Environmental Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Environmental Education - Essay Example Is it of any good to our children and adults or rather how is it affecting them both positively and negatively? Why is environmental education lacking? What type of curriculum is needed and why? What are the precautions and strategies that need to be implemented or put in place to ensure that our environment is taken care of? Of what good will it bring to our generation to come? What is the philosophy behind this educational approach? And finally, do ethics play a role in education? These and many more will be featured in our research project. The first question that rings in our mind is the meaning of the word environment. Environment is a very broad terminology that is taken to mean generally the flora and fauna (Trees and animals). Environment entails trees, animals, air, waters, the soil (earth) and even people. It is in the broader sense of the word everything that there is in the Universe that supports life is what we call our environment. Forests for instance contribute to a greater amount of our environment without forgetting the animals. In short therefore, environment is our surroundings. Environmental Education is generally making people aware of the environment. It is the integration of what is learned in class in relation to our environment. Or rather put it this way that environmental education is the incorporation of both the materials acquired in classroom and then apply them to the environment. It is about informing the Citizens about the beauty, the love, the goodness, the friendship, and the values of always ensuring the safety of where we live. It is all about keeping the good relationship between ourselves and the place in which we live; and these can be achieved through ensuring that our environment is always clean. In short, this is a call for the virtue of responsibility. However, let us first look at the current environmental educational system in the USA. The culture here considers every aspect of our

Organisational development and organisatins effectiveness and viabi

Organisational development and organisatins effectiveness and viabi The most bizarre thing about Organisational development is that there is not a single definition capable of explaining it properly; in simple terms Organisational development can be regarded as planned change concept, organisation wide effort to increase an organisations effectiveness and viability. Organization development is interdisciplinary in nature and draws on sociology, personality, psychology, and theories of motivation. It is considered both applied behavioural science focused on understanding and managing organizational change as well as a field of scientific study and enquiry (en.wikipedia.orgwiki/organization_development). Kurt Lewin (1898-1947) is credited with the origin and development as it is his work on Group dynamics and Action-Research which corroborates the basic OD process. Going through the history it would be worth saying that 1960s were the Influential period of T-group which saw the inculcation of Lewins Force Field analysis and organisational theory (Lawre nce and Lorsch, 1967; Argyris, 1962; Harisson, 1963, 66). Planned change approach coined by Kurt Lewin is corroborated by the humanistic and democratic values and had its focus upon resolving group issues and improvement through the involvement of managers, employees and a change consultant (Bernard Burnes, 2004). Till 1980s planned Change was the dominant approach to manage organisational change, however by 1980s it faced harsh criticism regarding the ability to stand for the organisations operating in dynamic and unpredictable environments. This essay will discuss the origin and objectives of Organisational development. Going further insights will be developed regarding the evolution of organisational development and its present scenario. Critical evaluation and comparison will be done in order to determine the difference between the present one and the original developed and to understand whether Organisational development still hold its purpose and coherence. ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT It will be worth saying that it is an uphill task to put Organisational development under a single definition. In an organisation team building with top corporate management, Job enrichment in manufacturing are all examples of Organisational development (Cummings and Worley). Some definitions of Organisational development are described as under Organisational development is a Planned process of change in an organisations culture through the utilization of behavioural science technology, research and theory. (Warner Burke) Organisational development is An effort (1) planned, (2) organisation-wide, and (3) managed from the top, to (4) increase organisational effectiveness and health through (5) planned interventions in the organisations processes using behavioural science knowledge. (Richard Beckhard) Organisation development refers to a Long-range effort to improve an organisations problem-solving capabilities and its ability to cope with changes in its