Economics Essay, applying Porter's Diamond to the construction Essay

Economics , applying Porter's Diamond to the construction industry - Essay Example The work includes building of roads, bridges and other major infrastructures. The real estate business is also urban based; so the constructions companies need to base all their business activity in urban areas in order to compliment the real estate industry. The repair and maintenance of existing buildings and other infrastructures also falls under the domain of construction industry and its major business comes from the densely populated urban areas. This is due to the fact that the more usage of infrastructure in densely populated urban areas results in higher damages and hence is subject to repair. There are mainly three categories in which the construction industry is divided. First, being the heavy constructions that require high civil engineering; in this category we have the construction of roads, bridges and other big infrastructures. In this category the big guns of construction industry come into function for all major commitments. The second category is the general constr uction of buildings of real estate; in this category the construction companies operate in housing development works. The small construction companies mainly operate in this category, as it requires small budgetary involvements. The third and final category comprise of special constructive work, which is done in small scale. Specialized areas of construction fall in this category like the construction work on wood, electric related works, etc. In this category very specific construction companies operate as it require specialization in specific field of work. (Economy watch, n.d). It is seen that the contractor may be an individual or any organization; contractors definitely fall in any of the above categories in construction business. A construction firm, of any size can fall under these three categories of the construction business. The scope of growth of construction industry is favorable in the developing countries where the trend of

Volvo Cars Essay Example for Free

Volvo Cars Essay 1) Why had Volvo lost its way in the years leading up to the takeover? Volvo started to manufacture and export cars to foreign countries since the mid-1950s. The company set up plants in Torslanda, Sweden, in 1964, followed by plants in Belgium and the Netherlands. Before Volvo was sold to Ford Motor Company in 1999, they had a joint-venture partnership with Pininfarina SpA of Italy. (Volvo Car: 2007 company profile edition 2, 2007, pp. 9-11) Volvo is a premium brand; with market shares of 1.5% and 0. 6% in the EU and US respectively (Wang 2011). Volvo faces competition and threat from Premium brands like Mercedes Benz, BMW and Audi, who have increased product offerings. While the competing premium brands increase their product offering, Volvo markets 10 models under Brand categories S, XC, C and V. This gives the competing premium brand an advantage over Volvo, therefore enabling them to grasp a bigger market share then compared to Volvo. The company’s market shares are further threatened by the growing invasion of the Asian car manufacturers. (Volvo Car: 2007 company profile edition 3: SWOT analysis, 2007, pp. 12-13). During the recent years, a rise in cars manufactured by the Asian market has been affecting the automobile industry. Asian car manufacturers have the advantage of producing cars at the cheaper cost compared to cars from the US and EU regions. This enable them to export cars to foreign market at a cheaper rate. Thus, apart from competing premium brands, Volvo faces increasing competition from emerging Asian car manufacturers. One of Volvo’s major competitor, Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz car division have implemented a strategic initiatives to run the cost down and revenues up by reduction in costs of materials, fixed cost, improved efficiencies and overall improvement (Volvo Car: 2007 company profile edition 3: Competitor analysis, 2007, pp. 6-8). In comparison, Volvo’s high cost of premium cars is a result of cars being made in Sweden and then imported. â€Å"This makes the Volvo brand cars expensive when compared to the others, which enjoy strong regional production and distribution operations.† (Volvo Car: 2007 company profile edition 3: SWOT analysis, 2007, pp. 12-13). Volvo is also affected by the increasing prices of steel, and other raw materials which eventually threatens the company’s margin and profitability (Volvo Car Corporation: 2006 company profile edition 2, 2006, pp. 12-13). When compared to Asian car manufacturers, the competition enjoys cheaper labor costs and plant facilities that have been set up in the developing countries. Apart from export costs and increasing prices of raw materials, Volvo also has to take account for their higher labor cost when compared to the Asian Market. Volvo did not show growth in the market share, making it a small player. Volvo’s markets were generally focused on the US and the Swedish markets. However, other EU countries have shown growth. The recent years have also shown growth in the Chinese market. Volvo have less market exposure compared to the other premium brands as well as the Asian brands. â€Å"Volvo has been losing money for a continuous period of 4 years† (Wang, 2011, p. 24). The reduction in sales is the major reason for Volvo’s financial problems. Volvo was hit financial crisis in second quarter of 2006 making a loss in the global operations. After the losses, Volvo decided to cut costs in all areas, this was the reason behind the reduction in employees. â€Å"Tough currency exchange rates and an aged product line have hammered Volvo