Author: chris

Pepsi Organizational Analysis, Part 1

Nature of the Organization

Pepsi Co. is the second largest company of its kind. It deals with the production and distribution of beverages and snack food. It has approximately 285,000 employees across the world. Pepsi has a divisional organizational structure (Capparell, 2007). This is because of the various offices that are dispersed in different geographical regions. Apart from this, the different divisions have hierarchical systems. This means that the different human resource offices in Pepsi, are organized in different levels and the highest level is that of the Chief Executive Officer, Indra Nooyi. The orders of the company find their genesis in the top most management and the implementation is done by the lower levels in the hierarchy. The company has adapted a work culture that protects the interest of the employees.

In relation to its structure, Pepsi faces many human resource challenges. One of the biggest challenges is communication between employees. The structure does not encourage communication among the different divisions. Although the CEO exercises authority over the different levels in the hierarchy, she barely communicates with her divisional managers let alone the other employees (Capparell, 2007). This communication break in the communication process may be at the expense of the employees’ motivation. Another challenge that the Pepsi Company faces is that of excess workload on the mangers. This is because of the structure that demands that they handle most of the decision-making processes in the different divisions. This then slows down the implementation process of company goals.

Legal Concerns

One of the legal concerns of Pepsi is protecting the health of its consumer. In the past, the company was sued for manufacturing products that contains harmful substances. This can be detrimental to the company’s image. The allegation was that the company produced beverages that contained benzene. Benzene is a cancer-causing agent (Capparell, 2007). This is in line with the consumer protection laws. The best approach that the company can take to curb is subjecting their products to thorough tests. This will help in protecting the health of the consumers and it will maintain the integrity of the company.

A potential legal concern for the company could be protection of their employees. This is a major legal concern for many multinational corporations. It is important that the health and welfare of employees is fully protected. This is especially in the case of the workers in the manufacturing sector. It is the responsibility of the management to comply with the labor laws. These laws seek to protect the health of workers. This will include providing hazardous free working conditions for the employees. The management is required by the law to set up occupational health and safety management systems.

Human Resource Issues

There are many challenges that face multinational corporations. Some of these challenges also affect the human resource of these companies. The expansion of Pepsi in the international market will see the company experience more of these challenges. One of these challenges is the issue of convergence and divergence. This is to imply that the human resource practices will be similar across the different outlets of the company or each outlet will have a unique human resource management style. A centralized system has been popular in many large companies. This is where the central office dictates the path to be followed. However, research has shown the benefits of allowing the different offices of the company are autonomous.

Another potential issue is that of the diversity of the employees. Expansion of the company in the international market would mean introduction of different practices and culture into the company. This may be a challenge when trying to come up with human resource management strategies. Various conflicts may arise due to the multiplicity of culture. These differences may arise in the area of power relation. There are particular communities that uphold a greater power distance while others believe that power is a concept that should be shared equally. Another area that may cause of friction is that of masculinity and femininity. There are communities that prefer a relational approach to work while others prefer the masculine approach that tends to be assertive.

The approach that should be used in tackling these issues should be employee-based. The approach should focus on the needs and preferences of the employees to motivate the performance and boost the morale of the employees. The management should look for strategies that are advantageous to their workers. The human resource department is the most important resource of the company. Pepsi should incorporate both convergence and divergence techniques when coming up with the resource management methods. In tackling the issue of employee diversity, the management should use a standardized work culture that is unique to Pepsi. This will give the employees a focal point of focus.

Recommendations

Human resource motivation is important for the company’s success (Dessler, 2000). Pepsi must look for measures that will ensure that their employees are constantly motivated. This can be through employee appraisals. The management of Pepsi can also provide equal employee promotion opportunities. This will help in giving motivating to the employees. Pepsi is already giving annual bonuses to those employees who have shown great productivity in their work. These kinds of measures give the employees morale to work harder.

The company should also work on training the employees (Dessler, 2000). This will ensure that they remain competent in their areas of expertise. Moreover it shall ensure that the Subsequently, the competence of the employees will give the company a competing edge. The company should also give the employees regular leave from work. This will give the employees a sense of rejuvenation that will increase their productivity.

Reference List

Capparell, S. (2007). The real Pepsi challenge: The inspirational story of breaking the color barrier in American business. New York: Free Press.

Dessler, G. (2000). Human resource management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

International Tourism

Introduction

Over the years, different countries have recorded a significant increase in the number of tourists. In many cases countries, especially those in the same region, find that they have the same products and services to offer the tourists. This has increased the competition among all the countries. Although the tourism industry has grown over the years, only ten countries hold the majority share of the tourism market. It is estimated that 70% of international tourists visit ten countries (Lee et al., 2011). This means that the remaining countries have to fight for the other 30% of the visitors. Competition is therefore stiff and countries aim to diversify their markets and attract more people. In order to maintain a large market share, various destinations are now using some marketing techniques, which are often used in the marketing of commercial products. They are viewing and treating destinations as commercial brands. This means that they have to look for ways through which they can position their brands in the international markets so that they can get more tourists. Although many countries have diverse products and services on offer, they often have a distinguishing factor, which makes them stand out from the rest. Some tourists associate the country with the specific brand. Some countries have chosen to specialize on a specific brand, and ascribe to a specific personality. They ascribe human personalities such as spirited and creative to the destinations. The destinations with such descriptions strive and work hard to maintain their personalities. Brand positioning and brand personality are important elements and techniques that are used in tourism planning and development, because they give a country a competitive edge when they are applied well.

Brand Positioning

Brand positioning and destination branding are interrelated. Destination branding is one of the strategic elements of brand positioning. Positioning involves finding the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and the threats facing the destination. A positioning statement should be honest and emotive. A provider should be honest about the destination, and present the real image to the tourists (Carter, 2009). It contains the attributes of the destination, emotive expression, and the brand personality. The tourism suppliers or provides have to find out what makes their destination attractive to the tourists. They should then enhance and improve these strengths. Identifying the weaknesses involves finding out what contributes to the dissatisfaction of the tourists. The providers need to find out what makes the tourists not to choose them as a destination of choice. Having a clear idea of the weaknesses is essential, as it will enable the tourists to know how they can get rid of the weaknesses. Providers need to take advantage of the opportunities since they could be a potential for growth. There are numerous threats in the tourism industry because of the uncertain nature of the industry. They range from natural threats such as the weather and climatic conditions, to the political instabilities of countries. Threats decrease the tourism potential of a destination and should be avoided where possible or dealt with once they appear.

Providers can use the Porter’s positioning strategies, which include the variety-based positioning, needs-based positioning, or access-based positioning. Variety-based positioning includes focusing on promoting the services and products, which helps in differentiating a destination from the competitors. Needs-based positioning includes satisfying the needs of the different market segments. Access-based positioning enables the target from the same market to access their needs (Kozak & Baloglu, 2010). Threats, opportunities, weaknesses and opportunities are essential elements that should be considered when positioning a brand. Tourism suppliers have to position the destination in a way that the consumers will first think about it when they are choosing their preferred destinations. Good brand positioning has the essential elements of image creation, presentation of the benefits, differentiation and delivery (Vanhove, 2010).

