Venus Inc.

Problem Identification Venus Inc. is a company located in the United States that deals with medical supplies. Having operated in the United States for 12 years, it hopes to expand its operations across the world. The company has four major departments including sales, marketing, supplying and manufacturing all of which work together to enhance the performance of the organization.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Venus Inc. specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The managing director, Kimberly Johnson, has been the manager of the company for the last seven years and has seen diminished growth of the company in terms of productivity and performance. Indeed, the company has recorded losses for the last three years. This has raised concerns for the stakeholders and Kimberly seeks to reverse the trend by enhancing a positive organizational behavior. Particularly, she has explored various reasons that could have led to the do wntrend that the company experiences. At the outset, she notes that the organization has four incoherent departments. The sales department head, Ryan Kiste has steered his department to growth notwithstanding the poor performance exhibited by other departments. Nonetheless, he has always been at loggerheads with other departmental heads owing to his ability to inspire performance within his department. During management meeting with Kimberly, the differences among the managers remained apparent, as they have already created divisions among the employees. Kimberly realized that the problem is deep rooted in the organizational behavior of the company. She therefore seeks to see the solutions that the managers would present to respond to the diminishing performance. It also comes to light that the employees’ motivation has decreased and Ryan pinpoints that lack of a remuneration strategy could have been the major cause of divisions among both employees and managers. Organization al Level Analysis of Venus Inc Organization Culture Organizational culture of an organization refers to the prevalent practices are common within departments of a company (McKenna 2000, p. 56). It distinguishes the organization from other organizations and makes it unique. Normally, organizations use their culture as a competitive edge over their rivals. It fosters common beliefs and practices within an organization and cultivates a sense of the belongingness among the employees. According to McKenna (2000, p. 58), organizational culture is instrumental in ensuring that the practices and beliefs of people remain in line with the organization’s needs and ensures that a company is able to achieve its goals of maximizing on profits and revenues. To that end, all organizational practices and beliefs are synchronized in such a way that they reflect the organizations core values and vision (Black 2003, p. 71).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if w e can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For Venus Inc., the organizational culture seems to be a major problem. Every department seems to have differentiated practices that have led to a fragmented organization. The beliefs possessed by employees working in Ryan’s department seem to be different from those of other departments. Therefore, Venus Inc. faces challenges in coming with a uniform organizational culture that guides the employees and ensures that the identity of the organization is upheld. Further, the employees seem to be following the respective departments’ practices and have no shared beliefs, norms and practices that guide their code of conduct. Indeed, it is reasonably hard for Ryan to influence and motivate employees belonging to other departments to achieve their goals. Hofstede organizational culture demands that all organization’s employees have a shared mentality and assumptions to guide the identity of the organ ization. This culture entails the ability of the managers to have a mind changing training in which all members get to understand the importance of the organizational culture as a source of belongingness and shared values and beliefs. It is also noteworthy that informal sub cultures have emerged within the organization. McKenna (2000, p. 83) points out that the managers ought to be wary that subcultures that groups form may be detrimental if they deviate from the goals of the organization. Organizational structure Jex Britt (2008, p. 82) articulate that organization structure refers to the job and work design in which all members of the staff have clearly defined roles. Apparently, Venus Inc. follows bureaucratic structures typical of downwards communication since the designation of roles assumes a hierarchical structure. Kimberly is answerable to the board of directors while the departmental heads reports to the managing director. Subsequently, the departmental heads ensure that t he employees in their respective departments are effective and work in line with the envisaged objectives of increased productivity. Not only should the departments work together to enhance the performance of the organization, they should also strive towards establishing common beliefs and attitudes through effective inter departmental communication and sharing (Jex Britt, 2008, p. 91).