revenues, forcing a second round of employee cutbacks† (Rechtin, 2006, p. 3). After the financial problems, Ford decided to sell Volvo. Volvo have been affected by the growth of its competitors and their market expansion, eventually leading to its fall. 2) What are the risks for Geely in trying to turn around a premium brand such as Volvo? This acquisition has been the subject of heavy speculation by the media, as it went against the norm of the acquirer being better off than the acquired. The first risk that Geely being a Chinese company and Volvo being a Swedish company will face is that the, differences in work culture and environmental culture would be prominent. The Swedish and the Chinese are very different in terms of work and environmental cultures. The risk of Geely trying to impose Chinese culture upon the Swedish based company might impact the merger negatively. One such internationally criticized union was Daimler’s acquisition of Chrysler. It was reported that, â€Å"this clash was intrinsic to a union between two companies which had such different wage structures, corporate hierarchies and values† (Finkelstein, 2002, p. 4). While Daimler established a hierarchical company with a chain of command, Chrysler was team-oriented. Differences also existed between the products begin offered. While Chrysler had car models which displayed reliability for competitive prices, Daimler-Benz had cars offering quality at any cost. Geely-Volvo also have differing products; Volvo being recognized for its quality, safety and premium brand, Geely, on the other hand, produces lower, cost effective range of cars. Integration of the two companies would be risky as it would be difficult to merge management styles. Using an example from the Daimler-Chrysler union, Chrysler was known for â€Å"its assertiveness and risk-taking cowboy aura, all produced within a cost-controlled atmosphere.† (Finkelstein, 2002, p. 5), while Daimler is known for its German engineering, quality and precision. Similarly, Volvo is known for its’ quality and safety. â€Å"Over the years Volvos design and production have been closely integrated with Fords, so much so that it will take years to unstitch them† (Devolving Volvo, 2010). This poses as a challenge for Geely to be able to manage Volvo from its’ style of management that has been adopted from Ford. â€Å"Acquirers often under-estimate the scale of integration.† (Pearson, 2013). BMW acquired Rover without completely estimating the scale of integration that would be needed. â€Å"BMW acquired Rover in a hurry, and never got to grips with the business before selling it at an estimated loss of Euro 4.1bn.† (Pearson, 2013). Geely might run the risk of not completely understanding the scale of integration that would be required and the type of business model that is adopted by Volvo. Without understanding the type of company Volvo is, Geely might make the same mistake as BMW. In order to overcome this, Geely will need to develop strong leadership skills and the scale of integration between the two companies needs to be effectively evaluated and implemented in order for this merger to bear fruits. Had BMW looked at the operations and business model adopted by Rover, they would have had a better understanding if Rover’s Problems. BMW would have been better equipped to handle Rover’s problems, similarly, if Geely has a better understanding of Volvo’s operations it will be able to direct it towards success. Another such risk is in the investment that Geely would have to make in order to make Volvo profitable again. â€Å"Turning around Volvo Car needs a large amount of input which will definitely burden Geely in the initial investment period.† (Huihui, 2012, p. 41). Volvo would need a considerable amount of investment if it is going to overcome the reasons it failed in the first place. Volvo needs to broaden its product offerings and increase its market exposure if it is going to compete with other premium brands. Geely and Volvo differ hugely in terms of Cost structure. Geely, being the owner of Volvo, will need to invest heavily in Volvo cars to maintain its quality, premium brand name and its cost structure. Geely on the other hand, will be able to make cars with lesser cost and sell it at a more affordable price. Geely needs to be able to understand the difference in the cost models. Geely will have to overcome differences, invest heavily and be a strong leader in order to make this a profitable take over. 3) In your view, was the purchase of Volvo a brilliant strategic decision, or a mistake? Explain. Based on my view the purchase of Volvo was a good strategic decision made my Geely. Geely has a lot to gain from this take over. One advantage is its access to Volvo’s technologies and expert knowledge on the international automobile industry. Geely will have access to Volvo’s expertise on medium-sized vehicles, the indoor air quality and especially safety. Volvo owns advanced skills on a large range of technology, and is renowned for its safety features. Geely can use this technology to its competitive advantage to improve the quality of its product in the domestic market and international market. Geely has been facing difficulties as it could not meet the safety and emissions standards in those areas. (Wang, 2011). Apart from access to Volvo’s intellectual property rights, Geely will have also gained access into Volvo’s global marketing network and supplier base. Geely is very ambitious and keen to enter the American and European markets. It can now use Volvo’s network and supply chain to access the international market. The use of the same supply chain will also help Geely minimize its cost, and be more efficient. Volvo is a renowned premium brand, however as discussed above, it lacks market exposure and a diversified product offering base. With proper leadership and management, Volvo can boost its profit and market growth. If Geely is able to provide a good leadership and guidance, it would be able to enjoy the profits that Volvo, as a premium brand, would offer. Volvo, already being an established brand, would only require good marketing, expansion and cost reduction strategy. Geely can reapthe fruits of a globally established brand with much ease. Geely has made acquisitions that can also benefit Volvo. â€Å"The first acquisition happened in 2009 when Geely paid AUS$58 million for purchasing Drivetrain Systems International (DSI), an Australian transmission company.