Image creation is an important element of brand positioning. The creation of an image involves the cooperation of both the tourism providers and the community. An effective image must be used often so that it can stick to people’s minds. It should be simple and believable, appealing, distinctive and valid (Last, 2008). The providers should not enforce an image on the community, which does not reflect who they are. Before settling on the image to use, the tourism providers should seek to find out the kind of image that the tourists have of their destination (Murphy & Beckendorff, 2007). They can enhance the existing image, if it is positive and reflects the true aspects of the destination. If the tourists do not have a positive image of the destination, the people charged with creating the image can change it. They then need to do a lot of marketing in terms of promotions and advertisements so that they can present the new image to the consumers. Just like the products and services offered by the tourism providers, the image created should be unique. This adds to the differentiation and ensures a competitive advantage. A strong image is an asset to the community and the tourism providers. It creates a lasting image and sticks to the minds of the consumers, in this case the tourist, and this achieves the goal of brand positioning.

Suppliers have to position their destinations in such a way that they are able to beat the competition. They should consider the market requirements, which include making sure that they have the right cost. Tourists should get value for their money. Sometimes, high costs can create low volumes and low costs can create high volumes. This is not a guarantee, and most of the times, it depends on the quality being offered. Suppliers must be conscious and responsive of the market trends and consumer preferences. The suppliers must identify ways through which their consumers will benefit the most. One of the key elements in brand positioning is differentiation. This is enhanced and emphasized by branding and advertising. Effective positioning enables suppliers to differentiate their products and set it on the minds of their target markets. Suppliers should ensure that they offer unique products, which cannot be substituted easily. The suppliers must identify their competitors, and learn about the products and services they offer. This will assist them in identifying how they can make their products unique from those of the competitors.

A brand’s position is built on its domain, heritage, values, assets, personality and reflection (Lee, et al., 2011). These elements help in enhancing the differential advantage and therefore create a competitive advantage. The target market is important when determining the brand’s position. Suppliers should ensure that they target the right market for their products. Suppliers can use independent or national surveys to determine their market segments. Surveys reveal the trends and interests of various markets. Awareness is important in ensuring that the tourism market has been positioned well. The culture and history of a brand can affect the way it is positioned in the market. When deciding on the positioning, it is imperative that the supplier should consider the core values and the characteristics of the brand. Positioning is relevant and useful when creating the brand personality. The suppliers have to decide on the most relevant and suitable image to use for their brand when they are implementing the position they want.

Consumers are devoted to the brand when they recognize its position. Suppliers looking for the best way to position their markets should be aware that their decision will affect many people. They should consult with the communities that will be affected by their decision. The process of positioning can be time consuming, costly and involving. Before repositioning, the stakeholders should first assess their current positions so that they can know what needs to change. They should then select their desired position. They should design the strategy to use so that they can achieve the desired position. This step is especially important because it involves the community. The process is time consuming and can take a long time before the position is achieved. It is costly because there are many people involved, and there is much work to be done. The final step is the implementation of the strategy (Last, 2008).

Brand positioning has several challenges, and these challenges should be dealt with before settling on the position. There are many uncertainties in the tourism market, and the suppliers should be aware and ready to deal with any issues that may arise. Many stakeholders are affected by the decision to position the brand in a specific place. They may not always agree and this can cause conflict. The affected community might feel that they are being pressurized to do something they had not anticipated. They may want to use their resources for other things and they might not be interested in the tourism industry. They may feel that the tourism suppliers are there to exploit their resources and reap from them. For the brand positioning to work, the community and the tourism providers should work together. The providers should involve the community in all the phases of the brand positioning. They should consul them and ask their opinion before making any decision.

Destination Personalities

Destination personalities refer to the views and perceptions that people have about a place that is reflected in the minds of the tourists. Some suppliers tend to rely too much on trademark such as a logo or symbol, that they forget that destination personality is more than that. Suppliers should strive to ensure that the consumer has a lasting image of the destination because of the experience that he or she will have. Various destinations advertise their brands using the positive and favorable components of the destination Tourism is different from other products in the sense that it is not tangible. Providers should aim to create a destination that has an emotional appeal to the tourists (Kozak & Baloglu, 2010). Tourists seek to maximize their experience when they travel to various destinations. Destination personality refers to the feelings that people have about a place, and the image they have when they think or hear about it. Destination personalities are more than the image of the destination (Hosany et al., 2007).

Tourists ascribe certain personalities such as spirited or stylish to different destinations. Destination personalities are important because they enhance the understanding of a destination, they help in differentiating a brand especially where the destinations are substituted easily, and they are a communicative tool (Kozan & Baloglu, 2010). Many countries, which earn a high income from tourism, are keen on identifying a specific personality that will best suit their country. They promote this brand, just as they would do for any other product (Pitt et al., 2007). The destination brand personality has to deliver what it promises. It should embody the core values of that destination. These values are the essential elements that are communicated to the consumers. Suppliers have to be careful concerning and honest about the brand’s values. Some people support the view that destination brand personality affects the consumers’ behavior. Although research has advanced this concept, the evidence obtained from different research suggests that visitors do not associate destinations with brand personality (Sirakaya-Turk, et al., 2011).

Creating a successful brand requires the proper selection of the right selection strategies. Promoters of the brand need to advertise and promote the brand constantly. They need to embed it on people’s minds. Jennifer Aaker developed the framework for the brand personalities and came up with the brand personality scale, which has five dimensions. The dimensions include sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness. Each of the dimensions has specific facets. A destination that is described as sincere can be described as down to earth, honest, wholesome or cheerful. A destination that is full of excitement has different attributes including daring, spirited, imaginative and up to date. A competent destination is reliable, intelligent, secure, and successful. Attributes of a sophisticated destination are glamorous, good looking, charming and upper class. A rugged destination is tough and outdoorsy. Other than the brand personality scale, the best-worst scale can also be used to measure brand personality. It uses dimensions such as trendy, sophisticated, likeable, lively, genuine and peaceful (Lee et al., 2011).

Destination branding has several challenges, some of which can be costly for the suppliers. Sometimes the concept fails when the involved parties fail to agree on the type of personality to ascribe to a particular brand. Brands that may seem favorable to the suppliers may backfire once they are presented to the intended audience. Thus, the suppliers should be careful before settling on a brand. Tourism suppliers cannot maintain their brand without the cooperation of the people. The inhabitants of the branded destination will be affected by the personality ascribed to it. . Inhabitants are sometimes angered or displeased by the suppliers’ idea to use a specific brand personality on their destination. This is especially the case when they have not been consulted. They feel that the brand they are associated with do not actually represent who they truly are as a people. In some cases, they might feel pressured to maintain the branded personality. Suppliers are faced with budget limitations (Last, 2008). They spend a lot of money and time, before they come up with the ideal personality. Destinations advertise their brand personalities in channels with a global presence such as international television channels, their tourism websites and other electronic sites. They then spend more resources trying to manage and maintain the brand personality.

Destination positioning and brand personalities are interrelated and similar in different ways. They require the providers and suppliers to understand the various perceptions that tourists have about their destinations. Image creation is the core factor of creating the required brand personality and it is a core value of positioning. Tourists form their image from different sources. This includes word of mouth from people who have visited the destination, the internet, news channels and other media. The issue has become more sensitive with the advancement of the internet. The internet has made it easier for anybody to learn more about a destination. People have more knowledge about a destination even before they visit. This has made it more challenging for providers to maintain a positive image of the destination. Any bad news such as war or natural disasters is quickly spread on the internet, and this affects the image of the destination. Television programs, movies, and other forms of electronic entertainment act as a source of information. They create awareness, and they enable potential tourists to know more about the image of the country and the culture of the people. The created image has to be in line with the true aspect of the destination. It has to present the destination in its real form.