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Venus Inc. specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is imperative to note that Venus Inc. has had structural problems that have challenged the ability of the managing director to point out potential areas that could be detrimental to the performance of an organization. Apparently, Kimberly realizes a little too late that the ineffectiveness within the organization stems from lack of an organizational structure. Communication seems to be ineffective while the employees seem to have decreased motivation. According to Handy (1993, p.12), an organizational structure should enhance the efficiency of all aspects of the organization including communication and performance. Venus Inc. lacks strategy that would see a regulative superior structure where all departments are able to highlight areas that they feel are not effective as expected and envisaged in the organizational culture. Buchanan Huczynski (2010, p. 45) highlight that horizontal differentiation seems to be the major cause of ineffectiveness within the company since every department performs different roles. Besides, the bureaucratic structure has led to diminished returns since some departments have not performed uniformly with the rest. The conflict arising among the departmental heads are caused by lack of communication and shared vision on how some roles should be divided (Jex Britt, 2008, p. 91). This has resulted to poor identification of problems leading to demoralized employees and divisions within the organization. Group Level Analysis Of organization Behavior In the context of Venus Inc, the there are numerous group dynamics that an individual can pin point being the challenge. At the outset, it is critical to analyze the work groups primarily composed by the employees as a major source of divisions in the company. Group level analysis in organization behavior dwells on the conflicts, satisfaction and motivation of the groups (Handy 1993, p.19). All organizations have groups that allow them to achieve their goals and as such, group dynamics are present. The implication of inability to resolve group tensions and hostilities in Venus Inc seems to the major cause of the perceived divisions among employees.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As Ryan pointed out, the divisions within the company results from the reluctance of the managers to resolve issues surrounding the motivation and heightened by the constant disagreements by the organization’s departmental heads. Besides, lack of a clear strategy to remunerate the employees has resulted to innumerable challenges where employees fulfill their roles without enthusiasm. Group dynamics require the comprehension of the fact that different members of the work groups belong to different stages of maturity. In Venus Inc, only the sales department workers seem to have achieved the maturity phase. Maturity phase demands that a group should be in a position to execute and perform their duties professionally without allowing emotions to dictate their course of action. This is apparent in the company since the workers have been able to perform notwithstanding the reluctance shown by other work groups. Ryan’s department has been the major department that has not rec orded decreased performance and as such, it has played a significant role of propelling the performance of the organization. The rest of the groups seem to suffer from individualism and allow their feelings to overlook the importance of working together in the organization to achieve the goals of the organization (Handy 1993, p.20). To that end, the groups are yet to get to the maturity phase and development strategies should focus on the ability of the organization to have the maturity of the groups. At this level of group analysis in organizational behavior, there should be clear-cut roles for every group to enhance the required cohesiveness within the organization. Teamwork and collectiveness should inspire the work groups of the organization with the aim inspiring improved performance. Individual Level Analysis of the organization Apparently, individual analysis of an organization refers to various aspects of an organization that are central to specific individual (Black 2003, p . 71) Such aspects as motivation, task performance, perception, ethical standpoints, learning as well as satisfaction are just a few aspects of individual level analysis of organization behavior. In this case, leadership style that an organization assumes is important and allows the employees to become motivated in their duties. Venus Inc has an authoritative style of leadership that has severed the ability of the employees to learn during their task performance. In fact, authoritative leadership has diminished impacts in boosting the performance of any organization as the employees begin to feel alienated. Tooksoon Mudor (2011, p. 47) say that authoritative leadership rarely takes into consideration that employees needs support as they fulfill their duties which leads to improved performance and ultimately, to increased customer and job satisfaction. It is important for the managers to understand that authoritarian management style demoralizes the employees and has been a cause fo r decreased job productivity and