† (Wang, 2011, p. 19). This acquisition of DSI, could be used to help both Geely and Volvo benefit from advanced in-house transmissions that can be produced cost effectively and gain a competitive edge on their competitors. Volvo can gain advantage from Geely offering a more Ccost effective production line. Volvo now has the capability to set up manufacturing plants in China, which will inevitably help them in cost reduction. Volvo can use Geely’s supply chains in China, which will encourage growth in the Chinese market. Geely is said to â€Å"repurposing a nearly completed Geely plant in south-western China to make Volvo cars—part of a turnaround strategy† (Shirouzu, 2010). By using China to manufacture cars, it can be cost effective on it supply chain, as well as cost effective labour. However, on the other hand, this strategic decision might backfire. As discussed above, Geely is taking a big risk by taking over a Volvo. A premium brand like Volvo would require large investments towards their manufacturing to ensure quality, as well as towards market expansion and diversification in product offering. Geely will also have to take into account the investment it would have to put towards research and development. The challenges Geely will have to overcome to make this an effective decision is â€Å"Geelys lack of global stature, as well as its past reputation for making low-end vehicles, could be a drag on Volvos reputation† (Shirouzu, 2010). While Volvo is considered as a premium brand, acquisition by a small Chinese company might tarnish the Volvo brand name. One of the more successful alliance is of the French Renault and the Japanese Nissan. The two companies faced similar problems likes culture differences, language barrier and financial situation. However, the objective adopted by this alliance is â€Å"to establish a powerful automotive group and develop synergies while conserving the corporate culture and identity of each brand† (Wang, 2011, p. 41). Taking an example from this, Geely and Volvo would need to develop a successful strategy if it has to overcome their differences. I believe, the strategic decision can be an effective one, provided Geely demonstrate good leadership qualities as well as develop an effective strategy in order to ensure profitability from both, Geely and Volvo.

Cultural Complexities In The Organisational Structures Commerce Essay

Cultural Complexities In The Organisational Structures Commerce Essay In traditional thinking organisational structure has been treated as the core. Organisational structure in simple terms can be defined as a framework in which organisations make decisions. Therefore, structure represents the nature of decision and procedure. This would contain three components, such as complexity, formalisation and centralisation (Robbins Barnwell, p.7) Complexity- This considers the extent of differentiation within organisation. This contains the degree of specialization (division of labour), the number of levels in organisation hierarchy and the extent to which organisation units are dispersed geographically. For example in the organisation like McDonalds, specialisation would be very low and the hierarchy is not tall like in the organisations like Microsoft or Virgin (Robbins Barnwell, p.7) Formalisation This is the degree to which an organisation relies on rules and procedures to direct the behaviour of employees by instructing them on what employees can do and what they cannot do. The degree of formalisation is very high in organisations like McDonalds and HSBC (Robbins Barnwell, p.7) Centralisation- This is the degree to which decision making is concerned in a single point in the organisation; usually this would be the top management. This considers where the responsibility for the decision making authority lies. If the centralisation is high in the organisation, problem flow upwards and the senior executives choose the appropriate decision and in these types of organisations power distance and formalisation would be high. 3.0. Organisational culture Organisational culture is a system of shared meaning within an organisation. In every organisation there are patterns of beliefs, symbols, rituals, myths and practices that have evolved over time. These, in turn, create common understandings among members as to what the organisation is and how its members should behave (Robbins Barnwell, p.377) Culture of an organisation is the values and behavioural norms of organizational members. There are two types of values such as terminal and instrumental. Terminal values refer to the desired end state or outcome that people try to attain where as Instrumental values refer to desired modes of behaviours (Robbins Barnwell, p.378) Culture exists at two levels (refer appendix diagram 1). The first is outwards manifestations of the culture, which are visible and able to make some form of interpretation. We can recognize the symbols of the organisation, the patterns of communications, the physical arrangement of work spaces and the ways in which power is expressed. We can also listen to the stories those are told and view the ceremonies those members take part in. The second level of culture is made of the deeply held values, beliefs, assumptions, attitudes and feelings those underlie behavior. Beliefs and assumptions at this stage are complex to discover, interpret and understand. Members of organisation may be incapable to recognize the values and beliefs of the organisation. It is the visible level of culture that is amenable to measurement and change, and as a result has been the central point of management activity (Robbins Barnwell, p.378). 