Charter School Marketing Strategy

New Heights Business Academy of Sports Leadership and Development (NHBA), a start-up charter school, located in the warehouse district of Southeast section of Memphis, Tennessee, will have its first class in August 2011. NHBA will enhance the charter school movement by introducing students to the business-side of athletics. Educators, supporters, and parents became concern after noticing the poor business decisions many athletes make during their careers. A mutual decision arrived that athletes did not know how to market themselves. On this idea alone, plans for NHBA were underway. What are charter schools? Charter schools are independently-ran public schools created by concerned individuals who saw there was a lack of quality education in the public school system. These schools are free to select their own educational goals and curriculum, choose their own teaching staff, and set their own standards for student behavior. In addition, they have the freedom to extend the school day and year. According to the Tennessee Charter School Association (TSCA), since 2002 seventeen charter schools operating in the State of Tennessee, with applications submitted each year. Approval for new charter school applications is through a state mandated agency, the Local Education Agency. Currently there are 24 charter schools operating in Memphis. (www. mcsk12. net) The charter school law mandates that charter school has to open it doors to all students, including physically and mentally impaired students and students of a diverse background, with first priority given to students that : * have previously attended a charter school * attend poor performing schools * scored below proficiency on the TCAP and Gateway exams * receive free or reduced lunch The law states that charter school can only select 25% of their students qualifying on free and/or reduced lunches. The remainder will come from the above categories. Charter schools are the school of choice for many parents because of the quality of education they provide. Parents are at ease knowing their child is in a safe, learning environment; their individual needs are met; and will receive the necessary tools for success. These schools have set high standards in education and must adhere to those standards if they want to remain open. However, public schools remain open no matter how they perform. According to the TCSA, 100 % of charter school funding is issued from the state and local governments. They are entitled to Title I and Special Education funds based on student enrollment. Unlike public schools, charter schools have to depend heavily on grants, donations, and fundraisers to cover costs, such as, start-up, renovation, construction, and other expenditures not incorporated in the funding budget. Commercialappeal. om printed an issue in July 2010, which stated last year charter schools received $10,394 in funding per child. Since Memphis City Schools is being tasked with overseeing charter schools, a fee of 3% will be charged. After the fee is placed, charter schools will receive $7,633 per child, excluding school lunches and other fees not obligated by the district. There will be fifteen charter schools affected by this fee. New Heights Business Academy of Sports Leadership and Development (NHBA), is a publ ic charter school that will serve prospective students in 9th thru 12th grades. NHBA will address the needs of students academically and athletically, in a business environment. As a charter school, our focus is to prepare students for college through innovation and abundance in an attractive and meticulous college-preparatory educational program, which meets the needs of today’s students. In conjunction with learning the regular subjects like Math, English and Science, NHBA focuses on Business as it prepares students for college and life, and introduces athletes to enrichment that will allow them to excel physically and psychologically. We plan to introduce students to a setting that hinges on business and athleticism development. NHBA will open in the fall of 2011 and will be accepting applications for enrollment for 100 Ninth-grade slots. The school plans to add a grade each year and hopes ultimately to serve 500 hundred students in grades 9th through 12th. NHBA is conveniently located, in Southeast Memphis on the corner of Riverdale and Winchester at 7060 Winchester Road Memphis TN 38125, in the warehouse district. Mission. At New Heights Business Academy of Sports Leadership and Development (NHBA), our mission is to academically develop and prepare students for the social environment of business and athletic professionalism through a core curriculum profoundly based on preparing them to be business literate and knowledgably confident in marketing themselves in whichever venue they choose. In pursuant of our mission, NHBA aspires to provide structured curriculums with a business foundation. Our focus is to educate and prepare potential students for college and ultimately life. NHBA’s core values include exposing prospective students to rigorous educational development to prepare them for college while instilling self worth so that our athletes recognize their value. Partnerships with parent’s students and teachers to are important to our success, so it is a priority. NHBA is a college preparatory school with a small classroom setting; we offer student-teacher ratio of 1 to 13 and focus on our number one goal the children. Environmental Analysis/Competition Southeast Memphis consists of zip codes 38141, 38125, and 38115. The combined populations for those three zip codes are 87,247. For the population for this area of the city, almost 20,000 are families with children who could be prospective students at NHBA. As a public charter school our competition are the public schools, the private schools and the optional schools in and near this area, to include other charter schools. At least eight high schools serve this vicinity, not including the private schools. Of those schools in the area, two of them are on the list for striving schools (Memphis City Schools, 2010). NHBA will focus its target first on middle schools in the Eastern section of the City of Memphis, such as Ridgeway, Kirby, Southwind, Germantown, and any other schools in the area. Our main competition will be established and upcoming charter high schools, such as Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering, Memphis Academy of Health Sciences, and KIPP Academy. Then we will expand out target market to other areas of the city. The southeastern part of the city was selected for the reason that there are no charter schools in this area. A charter school in this area will serve as a convenience to working parents who want to enroll their children in charter schools. Trends Affecting the Outcome Our school structure is in desperate need of transformation. Only 54 percent of African American high school students and 56 percent of Latino high school students graduate. Even students who receive high school diplomas often lack fundamental academic skills; nearly a third of first-year college students require remediation in math or English. In many major cities, the education crisis is confounding. In Detroit, for example, only 3 percent of economically disadvantaged eighth-graders are proficient in math (Tennessee Charter Schools Association, 2010). July 2010 Memphis school board approved fees from charter schools, over time Memphis City Schools will charge a three percent fee for overseeing the charter schools. The school board’s decision to charge the fee will mean less money for students of some charter schools (Roberts, 2010). Possible legal or regulatory issues Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a significant amount of funding has been targeted to improve state and local education systems. Tennessee was chosen as one of the two states out of sixteen to receive grants. Over the next four years, Tennessee will receive $500 million to implement their comprehensive school reform plans (Learning Point, 2010). For NHBA’s survival, recruiting will be an important factor in retaining students. If we retain students, we receive funding. If we receive funding, we can offer an attractive program that will entice parents to enroll their students at NHBA. As with any business, the first year is the most difficult. To overcome these obstacles, NHBA and its supporters must ensure that our school offered an attractive package. We needed to know: * Did we have a clear and concise mission and vision statement? * Were we being honest and realistic about what NHBA has to offer? * Did we have a live point-of-contact and follow-up information for questions? * Is there a demand for the type of school you are marketing? * Did we know our target market? NHBA is aware that our best recruiters are out parents and students. With the aid of our supporters, we will be able to reach our target market. Other methods of advertisements will include: * Live broadcasting media – radio, television, newspapers, word of mouth * Internet – webpage; free social networks (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace) * Open houses and school workshops * Join the local chamber of commerce and/or local business associations * Mass mailing, posters, flyers, brochures At NHBA, your child will encounter a challenging, exciting, and rewarding experience that will assist them in gaining the skills and habits for college. Our faculty will go that extra mile to ensure students grasp the fundamentals in order to be successful. Due to the new trends in technology, we want to make sure our students are prepared for college. With the small learning environment, NHBA has to offer along with the student-to-teacher ratio of 13:1, students will develop close-knit relationships with their teachers and learn from individualized learning plans. In addition to this, students will benefit from added programs and student activities such as: * Advanced Placement Courses These courses are college-level courses set up where students can receive college credit after successfully passing an exam. E-courses E-school is geared to provide NHBA students with an online class experience as they would in college. * Athlete-to-Student Mentor Programs This program will afford the students to be paired with an athlete for guidance and to promote academic success. Our athletic volunteers will come from our local professional sports teams, arena sports teams, and local colleges and universities * Mandatory Parental Involvement NHBA bel ieves that parental involvement adds to the success of students. * Summer Sports Camps To promote academic and athletic leadership, NHBA will be able to participate in sports camps hosted by our professional sports teams, arena sports teams, and local colleges and universities. * Volunteer Opportunities NHBA is passionate about community service. Community involvement is one of the main reasons we will be successful. * World-wide Awareness Programs * A sport is a worldwide activity, and hopefully some of our students will play for an international team. NHBA feels that it is important for our students to be aware of what is going on in the world. In conclusion, New Heights Business Academy of Sports Leadership and Development is geared to enhance the charter school movement. Most schools promote athletic leadership, but NHBA will promote athletic development by introducing its students to the athletic business preparations. Upon graduation, NHBA students will have a clear knowledge of the athletic business goals and strategies. Our program will produce business-literate students that will be knowledgeable in marketing themselves and becoming productive citizens in the community and in any endeavors, they chose to seek. Reference Page Learning Point . (2010, June ). Retrieved 2010, from Learningpt: http://www.learningpt.org/pdfs/RttT_State_Legislation.pdf Memphis City Schools. (2010). Retrieved September 8, 2010, from www.mcsk12.net: http://www.mcsk12.net/ Roberts, J. (2010, July 20). Commercial Appeal. Retrieved September 9, 2010, from Commercial Appeal website: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/jul/20/mcs-board-approves-fee-from-charter-schools/ Tennessee Charter Schools Association. (2010). Retrieved September 09, 2010, from tncharterschools: http://www.tncharterschools.org/

