...Case Studies: Enriching Jobs Standard Decoy Job Design, Employee Participation, and Alternative Work Arrangements Standard Decoy in Witchell, Maine, has been making traditional wooden hunting decoys since 1927. Cyrus Witchell began the business by carving a couple of ducks a day by hand. Demand and competition have long since driven the company to use modern machinery and assembly-line techniques, and they now turn out two hundred ducks daily even on the slowest days. When Stewart Alcorn, Cyrus Witchell’s grandson, took over the business, he knew things needed to change. Output hadn’t fallen, and the company was surviving financially despite competition from what he called "plastic ducks" from the Far East. But Alcorn noticed that productivity per worker had stayed the same for ten years, even during the period since the company had bought the latest equipment. While touring the plant, he noticed many employees yawning, and he found himself doing the same. No one quit. No one complained. They all gave him a smile when he walked by. But no one seemed excited with the work. Alcorn decided to take a survey. He appointed a respected worker at each step in the production process to ask each of his or her coworker’s questions and to fill in the response sheets. One conclusion emerged from the survey: The "fine-tuners," as Alcorn thought of them, were the most content. That is, those who used fine tools and brushes to get the ducks’ heads, expressions, and feathers just...
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...Standard Decoy in Witchell, has been making traditional wooden hunting decoys since 1927. Cyrus Witchell began the business by carving a couple of ducks a day by hand. Demand and competition have long since driven the company to use modern machinery and assembly-line techniques, and they now turn out two hundred ducks daily even on the slowest days. When Steward Alcorn, Cyrus Witchell’s grandson, took over the business, he knew things needed to change. Output had not fallen, and the company was surviving financially despite competition from what he called “plastic ducks” from the Far East. But Alcorn noticed that the productivity per worker had stayed the same for ten years, even during the period since the company had bought the latest equipment. While touring the plant, he noticed many employees yawning, and he found himself doing the same. No one quit. No one complained, They all gave him a smile when he walked by. But no one seemed excited with the work. Alcorn decided to undertake a survey. He appointed a respected worker at each step in the production process to ask each of his or her co-workers questions and to fill in response sheets. One conclusion emerged from the survey : The “fine-tuners”, as Alcorn thought of them, were the most content ones. That is, those who used fine tools and brushes to get the ducks’ heads, expressions, and feathers just right seemed to enjoy their work most. In contrast, the people who planed and cut the wood into blocks, rough...
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...Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being[clarify]. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind and body, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain (as in "good health" or "healthy").[1] The World Health Organization (WHO) defined health in its broader sense in 1946 as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."[2][3] Although this definition has been subject to controversy, in particular as lacking operational value and because of the problem created by use of the word "complete," it remains the most enduring.[4][5] Other definitions have been proposed, among which a recent definition that correlates health and personal satisfaction.[6][7] Classification systems such as the WHO Family of International Classifications, including the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), are commonly used to define and measure the components of health. Systematic activities to prevent or cure health problems and promote good health in humans are undertaken by health care providers. Applications with regard to animal health are covered by the veterinary sciences. The term "healthy" is also widely used in the context of many types of non-living organizations and their impacts for the benefit of humans, such as in the sense of healthy communities, healthy cities or healthy environments...
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...country a nation? What is a nation? In this essay, i will attempt to gain an understanding of what a nation is, and why Canada is in fact a nation, not merely because we meet certain criteria, but because we, as Canadians, believe it is so. To define the term “nation” is quite a challenging task. The Student’s Oxford Canadian Dictionary defines a nation as, “a community of people forming a state or inhabiting a territory”. Compared to other resources, this is fairly a simple one. The same dictionary defines a state as “an organized political community under one government” By these definitions, Canada clearly classifies as a nation. Canada is without a doubt, a nation because the country has satisfied the dictionary’s requirement. Still, not all definitions are so clear. One of the most commonly accepted definitions of a nation is one that is ripe with complex and challenging requirements. These definitions often involve a group of people who share a common culture, ethnic origin and language, and they must either possess or be actively seeking an independent government. Even at a quick glance, we can see that Canada does not meet all of these...
