Censorship: Helpful Or Hindering? Essay example -- essays research pap

What exactly is censorship? Some feel censorship is a violation of their rights. Others say censorship is a must in the violent, abusive world we call â€Å"society.† Who has the right to censor? Who doesn’t? What needs to be censored, and what doesn’t? The fact of the matter is that there are many pros and cons in the music and entertainment industry about censorship. Personally, I believe that the consumers and viewers should be charged with the ultimate responsibility of censorship. One major area in which there is much argument on censorship is that of television. Since its invention earlier this century, television has become the most popular format for entertainment. We can be entertained, informed, and inspired by programs on television. But nowadays, television stations are becoming less restrictive about the content in their programs. More violence, profanity, and nudity than ever before now graces our television screens every night. Clearly, there are things that children should not be seeing on television. Therefor, the new v-chip legislation in process requires all television manufacturers to install an electronic device that allows parents to set the tolerance levels for violence, profanity and nudity. However, are children’s viewing habits the responsibility of the government or the parents? A good point can be made that there is far too much violence on television today, and that an invention such as a v-chip would help immensely. But what about such violent dra...

The Powerful Message of Jubilate Agno :: Jubilate Agno Essays

The Powerful Message of Jubilate Agno        Ã‚  Ã‚   Jubilate Agno is Christopher Smart's poem which illustrates at first glance a testament to his religious obsession and his deteriorated mental state. The other side of this poem shows a man trying to keep his sanity in an insane place. William Stead sees the work as "a spiritual diary of his thoughts, memories, and prayers, during the darkest years of his life" (Stead 17). Jubilate Agno focuses on God with daily occurrences weaving their way into the poem. Smart's work "reflects what was . . . his life work: the praise of God through poetry" (Anderson 54). Smart writes about what he knows from the Bible to animals to the alphabet; most contain God themes [?]. In his tribute to his cat, Jeoffry, Smart shows the cat's particular connection to God, and how Jeoffry is the ideal servant of God. Is an insane Smart writing about an imaginary cat's servitude to God? Or is the intellectual Smart merely paralleling human life to cat life to show how each of us can ser ve God?    Jeoffry became more than a pet to Smart in the years of his confinement. Dr. Sherbo contends that "he had a cat, a real one, not the product of his distressed imagination" (qtd. in Dearnley 155). Smart, being particularly religious, felt that his companion was a good illustration of serving God in his ways. Jeoffry is aware of God, "For he knows that God is his Saviour" (134) just as we should. Smart refers to Jeoffry working for God, "for when his day's work is done his business more properly begins. / For he keeps the Lord's watch in the night against the adversary" (Smart 133). Jeoffry strives to serve God so much that after each full day of activities he can still be a servant to God. With the detailed descriptions of Jeoffry's daily routines, Smart sees the holy connection in them. "For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way. / For this is done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness" (131). A morning stretch for a feline symbolizes a morning prayer for a person.

The Circular Ruins by Jorge Luis Borges Essay -- Circular Ruins Jorge

â€Å"The Circular Ruins† by Jorge Luis Borges â€Å"Green is derived from blue and green will become more brilliant than blue† Chinese Proverb The Chinese have a proverb about the evolution of humanity, and in particular, the nature of intellectual relationships. Although the color green is composed from the color blue, it often shines with a more brilliant luster than its predecessor does. This is a metaphor for the pupil and teacher. The pupil learns knowledge from his teacher, but will outgrow his teacher and eventually surpass him in wisdom. I believe this accurately describes the progress of human knowledge throughout time. In fact, it is quite obvious how technology and science have improved as time goes on. There are dramatic changes even in the last decade as people take the discoveries of their predecessors and expand on those principles. Jorge Luis Borges’ short story, â€Å"The Circular Ruins,† also illustrates this idea of the descendents being superior to the ancestors. However, Borges additionally uses a creation story and the theme of recursiveness, which suggest that there is no single perfect being that created all, but that there are numerous beings that create, with each successive one becoming more powerful. This also implies that, contrary to Judeo-Christian belief, the perfect being is waiting to be created in the end and is not the creator in the beginning. â€Å"The Circular Ruins† can be interpreted in several ways, but the basic plot revolves around a man trying to create another being in his dreams. This creator, referred to as a â€Å"magician† in the story, is a god in that he creates a likeness of himself and gives it life. The magician’s desire to create this perfect son is a strong parallel to the Judeo-C... ... worshiped as gods. But in this succession of creators, we have an infinite line, so perhaps there will never be an end, and there never was a beginning, suggesting that there is no perfection or standard to uphold in the universe. Borges makes a point in establishing the recursiveness of creation in his story; my comparison to the repeated creation of more creators is solely an interpretation of the text. It is, however, interesting how the idea of the superior descendant is observable in the real world. By applying this to the idea of the infinite line of creation, the result is an idea that is in disagreement with worldly beliefs, but yet at the same time in agreement with the worldly observations. Moreover, the implications arising from the infinite line point to a somewhat disturbing, but very Nietzschean universe void of an absolute truth and perfection.

