Five forces Analysis of Two-wheeler industry Essay

As shown above, the business model is formulated as input ïÆ'   process ïÆ'   output. For a two wheeler industry, The inputs to the OEM constitutes of 1. Import of parts: the basic ingredients for model building are the parts such as drive chains, engines, components, transmissions etc. 2. Auto Component Manufacturer: There are 300+ players in the industry which manufacture auto parts components and perform tasks such as castings, forgings, tires etc 3. Raw material Supplier: This forms the initial requirement for the development of any vehicle. The raw material of which it is composed of consists of sheet metal, aluminium etc. The processing involves: 1. Manufacturer Original Equipment Manufacturer(OEM): The industry is highly concentrated with 3 players constituting 80% of the market share, namely Hero Moto, Bajaj Auto & Honda Motors. This industry has a turnover of 55K Cr by producing over 13.33mn units in the FY 2011. 2. Dealership Network Dealer: In the Indian domestic market, the dealer are numbered over 2000 Sub- Dealer: The sub dealers, also known as the touch points are over 12000. This dealership network forms the competitive advantage of a company in the market Service Centers: These provide after sales service for the two wheeler industry and form the part of maintenance and helps in building customer loyalty. The output part of the business model comprises of 1. Domestic Customers: There is a low penetration in the domestic market with coverage in rural market as low as 7%. 2. International Customers: The major markets for two wheelers are Africa, Latin America & South East Asia INDUSTRY ANALYSIS The industry is highly concentrated and there is a strong foothold by 3 major players in the industry namely Hero Moto constituting 39% of the market share, Bajaj Auto constituting 27% of the market share and finally Honda Motors with 14% market share. So, these 3 major players sum to 80% of the total industry market share. The Indian Auto sector had a volume growth of 13% CAGR over the last 5 years- Driven by two wheelers which account for 80% of the total volumes Two wheeler sales reached INR 55K Cr and volumes reached 13.3 mn units clocking a CAGR of 15% and 13% respectively over 2006-2011. This works to an average realization – Rs 42000 or 1.2x the real per capita GDP of India. Domestic volume growth has been strong over the past five years growing at 11% CAGR Exports have been a significant factor to contribute to overall volumes with a growth of 27% CAGR over the last 5 years. Year to date, the volume sales growth in two wheelers has surpassed all other automobile segments. FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS What is it? Five Forces Analysis is a tool that enables managers to study the key factors in an industry envi ­ronment that shape that nature of competition: (1) rivalry among current competitors, (2) threat of new entrants, (3) substitutes and complements, (4) power of suppliers, and (5) power of buyers. When do we use it? In a strategic analysis, Five Forces Analysis is an excellent method to help you analyze how competi ­tive forces shape an industry in order to adapt or influence the nature of competition. Collectively, the Five Forces determine the attractiveness of an industry, its profit potential, and the ease and attractiveness of mobility from one strategic position to another. Because  of this, the analysis is useful when firms are making decisions about entry or exit from an industry as well as to identify major threats and opportunities in an industry. Why do we use it? This analysis was originally developed by Michael Porter, a Harvard professor and a noted author ­ity on strategy. While all firms operate in a broad socioeconomic environment that includes legal, social, environmental, and economic factors, firms also operate in a more immediate competitive environment. The structure of this competitive environment determines both the overall attractive ­ness of an industry and helps identify opportunities to favorably position a firm within an industry. Porter identified five primary forces that determine the competitive environment: (1) rivalry among current competitors, (2) threat of new entrants, (3) substitutes and complements, (4) power of sup ­pliers, and (5) power of buyers. 1. Rivalry Among the direct and obvious forces in the industry, existing competitors must first deal with one another. When organizations compete for the same customers and try to win market share at the others’ expense, all must react to and anticipate their competi ­tors’ actions. 2. Threat of Entrants New entrants into an industry compete with established companies placing downward pressure on prices and ultimately profits. In the last century, Japanese automobile manufacturers Toyota, Honda, and Nissan represented formidable new entrants to the U.S. market, threatening the market position of established U.S. players GM, Ford, and Chrysler. The existence of substantial barriers to entry helps protect the profit potential of existing firms and makes an industry more attractive. 3. Substitutes and Complements Besides firms that directly compete, other firms can affect industry dynamics by providing substitute products or services that are functionally similar (i.e., accomplishing the same goal) but technically different. The existence of substitutes threatens demand in the industry and puts downward pressure on prices and margins. While substitutes are a potential threat, a complement is a potential opportunity because customers buy more of a given  product if they also demand more of the complementary product. For example, iTunes was established as an important complement to Apple’s iPod, and now the firm has leveraged connections among its suite of products including iPhone, iPad, and the like. 4. Power of Suppliers Suppliers provide resources in the form of people, raw materials, com ­ponents, information, and financing. Suppliers are important because they can dictate the nature of exchange and the potential value created farther up the chain toward buyers. Suppliers with greater power can negotiate better prices squeezing the margins of down ­stream buyers. 5. Power of Buyers Buyers in an industry may include end consumers, but frequently the term refers to distributors, retailers, and other intermediaries. Like suppliers, buyers may have important bargaining powers that dictate the means of exchange in a transaction. According to Porter, successful managers do more than simply react to this environment; they act in ways that actually shape or â€Å"enact† the organization’s competitive environment. For example, a firm’s introduction of substitute products or services can have a substantial influence over the competitive environment, and in turn this may have a direct impact on the attractiveness of an industry, its potential profitability, and competitive dynamics. I. Bargaining power of buyers: High Who are the buyers of this industry: Individual customers who purchase and use two wheelers for the purpose of transportation. This category of customers considers two wheelers as a necessity than a luxury. In a developing country like India, especially in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, two wheelers are extremely popular amongst families and students. Scooters are considered to be utility vehicles transporting a family of 2-3 at a time and providing good mileage. Bikes on the other hand come in a variety of segments. They can cost less, acting as utility vehicles. They can be costing very high, acting as luxury products for their owners. The  following points can be aggregated to determine the relative bargaining power of buyers against the automobile manufacturing firms. The bargaining power in this case would mean to what extent the buyers can negotiate prices of the two wheelers. This buying power would determine the market price of the two wheelers in the long run. It also indicates the intensity of rivalry amongst the existing firms in the market. Product Differentiation: Low The features in two-wheelers produced by the Indian manufacturers like Bajaj, Honda, TVS etc. are very close to each other. These features include appearance, Price, Quality and other functional features. This implies that: The buyers can shift from one product to another, as they do not have affinity for any specific product Information Availability: High High availability of information over the internet, leads to higher bargaining power with the buyer to compare the various features and price of products thus leading to lower bargaining power with the manufacturing firms. Type of Economy: Developing India being a Developing economy, is a big hub for two wheeler manufacturers. A two wheeler is a necessity in small towns even today. The large number of customers lowers their bargaining power to some extent. However, this is offset by the large number of suppliers. This is good news for the automobile firms as their product is going to remain in demand for a while at least and they don’t have to worry about declining sales for some time in India. Number of Suppliers: High The number of companies manufacturing automobiles is high in India. With each major player opening showrooms in not only Tier I but II and III cities, the consumers have a wide variety of options to choose from. The number of buyers and sellers in market is high. These two effects offset each other. This implies that: The bargaining power of consumers is high because of this effect as the consumers have the option of going to another brand if they do not like the functional features or price of one brand. In case of utility  vehicles manufacturing category, Rohtak alone has two showrooms of the major players in the market. This implies an empowered consumer. Switching Cost: Moderate The switching costs are higher than FMCG goods however are low compared to many other high involvement products. A basic two wheeler starts from about Rs 40,000. This cost maybe high for some people and not so significant for others. However as two wheelers hardly have any associated products, which would require compatibility with the product, the switching cost is low. Also due to a well-established second hand market in India, the vehicles can be easily resold these days. This also covers up for the switching costs to some extent. II. Bargaining Power of the Supplier : LOW Organizations would be at a disadvantage if their suppliers are powerful. They should preferably not be dependent on any supplier. Now suppliers can be powerful if the number of firms providing thie particular service or product are few in number( eg. A monopoly, oligopoly).The number of the firms determine their bargaining power. The power gets by the increase in existence of switching costs for the various firms. Moreover, firms in an industry have power if they have many alternative sources of supply or if they have a credible threat of integrating backward to provide their own sources of supply. So even supply chain management is particularly important in industries where the potential power of suppliers is high. Now, for a 2 wheeler Industry there would be various suppliers which can be broadly classified into 4 broad categories:- 1)Steel industry 2)Tyre industry 3)Auto components industry 4) Battery industry Steel Industry The 2 wheeler industry in India mostly imports all the automotive steel. Around 65% of the steel is imported for automobiles. The cheap import duty helps the 2 wheeler industry to import high quality steel. So the prices of  steel is determined by mostly international markets, so the bargaining possibility is less for the steel suppliers. Demand for automotive steel such as inner components and outer body parts comprises just 7-8 million tonnes (mt) a year out of India’s total production of about 78 mt, but is growing at 10-20% a year even as overall demand growth lags economic growth. The companies in India which develop automotive steel have now decided to expand in this area and many companies have entered into joint ventures with various international companies like Sumitomo + Bhushan Steels, Jfe+jsw, Tata+Nippon joint ventures. So the 2 wheeler industry has a lot of vendors both nationally and internationally to choose from. Thus, the bargaining power of the supplier is low. Auto components and Battery Industry Both the Auto Components industry and the Battery industry in India are highly fragmented .There suppliers highly outnumber the 2 wheeler companies. Examples of a few companies which provide auto components in the automobile industry are Rico Auto Industries Ltd, JBM Group, Sona Koyo Steering Systems and Lumax Industries, Indication Instruments Ltd Aisin Seiki Co.,BorgWarner,Continental, Delphi, Denso Corporation, Eaton, FAG, Faurecia, GKN,Honda Foundry Co. Ltd., Honeywell,Knorr Bremse, Koyo,Magna,Magneti Marelli, Mando Corporation, Meritor,Mitsuba Corporation, NHK Spring,Robert Bosch,Showa Corporation, Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Toyoda Gosei, USHIN, Valeo, Visteon,Yazaki and many more. Amaron ,exide,luminous,kaycee ,sumangal,action,tata batteries are just a few examples of the Battery Companies in India.Thus, since the number of suppliers is huge the bargaining power they enjoy is low. Tyre Industry It can be clearly seen in the pie chart below that for tyre industry in India, 53% of the tyre consumption is by the 2 wheeler industry. The benefits are given to them as they are buying in bulk and the relation gives the tyre firms a strong brand association. At present there are 40 listed companies in the tyre sector in India.Major players are MRF, JK Tyres, and Apollo Tyres & CEAT, which account for 63 per  cent of the organized tyre market. The other key players include Modi Rubber, Kesoram Industriesand Goodyear India, with 11 per cent, 7 per cent and 