Positioning and destination personality have to be communicated to the local and the international market. This will involve a lot of marketing through promotions and advertising. The community is a crucial factor in tourism development and management. The tourism providers should involve the community in making marketing strategies decisions. Cooperation is important in ensuring that brand succeeds in the market. Tourism providers can change their image after a review and feedback of its effectiveness. Tourism trends and consumer preferences change often. This requires the providers to change their image. They should re-evaluate their brand position. Some tourism destinations have changed over time, and this has changed their personalities.

The creation and development of brands is not only important for conventional products. It is clear that the tourism industry has benefited from applying positioning and redefining their brands. Many countries have realized the potential of tourism. In the past, some countries have benefited from the tourism industry without putting in much effort on marketing. The information age, which has advanced because of the internet, has increased people’s awareness. Tourists now realize that there are many markets offering the same products. They are now more willing to explore their options. This has changed the way tourism providers develop and use their marketing strategies. The concept of positioning in the tourism is not new to the tourism industry. Some countries have however not advanced the concept, and they have failed to reap the benefits it offers. Countries that are still developing their tourism destinations can benefit if they position the destinations effectively. Some tourists are looking for new destinations, which will provide something new. Positioning destinations in the right way will ensure that the tourism providers in these destinations attract potential tourists (Gertner, 2011).

Destination personality branding is a relatively new strategy that is being used in the tourism industry. Tourism suppliers and the inhabitants of various tourist destinations have different perspectives concerning destination personalities. People have tended to associate a destination with certain human personalities for a long time, but the concept of brand personalities in the tourism industry is relatively new. Suppliers and tourism managers have begun to enhance the concept of brand personalities to attract more people. The concept of brand marketing is important, and it should be taken seriously since it can heavily influence the tourism industry in the country. Some people are opposed to personality branding because the brands do not represent the destination as it really is. Destinations have to deliver what they brand Attributing a human personality to a destination takes a long time. Some cities have used branding for a long time. For instance, people have regarded Paris as the city of romance for a long time. Destination personalities develop after observing the characteristics of the people, the physical attributes of the destination, such as the architecture, and the culture of the people (Cerovic & Batic, 2008).

Conclusion

Destination positioning and personalities are important elements of brand marketing strategies in tourism. One of the most important elements used in both strategies is the concept of image creation. Image is important in tourism, and it can determine the views that the tourists have about a particular destination. Information access has made it easy for people to learn more about a destination. Visitors do not have to depend on what the tourism providers say about a place. They can research the information on the internet. Credibility is important in the tourism industry and providers should provide honest information about their destinations. This enhances their credibility, and they will be able to attract more people. Positioning and creating personalities for different destinations cannot succeed without the full cooperation of all the stakeholders involved. Involving the community is therefore fundamental. Providers can change their positioning after reevaluation. They have to consider whether the position they have decided on is relevant, and whether it is achieving the results intended. It is not easy for the providers to change the personality of the destination. They should therefore be careful before settling on a destination. The providers have to communicate the brand position so that it can be embedded on people’s minds. Although providers can promote the destination personalities, most tourists have a preset idea of the personality they ascribe to a place. If this idea is negative, the providers have to work hard to change the tourists’ minds. The tourism industry has changed and the competition has become stiff, and therefore the providers have to change their marketing strategies.

References:

Carter, C. (2009). Positioning for tourism marketing. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/cooksoncarter/positioning-for-tourism-marketing

Cerovic, S., & Batic, S. (2008). Competitiveness and positioning in tourism. Economics and Organizations, 5 (2), 133-141

Gertner, K. R. (2011). Nation brand personality: Student’s perceptions of tourism and study abroad destinations. International Review of Business Research Papers, 7 (6), 115-127

Hosany, S., Ekinci, Y., & Uysal, M. (2007). Destination image and destination personality. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 1 (1), 62-81

Kozak, M., & Baloglu, S. (2010). Managing and marketing tourist destinations: Strategies to gain a competitive edge. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis

Last, N. (2008). Destination positioning, branding & image development. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/Annie05/destination-positioning-branding-and-image-management-presentation

Lee, J., Soutar, G., & Quitall, V. (2011). Destination personality: Cross country comparisons. Retrieved from anzmac2010.org/proceedings/pdf/anzmac10Final00497.pdf

Murphy, L., Moscardo, G., & Benckendorff, P. (2007). Using brand personality to differentiate regional tourism destinations. Journal of Travel Research, 46 (1), 5-14

Pitt, F. L., Opuku, R., Hultman, M., Abratt, R., & Spyropoulou, S. (2007). What I say about myself: communication of brand personality by African countries. Tourism Management, 28 (3), 835-844

Sirakaya_Turk, E. (2011). Research methods for leisure, recreation and tourism. United Kingdom, CABI

Vanhove, N. (2010). The economics of tourism destinations. New York, NY: Routledge

 

Leadership and Management

Question One

Conflicts happen every day. One good example of a conflict that I experienced recently is at home when I had an argument with my neighbor about his dog destroying my lawn. At first, the man did not want to talk to me. He once shut the door on my face when I told him about the dog. Additionally, he constantly boasted of his dog’s good behavior. The problem is that he is the only one who has a dog in the neighborhood. This clearly proves that it was his dog. As a result, we did not talk for a while but the issue had to be resolved.

At first, I avoided talking to him because I wanted to avoid the confrontation, but eventually I decided to talk to him so that we could come to a lasting solution. He told me that his dog likes playing around that is why he lets it loose in the neighborhood. However, he did not believe that his dog could do such a thing because the dog does not damage their lawn. Therefore, he found this hard to believe. We agreed that he would always take his dog out for walks rather than set it loose, as it would destroy other people’s lawns. Since he started walking his dog, the lawn has been clean.

In this case, I applied my style of collaboration. This is where I had to go and confront my neighbor, despite the fear of conflict, to find a solution. In this case, I had to collaborate with him and show him the reality of the situation so that we can collaborate and find a solution to stop this menace. According to the collaboration style, people often have to come together and find solutions that will suite all the parties affected.

Question Two

Many scholars have described the win-win style as the best method to use while resolving a conflict. They unilaterally agree that in this style, everybody emerges a winner. In the conflict, of a buyer and a seller, the seller can sell his or her commodities at a cheap price while maintaining the profits. In this case, the seller is not losing anything because he or she gets their profits, while the buyer is enjoying goods or services at an affordable price. This shows that the win-win style is best for conflict resolution.

However, I do not believe that there can always be a situation where there is a win-win situation for everybody in a conflict. This is because there are certain conflicts where one party has to compromise in order to allow the other party to win. For instance, when there is a conflict between the employees and the management in relations to salary, one party has to win and the other has to lose. If the company is making losses, it would be impossible to offer a salary increment to the employees, instead they would be forced to reduce them. On the other hand, if the company is making profits, they will be forced to increase the salary of their employees. Therefore, there is no situation where both parties are going to win.

Question Three

True collaboration can be described where two parties share something equally for their own benefits. Additionally, it is when people share something equally to resolve a conflict between them. A good example is emulated in the African nations where different leaders share powers after political disputes. I like collaborating very much because it solves conflicts without the need of using force. Collaboration is advantageous because it reduces violence by enhancing peace in a conflict. Additionally, it is like a win-win situation, where both parties benefits from the conflicts.