external environment with the help of external or internal behavioural-scientist consultants, or change agents, as they are sometimes called. (Wendell French) Organisational development is Long term, planned changes in the culture, technology and management of a total organisation or at least significant part of the total organisation. (Jamieson, Bach Kallick and Kur, 1984) From the above explained definitions it is quite obvious that all of them differ on several important dimensions such as some focus on culture, some on the importance of top management support while other on the importance of technology, there is no doubt that do exhibit some common features Organisational development is concerned with managing planned change targeting organisation-wide issues, problems and challenges. Organisational development is basically a data-driven process, collected through process of action research by ways such as observations, assessments and surveys. Intent of organisational development to improve organisational effectiveness and it serves the purpose of both the creation as well as the subsequent reinforcement of change. Organisational development is concerned with the change in strategy, structure and/or process of an entire system. Organisational development is based upon the application and transfer of behavioural knowledge and practice such as leadership, group dynamics, and organization design. (Cummings and Worley, 2005) An attempt have been made by Cummings and Worley to incorporate most of the views expressed in various definitions through the very definition explained below Organisation development is a system wide application and transfer of behavioural science knowledge to the planned development, improvement, and reinforcement of the strategies, structures and processes that lead to organisation effectiveness. Organisational development had its origin in the 1960s when the need of Organisational health preponderant. Organisational development tends to works by acknowledging the dysfunctions and correcting them in order to retain equilibrium. Initial approaches to Organisational development was developed on the theories of Kurt Lewin who described it as a planned change and is based on Field theory, Group dynamics, Action Research and Three step model. Apart from significant work carried out by Kurt Lewin there are other prominent researchers in this field such as Bullock and Batten(1985) who proposed a four phase model of planned change Exploration phase, Planning phase, Action phase and Integration phase. It will be worth mentioning that in spite of the extensive work carried the focus was on change at Individual and Group level ignoring the organisations in their entirety. The main objectives of Organisation development are to address and smoothen the process of change that will in turn help the organisation to achieve greater effectiveness. Evolution of Organisational Development Organisational development have emerged from five basic backgrounds or stems as described below (Cummings and Worley) Growth of National Training Laboratories (NTL) and development of training groups known as T-groups. This very stem of Organisational development pioneered the T-Group a small, unstructured group in which the participants are expected to gain from their own interactions and developing dynamics such as interpersonal relations, leadership, and group dynamics. With the passage of time T- Groups have declined on their importance as OD intervention and is often associated with the reputation of Organisational development as touchy-feely process. The practical aspects of T-Group organisations are better known as team building and worth saying that it is one of the institutionalized forms of Organisational development today. Inculcation of action research as a way of applying research to managing change. An important feature of action research was survey feedback. It was well-understood that in order to manage change research needs to be in close ties with action. Action research was seen as two-pronged process and it focuses on the fact that change requires action that can be achieved by carefully analysing the situation properly, looking out for all the possible alternatives and going for the most apt. to situation at hand (Bennet, 1983). Action research stresses that change can only be effective if it is taken at the group level by involving concerned ones and it must be a participative and collaborative process. (French and Bell, 1984; Lewin, 1947b). One of the key components of action research studies was the systematic collection of survey data that was fed back. The third one is associated with a normative view i.e. One best way to manage organisations. The third stem that popped out was the normative view which closely held the view that Human relations approach represents a One best way to manage organisations. Furthermore, this normative belief was illustrated by through Likerts Participative Management style i.e. Participative Group systems and Blake and Moutons Grid OD program with organisational effectiveness. (R. Likert, 1967; R. Blake and J. Mouton, 1964) The fourth stem can very well be described as