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Defining Organisational Behaviour - 2293 Words

â€Å"The study of the structure, functioning and performance of organisations, and the behaviour of groups and individuals within them† Derek Pugh’s (1971) This influential definition of organisational behaviour was by Derek Pugh in 1971. Human behaviour is the way people act and react to situations and circumstances, each individual is different, therefore it is essential for an organisation to study human behaviour in order to understand the workforce. By observing and understanding each individual the organisation would improve performance; organisational behaviour can be considered as the key area of management. Organisations study organisational behaviour within by; investigating individuals, social perception, attitudes and†¦show more content†¦ID which represents Identity is our basic instinct; we have no control over this. An example would be when we are determined to win in competitions etc. Our ego has a negative impact on our behaviour due to the need to win at all costs. When people have made up their mind on a plan of action they may become aggressive, may even foul other opponents or resort to forms of cheating just to ‘win’. The super ego however looks upon what is considered acceptable behaviour therefore a form of social conscience. This last component in personality is present to control inappropriate behaviour such as aggression etc. Without this study of organisational behaviour there would be no sense of order. Freud’s theory categorises aspects which determine the way people act at work. A Person’s conscious has an impact on the way they behave and the decisions they make the reason it is important for organisations to be aware of how an employee will react to changes and decisions which may impact on his/her job, ethics and beliefs. In understanding employees better, organisations need to thoroughly study personality in order to recruit and maintain employees effectively by understanding the way they think, feel and react to any given situation. Organisations when recruiting ask questions that provide a better insight into candidates’ personalities in order to select the best candidate for the vacant job, this is very important in the recruiting process because ifShow MoreRelatedWhat ´s Organizational Psychology? Essay666 Words   |  3 PagesOrganisational climate as a concept was first researched by Kurt Lewin within the Industrial and Organisational Psychology, where he argued that behaviour is a function of the person and the environment (Litwin Stringer, 1968). In the 1970s, the concept gained momentum being researched extensively focusing on organisational climate, job satisfaction and organisational structure (Guion, 1973; LaFollette Sims, 1975, Drexler, 1977). Alongside organisational climate concept development, organisationalRead MoreOrganizational culture1263 Words   |  6 Pagesculture is â€Å"the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular group of people or a society†. An organisation is made up of individuals and the culture of an organization defines how things are done in an organisation and what behaviour and actions are considered as acceptable or not acceptable. Hofstede defines culture as the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes members of one group or category of people from another(1). Organisational culture is not that different from socialRead MoreWhat Does Leadership Coaching Mean? Essay1554 Words   |  7 Pagesprofessional advice on how to attain their goals The process is about one person helping others to improve, develop, achieve, and learn something. It can be about obtaining a new skill or enhancing existing qualities. The focus is generally on attitudes, behaviours and knowledge, but coaching could also be used for physical and spiritual development. Coaching can happen in a variety of situations, from official organisations to private institutions. You can even encounter coaching when you are being taughtRead More‘Organizational Culture Can Be One of the Most Important Means of Improving Organizational Performance.’ Debate and Discuss.1357 Words   |  6 Pagesmost important means of improving organizational performance.’ Debate and discuss. Every Organization has a culture that constitutes the expected, supported and accepted way of work and behaviour.  Ã‚  These influence everyone s perception of the business from the chief executive to the lowest rank. Organisational culture can be described as the shared values, principles, traditions and ways of doing things that influence the way organizational members act. The definition of culture implies three things:Read MoreSafety-Culture Background and Concept: The Chernobyl Disaster1422 Words   |  6 Pagesthat ‘good’ safety beliefs, attitudes and behaviours act as additional accident barriers. Safety culture emerged from the Chernobyl experience as a complex, psychological, human behavioural phenomenon that needed to be addressed. The IAEA developed a concept whereby generic elements were transferable into the safety discipline. The theory suggested that organizational culture arises from shared beliefs. These beliefs driving an organisation’s joint behaviours are not always unconcealed but in realityRead MoreSunshine Fashions- Summary of Case Study1389 Words   |  6 Pageswork environment. Sunshine Fashions’ organisational hierarchy and work ethics provided ample motives and opportunities to the employees to indulge in fraud and misbehaviour. The specific root causes for employee misbehaviour at Sunshine can be listed as below:- Root Causes for Individual Misbehaviour (a) Lack of loyalty and belongingness - The employees of sunshine lacked loyalty and belongingness towards the company and this led to opportunistic behaviour. This may be attributed to poor organisationRead MoreHow Organizations Establish Their Reward Systems785 Words   |  4 Pagesthe definition of culture and the fundamental aspects as to how social and organisational culture are interlinked and the impact it now has on managers and how they implement their reward strategy across borders. Although there is no standard definition of culture, the term has been embedded in human history. Terpstra and David (1991) define culture as members of a society with similar ideas, customs and social behaviours that distinguishes one group from another. Their work identifies several characteristicsRead MoreLeadership Theories Of The Great Man Theory1709 Words   |  7 Pagesbecause at the time leadership was thought to be a primarily male quality. 