Visual Arts - Peeping Tom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Visual Arts - Peeping Tom - Essay Example The reason behind such a huge criticism was the extreme of voyeurism related to private moments of people. The film included pictorial records of women, which were recorded right at the time of their deaths. The main character of the film, Mark, who was shown as a killer in the film used to capture the moments of fear while murdering young women. This was one of the main factors, which gave rise to such a huge level of criticism against the film, which eventually ended Powell’s career as a director. The critics used to give disgraceful comments about the film because of its absurd nature. Some critics even said that the whole film should be flushed down the sewer. The theme of the film revealed the psychological behaviors of different people involved in the people. The film also revealed that the nature of a person becomes stronger by time and what a person observes in the childhood never gets out of his/her mind. The film involves the audience in the shameful act of stalking and murdering young women, which was also one of the major reasons behind criticism about the film. The critics also believed that the film was a show of frustration and violence instead of a pure entertainment. The film did not give any sort of lesson to the audience rather it just made them feel involved in the shameful act of stalking women and murdering them. This aspect of the film was the most disastrous one because it tried to break the unspoken rules of the English cinema. Some critics believed that the film was portraying the elements of violence, aggression, and voyeurism by involving the audience into the acts of the killer. This was not acceptable for the critics as it was totally against the social and moral ethics. Critics believed that the role of cinema was to make people aware of social and moral ethics of the society instead of involving them into voyeur acts. The director of the film, Powell, broke the rules of the cinema by making such film but he never thought o f consequences of doing such act. â€Å"With this film, he succeeded in breaking through all boundaries and disregarding all unspoken rules of cinema† (Jacobson, n.d.). The consequences of making such a movie were very bad for the director of the movie. The director not only faced heavy loss due to failure of the film but also his career as a director ended. â€Å"It’s fifty years since Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom was released to notorious critical umbrage, a Caesar-like mass stabbing which essentially killed his career† (Robey, 2010). Today, some people consider this movie as the first modern horror movie of the century, which included the elements of sex and horror. Although the lightening and genre of the film was very outstanding, yet the story and style of the film did not come up to the expectations of the audience and the critics. The film was very unsettling in nature as the director portrayed the main role of the film as a mentally ill person. T he murdered used to trap the girls and murder them in order to fulfill his psychological frustration. The way the film was made and the way it showed the actions of Mark, who was the hero of the film, was not expected by the audience, which gave rise to such a great criticism against the film. Powell, the director of the film, was very much aware of the dark aspects of the film but even then, he went on to make this film. The film just remained in the cinemas for one

American Beauty: Micro Features Analysis

American Beauty: Micro Features Analysis The film I have specifically chosen for my micro-features analysis essay is Sam Mendess Academy Award winning motion picture American Beauty winning numerous Oscars and praise from critics. The narrative follows the miserable and mundane lives of the Burnham family consisting of Lester, a middle aged man who is facing a severe mid-life crisis and is extremely depressed, married to Carolyn who is an independent business women and housewife and their naive daughter Jane. The films promotional tagline look closer subconsciously implies that the appropriate suburban lifestyle depicted within the narrative is not as ideal as initially perceived, therefore exploring the corrupt and dysfunctional Burnham family fuelled entirely by materialism. The brief sequence chosen for microanalysis is the exposition, otherwise known as the opening which establishes themes, characters, inner and outer presence and the world they inhabit. Sam Mendes, the director must specifically use a contribution of a ll micro-elements including sound, mise en scene, cinematography and editing in order to grasp the viewers conscious attention and propel the narrative forward efficiently, however the two micro-aspects I have chose for analysis consist of mise en scene and cinematography which create meaning and evoke responses from the audience. American Beauty immediately commences with Jane Burnham being recorded by an anonymous character, the conversation between the two is extremely personal based on her ultimate intention to kill her father. The uncomfortable atmosphere compliments the compelling dialogue as it the amateur recording technique is specifically used in order to create realism which grasps the viewer into a submissive position due to the nature of the camera shot shifting into an intimidating low angle shot which consists of Jane dominating the frame with direct eye contacts creating an overwhelmingly intense atmosphere. The lighting within the room is severely limited thus being partially illuminated which creates a room filled with sinister shadows creating an ominous mood which emphasises her monotone clothing creating a mysterious persona that is unconventional for her age, more specifically sixteen therefore contradicting the typical cheerleader stereotype. Janes eye line match within the camera shot d etonates determination, zooming at a subtle pace whilst staring in a sinister way into the camera engages the viewer based on the cameraman refusing to allow her to escape voyeurism. Carolyn Burnham is seen doing traditional female associated activities based on her natural characteristics hence her growing and maintaining the flowers within her garden, more specifically the roses are often associated with love and romance which is reflective of her provocative image possibly fuelled by her intentions to find another sexual partner regardless of her husbands consent however one could consider gardening mentally satisfies Carolyn which inevitably reduces her need for sex, although as an audience we seriously doubt Lester cares due to his lacklustre body language. Lester perhaps outcasts himself from which unfortunately makes him invisible and unnoticeable, captured significantly during the scene where he is seen eavesdropping on the conversation between Carolyn and the homosexual next door neighbour. The intentional use of a cut in shot shows his lack of presence and participation within his wifes life, master shot initially establishes the conversation which is p redictably followed by shot-reverse-shot, the focus ruthlessly shifts between the dialogue where the previously distorted and blurred figure is seen in the window thus representing his fragmenting relationship with his wife and overall exclusion from society. Lesters perspective shows his helplessness to achieve acceptance hence his much more laid back approach to life, rather than a mundane lifestyle adopted by the majority suburban population, possibly aspiring to occupy a more hectic lifestyle however according to his established motivational issues in the exposition this seems highly unlikely. The outside of the house is illuminated entirely by natural light thus being much more glamorous therefore more appealing however he still holds distain towards it, in contrast the interior of the house is fuelled by minimal lighting which is significantly more realistic. In addition the interior of the house is also impractically dark which coincides with Lesters tone during the voice ove r narration thus displaying two conflicting worlds; unfortunately he occupies the miserable one alone. Lester comments on the coincidental matching of Carolyns attire and gardening apparatus, handle on those pruning shears matches her gardening clogs, stating