6 per cent share respectively. Dunlop,Falcon, Tyre Corporation of India Limited (TCIL), TVS-Srichakra, Metro Tyres and Balkrishna Tyres are some of the other significant players in the industry. Thus , with so many players in the market and also with the power to give tyre companies brand association, the 2 wheeler industry is at a huge advantage and the bargaining power of the tyre suppliers is low. III. Threats of Substitutes : LOW Number of Substitutes: High Substitutes can be cars, electrical vehicles, public transport and rickshaw/taxi. There are many players in the market for four-wheelers. Also, in metros and some of the tier-II cities, public transport facility is quite good. Thus, this can be a negative factor for two-wheeler industry. But two-wheeler may be a better option for 2 people in the same price range. Flexibility is also high compared to public transport. These facts nullify the negative effect of this factor. Public Transport Infrastructure: Moderate As of today, public transport is not very well developed in India but its developing day by day. In tier-1 cities, people have started preferring public transportation for routine tasks but people in other regions don’t have an option. Scope of Differentiation: High There is a high scope of innovation in this industry as the technologies are ever changing. Customization according to the customer needs is important and attracts consumers’ attention towards one vehicle from another. Lifestyle in India: Changing Common Man’s lifestyle is changing in India and number of people working in a family are increasing. Most of them prefer one vehicle per head to commute. For a middle class family, two wheeler is the only feasible option in such cases looking at its flexibility and affordability. Thus, changing lifestyle  is a positive sign for this industry. Cost of Switching to Substitutes: High People switch to substitutes for a reason. Given below are some of the reasons why people switch to substitutes. Cars: Comfort, status Symbol, safety Public Vehicles : Affordability, Safety, Cost, Pollution, Time saving Electrical Vehicles: Environmental friendly, Maintenance cost Here is the negative side of switching to substitutes. Public transport vehicles are not readily available for transportation within the city/town/village except in a few cities in India. For the regions where public transports are not available, only four-wheeler or electrical vehicles remains the substitute to a two-wheeler. Electrical vehicles at present not competitive with respect to present petrol running vehicles. No established player is offering Electrical vehicles. Switching cost from a two-wheeler to a four-wheeler is quite high as investment will be needed to switch the product. Also running cost is more for a four wheeler. The above table shows the calculation of running cost of a two-wheeler and a four-wheeler per km. The numbers are rationally assumed for reaching to quantified figures. As we can see from above calculations, running cost of a four-wheeler is almost 3.5 times more than that of a two-wheeler. Thus, we conclude that the cost of switching to substitutes is LOW in the case of two-wheelers. Seeing all the five factors contributing to Threats of Substitutes, it can be safely concluded that this threat is LOW. Lower running costs, higher addressable market and lack of public transport make two wheeler industry attractive. IV. Threat of New Entrants : MODERATE-WEAK Capital requirements: Moderate High capital requirements mean a company must spend a lot of money in order to compete in the market. The investment made by the company depends upon the type of expansion. High capital requirements positively affect 2 Wheeler Industry India. â€Å"High Capital Requirements (2 Wheeler Industry India)† is an easy qualitative factor to overcome, so the investment will not have to spend much time trying to overcome this issue. Easy to overcome this disadvantage High sunk costs High sunk costs make it difficult for a competitor to enter a new market, because they have to commit money up front with no guarantee of returns in the end. High sunk costs positively affect 2 Wheeler Industry India. This statement will have a short-term positive impact on this entity, which adds to its value. â€Å"High Sunk Costs Limit Competition (2 Wheeler Industry India)† will have a long-term negative impact on this entity, which subtracts from the entity’s value. â€Å"High Sunk Costs Limit Competition (2 Wheeler Industry  India)† is an easy qualitative factor to overcome, so the investment will not have to spend much time trying to overcome this issue. 5 Forces analysis: High negative impact in the long run High positive impact in the short run Easy to overcome this disadvantage Strong brands If strong brands are critical to compete, then new competitors will have to improve their brand value in order to effectively compete. Strong brands positively affect Two Wheeler Industry India. The 3 major players contribute to 80% of the market share Hero Moto, Bajaj Auto, Honda Motors. Advanced technologies Advanced technologies make it difficult for new competitors to enter the market because they have to develop those technologies before effectively competing. The requirement for advanced technologies positively affects Two Wheeler Industry India. Economies of scale Economies of scale help producers to lower their cost by producing the next unit of output at lower costs. When new competitors enter the market, they will have a higher cost of production, because they have smaller economies of scale. Economies of scale positively affect Two Wheeler Industry India.†Industry Requires Economies of Scale (Automobile Industry India)† has a significant impact, so an analyst should put more weight into it. â€Å"Industry Requires Economies of Scale (Two Wheeler Industry India)† will have a long-term negative impact on this entity, which subtracts from the entity’s value. This force has significant impact High negative impact in long run Patents Patents that cover vital technologies make it difficult for new competitors, because the best methods are patented. Patents positively affect Two Wheeler Industry India. Customer Loyalty It takes time and money to build a brand. When companies need to spend resources building a brand, they have fewer resources to compete in the marketplace. These costs positively affect Two Wheeler Industry India. High learning curves When the learning curve is high, new competitors must spend time and money studying the market before they can effectively compete. High learning curves positively affect profits for industry. High switching costs High switching costs make it difficult for customers to change which products they normally purchase, due to costs. High switching costs positively affect Two Wheeler Industry India. High Switching Costs for Customers has a significant impact, so an analyst should put more weight into it.†High Switching Costs for Customers will have a long-term positive impact on this entity, which adds to its value. This statement will have a short-term positive impact on this entity, which adds to its value. This force has significant impact High positive impact in long run High positive impact in short run Strong distribution networks Weak distribution networks mean goods are more expensive to move around and some goods don’t get to the end customer. The expense of building a strong distribution network positively affects Two Wheeler Industry India. â€Å"Strong Distribution Network Required † has a significant impact, so an analyst should put more weight into it. â€Å"Strong Distribution Network Required – Two Wheeler Industry India† will have a long-term positive impact on this entity, which adds to its value. â€Å"Strong Distribution Network Required – Two Wheeler Industry India† is a difficult qualitative factor to defend, so competing institutions will have an easy time overcoming it. This force has significant impact High positive impact in long run Difficult to defend advantage High entry barriers When barriers are high, it is more difficult for new competitors to enter the market. High entry barriers positively affect profits for Two Wheeler Industry India. So to sum it all, for the two wheeler industry the threat of new entrants is moderate to weak. INTENSITY OF RIVALRY AMONG EXISTING COMPETITORS : MODERATE Among the direct and obvious forces in the automobile industry, existing competitors must first deal with one another. When organizations compete for the same customers and try to win market share at the others’ expense, all must react to and anticipate their competitors’ actions. There are 3 main factors along which the intensity of rivalry amongst existing players in the automobile industry have been identified 1. Number Of Competitors:- The number of competitors within an industry is a direct correlation to the intensity of competition, all else being equal. The industry concentration was studied using Hirschman-Herfindahl Index. The data for studying HHI was obtained from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. Yearly sales volume data for various brands of two-wheelers in the three segments were obtained for the period 2008- 2012 and was computed. The above figure shows that the 2 Wheeler Industry is oligopolistic in nature and there is less competition even after deregulation of the Indian Economy. The Motorcycle segment is characterised by a few large players who have established their presence. The leading player is Honda Motorcycles with almost 50% market share. The Moped industry is a monopoly and TVS is the only player which has been able to capture the entire market. The scooter industry has crossed the shakeout phase post 2004 when the Activa type models were being imitated by all major players across the segments. This too has a HHI of .309 indicating less competition. 2. Incentive to Fight:- The incentive to fight is primarily related to finding out how competitors  fix prices i.e whether they engage in price wars, or engage in aggressive activities with the aim of increasing market share. This shall further be explored among 3 other parameters. A. Growth In Automobile Industry There has been substantial growth in the automobile industry in India and it has already crossed the 25 Billion Rupee mark and has had a 13.7% CAGR over the past 5 years. Over the medium term, the 2W industry is expected to report a volume CAGR of 9-11% to reach a size of 24-26 million units by 2016-17. This will be due to the (a) favourable demographic profile, (b) increasing personal income as well as (c) moderate penetration in relation to other Emerging Markets. Therefore there is substantial opportunity for growth leading to less competition. B. Demand – Supply Gap Most two wheeler have idle capacity as the supply exceeds demand. Moreover as many players are planning to increase manufacturing operations, it is estimated that the total supply will exceed demand by almost 15 to 20%. This problem has been compounded by the fact that foreign entrants are planning to enter India as growth in European and American markets have stagnated. This will lead to more competition. C. Nature of Demand The nature of demand is highly cyclical in nature. In times of high growth in the Indian Economy there is corresponding revenue growth for all 2 wheeler companies. This can be seen more from the growth of the 2 Wheeler Industry during recession which slowed substantially. In fact the motorcycles segment had dipped to negative growth during that period. Our group believes that after evaluating the three factors, there will soon be a tendency for the firms to engage in fierce competition as the stakes are increased manifold. This will ultimately lead to more competition for existing players and international players who are thinking of venturing into the industry. 3. Coordination between competitors According to the Indian Constitution, â€Å"The Competition Act, 2002, as amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007, follows the philosophy of modern competition laws. The Act prohibits anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position by enterprises and regulates combinations (acquisition, acquiring of control and Merger and Acquisition), which causes or likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India† which prevents firms from colluding implicitly or explicitly colluding. Till now there has been no tendency amongst firms of colluding, hence the market is still competitive in terms of the coordination between competitors. Considering all the factors, the competitive landscape within the industry is still not yet clearly defined. Even though firms are capacity constrained, there is still ample room for growth. Therefore our group believes that the competition is still low. The way ahead With consumers becoming increasingly aware about products and buyer power increasing, the manufacturers will have to differentiate their products. Then comes the era of green vehicles which will be powered by battery or green fuels and will provide mileage of 100 km/Rs 8. The relationship between suppliers and manufacturers is nasty at this point of time. It needs to be reworked. This will provide room for improved consumer feedback mechanism which will lead to improved product for consumers The projected sales of two wheelers in India in FY15 are 18MN. There is scope in the unisex category of scooters as already there are plenty of motorbike owners in the country. Companies could leverage on that. Another scope is there in rural areas and tier II, III cities. This market is relatively untouched by two wheeler marketers and hence this should be explored and custom made vehicles should be designed for people residing in these areas. Since the purchasing capacity of these people is low it should be kept in mind while making utility products for them.