Love: An Inexpressible and Indescribable Feeling

Love is an indescribable and inexpressible feeling. It can affect a person to the point of recklessness. Once a soul has realized its counterpart in another, the effects can cause one to surrender themselves completely. Judgment becomes clouded and rationality no longer exists. In the end, all that remains is pure, indefinable emotion. This emotion is what fuels the person. Love is why almost everybody on Earth looks forward to tomorrow. Those who lack it will try to look for it. Those who have it, will work themselves to the bone Just for the ones they love.It is the best possible feeling Christopher Final Essay Love is an inexpressible and indescribable feeling. It can affect a person to the point of recklessness. Once a soul has recognized its counterpart in another, the effects can cause one to surrender themselves completely. Judgment becomes clouded and rationality no longer exists. In the end, all that remains is pure, indefinable emotion. This indefinable emotion is what fuel s the person. Love is the reason why almost everybody on Earth looks forward to tomorrow. Those who do not have it, tries to look for it.Those who have it, will work themselves to the bone Just for the ones they love. It is the best possible feeling one could ever feel. While love seems like a splendid thing, it also has its flaws. The most well-known negative thing that comes along with love is Jealousy. Jealousy is a special form of emotive Kim k unemotional anxiety, which occurs due to the lack of a sense of security in relation to the one who is loved. The Jealousy directed to a third party, I. E. , the competitor who is perceived as the rival for the affection of the person who is loved.Jealousy is n emotion having components of both anger and fear commonly found in children. It originates from the lack of a sense of security for the affections of one who is loved and more attended to. The play, A Midnight Summer's Dream is about several couples in love and the problems that ca use relationships to crumble like dominoes, one after another. Shakespeare is mainly focusing on the crazy things that people do when they are in love. People tend to break the shackles of normalcy and common sense and do things for their own madness.In the play, A Midnight Summer's Dream, Shakespeare uses the shifting of the peoples' personalities to emphasize what love could do to people. As a person falls deeper in love, he or she becomes blind to things that happen around them and could care less about anything else except their own love affairs. Shakespeare portrays this in A Midsummer Night's Dream when Helena accuses Demerits of killing Lessened and asks him if he has killed Lessened. The shift in her personality reveals the interference of love since she starts blaming others groundlessly.Shakespeare uses this to show how people react to problems hat involve love and how foolish their actions are. Another major problem caused by love is rivalry and how easily friendship can be crumbled when it comes to the issue of love. When Hermit enters the scene while Demerits and Lessened are with Helena, Hermit blindly enters and is questioned by Helena because Demerits and Lessened both originally liked Hermit. Therefore, she thinks it is a trick and they are when her close friend is involved. Thus, Helena starts the argument which causes her friendship with Hermit to crumble.Shakespeare is clearly showing the message of owe the common nature of people causes them to make rash decisions and change personalities because of love. People in love will see the world in a different perspective, they become so obsessed with their love to the extent that their world revolves around the person they love. This type of love can cause trouble, especially when deep and intense. This is seen almost every day in real life. For example, heartbroken girlfriends throwing pots down the window and locking their boyfriends out is the first image that comes to mind when thinking of J ealousy.

Analysis of semco and pixar animated studio as an example of innovative organizations