Prosecuting Cyber Bullying

Technology is frequently being used to display personal Information on social networking sites for everyone In the world to see. With this Instantaneous technology, the school bully has access to an easier, more harmful, and anonymous way to intimidate their victim. Cyber bullying has become a form of harassment that is creating a myriad of problems for teenagers and, therefore, needs to be dealt with properly.The sense of anonymity and the ability to disguise ones identity online increases Weber bullying activity by â€Å"making fun of, telling lies, spreading rumors, threats and sharing private Information or pictures [online]† (Lulls lines 31-32). In spite of the recent technological advancements, problems with bullying has existed for generations. At the click of a button, the threatening information that can be posted online can be seen throughout the world for anyone to see.Because more people have access to someone's private or embarrassing information, â€Å"an increa sed audience can often lead to more harmful bullying Incidents† (Macaque 27). Cyber lulling can be committed any where and at any time, therefore â€Å"the cyber bullies may not fully understand the Impact of their behavior on their victims† (Lulls line 9). Cyber bullying can negatively affect an individual and even lead to depression and thoughts of suicide. There are many well known stories of teenagers compelled to desperate, even suicidal acts after having been exposed to recurrent harassment by others online.For Instance, the devastating and well-known case off 13-year-old girl named Megan Meier, committed seclude allegedly due to cyber bullying (Macaque 141 After coming friends with a boy she met online, Megan, who had a lifelong struggle with weight and self-esteem, finally met a boy she thought she could trust. After weeks of friendly conversations online Megan was eager to strengthen their relationship by finally meeting each other in person. Flirtatious messag es from her online boyfriend â€Å"Josh† suddenly turned into disturbing and confusing remarks such as â€Å"the world would be a better place without you† (Macaque 16). Josh† even began to post spiteful comments on his site about Megan. Megan committed seclude to escape the main and humiliation she was put through (â€Å"Social Networking Web Sites† 3). Investigators soon discovered that the profile of â€Å"Josh Evans† was created by a 48- year-old woman named Lori Drew. Loris's intentions were to tease and embarrass Megan, her next door neighbor and a former friend of Loris's 13-year-old daughter (Macaque 28). This case brought national attention to the dire consequences of cyber bullying. The community was outraged and demanded charges to be brought against this mother.Lori went to court but was never convicted because there was no law against cyber bullying. Another instance of the horrific effects of cyber bullying is portrayed in the tragic s tory of 18-year-old Tyler Clementine. Tyler started his freshman year with a big future ahead of him and a great outlook on life. Invading Teller's privacy, his college roommate streamed private footage online from a WebMD that he held In their dorm (â€Å"Key Events in the History of Prosecuting Cybernetics† 8). Comments about his sexuality flooded through his inbox that night.Days after the video went viral, Tyler could not handle the embarrassment and committed suicide by â€Å"Jumping off of the George Washington Bridge† (â€Å"Prosecuting Cybernetics† par. 1). These are two highly publicized and tragic cases resulting from abuse online. There are thousands of other people that are being threatened and bullied through technology every day and no one knows about it. There is nothing positive that results from bullying, but some people still believe that cyber bullies should not be prosecuted because it is not a crime.Critics say that cyber bullying is not an issue that should have legal attention, â€Å"but a dilemma best solved by schools and parents† (â€Å"Prosecuting Cybernetics† par. 2). Many school districts throughout the country are attempting to educate their students about online safety and protection. In order to solve the problem of cyber bullying, the critics believe that schools should concentrate on â€Å"spreading messages of tolerance and civility to all young people† (â€Å"Prosecuting Cybernetics† par. 2). Another point that critics stress is that prosecuting cyber bullies violates â€Å"the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech† (Hayward 21).Opponents to the prosecution of cyber bullies need to take into account the innocent people that are being terrorized online ND their rights to protect themselves. Supporters of the prosecution of these online abusers agree that cyber bullying leads