Conflict Resolution Style Assessment

Item	1	2	3	4	5
Rank	Highly agree	Neutral	Highly agree	Agree	Highly agree

 

Item	6	7	8	9	10
Rank	Slightly disagree	Totally disagree	Slightly disagree	Highly agree	Highly agree

 

Item	11	12	13	14	15
Rank	Highly agree	Slightly disagree	Agree	Agree	Highly agree

 

Item	16	17	18	19	20
Rank	Neutral	Slightly disagree	Agree	Highly agree	Agree

 

Item	21	22	23	24	25
Rank	Agree	Slightly disagree	Highly agree	Highly agree	Agree

 

Item	26	27	28	29	30
Rank	Slightly disagree	Neutral	Agree	Agree	Highly agree

 

Item	31	32	33	34	35
Rank	Agree	Slightly disagree	Totally disagree	Highly agree	Neutral

 

Item	36	37	38	39	40
Rank	Neutral	Agree	Highly agree	Slightly disagree	Agree

 

Item	41	42	43	44	45
Rank	Agree	Agree	Highly agree	agree	Slightly disagree

 

Item	46	47	48	49	50
Rank	Agree	Highly agree	Highly agree	Agree	Highly agree

 

Win/lose		Lose/leave		Compromise		Lose yield		Collaborate
Item            Rank		Item            Rank		Item            Rank		Item            Rank		Item            Rank
1	5	2	3	3	5	4	4	5	5
6	2	7	1	8	2	9	5	10	5
11	5	12	2	13	4	14	4	15	5
16	3	17	2	18	4	19	5	20	4
21	4	22	2	23	5	24	5	25	4
26	2	27	3	28	4	29	4	30	5
31	4	32	2	33	1	34	5	35	3
36	3	37	4	38	5	39	2	40	4
41	4	42	4	43	5	44	4	45	2
46	4	47	5	48	5	49	4	50	5
Total	36		28		40		42		42

 

Style	Rating
Win/lose	36
Lose/leave	28
Compromise	40
Lose/yield	42
collaborate	42

 

 

Strengths

1. I weigh all the option to find the best solution.

2. I can loose for the benefits of others. This is for the future purpose where I will win.

 

Weaknesses

1. Sometimes I let emotions affect my judgment

2. I try as much as possible to avoid conflicts living other people frustrated

 

My style of approaching problems is collaborate or loose/yield. What affects me while solving problems is, introducing emotions in conflicts. To avoid this, I keep away from conflicts leading to frustrations by the other parties. However, what I would like to do is stop bringing emotions into the conflicts and face the conflicts. This is because I will be able to make better judgments where all parties will be satisfied.

From the Top at Carnegie Hall

From The Top at the Carnegie Hall is program of performances that mainly highlights performances from the classical music period. Musical performances by violinist Gil Shaham and Alice Ivy Pemberton depict music mainly from the classical period. Their musical performance is of the third movement Allegro from Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043. This is mainly because the piece fluctuates in terms of mood. The mood changes both gradually and suddenly from the beginning to the end. In the process this creates conflicting surges of elation and depression. The musical piece depicts flexibility in terms of rhythm. Within the time of play, the audience is taken through unexpected pauses, syncopations, gradual, and fluctuations from long notes to shorter ones. These changes are varied from gradual to sudden changes (Downs, 58).

Another classical epic performance is done by Eleven-year old violinist Simone Porter from Seattle, Washington. She performs Paganini’s Variations that helped propel her to prominence. During the performance, she was accompanied by Host Christopher Riley and eighteen-year-old tuba player Ibanda Ruhumbika. The performance lasted several minutes making the violin concerto a big piece. The performance was depicted by bold gestures and virtuosic flights. The show related to a 19^th century concerto and the artist confronted the underlying challenges enthusiastically characterizing the entire performance with a shining tone, accurate intonation and impeccable technique.

The representation of the three musical movements created and impression of a more cheery concerto than it is supposed to be. The violin is played are various rates depicting a tumultuous first movement. This is later opened with a jagged motto resulting into a full orchestra that repeats itself in the punctuation and the ferocious passagework from the alluring soloists. The performance also takes the form of second oven that is mainly depicted with the opening plaintive melody from the marimba and is later heard alluded to in later stages in the upper register of the violin. It is this form that it is realized that the artist infuses her performances with her personal style (Downs, 58).

Another performance in the program was one performed by a brother and a sister. The Sitawala Duo from grapevine performed a well-executed Passacaglia; after Hendel, during the episode of top of Carnegie hall. The team comprised of double bassist, fifteen year old Kiyoe Wellington who comes from Kaneohe, Hawaii. The talent and skill seem to be hereditary knowing that her family is mainly comprised of bassists. During the performance, and in honor of the musical tradition that is inherent in the family, she plays François Rrabbath’s “Reitba” using her grandfather’s bass. She is accompanied on this particular performance by the Host Christopher O’Riley. The intimate relationship between and the artist and the violin was evident in every bar. The artists seemed to listen to each other rendering into subtle nuances.

This performance at times alludes to various forms of Roman Catholicism although this is made in very minute portions in the violin concerto. The violin concerto in various instances bristles along in a contemporary way but immediately reverts to the traditional classical form. This creates a rather comforting, Scottish like folksong or waltz. The performance is executed in a striking breadth and sheer quantity. The violin concerto can only be described as an exhilarating experience that highlights absorbing listening.

The performance also included a gorgeously performed account of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E minor. The artist’s broad tempos and the rhythmic flexibility that were utilized in designing the musical performance were vital in making the performance to have slight a touch of symphony’s romantic essence. The performance often created a drive among the audience to have a forward drive but the inherent incomings were made up for in the richness of the striking violin.

The program covered a wide emotive range. The entire performances indicated characteristic musicality, attention to detail, fanatical preparation and theatrical insight. The various artists paused before engaging in any piece to ensure they engaged fully into the mood of what was about to be performed. They displayed a masterly of acting and music performance. Using dramatic expressions, the artists delivered the rhythm in an impeccable manner. Classical music is mainly characterized by gradual and sudden changes in terms of mood and theme.

This experience, which was mainly characterized by classical performances, affected the audience moods through the creation of positive mood that randomly changes into moods of being elated, dramatic and broody. This was mostly experienced when the artist engaged in the fast notes. When the tone was changed, the audience was trans-located into a mood of melancholic nature, self-conscious, sentimental, poignant and hypnotic.

The musical experience was highly educational in terms of the underlying concert etiquette. If not observed properly, this could lead one into being a bother to the rest of the audience and the performers and being shunned. The paramount etiquette especially in classical concerts is the maintenance of silence. This is particularly in un-amplified orchestra. The audiences at such concerts expect utmost silence and disapprove of other members who make unnecessary noise other than breathing.

Unavoidable sounds such as coughing or sneezes ought to be delayed to the time there is a loud passage. If this is not possible, the sound ought to be muffled by a handkerchief. It was learnt that the trick is most effective when the handkerchief is placed at the inner elbow joint with the whole arm and pressing it against the mouth. Mobile phones and pagers ought to be either switched off or strictly kept at silent mode (Downs, 38).

The latter is often emphasized by the management before the musical concert commences. Timely arrival and settling at the seats is paramount. Eagerness in applauding is discouraged and often resented. When the performance ends, it is now becoming common for the audience to reflect in moment of silence and in some cases silent prayer before applauding.

The musical program influenced the audience in various ways.