Importance of Science Essay

One of my old, fairly innocuous posts has been climbing up the popularity lists: The Importance of Science in Our Lives. It’s just a link to an article online with a little commentary. I see on my statistics pages that a lot of people arrive using google searches of â€Å"Importance of Science.† I wonder if this is a common school assignment for students, e.g., â€Å"Write about the importance of science in the modern world† or some other similar variation, and then off they go to google to get their answers rather than thinking for themselves. Maybe that’s too cynical. Anyway, I have been intending to follow up with some more specific and simply worded reasons that science is important to not just me (e.g., my income), but to our civilization today. Science is important because†¦ 1. †¦we don’t have to take someone’s word for something, we can test their claims. 2. †¦horrible diseases can be cured, or prevented entirely, and it can still provide hope for those with as-yet-incurable diseases. 3. †¦people who love each other can talk to each other whenever they want no matter how far apart they are in the world, and can be together the next day. 4. †¦science can show us what has caused mass extinctions and point the way to preventing similar catastrophes in the future. 5. †¦science can make us feel big and special for understanding the age of the Earth, the nature of stars, and the size of the universe, even if those things dwarf us. 6. †¦science saves lives. 7. †¦it has helped us to no longer need to worry about personal survival as our top priority, giving us more time for love, laughter, singing, and dancing. 8. †¦whenever one problem is solved another two rear up to take its place, so the need for science will never go obsolete. 9. †¦science gives us superpowers, like looking across the universe, seeing atoms, flying across the Earth or to the moon, moving mountains, and harnessing the energy of the sun. 10. †¦science, in the long run, is the only reliable way to figure things out in a world that is so seldom fair and impartial. Well, those are ten of mine. I could elaborate or further justify each of these, but for now I will leave these here to ferment some more. There’s a darker version of this list that would talk about guns, nuclear bombs, and more, but I’ll pass on that for now. Violence isn’t nice, but it surely is important. Science is everywhere in today’s world. It is part of our daily lives, from cooking and gardening, to recycling and comprehending the daily weather report, to reading a map and using a computer. Advances in technology and science are transforming our world at an incredible pace, and our children’s future will surely be filled with leaps in technology we can only imagine. Being â€Å"science literate† will no longer be just an advantage but an absolute necessity. We can’t escape from the significance of science in our world. The present era is the era of science. Science has undoubtedly done a great service to mankind. Man, a rational being, has been curious to explore mysteries of nature and this led to many discoveries being made in various part of the world. But he is never satisfied with the acquired knowledge and is always keen to unravelle mysteries of the universe. He has conquered the land and air. His incredible lust for knowledge has revolutionise d human life and raised the standard of life. He was able to invent innumerable ways of making his life comfortable and happy. Every sphere of life has been revolutionised by science. There have been innumerable inventions. One of the greatest inventions is the invention of medicines. There has been a series of tests carried out using animals as subjects and various medicines have been tried out on these animals to check their efficacy. Many fatal diseases can now be cured because we have the drug to fight those diseases. It has reduced the rate of infant mortality and increased the life span. Before these inventions millions of people died for lack of medical care. Science has given us many machines that have made our lives very comfortable. Buses, cars, sewing machines, mixes, grinders, etc. are all machines that are used every day by us and the discovery of electricity has made it possible for us to change night into day and summer into a comfortable cool season It is now easy to cultivate fields as we have tractors. New forms of irrigation are now being employed. It is easier to protect the crops because of the use of various chemicals and pesticides. Even mosquitoes can be driven away because of the discoveries made in science. It has enabled man to entertain himself in many ways. TV, radio, video and the cinema are all popular means of entertainment. Besides entertainment they educate the masses. Today the computer has made life even more easy for us. The press, the means of communication, etc. have all improved because of science and its gifts to us. Before understanding the importance of science and technology, it is important for us to understand that science and technology are closely associated with our lives. They are closely linked aspects of society and the studies and developments in both of science and technology are essential for the overall progress of society. Why is technology so important? How does scientific development affect society? Let us find out.Scientific research comprises a wide variety of fields ranging from the study of different branches of science to relatively advanced fields like space exploration, human genetics and cloning. Scientific study attempts to explore and understand the working of the physical world. It tries to analyze the occurrences in nature and gain knowledge about nature through experimentation. As scientific research aims at gaining knowledge of the complexities of nature, it is important for the progress of mankind. The seemingly impossible feats have been made possible, thanks to the scientific research.Natural sciences deal with the study of nature and human life. The studies of natural and artificial sciences reveal the relationship between nature and human life. Research in science has paved a path to many brilliant inventions and discoveries.When it comes to science and technology, we cannot forget the automobile and the transport industries that have grown tremendously on account of the developments in science and engineering. Technological advancements have driven the developments in the different modes of transport. Bicycles have transformed into scooters and sport bikes. Four and six wheeled vehicles have started running on the roads, thanks to the advancing technology. The developments in air transport have winged the common man to soar high!The importance of technology lies in the benefits of technology on society. The positive effects of technology on society are many. The advancements in technology have revolutionized human life. It has provided a great impetus to the computer and the telecommunication industry. The developments in the communication technology have made the world a smaller place. The Internet serving as an excellent communication platform has made the world flat!The World Wide Web has proved being an enormous information base, from which information can be retrieved by the means of search engines. Information from all around the world is housed on the web. Thanks to the development of the web technology, the information can be stored in an organized manner and relevant information can be retrieved on supplying search strings to the web search engines.Digitization of information has been a major breakthrough in the world of information technology. It has made possible the compaction of information, which in turn allows efficient information storage.The most important benefit of science has been the luxury it has brought to daily life. The mechanization of industrial processes has reduced human effort. Household appliances that are in the daily use of the common man are a result of scientific research. Machines have replaced human beings in monotonous and risk-bearing tasks. Scientific discoveries have made life easy.Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/importance-of-science-and-technology.html In every generation and in every century there always exist a number of people, who are afraid of everything that is related to possible changes. In various epochs they are called differently: luddites, anti-globalists, ecologists and so on; but their nature is always the same. They hate progress and strive to preserve the status quo without seemingly realizing the fact that the same very kind of people hated progress and strived to retain the status quo a hundred years ago, and now they use all the things that were denounced by their spiritual ancestors. In their blogs on the Internet they write about immoral scientists, who conduct dangerous experiments; but they do not realize that they actually use the product of the very science they hate in order to convey their thought to the similarly-minded. Science always has to fight against heavy odds, for it always tries to show how useful something may be to people who don’t want to listen, knowing that the very moment they will be persuaded, they will use a yet another product of science against what has created it. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that a scientist is the hero of modern day, and not a politician or a social activist. Science makes our life possible – today a human being cannot imagine his or her life without all the many thousands of little and big things, created by science in the course of millennia. And the people who denounce it for meddling with the things that we do not understand, just don’t see that there is no way to study a thing that you don’t understand without, well, studying it. Of course, science always prevails in the end, for life is stronger than death. But it is really embarrassing to see how hard it has to fight. 2013-02-19T14:25:54start intext order & inq uiry code Science and technology provide people with the knowledge and tools to understand and address many of the challenges. Students must be provided with opportunities to access, understand, and evaluate current information and tools related to science and technology if they are to be ready to live in a 21st century global society. The study of science and technology includes both processes and bodies of knowledge. Scientific processes are the ways scientists investigate and communicate about the natural world. The scientific body of knowledge includes concepts, principles, facts, laws, and theories about the way the world around us works. Technology includes the technological design process and the body of knowledge related to the study of tools and the effect of technology on society. Science and technology merge in the pursuit of knowledge and solutions to problems that require the application of scientific understanding and product design. Solving technological problems demands scientific knowledge while modern technologies make it possible to discover new scientific knowledge. In a world shaped by science and technology, it is important for students to learn how science and technology connect with the demands of society and the knowledge of all content areas. It is equally important that students are provi ded with learning experiences that integrate tools, knowledge, and processes of science and technology. The Science and Technology Standards outline the essential understandings of these disciplines. Standard A describes four themes that serve as a broad scaffold for understanding and organizing student understanding of the content and processes of science and technology. Standard B describes the processes of scientific inquiry and technological design. As a complement to the expectations of inquiry and design outlined in Standard B, Standard C describes the enterprises of science and technology and the connection to society. Standards D and E have performance indicators that encompass the subject matter conventionally referred to as life, physical, and earth and space science. It is essential that classroom instruction integrate the processes and ideas of Standards A, B, and C with the knowledge of Standards D and E, rather than teach them separately. Instruction should support students in asking questions and making inquiries to help them, understand and solve problems that require t he integration of knowledge and processes in authentic contexts. Unifying Themes – The proposed revised standards begin with a focus on four themes of science and technology: systems, models, and constancy and change, and scale. These themes provide teachers and students with a scaffold on which to organize the details of the standards. National standards documents identify these themes as critical knowledge for students in the 21st century. The Skills of Scientific Inquiry and Technological Design Process – The Science and Technology Standards define both the student skills of scientific inquiry and the student skills of technological design. The inclusion of scientific inquiry, the development of a coherent section on technological design and the inclusion of a standard on scientific and technological enterprise highlight the importance of developing student understanding of the unique characteristics of and relationships between science and technology. The scientific and technological enterprise standard outlines key understanding s about the relationships among science, technology and society and underscores the role of citizens in the decision-making process related to science and technology. Science is our power as human beings to use our wisdom and make decisions. When a loved one is dying of cancer, what would you do? Would you not do anything possible to try to help them? Here is where science has a role in our lives; when we want to do something otherwise difficult or impossible. Though the ways of learning science has changed over the years from solely thinking logically to reading classics to experimenting, the way scientific knowledge is used has not been changed. When there is an epidemic, medicine is used to carry out man’s will to cure it. When the Egyptian pyramids were to be built, architecture came into use. Yet science is not used only for such needful or elaborate situations. They also appear in our daily lives. We know it is important to wash ourselves regularly, only for biology. The Wright brothers were able to invent the airplane because they knew hot air rises, and since then, we have been able to use their technology to travel great distances in short periods of time. We humans would be so impotent without science. Science is our knowledge of the universe. It is natural to have for a being who thinks. If we did not have science, it would mean we are plain animals motivated purely by instinct. Our definition of â€Å"life† as a human would not exist. Great are the blessings of science. However, our wisdom is not complete, and can lead us to do wrong. Thereupon, science can be a curse. We have changed the passenger airplane into a fighter. Cameras for keeping memories spy on people. Cell phones for conversations are used to bully kids around, and even explode trains. Our greed, hatred, fear, wickedness, and stupidity have produced terrible uses of what our scientific knowledge has put together. As we all know from Spiderman, â€Å"With great power comes great responsibility.† Science gives us options to do or not to do. Though each option has its consequences, it is a distinct strength which evidently separates us from animals. How we use it will greatly influence the lives of each one of us.