Companies like Semco, Gore and Associate, 3M and Pixar have made a reputation for themselves due to their emphasis on creativity. Innovation is a product of collaborative learning, idea generation, sharing and idea realization practices of workers in an organization (Dovey, 2009, p.311). For innovation to occur an organisation must foster an environment and culture that give room for creativity which is what Semco and Pixar have achieved. To this end, this report will analyse Semco and Pixar as an exemplar of innovative companies and the relationship that exist between them using some key theories of innovation and the defining features and managerial actions that set them apart as innovative organisations. SEMCO Semco is a loose organisation that encourages innovation and self organisation leading to trust, collaboration and cooperation. Semco was a small family engineering company originally called Semler and Company established in 1952 in Sao Paulo, Brazil by Antonio Curt Semler and renamed Semco after Ricardo Semler, the 24 year old son of the owner resumed office as the new chief executive officer in 1984, firing more than half of the top managers on his first day of resuming office as chief executive officer and eliminated all secretarial positions (CNN, 2004). The company prior to Ricardo taking over was characterised with autocratic style of management with control and rules being the order of the day and operating at the edge of collapse. Ricardo Semler favours a participating style of management, profit sharing and free flow of information. The company product range includes dishwashers, pumps, mixers, cooling units for air condition, biscuits factories among others (Semler 1999, p. 1). It is one of the most innovative companies in the world and has become the subject of study for most business schools all around the world due to its peculiar management style. There is no organisation structure that feeds managers ego, subordinates choose their own bosses, employees set their salaries, production targets and achieve them at their own time, and are encouraged to participate, share ideas and also share in the profit (Semler 1999, pp.1-7, 130 131). PIXAR Pixar animated studio was established in 1986 after Steve Jobs purchased the computer graphics division of Lucas films for $10 million with Ed Catmull being named co-founder and Chief technical officer, Smith as vice president alongside Steve Jobs (Price, 2008, p.74 85-197). In 2001, Ed Catmull was named Pixar’s president. The company originally manufactures and sell hardware and software that enable computer graphics to develop animations. In 1987, the company began the making of short films with its first computer generated movie, Toy Story being released in 1995. The company which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Walt Disney acquired 2006 at $7.4 billion and located in Emeryville, California (Paik, 2007). The acquisition will help Pixar gain economies of scale and access to new technologies. Pixar has a range of films under its belt that has surpassed box office expectations from Rango, Hop, Toy Story 3, finding Nemo, the incredible and many others (Emerald Group Review, 2 011). Its target audience cuts across all ages and nationalities and include families and children and its product range include short films in DVDs, soundtrack CDs, animated films among others (Price, 2008, pp.3-7). It fosters an environment that gives room for mistakes and encourages collaborations among teams and departments and devoid of micro management by executives to ensure creativity and innovation (YouTube-imperial college, 2009). THEORIES OF INNOVATION USING EVIDENCE FROM SEMCO AND PIXAR What makes Ricardo Semler and Ed Catmull exceptional in the way they run their companiesCould it be that they were born to innovation, an act of God, divine intervention, grace, or years of experience and acquisition of knowledge and educationAnalysts and business tycoons have called these men genius. Some critics of Semler and Pixar would have called the transformation at these companies as a gift from the gods. However, it is worthy of note that Semco was a company already in operation prior to Ricardo taking over and Pixar had several failed attempts before its major breakthrough in 1995 with Toy Story. Emerald group, 2011 quoted Ed Catmull in Harvard Business Review ‘I don’t think our success is largely luck. Rather, I believe our adherence to a set of principles and practices for managing creative talent and risk is responsible.’ Was grace far from the transformation in these companiesRicardo was one of the youngest graduates at Harvard Business School who wo uld have learnt some of the traditional management theories in school but choose to manage in a uniquely different way that suite his life and believes suite those of his employees. Moreover, having had an encounter with a doctor who told him to change his work style, he decided to change his way of management, a factor that has led to the key changes at Semco today. Thus innovation at Semco may be a combination of association having graduated from Harvard, accident-a chance meeting with the doctor, personality-considering that while at high school he raised some money for the school vacation program which he reinvested to yield a return before the vacation, feature of life and a bit of cognitive considering the fact that innovation at Semco had evolved over time. It is far from being grace or act of gods. Several forms of innovation can be said to have taken placed at these organisations. They are: Organisational innovation: An organisational innovation is one that entails the implementation of a new organisational method in the firm’s business practices, workplace or external relations (Stoneman, 2010, p.17; OECD, 2006). It is often intended to increase a company’s performance through improvement in workplace satisfaction and labour productivity and access to knowledge. It entails an adoption of an organisational method such as flatter organisation structures, employees’ participation among others that have not being used before in an organisation and often results from strategic decisions taken by management (Stoneman, 2010, p.18). Semco and Pixar posses a great deal of organisational innovation. Semco had implemented theories that have never being tried before such as the satellites programs that allow ex-employees to open their own companies with financial help and resources and become partners with Semco and employees cutting their wages by 30% to Semc o at difficult times to get a higher returns when trading conditions get better. What drive such innovation are the organisational culture, structure and learning. Social innovation: This is the innovation that supports and it is beneficial to the society. Pixar is an example of such innovation whose films though animated have a lot of influence on the society both young and small. Its latest film, hop for instance gives social lessons about the role of adult and children in society. Semco has also contributed to the Brazilian society through employment and a reduction in job cuts. Traditional innovation: This is technological innovation and is measured in different ways such as through patents, expenditure and development among others. Semco and Pixar have shown a lot of innovation and creativity in technology with Pixar having a lot of patents. All these types of innovation create social capital which will be discussed later in this report. FEATURES OF INNOVATIVE ORGANISATIONS OR MANAGEMENT ACTIONS SEMCO and Pixar’s success is built on a lattice or flatter organisational structure devoid of control culture that has gone through series of transformation through the years which has enhanced their innovative ability. An organisational culture devoid of control fosters innovation as individuals are giving the freedom to self organise and make their own decisions just like Semco where employees set their salaries and take decisions on production targets and the time they meet such targets (Semler, 1999, p.1). These companies have been able to manage innovation in the following ways: Structure and culture: Organisational design is crucial to the continuous innovation of an enterprise. As the business environment becomes complex and uncertain, so is the organisational design changing to meet up with customers’ demands for value maximising products. Traditional management scientists like Max Weber emphasised formal structure which is a top-down approach characterised with command, control, rules, position power and neglect social and psychological influences on behaviours of employees and teams (Burnes 2000, p.45). Employees are likely to respond to a good leader who they trust and respect than being managed in a bureaucratic way as argued by Adair 1986:54. Semco operates a lattice structure and considers all workers as equal and has reduced bureaucracy from twelve layers of management to three (Semler 1999, p.7). Reduced hierarchies and high involvement will lead to faster decision making and idea generation and information sharing, leading to innovation. F ormal organisational structure stifles individual creativity. In the words of Semler, authoritarianism diminishes productivity and as such no privileges or rules that discourages flexibility (Semler, 1999, p. 4). At Semco, People are made to enjoy their job and feel good about themselves, not just to survive. Business strategy in the company is determined without interference from the top. Similarly, Pixar is free from the thick layers of formal management and executives are not involved in the day to day running of the organisation. All employees are equally important and all work together for the success of a story. Both companies are devoid of micro-management which ensures creativity and innovation. To have these kind of organisations require a conducive organisational culture that is devoid of control. In the words of Ed Catmull, ‘Management really doesn’t tell people what to do.’ Thus both companies give employees freedom to take risk and there is reflecti on, learning and feedback. However , not everyone can work in an environment with such a structure as some people like being told what to do, also, people wants to know what their responsibilities are and who they are report to while others do not like responsibility. It means that such environment will attract liked minded individuals. Trust and Freedom: Due to the flexible organisational structure and lack of formal reporting structures, employees can be trusted to carry out their roles. However, there is a tendency for employees to abuse the system giving the few reporting structures. Semco has absolute trust in her employees and encourages them to be self managing and governing and have made partners with them. There is so much trust that Semco made entrepreneurs out of its workers through assistance with setting up their own company through its satellite programs, buy from them and encourage them to sell to its competitors. One will assume trust will not be a possibility giving the large number of employees of over 3000. Semco has defiled business school expectations and has gone as far as allowing workers to participate in managerial decision making from deciding how much they get paid, to unlimited access to financial information and freedom to work whenever and wherever they choose and meet targets at their own set time and set their salaries which has resulted in impressive growth, long term loyalty and increase and better productivity. To Semler, his interest is in the final result not where, how and hours worked (Easen, 2004). Freedom drives performance and encourages innovation. Staff can work better if given more independence (Handy, 2004). Semco adopts a participating or democratic management style that create an atmosphere where both bosses and subordinates ( partners and associate) interact regardless of jobs and position and all are involved in decision making (Semler, 1999.pp.6 81). In the words of Semler (1999, p. 6), ‘We don’t have as many bosses as we used to. As workers began to exercise more control over their jobs and assume more voices in our policies, the need for supervisors diminished.’ Having trust in individual will give them a sense of belonging and being wanted and encourage new ideas and sharing of ideas among one another. Semco and Pixar re alised that the most powerful resources at their disposal are the people who make things happen in their organisations and have learnt to trust, believe in them and give them the freedom to express their innovative capabilities and drive production forward. Trust is seen as an outcome of social capital and shared values (Cote and Healy, 2001). However, the problem with freedom is that not everyone like being free. Some people want to be controlled and directed to get their job done. Some see control as a motivator. Moreover, some top managers may resist the need for reduced hierarchies for fear of losing control and power. Social capital and Collaboration: At Semco and Pixar, there is collaboration and teamwork as people work together for common and shared values and not get in each others’ way but are committed to the achievement of the common goal of the company. At Semco, employees participate in managerial decision not just relating to their jobs but the business as a whole. They are included in decisions that pertain to choosing who their boss becomes (Easen, 2004). Before people are hired or promoted to leadership positions, they are interviewed and approved by all who will be working for them, and every six months managers are evaluated by their subordinates. Semco has autonomous business units established by ex- employees who open their own business with help from Semco and have become partners, associate and collaborators and has made Semco a leaner and agile organisation (Semler, 1999 P.7). Also different departments and business units and teams work collectively to drive innovation f orward at Semco and Pixar. Easen, 2004 reported Semler as saying that ‘Growth and profit are a product of how people work together.’ There is a balanced collaboration at Pixar as artist and technologists are paired together. Every offer or idea is accepted and then people get the chance to plus it (Nelsen, 2008). A term Nelsen called ‘plussing’- taking an idea or a piece of work and find a way to add or improve upon it without judging it. At Pixar, collaboration means amplification whereby employees who are listening and interested in each other are joined together to work and bring separate depth to the problems and breadth that gives them interest in the solution as well as allow teams to communicate at different levels. The brain trust at Pixar is a framework or forum that gives an opportunity for some of the best brains to use their expertise and experience to share their understanding and knowledge with others and to get feedback. The Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation, OECD defines social capital as ‘networks together with shared norms, values and understandings that facilitate cooperation within or among groups’ (ONS, 2001; Cote and Healy, 2001:41). It is the glue that holds organisations together and enables employees to join forces more effectively and pursue shared objectives. In a culture of continual change and uncertainty, sustainable communities are those who are collaborative and always growing with and towards each other in the formation, sharing and adaptation to new knowledge (Smith and Paquette, 2010). Some of the outcomes of social capital are social relations, trust, collaboration, mutually enforceable agreement, general reciprocity and innovation (ONS, 2001). In Semco there is mutually enforceable agreement resulting from profit sharing. In the past, Pixar had used stock to motivate employees and encourage them to stay. Also, the need to produce quality output at Pixar could be a form of mutually enforceable agreement (Price 2008, p. 114). Pay recognition: Motivation such as adequate pay, interpersonal relations and work and group dynamics are some factors that increase productivity and workers satisfaction (Mullins, 2007, p.53). Employees will be committed to work if they are being paid fairly and feel that their contribution is appreciated in the organisation. Semco’s employees set their salaries and share in the profits. As Semler (1999, P. 4) says, ‘Profit-sharing is democratic. We negotiate with our workers over the basic percentage to be distributed- about a quarter of our corporate profit.’ This has worked so well at Semco as there is very low labour turnover and when the need arises, those laid off are assisted to form their own company. Reward systems and benefits retain people and lead to workers’ satisfaction, commitment and loyalty (Chiu et al, 2002). There were times when workers salary proposal were rejected in instances of over- statement. Contrary to this is the argument that financial rewards are not enough to motivate people and that group pressure has more influence on employees than financial rewards (Mullins, 2007, p.301). In addition, people also have intrinsic motivation derives from within the individual which propels them towards the need for self actualisation and fulfilment. Learning and feedback/ Gives room for mistakes/Risk taking: Learning within projects teams depends heavily on the inflow and transfer of knowledgeable among them. Semco and Pixar are learning organisations. Such organisations give room for failure and learning from mistakes and encourage risk taking and have a wide tolerance for new ideas and do not punish mistakes. A learning organisation was defined by Johnson et al (2008) as, ‘One capable of continual regeneration from the variety of knowledge, experience and skills of individuals that encourage mutual questioning and challenge around a shared purpose or vision.’ Semler pointed out that mistake is welcome and a sign that the employee is taking enough risk. Without mistakes, there will not be learning and consequently, innovation will be stifled. Likewise at Pixar, continuous innovation requires that executives resist the natural tendencies to minimise risks and accept uncertainty to ensure originality and ability to r ecover from failures resulting from taking risks. It encourages creativity by allowing people to experiment with new ideas and mistakes genuinely made are treated as part of the learning process Emerald Group review, 2011). Mistake are not punished at Pixar but seen as building block for new ideas and innovation just like 3M. Pixar endorses and encourages a creative by rejecting hierarchical and controlled system, instead the taking of risks and recognizes the importance of serendipity in the creative process (Smith and Paquette, 2010) It has been argued that employees’ collective knowledge exceeds those of the organisation and its capabilities and managers should aim at encouraging processes that unlock employees’ knowledge and encourage information, knowledge and idea sharing which is the sort of environment both companies have created for their employees. As a narrator said, each movies produced by Pixar contains a combination of tens of thousands of ideas arising from risk taking, failure and learning. Ed Catmull said that ‘Innovative people are failure recovered not failure avoider.’ Both companies give room for reflection, learning and feedback. The benefits of learning cannot be over emphasis. Learning increases employees’ commitment, improve quality as mistakes are identified. Senge 1999 reiterated that organisational learning leads to organisational performance. Commitment: At Semco, everyone is committed to the achievement of the organisation’s objectives as they all feel a sense of belonging and part ownership of the company arising partly from the profit sharing. Employees are seen as being importance and valued. A worker in an interview said if an employee is idle, another worker will often ask why he or she is not working, reminding him or her that failure to work will reduce their profits and subsequently reduction in money for their pockets. So there is peer pressure. If employees feel that they are being trusted to take decision on their own and self manage, they will be committed. Semco operates an egalitarian company where there is no preferential treatment. Parking lots are for first come basis and all employees eat on the same canteen. Meetings are held based on the first two employees to be present. This makes employees feel as being a part of the team and big family and give them a sense of being wanted by the company. B y removing privileges of ranks, employees will see themselves as a wider community, thus feel comfortable voicing their opinion, leading to generation of new ideas. Dynamism: Semco is a highly flexible company with no boundaries to the type of business and products, making it difficult to say exactly what kind of business the company is in. There is no fixed business and it is open to any form of business that comes their way. It is also characterised with the absence of business plans and company strategy. In the words of Semler (2003, p.4), ‘ Once you say what business you are in, you create boundaries for you employees, you restrict their thinking and give them a reason to ignore new opportunities as they will say we are not in that business.’ Semco is so dynamic in its operations and processes that employees must not use one desk two days in a row. This is to make them difficult to track and are free to move and work anywhere that appeals to them be it home office. There is time flexibility as they are not concerned about when the employees arrive at work. However, contracts are negotiated on the basis of what to be achieved at a set period and what it stands to gain for paid value and what the employees get in return. It is a mutually enforceable agreement as both parties- employees and Semco benefit. Pixar, though in a core line of business of animated films, it is not to say it is not a dynamic company as different forms of films that benefits both adult and children have being produced over the years. There is effective communication at both companies due to the organisational culture and flatter structure devoid of control. There is information, idea and knowledge sharing. At Pixar, technologists communicate with the artists. SUMARY AND CONCLUSION Semco and Pixar are said to be innovative even though the companies are different in what they do and how they approach innovation. Nevertheless, some common factors in both companies is the delegation of a large amount of control to their employees and absolute freedom to take risk and give room for mistakes and failure, giving them freedom to generate new ideas and thus take a more active role and commitment. Both companies have decentralised the management structures to get employees more involved in decision making and give them a sense of belonging. They have created a culture that gives room for mistakes, failures, sharing of information, and ideas. There is also collaboration between employees, teams, departments, business units and partners, trust, social capital, communication, lack of micro-management and similar organisational culture and structure which encourages innovation. However, both companies differ in a number of ways such as absence of profit sharing at Pixar, la nguages, products, country of location and time scales. Having carried out a detailed analysis of Semco and Pixar, it is possible that what works at these companies can be applicable to other companies. However, some disadvantages will be accrued if these features are applied in another company characterised with hierarchical control culture and structure such as resistance from top management who are control freaks and unwilling to relinquish power. Moreover, not everyone will be able to self manage as some people like being controlled and told what to do. In addition, that trust and freedom work well in these organisations does not mean it can be implemented in other organisations as differences in culture and environment will play a role in determining its effectiveness in another company with different organisational culture and business environment. Having said this, nothing is worth not trying, so these managerial actions that have worked so well in these organisations can be applied to other organisations. The reward may not be see n immediately, but in the long run, it will pay off. REFERENCE ADAIR, J. 1986. Effective Team Building: How to make a Winning Team. London: Gower Publishing Co Ltd.BURNES, B. 2000. Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organisational Dynamics. 3rd edn. England: Pearson Education Ltd. CHIU, R. K, LUK, W.V AND TANG, T.L (2002) Retaining and motivating employees: Compensation preferences in Hong Kong and China. Personnel Review [Online journal], 31 (4), pp.402-431. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=Retaining+and+motivating+employees%3A+Compensation+preferences+in+Hong+Kong+and+Chinact=allec=1bf=1 . (April 19 2011). COTE, S AND HEALY, T. (2001) The Well-being of Nations. The role of human and social capital. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris. CNN. 2004. Ricardo Semler, Semco SA. [WWW] http://edition.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/06/29/semler.profile/index.html?iref=allsearch(27 April 2011). DOVEY, K. 2009. The role of trust in innovation. The Learning Organization [online journal] 16(4). Pp.311-325. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=role+of+trust+in+innovationct=allec=1bf=1 . (March23/3/2011). EASEN, N. 2004. Interview with Ricardo Semler. [WWW] http://edition.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/05/19/go.semlar.transcript/index.html (15 April 2011). EASEN, N. 2004. Democracy in the Workplace. [WWW] http://edition.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/05/19/go.democratic.workplace/index.html?iref=allsearch (15 April 2011). EMERALD GROUP, 2011. How Pixar animates its talent team: not knowing the answers can be the way ahead. Development and Learning in Organizations [Online journal], 25 (1), pp. 30-32. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=pixarct=allec=1bf=1. (April 8 2011). HANDY C, 2004. Giving your Staff More Freedom. [WWW] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/ hi/ business /4058519.stm (1 April 2011). JOHNSON, G, SCHOLES, K AND WHITTINGTON, R. 2008. Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text and Cases. 8th edn. England: Pearson Education Limited. MULLINS, L. J, 2007. Management and Organisational Behaviour. 8th edn. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. NELSEN, R. 2008. Pixar’s Randy Nelsen on the Collaborative Age. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhXJe8ANws8 (1 April 2011). OFFICE OF NATIONAL STATISTICS. 2001. Social Capital: A review of the literature. [WWW] http://www.statistics.gov.uk/socialcapital/downloads/soccaplitreview.pdf (26 April 2011). PAIK, K. 2007. To Infinity and Beyond: The story of Pixar Animation Studio. London: Virgin Books Ltd. PIXAR GROUP 24. 2009. Innovation Management: Imperial College. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTB5S2mc3wA (20 March 2011). PRICE, D. A.2008. The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company. USA: Alfred A. Knopf. SEMLER, R. 2003. The Seven-Day Weekend. London: Century. SEMLER, R. Semco – Ricardo Semler – MIT SF 11 – Leading organizations. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1qJ2W9cVDM (14 April 2011). SEMLER, R. (1999) Maverick! The Success Story Behind the World’s most Unusual Workplace. London: Random House Business Books. SEMLER, R. 2007. Interview with Ricardo Semler. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJkOPxJCN1wfeature=related (13 March 2011). SENGE, P.M. (1999). It’s the learning: the real lesson of quality movement. The Journal for Quality and Participation, 22 (6)Pp.34-40. STONEMAN, P. 2010. Soft Innovation: Economics, Product Aesthetics and Creative Industries. New York: Oxford University Press.SMITH, S. AND PAQUETTE, S. (2010). Creativity, chaos and knowledge management. Business Information Review, 27 (2), pp. 118-23. BIBLIOGRAPHY BESSANT, J. 2003. High Involvement innovation: Building and Sustaining Competitive Advantage Through Continuous Change. England: John Wiley Sons. CHRISTENSEN, C.M, AND ERIK, A.R. 2004. Seeing What is Next: Using the Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change. USA: Harvard Business school Press. BURDETH, O.J. 1994. The Magic of Alignment. Management Decision [online journal], 32 (2), pp. 59-63. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=alignmentct=allec=1bf=1go=Go. (March 3 2011). Analysis of semco and pixar animated studio as an example of innovative organizations Companies like Semco, Gore and Associate, 3M and Pixar have made a reputation for themselves due to their emphasis on creativity. Innovation is a product of collaborative learning, idea generation, sharing and idea realization practices of workers in an organization (Dovey, 2009, p.311). For innovation to occur an organisation must foster an environment and culture that give room for creativity which is what Semco and Pixar have achieved. To this end, this report will analyse Semco and Pixar as an exemplar of innovative companies and the relationship that exist between them using some key theories of innovation and the defining features and managerial actions that set them apart as innovative organisations. SEMCO Semco is a loose organisation that encourages innovation and self organisation leading to trust, collaboration and cooperation. Semco was a small family engineering company originally called Semler and Company established in 1952 in Sao Paulo, Brazil by Antonio Curt Semler and renamed Semco after Ricardo Semler, the 24 year old son of the owner resumed office as the new chief executive officer in 1984, firing more than half of the top managers on his first day of resuming office as chief executive officer and eliminated all secretarial positions (CNN, 2004). The company prior to Ricardo taking over was characterised with autocratic style of management with control and rules being the order of the day and operating at the edge of collapse. Ricardo Semler favours a participating style of management, profit sharing and free flow of information. The company product range includes dishwashers, pumps, mixers, cooling units for air condition, biscuits factories among others (Semler 1999, p. 1). It is one of the most innovative companies in the world and has become the subject of study for most business schools all around the world due to its peculiar management style. There is no organisation structure that feeds managers ego, subordinates choose their own bosses, employees set their salaries, production targets and achieve them at their own time, and are encouraged to participate, share ideas and also share in the profit (Semler 1999, pp.1-7, 130 131). PIXAR Pixar animated studio was established in 1986 after Steve Jobs purchased the computer graphics division of Lucas films for $10 million with Ed Catmull being named co-founder and Chief technical officer, Smith as vice president alongside Steve Jobs (Price, 2008, p.74 85-197). In 2001, Ed Catmull was named Pixar’s president. The company originally manufactures and sell hardware and software that enable computer graphics to develop animations. In 1987, the company began the making of short films with its first computer generated movie, Toy Story being released in 1995. The company which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Walt Disney acquired 2006 at $7.4 billion and located in Emeryville, California (Paik, 2007). The acquisition will help Pixar gain economies of scale and access to new technologies. Pixar has a range of films under its belt that has surpassed box office expectations from Rango, Hop, Toy Story 3, finding Nemo, the incredible and many others (Emerald Group Review, 2 011). Its target audience cuts across all ages and nationalities and include families and children and its product range include short films in DVDs, soundtrack CDs, animated films among others (Price, 2008, pp.3-7). It fosters an environment that gives room for mistakes and encourages collaborations among teams and departments and devoid of micro management by executives to ensure creativity and innovation (YouTube-imperial college, 2009). THEORIES OF INNOVATION USING EVIDENCE FROM SEMCO AND PIXAR What makes Ricardo Semler and Ed Catmull exceptional in the way they run their companiesCould it be that they were born to innovation, an act of God, divine intervention, grace, or years of experience and acquisition of knowledge and educationAnalysts and business tycoons have called these men genius. Some critics of Semler and Pixar would have called the transformation at these companies as a gift from the gods. However, it is worthy of note that Semco was a company already in operation prior to Ricardo taking over and Pixar had several failed attempts before its major breakthrough in 1995 with Toy Story. Emerald group, 2011 quoted Ed Catmull in Harvard Business Review ‘I don’t think our success is largely luck. Rather, I believe our adherence to a set of principles and practices for managing creative talent and risk is responsible.’ Was grace far from the transformation in these companiesRicardo was one of the youngest graduates at Harvard Business School who wo uld have learnt some of the traditional management theories in school but choose to manage in a uniquely different way that suite his life and believes suite those of his employees. Moreover, having had an encounter with a doctor who told him to change his work style, he decided to change his way of management, a factor that has led to the key changes at Semco today. Thus innovation at Semco may be a combination of association having graduated from Harvard, accident-a chance meeting with the doctor, personality-considering that while at high school he raised some money for the school vacation program which he reinvested to yield a return before the vacation, feature of life and a bit of cognitive considering the fact that innovation at Semco had evolved over time. It is far from being grace or act of gods. Several forms of innovation can be said to have taken placed at these organisations. They are: Organisational innovation: An organisational innovation is one that entails the implementation of a new organisational method in the firm’s business practices, workplace or external relations (Stoneman, 2010, p.17; OECD, 2006). It is often intended to increase a company’s performance through improvement in workplace satisfaction and labour productivity and access to knowledge. It entails an adoption of an organisational method such as flatter organisation structures, employees’ participation among others that have not being used before in an organisation and often results from strategic decisions taken by management (Stoneman, 2010, p.18). Semco and Pixar posses a great deal of organisational innovation. Semco had implemented theories that have never being tried before such as the satellites programs that allow ex-employees to open their own companies with financial help and resources and become partners with Semco and employees cutting their wages by 30% to Semc o at difficult times to get a higher returns when trading conditions get better. What drive such innovation are the organisational culture, structure and learning. Social innovation: This is the innovation that supports and it is beneficial to the society. Pixar is an example of such innovation whose films though animated have a lot of influence on the society both young and small. Its latest film, hop for instance gives social lessons about the role of adult and children in society. Semco has also contributed to the Brazilian society through employment and a reduction in job cuts. Traditional innovation: This is technological innovation and is measured in different ways such as through patents, expenditure and development among others. Semco and Pixar have shown a lot of innovation and creativity in technology with Pixar having a lot of patents. All these types of innovation create social capital which will be discussed later in this report. FEATURES OF INNOVATIVE ORGANISATIONS OR MANAGEMENT ACTIONS SEMCO and Pixar’s success is built on a lattice or flatter organisational structure devoid of control culture that has gone through series of transformation through the years which has enhanced their innovative ability. An organisational culture devoid of control fosters innovation as individuals are giving the freedom to self organise and make their own decisions just like Semco where employees set their salaries and take decisions on production targets and the time they meet such targets (Semler, 1999, p.1). These companies have been able to manage innovation in the following ways: Structure and culture: Organisational design is crucial to the continuous innovation of an enterprise. As the business environment becomes complex and uncertain, so is the organisational design changing to meet up with customers’ demands for value maximising products. Traditional management scientists like Max Weber emphasised formal structure which is a top-down approach characterised with command, control, rules, position power and neglect social and psychological influences on behaviours of employees and teams (Burnes 2000, p.45). Employees are likely to respond to a good leader who they trust and respect than being managed in a bureaucratic way as argued by Adair 1986:54. Semco operates a lattice structure and considers all workers as equal and has reduced bureaucracy from twelve layers of management to three (Semler 1999, p.7). Reduced hierarchies and high involvement will lead to faster decision making and idea generation and information sharing, leading to innovation. F ormal organisational structure stifles individual creativity. In the words of Semler, authoritarianism diminishes productivity and as such no privileges or rules that discourages flexibility (Semler, 1999, p. 4). At Semco, People are made to enjoy their job and feel good about themselves, not just to survive. Business strategy in the company is determined without interference from the top. Similarly, Pixar is free from the thick layers of formal management and executives are not involved in the day to day running of the organisation. All employees are equally important and all work together for the success of a story. Both companies are devoid of micro-management which ensures creativity and innovation. To have these kind of organisations require a conducive organisational culture that is devoid of control. In the words of Ed Catmull, ‘Management really doesn’t tell people what to do.’ Thus both companies give employees freedom to take risk and there is reflecti on, learning and feedback. However , not everyone can work in an environment with such a structure as some people like being told what to do, also, people wants to know what their responsibilities are and who they are report to while others do not like responsibility. It means that such environment will attract liked minded individuals. Trust and Freedom: Due to the flexible organisational structure and lack of formal reporting structures, employees can be trusted to carry out their roles. However, there is a tendency for employees to abuse the system giving the few reporting structures. Semco has absolute trust in her employees and encourages them to be self managing and governing and have made partners with them. There is so much trust that Semco made entrepreneurs out of its workers through assistance with setting up their own company through its satellite programs, buy from them and encourage them to sell to its competitors. One will assume trust will not be a possibility giving the large number of employees of over 3000. Semco has defiled business school expectations and has gone as far as allowing workers to participate in managerial decision making from deciding how much they get paid, to unlimited access to financial information and freedom to work whenever and wherever they choose and meet targets at their own set time and set their salaries which has resulted in impressive growth, long term loyalty and increase and better productivity. To Semler, his interest is in the final result not where, how and hours worked (Easen, 2004). Freedom drives performance and encourages innovation. Staff can work better if given more independence (Handy, 2004). Semco adopts a participating or democratic management style that create an atmosphere where both bosses and subordinates ( partners and associate) interact regardless of jobs and position and all are involved in decision making (Semler, 1999.pp.6 81). In the words of Semler (1999, p. 6), ‘We don’t have as many bosses as we used to. As workers began to exercise more control over their jobs and assume more voices in our policies, the need for supervisors diminished.’ Having trust in individual will give them a sense of belonging and being wanted and encourage new ideas and sharing of ideas among one another. Semco and Pixar re alised that the most powerful resources at their disposal are the people who make things happen in their organisations and have learnt to trust, believe in them and give them the freedom to express their innovative capabilities and drive production forward. Trust is seen as an outcome of social capital and shared values (Cote and Healy, 2001). However, the problem with freedom is that not everyone like being free. Some people want to be controlled and directed to get their job done. Some see control as a motivator. Moreover, some top managers may resist the need for reduced hierarchies for fear of losing control and power. Social capital and Collaboration: At Semco and Pixar, there is collaboration and teamwork as people work together for common and shared values and not get in each others’ way but are committed to the achievement of the common goal of the company. At Semco, employees participate in managerial decision not just relating to their jobs but the business as a whole. They are included in decisions that pertain to choosing who their boss becomes (Easen, 2004). Before people are hired or promoted to leadership positions, they are interviewed and approved by all who will be working for them, and every six months managers are evaluated by their subordinates. Semco has autonomous business units established by ex- employees who open their own business with help from Semco and have become partners, associate and collaborators and has made Semco a leaner and agile organisation (Semler, 1999 P.7). Also different departments and business units and teams work collectively to drive innovation f orward at Semco and Pixar. Easen, 2004 reported Semler as saying that ‘Growth and profit are a product of how people work together.’ There is a balanced collaboration at Pixar as artist and technologists are paired together. Every offer or idea is accepted and then people get the chance to plus it (Nelsen, 2008). A term Nelsen called ‘plussing’- taking an idea or a piece of work and find a way to add or improve upon it without judging it. At Pixar, collaboration means amplification whereby employees who are listening and interested in each other are joined together to work and bring separate depth to the problems and breadth that gives them interest in the solution as well as allow teams to communicate at different levels. The brain trust at Pixar is a framework or forum that gives an opportunity for some of the best brains to use their expertise and experience to share their understanding and knowledge with others and to get feedback. The Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation, OECD defines social capital as ‘networks together with shared norms, values and understandings that facilitate cooperation within or among groups’ (ONS, 2001; Cote and Healy, 2001:41). It is the glue that holds organisations together and enables employees to join forces more effectively and pursue shared objectives. In a culture of continual change and uncertainty, sustainable communities are those who are collaborative and always growing with and towards each other in the formation, sharing and adaptation to new knowledge (Smith and Paquette, 2010). Some of the outcomes of social capital are social relations, trust, collaboration, mutually enforceable agreement, general reciprocity and innovation (ONS, 2001). In Semco there is mutually enforceable agreement resulting from profit sharing. In the past, Pixar had used stock to motivate employees and encourage them to stay. Also, the need to produce quality output at Pixar could be a form of mutually enforceable agreement (Price 2008, p. 114). Pay recognition: Motivation such as adequate pay, interpersonal relations and work and group dynamics are some factors that increase productivity and workers satisfaction (Mullins, 2007, p.53). Employees will be committed to work if they are being paid fairly and feel that their contribution is appreciated in the organisation. Semco’s employees set their salaries and share in the profits. As Semler (1999, P. 4) says, ‘Profit-sharing is democratic. We negotiate with our workers over the basic percentage to be distributed- about a quarter of our corporate profit.’ This has worked so well at Semco as there is very low labour turnover and when the need arises, those laid off are assisted to form their own company. Reward systems and benefits retain people and lead to workers’ satisfaction, commitment and loyalty (Chiu et al, 2002). There were times when workers salary proposal were rejected in instances of over- statement. Contrary to this is the argument that financial rewards are not enough to motivate people and that group pressure has more influence on employees than financial rewards (Mullins, 2007, p.301). In addition, people also have intrinsic motivation derives from within the individual which propels them towards the need for self actualisation and fulfilment. Learning and feedback/ Gives room for mistakes/Risk taking: Learning within projects teams depends heavily on the inflow and transfer of knowledgeable among them. Semco and Pixar are learning organisations. Such organisations give room for failure and learning from mistakes and encourage risk taking and have a wide tolerance for new ideas and do not punish mistakes. A learning organisation was defined by Johnson et al (2008) as, ‘One capable of continual regeneration from the variety of knowledge, experience and skills of individuals that encourage mutual questioning and challenge around a shared purpose or vision.’ Semler pointed out that mistake is welcome and a sign that the employee is taking enough risk. Without mistakes, there will not be learning and consequently, innovation will be stifled. Likewise at Pixar, continuous innovation requires that executives resist the natural tendencies to minimise risks and accept uncertainty to ensure originality and ability to r ecover from failures resulting from taking risks. It encourages creativity by allowing people to experiment with new ideas and mistakes genuinely made are treated as part of the learning process Emerald Group review, 2011). Mistake are not punished at Pixar but seen as building block for new ideas and innovation just like 3M. Pixar endorses and encourages a creative by rejecting hierarchical and controlled system, instead the taking of risks and recognizes the importance of serendipity in the creative process (Smith and Paquette, 2010) It has been argued that employees’ collective knowledge exceeds those of the organisation and its capabilities and managers should aim at encouraging processes that unlock employees’ knowledge and encourage information, knowledge and idea sharing which is the sort of environment both companies have created for their employees. As a narrator said, each movies produced by Pixar contains a combination of tens of thousands of ideas arising from risk taking, failure and learning. Ed Catmull said that ‘Innovative people are failure recovered not failure avoider.’ Both companies give room for reflection, learning and feedback. The benefits of learning cannot be over emphasis. Learning increases employees’ commitment, improve quality as mistakes are identified. Senge 1999 reiterated that organisational learning leads to organisational performance. Commitment: At Semco, everyone is committed to the achievement of the organisation’s objectives as they all feel a sense of belonging and part ownership of the company arising partly from the profit sharing. Employees are seen as being importance and valued. A worker in an interview said if an employee is idle, another worker will often ask why he or she is not working, reminding him or her that failure to work will reduce their profits and subsequently reduction in money for their pockets. So there is peer pressure. If employees feel that they are being trusted to take decision on their own and self manage, they will be committed. Semco operates an egalitarian company where there is no preferential treatment. Parking lots are for first come basis and all employees eat on the same canteen. Meetings are held based on the first two employees to be present. This makes employees feel as being a part of the team and big family and give them a sense of being wanted by the company. B y removing privileges of ranks, employees will see themselves as a wider community, thus feel comfortable voicing their opinion, leading to generation of new ideas. Dynamism: Semco is a highly flexible company with no boundaries to the type of business and products, making it difficult to say exactly what kind of business the company is in. There is no fixed business and it is open to any form of business that comes their way. It is also characterised with the absence of business plans and company strategy. In the words of Semler (2003, p.4), ‘ Once you say what business you are in, you create boundaries for you employees, you restrict their thinking and give them a reason to ignore new opportunities as they will say we are not in that business.’ Semco is so dynamic in its operations and processes that employees must not use one desk two days in a row. This is to make them difficult to track and are free to move and work anywhere that appeals to them be it home office. There is time flexibility as they are not concerned about when the employees arrive at work. However, contracts are negotiated on the basis of what to be achieved at a set period and what it stands to gain for paid value and what the employees get in return. It is a mutually enforceable agreement as both parties- employees and Semco benefit. Pixar, though in a core line of business of animated films, it is not to say it is not a dynamic company as different forms of films that benefits both adult and children have being produced over the years. There is effective communication at both companies due to the organisational culture and flatter structure devoid of control. There is information, idea and knowledge sharing. At Pixar, technologists communicate with the artists. SUMARY AND CONCLUSION Semco and Pixar are said to be innovative even though the companies are different in what they do and how they approach innovation. Nevertheless, some common factors in both companies is the delegation of a large amount of control to their employees and absolute freedom to take risk and give room for mistakes and failure, giving them freedom to generate new ideas and thus take a more active role and commitment. Both companies have decentralised the management structures to get employees more involved in decision making and give them a sense of belonging. They have created a culture that gives room for mistakes, failures, sharing of information, and ideas. There is also collaboration between employees, teams, departments, business units and partners, trust, social capital, communication, lack of micro-management and similar organisational culture and structure which encourages innovation. However, both companies differ in a number of ways such as absence of profit sharing at Pixar, la nguages, products, country of location and time scales. Having carried out a detailed analysis of Semco and Pixar, it is possible that what works at these companies can be applicable to other companies. However, some disadvantages will be accrued if these features are applied in another company characterised with hierarchical control culture and structure such as resistance from top management who are control freaks and unwilling to relinquish power. Moreover, not everyone will be able to self manage as some people like being controlled and told what to do. In addition, that trust and freedom work well in these organisations does not mean it can be implemented in other organisations as differences in culture and environment will play a role in determining its effectiveness in another company with different organisational culture and business environment. Having said this, nothing is worth not trying, so these managerial actions that have worked so well in these organisations can be applied to other organisations. The reward may not be see n immediately, but in the long run, it will pay off. REFERENCE ADAIR, J. 1986. Effective Team Building: How to make a Winning Team. London: Gower Publishing Co Ltd.BURNES, B. 2000. Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organisational Dynamics. 3rd edn. England: Pearson Education Ltd. CHIU, R. K, LUK, W.V AND TANG, T.L (2002) Retaining and motivating employees: Compensation preferences in Hong Kong and China. Personnel Review [Online journal], 31 (4), pp.402-431. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=Retaining+and+motivating+employees%3A+Compensation+preferences+in+Hong+Kong+and+Chinact=allec=1bf=1 . (April 19 2011). COTE, S AND HEALY, T. (2001) The Well-being of Nations. The role of human and social capital. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris. CNN. 2004. Ricardo Semler, Semco SA. [WWW] http://edition.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/06/29/semler.profile/index.html?iref=allsearch(27 April 2011). DOVEY, K. 2009. The role of trust in innovation. The Learning Organization [online journal] 16(4). Pp.311-325. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=role+of+trust+in+innovationct=allec=1bf=1 . (March23/3/2011). EASEN, N. 2004. Interview with Ricardo Semler. [WWW] http://edition.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/05/19/go.semlar.transcript/index.html (15 April 2011). EASEN, N. 2004. Democracy in the Workplace. [WWW] http://edition.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/05/19/go.democratic.workplace/index.html?iref=allsearch (15 April 2011). EMERALD GROUP, 2011. How Pixar animates its talent team: not knowing the answers can be the way ahead. Development and Learning in Organizations [Online journal], 25 (1), pp. 30-32. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=pixarct=allec=1bf=1. (April 8 2011). HANDY C, 2004. Giving your Staff More Freedom. [WWW] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/ hi/ business /4058519.stm (1 April 2011). JOHNSON, G, SCHOLES, K AND WHITTINGTON, R. 2008. Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text and Cases. 8th edn. England: Pearson Education Limited. MULLINS, L. J, 2007. Management and Organisational Behaviour. 8th edn. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. NELSEN, R. 2008. Pixar’s Randy Nelsen on the Collaborative Age. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhXJe8ANws8 (1 April 2011). OFFICE OF NATIONAL STATISTICS. 2001. Social Capital: A review of the literature. [WWW] http://www.statistics.gov.uk/socialcapital/downloads/soccaplitreview.pdf (26 April 2011). PAIK, K. 2007. To Infinity and Beyond: The story of Pixar Animation Studio. London: Virgin Books Ltd. PIXAR GROUP 24. 2009. Innovation Management: Imperial College. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTB5S2mc3wA (20 March 2011). PRICE, D. A.2008. The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company. USA: Alfred A. Knopf. SEMLER, R. 2003. The Seven-Day Weekend. London: Century. SEMLER, R. Semco – Ricardo Semler – MIT SF 11 – Leading organizations. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1qJ2W9cVDM (14 April 2011). SEMLER, R. (1999) Maverick! The Success Story Behind the World’s most Unusual Workplace. London: Random House Business Books. SEMLER, R. 2007. Interview with Ricardo Semler. [WWW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJkOPxJCN1wfeature=related (13 March 2011). SENGE, P.M. (1999). It’s the learning: the real lesson of quality movement. The Journal for Quality and Participation, 22 (6)Pp.34-40. STONEMAN, P. 2010. Soft Innovation: Economics, Product Aesthetics and Creative Industries. New York: Oxford University Press.SMITH, S. AND PAQUETTE, S. (2010). Creativity, chaos and knowledge management. Business Information Review, 27 (2), pp. 118-23. BIBLIOGRAPHY BESSANT, J. 2003. High Involvement innovation: Building and Sustaining Competitive Advantage Through Continuous Change. England: John Wiley Sons. CHRISTENSEN, C.M, AND ERIK, A.R. 2004. Seeing What is Next: Using the Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change. USA: Harvard Business school Press. BURDETH, O.J. 1994. The Magic of Alignment. Management Decision [online journal], 32 (2), pp. 59-63. Available from Emerald at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=alignmentct=allec=1bf=1go=Go. (March 3 2011).

