Historical Evolution of Shopping Places

Introduction In the beginning of the history of shopping topographic points, the shopping activity took topographic point in the unfastened infinites with other urban and public maps and activities and activities of the metropolis, like ancient Grecian Agora or Roman Forum. After centuries, the enclosed shopping promenades separated urbanity and shopping activity from each other. These to the full enclosed and environmentally controlled ingestion infinites reinterpreted the urban cloth to imitate a metropolis image and a street like atmosphere indoors. Inside the walls a new metropolis was created, where people shop, eat, entertain, and even kip, acquire married or have a college instruction. Today, urban cloth and shopping promenade integrating is going more of import. Open infinite and sustainable design for shopping promenades are the lifting tendencies in the universe. So, the bing shopping promenades are opening, incorporating with and fabric and continually updating themselves to vie with the emerging shopping topographic points. This recent regeneration tendency is called ‘De-malling’ in the universe. Scope OF STUDY As it is non possible to grok and plan shopping promenades without cognizing their beginning and their development as a type, this thesis explores the history of shopping topographic points through recent tendencies in shopping promenade design. Shopping promenades are accepted as urban public infinites. So, the range of survey is originated harmonizing to urban public infinite quality of shopping promenades. The survey comprises a research on definitions and theories of public kingdom, public infinite, and urbanity and their interaction with shopping promenade design constructs. The shopping infinites in history and the modern-day shopping promenade, from the beginning through the emerging types, are exemplified and examined from literature and Internet, in order to understand their development, their transmutation, and their regeneration grounds, schemes and solutions. In the terminal, the recent schemes besides verify the clients preferring of shopping promenades with improved urb an infinite quality. HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF SHOPPING PLACES Today, ingestion has become a lifestyle and shopping promenades are the temples of ingestion. Shopping promenades are renewing urban environing with their multiple functionality, different architectural constructs, and advanced architectural solutions they provide. How do they go that powerful? HISTORY & A ; TYPES The metropolis is an involved being under changeless alteration. In its life mesh, public constructions are bonded to the topographic points where people live, and these, in bend, are bonded to each other, in a rich ruse of adjacency. The metropolis presents us with a new set of environmental thoughts, such as the street, the public square, the defensive wall and its Gatess. It crowds our treatment with a mark of edifice innovations – for illustration, the canal and the garner, the castle and the bath, the market, the bakeshop, stores, eating houses, and libraries. ( A history of Architecture: Settings and Rituals by Spiro Kostof, page: 43 ) ANCIENT TIMES: When Prehistoric people started to pass on they besides started to merchandise. They bartered goods and services from each other. The history of long-distance commercialism began about 150.000 old ages ago. The earliest trading activities took topographic point in meeting and assemblage infinites. ( Shoping Environments: Development, Planning and Design By Peter Coleman ) During the Stone Age, the exchange of obsidian and flint was started. In Catalhoyuk, a Neolithic period colony in southern Anatolia 7500-5000 BC, there is grounds that obsidian tools were traded for points such as Mediterranean Sea shells and flint from Syria. In 1969 Jane Jacobs ( journalist, writer, and activist best known for her influence on urban surveies ) developed a new theory, called New Obsidian Theory, to explicate the advancement of urbanisation in Neolithic ages. In this theory she created an fanciful metropolis and named as New Obsidian, Catalhoyuk was her theoretical account metropolis. Harmonizing to Jacobs, the obsidian trade exposed the New Obsidian metropolis and the whole metropolis was a market topographic point in map. Besides harmonizing to Kostof ( A history of Architecture: Settings and Rituals by Spiro Kostof, p.43 ) , the urban revolution differs from the Neolithic revolution. The metropolis typified a societal procedure and the revolution it brought about was embodied in the interaction of people with each other. One of the primary intents for the initiation and operation of metropoliss is interchanging goods. So, trade is one of the grounds for interactions of people with each other that developed urbanisation. Although it is assumed that trade was started in Neolithic period ; the earliest nonliteral presentation of market topographic point is seen in Egyptian drawings in 1500 BC. But, there is no certain grounds in what infinite or edifice they carried out their trading activities. Before the innovation of money, trade was state’s sovereignty to be. For illustration, in Ancient Egypt, Pharaoh wielded complete control of the land and its resources as the absolute sovereign of the state. All people were his workers. Then they started to merchandise in small graduated tables. They used a sort of swap system. The ancient Egyptians did non gestate the usage of money until the Late Time period. During the 5Thursdaycentury B.C. , money was introduced from abroad. ( hypertext transfer protocol: //www.touregypt.net/featurestories/prices.htm ) In the antediluvian E, ironss of retail shops are known to hold operated in China in several centuries B.C. Chinese people traded salt, Fe, fish, cowss, and silk through the celebrated Silk Road, they besides traded externally: goods from China could be traded by Greece ( hypertext transfer protocol: //ancienthistory.about.com/od/china/ss/082208china_5.htm ) Agora The Agora was an unfastened ‘‘place of assembly’’ in ancient Grecian city states. The most of import map of the agora was topographic point for day-to-day communications and formal and informal assembly. In the beginning, the citizens would garner in the agora for military responsibility or to hear statements of the governing male monarch or council, early in the Grecian history in 900s-700s B.C. Later, the Agora defined as an open-air, frequently tented market topographic point of a metropolis where merchandisers had their stores and where craftsmen made and sold their wares. Agora was the generation of modern urban infinite. On market yearss, goods were laid out on mats or on impermanent stables to let other activities – such as vote and argument, public shows, athleticss and parades – to take topographic point outside market yearss. The earliest trading took