performance. Ryan and Kimberly have proved to be authoritarian managers who expect performance due to their assertiveness and decisiveness. This has consequently resulted to poor performance due to decreased participation by employees in making important decisions regarding Venus Inc. Further, it is critical to note that majority of the employees receive motivation from the leadership style as well as remuneration and appreciation of their performance (Tooksoon Mudor 2011, p. 47). To that end, Venus Inc has failed to come up with a strategy to remunerate their employees leading to decreased performance of the organization as their motivation has lowered substantially. This implies that an organization should be able to appreciate positive performance and show recognition of individuals with outstanding performance. Recommendations Upon the analysis of the organization behavior in Venus Inc, it is important for the management of the company to device and design a strategy that will lead to improved performance and enriched organization behavior. The strategy ought to guide the human interactions within the organizations and improve the organization’s tendency of decreased performance. At the outset, the organization should be in a position to form a coherent organizational culture in which all employees will have shared values and beliefs. This will lead to a unique identity of the organization, which in turn will give the organization a competitive edge over its rivals (Buchanan Huczynski 2010, p. 67). Besides, Venus Inc should enhance the cohesiveness of the organization by dealing with sub cultures that are apparent within the organization. Second, it is important for Venus Inc. to change its organization structure to enhance superior performance of the company since it is clear that the current bureaucratic structure has led to top down communication, which makes employees to feel alienated. To that end, the managem ent team should assume a contingency or an instructional model that seem responsive to the participative needs of the employees. In fact, contingency approach to organizational structure requires that the management to resolve issues as they emerge rather than anticipating issues. Further, the organization should be able to comprehend the group dynamics that are typical of conflicts and divisions among the work groups. Venus Inc should enhance its ability to address the sources of conflicts within the groups by changing their mentality to coincide with organizations needs and encouraging members to work in teams. This will remove the individualism witnessed in the organization. It is also important to adopt appropriate leadership style in the organization to avoid the risk of demoralizing the employees, which in turn may lead to lowered enthusiasm and ultimately, the performance of the organization. Transformational and supportive leadership styles assist employees to learn and are typical of support and encouragement (Black 2003, p. 91). Finally, Venus Inc ought to devise a strategy of remuneration of employees to avert the risk of dissatisfaction and decreased motivation. It should introduce bonuses for superior performance and appreciate individuals who post exceptional performance. References Black, R 2003, Organizational Culture: Creating the Influence Needed for Strategic Success, Oxford University Press, London UK. Buchanan, D Huczynski, A 2010, Organizational Behaviour, Prentice Hall, London. Handy, C 1993, Understanding Organizations, Oxford University Press, London. Jex, S Britt, T 2008, Organizational Psychology, A Scientist-Practitioner Approach, John Wiley Sons, Boston, Massachusetts. McKenna, F 2000, Business Psychology and Organizational Behavior, Psychology Press, New York. Tooksoon, P Mudor, H 2011, â€Å"Conceptual Framework on the Relationship between Human Resource Management Practices, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover,† Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, vol. 2 no. 2, pp. 41-49. This essay on Venus Inc. was written and submitted by user Abigail Dixon to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The Subclass Pterygota and Its Subdivisions

The Subclass Pterygota and Its Subdivisions The subclass Pterygota includes most of the world’s insect species. The name comes from the Greek pteryx, which  means â€Å"wings.† Insects in the subclass Pterygota have wings, or had wings once in their evolutionary history. Insects in this subclass are called pterygotes. The main identifying feature of pterygotes is the presence of veined wings on the mesothoracic (second) and metathoracic (third) segments. These insects also undergo metamorphosis, either simple or complete. Scientists believe insects evolved the ability to fly during the Carboniferous period, over 300 million years ago. Insects beat vertebrates to the skies by some 230 million years (pterosaurs evolved the ability to fly about 70 million years ago). Some insect groups that were once winged have since lost this ability to fly. Fleas, for example, are closely related to flies, and are believed to descend from winged ancestors. Although such insects no longer bear functional wings (or any wings at all, in some cases), they are still grouped in the subclass Pterygota due to their evolutionary