the approach focusing on quality of work life and productivity. This very stem or we can say the background to OD can be described under two phases that initially took off by the projects developed and their emergence in 1950s, 60s and lasted until mid 1970s. This phase of QWL programs were concerned with providing employees high levels of discretion, task variety and feedback about results. One of the main characteristic of QWL was Self-managing groups as a form of work design. It lost its importance during 1970s due to other important and emerging issues such as inflation and energy costs. Second phase of QWL extended its scope and inculcated other features such as work flows, reward systems, management styles that effect employee productivity and satisfaction and is known by the term Employee Involvement. (Cummings and Worley, 05) The fifth and last stem of organisational development involves strategic change and organisation transformation. The latest of Strategic change background have an overarching influence on Organisational Developments evolution. In current scenario the environments known as technological, socio-political environments are more complex and uncertain than ever before which in turns calls for planned change process and strategic perspective from Organisational development (D. Naddler, 1988). Strategic change intervention helps to improve both the organisational effectiveness and its relationship to its environment. Moreover, Strategic changes to organisational development have made its presence felt in mergers and acquisitions, alliance formation. (M. Marks and P.Mirvis, 1998). All the above explained five stems have great influence on the current practice of organisational development as well as by the trends that are responsible of shaping change in the organisations. The commonality between all the backgrounds is that all wholeheartedly support the transfer of knowledge and skill to the client system and making them capable of managing better change. This field of organisational development is on a growth spree as it can be witnessed through the new researchers, theorists, practitioners who are building their work on the work of early pioneers and making it perfect for the contemporary situations. Findings Organisational change as a planned discipline is concerned with the application of behavioural knowledge and practice in order to help organisation to achieve greater effectiveness but growing with the evolution phase, Current phase of organisational development goes far beyond its humanistic origins and it will be worth saying that as now a days practitioners of Organisational development took a more prescriptive approach as compared to early pioneers of Organisation development who took analytical approach. Lawrence and Lorsch (1969) draw organisational development in terms of activities at three interfaces Organisation to environment, Group to group, and Individual to organisation. Till 1980s planned change approach as coined by Kurt Lewin with its set of tools, techniques and practitioners was the dominant approach in managing organisational change unless it faced criticism from certain quarters regarding its inability to cope up with emerging and coercive situations such as dyn amic and unpredictable environments. Even in todays scenario there is a continuing argument over the proper definition, its state of art and the skills required for practising it. Despite certain limitations cited who have opposed it by saying that Planned change is more flexible and holistic approach than it is being considered and is en route on a transition phase from being a miscellany of certain devices to becoming a mature, usable set of principles and procedures for organisational change (Cummings and Worley, 2001; French and Bell, 1995; Robert L.Kahn, 2002). The problems cited with Planned change to change are that it was developed for the organisations operating in Top-down, autocratic environment (Wooten and White, 1999:8). It also have been criticized on the other note that it is more emphasized on Incremental and isolated change rather than its ability to cope up with more radical and transformational change (Dawson,1994 ; Schein,1985). Planned change is more suitable fo r the group and individual context but lacks strength for system-wide change. One of the problems of organisational development is the inclusion of conversational and commercial terms as independent variables such as T-Group training as a number of activities lies with the preference of trainer itself (Back, 1972). Other problem that can be cited is that Organisational development relies too much on the expertise and experience of trainees and change agent. Though often the process of planned change in terms of three successive phases Unfreezing, Moving and Freezing is often quoted without proper understanding of it as well as the Lewinian quasi-stationary equilibrium is often seen but without undergoing any proper system conceptualization calls for more serious attention so that a more holistic approach can be developed in managing Organisational change. In a nutshell, it can be said that it is not fruitful to look solely at