Course of GDL programme (Land law ) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Course of GDL programme (Land law ) - Essay Example The first requirement that is presumed not to be followed is of s.2 Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, which states that a contract for disposition of land must be in writing and should be signed by each party to the contract. However from the fact it is seen that there has been conveyancing of property, thus it can be said that the registration of Brain as the new owner has taken place. In registered land, the key rights interest and title are illustrated by the register which consists of three parts, that is the property register, the proprietorship register and the charges register. The property register demonstrates the type of estate held by the owner and further gives facts of the property. The proprietorship register on the other hand gives the name of the registered proprietor and goes on to state any restrictions or limitations which have been placed on the proprietor to deal with the land. Finally, the charges register lays down third party rights which exist on the estate. Under the LRA 1925 the encumbrances that exist are classified into two categories, that is overriding interests, which bind the purchaser even if not mentioned on the register, and minor interests, which will be void against the purchaser unless the interests are protected through an entry on the register. The overriding interest that can be relied upon by Wanda is s.70 (1) (g) LRA 1925. Under the LRA 2002 it has been stated that a person's right of actual occupation will be construed as an overriding interest under the LRA 2002. This section consists of, 'The rights of every person in actual occupation of the land or in receipt of the rent and profits thereof, save where enquiry is made of such person and the rights are not disclosed'. It has been said that a person who does not have any legal or equitable right in land can get no benefit from s.70 (1) (g), nor can a person who not in actual occupation. (Strand Securities Ltd v. Caswell1). In Williams & Glynn's Bank Ltd v. Boland2 it was stated that 'it is the fact of occupation that matters' and 'physical presence on the land and not some entitlement in the law' is required. Further it has been stated that the purchaser will be bound by all the overriding interests that exist at the time of the date of registration. (Abbey National Building Society v. Cann)3 The courts have dealt with the issue of what happens if an occupier of the lan is absent for a temporary period in Chhokar v. Chhokar4, where a husband in order to divest his wife from claiming an equitable interest in the matrimonial home, carried on and completed a sale of property to his collaborator, while his wife was in the hospital. He then escaped with what he got from the proceeds. Finally when the wife returned she was refused her interest because of not being physically present on the land, at the time of registration. The Court of Appeal took into account of the fact that her furniture had been there at the house, thus it was held that she was in occupation and so the purchaser was bound by the overriding interest. This case would seem to have settled the issue, however there is a problem which has been said to be in existence, that is the courts did not make any reference whatsoever, of the LRA 1925, thus it