3.1. Importance of organisational culture In general, the importance of culture in organisations has to do with the fact that values, norms and beliefs in a normative sense act as a behavioural guidance. Corporate culture can support or frustrate organisational goals thus act as the base for success or failiure of the organisations(Hoogervorst , 2004,p.293). Organisational culture is very important because it is the normative glue that structures the milieu and makes it possible for people to derive meaning from their work, to work comfortably with others, and to focus on key organizational tasks. If we do not understand the culture and the cultural processes clearly we might end up in wrong interpretations and fail in those environments in which we operate. For example, Apple Companys success can be devoted to its rule breaking innovations. This was possible because of this organisation culture which encouraged anti- establishment employees. In contrast to this IBMs success can be devoted to its white collar employees who had focus on customer services. A person who analyses the success stories of both the organisations may fail in his/her studies simply because he/she didnt focus on different corporate culture. Thus, it becomes more important to understand organisational culture (Hatch, 1997,p200) 3.2.Culture and organisational effectiveness Strong cultures in organisations are the intensely held, clearly ordered and widely shared core values. The more the members accept the core values the more they agree on their order of importance and are highly committed to them. This type of cultures can be found in religious, military organisations (Robbins Barnwell, p.382). Further result of a strong culture is it enhances behavioural consistency by conveying employees what behaviours they should engage in and guides them on the things such as the acceptability of absenteeism puctuality. Even though strong cultures improve behavioural consistency, it is only logical to conclude they can be a powerful means of implicit control and can operate as a substitute for formalization (Robbins Barnwell, p.383). In scheins definition culture plays a key role in internal integration and in the external adaptation of the organisation to its environment. The term effectiveness requires an organisations culture, strategy, environment and technology to be aligned and suitable to meet the organisations goals. Thus, the successful organisations will ensure good external fit between strategy, environment and corporate culture (Robbins Barnwell, p.382). 4.0.Has the focus moved from structure to culture in organisations? In my point of view , I think this is a grey area to answer because both the terms are important for any organisation as both these elements go in hand in hand with another. But, I feel the modern organisations in this centuary are focusing more in culture than structure as they started to realise the importance of good human relations within an organisation its direct impact on organisational performance. This could be understood more by applying the Mckinseys 7s model (refer appendix diagram 2).According to this model culture is a combination of every function within the organisation. Therefore, each activity should reflect cultural values based on operations. Thus, the culture demonstrates the shared values(common practices). The other six elements are identified as the issues associated with developing culture. According to McKinsey structure ,system and strategy were treated as hardparts of culture where as the other areas were treated as soft elements those associated with people(Kothari Handscombe, 2007,p.51) According to McKinseys 7s model we can draw a conclusion that culture is the base for every organisations performance and this culture cannot be developed if there is no proper structure. For example, if we take Google, creativity and innovation are their main theme and the management has focused to develop a culture which facilitates that. In order to achieve this organisations structure has been changed to a flat structure where by things are done so informal between the professional software engineers. In order to develop the expected culture, the environment was changed in an informal manner and employees felt they were in a relaxed place. This structure has supported the culture of Google and has helped Google to improve work place relationships and organisational performance(culture and structure as a competitive edge,1994,p.16) Finally, my argument is organisations have started to focus on culture but for that reason they did not lose the focus on structure. 