topographic point at the hub of the colony, and so established the integrated relationship between trading and the bosom of civilised activity in the centre of the towns. ( Shoping Environments: Development, Planning and Design By Peter Coleman ) Agora was located on the crossings of chief roads of the metropolis and surrounded by public edifices. One of the of import parts of the Agora was the Stoa. Stoa comprises covered paseos or porticos for public use. Large porticoes appeared on the chief roads of the large towns during the Greek and Roman periods. In the ancient Grecian merchandisers spread their wares under the colonnades of the Stoa, which was particularly designated for their activity. Still there were no lasting stores as a physically defined infinite for stores in the Grecian Agora. The Grecian metropoliss developed in a self-generated, organic manner, lacked consistent street systems, and contained ‘only the beginnings of arcaded public promenades’ . But subsequently, get downing in the 6th century B.C. , new Grecian metropoliss emerged that were based on a systematic program, called gridiron, with standardised blocks, long broad avenues, and a rectangular agora surrounded by colonnaded streets. The Romans extended this program. ROMAN FORUM Forum is the market topographic point or public topographic point of an ancient Roman metropolis, the centre of judicial and concern personal businesss and a topographic point of assembly for the people ( hypertext transfer protocol: //www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forum ( 12.12.2009 ) ) . Just like Greek Agora, the major metropoliss of the Roman period formed unfastened infinites as the centre of the civic life, which were surrounded by temples, basilicas, bathing machines and province edifices. Shopping was one of the activities which took topographic point both in the edifices and in the forum infinite.( Shoping Environments: Development, Planning and Design By Peter Coleman ) The Roman Forum, which was a rectangular courtyard surrounded by stores, was located on the axis, between basilica and capitol ( Figure 3.6 ) . This program was repeated throughout the Empire. Marcus Vitruvius Pollio who was born in 80–70 B.C. and died after 15 B.C. has been called as world’s foremost known applied scientist. He outlined the standardisation and usage of readymade theoretical accounts in his treatise. As a consequence, from the first century B.C. new towns and municipalities became miniature Romes. The function of architectural invention had been reduced. The major forum was called the Forum Romanum. The others named as the Forum Caesaris, the Forum Trajani, the forum boarium ( the cowss market ) , the forum piscarium ( the fish market ) , the forum holitorium ( the veggie market ) , and the forum suarium ( the pig market ) ; like today’s supermarkets. ( hypertext transfer protocol: //ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_pennellhistoryofrome47.htm ) Trajan Market Trajan’s Market provided a wholly new image for urban design, as a radical composite of domed infinites for commercial and societal intents. Apollodorus of Damascus built the Market in AD 100-110 in the clip of Emperor Trajan. During the in-between Ages the composite was transformed by adding floor degrees. Trajan’s Forum is likely to hold been one of the first aggregations of defined stores and was a brilliant agreement of shared-use edifices. It was the first illustration of the stores mostly under screen and arranged on several degrees. Trajan’s Forum was holding approximately 150 stores on assorted degrees. The upper degrees were used for offices while the lower portion, had shops selling oil, vinos, seafood, food markets, veggies and fruit. MEDIEVAL TO 19ThursdayCentury After the autumn of the Western Roman Empire in 5Thursdaycentury, Western Europe drifted into 500 old ages or so of dark ages, shopping included. The large-scale retail environment of the Roman forum was non re-attained until many centuries subsequently. However, merchandising ne'er ceased and swap became the footing for exchange of goods instead than money. Following the dark ages, the in-between Ages witnessed the first sustained urbanisation of northern and western Europe. As a consequence, towns began to proper once more, alongside the palaces and abbeys, finally broadening and developing into trading centres. ( Shoping Environments: Development, Planning and Design By Peter Coleman ) Medieval MARKET HALL AND TOWN HALL The market and town halls were the bosom of trading and concern activity of the metropolis. They were located along with the market square, in the centre of the town. The early market and town hall edifices combined the two utilizations: the first floor was disposal, the land floor remained unfastened between the columns and was used as an extension to the market. The wares displayed on removable stables. After a piece, the land floors were arranged into a group of little stores. So, the defined store infinites in Northern Europe started. This format of outward confronting aggregations of stores would come to organize the footing of shop-lined streets throughout Europe in ulterior centuries. By 1300AD lasting constructions had begun to irrupt on to open market topographic points. These islands of edifices originated as impermanent stables arranged in narrow rows devoted to peculiar trades. Subsequently, the stables were replaced by edifices with domestic adjustment or storage above a stall or store, and many were finally reconstructed as complete houses. A really good illustration of a combined market and town hall supplying a aggregation of defined stores can be found at the Ring in Breslau – 1275, today Wroclaw in Poland. The Breslau Market Buildings are one of the earliest illustrations of purpose-made single-use market edifices. Beside the town hall, four analogue linear ways lined with stores on each side provided clandestine stables for different types of trade. The market was founded harmonizing to Magdeburg Law every bit early as the regulation of Henry I the Bearded between 1214 and 1232. Over clip, the patricians ‘ houses appeared and by the center of the fourteenth century they had formed a closed building with the bounds of the secret plans defined. The Magdeburg Law were a set of German town Torahs modulating the grade of internal liberty within metropoliss and small towns granted with it by a local swayer. The jurisprudence was a milepost in urbanisation of the part and prompted the development of 1000s of small towns and metropoliss. ( hypertext transfer protocol: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdeburg_rights ) By the 16Thursdaycentury, across Europe market edifices were no longer combined with town halls. Alternatively, market halls were built as big additive constructions covering long nave-like infinites, with side aisles lined with stables organizing aggregations of stores.