it is not an accident which can be applied to the significance of the door and its colour, more specifically being an intense shade of red which distinctly different from majority of white therefore standing out with exceptional prominence which denotes violence which is depicted ruthlessly within the exposition and can be considered an important theme within the narrative. Lester has already foreshadowed his imminent death via voice over thus establishing the climax, building constant anticipation which makes the viewer become emotionally attached to the protagonist thus evoking empathy towards him and his circumstance. The explicit performance of Lester during the masturbation scene in the shower reflects the realistic approach to the film, the initial shock of this scene can be uncomfortable for less mature audiences, and however it entices the viewer into the realistic world of Lester which is uncountable to the majority of the population who indulge in similar activities. The claustrophobic experience within a shower cubicle can metaphorically represent a prison cell thus being imprisoned into a mundane suburban lifestyle. His body language during this scene is noticeably drained, the angle of his head on his own shoulders displays his lack of stability and main intention to sexually satisfy himself by his own means during the current moment regardless of anyones opinion, especially Carolyn thus referring to it as the highlight of his day without sarcasm. Lesters pleasured body language is due to the masturbation; however it could potentially be exaggerated based on the thrill of doing something against the norms of society hence the use of highlight. Undoubtedly the severe lack of intimacy and chemistry with his wife could possibly be the reason for the masturbation rather than traditional sex, perhaps he is probably bored with sex like the majority of other things due to his refusal to abide by social norms to maintain a stable relationship on order to satisfy one anothers needs. Whilst the Carolyn and Jane are waiting impatiently for Lester to proceed towards the noticeably expensive yet convention middle class car, basic processes such as making sure the suitcase is shut correctly emphasises his severe lack of motivation and commitment to life. Lester is seen casually collecting his work from a high angle perspective, kneeling down in an inferior position to his wife puts significant emphasis in his subordinate role within the dysfunctional family, thus switching gender roles with his wife, which in the current society is acceptable although not predominantly for the traditional male ego especially for dignity and pride; however the behaviour displayed by him implies that his couldnt care less. Carolyns performance such as the raising of the eyebrows displays utter disappointment since she is married to an individual who is such a useless contribution to society thus making him obsolete or otherwise redundant, as he is expendable. Her formal makes her seem significantly more financially independent, reinforced by the low angle perspective of Lester, making her seem significantly more intimidating and authoritative thus not requiring his assistance, potentially holding her back economically. The camera cuts to the family motionless within the car, unresponsive to one another with a significant lack of acknowledgement reinforced the extent of the families communicational breakdown, Lester is seen sitting on the back seat of the car slumped, possibly even asleep whilst his wife and daughter sit in the front eager to get on with their social life, whether it is work or school. Lester positioned between the two within the medium shot, displays his prominence however his physical existence is lacking, possibly lost during the recent years which he has been entirely consumed by the capitalist society. The clothing worn by Lester is representative of his social class; social indicators including his house, car and clothing coincide with the typical middle class individual. Natural light is present within the scene but is obscured by the tinted windows, thus being restricted to reach its full potential, therefore subconsciously representing his constraints metaphorically hence t he muted tones emphasising the lifeless atmosphere. In conclusion the micro-features within the exposition of American Beauty establishes key themes within the narrative, consisting of love, sexuality, identity, etc become more and more prominent as the narrative eventually progresses conveying numerous meaning during this brief sequence therefore dictating the characters personality and determining the choices they will make.

Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt Essay -- American History Presidents E

Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt Throughout the ages there have been many great leaders. These leaders are powerful in many ways, with a strong control over the people, and a place in history. But who would have guessed that two cousins would be some of the greatest government figures ever? Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt, both American presidents, both American Heroes. Without these dignitaries, the American advancement into the present day would be incomplete and/or impossible. They gave people hope through hard times and the spirit to protect their country and one another. â€Å" S p e a k s o f t l y†¦ C a r r y a b i g s t i c k † Theodore â€Å"Teddy† Roosevelt was born into a rich New York family in 1858. His childhood was filled with sickness. He soon became interested in wildlife and nature. In 1880 he graduated Harvard. Happy with his new accomplishments he took on a wife, Alice Lee Roosevelt. Unfortunately, his mother passed away on the same day as the marriage. Heartbroken, Roosevelt moved west to the Dakota territories to hunt and explore. His first marriage was over soon afterwards. A few years later he ventured to Paris, France were he met his second wife. Back in America the Spanish- American War for the Southwest was in formation. Roosevelt, wife and all, headed back home. Enlisted and prepared, Roosevelt headed South. On the path to victory, Roosevelt met up with Leonard Wood, together the created the Rough Riders Regiment (RRR). In 1898,the RRR, under the control of Roosevelt and Wood, lead the battle against San Juan, Puerto Rico to come out victorious. Both men returned home to a hero’s welcome happy to be alive. It was the dawning of the 20th century. William McKinley was President and Roosevelt: Vice President. Under McKinley, he learned about the responsibilities of being a president. Suddenly without warning McKinley was shot and killed. In 1901, at 42 Roosevelt became the youngest president to serve office. He disagreed with how the nation’s economy was being controlled by Big Business. In his term he set about â€Å"trust busting† by initiating some 40 lawsuits against big businesses. It was said once that while hunting, Roosevelt came upon a bear cub. Despite the demands of his hunting partners, Roosevelt refused to kill the cub. This story touched the heart of millions. Soon cartoon strips, newspape... ...ld War II. During the war years he had not appeared often in public, but during his campaign for a fourth term in 1944 many who saw him said that he looked pale, thin, and old. The election, which resulted in his victory over New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, was a strain on the president. In the early spring of 1945 he went to Warm Springs, Georgia, in an effort to recapture his flagging energy. There he died of a massive cerebral hemorrhage on April 12, 1945. In conclusion I believe that Franklin Delano Roosevelt had a greater impact on the American Society than his cousin, Theodore Roosevelt. FDR did so much in his lifetime as president that without someone like him to get us through hard times like the Depression or World War 2, and supply new improvements in the way life is conditioned. We wouldn’t be as successful as we are today. Theodore Roosevelt was also a great man, I am not saying otherwise. But FDR has the addition of four presidential terms. In fact being the only president to carry out four terms he created the cause for the 22nd amendment even after death. In turn with the addition of these two men in history we have not only changed the world but ourselves.