history. The subclass Pterygota is further divided into two superorders – the Exopterygota and the Endopterygota. These are described below. Characteristics of the Superorder Exopterygota: Insects in this group undergo a simple or incomplete metamorphosis. The life cycle includes just three stages – egg, nymph, and adult. During the nymph stage, gradual change occurs until the nymph resembles the adult. Only the adult stage has functional wings. Major Orders in the Superorder Exopterygota: A large number of familiar insects fall within the superorder Exopterygota. Most insect orders are classified within this subdivision, including: Order Ephemeroptera - mayfliesOrder Odonata - dragonflies and damselfliesOrder Orthoptera - crickets, grasshoppers and locustsOrder Phasmida - stick and leaf insectsOrder Grylloblattodea - rock crawlersOrder Mantophasmatodea - gladiatorsOrder Dermaptera - earwigsOrder Plecoptera - stonefliesOrder Embiidina - webspinnersOrder Zoraptera - angel insectsOrder Isoptera - termitesOrder Mantodea - mantidsOrder Blattodea - cockroachesOrder Hemiptera - true bugsOrder Thysanoptera - thripsOrder Psocoptera - barklice and booklice  Order Phthiraptera - biting and sucking lice Characteristics of the Superorder Endopterygota: These insects undergo a complete metamorphosis with four stages – egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The pupal stage is inactive (a rest period). When the adult emerges from the pupal stage, it has functional wings. Orders in the Superorder Endopterygota: The majority of the worlds insects undergo complete metamorphosis, and are included in the superorder Endopterygota. The largest of these nine insect orders are: Order Coleoptera - beetlesOrder Neuroptera - nerve-winged insectsOrder  Hymenoptera  - ants, bees, and waspsOrder Trichoptera - caddisfliesOrder  Lepidoptera  - butterflies and mothsOrder Siphonoptera - fleasOrder Mecoptera - scorpion flies and hangingfliesOrder Strepsiptera - twistedwing parasitesOrder Diptera - true flies    Sources: Pterygota. Winged insects.   Tree of Life Web Project. 2002. Version 01 January 2002 David R. Madden.  Accessed online September 8, 2015.Pterygota, pterygote. Bugguide.net. Accessed online September 8, 2015.A Dictionary of Entomology,  edited by Gordon Gordh, David Headric.Borror and DeLongs Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th edition, by Charles A. Triplehorn and Norman F. Johnson.Subclass pterygota, by John R. Meyer, Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University. Accessed online September 8, 2015.

Beccarias Criminal Justice Theories

This paper examines the role Beccaria played in shaping criminal justice. This paper studies the life of Beccaria and his theories on criminal behavior and justice. It analyzes his work, Essay On Crimes and Punishments, and its influence in criminal justice systems throughout the world. The paper looks at how Beccaria viewed the criminal and the crime and its overall effect (damage) to society.From the paper: `This paper examines the contributions of Beccaria in the context of his own time, the lasting effect that they have had on the jurisprudential and penological systems of the modern Western world. After a general introduction to Beccarias ideas and his model of crime, this paper looks at the results of three contemporary studies that incorporate the ideas and models of Beccaria. This examination of current research will allow us to evaluate the ways in which Beccarias idea, born in such a different historical context, may still guide us in attempting to guide us in creating ever more just, more fair and more effective means of punishing criminals and allowing all of society (including criminals, victims, and the rest of us) to prosper.` Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Beccarias Life and Timesand Theoretical Underpinnings 3. Beccarias Classical Theory of Crime 4. Three Modern Studies 5. Conclusion

Week 4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Week 4 - Assignment Example 7), are increasingly becoming aware of code of ethics, ethical practices and their relation to the community as a whole that it works in. This piece of research work presents a brief explanation of moral and ethical issues faced by managers in relation to the termination of employees from their jobs. This paper outlines the relation between ethical managerial practices and social issues related to termination with case analysis ethical dilemma that an organization and management faced due to termination. When a person’s job is involuntarily terminated for any reason, the loss of job causes significant distress, regret, bitterness and financial loss as well. All employees are rightful not to be unfairly or unjustifiably dismissed from his job (Davenpor, Crotty and Torres, 2000, p. 7). When an employee is terminated from his job for no apparent reason, or for a reason which cannot be justified, it is more likely to cause ethical and moral issues. A manager’s most important duty and responsibility is that he should bring good people to the organization in such a way that those good people will stay long and satisfy with their jobs (Trevino and Nelson, 2007, p. 155). The social set up and legal systems, though it can be different from country to country, have specific views regarding what is right and what is wrong both morally and ethically. For instance, Kleinig and Smith (2001) described that the United States and many other countries are founded on a strong belief in and commitment to the individual rights and their freedom and therefore these rights are moral acclaims as well as forces of law (p. 205). As there are specific views regarding ethical and moral practices, it is more likely that an employer’s act of terminating an employee can cause moral and ethical dilemma if employer’s act cannot be justified according to the general social and legal perspectives. Workers are right to be treated fairly in the

