaboration has been, since its inception, a major success story in the UAE and other parts of the Middle East, as many new IKEA outlets have been strategically opened over the years by the group and have achieved great competitive advantages and overall productivity. The Al Futtaim group was first established in the 1930s as a trading company. Headquartered in Dubai, the group has seen a rapid progress in its operations not only within the UAE but in more than 65 countries across the Middle East, and in various sectors of business. The group attributes its success to its ability to respond to the changing needs of customers and the societies in which it operates through an entrepreneurial and customer focused approach. Employees of the group enjoy a democratic culture made possible through clearly defined objectives and values, enabled through clear flow of information via a decentralised structure. Al Futtaim also prides itself for the ability to proactively manage change whilst upholding the values of integrity, service and social responsibility. (http://www.al-futtaim.ae/content/groupProfile.asp; http://www.ikeadubai.com/content/aboutUs.asp) Apart from managing many of IKEAs retail operations in the UAE, the Al Futtaim group carry the sole responsibility of recruiting personnel for the franchise, and also providing valuable information about changes in the local political scene, culture, economy and other issues like new technologies, threats of competitors, legal issues etc, effectively conducting internal and external analyses (SWOT and PESTEL) for IKEA. This contribution has greatly helped the IKEA group over the years to align their regional operations according to changing environments, effectively creating a strategic fit between the organisation and the environment (http://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/16374.html). I.3 The Culture Change Problem: For an organisation that boasted fairness in employment and empowerment to employees through a democratic leadership and structure, and flexible organisational culture, IKEA had initially employed an ethnocentric approach of management where only Swedes were recruited for management positions so as to ensure the original Swedishness of the organisation. But this approach eventually met with criticism and a temporary setback in IKEAs overseas operations, where the organisation was faced with the task of revising its overseas recruitment policies in order to meet the demands of local cultures and employment laws (Kling and Goteman, 2003; Kochan et al, 2002). According to Bjork (1998), every time IKEA was faced with a struggle due to internationalisation, new cultural management policies would be implemented, the latest being Diversity Management. IKEA is well known for having a rapid internationalisation process from its Swedish origins as a result of globalisation and its rapid expansion into countries with cultures very different from its original Swedish national culture (Hollensen, 2007). Although owned by franchisees in some countries, like the UAE, the IKEA concept and trademark are solely owned by Inter IKEA Systems B.V in Netherlands, giving the group considerable authority over franchises. This means Inter IKEA Systems B.V is the franchiser for all IKEA stores within or outside of the IKEA group, ensuring uniformity of corporate values, and the IKEA concept of self assembled furniture right from the centre (IKEA, 2007). IKEA has had to rapidly transform itself from an ethnocentric corporate culture to an organisation that embraces people of all backgrounds, and has in many communiquà ©s expressed the importance of having a culturally diverse workforce in order to obtain competitive advantage on the global scene. This is evident from the organisations recruitment websites in various countries, where emphasis is given for potential employees to be themselves, but at the same time adhere to shared corporate values such as simplicity, cost-consciousness, hard work etc, but almost all of the websites show a picture of a man and woman of Scandinavian origin (Bjork, 1998). This has created a paradox within the IKEA Groups core values, where there is still a strong emphasis on the companys Scandinavian background. Setting up operations in multicultural societies like Dubai meant the IKEA group has had to go through a rapid process of internal culture-change. This means a complete internationalisation of organisational culture, where key positions are not restricted to Swedish nationals, and communication systems had to be introduced to break geographical and cultural barriers. The partnership with Al Futtaim has played a major role for IKEA in achieving this change. In the following sections literature related to organisational culture-change, international recruitment processes and the inevitable resistance to culture will be studied and analysed. II. LITERATURE REVIEW: The purpose of this section is to acquire a deeper understanding of culture and its characteristics by means of metaphorical representation of organizations with the help of relevant literature. This may help us understand the significance of culture change, not just to gain competitive advantage, but for the very survival of an organization in an ever-changing environment. II.1. Organization and Society: Drawing the Parallels Within the process of cultural evolution there is a significant amount of similarity in the manner in which culture is manifested in business organizations and in society in general (Rollinson, 2005; Morgan, 1998). To understand cultural diversity in organizations, it would be helpful to understand its roots at a sociological level. Cultural diversity at the