Gap Within the Organization: a Case Study in Administrative Building

Communication Gap within the Organization: A case study in administrative building of SUST, Sylhet By Sato Barua Masters Student Department of Public Administration SUST, Sylhet Introduction Organizational communication as a discipline grew tremendously over the 20th century, but accompanying that growth was a struggle to establish a clear identity of the field. Today scholars still continue to define and redefine the focus, boundaries and future of the field (Thompkin & Wanka-Thibault, 2001).Why it is that organizational communication is such an interesting concept for researchers to study? Apparently, a great deal of the answer to this question can be found in the importance communication has been re-vealed having for the success of organizations. Open communication has for example been found to be positively correlated with employees’ satisfaction with the organization (Koike, Gudykunst, William, Lea & Ting-Toomey, 1989). Communication is the glue that holds a society toget her. The ability to communicate enables people to form and maintain personal relationships.And the quality of such relationships depends on the caliber of communication between the parties. Communication is the process of sharing ideas, information, and messages with others in a particular time and place. Communication includes writing and talking, as well as nonverbal communication (such as facial expressions, body language, or gestures), visual communication (the use of images or pictures, such as painting, photography, video or film) and electronic communication (telephone calls, electronic mail, cable television, or satellite broadcasts).Communication is a vital part of personal life and is also important in business, education, and any other situations where people encounter each other (Encarta, 1998). A study was completed within the organization to determine if there was an internal communication gap that existed between the supervisors and representatives. When there 1 is an internal communication gap within an organization there is usually a breakdown in the way information is been sent from the sender to the receiver. This is precedent in organizations that have a top down hierarchy.In this type of hierarchy it can be difficult for bottom level employees to obtain information regarding changes within the organization. Significance of the study Communication is described as one of the crucial fouls of management. It helps in handling the major managerial tasks of planning direction coordination motivating and controlling. We live in a world filled with other people. We live together, work together, and play together. In our personal lives, we need each other for security, comfort, friendship, and love.In our working environment, we need each other in order to achieve our goals and objectives. None of these goals can be achieved without communication. Communication is the basic thread that ties us together. Through communication we make known our needs , our wants, our ideas, and our feelings. The better we are at communication, the more effective we are at achieving our hopes and dreams (Alessandra, Hunsaker, 1993). Based upon conversations among the representatives, this study is important because there appears to be a lack of communication within the organization.Some of the representatives feel as though the supervisors have daily meetings, but no information is shared regarding the company changes and/or procedures. When there is an internal communication gap it becomes difficult for anyone to effectively achieve goals. Purpose of the study The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not there's an internal communication gap that exist between the representatives and the supervisors. The three objectives of this study were to: 2 1. Discover whether or not there is an internal communication gap between supervisors and representatives within the organization. . Determine the subject's perception of their immediate supe rvisor’s level of communication. 3. Identify the ways in which employees usually receive most of their information. Definition of terms Sender Someone or something that sends or transmits something. To establish yourself as an effective communicator, you must first establish credibility. You must also know your audience (individuals or groups to which you are delivering your message). Failure to understand who you are communicating to will result in delivering messages that are misunderstood (Fowler, 2005).Message A communication in speech, writing, or signals. Written, oral and nonverbal communications are effected by the sender's tone, method of organization, validity of the argument, what is communicated and what is left out, as well as your individual style of communicating. Messages also have intellectual and emotional components, with intellect allowing us the ability to reason and emotion allowing us to present motivational appeals, ultimately changing minds and action s (Fowler, 2005). Channel A course or a means of communication or expression.Messages are conveyed through channels, with verbal including face-to-face meetings, telephone and videoconferencing; and written including letters, emails, memos and reports (Fowler, 2005). 3 Receiver These messages are delivered to an audience. No doubt, you have in mind the actions or reactions you hope our message prompts from this audience. Keep in mind, your audience also enters into the communication process with ideas and feelings that will undoubtly influence their understanding. Your audience will provide you with feedback, verbal and nonverbal reactions to your communicated message.Pay close attention to this feedback as it is crucial to ensuring the audience understood your message (Fowler, 2005). Context The words or phrases or passages that come before and after a particular word or passage in a speech or piece of writing and help to explain it's full meaning (Encarta, 2005). Feedback Comments in the form of opinions about the reactions to something intended to provide useful information for future decisions and development (Fowler, 2005). A literature review was completed to determine the importance of internal communication within the work environment. Review of literatureIn every society, humans have developed spoken and written language as a means of sharing messages and meanings. The most common form of daily communication is interpersonal- that is, face-to-face, at the same time and in the same place (Encarta, 2005). Communication barriers can pop-up at every stage of the communication process (which consists of sender, message, channel, receiver, feedback and context) and have the potential to create misunderstanding and confusion. To be an effective communicator and to get your point across without misunderstanding and confusion, your goal should be to 4 essen the frequency of these barriers at each stage of this process with clear, concise, accurate, well planne d communications (Fowler & Manktelow, 2005). Communication, the heart of business, is the most important of all entrepreneurial skills. The destiny of the business depends on the quality of your relationships. Your ability to transmit information helps both clients and employees feel they can communicate with and ultimately trust you (Black Enterprise, Charles, 1998, pg 116). Internal communication is more important today than in previous years partly because the business and market conditions are more complex.There is a lot of information in the marketplace and it's crucial that employees understand it. The development of a strategic internal communication strategy and its implementation can provide a number of benefits to organizations, such as keeping employees motivated and engaged, and sharing clear, consistent messages with employees in a timely manner. Personal relationship is what organizations are all about -or should be. An organization, whatever its size, mission, or moti ve is merely a collection of people assembled to pursue a common objective.An organization functions through its people, who in turn function through communication (Brennan, 1974). Employees have their own sources, their own information system, separate from the management channels. These usually carry the news ahead of communications from management. Not that the employee network is flawless. That system transmits information indiscriminately- Fragments, Rumors, Gossip. It may not always operate in the best interests of the organization, but it does provide a check-point when management fantasies are disguised as information.Furthermore, it enables employees to participate in the communication process, and it fills their need for information which at least seems to come from a credible source: another employee (Brennan, 1974). Employees, like all people, require outlets for their thoughts and feelings. And they find them. So don't arbitrarily assume that the relative absence of emp loyee complaints is a positive sign. Employees may be expressing themselves through other channels: meetings with fellow employees, union representatives, government agents; or through passiveaggressive behavior such as work slowdowns, carelessness, tardiness, absenteeism, and apathy.These can be symptoms that employees feel other means of participation are unavailable to them (Brennan, 1974). 5 The skill of listening becomes extremely important when we talk about â€Å"upward communication. † There are many avenues through which management can send messages downward through a business organization, but there are few avenues for movement of information in the upward direction (Nichols & Stevens, 1999). Many popular theories on workplace communication focus on the differences between men and women, suggesting that the sexual divide causes communication to break down. Women are seen as being more empathetic and oblique than men.Other variables that cause people to mix their mes sages include differences in age, culture, and socioeconomic background. Some tips to help managers bridge any communication gap were (Fortune 1994): 1. Listen actively for the subtext of people's words. 2. Persuade rather than command. 3. Target your words to your audience. 4. React to content, not to people's manner of expressing themselves. 5. Let people know that criticism is welcome. 6. Make your intentions clear before acting. 7. Assume that people take responsibility for what they say. By successfully getting your message across, you convey your thoughts and ideas effectively.When not successful, the thoughts and ideas that you convey do not necessarily reflect your own, causing a communications breakdown and creating roadblocks that stand in the way of your goals-both personally and professionally (Fowler & Mankelow, 2005). In the workplace, supervisors and their employees have opportunities to develop nonthreatening, mutually rewarding relationships. These can be quite cond ucive to individual and corporate health. They are akin to what in our personal life we call meaningful relationships. Supervisors who attain such relationships with employees are said to practice â€Å"positive human relations. True. But it's done through communication. (Brennan, 1974). 6 Methodology of procedures Methodology can properly refer to the theoretical analysis of the methods appropriate to a field of study or to the body of methods and principles particular to a branch of knowledge. Methodology has been increasingly used as a pretentious substitute for method in scientific and technical contexts. â€Å"Methodology† is a system of precise rules and procedures on which research is based and against which claims for knowledge and evaluation. Research and DesignA quantitative research methodology was used for the research to determine if there was a communication gap within the organization. A multiple choice single answered survey was distributed to the lower-level employees. A survey can be a powerful tool to improve communication between different parts of an organization. Surveys are especially useful for establishing upward communication links from lower-level employees to management. Population The survey was distributed to lower-level employees who are within the organization. The participant's involved included males and females with 6 weeks to 20 years of experience within the organization.A total of 20 surveys were completed. The participants were informed per instructions on the survey and through face-to-face conversation that their participation was voluntary and the answers in which they chose would remain confidential, with the exception of the final results from all the participants. Sample The research was conducted within Administrative Buildings of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, located in Sylhet, Bangladesh. The organization has an 7 estimated 300 staff which are located in three separate buildings. The adm inistration is divided into some units and each unit has one supervisor.The subordinates report to the supervisors. Instrumentation The survey consisted of ten multiple choices single answer questions and one open ended question. The participants were asked single answer questions to discover whether or not there was an internal communication gap between supervisors and the subordinates within the organization, to determine the subject's perception of their immediate supervisors level of communication and to identify the ways in which employees usually receive most of their information. The survey was distributed to the employees by the researcher via face-to-face contact.The researcher chose face- to-face contact because it gave the participants the opportunity to ask questions and to have a visual picture of whom and where to return the surveys. Data collecting and recording A Microsoft program, Excel was used to determine the percentage rate of each answer given by the participan ts. Limitations of the study The limitations of this study were that the researcher could not distribute the surveys to forty-three employees. Some employees were not available to complete the survey due to absenteeism (vacation, personal time, sick, etc). The employees are so much busy so they cannot provide me to give information.Time is not sufficient to gain practical knowledge and prepare a report. I have no proper experience to do this kind of report. So, inexperience creates obstacle to follow the systematic and logical research methodology. 8 Analysis Findings The present study was designed to determine whether or not there were an internal communication gap that existed between the subordinates and the supervisors. The three objectives of this study were to: 4. Discover whether or not there is an internal communication gap between supervisors and representatives within the organization. . Determine the subject's perception of their immediate supervisor’s level of com munication. 6. Identify the ways in which employees usually receive most of their information. The representatives responded to questions regarding the communication within their organization. To the contrary, the result suggests that 5% of the representatives were neutral regarding the overall satisfaction of communication within this organization, 80% were very satisfied, 15% were satisfied and no one indicated that they were dissatisfied.Although majority of the representatives were very satisfied so 60% thought the organization kept them fully informed and no one indicated that the organization gave them a limited amount of information, 35% thought that they were fairly well informed, 5% answer was unclear. When asked how would you rate your supervisor's communication skills, 80% indicated excellent and 20% marked that their supervisor communicated very good. Also, 35% indicated that whenever there was change within the organization their supervisors inform them most of the time . A 60% response was given to the supervisors informing them all the time.Like many organizations, the majority (90%) of the representatives indicated that they received most of their information through their supervisor. The overall result of the survey indicates that there does not appear to be a lack of communication between the subordinates and the superiors. 9 Results Table 1: Which best describes your impression of communications within this organization? Item Response Frequency % Keeps us fully informed 14 70 Keeps us fairly well informed 3 15 Keeps us adequately informed 2 10 Gives us only a limited amount of Information 0 0 Doesn't tell us much at all about what is going on 0 Answer was unclear 1 5 N=20 0% Figure 1: impression of communications within this organization. 10 5% Answer were unclear 0% Doesn't tell us what is going on 10% Adequately informed Fairly well informed 15% Limited amount of information 70% Fully informed 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Table 2: How do you feel about the information you receive? Item Response Frequency % I can almost always believe it 14 70 I can usually believe it 3 15 I can believe it about half the time 2 10 I usually can't believe it 1 5 Frequency % Strongly Agree 16 80 Agree 3 15 Neutral 1 5 Strongly Disagree 0 0 N=20Table 3: I have the information I need to do my job. Item Response N=20 11 Table 4: How would you rate your supervisor's communication skills? Item Response Frequency % Excellent 16 80 Very good 4 20 Good 0 0 Fair 0 0 Poor 0 0 Unclear answer 0 0 N=20 20% Excellent Very Good 80% Figure 2: Supervisor's communication skills. 12 Table 5: Overall, how satisfied are you with the communications within this organization? Item Response Frequency % Very satisfied 16 80 Satisfied 3 15 Neutral 1 5 Very dissatisfied 0 0 Unable to identify answer 0 0 N=20 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 80% 15% 5% Very Satisfied Satisfied NeutralFigure 3: Overall satisfaction of communications within the organizatio n. 13 Table 6: From which of the following sources do you usually receive most of your information? Item Response Frequency % Grapevine 0 0 Bulletin Board 0 0 My supervisor 18 90 Group meetings 0 0 Organizational Programs 0 0 Organizational emails 0 0 Multiple answers 2 10 N=20 Table 7: I feel confident that management considers my ideas and/or concerns. Item Response Frequency % All the time 8 40 Some of the time 12 60 Undecided 0 0 Almost never 0 0 Never 0 0 N=20 14 Table 8: Whenever there is a change within the organization, my supervisor Item Response Frequency Always inform me 12 60 Inform me most of the time 7 35 Almost never informs me 0 0 Never informs me 0 0 Unable to identify answer 1 5 N=20 Table 9: The information that I receive from my supervisor is consistent with the information received from other supervisors. Item Response Frequency % Strongly Agree 15 75 Agree 5 25 Neutral 0 0 Disagree 0 0 Strongly Disagree 0 0 N=20 15 What topics do you feel are important for you to know more about and would like the organization to inform you during future communications? Answer: ? Policy and/or procedural changes ? Future and/or general changes that are coming and how to prepare for it ?Correct procedures for completing work correctly ? Adequate training for job changes ? Training and/or how to use new programs ? Overtime and/or for special projects ? All information that can help improve goals and job skills ? New updates within the system ? Legitimate reasons why things cannot be updated or corrected ? More feedback on the quality and quantity of work completed. ? Information regarding promotions ? Information regarding other departments. 16 Conclusions Communication is very important in every aspect of our lives. In order for any relationship to work properly we have to learn to communicate effectively with each other.The fact still remains that in order for any business whether entrepreneur, partnerships or corporate offices to succeed we have to commu nicate with someone to voice our ideas and/or concerns. The literature review addressed the importance of internal communication. It provided the researcher with background information on the different ways and the different styles of communication. Needless to say, face-to-face communication seemed to remain the number one style of communicating within organizations. Based upon the answers given on the survey, most people were thought that the communication was satisfactory within the organization.Majority of the participants also felt that their supervisor communication skills were excellent. 17 Recommendations The researcher would recommend for future research that the survey exclude any neutral options. Although by eliminating this option it forces the participants to answer one way or the other. The researcher believes that you will get more precise answers. The supervisors can also following communication techniques can be used to increase the level of internal communication i n the organization and therefore the level of the organizational efficiency (Fishman, 2000). 1. Share information with employees whenever possible.One of the most sensitive areas in management involves how much company information should be shared with employees. Many feel that information should be given on a need-to-know basis. 2. Find out if those listening to you hear what you say and interpret it correctly. One way of doing this is to ask questions that will show the understanding level of those with whom you are speaking. 18 References 1. Alessandra, T & Hunsaker, P. (1993). Communication at Work. Fireside, Simon & Schuster, New York, NY. 2. Brennan, J. (1 974). The Conscious Communicator; making communication work in the workplace. Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. Reading, MA. . MSN Encarta Premium (2005). Retrieved May 2005 from http:// www. msn. com. , accessed on 15. 12. 2011. 4. Retrieved from, http://www. communicationintheworkplace. net/, accessed on 15. 12. 2011. 5. Retri eved from, http://www. buzzle. com/articles/importance-of-communication-inthe-workplace. html, accessed on 18. 12. 2011. 6. Retrieved from, http://www4. ncsu. edu/~crmiller/Publications/ATTW03. pdf, accessed on 18. 12. 2011. 7. Retrieved from, http://www2. uwstout. edu/content/lib/thesis/2005/2005mallett hamerb. pdf, accessed on 20. 12. 2011. 8. Retrieved from,http://www. lisc. org/docs/resources/experts/2007/eo_2007_03_07. df, accessed on 22. 12. 2011. 9. Retrieved from, http://www. google. com/#sclient=psyab&hl=en&source=hp&q=communication+in+t he+workplace+ppt&oq=communicaton+in+the+workplace+&aq=3&aqi=g10&aql=& gs_sm=c&gs_upl=7599l8963l0l11145l8l6l0l0l0l5l766l3816l55. 1l6l0&bav=on. 2,or. r_ gc. r_pw. ,cf. osb&fp=55dcc7523cfd78c6&biw=1024&bih=577, accessed on 23. 12. 2011. 10. Retrieved from, http://www. managementskillsadvisor. com/effective-communicationin-the-workplace. html, accessed on 23. 12. 2011. 19 Appendix Survey Questions Please fill in the answer that best fit your ex perience when dealing with communication within this organization. . Which best describes your impression of communications within this organization? ? Keeps us fully informed ? Keeps us fairly well informed ? Keeps us adequately informed ? Gives us only a limited amount of Information ? Doesn't tell us much at all about what is going on ? Answer was unclear 2. How do you feel about the information you receive? ? I can almost always believe it. ? I can usually believe it. ? I can believe it about half the time. ? I usually can't believe it. 3. I have the information I need to do my job. ? Strongly Agree ? Agree ? Neutral ? Strongly Disagree 20 4.How would you rate your supervisor's communication skills? ? Excellent ? Very good ? Good ? Fair ? Poor ? Unclear answer 5. Overall, how satisfied are you with the communications within this organization? ? Very satisfied ? Satisfied ? Neutral ? Very dissatisfied ? Unable to identify answer 6. From which of the following sources do you usual ly receive most of your information? ? Grapevine ? Bulletin Board ? Company Newsletter (Intranet) ? My supervisor ? Unit leader ? Group meetings ? Company Programs ? Company emails ? Multiple answers 21 7. I feel confident that management considers my ideas and/or concerns. All the time ? Some of the time ? Undecided ? Almost never ? Never 8. Whenever there is a change within the organization, my supervisor ? Always inform me ? Inform me most of the time ? Almost never informs me ? Never informs me ? Unable to identify answer 9. The information that I receive from my supervisor is consistent with the information received from other supervisors. ? Strongly Agree ? Agree ? Neutral ? Disagree ? Strongly Disagree 10. What topics do you feel are important for you to know more about and would like the organization to inform you during future communications? 22