Visual Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Visual Analysis - Essay Example In light of the above, a piece of art for consideration would be the picture depicting passengers of the S.S. Pennland on deck. The picture shows that most of the persons on the ship are young women. The woman on the foreground is leaning on her arm, possibly showing her state of fatigue. Most of the other people around are having a nap, most probably enhancing the theme of fatigue throughout the journey. Moreover, they have wrapped themselves with blankets and wearing heavy clothing. Most of the people in the picture have a cap or something to cover their heads, with the exception of the woman at the forefront. Despite this, she too has covered herself well with coverings visible from her neck and extending well over her feet. This most probably gives the impression that they experienced adverse weather conditions throughout the journey and the cold was taking toll on them. Somewhere along the mid-deck of the ship, there are visible huge reels of rope, but they do not have ropes on them. This most probably translates to the fact that probably most of the ship’s sails were fully hoisted and it probably still had a long way to go. The background of the picture shows a couple of men. While some of them are looking out into the sea, an atypical man is gazing to the side from which the photo was most probably taken. These men are likely to be part of the ship’s crew. They may be on their daily routine of checking out the situation in the sea and the condition of their passengers. The presumption that they could be part of the ship’s crew relies on their general look portrays the aspect that they do not look as fatigued as the rest of the people on the deck. On the first glance of the photo, one thing that suddenly strikes is the manner in which passengers look sprawled on the deck of the ship. The manner in which they are travelling depicts that of a journey not so well planned. The deck lacks no visible seating apparatus and the passengers are generally trying to fit themselves into any comfortable spot they find. A majority of them are sitting or lying on the latch covering the under the deck partitions of the ship. This is most likely the more comfortable place on the deck. The state of the passengers on the deck show that they are completely exhausted and are longing for the ship to dock at their destination. From this, and the fact that the photo certainly dates back to the early 20th century, suffice to conclude that travelling by ship during the earlier days of sea travel was a harrowing experience that could only be endured by the strong-hearted. Cohen’s article uses seven theses on monsters to try to discern a culture depending on the monster that most aptly describes it. From this, an assortment of monsters described distinguishes each other by various features (Cohen 121). Thesis VI on the monster being a kind of desire raises the claim that the activities that do not raise levels of satisfaction or are not endorsed by society are more attracting to the cultures. That the monster arouses the desires of the body to being frightened and this is eased by the thought of relief after the harrowing experience. This raises a complication as it supposes that the body is thrilled and enjoys the effects of an experience that frightens it (Cohen 231). This despite the fact that the body actually yearns for life’