5.0.Functionalist approach to culture Functionalist paradigm has been the primary paradigm in organizational studies. It assumes relationships are concrete and can be identified studied and measured via science. Thus this paradigm believes one can understand organizational behaviour through hypothesis testing. This paradigm also has been influenced by idealist and Marxist thought too. It assumes there are external rules and regulations governing the external world. (Ardalan, 2003,p.202) Functionalist paradigm views culture as top-down argues that culture can be managed and measured because in this paradigm culture is considered to be objective, measurable and able to be managed. Scheins model of culture can be used to understand culture in this paradigm (Module 5, n.d., p.2) 5.1. Scheins theory of culture Schein defines seven issues as assumptions which should be resolved by every culture. They are organisations relationships, nature of human activity, nature of reality and truth, nature of time, nature of human and homogeneity vs. diversity (refer Appendix diagram 3 4). Further he argues the core assumptions can be classified into two categories such as external adaptation tasks (mission and strategy, goals, means and control system) and internal adaptation tasks (common language, group boundary definition, rewards and punishments, status and power relations) (refer Appendix diagram 5). But Schein believes the most important influences of core assumptions from the stand point of shaping culture are norms, values and artefacts (refer appendix diagram 3) (Hatch, 1997, pg 214) Values and norms Values are the social principles, goals and standards within a particular culture. Its basically based on what the member of an organisation care about, such as freedom, democracy, tradition, wealth and loyalty. Value creates the basis for the judgment on what is right what is wrong associated with strong emotions (Hatch, 1997, pg214). Norms are closely associated with values as these are unwritten rules, which allow members of the culture to know whats expected from them. Examples of business norms are when should inform the potential problems to boss what sort of clothing can be warned (Hatch, 1997, pg214). Artefacts creations Artefacts are the visible, tangible and audible remains of behaviour, based on cultural norms, values and assumptions. Artefacts can be categorised as: (refer Appendix diagram 6) Verbal manifestations provided in written and spoken language Physical objects shaped by the members of the culture Ceremonies, rituals and other behavioural manifestations (Hatch, 1997, pg216). Artefacts can be observed by any one and it is the most accessible elements of culture. But artefacts can be misinterpreted easily as they are remote from the core (Hatch, 1997, pg217). Therefore the culture can be identified through various presentations generated by organisations in physical forms. The appearance of these physical forms in organisations products and related processes will demonstrate the culture and signal a particular idea. Example- the Carlsberg symbol would indicate entertainment, fun, integration, relationship and friendships. The above Scheins model of culture also proposes that culture can be managed and measured and is a top-down approach to culture. In other terms culture can be identified and taught to new organisational members so that they can be socialised to accept and fit in with the corporate culture. However, Schein also suggests that the cultural nature of organisations and groups is not that easy to identify because people habitually do not know why they do what they do (Module 5, n.d., p.3) 6.0. Radical humanist approach to culture (subjective-radical change) Theorists in this paradigm are primarily concerned with releasing social constraints that limit human potential. They view the current dominant ideologies as separating people from their true selves. They use this paradigm to validate desire for revolutionary change. Its basically anti-organization in scope. In this view the awareness of man is dominated by the ideological superstructures through which he interacts, and these drive a cognitive wedge stuck between himself and his true consciousness or awareness and this prevents human fulfillment or accomplishment. The radical humanists emphasize the political and repressive nature of purposive rationality, logic of science, positive functions of technology, and neutrality of language. (Ardalan, 2008, p.523) This paradigm views organisational culture as a contested relation between meanings. The distinctive understandings of a particular social group may conflict with those of other social groups. It is in a sense an anti-organisation theory-a theory which is inherently critical of dominant accounts of scientific knowledge and social arrangements. (Parker, 2003,p.77) The phrase subculture has a particular application here since it contains an important recognition that ideas within a social group are heterogonous, plural and often contested. Thus an organisations culture could be viewed as a struggle for hegemony with competing factions attempting to identify the primary purpose of the organisation in a way that meets their perceived definitions. For Martin Parker, the value of this paradigm is its twin stress on power and meaning. Certain groups have additional power to impose their understandings than others, although this does not assure the acceptance since subordinated groups also have power to resist in multiple ways. (Parker, 2003,p.78) Similar to interpretive studies, in methodological terms radical humanism is often reflected in ethnographic approaches, though with a greater focus on symbolic and material conflicts as an endemic feature of the process of organising. (Parker, 2003,81) 7.0. Functionalist approach vs. Radical humanist approach to culture By analysing both the paradigms I found following differences between functionalist radical humanist approaches to culture: Functionalist views culture can be managed and measured because this paradigm is considered to articulate from objective stand point and the sociology of regulation. In