2. Trait Theories – theories that consider personal qualities and characteristics that differentiate leaders from non-leaders (Robbins, Millett, Maree Boyle Tim Judge, Organisational Behaviour). Personal traits that are common among successful leaders are: - Drive: having high energy, display initiative and are tenacious - Self confidence: trusting themselves and have confidence in their abilities - Creativity: are creative andRead MoreThe Impact Of Organizational Culture On Project Management Essay1649 Words   |  7 PagesThe Impact of Organisational Culture on Project management Abstract Two companies do not always get the same success level of projects even if they used same project management process for similar projects. The reason which leads to this situation is related to the culture of the organisation. Organisational culture, a conceptual issue, which influence the success rate of project management during the life cycle of a project. This study finds out that organisational culture affect project managementRead MoreI / O Psychology And Human Resource1173 Words   |  5 Pagesto why I/O psychologists in addition to HR managers should be employed. Body Defining I/O psychology outside the context of a specific type of organization can easily leave us with a vague definition of the field. However Pearce, Bigley Branyiczki (1998) narrows its definition down to being a study of links between national and ethnic cultures, as well as individual preference and values of employees. Even when defining I/O psychology, the job of the I/O psychologist will vary in application as

Ideology of Sacrifice in the Poem and Songs of 20th Century

Question: Discuss about the Ideology of Sacrifice in the Poem and Songs of 20th Century. Answer: Introduction The chosen poem and song for this paper is Here dead we lie by A. E. Housman and the song is I Was Only Nineteen by Red Gum (1983).Alfred Edward Housman was the Englich classical poet and scholar. His poem has been one of the most influential poems of the world. This poem was to illustrate the terrible situation where the young children were sent to war to fight for their fatherland. The dominant ideology in the poem is sacrifice, where the life of young children is sacrificed by the older generation. The same ideology is found in the song I Was Only Nineteen, as the song highlights the sacrifice and hardship of the young soldiers in Vietnam War. Here dead we lie (Poem) This is a very famous poem on war and sacrifice written by Alfred Edward Housman. The poem says: Here dead we lie we because we did not choose To live and shame the land from which we sprung. Life, to be sure, is nothing much to lose; But young men think it is, and we were young. This explains the pain and sacrifice that young children had to face in war. The two main wars that have marked the 20th century were the two World Wars. These world wars affected people in different ways and millions of people died, while fighting for their nation. The English poetry in the beginning of the 20th century was mainly related to war, patriotism and sacrifice (Robinson, 2013). The poem Here Dead We Lie of A.E. Housmanshows that a young dead man is talking about the honor of sacrifice and futility of the heroism. Young soldiers believe that it is better to sacrifice their lives to honor their country, but the second paragraph of poem raises a question that was that sacrifice really needed. The poem talks about the young men, who displayed heroism in the war and died fighting for their nation. The poem deals with the dreams of the young men. It can also be considered as an extraordinary poem for the punch it surrounds with itself. It includes compassion, patriotism and com memoration, yet the poem also develops the sense of sadness and a bitter truth is revealed (Reedy, 1968). The aesthetic features of the poem represent the aspects of the World War I. The aesthetic features of the poem construct the dominant ideology of sacrifice and honor the sacrifice of the young soldiers. There are two different aesthetic features are associated with the young men giving their life for their nation. The first is the sense of pride in the sacrifice that the young soldiers make, which displays the different and nave thoughts of the youth. However, second are the sacrifice and the dark suspicion between the courage and cowardice (Pearsall, 1967). An irony is displayed to the second verse of the poem. This is again an aesthetic feature that reinforces the main ideology of sacrifice. The life of the young soldiers is nothing for the senior officers and other people, while the young soldiers refuse to accept the life means nothing. The pain of sacrificing their lives can be easily made from this irony that they lose everything with their death, as these men have been cheated with their chance to live a happy and complete life. These points reinforce that sacrifice is one the dominant ideology of this poem that is reinforced again and again through aesthetic features of the poem. I Was Only Nineteen (Song) This song was written by Redgum in the year 1983 for the Australian Soldiers, who participated in Vietnam War. The song reflects the theme of war led sacrifice that families had to face. The message that the writer reinforced through song was that age of nineteen is the very young age and sacrificing life at this young