People , placed and Environment portolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

People , placed and Environment portolio - Essay Example The relationship of people with their environment is not same in all places. Some places & its environment are harsh for human sustainability whereas some places are most suitable for living. This Portfolio is an endeavor to portray the relationship of people of different places with their environment, with the shift in their location. The places vary from Asian countries like Tibet to countries in the American continent like USA. It depicts the way in which the environment determines the different aspects of their life like population growth, nourishment & economic development of the whole community etc. It describes how people are in different types of relationship with the environment & the way their dependency, wellbeing, etc. varies with the change in location. In the present age, human beings have started to affect the environment enormously through their actions. The environment is harmed considerably by the actions of people. But the harm the environment suffers, through the actions of people varies from place to place. Fig. 1 Nomads of Tibet Fig. 2 People of New York City Fig. 3 People in Sahara desert Fig. 4 Earthquake in Sumatra Fig. 5 â€Å"Java Rice Paddy Workers† Fig. 6 People in Sumatra In Fig. 1 the image of a Nomad of Tibet is given. The population of the area is low due to its rugged relief, creating obstacles in the construction of roads, railways & communication (Richabraj). The nomads come out in the warm weather & roam in mountain pastures with their herds of yaks and sheep. In the cold weather they go to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet for many reasons (Tibetan Nomads: A focus on the Tibetan culture). Thus, this people completely depend on nature for their survival. In Fig. 2 we can see an image of New York City, a highly industrialized city of a developed country. Environment is most suitable in all aspects due to its location. But unlike the developing countries the city causes pollution & thus harms the environment. In Fig. 3 we can see the inhabitants of Sahara Desert, which has a population of only 2.5 million despite its area of 3.5 million. It has one of the harshest environments. The majority of the population being Nomads move from place to place in search of better living conditions (The Living Africa: The People). In Fig. 4 we can see people in Sumatra trying to rescue survivors from a house destroyed by earthquake. These people are tormented by the environment through its natural disasters. Yet, the desire for survival impels these people to fight with the environment. In Fig. 5 we can see workers in Java Island of Indonesia. The Java islands of Indonesia have fertile soil, as such agriculture flourished, making the area densely populated (Richabraj). Thus the environment is perfectly suitable for human beings over here & less industrialization does not allow the environment to be harmed. We can call this a healthy relationship of people, place & environment. In Fig. 6 we can see migrating people of S umatra. Due to the environmental conditions they are forced to migrate in search for a better place. They don’t harm the nature by themselves but instead they are being ruled by the forces of nature. Works Cited Richabraj. â€Å" Elaborate relationship between man and environment?† Wikianswers.com. N.d. Web. 25th Feb 2011. â€Å"Tibetan Nomads: A