to many emotional problems for the victims. Cyber bullies purposely â€Å"target their vict ims, revealing personal information on the Internet or harassing them through frequent or threatening messages† (â€Å"Prosecuting Cybernetics† par. 16). More often than not, school administrators and parents fail to identify and stop cyber bullying before it is too late.Prosecutors need to take action in order to protect students online. Students are apprehensive to tell an adult about abuse online because they fear the bullying will only get worse. Victims feel that they are on their own in the endless abuse and â€Å"allegedly saw no choice for escape except to kill themselves† (Lulls 22). Historically, a person repeatedly bullied is not only a danger to themselves, but may even have the urge to harm others. For example, in the article â€Å"Prosecuting Cybernetics†, research has determined that â€Å"perpetrators of school violence?such as the two students who went on a shooting rampage at ColumbineHigh School in Colorado in 1999?often have a history of both bullying and being bullied themselves† (par. 31). Even though the cyber bully is not physically shoving the victim around, they are still able to instill a sense of fear and hopelessness in their victims. In order to punish cyber bullies for their conduct, new, up-to-date laws need to be passed for the protection of the innocent victim. With technology being the most popular form of communication, it is important to establish a law to â€Å"deter future bullying with a legal means to punish those who cause harm†.

Future Energy

Future energy Have you ever thought about the energy providing you electricity for your daily life that nuclear power could take you off from this world (it is not clear what you mean here)? What was your feeling when you watching news about the Fukushima nuclear crisis? What do you think when you see how victims of Chernobyl disaster live today? Good start – the questions are a very good way to get your reader's attention. ) All of those issues are just because of one reason – the safety problem of nuclear power.The question is: Can we control it completely? This question is not only for some people or some groups; the /a specific government (or governments? as with your other essays on this topic, be clear about what you mean. Are you thinking about one specific government? Governments in general? ) should consider their citizens and, even every single species living on this planet. Apparently, some countriesy could not dominate nuclear power so that tragedy was happe ned and severely affected on millions of people.For this reason, I think government (again, be clear – one specific government? Governments in general? should replace nuclear power by alternatives such as solar electrical energy ? Is this supposed to be here? generation and wind electric power generation. Sustainabilityle is the most important index for every type of energy resource. People argues that nuclear is the most sustainable energy resource they have. The fuel of nuclear power cost that uranium and plutonium is the precious metals in the nature (? It is not clear what you mean here).But people who support nuclear power seems to have ignored the fact that the storage of precious metals is very low; it has some day that exhaust from the Earth (awkward – perhaps â€Å"will some day be exhausted from the earth†? ). People know that wind energy and solar energy all have been exploited (this is really the heart of your argument in this paragraph, but this par t of the sentence is not clear. What do you mean they have been exploited? This sounds like a negative thing, not a positive thing as you argument should suggest. ). The fuel cost of those two energy resources is zero.They are enduring energy resources, unless the sun disappears from sky and the Earth stops revolving. Spinning. So for the issue of resources (you started the paragraph with the idea of sustainability. It would be a good idea to end your argument in this paragraph with that as well. ), solar energy (what about wind energy? ) is better than nuclear power. Other than sustainabilityle, the cost of running and maintaining a nuclear power plant is the important point that people find? interesting. For every power plant, people will spend money on planning, designing, constructing, running, maintaining it.Every single step in this process will cost amount of money to make sure the plant will works well. And the cost of materials and cost of maintenance is the significant chu nk of the whole cost (what is the cost comparison? Do you have some statistics/figures that support your argument here? ). People (who are these ‘people' you keep writing about? Do you have some support from experts on this topic that you could bring