Human Resource Management, Performance Management Assignment

Human Resource Management, Performance Management - Assignment Example An efficient reward system is linked with the system of performance development, which relies on the performance related pay and also offers sufficient role in encouraging the performance of teams, groups, and individuals. Variable pay also plays an important part in boosting performance basically of star performers rather than fixed pay packages. Not many award practices may take the shape of bonuses, gain sharing, team-based motivation, ESOP’s, profit sharing, and also equity-based incentive rewards. 1 An effective management of award system may be advantageous for the performance of employees in many ways. First of all, it will instill an ownership sense amongst all the employees and may also give long-term focus with continual enhancement, lessens service operating costs, highlights teamwork, and reduces the dissatisfaction among employees and improved employee interest in company’s financial position. Only some organizations award their employees for achieving new skills which may adjoin value to the performance of employees and therefore facilitate the process of cross training, job rotation, and self managed work teams. Some organizations also recognize the additional performance by giving recognition rewards and also huge merit rewards for the employee commitment and achieving long-term advantageous outcomes.2 Performance management is a systematic process through which any organization involves its people as individuals and also as members of group, in enhancing the effectiveness of organization in achievement of the firm’s goals and mission. The performance of employee management includes consistently monitoring the performance, planning setting and work expectations, developing performance capacity, and also occasionally rating the performance in a summary fashion. It also considers rewards for good performance. In 1955, there were revisions made by the Government for performance appraisal and also for rewards regulations to bolster the sound management principles.

Construction suveyour to have done layout Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Construction suveyour to have done layout - Essay Example This kind of surveying is known as an â€Å"as-built† survey and is one of the five major elements of construction surveying (Irvine & Maclennan 145). The other major elements include checking conditions prior to commencing a construction job for example, topography and existing infrastructure. The other aspect is to mark and create reference points followed by verification of the location of structures during construction. When the construction surveyor was designing the layout for a municipal street intersection in Murfreesboro area, he must have put all the factors into consideration. There was a wide range of factors that were taken into consideration, some were basic whereas others were quite complex in regards to the design and construction. First and foremost, he had to consider the type of road to be constructed. In addition, the roadway allowances. These factors determine the amount of space to be allocated for the project and the general parameters in road construction. The surveyor had to consider the safety aspect of constructing the road where it is located rather than somewhere else. This is because in road construction, the topography is a factor of the essence to determine the design of the road as well as, the flow of runoff (Irvine & Maclennan145). Another factor that may seem obvious is the availability of other infrastructure that is. the pre-existing infrastructure and the proximity to the road. Some things like electricity lines, water, and sewer lines may have affected substantially the surveyor’s decision to position the road as it is now in Murfreesboro. Simple as it may seem, things like the power lines affect profoundly the lighting of the road in that the proximity of the power lines do not determine the availability of the street lights. There are the less obvious considered factors and that still count in choosing the methodology of choosing the design. These include the likes of expected traffic on the road. The amount of

Information Systems in Accounting and Finance Essay

Information Systems in Accounting and Finance - Essay Example Security controls help in controlling attacks, these attacks maybe passive or active in nature. In passive attack, the information is not interfered with, however, for the active attack it involves interfering with the traffic, flow of messages. These may include the destruction and the deletion of important information by attackers masquerading as employees or impersonating other employees. The system accountant must apply some controls to ensure these risks are controlled. The ever-growing need to improve service delivery and storage of information has an equal measure of challenges. For instance, most retail organizations must ensure their pricing, product codes, and another confidential information is safe from malicious personnel (Hall, 2013). The retail organization will build a system that captures the price list of all the household appliances in their stores. The system will also have unique codes for each item on sale. This makes the organization have the potential to empower their customers to make online purchase. Customers can log into their website and make involve, and payment for their household items. The company must have measures to deliver the item either through courier delivery or alternative shipment strategy. The main challenge is lost or theft of such information thereby denting the credibility of the organization (Boczko, 2012). A retail organization involved in selling of home appliance must have proper working accounting syst ems that safeguard the customer information from individuals who may attempt to misuse the information. Therefore, such organizations must have strategies that identify possible risks and security threats to enable institution of audit procedures aiming at mitigation of the type of risks (Grande et al., 2011; Colbert, 2002). The essay looks at the types of risks and security threats a retail organization may face and the possible control

Components of Qualitative Approaches Assignment

Components of Qualitative Approaches - Assignment Example The three topics all involve the use of qualitative information. To investigate the political opinions of citizens of country A, a researcher has to set interviews that will convert the qualitative attributes into quantitative measures. For example, the interview may have questions like â€Å"Do the candidates you intend to vote for know your economic challenges?† The responses can be assigned numeric indices to measure their level of strength as shown in the example in the table below: While using interviews to gather information from the people, few challenges were met. Some of them were, only a small number of these interviews could take place because they vary in time (University of Portsmouth, 2010). Comparison of in-depth interviews may be difficult since the results may be unique. Due to the size of the sample, in this case, is small, the results are unlikely to be representative of a particular population. The interview process may be time-consuming, in terms of both data collection and analysis. There were many inconsistencies in the results due to bias amongst the people’s tastes and preferences. The following measures were recommended to be more effective in ways of collecting and interpretation of data especially through interviews. To avoid the inconsistencies, the data should be recorded in the agreed upon ways (Phil Rabinowitz, 2013) e.g. if the agreed upon way is using laptops, then laptops should be used to collect all results. Organization of the data is also a very important process that helps during the analysis. For example, the use of Geographical Information Systems is necessary especially when collecting data for investigating the political opinions of citizens based on different regions in that country.   