Philosophy of Mass Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Philosophy of Mass Communication - Essay Example Mass Communication is believed to be a task of delivering information, ideas and attitudes to a sizable and diversified audience via use of media developed for that purpose which seems much difficult than to communicate through face to face. The revenue of mass communication comes from the following sources. However people living in advanced nations are also interested to make charitable contributions to organizations such as Save the Children, UNCF and Autism Speaks that partially performing mass communication activities. The people nevertheless, have to make a rational decision in terms of paying for public donations such as mass media or charitable donations. The value of making a public donation needs to be kept in mind because it is largely responsible for keep the national systems running throughout the world. Mass media although seems simple but also has its own code of ethics and conduct, which the companies have to follow and the audience, will judge them as well. Donating to mass media appears reasonable as everyone nowadays is interested to believe in mass and social media. Charitable donations nonetheless have their own significance and importance and funding them is equally important regarding provision of support to media. As being a part of same country, every person has to perform its duties towards those who are being going through several downturns and problems of life. Therefore before donating, any person should consider his or her monthly income, his or her own personal expenses, and then should decide the level of donation he or she can make and should also perform a detailed research about legitimacy of the companies to which he or she is going to make a donation. The next step that is to be done is to see which organization requires the most and the donor has to donate ac cordingly and reasonably. The right of every organization needs to be considered in a local city at least. Roles of Railroads The railroads on the other hand, played an important role in the United States and It was an epic function at that time and therefore, it involved enterprises on a great scale that had quite a cash surplus too. Atlas shrugged has written â€Å"In a time between 1946-1957 in United States†. The novel was led by major characters like Dagny Taggart, James Taggart and John Galt. The basic theme of the novel was that US was experiencing a time where there was recession and facing a downward economic spiral in businesses (Notes 2013). Dagny at that time was the in charge of the Traggart Transcontinental Rail Road who was seeking to rebuild the crumbling track of Rio Norte Line. It also served for oil fields in the blooming industry of Colorado. Dagny throughout the novel shows her devotion to the railroads but faces several enemies who wanted to destroy her dreams. She has her first conflict between her brother regarding contracting with Rearden steel to build the railroads and then she had a fight with a manufacturer who was James’ old friend, She trusted Hayn Rearden more as she found her steel to be more reliable. The sensible decision needs to be made in a disturbed economic situation where Dagny faced the loss of her majority of skilled workforce. The case further worsens when the Traggart Transcontinental Railroad gets nationalized and Dagny experiences a main trauma. After seeking political aid a new law passes which takes the major competitor out of the business. Dagny however comes to know that there are certain people who want her out of the business world and she was facing huge losses. On the other hand, she starts working with Rearden in order to build the metal bridge but even then they face difficulties as the government considers Rearden’s metal to be not reliable and there again comes an end to Traggart T ranscontinental’s works and then they finally decide to invest in John Galt’s Line. After their successful attempt they find a

International Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Management - Essay Example The firm needs to be restructured to keep up with its international growth and a plan needs to be developed to change the organization to fit its new multinational status. Tossavainen (2005, pg. 1) claims that, "the utilization of an enterprise resource planning system in an multinational enterprise can be explained by the following elements: 1) organizational awareness, 2) imperfect autonomy, 3) change orientation, 4) transformation triggers, 5) Enterprise Resource Planning system impact, and 6) successful performance. The implementing organization defines ERP, it must reflect the MNE strategies and management. Therefore, new organizational capabilities are required for the implementing organization to achieve the promised benefits associated with the ERP." In order to implement effective solutions, careful organization and planning must be followed. A model needs to be developed that can be followed carefully. An ERP must be enabled for long-term use. In order to accomplish this, one way is to implement it through "initial implementation, enhancements, deployment rollouts, support of the use, and upgrades" (Tossavainen, 2005, pg. 1). It is also suggested that organizational mechanisms are updated. Multinational enterprises are fascinating to research due to their state of constant change. The information systems that are used in multinational enterprises make it difficult for uniformity across the board since the branches of the organization are located in many different locations. Fortunately, new information systems are now being developed that solve this problem, such as enterprise resource planning systems. They are designed to "integrate operational data with logistics business processes" (Tossavainen, 2005, pg. 1). Thanks to enterprise resource planning solutions, businesses can now operate comfortably on a global scale. What the Literature Says About the Subject Research is being prompted in this area due to the increasing complexity of multinational enterprise management. It is also being prompted because much enterprise resource planning research that is already in existence is ambiguous in nature and there is much failure in implementation of the systems. According to Tossavainen (2005, pg. 1), "A new permanent organization structure that integrates business and information technology (IT) domains is needed to accomplish variety of tasks related to the ERP system." How a Firm Gains a Status of Multinational Corporation According to Tossavainen (2005, pg. 1), "An MNE has several units across separate geographical locations with different degrees of freedom in their activities. Hence, an MNE is geographically, time-wise and environmentally (both externally and internally) diverse." Part II Introduction This scenario introduces the case of a company that sells underwear for men and women. The manager has decided to invest into a firm in Romania that will produce the product for the company. As such, he is sending a manager for the subsidiary, an accountant, and an engineer for the Romanian firm. A Plan for Organizational Change in a Multinational Enterprise The basic outline for the organizational plan change in this

Marketing Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Marketing Communication - Essay Example The hyphen was later removed. Their first office was located in Albuquerque(History of Microsoft ). The turning point for Microsoft came when it introduced its Graphical User Interface (GUI) based operating system. The first version of its GUI based operating system, namely Windows 1.0, was launched in 20th November, 1985. From there onward, Microsoft continuously improved its operating system, adding new capabilities and functions, the latest being Windows 7. It also started its web based services later. The Net Income of Microsoft was $14.57B as of June 30, 2009. It employees about 91,005 people, among which 75.4% are male and 24.6% are female. An astonishing number of 36,875 employees work in Sales & Marketing Support Group (Microsoft.com). Gates considers â€Å"innovation† as the main factor of their success. He thinks their decision of creating a software industry around the personal computer was the most innovative thing(Corcoran, 2008). There is always a reason for the establishment of an organization. These reasons are expressed through vision and mission statements. A company may have a clear purpose or mission initially, but as it grows, its mission may become unclear as the organization adds new products or markets in its portfolio(Philip & Gary, 2003). Same happened with Microsoft. Initially, Microsoft was only a software provider, so it had a simple mission statement of: Microsoft initially had a product oriented Mission Statement. A product or technology oriented mission statement do not last forever because they become obsolete. On the other hand, market oriented mission statement lasts for ever because it considers the basic market needs (Philip & Gary, 2003). Microsoft’s current mission statement includes most of the qualities of a good mission statement such as it is market oriented, realistic, achievable, inspirational and motivational; and it fits the market environment. Microsoft is

Movement Between Schools of Thought Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Movement Between Schools of Thought - Essay Example Behaviorist theorists believe that human actions are the results of conditioned responses to direct or indirect stimuli and these behaviors can be changed or altered by applying new stimuli that will supplant the old ways the individual is accustomed to (DeMar, 1989). Denouncing mentalistic concepts of consciousness, Watson strongly believed that actions were instinctual reactions involving limited aspects of the cognitive process and biological constraints (Myers, 2008). Based on the theories of Edward L. Thorndike, Skinner designed experiments to test his theory of operant conditioning using rats and proved that behaviors can be shaped and manipulated using various positive and negative stimuli (Myers, 2008). Behaviorist theory was spurned by the growing belief that all behaviors, those of humans and animals, were the result of behaviorist conditioning (Graham, 2010). Psychologists that studied these philosophies developed numerous learning techniques that have been of benefit to e ducators. References Boyd, H. & Bee, D. (2006). Adult development. Boston: Pearson. Cherry, K. (2011). B. F. Skinner Biography (1904-1990). About.com Guide.

Essay on Abortion Essay Example for Free

Essay on Abortion Essay Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy. If a woman falls pregnant and she does not wish to go through with the pregnancy then she may choose to have an abortion. Abortion is a controversial issue, some people say it is ok to abort a baby but others are strongly against it. Sometimes people are against it because they believe it is wrong but some are against it because of their religion, their background and their up-bringing. People who are for abortion may have had one and therefore think it is ok or they may know someone who has had one. In this essay I will discuss the arguments for and the arguments against abortion. An argument in favour of abortion is if the woman was raped. If a woman was raped then she would often not want to keep a rapist’s child. Also she would probably be scarred for life, even without the baby. If she had the baby she would be reminded of the rape every single day of her life. When the baby gets older he/she would want to know who his/her dad was when he/she saw that every other child at school had a dad and he/she never, unless the mother has another partner. Secondly, the mother should be able to terminate the pregnancy if she is told that her unborn baby is going to have a disability. If your baby was born with a disability then you would struggle to cope, as would your family. When the baby grows older he/she may have difficulties in school and may even get bullied because of his/her disabilities. It would be possible to abort this baby as every parent wishes for a good, happy, normal life for their children. Lastly, a reason for a woman to have an abortion is if she is under the legal age of consent, sixteen. A young woman under sixteen may not be able to cope on her own and may not be able to provide the maternal and emotional support the baby needs. The girl also may have to leave school for a little while to take care of the baby which would make her fall behind on a lot of school work. She may have the pregnancy terminated because she may have wanted to go to college or university to study further. I feel that she should have the chance to live her life and be free without having any major responsibilities, like having to look after a baby. However, even though a woman may have a perfectly good reason to have an abortion she would still be killing a human life. Some women think they are doing the right thing at the time but when it comes to a later stage in life, many of them can regret their decisions. It would probably be at the back of their mind- they would think about it when they got the chance to. They would probably think how their lives would be different if they had had the baby. Furthermore, there are many people in the world that cannot conceive for many different reasons and would do anything for a child, therefore they would adopt. Instead of a woman having a termination because she think she is unable to cope then she could have the baby and then put it up for adoption. Sometimes in these situations women have the baby and they often change their mind about having the baby put up for adoption and they keep their baby. Of course if the woman still does not want the baby she may have him/her put up for adoption for another family to take care of. Lastly, if the woman is old enough and responsible enough to have sex then she should have to take responsibility of a pregnancy that results in her actions, even if this does mean having to leave school or to leave a brilliant job to raise a child. Any woman should have to take care of a baby because she knew what she was doing and knew what could be the consequences of her actions. Therefore she should not be allowed to terminate her pregnancy. Having researched the topic fully presented three arguments for abortion and three arguments against abortion, my opinion is that it should be legal but for one reason only – if the baby is going to have any sort of disability. In every other circumstance, it should be illegal because, as I said in one of my points, many couples are unable to have children of their own and this would give them a good chance to have a baby of their own.