into your argument? ) are saying that traditional electric plants will cost too much money on materials and maintenance. So they think nuclear power plant is the best choice for finance.For nuclear power plant, it will cost only less than a hundred tons of nuclear material for every year; nevertheless, the cost of designing and planning a nuclear power plant is much higher than traditional electric plant. It cost huge number of money on safety, but it still does not work well. However, for solar electrical energy generation and wind electric power generation, it cosst much less on designing and constructing than nuclear power plants, even none on fuels. I suggest government to calculate the price-performance ratio of setting a pla nt. O. k.Good suggestion, but what is the cost comparison? How do you know that these differences in cost exist? For every factory or plant, people always focus on how its productivity is. But the hot potato of pollution is getting more necessary (? I am not sure what you mean here). They might think more about how much discharges will it waste and how to dispose of those discharge more thoroughly. It has been argued that the most important advantage of nuclear power plant is its low discharging. And people who holding this opinion think nuclear power plants are very eco-friendly for environment.They contend that there is no gaseous pollutants discharge from nuclear power plants. But we can not ignore that the nuclear radiation from nuclear power plant waste is much more dangerous than gaseous pollutants that very harmful for the human and the nature. For the human body, when the radiation value get overtakes more thanthe threshold, it will damage the tissue in the body. People stil l haves no effective method to dispose of the Radioactive Nuclear Waste that all this three method can not restrain the radiation come out (? this is unclear).It will damage the soil and the ocean andthat threatens the other species. Even today, the nuclear radiation from Chernobyl disaster continues to influence on the soil and water. Ukraine has millions of victims affected by this accident. And now, some of them died by cancer, some of them are still living under the shadow of the Chernobyl disaster. Nevertheless, there is no problem on discharge of solar electrical energy generation and wind electric power generation. (you need to say more about this – give more of a comparison in order to make your argument stronger.So I am highly recommending that government should consider the future of human race. In conclusion, people who support nuclear power strongly are holding strong reasons (â€Å"have good reasons†? So that you don;t repeat ‘strong'). But it is not suitable for nowadays anymore. People should learn to embrace new technology to replace the old one. The Government should use new energies to make sure people’s life can be proceeding and secure, and human race can be inherit prosperous. As Meador (1978) says: â€Å"There is no way to know absolutely about the future until we make the journey†. , said by Meador (1978).This is a great way to end, Mike. Mike – You make a number of good points in this essay and you have organized it well. You have all of the elements of a good essay: a clear thesis statement, focused paragraphs with topic sentences and generally good connections between ideas. I have made a number of comments throughout your essay, though, of places where improvements are needed. My main comment is that you need to give more specific examples of the statements that you make. This means: – – Eliminating your use of â€Å"They† and â€Å"People† to describe those who hol d opposite views to yours.These are large generalizations that make it easy for your reader to question the reality of what you are saying. If there are experts who hold these opinions, then be specific about who they are. – Use sources and statistics to back up your arguments – I have noted a number of places where you make some statements that are generalizations. These generalizations make your argument weaker than it could be. However, if you use statistics or confirmed facts to back up your generalizations, that would strengthen your argument.Source: You have a source listed at the end of your essay that seems like it might be a good one to support some of your arguments. Why didn't you use more information from this source throughout your essay? Mark: 60/100 Reference: Meador, Roy. (1978). Future Energy Alternatives. Ann Arbor Science Publishers, Inc. 3, 112. This book talks about energy crisis and why we need energy alternatives. The book shows several types of alternatives such as solar energy, wind energy, bioenergy, peat, heat pumps, and hydrogen energy. Then it gives what are the benefits of those alternatives.