Disadvantages of Foreign Aid

An evaluation of Blackberry Company’s implementation of TQM Done by: Sanad F Jumean 1 Table of contents: _ Introduction——————————————————3 _ Continuous improvement————————————-4 _ Employee involvement—————————————-4 _ Customer focus————————————————–5 _ Conclusion——————————————————–6 _ References—————————————————â€⠀Ã¢â‚¬â€œ7 2 IntroductionBlackberry is a brand that was created by research in motion (RIM) which is a global leader in wireless innovation, the mobile industry was revolutionized with the introduction of blackberry solution in 1999, blackberry offers a variety of products and services targeting both business customers as well as individual customers, most of its products are smart phones that have the ability to send and receive push e-mails and instant massages with a high level of security , it helps its customers connect more easily with the world regardless of the place, blackberry devices can also be used as personal digital assistants, portable media players, and internet browser, the blackberry internet service is available in 91 countries around the world on over 500 mobile service operators. Blackberry’s goal and vision statement is to provide solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market, including the software that allows the BlackBerry Smartphone to p rovide mobile access to e-mail, applications, media and the Internet. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, blackberry provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including e-mail, phone, text messaging (SMS and MMS), Internet and intranet-based applications. 3Continuous improvement: Blackberry Company listens to its customers through votes on its website, feedbacks, and surveys throughout the world. Blackberry has a policy that translates those feedbacks into their routinely two month’s software updates. Software updates include improving their current software’s that are being used by customers and adding new features that come up to the developers through customer feedback process and brainstorming of developers. Security measures are a major concern for blackberry; improvements to the software include such security measures that are most importan t to business people who operate their work on their devices.Continuous improvements in Blackberry Company is not limited to its software but also includes the body of the device, those improvements are mainly based on the previous shape of the same series of the device and reviews from users of the same series phone. Continuous improvement can also be seen in blackberry’s emphasis on continuously training their employees and making sure that they have the necessary skills and specialties to compete in the market, as well as continuously evaluating their performance and determining what needs to be improved. Employee involvement Blackberry Company have 250,000 developers throughout the world, those developers come up with different ideas about developing, improving, and producing a new product. They try to align their ideas through meetings, and then they present the conclusion of their ideas to the top management.If the top management gives the approval to the new ideas of t he developers they apply their new ideas and creations through translating these ideas into products and services. During this stage the rest of the employees receive updated e-mails during every stage of producing the new product to have an overview about the product for the sake of answering customer’s wonders. 4 Customer focus: Blackberry Company is mainly addressing business people in their device but at the same time they still focus on individuals willing to use their products or services. As previously discussed blackberry has various methods in keeping touch with their current customers and new potential markets.After evaluating the feedbacks whether positive or negative, the data gathered is then analyzed and grouped in the form of useful information and knowledge that can be used to keep their products and services up to date. Because customers are the main asset for blackberry, most of the useful information gathered is actually taken into consideration by employee s and developers and translate it effectively to their new or updated product or service. To support our earlier discussion on customer focus, blackberry has awarded an employee that has applied their strategy through engaging customers in all of its research and development process, either as source of innovation, as a part of the product testing program in the redesign of the operational process. This award is called â€Å" Blackberry customer focus award†. 5 Conclusion:It’s important for different types of organizations to continuously evaluate how well they implement TQM, taking into consideration the major effects of implementing TQM on the organization’s performance and its position in the market related to its competitors, however, although blackberry company pays considerable attention on implementing TQM properly, focusing on important factors such as employee empowerment, customer focus, and continuous improvement, it has to do more efforts in certain areas such as employee empowerment by giving its employees the chance to be part of the production process rather than just sending them updated e-mails during every stage of producing the new product or service. 6 References _ http://us. blackberry. com _ http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/BlackBerry _ Interviews with Mr. Mike Mefleh Blackberry Product Manger- Middle east. 7

Organisational Behaviour

CONTENT Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦1 Trends affecting the workplace †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦2 The changing workforce†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2 Workplace value and ethics †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 Interview outcome †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 Research outcome†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 Reference list†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 Appendix A†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 Appendix B†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 Introduction Organizational behaviour knowledge is very important for everyone. It not only benefits a person as an individual, but also influences organization events. There are five organizational behaviour trends in the workplace: globalization, the changing workforce, evolving employment relationships, virtual work, and workplace values and ethics. In this essay, we will talk about two of them which are the changing workforce and workplace values and ethics. For the changing workforce, as Mcshane and Travaglione (2007) said there are primary and secondary dimensions of workforce diversity. And those diversities can present both opportunities and challenges in organization. Workplace values and ethics is a significant part of organizational behaviour trends. It can dictate people’s priorities, preferences and desires’ (Mcshane & Travaglione 2007, p 13). In order to understand these two trends better, I interviewed a manager who has six years work experience in Seven-Eleven store. During this face-to face interview, some relevant questions were asked. And the research result is quite helpful. Trends affecting the workplace 1. The cha nging workforce With the development of globalisation, workforce diversity has become one of the most important trends that affect the workforce. People who work in the same workplace may have different religion, education and work experience. And those diversities can bring opportunities and challenges to an organization. Racial diversity Ethnic and racial diversity in the workplace is a core value in organization. For example, Canada is a diverse country with a number of ethnic groups. Visible minorities account for 10 per cent of the Canadian population in 1995 and this figure is expected to double by 2015 (Demers, cite in Seymen 2006). Furthermore, Atiyyah (cited in Seymen 2006)in his work, concentrates on workforce diversity which is composed of Americans, Europeans, mainly Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Iran and Persian Gulf countries. Today,with globalisation increasingly happening , majority of organisation have seen multicultural background employees as a important part of success in this highly diversified society. The advantage of having a multi cultural group of employees in an organization is it broadens an organization’s view as they exchange ideas and opinions, working towards making a better and more effective business decision. However a diversified organization also has its disadvantage. One of the problems to overcome is cross-cultural communication. For members of different culture, they interpret certain words, actions or signals differently. As Karoc-kakabadse and kouzmin (2001) highlights that different cultures have different understanding regarding the interaction process and the different style of dialogues. Some misunderstanding could occur due to different interpretation and cause workplace disagreements Therefore in a diversified environment, it is important to practice cultural awareness as to avoid misinterpretation which could lead to unproductive working attitudes within an organization. Women in workforce Compare to the many years ago, woman in the workforce have increased intensively. Women have proven to be better at managing staff in an organization as they are more people-orientated. As Mcshane and Travaglione (2007) suggest that compared to male managers, woman managers are more relationship orientated and adopt a stronger emphasis on teams and employee involvement. However in many