It created an inspiring cross-cultural appreciation regarding common humanity, which is evidenced during historical music performances. The history in delved in classical music renders the audience to have a feeling of history being still relevant and active in the present. This is almost as if the ancient composers are still alive due to the accurate and precise execution of the musical plays. The audiences are therefore able to commune with the music’s original culture through the insight on the ethos and emotions that influenced the ancient composers.

The audience literary felt as if they were caught in the middle of a cross fire with different musical ideas. This is because although the performances were predominantly classical, each of the artists added their own spice into the works of art and in the process creating a shift in the audience’s perception of how classical music is supposed to be. During the live performances, the audience is also able to appreciate the passion and talent of the performers who took time and effort in selecting, learning and refining historical music.

 

Works cited

Downs, Philip. Classical Music: The Era of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, 4th vol of Norton Introduction to Music History. London: W.W. Norton & Company. 1992. Print.

Article Summary

The current corporate tax in the United States is standing at 35% according to Calmes in her article reporting on Obama’s plans to lower it to 28%. In addition, for a manufacturer who sets their maximum effective rate to 25%, they shall have preferences. In addition, Obama will enforce a minimum rate for the international companies with foreign earnings meant to discourage unethical accounting measures for shifting their profits to other countries. The aim of the plan to cut the corporate tax seeks to provide a fairer tax system that guarantees a leveled playfield for all the businesses. The system will still give the government the opportunity to continue collecting revenue with a guarantee for economic growth (Calmes 2012).

The 35% corporate tax has been recognized as among the highest in other developed countries. This has put the American companies at a less competitive position due to high taxes that they pay above other foreign companies despite utilizing all tax breaks available. From such reasons, it has been realized that many companies seek to reduce costs through taking their jobs abroad where costs are lower. However, president Obama suggested removing tax breaks for companies that take jobs abroad and increase tax breaks for companies that bring jobs to America (Calmes 2012).

Another strategy by president Obama is to reduce the tax breaks, and the revenue earned form the eliminated tax breaks would be used to create other tax breaks for companies engaged in innovations green production and clean energy companies. However, this might face opposition since some companies might still want to have tax breaks on some expenses. In a report by a congress committee, it was said that even after removing all corporate tax breaks, the corporate tax reduction would not go below 28% without increasing deficits. It has been found that there will be a difficulty reducing tax breaks that would amount to a reduction of up to 28% in the corporate tax without incurring deficits (Goldfarb 2012).

Since he entered office, the article cites that president Obama has been seeking to help the manufacturing industry, especially in the auto industry. This has become a focus for him, considering it is an election year, and focusing on the manufacturing industry especially in the Midwest would gather him support. However, concerning the tax, a challenge of selecting manufacturers who shall receive the reduced tax rates will be posed to the Obama administration. Obama’s tax reform would be focusing on reduction of effective rate for the manufacturing to maximum of 25%. The reform also focuses on promoting more research and development of better energy (Goldfarb 2012).

For Multinational Corporation, having a minimum tax rate will mean exempting their foreign income earnings from the American tax system. This will mean a “shift to territorial system of taxing offshore profits, which could exempt most of corporations’ foreign earnings,” (Calmes 2012). This move will face a lot of opposition from many officials since this will reduce revenues for the country many of the officials do not favor such change. However, there is an argument that taxing multinational corporations foreign earnings will encourage dirty accounting schemes meant to keep foreign earnings from taxation. The argument further suggests that taxing of the foreign earnings encourages the multinational companies to keep their earnings from the American market in order to avoid the tax. The point behind having a minimum tax rate for these companies is to avoid such incidents of using accounting schemes to avoid taxes so that such earnings can be invested in America (Democraticunderground.com 2012).

 

Work cited

Calmes, Jackie. “Obama Offers to Cut Corporate Tax Rate to 28%.” New York Times 22 Feb. 2012: Print.

Democraticunderground.com. Obama Offers to Cut Corporate Tax Rate to 28%. democraticunderground.com, 22 Feb. 2012. Web. 29 Feb. 2012.

Goldfarb, A. Zachary. “Obama proposes lowering corporate tax rate to 28 percent.” The Washington Post 22 Feb. 2012. Print.

Effects of recession on the Detroit auto industry

The recession that was experienced due to the financial crisis in 2008 to 2010 affected the auto industry in the U. S negatively specifically the three big automakers. The three big automakers that include General motors, Chrysler and Ford, also referred to as the ‘Detroit three’, get their name since they are the largest auto industries in United States and Canada. The recession contributed to a decline in car sales in these industries, which was facilitated by high fuel increase. Due to the recession, the prices of fuel went up, making consumers opt to buy fuel-efficient cars therefore reducing the sales of automobiles from these industries. The cars the Detroit industry sell consume high amounts of fuel in volume compared to smaller cars.

The other reason that the sales in automobiles declined was due to a price increase in purchasing raw materials. This increase caused the industries to reduce its production since they could not afford to buy raw materials in bulk like before. The recession caused people with poor and average consumer credit rating not to access loans for buying cars, which resulted to less car sales. The instability in the job market and individual consumer finances caused by recession restrained consumers from applying for loans to avoid the payments, which reduced the purchasing power of consumers. Due to low volume sales, the industries had to lay off some of its employees and lower the wages it paid to the rest to stop them from being bankrupt (Borade, 2011). The companies had to reduce the payments it was making to the laid off workers since they did not have the money to pay them.

The industries requested the government for bailouts to sustain their operation since they were making losses and they were almost bankrupt. The bailout was needed to keep the industries afloat instead of sinking, which would have resulted to an economic crisis due to the resulting layoffs. The auto industries are responsible for creating three million jobs directly or indirectly. These opportunities would have ended with the closure of these industries. The bailout money enabled the industries to increase its production by purchasing raw materials and to pay up the debts they owed. The other reason bailouts were important is that they made it possible for consumers to purchase vehicles through the auto loans provided by bailout money. This increased the purchasing power of the consumers who previously could not access loans due to their credit rating and insecure jobs. This saw an increase in volume of sales as consumers took advantage of the auto loans to purchase cars.

The other reason why a bailout was necessary is that the auto sales drop to thirty-seven percent had reduced the competitiveness of the U. S auto industry in the global market. Therefore, a bailout was needed to restore the auto industry to a competitive high-level in the global market to increase purchases both in the local and foreign buyers (Amadeo, 2012). The bailout made it possible for the auto industries to develop low energy consumption cars that would compete with the other global auto industries who were selling these cars at increased sales rates. Another reason for the bailout was that the stock market price for the shares of auto companies had significantly gone down because of a decline in sales and rumors of bankruptcy. This was affecting the stock market negatively and making it unstable hence the bailout was needed to stabilize the stock prices that would result to a more stable stock market.

The auto industry that was greatly affected by the recession in 2008 is growing its volume sale therefore increasing its income. In the last two years, the auto industry has seen a rebound as the consumers emerge from the recession and are able to purchase cars. Detroit companies have made incredible profits more than they had in the past ten years after the bailout by the government. However, the demand for their cars has increased so much that the companies are faced with a shortage of workers with analysts predicting that there will be a hiring boom soon to meet the demand (Associated press, 2012). The companies, which laid off their workers due to a decline in production, will now be hiring more employees to meet the ninety percent production target estimated this year. In addition, the carmakers are increasing the number of shifts to increase the production of auto cars. This is in contrast to the production, which was thirty-seven percent during recession before the bailout.