Case Study for Twitter Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

For Twitter - Case Study Example ts history, the need to develop and come up with sophisticated products that meet the demand of the clients has been a major challenge owing to complications in technology. Operating under technological platforms, Twitter as an organization has had to exploit various technological niches that could improve the services it provides for its customers. It is obvious that technology keeps on changing and advancing such that what was the norm yesterday is consistently modified to suit the current market needs. The same way, Twitter has struggled to keep up with these changes that ensure relevance in the industry. Among the many units affected by this in the organization is the human resource. The pace at which Twitter is taking to integrate itself into the updated technological world is raising eyebrows. With its vast resources, it is expected that it would be fast transforming itself day by day into a more sophisticated social network platform. This is not really the case from the scrutiny of its developmental milestone. Although it can be argued that in just a decade Twitter has achieved more than many social rival networks, this is still below what it could have maximally achieved. There is a great deal that could have been done (or could still be done) if technology is fully embraced and exploited. Evidently, Twitter has struggled to even reach where it is today. This is shown by the company’s failure to record desirable financial results over the years despite some upgrades (Porter, 2008. p.133-135). The human resource has to either be retrained or constantly updated on the trending technological systems especially in an organization that solely depends on technological efficiencies to deliver to its customers. Sending messages via Twitter, the follow feature as well as tweet and retweet among others are all technology-dependent processes that have to be continuously upgraded in regards to their efficiency and practicality in order for the company to generate

Gender Essay Example for Free

Gender Essay The history of gender and American policy is one crafted and based on historical events and changes in the men’s and societies’ view of women, especially as regards their roles in influencing policy change’s and implementation. According to scholars women roles for the past two centuries have improved remarkably if current events are to go by. Apparently, the study of gender as regards American foreign policy is a completely new aspect which has metamorphosed over the ages to became a crucial and significant approach of analyzing America’s foreign policies as regards, contribution to war, politics, economics and culture. In essence gender studies indicate the expectations, that the society holds to the different genders and the roles each group play. Dating back to the biblical times, the issue of gender and more so gender imbalance having been predominant in our society is, one coined on the society’s understanding and expectation of the male and female members of the society. It’s upon this that women over the ages have found themselves, marooned and dominated by men in major policies that have affected the society especially as regards warfare, diplomacy and violence. From ancient Greek, Roman, Babylonian empires, women have often being regarded as a weak gender compared to men, this has quite often led to maltreatment and abuse of women by the dominant male specie Braudy states â€Å"certainly the tradition of allying weakness with women and strength with men is a long one† (328). Its upon this conceptual thought that women have been destined, to play if any, a minimal role in matters of war. However it’s the statement of scholars and historians that though regarded as a marginalized group and less often actively involved in war, women â€Å"occupy a privileged place as an alternative source of national moral strength† (Braudy 328). In essence a good woman was always portrayed as pliant, submissive and subordinate. Thus the concept of gender imbalance has been with us for long, this was especially portrayed by the remarks and views held by male and society as regards women. For instance some scholars portrayed them as a â€Å"savagery within civilization† and as Braudy, states a â€Å"source of both fascination and disgust† (328). This is vehemently expressed by the 19th century view of women menstruation as a wound. However scholars do agree that progress has been witnessed over the ages as regards women role in society as research show that women have tremendously