occasion, woman have stronger family commitment compared to men. Therefore higher percentages of main position in organization are mostly men. On the other hand, woman have been increasingly joining the workforce as many organization have better working conditions offered to woman such as longer maternity leave and in some organizations, childcare services are introduced to help woman return to the workforce after childbirth. Generational diversity Generational diversity could present opportunities as well as challenges in an organization(Mcshane & Travaglione 2007). Basically, generation X and generation Y has different work values as generation X go for job security while generation Y goes more for job satisfaction, status and social involvement(Cinnamo & Gardner 2008). By understanding generational diversity, it could help to identify employees’ needs, in turn managers or employers could come up with organization policies that matches those needs which could result in better job satisfaction and also low employee turnover. Employee turnover disadvantages an organisation as recruitment cost time, effort and money. And retaining employees with experiences, and training employees giving them more skills could in turn help the organization reach greater heights. Advantages of generational diversity could be improved decision making and team performance on complex tasks. In a diverse society, a diverse workforce would provide a better customer service too. This is one of the reasons why some organizations choose employees of diversified backgrounds and generations. 2Workplace value and ethics Importance of values in workplace McDonald and Zepp (2007) define values as the embodiment of what an organization stands for, and should be the basis for the behaviour of its members. Value and ethics guide employees’ actions, behaviours and making decisions. The influence of family, religion , community will determine individual values, Within an organization, when employees have clash of values , It becomes very difficult for them to work together , therefore having a set of organization work policy is very important , it defines the appropriate ethics and values that employees should have. With increasing cultural diversity these days, it is very important to find shared values that majority in an organization believe in, to promote harmony and also increase efficiency as they work together. However due to society diversity, ethical conflict could occur. As Wartick and Wood (1998) defines ethical conflicts as dissonances among principles of right among principles of wrong. At a workplace, it is common to come across ethical conflict whereby both parties reckon they are right in their own way, making decision to the benefit of the organisation. In this situation, conflict resolution comes in, where they should together and put their differences aside, and come up with an ideal solution. Corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsible is the organization’s moral obligation towards all of its stakeholders. Otherwise as Kotler and Lee (2005) define corporate responsible is a commitment to improve community well-being through discretionary business practices and contributions of corporate resources. This refers to a voluntary commitment a business is making in choosing an implementing these practices rather than mandated by law or by other ethical issues. Big organizations like Westpac and McDonalds practice corporate social responsible. First and foremost, due to their finance ability, and also to its massive marketing campaigns which due to influences the public. According to Macdonald CSR report 2007, over the years, they have been involved in caring for the environment, contribution to the Australian economy, practicing food safety and responsible marketing, and also giving scholarship and grants to children. In recent years, organizations are no longer after just profit-making, corporate social responsible is getting more and more businesses attention. Interview outcome In order to under to understand these two trends better, a manager of Severn-Eleven who has six year experience has been interviewed. During the face-to-face interview, ten relevant questions were asked. Here is the interview outcome. The changing workforce a) What do you think is changing workforce? I think changing workforce is the replacement of skilled labour, and training employees when the situation is required. b) Do you think the changing workforce is important in the workplace? Yes. I think it is important in a workplace. c) Why do you think it is/or is not? With demands around us constantly changing, it is important for us to prepare ourselves with skills, knowledge that is needed to cope with these changes. If not it will be difficult for our business to compete in this harsh and competitive environment. d) What factors do you think can affect the changing workforce? Technology advance could affect the changing workforce. e) Is there cultural diversity within your employees? Why yes/no? Yes, I employ a mixture of races of employees within my organsation, and they get along pretty well. I chose employees from different background mainly because of the multi-cultural environment we have in Victoria, and also the ideas they be able to exchange as they work together. Workplace values and ethics a) What do you think are ethical values? Ethical values are what one think is right or wrong and it guides one’s actions. For example, here in 7-Eleven ethical principles are those tell the truth, take complaints seriously, treat customers and employees fairly and so on. b) Do you think ethical values are important in the workplace? Yes, it is important. ) Why do you think they are/or are not? They provide behaviour rules that can control one’s thoughts and actions. They can affect one’s decision making and organization’s operation. d) What factors do you think have affected the way we think about ethical behaviour at work? It may be past work experience, cultural practices and family influences. e) Do you think people’s ethical behaviour at wo rk is affected by what their colleagues or superiors are doing? Yes, as the working environment of a person could directly affect a person’s decision and actions. Research outcome According to this interview, it is evident that employers find the need for employees continue acquiring skills to keep up with the changing workforce. As technology advances, it increases challenges in the workplace. For example machines and computers replacing human labour. Uren (2009) stated during recession, women, by contrast, have done better in the services sector of the economy, which is not as severely affected by recessions as manufacturing. As intangible service can only be provide by human labour. When equipped with skills, it is not difficult to cope with the changing workforce. Generally there is agreement about the trends compared to the interview results as the employer interviewed emphasized about inquiring new skills, and also supports cultural diversity within her chosen employees. Upon entering an organisation, ethics and value do affect an employee’s attitude and judgment, however his or her values could be shaped by religion, family upbringing, past experiences, therefore it is something hard to change. Corporate social responsibility educates and affects not only the organisation’s external environment; it affects the internal environment as well. Employees could learn proper way ethics on the way, as the organisation carry out campaigns, and it could guide the employees, giving them the ability and knowledge to help the public and needy and cutting down on environmental harm. Upon reflecting, the results we have got from the interview were useful and also highlight the importance of the changing workforce and ethics and values in organsations. We would have a better idea of what to expect when u enter the workforce. My new knowledge would influence me to develop cultural awareness in this multi-cultural environment, and also to keep up with changes, by learning new skills on the way. Conclusion From the above literature review, we could conclude that generational and cultural diversity may not be a bad thing, it broadens employees’ views and prospects, allows them to exchange ideas and interact , bringing out better opportunities in the global market. However, there are its short-comings, like ethics and value conflict and also cross-cultural communication problems. These could lead to major issue like misinterpretation of information and employee conflicts, which could affect employee’s performance and productivity. In recent years, there are increasing women joining the workforce, furthermore, occupying main position in organisation. In some situations, women have proved to be better managers than men, as they use a more interactive style of management, and more sensitive to employee’s needs. When employees’ needs are fulfill, they are more likely to feel job satisfaction. Corporation social responsible are getting more organization attention and participation as it provides marketing purpose, and also educating the public with minimizing environmental harm and helping the needy. Compared to the past, organisations are not just for making profit, but also responsible to the public. Reference list Cennamo, L and Gardner, D 2008, ‘Generational differences in work values, outcomes and person-organization values fit’, Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol 23, no. 8, pp 891-906. Karoc-Kakabadse, N. and Kouzmin, A. (2001), ‘Low- and high-context communication patterns: towards mapping cross-cultural encounters’, Cross Cultural Management, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 3-24. Kotler, P and Lee, N, 