Film Review Brazil (1985) by Terry Gilliam Essay

â€Å"Brazil† is set in a dystopian future, where society is closely monitored and its freedoms infringed upon by the Ministry of Information. The film is a humorous approach to the dystopia genre, which isn’t surprising given that the film is directed and co-written by Terry Gilliam (the creator of Monty Python). The film is the story of Sam Lowry, who has a boring life working for the Ministry of Information until it changes through a strange events, which shows us ministry as a bureaucratic jail. The sets, costumes and props in â€Å"Brazil† create a dazzling and interesting world to see. The film features colourful and fantastic dream sequences which provide an escape from Sam’s dull life. Despite the simplicity of the main plot, the movie is full of subtexts and images carrying a message which you may not see them on the first viewing. In one scene, a man is buying â€Å"clean air† from a vending machine on the street. The sides of the streets are walls of billboards which keeps the environment hidden from people’s eyes. In a holiday-decorated store a small child tells Santa she wants a credit card as a present for Christmas. The film is much more difficult, this may turn some people off. Makers had so many things to say in one movie. First of all this is a film about systems breaking down: a dead fly drops into a printer, causing a misprint which leads to a man’s death penalty (Just because of misprint! ); heating systems break down, and they cannot repair them because the support system is overstretched. It is also a film about systems destroying humanity. With everyone having their own defined role in the heavyweight system that control every part of the life, nobody has to take personal responsibility for common problems; mistakes are almost somebody else’s problem, and nobody really feels they have do something to change the situation. ‘Brazil’ is simply unlike anything you have ever seen before. The ending to the film is particularly powerful, with Gilliam offering us a typical happily-ever-after ending, and then breaking in the final seconds. After all, in such a dystopian society, a happy ending is not only unlikely, but it is near impossible.

Barrick Gold and the Mine at the Top of the World

Barrick Gold and the Mine at the Top of the World Introduction The purpose of this case analysis is to identify the main communication problem that the world's largest gold mining company, Barrick Gold, is facing in the midst of their major Pascua-Lama developmental project. The following paper discusses the causes of the communication problem and resulting symptoms, along with the key stakeholders that are affected and their concerning issue. Finally, this paper will provide a solution using all the steps of the communication model on how Barrick Gold can deal with all the key stakeholder groups.Main Body Barrick Gold's main communication problem has been formed by Barrick saying one thing, then doing something else; this inevitably caused a lack of trust between its stakeholders and the company. The problem has created hidden agendas and guarded communication, thereby slowing decision making and productivity. For example, Argentina passed a law that protected their glaciers and per mafrost, â€Å"which looked as if it might prevent the Argentinian part of the project from going forward. † (Barrick Gold case, pp. 11).The cause of the problem stems from Barrick Gold not keeping their promise. They proposed to transport the most affected glaciers farther away from the mining site, but did not live up to that promise. The symptoms of the problem include the farmer's unhappiness with the company and the mayor for supporting the mining project. Another symptom is the fact that the Argentinian national legislatures passed the law protecting the glaciers. This desperate move shows that Argentina has a lack of trust that the company will follow through on their promise to deal with the melting glaciers.The 5 main stakeholders include the Chile and Argentina governments, the local farmers, residents of the valley, and the shareholders of Barrick Gold. Each of these stakeholders have separate issues they are concerned with. The Chile government is concerned with w aste the mine is dumping into the river that runs through the Huasco Valley of Chile, specifically cyanide. The Argentina governments concern is based on the fact that the royalties they receive from the mine are ? of the totalGDP of their poor San Juan province; once the mining is finished this will regress back to zero and devastate the economy. The local farmers are concerned with the explosions that cause dust to settle on the glaciers and accelerate its melting; the effects are devastating to the whole surrounding ecosystem. The resident's of the valley share the same concern as the Argentinian government, that once the mining ceases their income will revert to zero. Finally, the shareholders of Barrick Gold are concerned with the idea of huge opposition and lack of productivity that ensued because of it.In dealing with the afore mentioned stakeholder groups, Barrick Gold can use all the steps of the communication model, including: sender, encode, channel, receiver, and feedbac k. First off, the Chilean government: Barrick Gold (sender) needs to think of a method that allows cyanide to be removed from the river (encode), and this idea needs to be presented face-to-face (channel) to the Chilean government (receiver); once the idea is received, Barrick Gold needs to allow for feedback (positive or negative) from this stakeholder.Secondly, the local farmers: Barrick Gold (sender) is responsible for devising a plan for decelerating the melting of the glaciers (encode) and portraying this plan, either in a proposal or in a meeting (channel), to the local farmers (receiver); the farmers need to provide their response of how the government is doing (feedback). ConclusionIn conclusion, Barrick Gold has a communication problem that could potentially destroy its whole project. How the company deals with its stakeholders is very important to its future success in Chile and Argentina. To mend the problem it is of the company's best interest to follow the communication model and make all attempts to repair the damage already done by not keeping their promise.