Capturing the Audience

â€Å"Rightly to be great is not to stir without great argument, When honour’s at the stake. How stand I then† (4,4,52-55). This is part of one of Hamlets great soliloquys from act 4. This soliloquy hits on several points like greatness, honour and how to live your life. These are to things are subjects that have interested the human mind for thousands of years. This soliloquy speaks to these desires in different ways and is able to relate to our inner desires. In this essay, it will be explained how this soliloquy and the themes that are featured in it effect the audience. The first way it speaks to the audience, particularly the Elizabethan audience of the time by, is by Shakespeare creating a hero that would do anything to protect their honour. Honour has always been part of a man. Looking at history it has pooped up over and over again. Honour is being true to a set of personal ideals, or being a man of integrity. ` The imminent death of twenty thousand men/ That for a fantasy and trick of fame/ Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot/ Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause,/Which is not tomb enough and continent/to hide the slain? (4,4,59-64) In the soliloquy, Hamlet gives the most fundamental idea of honour protect it no matter what. No matter what the fight is over, you have to stand up for yourself or you are not a â€Å"manâ€Å". Hamlet is looking at Norway’s army with great respect. They are gaining nothing by c onquering Poland, yet they are still going after it to protect their honour. They aren’t backing down from the fight. Shakespeare knew that honour has always been a big part of human life and something greatly respected, especially to the nobles of his time (Shakespeare’s main audience), and made sure to really hit on that really important moral that the audience was able to relate too. Greatness is something that we look for since the beginning. As young children, we look at our parents as the definition of great. As we get older, we start to see all of our parent’s faults but the idea of greatness s already set in our minds and is something that we will always want to achieve. In The soliloquy greatness is closely associated with honour. A good example of how Hamlet sees greatness is the quote was used at the beginning on the essay: â€Å"Rightly to be great is not to stir without great argument, When honour’s at the stake. How stand I then† (4,4,52-55). Hamlet sees greatness has someone who will always defends their honou r. He is very jealous of young Fortinbras for being a great man who is always defending. This speaks to the audience because again, not only is honour again speaking to the audience but also with our desire to be great. The audience can relate to Hamlet. Most people look at someone with envy wishing they could be great like them. Shakespeare used these feelings of envy and wish for greatness to be able to relate to the play. The last point that Shakespeare hits on is living in the moment. Hamlet biggest flaw in the play is his tendency to ever think everything (e. g. When Claudius is praying and Hamlet comes up with several reasons not to kill him. . The biggest thing that Hamlet realizes in his soliloquy is that flaw. â€Å"Of thinking too precisely on th' event— /A thought which, quartered, hath but one part wisdom And ever three parts coward—I do not know/ Why yet I live to say â€Å"This thing’s to do,† Sith I have cause and will and strength and means/ To do ’† (4,4,40-45) Hamlet realizes what he has done throughout the play and is now regretting the decision he has made. He wishes that he had been brave enough to kill Claudius right away rather than hide behind his thoughts. Audience can relate to this now more than ever. Just take a look at today’s society, many things are about planning and the future but a lot of other things are the exact opposite. Many people are starting to live with the idea that you need to start doing things on a wimp rather than thinking over things and planning them out. People want to live their life to the fullest (e. g YOLO). The people of Shakespeare’s time were renaissance men. They most likely had these thoughts of making their life worthwhile. It is in human nature to want to feel as though our lives have meaning. Although Hamlet is not talking about that exact subject, many of the principles are the same. This speaks to the inner desires of the human mind, capturing the audience’s attention. In conclusion, Hamlets soliloquy captures the targets audience’s attention by using elements that have naturally always captures the human mind attention like greatness, a meaningful life and honour. Shakespeare manages to use all of them to capture the audience’s attention and help them relate to the play.

Candid Communication Essay

Due to the costly failed attempt to expand to the European market, and recognition of the major underlying cultural problems which resulted in the unsuccessful expansion, our team has been tasked with proposing plans for revitalizing your corporate culture. Key personnel, who could have provided advice to avert the flawed expansion strategy, did not voice their concerns or advice because such actions were not culturally encouraged. As an executive management team, you have recognized that this failure to uphold a corporate culture which values candid communication at all levels was the ultimate cause of this setback. This proposal is designed to uncover potential obstacles to creating a culture which foster candid communication, and present a plan of action to alter the corporate culture from the ground up. Question 1: The obstacles of fostering candid communication can be categorized into three areas: personal, physical and cultural. When discussing personal obstacles, the outer layers peel back to find both interpersonal and intrapersonal barriers that your organization will find in their journey to value candid communication. For example, interpersonal barriers occur between team members, such as differences in personality styles or behavioral preferences. Ignoring or not addressing these differences can lead to rivalry, competition and fear of speaking up due to retaliation or further dislike from other co-workers. Though individuals in your company may not like or be willing to work with one-another, the major obstacle is to first get them talking to address their differences. Furthermore, even if your employees hold similar behavioral or