2005, Corporate social responsibility: doing the most good for your company and your cause, John Wiley and Sons, AUS Mcdonalds, G and Zepp, R 1989, ‘Business ethics: practical proposal’, Journal of Management Development, vol 8, no 1, pp 55-66. McDonald’s 2007, McDonald’s Australia Corporate Social Responsibility Report, McDonald’s, Australia, viewed on 31 Mar 2009. Mcshane, S and Travaglione T, 2007, Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim, 2ed, McGraw-Hill, AUS Seymen, O 2006, ‘The cultural diversity phenomenon in organisations and different approaches for effective cultural diversity management: a literary review’, Cross Culture Management, vol 13, no 4, pp 296-315. Uren, D 2009, ‘One in four workers to go on welfare’, The Australia, 31 Mar, pp, 6. Wartick, S and Wood D, 1998, International business and society, Wiley-Blackwell, US Appendix A Interview Questions The changing workforce a) What do you think is changing workforce? b) Do you think the changing workforce is important in the workplace? c) Why do you think it is/or is not? d) What factors do you think can affect the changing workforce? e) Is there cultural diversity within your employees? Why yes/no? Workplace values and ethics a) What do you think are ethical values? b) Do you think ethical values are important in the workplace? ) Why do you think they are/or are not? d) What factors do you think have affected the way we think about ethical behaviour at work? e) Do you think people’s ethical behaviour at work is affected by what their colleagues or superiors are doing? Appendix B Summary Globalisation has brought challenges and opportunities to the workplace. In th e multi-cultural working environment, there are opportunities to learn more from people from diversified backgrounds, which encourages creativity and exchange of ideas. Challenges could be conflicts due to misinterpretation of message, and also cultural differences. An offensive action or word may not mean to be offensive to another person. Misinterpretation could lead to conflict within the organisation, and unrest in a workplace. Therefore active listening and cultural awareness should be practice in a workplace. Misinterpretation could also lead to inefficiency at work. Changing workforce could be due to technology advance whereby employees should continuously learning skills to cope with the changes. With inappropriate skills, it could lead to inefficient completion of task, and also affects organisation’s productivity. Workplace value and ethics could be a challenge as well, as everyone is different. Different individuals have different values and ethic affecting their decisions and action. Value and ethics of an individual are shaped from past experiences, family upbringing, schooling and religion. Therefore it is something very hard to change. But in a workplace, it is inevitable to work with individuals of different ethics and values. And in serious cases, there could be ethic and value conflicts which could slow down teamwork’s progress. Therefore it is important to always communication and listen to sort the best way out when a problem occur. Corporate social responsibility is getting the attention of many organsations now. Compared to many years ago, organisation now is not just about making profit. They are more concern about environmental harms, people who need help and also responsible marketing and advertising. For example McDonalds which does community work, do clean ups for the environment, discourage wastage, and helping the needy. Most importantly, they engaged in responsible marketing, where they care the food they produce to sell, the health issues and also obesity issues linked to their products. Organisational Behaviour CONTENT Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦1 Trends affecting the workplace †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦2 The changing workforce†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2 Workplace value and ethics †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 Interview outcome †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 Research outcome†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 Reference list†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 Appendix A†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 Appendix B†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 Introduction Organizational behaviour knowledge is very important for everyone. It not only benefits a person as an individual, but also influences organization events. There are five organizational behaviour trends in the workplace: globalization, the changing workforce, evolving employment relationships, virtual work, and workplace values and ethics. In this essay, we will talk about two of them which are the changing workforce and workplace values and ethics. For the changing workforce, as Mcshane and Travaglione (2007) said there are primary and secondary dimensions of workforce diversity. And those diversities can present both opportunities and challenges in organization. Workplace values and ethics is a significant part of organizational behaviour trends. It can dictate people’s priorities, preferences and desires’ (Mcshane & Travaglione 2007, p 13). In order to understand these two trends better, I interviewed a manager who has six years work experience in Seven-Eleven store. During this face-to face interview, some relevant questions were asked. And the research result is quite helpful. Trends affecting the workplace 1. The cha nging workforce With the development of globalisation, workforce diversity has become one of the most important trends that affect the workforce. People who work in the same workplace may have different religion, education and work experience. And those diversities can bring opportunities and challenges to an organization. Racial diversity Ethnic and racial diversity in the workplace is a core value in organization. For example, Canada is a diverse country with a number of ethnic groups. Visible minorities account for 10 per cent of the Canadian population in 1995 and this figure is expected to double by 2015 (Demers, cite in Seymen 2006). Furthermore, Atiyyah (cited in Seymen 2006)in his work, concentrates on workforce diversity which is composed of Americans, Europeans, mainly Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Iran and Persian Gulf countries. Today,with globalisation increasingly happening , majority of organisation have seen multicultural background employees as a important part of success in this highly diversified society. The advantage of having a multi cultural group of employees in an organization is it broadens an organization’s view as they exchange ideas and opinions, working towards making a better and more effective business decision. However a diversified organization also has its disadvantage. One of the problems to overcome is cross-cultural communication. For members of different culture, they interpret certain words, actions or signals differently. As Karoc-kakabadse and kouzmin (2001) highlights that different cultures have different understanding regarding the interaction process and the different style of dialogues. Some misunderstanding could occur due to different interpretation and cause workplace disagreements Therefore in a diversified environment, it is important to practice cultural awareness as to avoid misinterpretation which could lead to unproductive working attitudes within an organization. Women in workforce Compare to the many years ago, woman in the workforce have increased intensively. Women have proven to be better at managing staff in an organization as they are more people-orientated. As Mcshane and Travaglione (2007) suggest that compared to male managers, woman managers are more relationship orientated and adopt a stronger emphasis on teams and employee involvement. However in many occasion, woman have stronger family commitment compared to men. Therefore higher percentages of main position in organization are mostly men. On the other hand, woman have been increasingly joining the workforce as many organization have better working conditions offered to woman such as longer maternity leave and in some organizations, childcare services are introduced to help woman return to the workforce after childbirth. Generational diversity Generational diversity could present opportunities as well as challenges in an organization(Mcshane & Travaglione 2007). Basically, generation X and generation Y has different work values as generation X go for job security while generation Y goes more for job satisfaction, status and social involvement(Cinnamo & Gardner 2008). By understanding generational diversity, it could help to identify employees’ needs, in turn managers or employers could come up with organization policies that matches those needs which could result in better job satisfaction and also low employee turnover. Employee turnover disadvantages an organisation as recruitment cost time, effort and money. And retaining employees with experiences, and training employees giving them more skills could in turn help the organization reach greater heights. Advantages of generational diversity could be improved decision making and team performance on complex tasks. In a diverse society, a diverse workforce would provide a better customer service too. This is one of the reasons why some organizations choose employees of diversified backgrounds and generations. 