contrast to this radical humanist paradigm views organisational culture cannot be measured or managed as this paradigm is concerned to articulate, from a subjective stand point the sociology of radical change (refer appendix diagram 7). Functionalist paradigm argues culture can be learned taught to others whereas the radical humanist argues it cannot be taught to others since different social groups have different contesting values. For example, in functionalist view, an American organisation which tries to establish business operations in Japan will be able to cope up with Japanese culture by learning that culture. Radical humanist argues that American organisation cant adapt to Japanese culture by learning that culture because both the cultures will start to contest. Traditionally it was thought that culture of organisation will resemble founders thoughts, beliefs values. In contradiction to this, modern theories argue corporate culture will resemble a set of values, thoughts beliefs which are similar to the bottom level people. Thus, Functionalist paradigm (traditional thoughts) views culture forms from top to down where as radical humanist(modern thoughts) believes culture forms from bottom to up since there are sub cultures which decide the formation of corporate culture. 8.0. Conclusion In the modern business environment it is quite obvious that organisations have started to focus more on their corporate culture. However, I think that does not mean organisations have lost focus on structure because as I have addressed in this paper before structure is also very important to develop a good corporate culture. In order to make my argument strong I have used Mc Kinseys 7s framework. Functionalist paradigm uses the traditional theories to study the organisations. Further this paradigm believes one can understand organizational behaviour through hypothesis testing. Thus, this paradigm argues organisational culture also can be studied and can be taught to others. Additionally, functionalist paradigm views culture forms from top to down and argues that culture can be managed and measured. Scheins model of culture has been used to understand functionalists approach to culture. In contradiction to the Functionalist paradigm radical humanist paradigm questions the current accepted views of organisations and their impact on society. This paradigm views organisational culture as a contested relation between meanings because it believes different social groups will have different contested values between them. Thus, according to this paradigm organisation cannot simply teach their corporate culture to people there is always a contradiction between people due to their individual cultures. At last, to conclude my report, I would say organisations have started to focus on culture. However, they did not lose the focus on structure. Also there are many differences between functionalist radical humanist paradigms in managing cultures.

Comparing the Cultural and Social Critiques of Notes from Underground a

Cultural and Social Critiques of Notes from Underground and Invisible Man It is understanding oneself and the power structures of society that helps one gain authenticity, and ultimately†¦.. power. Notes from Underground and Invisible Man offer a wide variety of social critiques. While some critiques are explicit within the plot, others are implicit in statements of characters and the relations between two or more characters. Many of the ideas of social critique in Notes from Underground have direct parallels or antitheses in Invisible Man. Most--if not all--of the critiques transcend the time, location, and historical context in which they occur. The greatest value that the critiques in the two texts have to offer is that they deal with the unalterable human condition. Notes from Underground and Invisible Man offer a variety social critiques, most prominently in nationalism and cultural pride, an exclusive community versus an inclusive community, and the power structures within society. Nationalism is one of the main targets of the critique in Notes from Underground. The underground man's highly self-centered personality has a direct parallel in the ideas he has about his country. He says, "We, in Russia, have no fools; that is well known. That is what distinguishes us from foreign lands" (Dostoevsky 40). Such nationalistic propaganda was intended for all Russians to consider and evaluate. At the time the novel was written, Western civilization seemed to be extending its influence everywhere. As Dr. Lutomski pointed out in lecture, this caused many to adopt an isolationist philosophy, believing that the only way a country can be pure to its own citizens is to cut itself off from the outside world. Dostoevsky is presenti... ...s within a society must be able to channel that diversity into a feeling of unity that makes all of the individuals in all of the cultures feel like they belong to the indivisible whole. When one has found an entire group of people to identify with, one can transcend to a new level of self-understanding. And it is understanding oneself and the power structures of society that helps one gain authenticity, and ultimately power. Works Cited Bakhtin, Mikhail. Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics. Ed. and trans. Caryl Emerson. Introd. by Wayne C. Booth. Theory and History of Literature. Minneapolis: U. of Minnesota Pr., 1984. Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. (Library Ed.). New York: Random House, Inc. 1994 Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Notes from Underground: A New Translation, Backgrounds and Sources, Responses, Criticism. Norton Critical Edition. New York: Norton, 1989.