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...URI 25 September 2013 Oedipus Tragic Hero Webster’s dictionary defines a hero as a person, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. Although this definition accurately describes Oedipus’ character, tragic hero is more of an apt description. A tragic hero is defined usually by the following: One, A man of noble stature. Two, A selfless man who is not afraid to come under scrutiny. Three, The hero honorably receives the punishment given to him. From the beginning to end of the play Oedipus The King, by Sophocles, Oedipus truly defines himself as a hero, a tragic hero. Oedipus is first introduced as the sole ruler of Thebes. Kings/Dictators are usually looked down upon due to their brash and selfish behavior, but Oedipus is the opposite. A priest say, “Therefore, O mighty power, we turn to you: find us our safety, find us a remedy, whether by counsel of the gods or of men. A king of wisdom tested in the past can act in a time of troubles, and act well. Noblest of men, restore life to your city! “(Sophocles 2) when Oedipus makes a declaration to save the city of Thebes from the ongoing plague. The priest calls him the “Noblest of men” in marvel, at the fact, a man of such high stature and importance takes the time to address the concerns of his people. The words used to describe Oedipus such as liberator, noblest of men, boldness, and mighty power show that the people of Thebes rely on and look to Oedipus for safety...
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...Definitions A definition is a statement that gives the meaning of a concept. For simple and relatively concrete concepts such as ‘Table’ we can understand them without definitions by simply seeing them. But most concepts are abstract and complex and to understand them definitions are important tool of knowledge. A definition does the following functions: a. It clarifies the boundaries of a concept. b. It clarifies the relationships among concepts. c. It clarifies the referents of the concepts. Vagueness and Ambiguity A term is ‘vague’ means it is hazy obscure and imprecise for example the words love, happiness, rich or poor are vague. We can rarely tell whether they apply to a given situation or not. How rich one has to be in order to be called rich? An ‘ambiguous expression’ is one that can be interpreted as having more than one clearly distinct meaning in a given context for example: words such as proper, light, critical, bank can be used ambiguously. If one were to describe an action as proper, does this mean proper in moral sense or proper in the sense of being socially acceptable? The difference between ambiguity and vagueness is that vague terminology allows for a relatively continuous range of interpretations, where as ambiguous terminology allows for multiple discrete interpretations. A vague expression creates a blur of meaning where as ambiguous expression mixes up otherwise clear meanings. Definitions and their purposes Definition is a group...
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...“By definition a miracle can never happen.” Discuss. The known definition of a miracle is “an extraordinary and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore attributed to a divine agency.” However, Peter Vardy in The Puzzle of God gave four different definitions provided by many different scholars, including Aquinas and Hume, with Hume believing they are impossible but cannot be disproved compared to Aquinas believing they are completely possible even within the system of natural activity. What a miracle is can be debated forever due to the many different interpretations of who and why they come about, with psychologists such as Freud arguing they are just an illusion and Wiles arguing that miracles do exist but not as a result of God’s will. The real question is whether the laws of nature can ever be broken and to that affect – do miracles define themselves into non-existence? The definition of a miracle provided by Hume is “a transgression of the laws of nature brought about by the volition of a deity.” He believes that miracles are simply an interposition by some invisible agent, but he however goes on to challenge this definition with his theoretical case miracles which argued that the laws of nature we experience are constant and therefore cannot be changed, In response to this, as the laws of nature cannot be defied, (if they could be broken they would not be laws), by Hume’s definition, miracles can never happen, as laws of nature...