established themselves as a dominant force in society though, they still lack behind in a world where war, politics, economics, diplomacy issues are dominated by male. It’s thus upon this views that women remain less actively involved in war. According to scholars women have partly participated in wars and hence as history shows wars have been attributed to men. So is war a man’s affair. War and especially violence was, and still continues, to be a man’s affair in that men have always been attributed to intolerance and aggressive behavior, which is replicated in the art of war. Barash, states â€Å"if we could eliminate or even significantly reduce male violence we would pretty much get rid of violence† (1). For ages the art of war has been and still is dominated by men. For instance looking back at past war events ,its difficult to find any war which might have been instigated by a woman, on the contrary men have been responsible for all major wars and even violence related incidents in the society including genocide and homicide. Experts thus postulate that, war is a man’s affair in which men seek to dominate others, by the crudest of ways. It’s a concept that has been among the male species. The ancient warriors thus were taught to be strong and vicious, going contrally to that was risking ones sexuality in the sense that one would be braded as an â€Å"effeminate† a term often used to refer to men who were weak and coward. Thus it’s an agreed fact that a true warrior or man was identified on his possession of power attributed to ones manhood. Thus in order to show the effect of gender as regards war the male dominated societies used the most atrocious and ridiculous way such as castrating, homosexuality, masturbation and circumcision to humiliate individuals , thought to be weak, a trait that was attributed and reminisce of the women. This was done to portray other men as having qualities akin to women as demonstrated by the act of penetration. For instance during the ancient times homosexuality was used to render punishment on the male enemies. Sodomizing war captives was cogently used by Babylonians. Also studies indicate that war captives were treated on the basis of their gender in that women were raped, children enslaved while the males were subsequently killed and humiliated, in one incidence they were forced to masturbate while get the erect before being sodomized. This according to Trexler proofed to â€Å"show linkage between gender and humiliation in war fare† (20). By castrating the others scholars do ascertain that it was to be â€Å"a basic element in man’s fighting instincts. †(Trexler 19). To crowns it all, this acts were often instigated against other men in order to prove ones superiority over the others. Castrating and cutting the enemies manhood became a way of showing how the enemy had been subdued. This is depicted by the ancient Jewish society where warriors would cut their enemies private parts and foreskins to present to kings as a show of victory in war. In modern society violence and war is overwhelmingly dominated by male, for instance according to a researcher conducted in America, over 90% of homicide cases in America have been perpetrated by men. Moreover a great number of men are enlisted in the national army. What makes it more interesting is how terrorist groups are predominantly male established . In essence any where there is violence and war man is. It has thus been concluded that war is the art of man, as depicted by the studies of ancient history of warfare and current affairs. Barash cogently states that â€Å"what can be called killing establishment, soldiers, executioners, hunters, even slaughters is overwhelmingly male†(1). he concept of war and gender can thus be summarized as follows; war is a mans affair, violence and war is something that men direct at each other, men are the instigators and subsequently victims of their acts of violence, women are the victims of men’s warfare but not partakers or instigators and finally when people are murdered and slaughtered as in case of genocides and war, men are always the culprits. Religion and war According to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary religion re fers to a personal set or institutionalized set of religious beliefs, attitudes and practices. In that point, the debate over whether religion is responsible for the many wars witnessed in the history of mankind has continued to rage with both critics and proponents ascertaining their views and subsequently providing proofs to justify and authenticate their claims. Before understanding this issues it’s important thus to define war. According to Merriam –Webster online dictionary war is thus a state characterized by hostility, conflict, or antagonism Thus the concept of intermarriage between religion and war and especially its contribution to war, its one which has found favour in the ideologies of atheist and scientist as such. So does religion cause wars? Religion has been the greatest threat to mankind and thus it’s been the cause of many bloody confrontations. Charles Kimball, states â€Å"It is somewhat trite, but nevertheless sadly true, to say that more wars have been waged, more people killed, and these days more evil perpetrated in the name of religion than by any