workplace is a direct result of multiculturalism in the society. A multicultural society simply denotes a society in which there exist several cultures (Watson, 2002). Culture is defined as, A pattern of shared assumptions a group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way you think, perceive, and feel in relation to those problems (Schein, 2004). The above definition suggests that culture is a shared activity of overcoming external and internal factors through methods that have been taught down to the group as acceptable and functional. A general view of cultural differences is that they affect intercultural encounters, usually by leading to misunderstanding or conflict, at both the individual and group levels (Larkey, 1996). Larkey explains that at the individual level, as different values, beliefs or worldviews are manifested in communication behaviours and as culture creates differing expectations and differing styles or patterns of speech, interpersonal misunderstanding and conflict can arise. At the group level, inter-group processes can be triggered by, for instance, an individuals non-verbal behaviour or ways of speaking which stereotypically represent a group (1996). It then becomes the responsibility of the leadership of the core society to introduce a culture and/or change its existing core culture to accommodate th e various differences brought in by the subcultures in an integrated manner, where these differences are acknowledged and valued (Neuliep, 2008). When the above sociological aspects of culture are compared to a business organization, the organization is the core society, and its culture, the core culture. We all refer to this as organizational culture. Analogically speaking, the organizational (core) culture should be designed in such a way that the employees of the company share a basic set of values and assumptions, which tie them to that particular organization. But, on the individual or group levels, each employee has his/her own cultural norms and practices beyond those they share with other members of the company, which can be safely termed as the subcultures within the organization (Bate, 1995). II.2 Cross-Cultural Communication: We all have an internal list of those we still dont understand, let alone appreciate. We all have biases, even prejudices, toward specific groups (Lantieri Patti, 1996). The above phrase sums up the main challenge in cross-cultural communication, the fact that we still dont understand the people we talk to on a daily basis. Communication is an intrinsic part of our daily lives, whether it is at our homes, at the workplace, in the groups we belong to, or in the community, and we can identify that its hard (DuPraw Axner, 1997). According to DuPraw and Axner (1997), culture is often at the root of communication challenges, and our culture influences how we approach problems and participate in groups and in communities. Anthropologists Avruch and Black expand the above views and argue that Ones own culture provides the lens through which we view the world; the logic by which we order it; and the grammar by which it makes sense (1993). DuPraw and Axner (1997) suggest that, becoming more aware of our cultural differences, as well as, exploring our similarities, can help us communicate with each other more effectively, and that cultural differences do not necessarily have to divide us from each other (1997). In an organisational context, the similarities lie in the core organisational culture that is common at the group level. Morgan (1998) explains the significance of effective communication and concludes that every organization is composed of individuals with different cultural traits and individual personalities, and these people are organised in some way or the other through these traits in order to achieve set objectives. Thus individuals are the basic building blocks around which an organization functions, and communication is the effective cement which holds the organization together. This puts forward the importance of an organisational culture that employs clear communication channels to all levels of its structure. II.3 Organization as a Living Being: Adapting to Change, by Aligning with the Environment It can be inferred from the preceding sections that change is necessary in order to promote peaceful existence between different culture groups, in the societal realm. Considering this, it may be safe to assume that similar changes need to be implemented in the organizational realm as well (Robbins and Judge, 2009; Pettinger, 1996). The question that may arise, however, is whether changing the existing culture means changing the entire organization. Culture is such an intrinsic quality of a human being at the individual level, and of a group at the societal level, that even though it may take time to change, it may end up changing more than just a few characteristics (Bate, 1995; Hofstede, 1997). This means that changing an organizations culture implies changing the very behaviour in which it expresses itself. Morgan (1998) interestingly likens an organization to an organism, and explains that, The image of an organism seeking to adapt and survive in a changing environment offers a powerful perspective for managers who want to help their organizations flow with change. (Pg 35) He argues that this analogy encourages us to learn the art of corporate survival by developing active organic systems that remain open to new challenges. In other words, as Brooks (2003) says, it helps us form a more proactive organization with a prospector philosophy of operation. Prospectors, he explains, see their environment as ever changing and seek continual strategic and structural