2Workplace value and ethics Importance of values in workplace McDonald and Zepp (2007) define values as the embodiment of what an organization stands for, and should be the basis for the behaviour of its members. Value and ethics guide employees’ actions, behaviours and making decisions. The influence of family, religion , community will determine individual values, Within an organization, when employees have clash of values , It becomes very difficult for them to work together , therefore having a set of organization work policy is very important , it defines the appropriate ethics and values that employees should have. With increasing cultural diversity these days, it is very important to find shared values that majority in an organization believe in, to promote harmony and also increase efficiency as they work together. However due to society diversity, ethical conflict could occur. As Wartick and Wood (1998) defines ethical conflicts as dissonances among principles of right among principles of wrong. At a workplace, it is common to come across ethical conflict whereby both parties reckon they are right in their own way, making decision to the benefit of the organisation. In this situation, conflict resolution comes in, where they should together and put their differences aside, and come up with an ideal solution. Corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsible is the organization’s moral obligation towards all of its stakeholders. Otherwise as Kotler and Lee (2005) define corporate responsible is a commitment to improve community well-being through discretionary business practices and contributions of corporate resources. This refers to a voluntary commitment a business is making in choosing an implementing these practices rather than mandated by law or by other ethical issues. Big organizations like Westpac and McDonalds practice corporate social responsible. First and foremost, due to their finance ability, and also to its massive marketing campaigns which due to influences the public. According to Macdonald CSR report 2007, over the years, they have been involved in caring for the environment, contribution to the Australian economy, practicing food safety and responsible marketing, and also giving scholarship and grants to children. In recent years, organizations are no longer after just profit-making, corporate social responsible is getting more and more businesses attention. Interview outcome In order to under to understand these two trends better, a manager of Severn-Eleven who has six year experience has been interviewed. During the face-to-face interview, ten relevant questions were asked. Here is the interview outcome. The changing workforce a) What do you think is changing workforce? I think changing workforce is the replacement of skilled labour, and training employees when the situation is required. b) Do you think the changing workforce is important in the workplace? Yes. I think it is important in a workplace. c) Why do you think it is/or is not? With demands around us constantly changing, it is important for us to prepare ourselves with skills, knowledge that is needed to cope with these changes. If not it will be difficult for our business to compete in this harsh and competitive environment. d) What factors do you think can affect the changing workforce? Technology advance could affect the changing workforce. e) Is there cultural diversity within your employees? Why yes/no? Yes, I employ a mixture of races of employees within my organsation, and they get along pretty well. I chose employees from different background mainly because of the multi-cultural environment we have in Victoria, and also the ideas they be able to exchange as they work together. Workplace values and ethics a) What do you think are ethical values? Ethical values are what one think is right or wrong and it guides one’s actions. For example, here in 7-Eleven ethical principles are those tell the truth, take complaints seriously, treat customers and employees fairly and so on. b) Do you think ethical values are important in the workplace? Yes, it is important. ) Why do you think they are/or are not? They provide behaviour rules that can control one’s thoughts and actions. They can affect one’s decision making and organization’s operation. d) What factors do you think have affected the way we think about ethical behaviour at work? It may be past work experience, cultural practices and family influences. e) Do you think people’s ethical behaviour at wo rk is affected by what their colleagues or superiors are doing? Yes, as the working environment of a person could directly affect a person’s decision and actions. Research outcome According to this interview, it is evident that employers find the need for employees continue acquiring skills to keep up with the changing workforce. As technology advances, it increases challenges in the workplace. For example machines and computers replacing human labour. Uren (2009) stated during recession, women, by contrast, have done better in the services sector of the economy, which is not as severely affected by recessions as manufacturing. As intangible service can only be provide by human labour. When equipped with skills, it is not difficult to cope with the changing workforce. Generally there is agreement about the trends compared to the interview results as the employer interviewed emphasized about inquiring new skills, and also supports cultural diversity within her chosen employees. Upon entering an organisation, ethics and value do affect an employee’s attitude and judgment, however his or her values could be shaped by religion, family upbringing, past experiences, therefore it is something hard to change. Corporate social responsibility educates and affects not only the organisation’s external environment; it affects the internal environment as well. Employees could learn proper way ethics on the way, as the organisation carry out campaigns, and it could guide the employees, giving them the ability and knowledge to help the public and needy and cutting down on environmental harm. Upon reflecting, the results we have got from the interview were useful and also highlight the importance of the changing workforce and ethics and values in organsations. We would have a better idea of what to expect when u enter the workforce. My new knowledge would influence me to develop cultural awareness in this multi-cultural environment, and also to keep up with changes, by learning new skills on the way. Conclusion From the above literature review, we could conclude that generational and cultural diversity may not be a bad thing, it broadens employees’ views and prospects, allows them to exchange ideas and interact , bringing out better opportunities in the global market. However, there are its short-comings, like ethics and value conflict and also cross-cultural communication problems. These could lead to major issue like misinterpretation of information and employee conflicts, which could affect employee’s performance and productivity. In recent years, there are increasing women joining the workforce, furthermore, occupying main position in organisation. In some situations, women have proved to be better managers than men, as they use a more interactive style of management, and more sensitive to employee’s needs. When employees’ needs are fulfill, they are more likely to feel job satisfaction. Corporation social responsible are getting more organization attention and participation as it provides marketing purpose, and also educating the public with minimizing environmental harm and helping the needy. Compared to the past, organisations are not just for making profit, but also responsible to the public. Reference list Cennamo, L and Gardner, D 2008, ‘Generational differences in work values, outcomes and person-organization values fit’, Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol 23, no. 8, pp 891-906. Karoc-Kakabadse, N. and Kouzmin, A. (2001), ‘Low- and high-context communication patterns: towards mapping cross-cultural encounters’, Cross Cultural Management, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 3-24. Kotler, P and Lee, N, 2005, Corporate social responsibility: doing the most good for your company and your cause, John Wiley and Sons, AUS Mcdonalds, G and Zepp, R 1989, ‘Business ethics: practical proposal’, Journal of Management Development, vol 8, no 1, pp 55-66. McDonald’s 2007, McDonald’s Australia Corporate Social Responsibility Report, McDonald’s, Australia, viewed on 31 Mar 2009. Mcshane, S and Travaglione T, 2007, Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim, 2ed, McGraw-Hill, AUS Seymen, O 2006, ‘The cultural diversity phenomenon in organisations and different approaches for effective cultural diversity management: a literary review’, Cross Culture Management, vol 13, no 4, pp 296-315. Uren, D 2009, ‘One in four workers to go on welfare’, The Australia, 31 Mar, pp, 6. Wartick, S and Wood D, 1998, International business and society, Wiley-Blackwell, US Appendix A Interview Questions The changing workforce a) What do you think is changing workforce? b) Do you think the changing workforce is important in the workplace? c) Why do you think it is/or is not? d) What factors do you think can affect the changing workforce? e) Is there cultural diversity within your employees? Why yes/no? Workplace values and ethics a) What do you think are ethical values? b) Do you think ethical values are important in the workplace? ) Why do you think they are/or are not? d) What factors do you think have affected the way we think about ethical behaviour at work? e) Do you think people’s ethical behaviour at work is affected by what their colleagues or superiors are doing? Appendix B Summary Globalisation has brought challenges and opportunities to the workplace. In th e multi-cultural working environment, there are opportunities to learn more from people from diversified backgrounds, which encourages creativity and exchange of ideas. Challenges could be