other institutional force in human history. †(1) This has often led to some critics of religion pointing that, if man is to live peacefully then religion should be scraped or rather the belief in God should be descanted. Timothy Fitzgerald quips that; â€Å"religion should be regarded as a form of mystification and scrapped† (26). The contemporary attitude on religious contribution to war arises due to a number of factors or rather reason that is religious conflicts, religious wars, religious ideologies based on teachings of some religions and modern fundamentalism attributed to different religious groups. It’s the statement of scholars that the history of religions contribution to war in modern world and as regards organized religions is to be traced to the Roman Catholic which was responsible for some of the greatest conflicts in history of mankind. During the dark reign of the Catholic Church in Europe many people were slaughtered and mercilessly killed due to their beliefs. According to Hitcher, the church has a history responsibility for the crusades, persecution of Catholics, Jews and deserters (17). Thus the Roman Catholic Church which represents Christianity is accountable for grave atrocities that culminated in the murder, persecution of millions of people based on its principle of heresy. It’s been the overwhelming statement and consensus of scholars that the blood birth witnessed during the dark reign of the church by far surpassed the jihads. Also the pope at the time is believed to have contributed tremendously in influencing major wars at the time. On another point, historians ascertain that, the competition for support and the fundamental believe that one religion is superior than the other has fueled animosity between religious groups, often leading to bloody confrontations that have often led to war. Moore in describing about this competition states â€Å"it had to be cruel in the general sense that any group identity is liable to be formed in hostile competition† (29). Its was this religious dreams of superiority that led to the Islamic conquest and expansion during the 18th century ,at that time, its estimated that millions of people were killed and others taken as slaves. This competition among religious groups has often led to war between the different opposing religions. For instance according to Price most of the greatest conflicts such as the Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq and even 9/11 attack are as a result of religious differences. These facts are clearly demonstrated in the crusades that were responsible for fighting the spread of Islam in Europe . during this time the pope coined what was termed as â€Å"just war†. Thus it was believed that some wars were justifiable especially if it entailed safeguarding the very cores of the religion. On their part the Muslim desire for expansion was characterized by forced conversion through war commonly referred to as Jihad. What has come to be the greatest threat to mankind in this century it’s also attributed to religious fundamentalism . Following the aftermath of the 9/11, the world witnessed the rise of terrorism ,a new tool used by Muslim fanatics and which is based on Islamic fundamentalism though the 9/11 event has been regarded by some as not influenced by Islamic fundermentalism,the facts point to the contrary . For instance the known mastermind of the attack and the leader of Alquieda, Osama Bin Laden ,in his speech calling for the murder of citizens in western countries attributed his action to Islam and more so the holy book Koran. These proofs to show that despite the denials by some Islamic leaders, the calls of Osama seek to justify the views held by majority of the Islamic community. The Muslim have also used the word â€Å"Crusade† to describe the policy of western countries especially America to occupy Islamic states. This is a symbolic meaning to the crusades, organized to counter Islamic conquest during the 18th century. It’s thus the belief of scholars, that the Islamic fundamentalism is based on religious beliefs of Islamic faith though some Islamic scholars do oppose these beliefs. Scholars have thus argued that the terrorist attack on America that killed innocent civilians could not have happened if not for religious believes. The Palestinian and Jewish conflict has been continuing for long, this conflict has often led to bloody confrontation between the two groups. According to scholars this conflicts is the brain child of religious fundamentalism based on Islam and Judaism. Thus critics do argue that the history of enmity between this two religious groups, bases its root on hard core ideologies attributed to the groups religious affiliations, thus as long as the groups seek to identify themselves on religious background, it will be hard to tackle has been their for long hence as long as each group seeks to identify the other in terms of religious background, it will be hard to tackle. This conflict has led to the extend of isolating the Jewish state of Israel from the rest of Middle East countries with calls by some Muslim fanatics and religious leaders for the murder of Jewish citizens. It’s thus the statement of historians that the Yom Kippur war between Israel and other Arab countries was as result of religious