adjustments to cope with those changes. These organizations are continually searching for new opportunities and in the process they may create change and uncertainty for others in their competitive environment. The opposite of prospectors, known as defenders, are more reactive in nature, as they act only when environmental changes force them to do so. This kind always sees stability and continuity all around (2003). Research shows that reactors are more prone to misperceptions of their environment than are prospectors. According to Morgan (1998), this is because different environments favour differe nt species of organisations based on different methods of organising and that congruence with the environment is the key to success. So it is evident that organisations are facing the enormous challenge of changing their internal environments in accordance with the external. II.4 The International Human Resources Function: the International Organisation will be called on to operate across a wide variety of competitive environments and yet somehow balance these diverse social, political and economic contexts with the requirements of the original home context. (Dowling et al, 2008, pg25) The above statement re-iterates all the topics discussed in this report so far, namely, the task of the organisation to be able to operate in different environments whilst staying true to its original corporate objectives. The international human resources management (IHRM) function, a recent extension to the normal HRM function in an organisation, aims to achieve this global competitive advantage by employing innovative recruitment strategies. The three main issues for IHRM are: the management and development of expatriates; the internationalisation of management throughout the organisation; and, creating a new corporate culture that would reflect on internationalising the whole organisation, by focusing on increasing the international experience of staff, to be able to effectively counter the frequency of cross-cultural interactions as a result of investing abroad (Hendry, 1994). As a result, IHRM covers a much wider spectrum of worldwide management of people (Dowling et al, 1999, 2008), and is concerned with how MNCs manage their geographically dispersed workforce by being able to dispose their resources to obtain and maintain local and global competitive advantage (Schuler et al, 2002). This clearly indicates IHRM as a means of strategic importance for MNCs, as it is a key element in achieving a balance between the need for control and coordination of foreign subsidiaries, and the need to adapt to local environments (Adler and Ghadar, 1990 Milliman et al., 1991, cited in Scullion, 2001, pg5). In other words, the need is for the organisation to implement common practices, like structure and technology that transcend national differences and form a commonality as to how the business operates across cultures (Kerr et al, 1973 Hickson et al, 1979 cited in Mullins, 1999), whilst not ignoring the essential differences in how these practices are communicated and applied to the local workforce of a given foreign subsidiary (Hofstede, 1997; Keeley, 2003). II.5 Resistance to Change: When a group seeks change in the way they do things, as with culture, there is the inevitability of resistance to this change. Researchers like have identified a few reasons for such resistance: fear of the unknown, referring to peoples natural tendency to keep away from uncertainty that creates anxiety. Resisting change is one way to reduce the anxiety; fear of failure, referring to peoples fear of whether or not they are up to the challenges being brought in by the change; disagreement with the need for change, where people genuinely believe that change is not necessary; losing something of value, where people fear either losing their dominant positions and/or jobs as a result of the change; leaving a comfort zone, in that people are happy where they are and would not want unnecessary disruption of current state; false beliefs, where people unrealistically believe change is not needed and everything will turn out fine; misunderstanding and lack of trust, where people do not understand the changes being made and/or do not trust the person(s) initiating the changes; and the fact that change may require more time and energy from individuals (Robbins, 1999; Mullins, 2003). Many ways to overcome resistance have been suggested, which include: effective communication and education including training programmes for staff to make them understand the need for change, and its implications; getting people to get involved in implementing the change process, where they can not oppose it later as they were partly responsible for it; negotiating with people certain requirements they may have to get the change underway; and in many cases imposing the change by force whether the people like it or not, as resistance may mean loss of positions/ jobs etc (Robbins, 2009; Mullins, 2003). III. APPLICATION TO IKEA In light of the above discussions, the company headed in the right direction in terms of its emphasis on multiculturalism at the workplace, especially amongst its independent franchisees. IKEA in Dubai working along with Al Futtaim has been successful in achieving this objective by recruiting local, talented individuals reflecting the diverse cultural demographics of the United Arab Emirates. This is in line with earlier literature discussion of societal and organisational cultures where the core culture needs to be designed to accommodate individual personal differences, but should also give employees a common framework. III.1 Changing the Organisational Culture, a Project: IKEAs efforts