conflicts due to misinterpretation of message, and also cultural differences. An offensive action or word may not mean to be offensive to another person. Misinterpretation could lead to conflict within the organisation, and unrest in a workplace. Therefore active listening and cultural awareness should be practice in a workplace. Misinterpretation could also lead to inefficiency at work. Changing workforce could be due to technology advance whereby employees should continuously learning skills to cope with the changes. With inappropriate skills, it could lead to inefficient completion of task, and also affects organisation’s productivity. Workplace value and ethics could be a challenge as well, as everyone is different. Different individuals have different values and ethic affecting their decisions and action. Value and ethics of an individual are shaped from past experiences, family upbringing, schooling and religion. Therefore it is something very hard to change. But in a workplace, it is inevitable to work with individuals of different ethics and values. And in serious cases, there could be ethic and value conflicts which could slow down teamwork’s progress. Therefore it is important to always communication and listen to sort the best way out when a problem occur. Corporate social responsibility is getting the attention of many organsations now. Compared to many years ago, organisation now is not just about making profit. They are more concern about environmental harms, people who need help and also responsible marketing and advertising. For example McDonalds which does community work, do clean ups for the environment, discourage wastage, and helping the needy. Most importantly, they engaged in responsible marketing, where they care the food they produce to sell, the health issues and also obesity issues linked to their products. Organisational Behaviour CONTENT Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦1 Trends affecting the workplace †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦2 The changing workforce†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2 Workplace value and ethics †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 Interview outcome †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 Research outcome†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 Reference list†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 Appendix A†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 Appendix B†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 Introduction Organizational behaviour knowledge is very important for everyone. It not only benefits a person as an individual, but also influences organization events. There are five organizational behaviour trends in the workplace: globalization, the changing workforce, evolving employment relationships, virtual work, and workplace values and ethics. In this essay, we will talk about two of them which are the changing workforce and workplace values and ethics. For the changing workforce, as Mcshane and Travaglione (2007) said there are primary and secondary dimensions of workforce diversity. And those diversities can present both opportunities and challenges in organization. Workplace values and ethics is a significant part of organizational behaviour trends. It can dictate people’s priorities, preferences and desires’ (Mcshane & Travaglione 2007, p 13). In order to understand these two trends better, I interviewed a manager who has six years work experience in Seven-Eleven store. During this face-to face interview, some relevant questions were asked. And the research result is quite helpful. Trends affecting the workplace 1. The cha nging workforce With the development of globalisation, workforce diversity has become one of the most important trends that affect the workforce. People who work in the same workplace may have different religion, education and work experience. And those diversities can bring opportunities and challenges to an organization. Racial diversity Ethnic and racial diversity in the workplace is a core value in organization. For example, Canada is a diverse country with a number of ethnic groups. Visible minorities account for 10 per cent of the Canadian population in 1995 and this figure is expected to double by 2015 (Demers, cite in Seymen 2006). Furthermore, Atiyyah (cited in Seymen 2006)in his work, concentrates on workforce diversity which is composed of Americans, Europeans, mainly Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Iran and Persian Gulf countries. Today,with globalisation increasingly happening , majority of organisation have seen multicultural background employees as a important part of success in this highly diversified society. The advantage of having a multi cultural group of employees in an organization is it broadens an organization’s view as they exchange ideas and opinions, working towards making a better and more effective business decision. However a diversified organization also has its disadvantage. One of the problems to overcome is cross-cultural communication. For members of different culture, they interpret certain words, actions or signals differently. As Karoc-kakabadse and kouzmin (2001) highlights that different cultures have different understanding regarding the interaction process and the different style of dialogues. Some misunderstanding could occur due to different interpretation and cause workplace disagreements Therefore in a diversified environment, it is important to practice cultural awareness as to avoid misinterpretation which could lead to unproductive working attitudes within an organization. Women in workforce Compare to the many years ago, woman in the workforce have increased intensively. Women have proven to be better at managing staff in an organization as they are more people-orientated. As Mcshane and Travaglione (2007) suggest that compared to male managers, woman managers are more relationship orientated and adopt a stronger emphasis on teams and employee involvement. However in many occasion, woman have stronger family commitment compared to men. Therefore higher percentages of main position in organization are mostly men. On the other hand, woman have been increasingly joining the workforce as many organization have better working conditions offered to woman such as longer maternity leave and in some organizations, childcare services are introduced to help woman return to the workforce after childbirth. Generational diversity Generational diversity could present opportunities as well as challenges in an organization(Mcshane & Travaglione 2007). Basically, generation X and generation Y has different work values as generation X go for job security while generation Y goes more for job satisfaction, status and social involvement(Cinnamo & Gardner 2008). By understanding generational diversity, it could help to identify employees’ needs, in turn managers or employers could come up with organization policies that matches those needs which could result in better job satisfaction and also low employee turnover. Employee turnover disadvantages an organisation as recruitment cost time, effort and money. And retaining employees with experiences, and training employees giving them more skills could in turn help the organization reach greater heights. Advantages of generational diversity could be improved decision making and team performance on complex tasks. In a diverse society, a diverse workforce would provide a better customer service too. This is one of the reasons why some organizations choose employees of diversified backgrounds and generations. 2Workplace value and ethics Importance of values in workplace McDonald and Zepp (2007) define values as the embodiment of what an organization stands for, and should be the basis for the behaviour of its members. Value and ethics guide employees’ actions, behaviours and making decisions. The influence of family, religion , community will determine individual values, Within an organization, when employees have clash of values , It becomes very difficult for them to work together , therefore having a set of organization work policy is very important , it defines the appropriate ethics and values that employees should have. With increasing cultural diversity these days, it is very important to find shared values that majority in an organization believe in, to promote harmony and also increase efficiency as they work together. However due to society diversity, ethical conflict could occur. As Wartick and Wood (1998) defines ethical conflicts as dissonances among principles of right among principles of wrong. At a workplace, it is common to come across ethical conflict whereby both parties reckon they are right in their own way, making decision to the benefit of the organisation. In this situation, conflict resolution comes in, where they should together and put their differences aside, and come up with an ideal solution. Corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsible is the organization’s moral obligation towards all of its stakeholders. Otherwise as Kotler and Lee (2005) define corporate responsible is a commitment to improve community well-being through discretionary business practices and contributions of corporate resources. This refers to a voluntary commitment a business is making in choosing an implementing these practices rather than mandated by law or by other ethical issues. Big organizations like Westpac and McDonalds practice corporate social responsible. First and foremost, due to their finance ability, and also to its massive marketing campaigns which due to influences the public. According to Macdonald CSR report 2007, over the years, they have been involved in caring for the