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...My Research Map is divided into the following five segments. ← Phase 1: Literature Review – July to September 2010 The literature review will focus on the Supply Chain business segment in a global sense. My objective is to benchmark industries with respect to the data shared between business partners and business to business transactions. The Food industry is not known as the leader in Customer – Vendor data sharing, so my research will first seek to define the leading industry and then define what characteristics separate the leaders. The secondary research will result in the following outputs. • Journal article summaries, with citations, of relevant information • Book chapters or segments that establish an academic foundations for the B to B interactions including relevant history and future expectations • A repository of my findings to share with my cohort 1. Research the current world class state-of-the-art in customer service. a. Define the world class quality reporting (WCQR) and service currently available i. By Industry segment ii. Include Depth of disclosure, delivery timing, iii. Business to Business commitment to achieve WCQR iv. Define WCQR Customer satisfaction and service levels v. Find, interview and evaluate the best companies, as possible ← Phase 2: Primary Data Collection – September to October 2010 Primary research will include Farmland Foods stakeholders and key Customer’s chosen to...
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...Popular Culture Culture is defined as the behaviors and belief characteristics that define a particular social, economical, or ethnical group. While on the other popular culture is considered a working definition in that even though there is technical definition is constantly being redefined and fine tuned. Popular culture encompasses the most immediate and contemporary elements of a social, economical or ethical group. The most common definition of popular culture is a representation of a common ground of cultural activities or commercial products that cut across economic, social and educational barriers. A major trend that many are seeing more and more is the use of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The sites have allowed people to connect all over the world. Facebook has enabled the people to reconnect with one another after not seeing each other for years or even to find new friends. Twitter has allowed the masses of people to follow their favorite celebrities as they go about their lives. The population not only in America, but around the world is obsessed with celebrities. These social networking sites, especially Twitter, have allowed the people to see their celebrities on a more regular basis rather than just on the news or magazines. The people of the world have also continued their love of reality shows. Whether the shows feature real people or celebrities, the American population is glued to...
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...Outline and evaluate definitions of abnormality The first definition of abnormality is deviation from the social norm. This means that the person is not conforming to the expected and accepted patterns of behaviour in society. There are two types of social norms which can be broken by ‘not normal’ patterns of behaviour, Implicit and Explicit. Implicit rules are those which are implied, for example using cutlery to eat a roast dinner. Whilst there is no law stating that this must be done, it would be deemed unusual by other members of society. The other rule, explicit, refers to stated rules, for example the law. One example of an individual breaking an explicit rule would be committing Murder. There are however several issues with using deviation from social norm to determine abnormality. The first being cultural relativism, meaning social norms vary between cultures. For example in many African-American tribes, hearing the voices of the recently deceased is seen as a blessing. In the west, it is diagnosed as schizophrenia. Further to this, the definition does not allow for eccentric behaviour, which does not necessarily mean a person is mentally ill, ie. A rugby streaker may not be abnormal, but may just seek attention. A final drawback to this approach is that it does not define the difference between a criminal and a person with a mental health issue. A burglar, for example, may simply have a criminal mind but not be abnormal. The second definition of abnormality is the...
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...many would mistakenly define the two as the same and synonymous especially in the layman’s perception. While it is indeed true that the two are related, one must understand that leadership is cascaded differently with management in terms of definition, characteristics and mode of operation. Sometimes, many would compel the adage “you can be a good leader but you can’t be a good manager” to be true. But superseding that argument, one can realize that the two concepts, even are different with each other, can be navigated successfully in the same thought given with the right knowledge about them. Nowadays, it is essential for numerous groups, organizations, and companies to be ran by effective leaders and effective managers for successful operation. In that context, we can pinpoint already the similarities between the two concepts (i.e. authority, influence, task delegation). But again, their differences would immediately surface (i.e. leadership is considered more visionary and influential; management is more task-oriented). Leadership and management are defined differently and fundamentally; yet, understanding the two can make one individual hone the two skills efficiently and effectively. This paper addresses the fundamental definitions of management and leadership that would separate them from each other; and characteristics present or consistent in management and leadership. Nonetheless, the paper won’t delve in to the scrutiny if which of the two concepts is ideal or advantageous...