The rebound has increased the number of employees being hired in automakers who manufacture parts that are assembled into each car. The rebound has led to an increase in production of raw materials and increased job opportunities. However, the rebound is causing fear that due to the high demand, the raw materials and parts may experience a shortage, which will lead to increase in their price. This increase and shortage of raw materials and parts can hurt the profits and production of the company in a negatively way though the companies are taking measure against these concerns. The rebound has also seen the companies add jobs in other states where they have offices benefiting the residents of those areas. In addition, foreign carmakers now prefer to produce their cars in America due to the increase in sales. Hence, they are increasing their staff to increase production, which gives the American citizens more job opportunity.

 

 

 

Work cited

Amadeo, Kimberly. The Auto Industry Bailout. U. S Economy, February 16 2012. Web. February 28, 2012.

Associated Press. Detroit carmakers race to keep up with demand as experts predict another hiring boom in 2012. dailymail.co.uk, 28 February 2012. Web. February 28, 2012.

Borade, Gaynor. US Economic Crisis: Impact on Automobile Industry. Buzzle.com, September 23 2011. Web. February 28, 2012.

South Korea

Part 1

South Korea by Lee and Choe

The article on the New York Times analyzes the South Korean economic position on the globe. The South Korean economy has started resuming to being one of the largest economies in Asia after the 2008 recession that hit most economies. As a concern to the global community, Lee Myung-bak who is the president of the country agreed to engage in talks that would see the close down of the nuclear programs in North Korea.

North Korea is the most affected country by the wealth and economic status of the country. It has allowed WHO to continue distributing medical aid to the North. In the year 2009, South Korea made a donation worth $13 million to WHO, which was meant to aid in sending of medical supplies and medicine to North Korea. However, this donation was discontinued when the warship of the South Koreans was sunk in March 2010. The country has also been engaged in the significant economic decisions made by the developed countries.

South Korea by Miller

Miller takes the reader through the culture, language, geographical locations and the people of South Korea. Unlike most colonized countries, South Korea did not greatly adopt the Japanese language. On the contrary, they continued with the Korean language, which is their official language and the language spoken in North Korea. In other words, all Koreans make up one ethnic family, which speaks one ethnic language. Miller states that their writing and speaking of one language has been crucial in the making of the strong nationality they posses. The Korean language is spoken by more than 5.5 million Koreans living in the Diaspora and 65 million people living on the outlying islands of peninsula and peninsula. The Koreans were not pleased by their colonial master Japan so they failed to take up their language and most of their cultural practices. They are still angry at Japan to date.

Understanding South Korean Economic Growth through the eyes of Millitarism, Sex Work and Migrant Labor

Lee goes through the people, especially the women of South Korea, went through in order to maintain the economic activities taking place during the colonial days and even after that. Although there were more farming activities in the colonial days, the main source of economic growth in South Korea was manufacturing. The Koreans were used as a source of free labor by the Japanese and the women worked as sex workers for the Japanese soldiers.

Today, manufacturing is still the main source of economic growth. The country highly engages in computer devises, fabrics and clothing, telecommunication, heavy industrial products, just to mention but a few. In fact, the country is one of the major producers of steel since the 1970s. Some of these manufacturing skills were gotten from the Japanese, who are mainly known for their knowledge in technology and automobiles.

Background Note: South Korea by the U.S

This site gives general facts about South Korea. In economic matters, the country’s purchasing power parity by the year 2010 was $1.459 trillion. The natural resources in the country include hydropower potential, lead, molybdenum, graphite, tungsten and coal, just to mention but a few. The agricultural products include fish, eggs, milk, chickens, pigs, cattle, fruit, vegetables, barley, root crops and rice, amongst others.

In the year 2009, the exports amounted to $363.5 billion while the imports added up to $323.1 billion. The country’s major export markets include Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, U.S and China. It major imports markets include Australia, Saudi Arabia, U.S., Japan and China. This means that the country has a good trading relationship with its colony. However, the government that both countries have not come into full relationship as the colony still has bitter feelings towards the colonial master.

Cultural Identity and Cultural Policy in South Korea

The South Koreans, the North Koreans, Japanese, Chinese amongst other Asian people have similar looks. This tends to make many people assume that they have similar cultures. However, this is a fallacy. The South Koreans especially, have their own culture, language and uniqueness in the way they write. Their cultural aspects have also been emphasized by their cultural policies.

Yim gives the relationship between the cultural aspects and the cultural policies. The policies enable the country to develop it own culture in order to put a shield fro the outside cultures, especially the western cultures, which tend to corrode the existing one thus making it insignificant or undefined. The Japanese culture had no major impact on the South Korean culture. As earlier noted, this was mainly due to the hatred the Koreans had towards the Japanese mistreatment of them.

1. Do you think the people will completely forgive your colonial master at some point if the message of reconciliation and peace is greatly spread?
2. What positive aspects of culture and practices were adopted from the colonizing country?
3. Is there anybody you know who went through the colonizing period? How are their reactions and perceptions towards your country and the colonizing country?

 

Part 2

I started by asking my interviewee to give me her names. She told me that her names were YewonSim. In order to know more about her, I asked her where her the name of her home country and the specific city or town she came from. She told me that she was came from South Korea and lived in Seoul as that was her university’s location. However, her home town is known as Daegu. I further asked her to tell me her age and whether she had any brothers and sisters. She told me that she was twenty-two years old and she had one brother and a sister.

In order to know more about her education and her reasons for studying, I asked her to tell the reason why she decided to study abroad. I specifically wanted to know why she decided to move to the United States. She told me that she wanted to be television drama director. She further told me that T.V drama was the world best. She wants to know the way of thinking of the American young people and the American young culture.

When asked about her reasons for choosing the United States as her place of study, she answered that her major is Media and it was started in the United States. When she entered the university, she knew that she wanted to do her studies in the United States. In order to know more, I asked her to tell me the year she was expecting to graduate and to confirm her major if I applied. She answered that she was expecting to graduate this August with a major in Media.

In order to get the views of a non-American about Americans’ reaction to non-Americans, I asked her to tell me about the reactions of the Americans when they meet her and know that she is from South Korea. She answer that the Americans start by asking her country of origin. When they know that it is Korea, they continue to ask about the exact part of Korea, which she has come from. She then answers that it is South Korea, where their faces tend to relax.

I asked her whether she knew about the words “colonized or dependency”. She answered that she knew about the word and then proceeded to tell me its meaning. She explained that the word refers to a country that holds or controls the economic and political power over another country.  I further asked her whether she knew that Japan was once the colonial master of South Korea. She told me that she knew about it. I further asked her to explain to me further. She told me that Korea was a dependency of Japan from 1910 to 1945, which was a total of thirty-six years. Korea then gained its independence in August 15, 1945. She told me that she has learnt about Korean history since the time she was in elementary school. She knows a lot about Korean’s colonization period.

I asked her to tell me about her native language and any other native languages if there were any. I also asked her whether she was capable of speaking it. She told me that the native language in Korea was the Korean language. The other language present was the English language. In order to know more, I asked her of how she came to know about the English language. She told me that she started learning it since she was in elementary school. She also enrolled in English tutoring classes later in life. In order to make the interview more interesting, I asked her to tell me the language she dreamt in before coming to the United States. She told me that she used to dram in Korean language.