Mechanical Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis A Prospective Study Essay

Mechanical Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis A Prospective Study - Essay Example The reader's attention is caught and the reader is encouraged to read the report further, even though the author has not noted anything about the implication of the results. In addition, the abstract is presented in the form of the summary. Introduction is quite long (occupies two pages out of seven) but the author has set a good basis for the research, its purpose and limitations. At the beginning of the article, the authors provide general information about plantar fasciitis: how and why it occurs, what are the symptoms, why it should be treated, what the outcomes of treatment/non-treatment and other factors that are necessary to understand the aim and results of the research. The authors have taken 5 studies of plantar fasciitis treatment: one of the studies was devoted to traditional treatment: anti-inflammatory therapy which is proved to be highly ineffective, the other four studies were devoted to the mechanical therapies with the majority of author agreeing that the mechanical treatment is much more effective and can lead to 100 % beneficial result. Currently there is the debate regarding which therapy is more effective. The last sentence of this section states "the purpose of this prospective, randomized study was to evaluate the effectiveness of three different mechanical modalities -over-the-counter arch supports, custom-made orthoses, and night splints-used in the treatment of plantar fasciitis." Thus the authors have made it clear what the following section will be about. It is very important that the authors have not only provided the justification for the necessity and value of this research, they have also used evidence from already existing researches - more than 30 references have been made. However, the authors did not set the criteria for evaluation of the results for validity and reliability. From the other side, it has been stated that the results will be visible and can be reported by patients; therefore, the measurement is obvious. The literature review is long enough to include the major studies that are of interest to the reader and are closely related to the issue covered. The authors did not omit anything and covered both sides of the argument: traditional v. mechanical treatment of plantar fasciitis and made it clear that the traditional treatment will not be taken into consideration at all due to low rate of effectiveness. The selected samples of the sources are limited, but the studies mentioned are not only summarized by commented as well. Method and Sampling The method section is highly organized and clear. Authors have presented and discussed all factors that were taken into account during research. It is stated that there were 255 patients aged 21 to 70 with plantar heel pain without previous trauma, out these patients 65 percent were women. The selection was random and there is a note about why some patients were not taken into a study. The section gives the answers to all possible questions: in the introductory part the author have established the basis for selection of treatment therapies (rigid over-the-counter, injection and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), duration, number of hours being on feet, pre-study examination, follow up and visits, random assignment to groups and receiving of the consent.

GRNS403 Grains Industry Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

GRNS403 Grains Industry Systems - Essay Example proving, grain production is still dominated by a group of same area farming activities while deregulation in 2008, grain selling, sales and exportation sectors have undergone major restructuring. The resources demanding nature of infrastructure facilitating storing, transportation and exportation shows that by few key players (Kirsten, Lorna, Paolo, Andrew & Alberta Velimirov 2005) Commencing from the garden to make wheat flour, wheat is changed into a shelf-stable product through processing. The complex series of steps, which is both time-tested and highly scientific, starts the process that the grain is harvested and taken to a processing machine. Through nowadays technology and processing process, the individual kernels are kept, sorted, cleaned, ground, bleached, enriched and or equipped before being stored awaiting distribution. Once is done, the end product is used is to make variety of foods, including breads, pasta and pastries (Bonjean & Angus 2001). Before wheat processing commences, it has a sometimes-long procedures from the field to processing plant. It is harvested from the farm in covered trucks or rails motors. In some cases it travels adversely distances; in other cases, from one geographical area to another. When it reaches destination it is inspected and sampled water content, test mass, unfit kernels and far-off material. Based on the outcome from the tests, it is resolute how the wheat is treated, handled and kept until processing. After this, wheat is transported to silos for safekeeping, where warmth and water content control keep it fresh until the time of manufacturing (Kirsten, Lorna, Paolo, Andrew & Alberta Velimirov 2005) `The grain starts the processing procedure by entering the set of machines that clean it (cleaning house). This process involves as many as 6 steps and involves removing foreign matter that may be present in the wheat as well as processing it ready for processing. This process uses a magnetic separator, aspirator