The philosophical ideas of determinism, compatibilism and Essay

The philosophical ideas of determinism, compatibilism and libertarianism - Essay Example Determinism and compatibilism are two philosophical concepts which are strongly connected to human acts, behavior and events happening as a result. Determinism and compatibilism is voluntary in nature and when compared both these concepts has certain similarities. Determinism is a freedom which influences man to act in a certain manner which leads to further events or happenings. In the same manner, compatibilism is also an act which when performed in align with a person’s surroundings bring about positive after effects. In the same way, determinism is exclusively related to the freedom of human to act or react, just as compatibility. Compatibility is a philosophical idea which states that the free will is strongly linked with the pre- destined fate. Determination is also in a way, a strong belief within a person to act in a certain way to achieve a positive result in align with their fate. Comparision of Determinism and Libertarianism While determinism is a strong belief within a person to achieve some goal in align with pre- destined fate. Libertarianism is also a concept which believes that the human actions and events related to it are not within our control. Determinist believes that irrelevant to the action and thoughts of a person, the events happen according to a predetermined frame work of deeds. Same way, libertinism claims that actions of a person are not controllable and free will is just an opportunity for a person to prove his integrity and truthfulness to humanity and universe. Comparison of Compatibilism with Libertianism Compatibilism is a philosophical idea which believes that determinism and free will is connected deeply but the applicability of a person’s thought and actions is out of control in relation to uncontrollable external environment .On the other hand, libertinism is a concept which propagates complete freedom to human beings in any circumstances. Compatibility also detail about ethics and moral responsibility on a person, whereas libertinism states that ethical and moral responsibility of a person high due to the ultimate freedom given to him. Compatibility believes that freewill and determinism makes a complete combination. Obviously, Libertinism agrees with this matter as it advocates ultimate freedom to the human in every circumstance. According to (Wilmot) â€Å"Libertinism is the conviction that one has to be liberated from moral restraints in

Benefits of a four-year residential colleges Essay

Benefits of a four-year residential colleges - Essay Example The consideration of the four-year residential colleges by Murray is quite significant in that the study on its benefits and weakness derive its importance. Since not everybody can access university education subject to limitations of resources, pass marks required, and the need for skills, it is thus necessary to analyze other alternative sources of practical and vocational education that include the Four-Year Residential Colleges. According to Murray, the question as to whether too many people are going to colleges, forces us to consider the importance and nature of a liberal education. He notes that since universities seek to provide knowledge and skills that lead to productivity and capability among citizens then unlimited number of people should seek this knowledge (Murray 222). He however realizes that all Americans should acquire basic or the core knowledge that denotes their identity. This knowledge emanates from elementary school to eighth grade and is necessary for all. Hen ceforth, Murray notes that the core knowledge approach should proceed after the eighth grade to at least high school level thereby allowing interested students to pursue relevant courses in social sciences and humanities. He equally acknowledges the need to access liberal college education by academically able students. Indeed, he denotes that college education is tough, more beneficial and thus has stricter requirements. However, he establishes the fact that most of the students who have ability in liberal education conspicuously lack interest in it subject to its boredom and difficultness. As such, he reckons that many academically able students choose to pursue practical and vocational education that takes four-years in a residential college (Murray 222-225). Subject to the importance of college education that entails studies in medicine, law, accountants, software developers, journalists, teachers, football coaches and other courses, college education is thus inevitable in any n ation. Nevertheless, the time it takes, the resources, the level of knowhow required, and the significance of distinct courses in the society warrants a consideration unto the benefits of Four-Year Residential Colleges. Four-Year Residential Colleges offers a wide variety of living, dining, and entertainment options for all level of students. It equally creates a learning atmosphere that allows superb interactions between junior students, upper-class students and graduate students thus encouraging fruitful discussions relating to both college-based academic and nonacademic programs. Additionally, residential colleges offered better library services, many scholarship opportunities, and utmost interaction between students and teachers. Nevertheless, the need to have Four-Year Residential Colleges faces huge demerits that surpass the benefits. Hence, the notion that Four-Year Residential Colleges are not beneficial after all (Murray 228-230). Indeed, the four years spent in residential college studying courses like interior design, hotel management, social work and other courses excluding medicine and law are not reasonable. Indeed, such courses can take a lesser time hence diluting the benefits of Four-Year Residential Colleges. In addition, the advantage of having a physical library in the Four-Year Residential Colleges faces extinction by the fact that capable students can easily

Boundaries should employers set for social media Essay

Boundaries should employers set for social media - Essay Example Employees should limit themselves when it comes to the use of social media in the workplace because in continuing to indulge themselves, they will most likely end up using up the time of their employers, which might lead to negative results in their output. Therefore, employees have to limit their time on social networks and should only use them in situations where they have been able to clear all the work on their table for the day and they have nothing else to do but to kill time. According to Young (2010), to use social media at any time in the workplace would be detrimental to their work and would amount to their stealing their employer’s time. The answer to this question largely depends on whether an employee has accomplished the goals that have been set for him because if he has not, indulging in social media might be detrimental to his performance. Furthermore, it is necessary for employees to ensure that the keep social media usage, which is essentially part of their social lives, out of the workplace because to use it in such an environment is disruptive to their work. Therefore, if an employee has not accomplished his goals, to use social media would be equivalent to stealing the time of their employers. While an employee might have worked for a number of hours, this does not mean that he has to take his employer’s time by using social media. The number of hours that an employee has worked does not matter as long as he keeps away from social media and makes sure that he delivers on his goals. Therefore, using social media during work hours would be the same as time-wasting and has to be reduced to a minimum or discouraged. 2. The justification used by heavy social-media users to using company software and confidential date in the workplace might be based on their opinion that it is part of their right. This is especially the case in a situation where they feel that their right to interact with others and express themselves in

Transcontinental railroad Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Transcontinental railroad - Term Paper Example Such policies are implemented by regulatory authorities through budgets and other rules and regulations. However, there are some factors that affect the economy on the very basic level. One of those factors is infrastructure of a country. Infrastructure of a country can play an important role in the strengthening of the economy of a country. This paper analyses one such example of the effects of infrastructure on the economy. The example is that of the First Transcontinental Railroad. This railroad is said to be the first communication revolution of America. The railroad reduced the time of travel between east and west costs from six months to one week and it was indeed a huge achievement. This paper examines the problems faced by the entities engaged in the construction of the railroad and the effects of the railroad on the economy of the country (Heintz, 2009). Infrastructure can enhance the growth of the economy of a country at a very fast pace, specifically in case of developing countries. Developing companies usually have weak economic environment because of lack of sufficient infrastructure. Infrastructure can boost trade in a country which results in accelerated economic activities in the country. This scenario can best be explained with the example of the First Transcontinental Railroad that was constructed between the years 1863 and 1869 in the United States of America. The railroad was built by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and Union Pacific Railroad. These two entities were chartered by the Pacific Railway Act, 1862. This railroad connected the already developed railway network of the Eastern cost with California that was in its developing stages. The railroad was completed in May, 1869 when it changed the economic scenario of the American West for good. The railroad initiated a new series of trade and communication that triggered the economic growth in the USA. Planning for Construction of the Transcontinental Railroad In the year 1862, it was determined that the companies that would carry out the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad would be Central Pacific Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad. The companies started construction from their respective points. Central Pacific started building the railroad eastward from Sacramento, California and Union Pacific started building the railroad westward from Council Bluffs, Iowa. Although the companies had been assigned the task and they had started constructing the railroad, the point where both the railroads would meet was not determined. There were a number of problems that hindered the construction of the railroad resulting from the lack of adequate planning. The construction also slowed down due to the Civil War between the years 1861 and 1865. This factor also added to the problems already present due to the lack of planning. However, a point in the Mormon territory of Utah was determined to the Promontory Point where the railroads being constructed by the two companies would meet. The construction completed on 10 May, 1869 when the two railroads met at the Promontory Point. Problems Faced in Construction A railroad connecting the east and west cost of the USA had always been a dream but it was shaped into reality by the President Abraham Lincoln. However, the railroad was completed after four years of his death. The construction of the railroad was not independent of any problems. There were a num

Studies and researches on diverse groups of English speakers Essay Example for Free

Studies and researches on diverse groups of English speakers Essay In lieu of the English language expansion throughout the globe, particular nation should really take the advantage of being proficient in the English language even if it is not its official language. As stated earlier, the English language is widely known and used not only by the English-spoken countries but also by the international community (Cheshire 2007). Thus, it is really an advantage if countries would learn how to speak and understand the English language. However, the inclusion of the English language in the curriculum of education of different countries is not really that simple. Moreover, the English language itself is being draft and constructed in a new structure depending on the culture, tradition and established educational method. Hence in a way, there is still a different way of using and understanding the English language. Shaobin’s â€Å"English as a Global Language in China† According to Ji Shaobin, the English language is a very important tool for the Chinese in order to have access on the international scene. He argued that in this modern period, the language that is commonly used in the international scene is the English language hence China should improve their proficiency in the English language (2002). He said that in the ancient times China was against having any contact with the Western culture because of a fear that their Chinese cultural heritage might be contaminated (Shaobin 2002). However, such conservatism would not really help China in advancing itself economically and politically speaking (Weixing 2003). Also, such attempt to close China from the influence of the English language became so impossible given the fact that in order to have a good international business transaction or any international affair, one should do it using the English language otherwise both parties would not understand each other. Moreover, China realized that only through the use of the English language can they penetrate and have access on modern scientific and technological advances (Liu 2007). Besides, the English language is the language that is being used in economic transactions globally (Ross 1993). Hence, China was forced to recognize the importance of a foreign language – that is the English language. In 1978, the reformation of the Chinese economy marked the total entrance of English as its foreign language (Shaobin 2002). With the consideration that Western companies and other transnational organizations may really help the economy of China, English was allowed to be used and practiced in China (Ross 1993). Due to overwhelming advantages of learning and using the English language, China included in its curriculum of education the teaching of English. Such change in educational system facilitated the economic progress in China wherein people who have something to do with business and marketing were using the English language to make business transactions outside China (Shaobin 2002). In addition, Chinese students, even if learning English was not really compulsory, were forced to study it since it has a great advantage on employment. There was an increase of need on English teachers who would teach the English language top the Chinese students (Shaobin 2002). And because of this event, even Chinese teachers were motivated to take English courses too. Nonetheless, China does not really intend to embrace the Western tradition. It is only the English language that they want to adopt. Evidently, China is rising as one of the superpowers in this modern era (Weixing 2003). Together with Japan, China has truly made use of the English language to boost its economic and political aspects. Japan on the English Language and English-speakers The English Language has been considered as the second official language in Japan (Porcaro 2002). It cannot be doubted that Japan has a distinct culture and tradition as well as form of educational system that which is far different from other countries. However, due to economic pursuit, Japan realizes the importance of having a second language that other countries can understand. Japan uses the English to advance itself politically, economically and internationally (Marciamo 2005). The English language is widely used in Japan as public signs. Although, these signs are still printed in Japanese language, it is translated in the English language. Street signs, area maps, transportation directions, post offices and banks’ signs are also translated in English. Such is made for the benefit of the tourists. It is a lot easier and practicable to translate those signs in the English language in order for the tourists to understand the signs posted in Japan (for travel convenience) (Marciamo 2005). When it comes to internet and websites, Japanese companies provide an English version of their websites. Further, the government of Japan and its agencies has also an English version of its websites (McMillan 1999). With regards to media and movies, Japanese films are shown with English subtitles (Marciamo 2005). There are also bilingual programs that are being simulcast and shown in the national TV channel of Japan – in Japanese and in English (McMillan 1999). Major newspapers and magazines are also printed with English translations. Japan’s curriculum for education includes the teaching of the English language (just like China). The Japanese government makes English a required subject. All Japanese schools include English in their education program (Saito, Nakamura, Yamazaki 2002). However it is not the case that all Japanese are proficient in the English language – in writing and speaking of it. Yet, it shows that Japan’s proficiency in speaking the English language is rising (Marciamo 2005). Moreover, the Japanese language is said to have an increasing character of having assimilations on the English language (Marciamo 2005). But then, it does not follow that all English speakers worldwide can understand the Japanese language. Only that the English language is being used extensively by the Japanese people in their everyday activities and dwellings (Stanlaw 2005). There is no other country but Japan where the English language has a special status (McMillan 1999). As mentioned above, it does not follow that all or even most of the Japanese can speak and understand (Marciamo 2005) English. Hitherto, Japan is one of the countries which regard the English language as an essential means to communicate with other people of different culture, race and tradition.