personality styles, another obstacle may be that their relationships might not be strong enough to support constructive criticism from others, indicating a lack of trust. The absence of trust is the first dysfunction of a team, according to Patrick Lencioni. â€Å"Trust is the foundation of a team† and the lack of trust is the team’s inability â€Å"to understand and open up to one another† (Lencioni, pg. 43-44). Strong, trusting relationships support providing feedback to other employees and supervisors without fear of future scrutiny. Lack of trust within a group also holds a strong influence on intrapersonal barriers to speak freely. Intrapersonal barriers are those that occur within the individual self or mind but are strongly influenced by their surroundings. For example, without the feeling of trust, employees may revert back to their safety zone by keeping quiet and holding back opinions in order to protective themselves (Lencioni, pg. 195). Likewise, other intrapersonal barriers can be as simple as the individual’s self-confidence level or working with individuals who prefer not to provide criticism for fear of rejection from the group. In addition, another obstacle is the absence of individual’s sense of belongingness to the company, one of Maslow’s steps in his Hierarchy of Needs. Belongingness comes from the company support of employees through personal development and job enrichment which play a critical role for employees to recognize that they and their opinions are valued enough to be shared. Secondly, physical barriers of separation, such as the physical distance between locations, geographic barriers like oceans or even walls between offices, can also hinder the ability to communicate openly to employees,. For example, as your company expands internationally, it will face the creation of virtual teams. Virtual teams are at a disadvantage to build trusting, strong relationships because they do not have the luxury of sitting across the table from one-another to work out disagreements. And, even if they wanted to, it would be extremely expensive for the company to fund trips back and forth across the pond. On the other hand, co-located employees may still feel that physical barriers impede their ability to share from blocked areas and closed doors providing visual cues to employees that they are either not needed or wanted. Last, as your company grows it will face both society and company built cultural barriers. Societal barriers, such as international relations and generational differences can influence the effectiveness of conducting business and building relationships in the future. For example, do the companies that we are working with international hold the same emphasis on candid dialog? Do cultural barriers or age differences enable employees to provide productive feedback or criticism without violating a social norm or without fear of creating adversarial relationships? Both examples of societal based barriers greatly influence the ability of people to feel they can share openly. Likewise, company built cultural barriers continue to obstruct straight talk if the culture does not reward such behavior and the population contains individuals who do not fit the cultural mold. For example, Nordstrom employees who are not fanatic about how amazing you Nordstrom’s is will â€Å"be ejected like a virus† (). Employees who do not see rewards for behaviors or do not agree with the cultural behaviors will not be comfortable to share candidly. Question 2: In order to combat these negative obstacles the company must first create and communicate a solid value structure, mission statement and form committees to help implement and generate ideas. The assurance that people feel valued needs to be the primary focus of the company citing the well known fact that employees are the number one customers. A credo similar to the one mentioned in Built to Last (p. 9) for Johnson & Johnson, listed open for all to see, must be presented to the employees specifically listing core values including but not limited to: welcome change, be honest/open, recognize success but not shun failure, treat everyone with respect and spend considerable amount of time nurturing culture. For maximum impact management needs to proactively practice (MBWA) by walking around displaying, encouraging and measuring the success of all these values. These values and structures need to be engrained early in the employees so that the culture will become second nature. The objective is for the employee to be culturally rooted early. This is why the processes of recruiting, hiring, socializing and training new employees is critical, similar to Nike within Built to Change â€Å"the company fostered a â€Å"just do it† identity that was reflected in its structure, the people it hired†(p. 46). Once hired, the cultural foundation has been set and injection into the company’s system will receive little resistance making it simple to promote candid communications. Disregarding early processes may allow people to slip into the company who don’t fit the cultural mold and/or they are not properly adjusted into the system. These outcasts have a possibility of being rejected from the system resulting in employee turnover or a multitude of other problems. Recruiters can ensure recruits fit into the open communication culture by various techniques of evaluation, starting at first contact, including socializing events and interview processes. Events that require potential employees to socialize with current employees at their peer level will help evaluate their compatibility within the system and the employees. Employees administering interviews are encouraged to ask more behavioral questions rather than job function related questions. This will also ensure that new candidates are on the right path to successful transplant into the company. Once hired, new employees are to be indoctrinated with the concept of free speech. In order to build relationships and foster vertical communication, all new employees regardless of position, are to attend a high level onboarding training that is done within one large room. Next they participate in a communication building scavenger hunt requiring them to find and speak to certain individuals within the organization. The new employees are then paired with existing employees in their own department for 3-6 months because it typically takes a while for employees to become situated and comfortable in their new