Play Therapy Essay Example for Free

Play Therapy Essay Sometimes children go through difficult passages in their lives. It therefore becomes prudent to provide them with effective ways of helping them ease through these passages. Infact, children are good teachers and they know what they want and what is right for them (Kottman, 1993). All they need is just space to do it. Play therefore becomes very important in releasing these pent-up emotions, feelings of anxiety, fear disappointment, aggression and insecurity (Chethik, Morton. 2000). This brings us to the issue of play therapy. What is play therapy? Play therapy refers to a method of psychotherapy with children in which a child’s fantasies and symbolic meanings of his/her play are used as a medium for understanding and communication with him/her (Landreth, 2002). Through this method, the child is helped to control his/her emotions, thoughts, wishes and needs using games, toys and mediums such as clay, drawings and paint. By doing so, the child is helped to understand the muddled feelings and upsetting events that he/she has not had a chance or skill to sort out properly. Thus through this symbolic representation, the child gains a sense of control over events that in reality, seem uncontrollable. Unlike in adult therapy where one has to explain what is troubling him, children use play to communicate at their own level and pace without any feeling of interrogation or threat using toys as their words and play as their language (Landreth, 2002). Rationale for play therapy In play therapy, the symbolic of function play is vital in providing children with a means of expressing their inner world. This use of play therapy is rooted on a development understanding of children. According to Piaget (1962), children at the pre-operational stage (2-7 yrs) are acquiring language in which symbols represent mental objects. A child’s play in this stage becomes increasingly imaginary and fantasy-driven. The child is internally improving his/her understanding and knowledge but lacks the external ability to communicate this enhanced way of processing within the world. Play thus becomes the medium through which the child communicates this internal awareness of self to others. Piaget further asserts that during the concrete operational state (8-11 yrs) the child grows in his/her personal ability to reason logically and organize thoughts coherently. He/she is unable to express certain complicated emotions such as resentment or guilt due to the need for abstract thought to understand them. Play then helps the child bridge the gap between concrete experience and abstract thought. Landreth (2002) identifies basic principles necessary in play therapy. These include that children’s natural language is play, that they have an inherent tendency towards growth and maturity and lastly, and are themselves capable of positive self-direction since they posses the capacity to act responsibly. Play is a natural language from which children express themselves (Landreth, 2002). And as stated earlier, developmentally, it bridges the gap between concrete experience and abstract thought. Children gain a sense of control through play and also learn coping skills (Chethik, Morton. 2000). At times, children also receive other types of treatment. Children for instance that are unable to control their attention impulses, have a tendency to react violently, or experience severe anxiety would be included in play therapy. The therapy addresses the child’s psychological symptoms (Chethik, Morton. 2000). The child will also receive play therapy to alleviate low self-esteem feelings, excessive worry, incompetence and helplessness (Chethik, Morton. 000). In play therapy, toys are viewed as the child’s words and play as the child’s language – a language of activity. Play is then to children what psychotherapy is to adults. The use of toys enables the child to transfer his anxieties, fears, fantasies from his own feelings and guilt to objects rather then people. Through this process, the safety of children from their own feelings is guaranteed because it enables them to distance themselves from those traumatic experiences. By acting out a frightening experience symbolically through play, or reversing the outcome in play activity, the child moves towards an inner resolution and then he/she is able to cope with or adjust to problems (Axline, 1989). Through the play processes, the child is allowed to consider new possibilities not possible in reality thus greatly expanding the expression of self (Bratton. Et al. 2005). Also, within the safety of the play therapy experience, the child explores the unfamiliar and develops a knowing that is both experiential – feelings and cognitive. In a nutshell, the unfamiliar becomes familiar and the child expresses outwardly what takes place inwardly. Therefore, a major function of play in play therapy is the changing of what may be unmanageable in real life to a manageable situation via symbolic representation, through which the child is provided with opportunities for learning to cope (Axline, 1989). The process of play therapy The initial focus of therapy is in building a relationship between a child and the therapist. This relationship is what provides dynamic growth and healing for the child. It is therefore a very important tool because a child will readily express himself every time he/she feels respected and accepted. According to Landreth (1991), there are principles that should provide guidelines for establishment of a therapeutic relationship. Some of the guidelines include that the therapist is genuinely interested in the child. Also, the therapist experiences unqualified acceptance of the child and does not wish that the child were different in some way. He further creates a feeling of safety and permissiveness in the relationship so the child feels free to explore and express himself/herself totally. Landreth further asserts that the therapist should always be sensitive to the child’s feelings and gently reflect those feelings in a manner that encourages the child to develop self-understanding (Landreth, 2002). Additionally, the therapist should deeply believe in the child’s capacity to act responsibly and respect the child’s ability to solve personal problems and give him the opportunity to do so. He should also trust the child’s inner direction and to lead in all areas of relationship and avoid directing the child’s play. This therapist should appreciate the gradual nature of the therapeutic process in a slow manner, and finally he should establish only the therapeutic limits that help the child accept personal and appropriate responsibility. The primary objective of the process is not only to solve the problem but to help in the growth of the child. The therapist primarily meets with the child alone and arranges time to meet with parents separately or with the child depending with the situation. The structure of the sessions should be consistently maintained to provide a feeling of stability and safety for the child. In the session, the therapist uses specific techniques to assess how a child experiences his/her world and how he/she communicates and reacts to events and people in his/her own world. The child is led to become aware of what he/she is feeling and opportunities are given to express these feelings. Awareness is thus a very important aspect in play therapy because without it, change is not possible (Chethik, Morton. 2000). Throughout the therapy, the child is empowered and supported to learn more about who he/she thinks she/he is, to talk about things that are frightening or painful, to be self supportive as well as to experiment new behavior (Bratton. Et al. 2005). Since the child’s world is a world of action and activity, the therapy provides the therapist with an opportunity to enter the child’s world. The child lives out the past experience and related moments at the moment of play. Without the presence of play materials, the therapist could only talk with the child about aggressive behavior exhibited in the recent past. In play therapy however, whatever reason for referral, the therapist has the opportunity to experience and actively deal with that problem immediately. By so doing, the child plays out feelings by banging them to the surface, getting them out in the open, facing them and either abandoning them or learning to control them. Toys and materials Since toys and materials are part of this communicative process for children, careful attention must be given to their appropriate selection. The rule here is selection rather than accumulation. Please note that random assortment of acquired toys and materials often appear like junk rooms and they therefore doom the therapy process to failure. They should then be carefully selected for the contribution they make to accomplish the play objective and the extent to which they are consistent with the play therapy rationale. Some general guidelines to consider are that the tools should be durable and should communicate a message of â€Å"be yourself in playing† rather than â€Å"be careful. † They should provide children with a variety in choice of medium of expression. (Eliana, G. 1994). However, they need not be elaborate and above all they should not be complex. Remember that the first toys to be used were sticks. The tools should be age appropriately manageable so that the child will not be frustrated in his efforts to express himself/herself. No toy should require the child to seek the therapist’s help to manipulate. Landreth (1991) asserts that the toys and materials should facilitate establishment of a positive relationship with the child, testing of limits, exploration of real-life experiences, development of positive image, self-undertaking, expression of a wide range of feelings and opportunity to redirect behaviors unacceptable to others. These toys can be grouped into three basic classes viz; real-life toys such as a doll, a small cardboard box with rooms indicated by tape strips or felt pen markers, doll house furniture, pacifier and a small car. Secondly, there are those acting out or aggressive release toys such as handcuffs, toy guns, dart gun and toy soldiers, aggressive puppets, rubber knife and punching bags. Finally, there are toys for creative expression and emotional release such as crayons, newsprints, blue scissors, hand puppets, plain mask, and also sand trays. Setting limits in Play Therapy This is a very crucial part of this process. The structure of the therapeutic limits is what helps to make the experience a real life relationship (Eliana, G. 994). Limits in play therapy have advantages both practically and therapeutically since they preserve the therapeutic relationship; facilitate the child’s opportunities to learn self responsibility and self control. Provide the child with emotional security and physical safety and thus enabling the child to explore and express his/her inner emotional dimensions that perhaps have remained hidden in his/her other relationships (Axline, 1989). Boundaries are necessary here to provide predictability and thus the children are not allowed to do anything they want to do. The play therapy relationship has minimum limits (Eliana, G. 1994). Exploration is encouraged, messiness accepted and persistence is the guiding principle. Play therapy is a learning experience and thus limits are not set until they are needed. The limits are worded in such a way that the child is allowed to bring himself under control. Research and Results Play therapy is an approach based on well thought out, philosophically conceived, developmentally based and research supported approach to assisting children cope with and overcome the problems they experience in life (Bratton. Et al. 2005). It has therefore been demonstrated to be effective in a variety of children’s problems including, but not limited to, abuse and neglect, aggression and acting out, autism, fear and anxiety, grief, hospitalization, learning disabilities, chronic illnesses, withdrawn children and burn victims. In the case studies reported by Landreth, the views that play therapy requires a long-term commitment is totally unfounded. Conclusion Play therapy can thus help a child to become aware of his feelings and how those feelings manifest into his/ her behavior (Bratton. Et al. 2005). He/she learns to become better at regulating emotions and expressing them in constructive ways. This combination of skills may help a child to become more assertive, self confident and to have self respect and respect for others. He/she then get this assurance that he/she will be understood and accepted.