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...platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn. If so, what are the implications for life as we know it? Will we be happier? Humans are social beings, ever since we are born links are created, first with our family then with other people close to us, some of them start to become important to us and with maturity friendship starts to arise. Nowadays social interaction became even bigger with globalization, communication became more immediate, but yet more superficial. As a result, trying to define the word friend became a much more complex task than it was years earlier. According to the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle the definition of friend is "A single soul dwelling in two bodies." Aristotle wrote widely about the conception and importance of true friendship as a determinant of meaningful living. However his definition of friend is definitely not the one we are having these days through social media, the concept of personal and face to face interactions seems to be less important as time goes by and social media takes over. Social media plays a big role in our daily life; we keep in touch with our loved ones and get to know about what others are doing “enhancing” our social lives. However, this make us think about how real and meaningful is our social life on the web. The people we pretend to be on social media is not the ones we are on real life, this being one of the major issue with the modern social relationships we develop these days. When communication...
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...Euthyphro In this essay I will explain the concept of the holiness emerges and why it takes a prominent position in the conversation between Socrates and Euthyphro. I will also explain the three definitions that Euthyphro uses in his response to Socrates and then present Socrates’s refutation of each of Euthyphro definitions. Also this essay will test my ability to develop my own argument as to what I think Socrates’s goal is in this dialogue. How do you know that is his goal? What features of the dialogue align his goals? I will also give own definition of piety/holiness and then take on the role of Socrates and respond to my own definition as I think he would. Plato conversation set close to the king Archon court were Socrates and Euthrophy cross words. The conversation surround Socrates trying to understand the concept of how gods see piety and impious in mankind. The debate between Socrates and Euthrophy is that Socrates wants a new form of definition for pious and impious needs to man needs to be judge by man not from god’s justice. The concept of holiness explain how to be devout religiously not the act of being love. The conversation emphasize the true meaning of piety and impiety, and important conversation between Socrates and Euthrophy took place because Socrates does not believe in tales mythology and Socrates would like a more reasonable answer to all his questions. At the end of the conversation both Socrates and Euthrypho concluded that holiness as something...
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...look at organisation which provide broad frameworks to guide our thinking and research. In this essay paper, an effort has been made in discussing how the three perspectives assist us in achieving more comprehensive understanding of complex organisation phenomena- culture within organisation.Organization culture has been defined very differently in the literature. All definition agrees that organizational culture has something to do with the people in the organization, their relations with each other and their thoughts. Some academics stress the uniqueness of each organization’s culture. Organizational culture is a popular but also a very complex concept that has been identified as an influential factor affecting the successes and failures of organizations. Culture is a very versatile concept, and there are many controversies in both defining and applying it. Therefore, this paper reviews different perspection of organizational culture. (Hatch 2006). Modernists are objectivists who focus on reality of knowledge which is build based upon the conceptualization and the theorization. There is always lucid definitions on how thing occur, often through the use of data that are collected from tools of measurement, quantitative data. For example, a company earns profits based on the CEO’s ability...
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...------------------------------------------------- Performance based services CON 280 CON 280 Defining Performance Based Services The Federal Acquisition Regulation defines performance-based acquisition as “the means an acquisition structured around the results to be achieved as opposed to the manner by which the work is to be performed.” (FAR 2.1) Specifically performance-based services involve strategies, approaches and various techniques that assist with defining a service requirement based on performance objectives. There are specific characteristics that must exist in order for a requirement to be considered a performance-based acquisition and each characteristic influences and shapes the others. One of the most important characteristics necessary for a performance-based service acquisition is the performance work statement. The performance work statement, commonly known to acquisition professionals as the PWS is defined as the following: a statement of work for performance-based acquisitions that describes the required results in clear, specific and objective terms with measurable outcomes.” The performance work statement is the backbone of a performance-based service contract because it is responsible for specifying the definitive expectations of work that is necessary for the successful performance of a contract. As a contracting officer I am just as accountable as my customers to ensure that the performance work statement describes...
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