environment. By training employees in this way you guarantee little deviation from expected culture and instill the free speech initiative, making it easier to have candid conversations. People tend to respond positively to change when they receive recognition from managers. Displaying exceptional behavior is often overlooked leading employees to believe that the attribute is not exceptional or essential to success. When establishing a system for rewarding positive behaviors, especially those that revolve around the core values and candid communication, the rewards need to be in high regard to the employee and not necessarily monetary, Microsoft shows this in Built to Change when it â€Å"employees have challenging work and, of course, one of the most highly rewarding stock plans around†¦. hereby attracted some of the country’s top software engineers and marketing geniuses†(p. 47). Equally important within the innovation process is having more time to develop new ideas shown in Built to Change 3M’s â€Å"policies and practices that give employees time to experiment, and its reward system recognizes innovative work† (p. 39). The rewards and time provided for ideas generated will bring about open communication but would be ultimately ineffective in the event that there isn’t a way to evaluate these ideas and innovations. Therefore a committee consisting of white and blue collar workers should be assembled to evaluate and investigate ideas that are submitted for validity or cost effectiveness. To instill a culture that embraces and utilizes open communication candidly the company must have a way to promote and judge the performance of the changes. A committee will be formed in order to set goals, establish who will be in charge, schedule mingling events, enrich communications and ultimately ensure that this initiative isn’t forgotten. The mingling events would serve as a tool to not only build relationships between employees, breaking down communication barriers, but to strengthen and reinforce ties to the company. Some examples of the events would include speed mentoring, company picnics, benefit fairs, blood drives and fundraising events. Next the committee would be responsible for enriching communications throughout the company by fostering goodwill, laying out company-wide changes and compiling and maintaining the medium for communication disbursement. Mediums of communication can vary from newsletters, memos, banners or blogs. In Corporate Culture and Performance, Tandem Computers practices this by displaying achievements â€Å"are regularly recognized on bulletin boards as Our Latest Greatests†(p. 16). Communication transmitted must be professional to avoid wasting time across the organization. Some additional information, including information about the CEO’s family, may be added to show that she is human and the message is genuine. The committee would also explain new product information, organizational issues that might be confusing and benefit changes that might seem to only benefit the employer. By doing this managers can build rapport to increase employee understanding of the company, products, ethics, culture, and external environment, showing that the managers are not hiding information. This builds trust and fosters open communication. In order to facilitate information sharing, the company must utilize various ways of mentoring. Level mentoring should be skipped so that employees get an opportunity to meet with someone above the direct management. Reverse mentoring will be also instilled in the company as the younger person might have some fresh ideas and new tools. Sometimes, a new set of ideas might be the solution to a lingering issue in the company. Training sessions are organized by putting the management and employees on the same teams. Likewise, large group information sessions are implemented to talk about issues related to employees with management information similar to Merck’s communication meetings that are held three times a year. These meetings will have the full support of upper management and are used to open communication, improve the flow of information among all levels of management and to provide employees with information they need to do their jobs better. There could also be an improvement in information sharing by having no doors on offices or no physical barriers between management and lower level employees. Honda and Harley Davidson have an open door policy as described in Built to Change (p. 9). The company should clearly define fair policies and procedures. This will help the employees to know what is expected of them. If employees know what the company expects, it is easier for them to be accountable for their own behavior and contribute accordingly. Clear guidelines for professional conduct will be established by the company so that co-workers treat each other with respect regardless of their position in the company. Also, a process of performance review system will be implemented to ensure the employees are promoting the company’s value structure. A 360 degree review process will be utilized by the company which will help to provide on-going feedbacks to all the employees. This will enable all the subordinates, peers and supervisors to have their input towards the company. This will also help to assess all employees on a continual basis on how they are performing to business needs as well as adapting to the values of the company. The results from these reviews can be used to make administrative decisions as well as to plan for training and development in the future. The company should also not sway from their core values no matter what, as described in Built to Change (p. 4) in the Southwest Airlines example. This will enable the employees to stay loyal and feel comfortable knowing that their jobs are stable. Finally, the company will provide proper benefits to the employees including fair pay based on individual performance, team performance and seniority so that the employees feel valued. A proper organic organization structure will be designed to empower people and allowing them to make their own decisions. This will make the employees accountable with their decisions. A flatter organization structure will be designed in order to enable employees to speak freely to higher levels of management for advice. This will also enhance the mentoring process and help to build effective relationships. After assessing the culture and gathering input, the company