In order to gauge her change of thoughts, I asked her to tell me about the language she dreams and think in now that she is in the United States. She told me that she still thinks and dreams in the Korean language although she heard that some people start dreaming in the English language if they study English for too long. In order to know more about her language, I asked her whether there were words in the Korean language, which she could not easily find substitute English words. I also asked whether there were English words that she could not find substitute Korean words. She gave me an example of “Bbi-jjeut-dda”. This means, “mad” but it is not the exact synonym. The English expression known as “Oh my god” does not have an equal in the Korean language.

I further asked her to tell me how the two languages affected her perception of the world. I asked her to tell me of how it felt speaking either of the languages and whether she sometimes substituted one language with the other. She told me that a lot of content was written in the English language. Knowing and writing English made one to know a lot of information. She gave an example of the “TED” video clip where one gets to learn a lot of information through the professors and the lecturers from the different universities. She also told me that it is best for one to learn their mother tongue. This makes it easier for one to learn other languages.

I asked her a few questions relating to how it felt living in former colony South Korea. I asked her whether she had ever traveled to Japan. She answered that she had. I further asked whether Japan influenced the Koreans’ lives. She answered that it does. She told me that since Japan was Korean’s colonial master, some cultures practiced today and some laws followed today were based on the Japanese culture and legal system. I further asked her how she viewed the South Korea to be different from Japan. She told me that the Koreans started afresh after they got their independence. However, since Korea is situated near China and Japan, the three countries have influenced each other.

I asked her to give me reasons that she thought made Korea to be a colony of Japan. I further told her to give me the effects of Japan’s colonization on South Korean’s economic power. She told me that Japan accepted the western culture (of colonizing other countries) in the 19^th century. Since Korea was near Japan, Japan made up a plan to colonize it. For thirty-six years, South Korea endured the cruelty of the Japanese people. Since the Koreans did not like the Japanese culture and their way of life, the Japanese had a herd time controlling the Koreans. This led the Japanese to use the cruel ways the way they did. These bad effects are still felt by the Koreans to date. In winding up the interview, I asked to tell me about her favorite movie. She told me that it is known as “The Memory of Killing”. I further asked her to name her favorite popular song. She told me that it is known as “Old Love”. She also told me that her favorite book is known as “Mountain TaeBaeck”.

Conclusion

The modernization theory enables one to understand how the people in the diverse countries came to have their cultures and how the colonial masters influenced their ways of life. In the above example, the Japanese people influenced the South Koreans’ culture in a few ways although the Koreans refused to incorporate the Japanese language in their lives. They were bitter towards the cruel way in which they were treated. Like in other colonies, the Japanese people influenced the legal system of the Koreans. Most colonies adopt the legal system of the colonizing country.

Literature and the arts are very influential on the culture of the targeted people. They help the people to understand what went on during the colonial days, especially the young generations who were not there. Some literature works and arts may help the audience to heal the wounds (both physical and psychological) that they got during the colonial days while other works increase the pain as they serve as a constant reminder of it. The reminders increase the anger and the hatred towards the colonial master as in the case of South Korea and Japan thus there is no free relationship between the two.

In the case of my interviewee, the movie was a reminder of the pains and the cruelty of the colonial days. Such a movie will only increase the pain in her and thus increase the resentment she has towards Japan. However, her favorite song soothed her mind as it reminded her of the old love. Since the people are fond of entertainment, they tend to follow or consider the musicians’ messages and the other messages conveyed by the musicians.

Through music and the media, America is portrayed as a very free country without any culture. It is also viewed as a country whose youths have been spoilt by drug addictions, sex and irresponsibility. With the Hip-hop songs so popular, it is portrayed a country full of people who do not care. In other types of literature, it portrayed as a very rich country offering many opportunities of fulfilling the American dream. This is what the people expect when they visit the country.

People are shaped by their environment and their encounters. If I were born in Korea, I would share the same culture, practices, language and feelings of the South Korean people. I would speak the language. There is a great probability that I would not speak the English or proper English depending on my background since it not a compulsory language. I would want to come to the United States since it is a popular country, which is portrayed to be full of opportunities.

Since I would be from South Korea, many of my job opportunities would be based in
South Korea. However, I would consider other countries such as the United States, Japan and the European countries. I do not keep grudges and anger for a long time and that is why Japan is one of my options. Japan trades with South Korea at many levels so it does not have such a sour relationship. It also has a very good economy.

 

 

 

References

Lee, J. K. (2011). Understanding South Korean Economic Growth through the eyes of Millitarism, Sex Work and Migrant Labor. Journal of International Women’s Studies, Vol. 12 (4): 167-169.

Lee, S. H. & Choe, S.H. (2012). South Korea. New York Times, February 7. Retrieved From http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/southkorea/index.html

Miller, J.A (2010). South Korea. Minneapolis, MN: Learner Publishing Group.

U.S Department of State (2011). Background Note: South Korea. Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2800.htm

Yim, H. (2002). Cultural Identity and Cultural Policy in South Korea. The International Journal of Cultural Policy, Vol. 8 (1): 37-48.

LOTO Quiz

Question one

Certain employees should be authorized in a facility. LOTO certified employees have the responsibility and authority of recognizing working conditions that pertain to LOTO. They are also charged with the responsibility of making assessments of energy sources regarded as hazardous using correct materials and procedures in implementing LOTO, as well as maintaining custody on the keys. The reason why these employees should be authorized is because they have been dully tested and proved qualified to apply LOTO. Locking and tagging equipment and machinery to perform maintenance and servicing requires specified expertise. In addition, an authorized employee is the only individual with the mandate of performing lock out and tagout procedures as well as removing or attaching tags and locks. No other employee can perform this responsibility.

Question two

Exceptions to lock out and tag out procedures are inferred when work is done in measures that require a provision for protection on guards, personal equipment, as well as measures that prevent the worker from being exposed to risk or hazard. These exceptions apply to equipment that relates to cord and plug types. In this case, the authorized employee performing the maintenance or servicing has full control over the power and plug cord and he can protect himself from all hazardous energy sources by disconnecting the plug. This exception is facilitated by absolute control where the employee involved is the only person performing the service or maintenance task.

The second exception to lock out and tag out procedures revolves around the minor servicing exception. This exception states that minor tool adjustments and changes together with other maintenance activities that take place in the course of normal operations in production, are not covered by the lock out and tag out procedures if they are repetitive, integral and routine to the use of production equipment. This is provided as long as the maintenance or servicing task is undertaken through alternative measures conscious of effective protection.

Question three

In developing and documenting LOTO procedures, I would have to consider that LOTO procedures that look to prevent injury to workers dealing with natural gas, electricity, and heavy machinery. First I would start by establishing regulations. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provides requirements that any business that deals with maintaining and servicing equipment and machinery should have policies and guidelines that control lockout and tag out procedures. It is my understanding that these regulations should be written and measures to educate the employees on the policies should be undertaken. The goal of formulating prescribed policies and regulations is to prevent injury or death. These incidences can occur when an employee is working on particular equipment or machinery that is purposely or inadvertently turned on in the process.

The other consideration I would undertake when developing and documenting LOTO procedures is making policy provisions. I would therefore endeavor in writing LOTO policies that identify the specified and recommended tools and equipment to be used when performing maintenance and repair. This policy should have definitions for all terms and detail all the employees on their specified job positions that apply to the policy. For example, regarding particular machinery, it should provide which lock and tag will be used. The tag should allow for identification of the employee who set the lock. The tag should also specify the lockout’s purpose, either repair or maintenance. In addition the policy provisions should have an outline of the lock out and tag out steps. These outlines will provide guidelines such as which valves and switches the employee should turn, where to place the lock, who the employee should notify before commencing the procedure. If a lock has been used, its location has to be identified.  Finally, the policy should outline the steps that should be undertaken when removing the lock and machine restarting. This procedure should have an assigned qualified supervisor to oversee the entire exercise.