environment, contribution to the Australian economy, practicing food safety and responsible marketing, and also giving scholarship and grants to children. In recent years, organizations are no longer after just profit-making, corporate social responsible is getting more and more businesses attention. Interview outcome In order to under to understand these two trends better, a manager of Severn-Eleven who has six year experience has been interviewed. During the face-to-face interview, ten relevant questions were asked. Here is the interview outcome. The changing workforce a) What do you think is changing workforce? I think changing workforce is the replacement of skilled labour, and training employees when the situation is required. b) Do you think the changing workforce is important in the workplace? Yes. I think it is important in a workplace. c) Why do you think it is/or is not? With demands around us constantly changing, it is important for us to prepare ourselves with skills, knowledge that is needed to cope with these changes. If not it will be difficult for our business to compete in this harsh and competitive environment. d) What factors do you think can affect the changing workforce? Technology advance could affect the changing workforce. e) Is there cultural diversity within your employees? Why yes/no? Yes, I employ a mixture of races of employees within my organsation, and they get along pretty well. I chose employees from different background mainly because of the multi-cultural environment we have in Victoria, and also the ideas they be able to exchange as they work together. Workplace values and ethics a) What do you think are ethical values? Ethical values are what one think is right or wrong and it guides one’s actions. For example, here in 7-Eleven ethical principles are those tell the truth, take complaints seriously, treat customers and employees fairly and so on. b) Do you think ethical values are important in the workplace? Yes, it is important. ) Why do you think they are/or are not? They provide behaviour rules that can control one’s thoughts and actions. They can affect one’s decision making and organization’s operation. d) What factors do you think have affected the way we think about ethical behaviour at work? It may be past work experience, cultural practices and family influences. e) Do you think people’s ethical behaviour at wo rk is affected by what their colleagues or superiors are doing? Yes, as the working environment of a person could directly affect a person’s decision and actions. Research outcome According to this interview, it is evident that employers find the need for employees continue acquiring skills to keep up with the changing workforce. As technology advances, it increases challenges in the workplace. For example machines and computers replacing human labour. Uren (2009) stated during recession, women, by contrast, have done better in the services sector of the economy, which is not as severely affected by recessions as manufacturing. As intangible service can only be provide by human labour. When equipped with skills, it is not difficult to cope with the changing workforce. Generally there is agreement about the trends compared to the interview results as the employer interviewed emphasized about inquiring new skills, and also supports cultural diversity within her chosen employees. Upon entering an organisation, ethics and value do affect an employee’s attitude and judgment, however his or her values could be shaped by religion, family upbringing, past experiences, therefore it is something hard to change. Corporate social responsibility educates and affects not only the organisation’s external environment; it affects the internal environment as well. Employees could learn proper way ethics on the way, as the organisation carry out campaigns, and it could guide the employees, giving them the ability and knowledge to help the public and needy and cutting down on environmental harm. Upon reflecting, the results we have got from the interview were useful and also highlight the importance of the changing workforce and ethics and values in organsations. We would have a better idea of what to expect when u enter the workforce. My new knowledge would influence me to develop cultural awareness in this multi-cultural environment, and also to keep up with changes, by learning new skills on the way. Conclusion From the above literature review, we could conclude that generational and cultural diversity may not be a bad thing, it broadens employees’ views and prospects, allows them to exchange ideas and interact , bringing out better opportunities in the global market. However, there are its short-comings, like ethics and value conflict and also cross-cultural communication problems. These could lead to major issue like misinterpretation of information and employee conflicts, which could affect employee’s performance and productivity. In recent years, there are increasing women joining the workforce, furthermore, occupying main position in organisation. In some situations, women have proved to be better managers than men, as they use a more interactive style of management, and more sensitive to employee’s needs. When employees’ needs are fulfill, they are more likely to feel job satisfaction. Corporation social responsible are getting more organization attention and participation as it provides marketing purpose, and also educating the public with minimizing environmental harm and helping the needy. Compared to the past, organisations are not just for making profit, but also responsible to the public. Reference list Cennamo, L and Gardner, D 2008, ‘Generational differences in work values, outcomes and person-organization values fit’, Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol 23, no. 8, pp 891-906. Karoc-Kakabadse, N. and Kouzmin, A. (2001), ‘Low- and high-context communication patterns: towards mapping cross-cultural encounters’, Cross Cultural Management, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 3-24. Kotler, P and Lee, N, 2005, Corporate social responsibility: doing the most good for your company and your cause, John Wiley and Sons, AUS Mcdonalds, G and Zepp, R 1989, ‘Business ethics: practical proposal’, Journal of Management Development, vol 8, no 1, pp 55-66. McDonald’s 2007, McDonald’s Australia Corporate Social Responsibility Report, McDonald’s, Australia, viewed on 31 Mar 2009. Mcshane, S and Travaglione T, 2007, Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim, 2ed, McGraw-Hill, AUS Seymen, O 2006, ‘The cultural diversity phenomenon in organisations and different approaches for effective cultural diversity management: a literary review’, Cross Culture Management, vol 13, no 4, pp 296-315. Uren, D 2009, ‘One in four workers to go on welfare’, The Australia, 31 Mar, pp, 6. Wartick, S and Wood D, 1998, International business and society, Wiley-Blackwell, US Appendix A Interview Questions The changing workforce a) What do you think is changing workforce? b) Do you think the changing workforce is important in the workplace? c) Why do you think it is/or is not? d) What factors do you think can affect the changing workforce? e) Is there cultural diversity within your employees? Why yes/no? Workplace values and ethics a) What do you think are ethical values? b) Do you think ethical values are important in the workplace? ) Why do you think they are/or are not? d) What factors do you think have affected the way we think about ethical behaviour at work? e) Do you think people’s ethical behaviour at work is affected by what their colleagues or superiors are doing? Appendix B Summary Globalisation has brought challenges and opportunities to the workplace. In th e multi-cultural working environment, there are opportunities to learn more from people from diversified backgrounds, which encourages creativity and exchange of ideas. Challenges could be conflicts due to misinterpretation of message, and also cultural differences. An offensive action or word may not mean to be offensive to another person. Misinterpretation could lead to conflict within the organisation, and unrest in a workplace. Therefore active listening and cultural awareness should be practice in a workplace. Misinterpretation could also lead to inefficiency at work. Changing workforce could be due to technology advance whereby employees should continuously learning skills to cope with the changes. With inappropriate skills, it could lead to inefficient completion of task, and also affects organisation’s productivity. Workplace value and ethics could be a challenge as well, as everyone is different. Different individuals have different values and ethic affecting their decisions and action. Value and ethics of an individual are shaped from past experiences, family upbringing, schooling and religion. Therefore it is something very hard to change. But in a workplace, it is inevitable to work with individuals of different ethics and values. And in serious cases, there could be ethic and value conflicts which could slow down teamwork’s progress. Therefore it is important to always communication and listen to sort the best way out when a problem occur. Corporate social responsibility is getting the attention of many organsations now. Compared to many years ago, organisation now is not just about making profit. They are more concern about environmental harms, people who need help and also responsible marketing and advertising. For example McDonalds which does community work, do clean ups for the environment, discourage wastage, and helping the needy. Most importantly, they engaged in responsible marketing, where they care the food they produce to sell, the health issues and also obesity issues linked to their products.