group and individual level, the need is to look for the organisations in their entirety as seen from the concepts developed by Kurt Lewin. Organisational development practitioners have understood the importance of understanding organisational culture and organisational learning. The concepts coined by Kurt Lewin and others pioneers in this field are still relevant and needs a more in-depth understanding. The need of the hour is the conjugation of the emergent approaches such as punctuated-equilibrium, continuous transformation models with the existing approaches so that more benefits can be realized in terms of organization effectiveness by achieving planned organisational change. In the end it is worth mentioning that organisational development is not that Strategic and this is the prime reason why Organisational development have lost its purpose and coherence. Though there has not been a single approach for Org anisational Development but the combination of all the approaches make it a very coherent approach and it needs to be developed with the ever changing scenario so that nothing affects its suitability. References en.wikipedia.orgwiki/organization_development. Lawrence and Lorsch, 1967; Argyris, 1962; Harisson, 1963, 66 Bernard Burnes, 2004 ; Managing Change W.Burke, Organisation Development: Principles and Practice (Boston: Little,Brown, 1982); Cummings and Worley (Organisation development and change, 2005) W. French, Organization development: objectives, Assumptions, and Strategies, California Management Review 12,2 (1969):23-24; Cummings and Worley (Organisation development and change, 2005) R. Beckhard, Organisational Development :Strategies and models (Reading,Mass: Addison-Wesley, 1969) ; Cummings and Worley (Organisation development and change, 2005) (Jamieson, Bach Kallick and Kur, 1984); Introduction and overview of Organisational Development as a data driven approach for Organisational change ( Janine Waclawski, Allan H.Church) Cummings and Worley (Organisation development and change, 2005) Bullock and Batten, 1985; Bernard Burnes, 2004 (Managing Change) French and Bell, 1984; Lewin, 1947b; Cummings and Worley (Organisation development and change, 2005) R. Likert, 1967; R. Blake and J. Mouton, 1964; Cummings and Worley (Organisation development and change, 2005) D. Naddler, 1988; M. Marks and P.Mirvis, 1998; Cummings and Worley (Organisation development and change, 2005) Cummings and Worley, 2001; French and Bell, 1995; Robert L.Kahn, 2002; Wooten and White, 1999:8; Organisational development : Some problems and proposals, (Robert L. Kahn,2002) Dawson,1994 ; Schein,1985; Organisational development : Some problems and proposals, (Robert L. Kahn,2002) Back, 1972; Organisational development : Some problems and proposals, (Robert L. Kahn,2002)

The bulest eye :: essays research papers

Claudia and Frieda MacTeer live in Lorain, Ohio with their parents. Their lives are hard, but their parents provide a stern and loving household. To make money, their parents take in a boarder, Henry Washington. Soon after, another young girl, named Pecola, comes to live with the MacTeers after her father, Cholly, burned down her house. The three girls become friends. Pecola loves milk and Shirley Temple; it quickly becomes clear that she believes that all things Caucasian are beautiful. It also becomes clear that Pecola considers herself ugly because she has such strong African features. She does not believe she can be loved. Pecola eventually moves back in with her family. Life there is not pleasant. Her father is an alcoholic, her mother is distant, and the two of them often fight. Pecola's older brother, Samuel, often runs away from home. Pecola also runs away but into her own fantasies: she dreams of having the bluest eyes in the world. Pecola's life away from her family is no better. She is often picked on and called ugly by those around her. Claudia and Frieda realize that the entire neighborhood agrees with Pecola that Caucasian features are beautiful. Pecola's parents have both had difficult lives. Pauline always felt like an outsider in her family and constantly suffers through feelings of loneliness and ugliness. She wants to love her daughter but finds Pecola unattractive. Pauline works for a wealthy white family and finds her solace in their house and in movie theaters showing the glamorous white world. Cholly was abandoned by his parents and brought up by his aunt. He was often humiliated by white people and built up a great rage toward whites and women. When he met and married Pauline, things were good for a time, but he soon felt trapped and unhappy. The marriage is listless and dull, except for those moments when they are fighting. One day, as he returns home and finds Pecola washing dishes, Cholly's life of rage and aborted desire wells up and he rapes his daughter. Pauline blames Pecola for the rape, irrationally seeing it as Pecola's fault. Pecola becomes more obsessed with getting blue eyes and visits Soaphead Church, a sham mystic, who promises to help her. Instead, he uses her to help kill a dog he doesn't like. Pecola discovers she is pregnant. Over the course of her pregnancy, Pecola goes mad.