Netw360 Week 7 Lab

Kyle Pederson NETW360, Ben Brezinski 4/16/12 Lab #7 Hands on Lab Microsoft Network Monitor Introduction and Wireless Frames When we expanded frame 4 the signal strength was -60dbm, the data rate was 1mbps, and the SSID in the beacon frame was Amory. In frame 5, looking at the Hex Details, the BSSID for this access point was 00 15 E9 D1 48. The authentication status in frame 14 was successful. In frame 15, the Association Response status was in a successful state. When we tried to the Microsoft Network Monitor we were unable to pick up any management packets during our capture. SNMP management We were able to successfully ping 10. 7. 8. 80 to verify we had access to the â€Å"managed† device. The batch file was set up with the 10. 27. 8. 80 address and had commands to get information from that address. The name of the device was NPIF9460B and the status of it was â€Å"ready to print†. After we downloaded the MIB Browser and entered 10. 27. 8. 80 into the address field, we were able to get the sysUpTime which was 830 hours 13 min and 2 sec. Finding rogue access points When using the command â€Å"netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid† in the command prompt we were able to identify 17 access points. Out of the 17 access points 11 were not part of the DeVry wireless network.Using the FindAccessPoints. BAT we were able to identify 18 access points and 12 of them were not part of the DeVry wireless network. Opening the FindAccessPoints. vbs in notepad we were able to see the script and the basis of the script worked around the command netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid. After we set up our Linksys as a rogue access point we had no problem finding it using the batch file. This would be very handy to use at your home network, if you lived in a place where there is many access points, because you could pick up any rogue access points that someone has set up to attempt to capture any of your information.Logging Here is our log file from our Linksys a ccess point. [pic] Linksys Access point maintenance and troubleshooting The current firmware version of our Linksys access point was 1. 5. 01 and the current time was 2012/04/14 15:42:41. The current status of our access point was: †¢ Report Mode- BG-mixed †¢ SSID- net360 †¢ DHCP- enabled †¢ Channel- 1 Next we were able to backup our current configuration to our PC and then we reset the access point to the factory defaults. The factory defaults were set as: †¢ Report Mode BG-mixed †¢ SSID- Linksys †¢ DHCP- enabled †¢ Channel- 6Once set as the factory we were able to restore our original configuration by uploading the file we created earlier. As soon as that file uploaded our access point was set up the same as before. This was very straight forward to do and I feel it is a good idea to back up your configuration, just in case the access point gets reset. Wireshark Introduction and Examining Wireless Frames Lab Lab Report 1. Is Wireshark open s ource or propriety? (7 points) Wireshark is an Open-source program. 2. What is seen in each of the three panes that display the packets seen on a local area network? 7 point) The top pane is the packet list pane that shows each packet on a separate line and has five columns with the following information: the time that the packet came in, source, destination of each packet, the protocol being used with the packet, and information about each packet. The second pane is the tree view pane and it displays the headers of the various protocols captured in the packet and this is displayed in a hierarchal view from physical layer to the application layer. The third pane is the byte view pane that shows the raw data in a hexadecimal format. . What does a display filter do? (7 points) The display filter enables you to filter what you want to view when capturing your packets. So if you wanted to just view the packets that were using the protocol TCP you could filter those out. You can also use expression filters that lets you be more specific in what you want to filter. 4. What does the protocol column show? (7 points) The protocol column shows the highest layer protocol in the frame. 5. How do you expand the details in a layer of the packet in the middle frame? 7 points) To expand the details you must click on the plus sign. 6. In frame 1 what channel is being used? (7 points) Frame 1 is using channel 6. 7. In frame 1 what frequency is being used? (7 points) The frequency being used is 2437MHz. 8. In frame 1 what is the signal level? (7 points) The signal level in frame 1 is 11. 9. What type of frame is frame 1? (7 points) Frame 1 is a broadcast initiation frame to the access point 10. In frame 1 what is the beacon interval in milliseconds? (7 points) The beacon interval is 102. 4ms.