to change its internal culture to align with external factors in Dubai have been a major project management undertaking. This is because the company has had to effectively integrate its centralised and extremely complex organisational structure (although argued otherwise by the group) with the more decentralised and flexible structure of Al Futtaim. This required giving considerable power to the latter group in making decisions regarding changes to the way IKEA operated in the Middle East. Reduction of organisational levels to form a flatter structure itself is a project with time constraints. Due to the ever changing nature of external cultural factors, and due to the fact that internal cultural change is a slow and gradual process, the project management methodology that IKEA and Al Futtaim may have employed would have been the Adaptive Project Framework. The adaptive project framework works on the basis that the scope for change is variable, but within specified cost and time constraints. This gives the company significant flexibility by setting up periodic milestones, where progress is reviewed at each milestone until the ultimate objective is met. The company has full authority in deciding best business value and has the opportunity to change directions at any milestone if it thinks objectives are not being met by the project. The adaptive framework also works because it is based on the assumption that change is inevitable, and is designed to allow for changes accordingly. This is especially vital when seeking culture change (Billingham, 2008). III.2 Resistance within IKEA: The initial resistance to the changes in IKEAs culture may have come mainly from the fact that the company has had to tone down its emphasis on Swedish culture at the operational level in Dubai. Changing the organisational structure would have meant losing some key positions along the structure to enable integration with Al Futtaims structure. Focusing on recruiting local personnel would have meant redundancy and/or repatriation for existing Swedish international managers. This would have also meant that existing personnel would have had to adapt to working alongside with local personnel, which may have caused communication problems, friction between personnel etc. The best methods used for overcoming above problems would have been to educate existing IKEA personnel regarding local issues like culture, governance etc, educate and train local personnel in return about IKEAs core values and its Swedish roots, and the importance the company places in carrying out the legacy of its founder, provide clear communication between levels, and reducing barriers through effective information infrastructure. IV. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, change management can now be safely coined as a field in itself in modern businesses, especially in multinational organisations. Considering the study, more and more organisations would benefit from being prospectors rather than defenders, as this would prepare them to stay in tune with their market environments. It seems the group has lived up to their own professed comments when they say, We see the diversity issue as a matter of creating a more challenging business atmosphere and of course expanding the recruitment base including everyone and not just Swedish men. It also gives us a diverse workforce with a lot of positive business possibilities (Kling and Goteman, 2003). As far as the project of changing IKEAs culture is concerned, the company has successfully reached its goal of reaching the global middle class with its products. Whether it is through the IKEA group directly, or through franchises like Al Futtaim, IKEA has realised the importance of culture change and has subsequently implemented this change within its infrastructure. The companys extraordinary success, even with a narrow product range, but a range that has been constantly diversified according to the demands of the regions of operation, is testament to the success of the project. Through Al Futtaim, IKEA is now a household name all over the Middle East, thus expanding the range of its brand through undertaking a change in organisational culture.

Analysis of Charles Dickens’ †Sketches by Boz Essay

‘The Streets-Morning’ by Charles Dickens is an extract taken from ‘Sketches by Boz.’ It is a descriptive piece and follows prominent features of the literary sketch technique, as it contains no prominent plot. The speaker narrates the â€Å"appearance presented by the streets of London an hour before sunrise on a summer’s morning.† The extract is in the first person narrative. This feature adds intensity and supports the use of details. First person narrative is generally considered unreliable due to lack of witnesses and external verification; however, the detached and objective narration by the speaker prompts readers to think otherwise – â€Å"now and then a rakish looking cat runs stealthily†¦bounding first on the water-butt then on the dust hole†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The sentence structures used support the use of detail and imagery. The speaker uses complex-compound sentences that are long with two or more sub-clauses. The use of these help create the atmosphere and heavy early morning slumber – â€Å"There is an air of cold, solitary desolation about the noiseless streets which we are accustomed to see thronged at other times by a busy, eager crowd, and over the quiet, closely shut buildings†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Through this narrative, readers are made aware of the close attention to detail the speaker employs. The mood of the extract is established through the sentence