should identify the system, policies and procedures that must be either changed or implemented to support the new culture. The new infrastructure should address role expectations, accountability, rewards and selection systems. The company will also have defined job descriptions and encourage people to switch departments so that employees won’t feel pigeon-holed. In other words, the company will also allow mobility within the organization in order to get the most out of their employees and employees will be more flexible. The employees should also understand other roles and jobs in the company to be able to relate to them and provide input for improvements. The company will focus more on team based design that will eventually help to elevate individual performance in the company. Individuals in the company will be cross trained or conditioned in order to improve the overall performance of the whole team. Although the word â€Å"team† is heavily used in the industry today, teams often play a major role in initiating organizational change. A cross functional team design will create mutual accountability for results and joint ownerships of work products. Above all, a properly designed organic organization structure will positively impact the ability to focus, directly affects the communication channels and empowers people by giving the employees a drive to make their own decisions. Question 3: While designing and implementing an effective, company-wide communication structure is vitally important, the activities performed by leaders at all levels are paramount to sustaining an effective communication culture. Managers are the face of your company’s culture and their interactions with their direct reports will be the frontlines of the company’s culture battles. Beginning with the hiring process, managers must be mindful that they are not only assessing the potential hire’s technical skills and abilities, but also their fit within the culture. They must abide by and practice recruiting and hiring techniques that will reasonably ensure that the company is hiring candidates that will express the desired behavior and align with the culture. These techniques could include maintaining relationships with contacts at local universities and recruiting firms. If these contacts are familiar with your company and culture they could aid in providing a stream of potential new hires and would be able to â€Å"pre-screen† for cultural fit. Mangers should openly discuss the company’s culture and ask explicit questions regarding how the potential hire feels he/she will fit within the culture. This will set cultural expectations of open and candid communication with all interviewees long before any are hired. Also, managers should use behavioral type interview questions to test the candidate’s attitudes, trust and ability to speak freely. Additionally, the interviews should be conducted by employees of varying levels of the company, both managers and non-mangers, with a single manager soliciting feedback from all other interviewers regarding their assessment of the recruit. Once potential employees are deemed to be a cultural fit and are hired it is important to continue the initiation process into the culture. Managers need to immediately begin teaching new employees about the open communication culture and submerging them in it. The Container Store, for example, submits all new hires to a weeklong orientation in which they are taught the inner workings and philosophy of the company (FoE, pg. 75). Socialization techniques can be utilized to build the relationships between the new and established employees, understanding that well socialized employees are more likely to share information freely. Managers can organize gatherings of new and current employees to introduce the new hires to their co-workers. Examples would be ice cream or pizza socials in which ice-breaker type games are used to introduce and socialize new hires to their peers. Mangers can also take new hires to lunch with a small group of their fellow employees in an effort to socialize the new employee in an environment outside the workplace. An emphasis should be made at these types of gatherings to learn about the employee’s life outside of the work environment. Other practices like a mentoring or buddy system could also be utilized to engage the new employee in an open communication culture. The focus of these activities should be to build trust and a sense of value within the new hire. Employees that perceive themselves as being valued and have strong trust relationships with their direct reports and co-workers are more likely to give of themselves, that is, to invest their â€Å"heads and hearts† with your company. While recruiting and initiating new hires into the culture is vital, most of a leader’s time will be spent maintaining the open communication culture. These tasks can be broken down into activities that build relationships, empower employees and provide reviews and feedback. Mangers should spend a considerable amount of time getting to know and nurture relationships with their direct reports. Leaders should adopt a Management by Wondering Around system where managers spend time with employees getting to know what they are doing, how they are doing it, what kind of problems they are facing, and what help is required to solve the problems (Dynamic Business Strategy, info from Vick). This type of communication should be seen as an integral part of managing people, not as an additional burden to a manager’s already busy schedule. An open-door policy should be utilized so that managers are available to their employees as much as possible. Leaders should also maintain a database of employee birthdays and employment anniversaries and recognize these occasions with cards and/or gifts. Management could also hold monthly get-togethers to celebrate the birthdays, anniversaries and milestones that occurred that month. Managers should be encouraged to spend time with their direct reports outside the work environment. Informal gatherings like lunches and happy hours could be utilized to get to know direct reports on a more personal level. Managers should hold occasional casual days in which employees are allowed to wear themed casual attire like university t-shirts to kick off football season or Hawaiian shirts at the start of summer. Additionally, leaders could send out daily or weekly e-mails informing employees of what is going on around the company.