age can be a huge impact of life of youth and their families (Siminski and Ville, 2012). Thus song written by Redgum is highly meaningful and emotive song. The song displays the hardship and experience of the Australian soldier, who is preparing for the war and fighting in the Vietnam War. Soldiers going for the war and the family members have arrived to see the passing out parade: " Mum and Dad and Danny saw the passing out parade at Puckapunyal It was a long march from cadets The lyrics also explain the aftermath of the war and explain the physical and psychological damage that the young soldiers had to face in the Vietnam War and even after coming back to Australia (Sim et al, 2003). " I was only nineteen" The above line is repeated in chorus to reinforce the message and theme of sacrifice. The aesthetic features of the song are the solemn and reflective tone, and also the repetition of the word display anaphora to intensify the emotions and to reinforce the message of pain and sacrifice (Siminski and Ville, 2012). The song also displays the haunting and difficult experiences by saying that And can you tell me, doctor, why I still can't get to sleep? This line expresses the pain and sacrifice of the soldiers that they had to deal during and after the war. The most difficult situations in the war is seeing the best mates dying, which the song reinforces the pain through its chorus. The dominant ideology of sacrifice is prominent in the song. The sacrifice of the young soldiers is not temporary, but they have the long term consequences of the sacrifice made in the wars. These evidences reinforce the dominant ideology o9f sacrifice. Conclusion Paper focuses on discussing the dominant ideology of sacrifice in the songs and poem of the 20th century. The poem included in the paper is Here dead we lie by Alfred Edward Housman and the song included in the paper is I was only nineteen written by Redgum (1983). Both the literary prices display the dominant theme of pain and sacrifice through their aesthetic features. The poem and song captures the feelings and emotions of the soldiers in a very simple and respectful manner. Bibliography Pearsall, R.B., 1967. The Vendible Values of Housman's Soldiery.Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, pp.85-90. Robinson, F.C., 2013. The Pleasures of Pass Poets.Sewanee Review,121(2), pp.254-261. Reedy, G., 1968. Housman's Use of Classical Convention.Victorian Poetry, pp.51-61. Siminski, P. and Ville, S., 2012. I Was Only Nineteen, 45 Years Ago: What Can we Learn from Australias Conscription Lotteries?*, 1.Economic Record,88(282), pp.351-371. Sim, M., Abramson, M., Forbes, A., Glass, D., Ikin, J., Itak, P., Kelsall, H., Leder, K., McKenzie, D. and McNeil, J., 2003. Australian Gulf War veterans health study 2003.Canberra: Detartment of Veterans' Affairs.

U. S Postal Service

The United States Postal service is one of the most independent state corporations in the US and the only provider of postal services in the states. The organization is one of the few established institutions from the US constitution in 1775 by a decree of the 2nd continental congress (Ferrara, 1990, p. 11). Nonetheless, the state corporation has undergone structural and functional changes especially outlined by the Postal Reorganizational Act.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on U. S Postal Service specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Unique to this institution is its independence from federal funding because since the early eighties, the US postal service has not received state funding. Nonetheless, this fact stands true with the exception of subsidies the state corporation receives with regard to disabled persons and voters residing overseas. Another notable exception is its recent borrowing of funds from the treasury to cover its financial deficits (Herr, 2010). A major cause of its financial troubles has been the constant decline of mail volumes over the past few years because of information technology advancements, prompting the corporation to cut back on a few functional areas to maintain sound financial health. The corporation currently employs approximately 596,000 workers in the US which makes it the second largest employers of civilians after Wal-Mart, although it operates one of the largest fleet of civilian vehicles in the world; considering it has over 218,000 vehicles (Herr, 2010, p. 2). The US postal service currently has a duty to deliver packages to all Americans regardless of their locality and at uniform price; although some of its greatest competitors are private delivery companies. Considering the outstanding success as one of the few state organizations that barely rely on state funding, this study seeks to explore different aspects to this occurrence. More comprehen sively, this study notes that Organizational design and effective control processes in the U.S. Postal  Service have made it an extremely efficient organization since it is the only  government organization that operates on its own revenue, without government  funds. Governance and Organization The Board of governors of the US mail service act as the sole body that regulates rates, policies and procedures of the state corporation because their role is almost comparable to that of a corporate Board of Directors board. Eleven members sit at the board but nine of them are appointed by the president and approved by the senate; after which the nine members appoint the Post master General who operates as the corporation’s Chief Executive Officer and at the same time, acts as the tenth member of the board. When they are complete as ten members of the board, they appoint the eleventh member as the deputy post master general whose role is outlined by the position of the Chief op erating Officer (Herr, 2010).Advertising Looking for research paper on public administration? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Most often than not, the US mail service is often assumed to be a fully owned government corporation but from the above description, the corporation is an independent entity, although established by the executive wing of government. Government influence can therefore be defined through the presidential appointees who control the day to day operations of the corporation. The relation with the government as a quasi governmental agency gives the corporation unique powers because in its operation, it enjoys sovereign immunity, eminent domain powers, the power to strike agreements with several other corporations (overseas) and of course, the privilege of delivering 1st class and 3rd class mails (Herr, 2010, p. 5). To attest to the independence of the corporation, the US Supreme Court through a ruling in 2004 termed the corporation as a separate entity, free from government ownership. This was in reference to a lawsuit to be governed by the Sherman Antitrust Act but which didn’t go through because of the Supreme Court ruling. The Supreme Court also ruled that the corporation is the only organization that has the statutory monopoly of accessing letter boxes under the First Amendment freedom of speech which makes it illegal for persons other than agents of the US mail service to deliver mails to letter boxes marked the â€Å"US Mail service†. With regard to its corporate clients, the US mail service has a unique advisory body called the Mailers’ Technical Advisory Committee which assists the corporation meet the needs of its corporate clients (Herr, 2010). The structures above have greatly ensured efficiency is upheld in the corporation. Monopoly and Overseas Operations A great factor that contributes to the success of the US mail service is the granting of monopoly f or all mail service by the US federal government. According to Government policy, it is illegal to establish a parallel mail service regardless of whether it is public or private; thereby enforcing the monopoly the US Mail service has in America. Moreover, the federal government has given the state corporation powers to determine whether another entity is going to compete with it or not; however, the US mail service has established an exception for other mail service companies to deliver mails which are extremely urgent. In spite of the fact that the core mandate for the US mail service is to provide mail service to all Americans at affordable rates, the dimensions to these provisions are greatly undefined because part of its scope entails many aspects to mail service delivery such as geographical scope, quality of service, frequency of delivery among other dimensions. Despite other mail service companies providing a universal mail service, the US mail service still stands out becau se it provides the same service at very affordable rates.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on U. S Postal Service specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Proponents of the US postal service monopoly identify that since there is a need to justify the affordable rates the corporation gives Americans, the guaranteed monopoly by the state is in place to ensure it sustains its universal operations. This system has been in place for more than ten decades now. This monopoly can be analyzed in two perspectives because it contains the Private express statutes and the Mail box Access rule which also greatly increases the corporation’s potential in providing affordable universal mail service. If for example the Private Express mail service provision were to be done away with and the Universal mail service maintained, then the US mail service would need federal funding to the tune of billions of dollars of tax payersâ €™ money. However, since the universal operating service is quickly changing due to globalization pressures, there is an increasing pressure to change existing policies regarding operations of the Universal mail service. Nonetheless, many economists and professionals are of the opinion that rigid policies and regulations on universal mail service need to be relaxed or the entire service privatized altogether. However, there are still rigid objections to the privatization of mail service in America because many are of the opinion that privatizing the mail service would lock out rural Americans or those from lower classes. Sorting and Delivery Process The sorting and delivery process of the US Mail service is highly automated to increase the efficiency of the organization’s operations. These activities happen at the Process and distribution centers where over 275 such centers have been established countrywide and mails are sorted from a locality of about 200 mile radius (He rr, 2010). At the processing and distribution centers, the mails are usually emptied into hampers through automated techniques then later, a sorting process is initiated to separate large mails from small mails. The initial process had a lot of inconsistencies because it was done manually by stamping postage stamps; thereby missing many inappropriately placed stamps, but now, the corporation uses the Advanced Facer canceller system which is much more efficient (Herr, 2010, p. 20). The mails are therefore categorized into three categories including mails which are fixed by a bar code, mails which have a typed address and mails that have handwritten addresses. The US Mail service now uses machines which have the Optical character technique which is able to read the mails regardless of whether the addresses have been typed or hand written; after which it then sorts the mails into their respective zip codes. Mails which have been written in a hand written format therefore go through the Optical character reader which sorts the mails according to the zip code; later it prints a barcode which goes through the remote bar coding system to be sorted out into respective locations. This system continues into a series of automated processes that pass through the remote encoding centers, and later, fluorescent bar codes and delivery barcodes are imprinted on the mail envelopes before transportation to final destinations.Advertising Looking for research paper on public administration? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More From these processes, we can deduce the fact that the US postal service operations are highly automated to keep up with the demands of the current technological environment which emphasizes on efficiency. This has been one of the core reasons why the US postal service has been able to stay afloat in light of tremendous technological advancement. Keeping it Simple The US postal service has been able to maintain a fairly simple strategic forecast plan which greatly eases its operations into efficient structures of performance. This is in contrast to the opinions held by major organizations regarding multiple strategic objectives for success. Kent Smith, the General Manager (cited in Creelman, 2010) affirms that after factoring in the size of the corporation, putting up a few strategies was ideal for efficiency. He further affirms that â€Å"Simplicity has been vital as we have had to communicate performance to a large number of employees and millions of customers. This requires limit ing the number of top-level goals and metrics, which also provides clarity and focus† (Creelman, 2010, p. 3). As a result of the incorporation of simple strategies, the US mail service has been able to maintain a commendable scorecard regarding overnight delivery of mails. Its success has been compared to IBM Consulting services which was ranked on its 86% service delivery as compared to US mail’s 95% (under the same parameters). Benchmarking and Monitoring Performance The US Postal service has been able to categorize its performance into three portals which act as the criteria to awarding of performance points. Firstly, the organization awards itself points for meeting the organizational goals and secondly for transcending them. There is a third category through which no point allocation is made because it is a non-contributor category and people who fall in this category face disciplinary measures that are suited to their shortcomings. The point allocation is done out of a possible 100 points at three levels which encompass the national level, operational category and individual category (Creelman, 2010). According to the management, establishing such a control measure has been effective because everyday, new measures are proposed and this may cause confusion within the corporation. Smith further explains that: â€Å"To keep the scorecard simple and balanced, the general rule is that if something is added then something must be taken away†¦.this helps people focus on the real value of the measure compared to metrics we already have. This we find to be a much more useful discipline than just adding new measures on an ongoing basis as such complexity would lessen the effectiveness of the framework† (Creelman, 2010, p. 7). Nonetheless, the management confesses that weighting discipline and performance is not an easy task. Smith also explains that: â€Å"We have learnt that in the weighting, if a goal or metric falls below five per cent then people stop paying attention to it. So it’s a challenge to balance the metrics to a level that represents their contribution and ensures that they are seen as important† (Creelman, 2010, p. 7). Collectively, these measures have been able to assist the organization benchmark their performance and improve the overall profitability of the organization. Scorecard Devolution The US mail service has been able to achieve a balanced performance scorecard through its hierarchical managerial structure from the top management to supervisory levels. Key in this strategy has been to customize the process so that the needs of the typical consumer are reflected on the scorecard. For instance, from top managerial level expectations of â€Å"high standard service delivery†, the organization is able to apply the same standards for its overnight and daytime parcels respectively. More weight would therefore fall at the functional level because departmental and operational leve ls would be at the forefront in ensuring logistical strategies are operational, especially to weak areas of service delivery. The company’s management explains that â€Å"The scorecard is narrowly defined for a supervisor, and more expansive as it is applied up the organization through postmaster, district level manager, area manager or vice-president level† (Creelman, 2010, p. 8). Conclusion For more than two decades now, the US postal service has been able to finance its operations without the financial assistance of the federal government. This study identifies that the corporation has been able to achieve this high level of success because of its efficiency and control mechanisms that have ensured the operations of the corporation are up to speed with today’s dynamic business environment. Complimentarily, the corporation has been boosted by existing laws that ensure it receives minimal if any competition at all because of the policies that uphold monopoly. A t the same time, the company’s efforts to automate its operations have greatly improved its efficiency. Its benchmarking and monitoring efforts have also ensured the corporation is in a highly performing condition. These among other complimentary strategies affirm that organizational design and effective control processes in the U.S. Postal  Service have made it an extremely efficient organization to support its independence from federal funding. References Creelman, J. (2010). The United States Postal Service. Web. Ferrara, P. (1990). Free The Mail: Ending The Postal Monopoly. New York: Cato Institute. Herr, P. (2010). U. S. Postal Service: Strategies and Options to Facilitate Progress Toward Financial Viability. New York: DIANE Publishing. This research paper on U. S Postal Service was written and submitted by user Boomer to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.