The final part of the lock out and tag out procedure development and documentation should include training measures. Every employee in the procedure should be subjected to adequate LOTO training procedures. The training can involve handing the employees copies of the policy provision. In addition, a hand on demonstration as well as a classroom discussion of the training procedure should be implemented. The place and time of training should be documented together with the outcome.

Question four

When performing the annual evaluation of LOTO program, I would include the following questions. Has the management changed the machinery, equipment, job assignments, or processes? If so, has the management retained the employees, reshuffled them or hired new ones? Do the program’s locks possess any unique identification, keyed uniquely, and only used for LOTO purposes? Does the lock attached to particular equipment or machinery relate to the employee servicing it? Is there any written documentation of machine and equipment specific procedures? Are the employees aware of the location of the LOTO procedures? Does the authorized employee notify the affected employees in the working vicinity before proceeding on with the LOTO procedure? Are the authorized employees able to identify associated hazards of the LOTO procedures as well as all the hazardous energy sources? Do the employees follow the specified guidelines when de-energizing the equipment or machinery? And finally, after the authorized employee finishes the LOTO procedure on the machinery in question, does he inform the concerned parties that he has removed the LOTO devices.

LOTO DEFINITIONS

Affected employee: This refers to the employee mandated with the task of using equipment or machinery being serviced under LOTO procedures. It may also mean the employee who is performing other duties around the LOTO area.

Authorized employee: this is the employee who tags or locks the equipment or machinery being serviced. He or she is also charged with the responsibility of inspecting, servicing, maintaining, inspecting etc.

Other employees: Any employee who is in the area where procedures of energy control are being undertaken. This may include building occupants such as students, faculty and contractors.

Energized: Equipment or machinery are said to be energized if they have any connection to an energy source are they contain stored or residual energy.

Energy Control Device: This refers to a mechanical device that is used to prevent the release or transmission of energy. It can include a manual circuit breaker, a line block, or any device that can be used to isolate or block energy.

Lockout: This term refers to the action of placing a lockout device on the device isolating the energy regarding a particular procedure. This ensures that the equipment being serviced and the energy isolated device are not tampered with until the device is removed.

Tag out: This involves the placing the tag out device on the device isolating the energy regarding a specified procedure. This is to indicate the equipment and energy isolating device are not to be tampered with until the LOTO procedure is finished.

Residual Pressure: This refers to energy retained in a machine, system or unit when the supply line has been disconnected. If not properly dissipated, electric fields and power capacitors are good examples of devices that can store residual power.

Energy Source: this refers to any source of mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, thermal, chemical, or any other energy.

 

Ecological Movement

The uncontrolled and systematic pollution of the environment, due to unchecked man pursuit to exploit natural resources, has resulted to the emergence of the philosophy and ideology of environmentalism. Environmentalism can be defined as a social movement that aims to protect the environment from adverse human induced effects through conservation and pollution abatement measures. One of the new environmental social movements to emerge championing environmental protection issues is the ecology movement. The movement was born in the late 1960’s by Rachel Carlos (Miller, 2002). This report studies the emergence of the movement as a social movement, the philosophy behind it and the theories relevant to it.

Ecological movement as a social movement, which gears to influence the political and social-economic system through consumer education, activism, lobbying and demonstrations aimed at preservation and protection of the ecosystems. Its agenda has been changing depending on the global situation. Initially in the sixties and seventies, it was involved in the push for disarmament of all nuclear weapons, acid rain in the 1980’s, deforestation and ozone layer depletion in the 1990’s and of recent climate change and global warming (Miller, 2002). In addition, they address global concerns like species extinction and they support like-minded environmental groups. Of recent, it has diversified its ways of championing its cause. There is a political wing headed by the green parties/movement, which applies radical measures to preserve the environment.

The history of modern environmental movements can be traced back in the nineteenth century. However, mass movements with wider followings can be traced after the Second World War. During this period two movements existed; the preservationist who pushed for land and nature to be separated and the conservationist demanded for the management of natural resources for the overall benefit of humanity (Miller, 2002). The Stockholm conference (United Nations Conference on the Environment) in 1972 marked the first ever-international discussions on global environment. The Stockholm declarations and the Rio declarations, twenty years later, formed the basis of the current international environmental law through which the movements base their authority (Buttel, 2004).

The emergence of environmentalism as a social movement gave birth to environmental sociology aimed at introducing biophysical environment into conventional sociology, by looking into the root causes of environmental issues. Hence, most theories proceed to analyze the social forces behind environmental degradation, which it is viewed to be an intrinsic repercussion of the 20^th century industrial revolution. Some of these key theories include Schnaiberg theory of treadmill of production, the urban growth machine postulated by Logon and Molotch, Catton and Dunlap theory on age of exurban and dominant social paradigm, Murphy’s theory of the irrationality of capitalist –industrial rationality and Schwartz’s theory on moral activation. (Buttel, 2004).

The moral norm-activation theory by Schwartz’s (1977) best gives a sociological analysis of the ecological movement. It argues that most environmental movements depend on degree of agreeability of given personal traits between the members, belief that the issues addressed are under threat and the belief that actions commenced by the party will restore order. This theory stresses on personal responsibility to ensure one’s capacity to avoid threats or protect the endangered organisms. (Buttel, 2004). This is evident by the members of

The ecological movement depends on public opinion to remain vibrant and overcome inertia. Research on new social movements indicates that the behavior and attitudes of the public determine the success of social movements. The value-belief-norm (VBN) theory explains the role of public support on environmental movements by applying the principles of environmentalism and social psychology. VBN theory defines activists as those movement members committed to the cause with the sole aim of influencing public policy (Buttel, 2004). However, the theory argues that environmental activism does not automatically lead to policy changes, hence it advocates for modern environmental strategies that are more pragmatic and realistic.

Social movements depend on the total commitment by the members to participate in its key duties of activism. However, less intense commitment by members is necessary as it reduces antagonism with the authorities (Miller, 2002). This has been achieved by the ecological movement by forming branches like green peace to use international diplomacy to address its issues. Some of these low commitment active membership initiatives include influencing public opinion by writing columns in print media and organizing fund raisings for the movements.

The ecological movement has achieved relative success in consumer awareness and education on important matters as global warming and climate change. However, there is a growing belief the movement is facing a crisis on lack of direction. The seem not to acknowledge the role of social problems in ecological issues. They only stress on economic aspects to be the main culprit in environmental degradation. The key issues of population, level of education and poverty rates are ignored limiting the comprehensive understanding of the issues the address.

In summary, the success of the ecological movement depends on commitment by its members and an efficient organization structure that communicates its “feelings” to the public. Since the movement depends on appeal to personal norms to recruit members, thus it should not profess a radical stand in its programs in the process locking out new members.

References

Buttel, F. (May 01, 2004). Environmental sociology and the explanation of environmental reform. Sage Urban Studies Abstracts, 32, 2.)

Miller, Jeffrey G. (2002). A Generational History of Environmental Law and Its Grand Themes: A Near Decade of Garrison Lectures. DigitalCommons@Pace.