structure and setting. A relaxed and comfortably detached perspective is evident. In many ways it is similar to the morning itself, gently unfolding as the darkness fades. The narrative time and context is established through the subjects described in the setting. â€Å"Coach-stands† lying deserted in the larger thoroughfares remind readers of the 19th century. This is supported by the fact that they are described as ‘coach stands’ and not bus stands. Imagery plays an essential role in a literary sketch and is seen widely in this extract. The speaker uses concrete and abstract imagery. The use of metaphors lends a sense of what the speaker is feeling or trying to describe to the reader. Such metaphors are: â€Å"The days are swarming with life and bustle† the reference to honeybees shows a restlessness which was similarly used by John Keats in ‘Ode to Autumn† – And still more, later flowers for the bees, †¨Until they think warm days will never cease.† The bee metaphor is used to show activity that contrasts with the early morning street. The second metaphor is – â€Å"stillness of death is over the streets,† perhaps the most foreboding of lines in the extract, this metaphor could serve as a possible foreshadowing for impending events. The street itself becomes an important motif. It represents a path that leads somewhere, however, readers could question whether this could be leading to activity or stagnation. This theory is supported with the images of the â€Å"drunken, the dissipated, and the wretched.† The policeman similarly, is also preoccupied with his â€Å"deserted prospect.† The description of the street is similarly presented in Tennessee Williams’ ‘A Streetcar Named Desire†Ã¢â‚¬â€œ â€Å"The houses mostly white frame, weathered grey with rickety outside stairs and galleries and quaintly ornamented gables to the entrances of both. It is the first dark of an evening in early May.† The houses become symbols of who their inhabitants are in the extract. They give readers insights to where they live, how they live and who they are. The â€Å"quiet, closely-shut buildings† are perhaps the only privacy the residents have. The speaker brings in social context through this description and the tone shifts to one of fragmentation and futility with the description of – â€Å"The last houseless vagrant whom penury and police have left in the streets, has coiled up his chilly limbs in some paved corner, to dream of food and warmth.† The social context and strata becomes ironic when the last drunken man is home before sunlight, while the â€Å"orderly† part of the population are still asleep.† The opening lines of T.S. Eliot’s ‘Preludes’ also refers to an early morning scene similar to the one in the extract, using personification – â€Å"The morning comes to consciousness Of faint stale smells of beer From the sawdust-trampled street With all its muddy feet that press To early coffee-stands.† Human qualities are given to the cat who is – â€Å"rakish looking.† The character of whose develops as the speaker gives him gender and infers that â€Å"his character depended on his gallantry.† The use of personification adds further detail to the narrative with – â€Å"A partially opened bedroom-window here and there, bespeaks the heat of the weather, and the uneasy slumbers of its occupant.† The extract uses language in distinct and deliberate ways to shape meaning. The vocabulary used helps infer that the speaker is mature; this is seen with use of words such as â€Å"penury,† â€Å"profligate† and â€Å"dissipated.† A sentence of importance in shaping such meaning is – â€Å"The drunken, the dissipated and the wretched have disappeared.† The trochaic features at the end of each word, helps to reveal the distant and condescending manner in which the speaker is viewing these people. The order in which these words are presented form a climatic effect. Also seen is the use of the adverb â€Å"then† in describing the cat’s actions, which gives dramatic effect – â€Å"Bounding first on the water-butt, then on the dust-hole, and then alighting on the flag-stones.† The use of inversion by the speaker helps readers to concentrate on certain parts of the narrative. This is done in deliberation to gain readers’ attention, particularly in – â€Å"An occasional policeman may alone be seen at the street corners,† as opposed to the conventional ‘may be seen alone.’ Such emphasis is also used in – â€Å"cold, solitary desolation.† The speaker employs onomatopoeia to describe a drunken man’s inebriation with – â€Å"roaring out the burden of the drinking song of the previous night.† The speaker has a noted tone of detached indifference. This mood could be due to the futility of the modern age and monotony of these peoples lives in the eyes of a keen observer. The historical, social context comes back to the forefront and the void between the country and the urban life is seen. This effect of the 19th century and industrial revolution is addressed in – â€Å"The few whose unfortunate pursuits of pleasure, or scarcely less unfortunate pursuits of business cause them to be less acquainted with the scene.† Grammar and punctuation support meaning. The use of dashes shows a flow of thought or in the case of describing the cat, shows action and continuity. The use of the color grey in the â€Å"somber light of daybreak† supports the mood and futile atmosphere, seen also in O’ Henry’s ‘Gift of the Magi’ – â€Å"Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard.† The extract concludes with a reference to the figures in the early morning streets as â€Å"exceptions† other than which the â€Å"streets presents no signs of life, nor the houses of habitation.†

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