Explain how the development and growth of the stock market effects the Essay

Explain how the development and growth of the stock market effects the real economy - Essay Example Stock markets have securities notified on stock exchanges and also provide private trading facilities. According to an estimate, at the close of 2012, world stock market was more than $50 trillion with US having the largest market of about 35% and United Kingdom and Japan with 6% each (Perry 1-2). Impact of stock market growth and development on economies is indeed an important area of research among economists. It provides for steering financial matters and forming future economic strategy to improve business and investment environment of a country. Thus impact of stock market growth has both direct and indirect effects on an economy. Industries, Service providers and Corporations of various types get their stocks available in stock market. Large companies usually put their stock available/ registered in many exchange markets around the world. It is done after weighing potentials of business in a specific stock market. Participant of stock markets are traders, banks, retail investors, insurance companies and corporations etc. which deem to invest, buy, sell, transfer and even evaluate their stocks through the facility of a stock market. Trading in stock market is done through evaluation and bidding process carried out among buyers and sellers who agree over a deal on value o f the product. From hedge funds to stock investors the participants of a market can perform this activity anywhere in the world. A representative of business activity carries out buying, selling, exchange or valuation on behalf of his employer to execute exchange activity. Thus companies are not physically available or do not come with their active products and investment plans but they perform these transactions virtually through their representatives. A rational response to the concept of stock exchange and its activities can be transpired as effectiveness and vibrancy of economic activities in a market.

Human Relations topic of the week-Evaluate Techniques for Coping with Essay

Human Relations topic of the week-Evaluate Techniques for Coping with Job Stress - Essay Example Especially during these times of economic crisis, workers become more wary of the threats of lay-offs or budget cuts. Other common workplace stress factors are increased demand for overtime due to budget cuts and pressure to meet rising expectations from management to maximize output (Segal, Horwitz, Gill, Smith & Segal (2010). Most workers often complain of a demanding boss and uncooperative co-workers. Even punctuality can sometimes put undue pressure to employees. Poor communication is also a typical stressor in the workplace. According to Dr. Willy Weiner (2007), reaction to stress differs from one individual to another. The reason for this is that we view and think about the events in our lives differently. People sometimes have rigid rules about things while others are more flexible. As Dr. Weiner puts it, â€Å"the way you think about it can change the way you feel about it† (Healthology, 2007, par. 13). When workers are stressed on the job, it can affect their producti vity and effectiveness.

Communcation Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Communcation - Movie Review Example They ignored each other while the destination of the two was the same. They were the graduate students of the University of Chicago. As it is said, â€Å"First impression is the last impression.† The clarity has appeared on the scene that they did not like each other and they did not even verbally communicated with each other (Gupta). 2. They had realized in the early stages that they could not be friends because the attitude of the Harry was that men and women could not be friends as the sex unavoidably gets in the way. The attitude and behavior of Sally were positive, and she was of the opinion that gender discrimination is not required for friendship. Harry and Sally did not change their attitude for many years. The scene is shown in the film that they had a bad experience in the past when they met after ten years in a plane. At that time, Harry was alone because he had given divorce to his wife. Sally was alone because she had ended relationship with her boyfriend. The experiences faced by the two were bad, and the climax of the movie came forward when the expressions of both were communicating that they had fallen in a friendship. The theory of completeness of the communication â€Å"The idea should be concise and complete† could be observed in that scene (Gupta). 3. Harry and Sally met each other several times in the period of 12 years. They periodically met each other but did not try to communicate each other the perception that they had been agreed upon the same thing that they are likely to be friends with each other. They were not communicating with each other that the feeling of friendship had been raised among them. The impression on each other was changing during the period. The scenes in the film were showing the implied intention of friendship between them. It was clarified in the scene that they were feeling some relationship between them (Gupta). 4. The strategies adopted by the characters were slightly more than the comedy and

'The basis of our government being the opinion of the people, the very Essay

'The basis of our government being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right and were it l - Essay Example Press became a part of the commercial community in America (Conboy, 2002, p. 43). Sensationalism over the facts was a method by which readership of the newspapers was increased and also played a significant role in modifying public opinion. â€Å"Yellow Journalism† became an important style of reporting (U.S. Diplomacy and Yellow Journalism, 1895-1898, n.d.). This paper deals with the question â€Å"how important were newspapers in the United States in the 19th  century?† Social changes in Europe: Its validity in the context of contemporary USA The Nineteenth century saw the birth of a new Europe. Political and social changes occurred within the system of the continent and this change involved the common mass. The working class of the European countries was subjected to the ruling patriarchal system in which the government decided the right and wrong for the society. The population of each country was treated as subjects who were considered incapable of taking decisio ns and maximizing their own profits. The government took decisions for them that a father would take decision for his child. These decisions were imposed upon them from the outside and maximized the benefit of the government. This pattern of system was questioned with the onset of Liberalism in Europe. Changes in relationship between the government and its people The change in the social system made provisions for the commoners to read and write. They were given access to newspapers which helped them to get elaborate information about the happenings in the society. The common people got the chance to enter the political system and started to have access to political tracts. The establishment of the railways enabled the people to move from one place to another. This was a huge turning point. The freedom of movement of the people across different places allowed them to change their patrons and take employment from the employers of their own choice. In a nut shell, the commoners learnt to safeguard their own interests, make decisions of their own and would not again be subjected to the patriarchal system of government (Hamerow, 1983, p. 119). Edward Carrington was â€Å"a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1786 to 1788† (â€Å"Jefferson’s preference for â€Å"newspapers without government† over â€Å"government without newspapers†, 1787) sent by Thomas Jefferson. In this convention were the delegates that came from the colonies that later constituted the body to govern the United States of America. During this time, Jefferson expressed the importance of the press and its existence to Carrington in one of his letters. He emphasized â€Å"that every man should receive those papers & be capable of reading them† (â€Å"Jefferson’s preference for â€Å"newspapers without government† over â€Å"government without newspapers†, 1787). Jefferson would prefer to have efficient newspapers without a government in the country. The newspapers would act as effective mode of communication and transfer of information which were the most important necessities for having a stable nation. In his strong opinion, if the government becomes inattentive towards the interests of the public, they become exploitative and the commoners are subjected to exploitation. In this context, it has been aptly described that â€Å"man is the only animal which devours his own kind† (Amendment I (Speech and Press), 1787) and the poor becomes the prey of the richer classes. His radical insights probed into the character of the government and

Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes Essay Example for Free

Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes Essay An analysis of Langston Hughes’s poem Dream Deferred will reveal a significant commentary on the driving force in America today. It is undeniable that every one of us has dreams or goals that we want to pursue and achieve. Although all of us have their own little dream, this poem reiterates that in some cultures, it will be (and is) harder to achieve their goals. In this particular poem, Langston Hughes expressed his dreams and how they become during a hard time. The fact that he is a black man during the height of the African-American oppression, his ambitions and dreams was really hard to achieve—thus, he became frustrated. He expressed on how and what he really feels about a dream that he has had. Because he was succumbed under a great deal of frustration, he was unable to accomplish that dream. Each line in the poem symbolizes a typical moment in the author’s life. Furthermore, he was also very bitter about the conditions of his group because of their skin color. Hughes used many a great deal of simile in achieving his points. But perhaps the most powerful line in his poem is the â€Å"Or does it explode? †(Hughes) It is an influential conclusion of what could happen to a dream if they are neglected or is not pursued. In conclusion, this is a collective poem that articulates what could happen to dreams that left un-pursued even in times of struggles and oppression. This poem reflects the difficulties not just of African-American but moreover, it is also applicable to people (especially certain ethic groups that are discriminated) who experiences the same situation. This poem will never be obsolete. Works Cited: Hughes, Langston. Dream Deferred. March 2, 2008.