Applying Theory Essay

Healthy aging is positively correlated with continued psychological and social participation of senior citizens with activities that may not be very similar to those that they have been used to, but substitutes them to accommodate their age and limited capabilities. Building a senior citizen’s center would allow them to participate in modified activities that they have pursued in middle age. The community would be creating a venue by which the elderly could get educational training, physical and leisure activities suited to their age to reduce boredom. The center would encourage them to stay active, less depressed about aging. In the long-term, the center would promote a positive well-being among the elderly. Exchange Theory Building a senior citizen’s center would benefit the senior citizens in many ways but on the part of the community, the project would have benefits as well as incur costs. A center would provide senior citizens a productive means by which to spend their retirement years. It would make them more active and social than they would if they simply spend most of their time at home or a retirement home. On the part of the community, the monetary cost of the project might make it impractical if the amount could be better spent in a much more needed community project. Then again, the elderly is as much a part of the community as much as the younger members and constructing a center would provide a psychological benefit for both age groups. To the elderly, a center is a reassurance that the community values them in spite their old age. To the younger generation, the center equally reassures them that they are doing something right for the elderly. Functionalism Every age group needs to belong to an institution which would foster a sense of their membership in the larger community. Furthermore, to survive as a whole, all members should work together and slip into roles aimed towards fulfilling the needs of society. A senior citizen’s center would make the retirees a sense of belonging in the community as it would serve as their institution now that they have lost membership in their former workplaces. They would form into a social group which could organize activities to benefit the entire community. It would make the cohesion of the community stronger as an organized group of senior citizens means that even the elderly are contributing towards the stability and constant activity of the community, factors which characterize a healthy, working community. Continuity Theory Senior citizens would continue to seek for the same activities, relationships and lifestyles they had in younger years. A senior citizen’s center would be a good way by which the elderly members of society can organize, assemble and socialize—just like when they were younger. Since they all belong to the same age group, members would develop a distinct culture and this would give everyone a sense of stability and support system. A center with activities and programs geared for the elderly would help ease the difficulties of adjusting to old age. The community, in turn, would have less of the stereotyped bitter and bad-tempered elderly members because it has a place which helps the elderly experience aging as a positive, supportive and gently-sloping experience. Theories that would argue against the senior citizen’s center. Conflict Theory Building a senior citizen’s center would benefit the elderly, however it would acknowledge their continued worth in society and their influence in terms of policy-making. The senior citizens have passed their prime, and the younger generation controls public administration including the budget and planning. The latter would disapprove the spending of $3M for a center that would not be profitable to the community. The community could maximize its spending by allocating the budget for other projects and simply put the care of the elderly under their respective families or elderly homes. This way the family or home would be spending only for the necessary expenses to support the survival needs of the elderly without funneling the community’s financial resources. Political economy of aging The corporate interest precedes personal interest of the market. A senior citizen’s center would surely not justify the $3M that the community would be spending towards constructing and running it. A center for the elderly would simply be a place for them to engage in pursuits like physical activities, entertainment, seminars conducted by volunteers and other non-profitable, self-serving endeavors. If the aim is to spend the money in a project that would benefit the aging population, a wiser idea would be to revert the funds towards the construction of a managed care institution. To be profitable in the long run, this institution could give the elderly the same services and activities as the proposed center, but at certain prices. Recreation for the elderly should be a privilege instead of a charitable act. Disengagement theory The elderly and society engage in mutual separation. A senior citizen’s center is impractical because it would mean integrating the elderly into the community when they should realize that they have to withdraw from social activities they have been used to prior to retirement. A center would give the elderly a false sense of importance regarding their role in the community. It would pose a burden to the community which has to constantly bear with the expenses incurred by the center and its useless programs. The elderly cannot anymore contribute to society and compete with its standards of excellence; therefore, for the benefit of society, they should interact with the community and with each other less. Social Competence/Breakdown Theory Building a senior citizen’s center would create greater dependency on the part of the already vulnerable senior citizens. If the center is realized the elderly would feel self-important, ask for extra services and special privileges. If the demands are refused, it would cause emotional distress. To show sensitivity to the elderly, they should be allowed to face the challenges in life, without spending $3M to build a center especially for them. They should not be doled out with charity. They should be left to find the means to be happy and productive in their late years. The community would be doing them well if they are made to feel like they have worked hard to accomplish something.