differences. Thus critic’s quip that religion has led to nations forming alliances on bases of religious believes, thus leading to conflicts which have led to emergence of hardcore ideologies and conflicts across the world. It has also been said that, religion has been instrumental in influencing wars in Europe. for instance the French religious wars are attributed to religion , Holt, says â€Å"the French civil wars which began with the massacre at vassy in 1562 and concluded with peace of the alass 1629 was a conflict of religion†(56) Different religions also have been known to encourage war of such is the Buddhism religion in which the tales of Bhagavad-Gita are based on war and made to justify war as an act of self protection, in its case Judaism and especially the old testament depicted war as necessary in order to defend the convictions of their teaching, in the bible the Israelites who believe that they are Gods children and the chosen ones called on God to fight for their course According to some studies conducted it has further been established that some individuals use religion in order to advance their political ambitions ,for instance , having used Jews and Judaism as a ladder to ascend to political power Hitler gained the channel he so much needed to murder 6 million Jews, in our modern society prominent personalities and politician have been known to make grievous remarks based on religious conviction, the calling by Iranian president for complete annihilation of the state of Israel and calling of Musl ims to unite against Judaism that stands for the Jewish state of Israel is a sure way of describing how religion has been used to sphere head murder of innocent civilians. A true religious individual thus does not advocate for violence. Thus according to proponents of religion it has subsequently been ascertained that the absence of religion in the modern nations especially communist did not deter their leaders such as Stalin from leading any less violently.  Despite the growing claims that religion causes war, proponents and researchers have criticized, this claims by ascertaining that religion and especially organized religions are peaceful the teachings of most religion call for peaceful existence of individuals, this is depicted by the teachings of individuals who have been ardent followers of their respective religions. According to martin Luther king Jr, the knowledge of God brings inner peace, in his teaching also he advocated for tolerance and use of non violence. Also Gandhi one of the staunchest supporter and believer of Buddhism advocated for the use of non violence (ahisma) in his philosophies which have become instrumental in influencing the thoughts and ideas of modern leaders.

Computers in the Construction Industry :: Expository Essays

Computers in the Construction Industry Computers have greatly changed the construction industry. Since the beginning of time there has been some type of construction. The caveman had weapons and tools. As of late man builds homes, skyscrapers, and various other buildings. Super-structures are very large-scale projects; that without the use of computers would be very arduous tasks. It would take many draftsmen many months to complete all of the drawings necessary to build a skyscraper. The advent of the computer has greatly improved the way the construction occurs today. Computer Aided Drafting and design programs facilitate the way buildings are designed. Auto Cad allows a draftsmen to produce drawings in a quick and efficient. Computers allow draftsmen to draw and make changes without picking up a pencil or eraser. Floor plans, plot plans, schematics, and detail plans are all drawn easier through the use of computer aided drafting programs, such as Auto Cad and IDEAS. Communication is the most important part of construction. There wouldn’t be projects to complete if there was not communication between the contractor and client. Means of communication vary greatly. Communication is achieved through electronic mail, mobile phones, and pagers. Mobile phones are perhaps the most important part of communication. Mobile phones allow contact between construction crews, owners, clients, and suppliers. Communication between builder (boss) and foreman is critical to ensure that deadlines, and specific tasks are being met. Communication is an essential ingredient in the construction business. There are few tools that have been affected by computers, possibly only the production of the tool. But there are a small number of tools that are irreplaceable that utilize computers. Laser levels or transits take the conjectures out of grading, straightening a wall, setting up batter boards, or leveling a line to start siding. Calculators are and invaluable tool for even the most experienced carpenter. Calculators make simple math even easier. Calculators such as the Construction Master VI alleviate some of the nuisance associated with building stairs, squaring up walls, and estimating amounts of material. Cost estimation is another essential part of the construction profession. Spreadsheet programs such as Microsoft Excel are useful for cost estimation. Instead of figuring every single cost factor for every single project, you can do it once, and then input values for further projects.