Pure Bureaucratic Organization Features

Pure Bureaucratic Organization Features Every organization has a set of objectives it wants to achieve. These can merely be performance targets a management wants to attain, or can better be described as a measure of organizational growth. However, objectives of each individual might not be aligned with those of the organization, and therefore, to ensure that the organization is able to meet its objectives with maximum efficiency, it is imperative to exert some form of control over the organization. Bureaucracy is an authority that maximizes efficiency and effectiveness of the organization and exercises control on the basis of technical knowledge (Weber, 1947:339). Bureaucracy is a form of organizational design defined by a number of formal characteristics focused on centralization, authority, impersonality and a rational career structure; all arranged in a hierarchical ascending order with clear cut division of labour and specialized tasks in line with rights and entitlements linked to the position in hierarchy (Clegg et al., 2008:486; Clegg and Hardy, 1999:8). Max Weber (1864-1920), a great German academic and sociologist was the first to formulate the characteristics of a bureaucracy. Well known for his study of bureaucratization of society, he set the foundations for all subsequent work on this subject. Weber, in his work The Three Types of Legitimate Rules (1958) contrasted three types of authority: traditional authority, charismatic authority and rational-legal authority. However, he identified rational-legal authority to be the heart of bureaucracy and defined it as: an authority resting on a belief in the legality of patterns of normative rules and the right of those elevated to authority under such rules to issue commands (Weber, 1947:215). As for this, the authority given to these officials is determined by the office they are appointed to and once these official leave the office, their authority is lost. For Weber, the terms bureaucracy and rationality were both tied together, and thus he coined the term ideal type to the rational-legal form. Primary Features of a Bureaucratic Organization Weber identified what he believed to be the main characteristics of a pure bureaucratic organization. His idea on bureaucracy was to describe an ideal organization one which is perfectly rational and would provide maximum efficiency and consistency to the organization. We are now going to discuss the characteristics that form the essence of Webers rational bureaucracy that be found in his work Economy and Society: an Outline of Interpretive Sociology (1978:221-3). Bureaucratic organizations can be characterized through the formal aspects of Frederick Taylors Scientific Management school of thought which is considered to be the foundation of classical management theory and enhances the idea of improving efficiency and productivity within the workplace (Dean, 1997). First is centralization, which refers to the level of hierarchy with authority to make decisions. Each level is accountable to the level above and controls the level below (Weber, 1978). Hierarchy delineates the line of authority and shows a clear chain of command, allowing job definition to be most rational and most efficient (Grey, 2009). Secondly, there is a highly developed division of labour and specialization of tasks. Duties of all officials are clearly defined such that employees are organized into groups based upon their technical skills, thus covering the area of competence they are technically trained for. In lines with this, Taylors principles of Scientific Management the ory suggests that a trained employee should be selected for the job rather than having him choose his own work and training himself as best he could (Dean, 1997). Another feature that develops a bureaucratic organization is formalization, which refers to the set of written rules and formal procedures management has to abide by. Firstly, there is a strict separation between official duties of a bureaucrat and their private and emotional life. In this, management is operated on certain rules contained in files of written documents rather than personal feelings of the employees (Weber, 1921/1968). This allows a uniform execution of decisions and actions towards the lower levels through formal systems of rules and regulations, and thus it is an imperative source of efficiency maximization. Ouchi (1977) points out that an organizations formal system, identified as written procedures and policies, help meet organizational goals in an efficient manner and detect misconducts taking place within the organization. Moreover, all decision and actions taken by the organization are recorded in written documents. This helps regulate behavior of the employees. Although this might not seem as an essential part of a bureaucracy, yet it is the arrangement that best fits the pure type (Weber, 1957:335). Starting with the mode of recruitment, another feature that develops a pure bureaucratic organization is that personnel are hired on grounds of technical competence and not on any other consideration such as political loyalty or family inheritance. The appointment of an individual is based upon their qualifications and expertise to accomplish the specialized duties effectively. When entering a bureaucratic organization, individuals are expected to make office their sole occupation and make a career within the organization (Weber, 1978:220). Insofar as the remuneration in a bureaucratic organization is concerned, the opportunity for promotion is based upon an elaborate system of seniority and achievement of an individual. Moreover, the bureaucrats are salaried officials and normally receive a fixed salary based more upon the status of their position rather than their productivity or performance. Clegg et al. (2008) asserts that different positions in a hierarchy are differently paid. The characteristics discussed above illustrate Webers ideal type of rational and efficient bureaucracy. Many of these features that now seem common and obvious to us did not always exist, and can therefore be characterized as Webers invention. Furthermore, as suggested in Webers definition and by Scientific Management theory, these features exist as a set of formal entities such that they are predefined by the management and are deliberately and consciously created to achieve specified goals (Dwyer, 2005:1234). Bureaucracy or Post-bureaucracy? For most of us today when we think of the term bureaucracy, negative connotations such as inefficiency, redundancy, rigidity, red tape culture and the like come to mind. However, bureaucracy in Webers period was considered extremely successful and was seen as efficient machine devised to ultimately achieve desired goals. The purpose of this essay however is not to discuss the success or failure of a bureaucracy, but rather to analyze if we still live in a bureaucratic world, or in a post-bureaucratic one. Post-bureaucracy is an refined organizational model developed to best suit todays dynamic organizations. Salaman (2005) asserts that post-bureaucracy is supposed to be more efficient, more dynamic, more innovative and more understanding towards the need to change. It merely refers to a fundamental shift away from traditional bureaucratic features which can be characterized through reduced formal levels of hierarchy, more flexibility than rule-following, decentralization of authority, and a collaboration of trust, teamwork, and shared responsibility (Heckscher, 1994). One of the features of Webers ideal type of bureaucracy is based upon centralization; however most large and successful organizations today are organizing themselves into smaller, autonomous and more manageable units thus becoming more decentralized. Various scholars (Miner et al., 2000; Repenning, 2002; Sigglekow and Rivki, 2003) have recently developed a resurgence of interest towards the linkage of structure and strategy, and have focused on how smaller structures in dynamic environments can be used to produce organizational adaptations. Their study links to how simpler structure can improvise learning, increase professionalism and be an appropriate mechanism for controlling organizations. Although Daft (2009:348) argues that decentralization represents a paradox because, in the perfect bureaucracy, all decisions would be made by the top administrator, who would have perfect control. Nevertheless, it can be seen that larger an organization becomes, the more decentralized and compl ex it gets. The rationale behind this is that when an organization grows, the number of levels in hierarchy (vertical complexity) and the number of departments (horizontal complexity) grow