My Role Model-Suhas Gopinath Essay

Bangalore boy who launched his own firm at the young age of 14 years. Gopinath (born November 4, 1986) is the CEO and co-founder of Global Inc. -an up- coming IT company that produces Web sites and software, employs 400 people around the world and become a national icon. The Limca Book of Records – the Indian version of the Guniess Book of Records – lists him as the world’s Youngest CEO. Suhas Gopinath started a software company at the age 14 and since become one of the most remarkable success stories of the Indian IT boom. Now he’s 22 and runs a world-class business with 400 employees. In 2005, an investing firm from Houston, Texas offered him $100 million for majority stake in Global. He refused, â€Å"after several months of discussions, admittedly†. The reason for his negative response: â€Å"Why should I sell my baby? † The transformation During the mid-1990s, the first Internet cafes began opening up in Bangalore, with one going into operation next door to Gopinath’s house. My brother Shreyas took me there. I was fascinated. The Internet changed my life, he says. He spent every spare minute online. He learned himself how to build Web sites. He spent every rupee he had in the internet cafe, says his mother. Gopinath admits, I had been a good student up until then. After I discovered the internet, I was an average student. Before finding cyberspace, he had dreams of becoming a veterinarian. His first project In 1998, when he was 13, Gopinath launched his first website: www. coolhindustan. com. I wanted to provide Indians all over the world with a forum to post public events, tips for eating out and everything else they’re interested in, he recalls. The Web site became popular – including with hackers in Pakistan. They attacked cool Hindustan and replaced the Web site’s logo with â€Å"Cool Pakistan†. That was a terrible experience, Suhas says today. He abandoned the project. By then, talent scouts in Silicon Valley had already heard of Suhas Gopinath and the company â€Å"Network Solutions† invited the young Indian to its headquarters in San Jose, California. It was the first time he had ever boarded a plane and the first time he had been Outside India’s borders. They offered me a job. They also would have paid for my education in the United States, he says. His answer, though, was no, why should I do for another company what I could do for my own? About his company L to R: -Suhas Gopinath, former president Abdul Kalam. Gopinath wasn’t going to wait four years. He cheated: Along with three friends, he registered his company in San Jose. Online, of course, he says. He wanted to name the company â€Å"Global Solutions†, but that name was already taken. He opted for Global. Today, he still regrets that he wasn’t able to start his company in Bangalore. India’s most important politicians know the young man. He was even granted a private conversation with President Abdul Kalam. I told him that the age limit for starting a company has to be removed, Gopinath says. Kalam promised him support, but so far nothing has changed. The law wasn’t the only obstacle, though. Potential customers cancelled their orders when they learned their business partner was barely 14. Many people didn’t take him seriously he remembers. As soon as he began sprouting facial air, he grew moustache, though he has, on the advice of friends, since shaved it off. Ultimately, Gopinath managed to overcome every obstacle. World gradually spread about his company’s abilities and Gopinath hired more and more people and opened up more offices. He became the boss, employer and chief executive – all in mid puberty. Most of his employees are just young: The average age is 21 with the oldest being a ripe old 26 and the youngest 12. Gopinath is unable to give the latter a full time job – that would amount to child labor. But we gave him a computer with internet connection, Gopinath says, Now he works for us sometimes on Web design. 200 Customers the World Over Gopinath’s company is into web-based and software solutions, mobile and e-commerce solutions – besides making web sites for corporates, advertisers and educational institutions. Meanwhile Global has amassed 200 customers across the globe and now has offices in 11 countries with some 65 percentage of company turn over coming from Europe. The young Indians have become particularly good at identifying unfilled market niches. They developed a software product for schools, for example, allowing a teacher to easily enter grades and attendance and enabling parents to check that their children are showing up to class – a kind of electronics class register. The Indian government was thrilled with the idea and recently contracted Global to set up the program in 1,000 schools. Now that he is 21, Gopinath is thinking of transferring the company headquarters to India – even though some 125 people now work for Global in San Jose against only 25 in Bangalore. What would be happen to the employees in the United States? We’II see, Gopinath says. â€Å"The new developments are coming mainly from Bangalore†. Going to university on the side L to R: M. R. Gopinath-Suhas’ father, Shri. M V Rajashekaran-Minister, Suhas Gopinath, Kala Gopinath-Suhas’ mother) Gopinath’s father, M. R Gopinath, once a scientist at the Defense Ministry, now acknowledges that his son made the right choices during the last seven years. They are proud parents, but they still haven’t let him go. â€Å"To us, it’s important that he gets a degree, the father says. â€Å"Education is the most important thing in India†.