Conflict Of Modern Vs Traditional Culture

Conflict Of Modern Vs Traditional Culture The system of immigration is of sole importance in the US national development. The country mainly stands on immigration driven transformation throughout the history. Looking back in history, large scale immigration took place in 1970s and process continues till date. The twist of 21st century brought about many changes in the world. The immigration system of US has taken a sharp turn. Much important is the incident of 9/11 and the period following it. Immigrants, after having spent decades of their lives in alien environment being away from home and native culture, come across many problems. The problems vary according to their nature, from social to cultural and economic to political; all problems mainly arise due to lack of assimilation and primary focus on separatism. Assimilation demands merging of American immigrants into a new culture and adopting their way of life. Most first generation immigrants naturally stick to their mother countrys values and norms. For this particular reason they face identity conflict on cultural level. The conflict also arises when the immigrant originally belongs to a culturally dominant group in the mother country and finds him/herself as a minority in the host country. If their cultural identity is rejected by the host society, he/she returns towards his/her native cultural identity. Culture is an indispensable factor of conflict and its resolution. Cultures are like underground rivers that run through our lives  [1]  it shapes our ideas, perceptions and judgments of self and other. Asian- literature primarily addresses the concept of race. Problem Statement: The conflict among US immigrants about cultural assimilation is mostly expressed in South Asian American novels. The South Asian American novelists Mohsin Hamid and Jhumpa Lahiri portray some of cultural conflicts; for instance modern and traditional culture. Generally, American society perceives Asian immigrants culture as traditional and considers their own culture and way of life to be modern in nature. So it is to be analyzed how such conflicts are presented by both the novelists in their works The Reluctant Fundamentalist and The Namesake. Research Questions: On what basis the conflict of modern vs. traditional with respect to Pakistani immigrants is presented in the novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist? How Mohsin Hamid defines modern and traditional culture? What according to Jhumpa Lahiri is modern and traditional culture? How in The Namesake the clash of culture is presented with respect to Indian culture? Are there any similarities in the way both novelists define the cultural conflict? Objective of the study The objective of this research is to study how conflict arises between the native and host cultures of immigrants. And to provide the variables on the basis of which the novelists have defined modern and traditional culture in their novels. Significance of the study The significance of this study lies in providing an in-depth analysis of the conflict that has emerged in pre and post 9/11 era with respect to The Namesake and The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Methodology The study of conflict is based on qualitative analysis of cultural conflict in both the novels. It is based on theory of assimilation (model of Separatism). Separatism, Methodology is based on consultations from primary and secondary resources. Primary source is the text of two novels and secondary resources are research papers, print media, internet articles and critical commentaries of various critiques. Organization of the study Conflict of modern vs. traditional culture in The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Conflict of modern vs. traditional culture in The Namesake. Comparative analysis of The Reluctant Fundamentalist and The Namesake. Literature Review Culture means growing sum of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions  [2]  possessed by a particular group of people. It implies that culture revolve around various parameters ranging from dress code to particular political affiliation. Humans cannot flourish well in homogeneity; diversity is a key term in cultures. Conflict automatically arises with diversity among nature and culture of people. The economy of US has been dependent on manpower from across the globe in the form of immigration. Dating back to history; starting from seventeenth century slave trade till date; immigrants have been the mainstream of US economic system. Immigration, however, played a key role not only in making Americas development possible but also in shaping the basic nature of the society. Immigration has given rise to problems of assimilation of one group into another from different backgrounds. People always come from varying cultures, nations, and carry differing identities; they cannot completely merge with each other. The differences always arise and cause issues of identity among people.  [3]   Since each of us possess several different identities of varying degrees of complexity, personal, social  [4]  ; the inner desire to preserve the identities may not receive the same level of acceptance by the host society. This situation ultimately ascends cultural conflicts like identity, name, etc. Huntington in his book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order presents his theory of clash of civilization as he believed that clash amongst nations is based upon culture. He writes: Edward Said in his book Orientalism is of the view that occidentals considered orientalists especially Muslims to be barbaric, insensitive and inferior to Anglo-Saxon race thus presenting the clash of civilizations. The hyphenated literature of America records such clashes. The Chinese exclusion in 1882 and the bigotry against Chinese immigrants in US are recorded in the following poem. The similar kind of discriminatory behavior is also portrayed by Meena Alexander in her poem. The extract below narrated the story of bigotry against Asian immigrants in the US where equal opportunities were not available for them Another critic Denna also comments upon the novel in the following words. Similarly Pakistani-American novelist Mohsin Hamid in his novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist also presents the situation of Pakistani immigrants in US by plotting the story in the backdrop of 9/11 attacks. Manish Chand, a critic quotes According to Irfan Khawaja, the protagonist of the novel suffers from cultural and identity conflict, as he is of the opinion: Chapter 2 History of Cultural Conflicts in US Immigration from earliest settlement to the present: Being a country comprised of immigrants, United States of America from its earliest to the present settlers have copious amount of ethnic, religious and cultural multiplicity. The earliest settlers brought about homogeneity as many comprised of white race and were religiously Protestants. But as the decades and centuries passed, Asians, Europeans and South American immigrants poured into the United States. Gradually the difference began to emerge. These differences primarily became apparent on religious, ethnic and racial level as these immigrants ranged from Catholics to Muslims and Hindus to Buddhists. United States developed as an industrial nation after the arrival of European settlers that started at the end of fifteenth century. Population rise, battles on land, industrial revolution, and religious persecution were some of the reasons to make people leave their homeland.  [5]   The earliest immigrants from British Isles migrated to North America and brought with them the mainstream culture which still resonates and dominates in American way of life. Nevertheless, it was Spaniards who first formed the permanent settlement which is now called as Florida in 1565. British developed the new land with the help of American Indians at first at Virginia colonies in 1607. They rated them as an inferior race having traditional and barbaric culture. They viewed them as slaves and tried to suppress them but remained unsuccessful. After realizing that they could no longer use them as slaves, they used corrosive means to move them off the area which settlers wanted for themselves. On the other hand Spaniards used different methodology with the red Indians by integrating them in to their community and exploiting their labor.  [6]   Along with British and Spanish settlers, black landowners from West Indies also played a part in bringing African immigrants to US. Slavery soon became the main solution of problem of manpower in developing American lands especially the South where economy depended on rice, indigo and tobacco.  [7]  These immigrants were a result of forced migration and were required to work on hard conditions without their choice; it was one of the largest population displacements in the world history. The culture of African immigrants in US has received pejorative connotation as whites presumed their culture to be sophisticated and a model to be followed by the World. The clash of cultures later emerged out in the twentieth century. The period between 1815 and World War I is significant in bringing about the greatest wave, an estimated 30 million, of European immigrants to the new land. The largest group was Irish, who became prey to British land laws and potato crop failure, in the mid nineteenth century. Germans constituted the second-largest group among European immigrants; most of them were middle class artisans and landless people who migrated due to Industrial upheaval in Europe During the epoch from 1890 to 1924, immigrants from Italy, central Europe and Russia started settling into the US. The late nineteenth century in the United States is marked by immigration restrictions. Some state laws did not allow illiterate and anarchists to step on their soil. The need of restrictions arose as many believed that the culture of newcomers is spoiling the whole essence of American culture and way of living. The turn of twentieth century and World War II brought about immigrants from Asia, Mexico and the South America. Cultural conflict and Legislations: The major cultural conflict in American history is mostly associated with African immigrants and their struggle to retain their own cultural identity with reference to their native land. Their struggle is marked by violence, peaceful protests, establishment of certain organizations like NAACP. The time span of this struggle starts with the establishment of James Town when Africans were brought to the New world solely for economic purpose and their status were nothing but slaves. They were not even considered as human beings but mere as property, the beings that are devoid of any emotion whether pleasure or pain. For that particular reason, they were transported in inhumane conditions through transatlantic route. Sometimes they were chained around their necks and were given food after several hours. These conditions resulted in the deaths of so many Africans on ship and their dead bodies were used to be thrown in rivers. On their arrival to the New World they were sold and they were departed from their families. Langston Hughes, a famous African-American poet narrates the similar incident in his poem The Negro Mother. After being sold, the slaves were put on mostly cotton, tobacco and potatoes plantation. Some of the slaves tried to show resistance regarding religion and culture and the remaining were put on so severe conditions that they could not think of anything else but pain. Americans considered the slaves to be devoid of any culture and religion but despite persecution, slaves managed to retain some part of their native culture. Though folktales, slaves were able to save their culture from perishing in United States. Apart from that, they crafted certain objects in accordance with the traditions of Africa As there was restricted time of leisure allotted to slaves especially on Sunday, the slaves used to rejoice themselves through dance and music. They used to play variety of musical instruments and the music for them connoted both spiritual as well as secular meanings. But not many slaveholders were lover of slaves music as many considered especially in South Carolina, the beating of drum as the call for rebellion on the part of the slaves. When in 1776, America gained independence, the author of Declaration of Independence , Thomas Jefferson chose beautiful words to signify whtat the new country stands for in these words but the Constitution of United States and the practices spoke otherwise. Under the Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution, while discussing about the representatives in the Government, give slaves the proportion of three fifth. It is interesting that the authors of the constitution has not used the word slaves, but the word others has been used for them. After the independence of United States, the South economy stated to boom because of slave. They were expensive and the number of slaves determined the status of the land owners. Apart from few landowners no one allowed slave the right to education and if slaves used to run away to some other place, it was the law that they had to be returned back to hi/her owners. On the other hand North was moving towards industrialization. In 1860, during the presidential campaign, the Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln based his campaign on anti slavery slogan, which highly disturbed the South because they reckoned the slogan as an attack to their economic institution and warned North that if slavery would be abolished, then they would secede. In early 19th century anti slavery societies began to operate who called for the rights of slaves. The campaign became so severe in late 19th century the civil war broke out in 1861 and lasted till 1865. The Civil War resulted in the abolition of slavery. Behind the abolition of slavery there were various actors that played their part to raise awareness that blacks are also human beings and should be given appropriate rights. Abolitionist used various strategies; one amongst them was the publication of anti slavery alphabet. Through alphabets, the abolitionist presented their point of view in front of white Americans. Despite the end of slavery, it existed in the form of segregation; more specifically through Jim Crow laws. The laws made segregation legal from transportation places, to theatre etc. The Jim crow laws connoted that blacks are separte and could never assimilate or adjust themselves with the whites based upon their culture and mental capabilities. In an effort to revive their culture, African- American started to publish their literature and thus laid the foundation of jazz poetry, jazz music, etc which has now become the hall mark of American culture. The epoch of 1920s is marked by Harlem Renaissance or is often referred as Jazz age. After facing hardships of decades, it was Rosa Parks who when refused to give seat to a white American was arrested and it laid the foundation of Montgomery bus boycott which later became one of the causative agents of Civil Rights movement of 1960s. The leader of the movement, Martin Luther King Jr called for an end to racial discrimination and demanded the equal rights for the colored people. He called for non violent civil disobedience which compelled US Government to put an end to Jim Crow Laws. Martin Luther Kings sppech I have a dream is significant in this remark which calls for segregated free American society, where colored people would get equal chances of progress. The history of ethnic and racial conflict is mostly recorded in parallel to the history of immigration in the United States. Moving in to a new society, the immigrant suffers from discrimination which varies in degrees ranging from verbal abuse to physical violence. This discrimination has to be experienced by the migrant if he/she wants to be recognized as Americans. The Melting Pot theory formulated in eighteenth century is crucial to the understanding of cultural conflict in United States. The basic postulate of melting pot theory requires all immigrants to assimilate into the American dominant culture. It laid stress on homogeneity on religious as well as an ethnic level. During the late eighteenth century, it is estimated that 99 percent of US population comprised of white Protestants.  [8]  They easily were able to assimilate themselves in white Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) as there was uniformity among them in terms of ethnicity, religion, and race.  [9]  But for the migrant the whole story was upside down. They found it difficult to melt in to the dominant culture especially African immigrants with lower socio-economic status and color. They were assumed as mentally and physically inferior and their culture also became the victim of ethnocentrism. Similarly by the end of nineteenth century, it became questionable whether European immigrant of lower economic status could be assimilated. Among immigrants, who were physically weak and were of lower economic status struggled hard to make their place in fast moving American society. The American Congress, dreading foreign-born political reformists, passed the short lived Alien Act in 1798 to exorcise alleged spies. Although unwanted entering was controlled by local and state control on immigration; the first major federal immigration legislation excluded prostitutes and convicts in 1875.  [10]   An alike display of persecution was observed against Asians on the West Bank. The gold rush of 1848 brought most Chinese immigrants to the country. Chinese came as individuals, not in families, since they intended to return back after earning significant amount of money. They primarily were employed to work on railroads as well on farms. The discrimination against Chinese included accusations of vice and idolatry. They were considered inferior and a potential threat to Americans on economic level. For this particular reason, the bigotry against Asian also included use of violence. Native born Americans made use of legislation to remove this threat as Congress passed Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882.it remain enacted till 1943. During early 20th century Japanese immigrants entered US initially; soon they allegedly took away most jobs by providing cheap labor. The number of Japanese entering US was limited by the gentlemens agreement signed between US and Japanese governments in 1907; ultimately all Asians were prohibited from entering US by the year 1924. Racial profiling was not limited to work places but students at college campuses and religious places also suffered from bigotry. The conflicts based on culture and race which demands their life-styles be accepted and given space in the society are prevalent till date. The increasing number of undocumented and illegal immigrants residing in US paved way to another wave of Nativism during 1980s and 1990s. Most illegal immigrants came from Mexico, Asia, Latin America and Caribbean. It was assumed by Americans that these people were taking away job opportunities and hence became a burden on economy of US. Local political and social movements generated national demand to restrict immigration in late nineteenth century. The Ku Klux Klans actions were strict against foreigners as well as against African Americans. Eastern and Southern Europeans were easily recognizable due to their appearance and traditions, which made them easy targets of bigotry. Congress allocated quotas for immigrants comprising of complex sets of rules about national origin, most of which helped northern Europeans in the Immigration Act of 1924. President Harry S. Truman deviated from this policy when he granted asylum to European refugees who fled World War II. Quota system was revised to control immigration in McCarran-Walter Act (the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952), it also sustained marginalization of immigration from Asia. The Immigration Act of 1965 finally ended national origin to serve as basis for system of quotas. After the incident of bomb shelling at Pearl Harbor in 1941, Japanese were hauled away by the FBI; restrictions and bans were placed on people of Japanese descent to be expatriated from US devoid of the fact that they had acquired US citizenship. They were caught and sent to internment camps. It gave an air of Japanese being captives of US forces. All the metaphors of freedom and liberty that were pure American phrases did not apply to Japanese immigrants in US. Immigrants to the United States, have adapted to the new culture despite of their many cultural diversities; they have been displaced from the familiar lifestyles and having to settle in the alien life and the new circumstances. After assimilation, the new comers assume themselves as Americans; the situation becomes ironical when these assimilated groups start to doubt more recent immigrant groups as a threat to American way of life. By the turn of twenty first century, September 11, 2001 attacks on World Trade Centre and Pentagon terribly affected the lives of Asian immigrants in the United States most specifically, Muslims. Many of the immigrants became the target of bigotry, harassment, and hostility. In the year 2004, the council on American-Islamic relations processed a grand total of 1,522 incidents where immigrants complained of ethnic and religious profiling. Hence 9/11 has served as a catalyst for producing a cultural conflict among Asian immigrants. The religious differences are also contributing to this problem. The 9/11 incident, has brought this conflict to height and has proved American society a failure for multiculturalism. Chapter 3 Cultural Clash in The Namesake The Namesake is a remarkable autobiographical tale of the novelist. Jhumpa Lahiri, being brought up in Bengali-American family, shares immigrant experiences and all the underlying conflicts; she states about writing the perfect inscription in an interview: Jhumpa Lahiri was born in London, and bred and matured in Rhode Island (US); thus attaining an immediate familiarity with living two lives in one. This distributed life made her much sensitive to the intense pressure to be two things, loyal to the old world and fluent in the new.  [11]  She has been successful in concisely portraying her diaspora experiences in a collection of short stories; Interpreter of Maladies (which won her the Pulitzer prize for fiction in 2000). Similarly, once more catching the attention of literary world, through her first novel The Namesake; she Houghton Mifflin Company published an interview of Jhumpa Lahiri , she expresses about The Namesake: the novel is definitely about those who are culturally displaced or those who grow up in two worlds simultaneously. Jhumpa Lahiris The Namesake conveys clash of cultural assimilation; where first generation of immigrants natively belong to Bengal, India and are seen as traditional people loving their motherland and her culture. They dont assume America as their own place; but their son Gogol is born and bred in United States and he carries an opposite approach as that of his parents. Gogol is uncomfortable with his own name which carries in itself a whole history of his fathers association with an author; he himself understands his name neither his friends outside the home and this becomes a source of tension for him. He also feels distress over his parents Bengali rituals and rites that they occasionally practice. Such things become a source of inner battle for Gogol. Immigration is a common practice in the present globalized age. People from across the world change places and face different languages, cultures, and everything that is new to their lives. One common situation that they all face is natives unwillingness to accept them; this also applies within the country or within small states. Gogol, the protagonist, is unable to understand the account behind his name, when his father tries to explain. At one stage in his endeavors with his self, he isolates himself from the rest of his family to get rid of traditional culture; but he returns to his home after death of his father and adopts the rites that he used to practice. As a result of all this conflict, with his identity, he loses his girlfriend. Gradually, Gogol turns back to his parents culture and family, he finds himself attracted to a Bengalese girl that his mother introduced him to. He gets married to her; where it seems the story has finished happily, but that is not the case. Moushumi, who is a shy Bengalese young lady, after getting away from strict and traditional environment of her parents house seems to enjoy the freedom of married life and loses interest in him and builds an affair. The Namesake gives an insight into the lives of immigrants to United States, the cultural and identity crisis they find while assimilating into the new society.  [12]   The Gangulis, although live in United States but they socialize and live away from American culture as far as parents are concerned. Ashima wears traditional clothes and speak their native language. But once the children are in school, she observes American occasions like Christmas, but that too is celebrated in her Bengalese circle of friends and serves her home-based foods. Gogol, seems in trouble all the time because of his inner conflict. He always detests Indian culture and wants to keep an American identity; as a result he doesnt even refrain from leaving his parents home and abandon his relationship with family. Issue of cuisine The trouble regarding the cuisine also surfaces when Ashima realizes the difference of Chicken being butchered in the two countries i.e., India and America. Apparel Gogol while assimilating into the land of his dreams, America, he wears American styled clothes. On the other hand when he visits India, he wears Indian clothes. This means that he has not abandoned both the identities. Yet at the same time he is confused regarding the choice of his apparel. Difference of Perceptions regarding various countries: The plot contains the best travelling experiences of characters regarding India, America, Paris and Venice. Each person assumes the places differently, from escape to home and freedom to failure To the children of first generation immigrants, on the other hand, their parents native place seems old fashioned and outdated. Their lives become collaged between Indian and American rites as they face troubles with their selves in becoming Indian or Indian-American. As a result this conflict ends when in Europe where they can easily cut their connections. The people live, share and celebrate even the minor events collectively in India, but the situation is different in United States. As the character of Mrs. Jones reveals that she lives alone and sees her children and grandchildren rarely; this is a life that Ashokes mother would find humiliating.  [13]  In America, the Ganguli children are raised up as Americans, and want to celebrate events as their fellows. For instance, Gogol celebrates his fourteenth birthday in two different ways, one traditional Bengali and other American. The wedding of Moushumi and Gogol is also an example of clash between traditional and modern values. Their parents plan the whole event in their way and perform various customs that none of them understands. Gogols friends on the other hand design and plan the whole event of marriage personally. The difference between traditional and modern values is also evident in Gogols divorce from Moushumi. Since Ashima thinks, Fortunately they have not considered it their duty to stay married, as the Bengalis of Ashoke and Ashimas generation do.  [14]  In her view, the pressure to settle for less than their ideal of happiness has given way to American common sense.  [15]  Surprisingly, Ashima is pleased with this outcome, as opposed to an unhappy but dutiful marriage for her son.  [16]   In The Namesake, characters make constant contrasts between India and America, between tradition and modern way of looking at things, and so on. First generation immigrants like Ashoke and Ashima consider American ways as alien and foreign but to accommodate to pleasure of their American born children, adapt to certain occasions like Christmas. Second generation immigrants like Gogol and Moushumi, who are now Indian-American, feel alien in both the countries. They seem misplaced in their parents homeland as well as the land where they are born and bred. Gogol faces another cultural shock when he becomes aware of immolation tradition in the treatment of dead bodies. It becomes haunting for him to think that unlike his American tradition of burying the bodies in grave, his body will be burnt after death. Estrangement and alienation: The theme of alienation, of being isolated in a distant land, is dominant in the whole novel. During her period of first pregnancy, Ashima was anxious to raise the child in a foreign land, a country where she is related to no one, where she knows so little, where life seems so tentative and spare.  [17]  This alienation is mainly due to her inner conflict of fast and modern life of US and her traditional simple life back at home. At childs birth, she feels alone and helpless and considers his birth, It is unlike the customary gathering of whole bunch of people around the lady and c