with it, thus decisions are diffused to the lower levels of management and pressure to subdivide arises, or else managers cannot control them effectively. We can see today that most successful companies such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard, General Foods, 3M, etc are now seen adapting decentralization. CEO Mike Quinlan of McDonalds says that he pushes directions as far down the hierarchy as he can; otherwise, McDonalds decision making would be too slow. Hage and Aiken (1967) support this idea in their research on organization size that larger organizations permit greater decentralization and use Campbell Soup Company and American Airlines as examples (cited in Daft, 2009:348). A small group of theorists (Heckscher and Donnellon, 1994; Gratton, 2004; Pollitt, 2008) have developed upon the theory of typical shift towards post-bureaucracy that in a world of such increasing uncertainty and complexity; hierarchies have now become flat, horizontal connections are emphasized, companies are now more fluid and virtual. As all of these features can be observed in large-scale organizations today, I am in support of Robbins (1990:308) thought that in large and complex organizations, decentralization has become de riguer. Although we have discussed above that large scale organizations are becoming more decentralized, that is they are lacking the pure bureaucratic feature of centralization and hierarchical authority, this however does not mean that hierarchy has been eliminated in them or that they have left behind the core tenets of bureaucracy. They still abide by the Webers bureaucratic rigid rules, written procedures, and impersonality. Heckscher and Donnellon (1994) argue along these lines and describe them as cleaned up bureaucracies. Moreover, according to HÃ ¶pfl (2006:19), an entirely non- or post-bureaucratic organization without hierarchy is simply inconceivable and in addition asserts that post-bureaucratic arrangements appear as variants within bureaucracy. Today, large organizations tend to be more formalized than the smaller ones. The underlying principle behind this is that in large organizations the number of employees and departments is significantly higher, making them more dependable upon the written rules, regulations and paperwork to standardize operations and exercise control. Robbins (1990:96) uses McDonalds to support this argument and states that McDonalds operating manual has 385 pages describing the most minute activities in each outlet. No cigarette, candy or pin ball machines are allowed. Basic hamburger patty must be 1.6 ounces of pure beef with no more than 19.5% fat content. Buns must have 13.3% sugar in them. In regard with this example, it can be seen that even in todays large-scale organizations employees are taken as machine-like objects with no personal feelings. Bureaucracys strength is its capacity to manage routine tasks efficiently in stable and predictable environments. On the contrary, small organizations these days tend to deploy less degree of formalization in their operations which provides employees with considerable freedom in executing their duties and achieving objectives (Robbins, 1990:93). Having said that, top management in small organizations can nevertheless deploy their personal observation skills as a tool to continuously monitor productivity levels and regulate control (Hall, 1963). This implies that sufficient tools are available in small organizations to positively impact overall team dynamics without having to enforce a set of stringent rules and regulations that individuals are restrained by. This in turn empowers employees with a sense of belonging towards the organization and builds a strong relationship amongst them, weaved by trust and personal loyalties (Maravelias, 2003). In lines with the existence of bureaucratic features in todays era, different schools of thought exist. An extensive number of theorists have conducted case studies on organizational structures existing in both public and private sectors. Harris (2006) conducted a study on British Library to explore widespread adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). He concluded that ICT in modern libraries can foster them to become innovative virtual organizations; putting an end to bureaucracy and thus initiate a new flexible and modern-bureaucratic organizational form. Similarly, Briand and Bellemare (2006), in their study about complex changes taking place in a Canadian International Development Research Centre, propose that a shift away from centralized model of governance is being observed, which is entailed with with a reduction of surveillance and produced a new flat structure of domination. Furthermore, Budd (2007), in his research draws upon the environmental changes suc h as introduction of ICT based services, standardization and flexibility. He claims that these changes have helped replace bureaucracy in public policy and public management operations. In contrast to the aforementioned cases which observe the essence of post-bureaucratic patterns in the transformed era we now live in, another group of research scientists have presented their findings by conducting studies about organizations that have not adapted to a paradigm shift, away from bureaucracy. Hill et al. (2000:578), in their study of UK and US Research and Development (RD) projects considered decentralization as an aspect of post-bureaucratic paradigm in RD functions. They concluded that centralization is still the norm as no evidence of move towards decentralization or was observed. In similar lines, Hodgson (2004) argued in his study that project management can never eliminate central control, not the tensions linked with it; instead it has distinct modalities of control, each of which generates quite specific tensions. These are not so much an innovation in organization form but a repositioning of some classic questions. In addition to this Barker (1993) studied se lf-managing teams in the US and observed that dehumanizing tendencies within them exist, thus tightening Webers iron cage of rational control. As a response to whether we are living in a bureaucratic or a post-bureaucratic epoch, there is certainly no doubt that organizations today are experiencing rapid technological and innovative changes, but these changes however are not leaving bureaucracy behind. Bureaucracy, in some form or the other, still exists in all organizations. Conclusion First part of this essay discusses the general features that constitute a pure bureaucratic organization. Thus, I am of the opinion that these bureaucratic features were consciously formed to meet the organizations objectives in the most productive and efficient manner. Second part of the essay provides an analytical review of the current patterns of organizational structures to help establish the extent of bureaucratic elements that still exists within modern organizations. Due to the given scope limitations, the primary content of this essay only outlines concepts of Webers ideal type bureaucracy and few critical approaches to provide a radical analysis of bureaucracy and post-bureaucracy era. This constraint however limits my analysis and prevents from further building upon the controversies identified by other research theorists which are primarily associated with these core characteristics. Although bureaucracy entails with it words such as red tape and inefficiency, bureaucracy is only a type of an organizational structure and there is no unanimously acknowledged perspective whether it is good or bad. Referring to Greys (2009) idea that bureaucracies are well suited for businesses that involve routine task or machine-like operations rather than for those which experience rapid technological changes, I reject the exclusive consideration of either bureaucracies or post-bureaucracies. The aforementioned idea implies that we live either in a purely bureaucratic epoch, or one which completely washes away the bureaucratic features; in other words a post-bureaucratic one. Although bureaucracy, with its adequately defined rigid features to some extent is indeed incompatible with todays growth and rapid change; yet in my view all organizations in some way or the other demonstrate certain degree of bureaucratic characteristics. As for this, I endorse HÃ ¶pfls (2006) idea that a complete transition from bureaucracy to a modern era would require either a death of hierarchy, or some measures that are entirely incompatible with bureaucracy. In light of all this, it can thus be concluded that despite the criticism directed towards bureaucracy, we are in the midst of a threshold both bureaucracy and modernity still continue to live with us.