American High School Education System by Leon Botstein Essay Example

American High School Education System by Leon Botstein Essay Example American High School Education System by Leon Botstein Paper American High School Education System by Leon Botstein Paper Essay Topic: Education High School In the article â€Å"Let Teenagers Try Adulthood†, Leon Botstein argues that the American high school is outdated and should be totally rebuilt. The main problem high school system faced with, according to Botstein article, is an overall disintegration of the student culture, which has happened because of the prevalence of social cliques and exponentiations of sport teams over than student culture. Moreover, the early maturity of young people in the late twentieth century has lead to the isolation of hormonally active adolescents, thereby holding teenagers beyond the developmental level. Finally, the poor quality of teacher training is another problem schools should worry about. Giving his points of view about all these problems, Botstein suggest modifying secondary education by giving children a chance to start education at age of four or five and combining middle school and junior high school. School should let students graduate at sixteen instead of eighteen years old and let them indulge their energies in the field of knowledge they want to pursue. Trying to understand what has happened and what could be improved in the educational system, which was one of the best systems in the world, I can overall agree with Leon Botstein that â€Å"the American high school is obsolete and should be abolished† (â€Å"Let Teenagers Try Adulthood† Leon Botstein). However, looking over the problems, I can disagree with some of specific Botstein claims. The main problem is not an early maturity of young people, but lack of high schools financing which leads to poor quality of teachers training and overall disintegration of the students’ culture. Asking people of old generation which years were the most memorable and educational for them, most of them should mention years of high school. Years of transition from adolescence to adulthood, years of knowing oneself in the world, understanding their goals; this is the world of high school as it was many years ago, but not anymore. Nowadays, high school is not the place where students leave with good memories and mature to go forward. Moreover, graduating school young people feel total frustration about the adult world understanding that they are not ready for the transition, probably the most important transition in their life. Shortening high school education will not solve the problem; instead it could lead to lack of general knowledge among future generations. At the age sixteen most of the people don’t know their carrier path, and it will be stupid to give them a chance to choose major without appropriate level of education. Young maturity is not a reason to cut two years of high school, but it is a sing to improve high school education to the high level. As Botstein claims, one of the reasons of the high school system’s degradation is poor quality of recruitment and training for educators, which I completely agree with that statement. Teaching has always been one of the most respectful professions demanding high quality of training and dedication. It is a big responsibility to be a teacher because they could be an example for many students. Especially today- when parents don’t spend enough time helping their children in education- teachers should be higher qualified professionals with appropriate salaries and benefits; moreover, with the opportunity to grow professionally. Tuition, that instructors give to their students, shouldn’t be within the bound of subject, but cover all the aspects of life, so young people can put learning into practice. In order to be high qualified educator- with inspiration to educate students- teachers should have more motivation. However, most of the teachers have as low salaries and low possibility for carrier growing. The median teacher salary in the US is forty thousand dollars per year, which is not an appropriate rate for so meaningful job ( payscale. com). Thereby, graduating high schools students don’t have appropriate level of education to enter the university or even college. It means that years of education and self-development in high school are useless. Degeneration of the students’ culture- which isn’t based anymore on educational goals and success- is one of the main problems high school students are facing. They live in the world divided by the cliques. However, these are not the cliques we can think about, like groups of interest as they were before. High school cliques present savage and artificial world of insiders or outsiders, where insiders have all privileges because of their attractiveness, popularity and sport success, as Botstein mentioned in his article. Someone can think that only students are responsible for those false stereotypes they surrounded; though American movies about teenager’s life is a good example that the world of insiders and outsiders became a art of student culture all over the country. Therefore, many students, who consider themselves as a part of outsiders group, confined to a â€Å"jail† of high school environment. They don’t believe that something can change after graduating high school and life could be different beyond this artificial world. Thereby, many young people have lack of self-confidence, psychological problems which can lead to serious consequences and even violence among students, as it happened during Littleton shooting and other similar incidents. Forty five incidents of shooting with a total number of eighty seven deaths for the last fifteen years, comparing to the same numbers in Europe with five attacks and twenty six deaths for the same period of time. Looking to the number of shootings in American middle and high schools for the last fifteen years, we can see that it is a time for changes. (nces. ed. gov) One more fact Botstein assert, which leads to degradation of student culture and make student cliques more obvious, is overrated significance of team sport. High school administration, instead of improving quality of teaching, does everything to make their varsity team succeed. Spending vast amount of money for sport programs, giving too much power to team coaches, school administration makes students to believe that sport achievements are more important than educational success. In many schools sport has become an essential core activity. If children don’t go to school for education first, then what we get are uneducated athletes that expect a free pass throughout their lives, what doesn’t really work in real adult world. High school is a vital part of an educational system and a beginning point of adult life for students. Development of American and any other society depends on young people and their education. Therefore, high level of education should be one of the main priorities for the government. It is time to face up with numerous problems in American High school system, and especially with lack of high school financing, which lead to low training of school personnel and breakdown of the student culture.