Essay on Comparison Between Pop Music and Classical Music

Classical Music versus Pop Music Classical music and popular music are both genres of music that have been in existence for a long time and listened to by the entire populace. Classical music is more complex and appeals to the older population while pop music appeals to the younger population. There are benefits associated with classical music and it is of general opinion that it requires more attention to details than pop music because of its complexity. It is a known fact that music is a form of art whose medium is sound. Its common elements are pitch, rhythm, and dynamics. Music helps in soothing ones disturbed soul and helps us to live life to the fullest; therefore, the aim of music is to touch the core of the heart.†¦show more content†¦It is not usually written, performed, and recorded as a symphony or concerto. The basic form for pop music is the song, which usually consists of verse and repeated chorus. (www.about.com/od/popmusic). However, classical music is a comp lex form of music, which requires high musical skills, and ability to coordinate with other musicians. The performance of classical music demands a significant level of technical mastery on the part of the musician, thorough understanding of tonal and harmonic principles, hence one has to go through proper training before learning this type of music. Today classical music has an elite patronage whereas pop music has more universal appeal. Usually classical music is often perceived as opulent, only appreciated by the upper class. Classical music mostly features in pop music forming background music for movies, television program, and advertisement. Because of this, many people unknowingly regularly listen to classical music. The appeal of pop music lies in its simple, energetic rhythm, appealing vocal lines, and its symbolic association with the plight of the underprivileged whereas classical music is a complex form of music requiring musical skills like learning the ragas and abilit y to coordinate with other musicians while maintaining the complex relationship between its emotional flows. (www.buzzle.com). Both classical and pop music in recent times have experimented with electronicShow MoreRelatedRelationship between Reducing Stress and Upbeat Music824 Words   |  3 PagesRelationship between reducing stress and upbeat (Pop) music This study examined the relationship between reducing stress and listening to upbeat (Pop) music. It was hypothesized that listening to upbeat (Pop) music would reduce stress and elicit happiness in the 420 female participants. Method Participants Four hundred and twenty women, ages 19 to 40 participated in the experiment. 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Russian History Questions Free Essays

Name _________________________________ Date __________ Period ___________ Researching Russia Directions: Using the reference materials (including but not limited to the Internet, almanacs, atlases, encyclopedias, and books), research the answers to the following questions. The Internet is a useful source but you should make use of other resources should it not be available! 1. On November 1, 1993, the parliament of the Russian Republic of the USSR granted Russian President ______________________ broad power to begin radical economic reforms. We will write a custom essay sample on Russian History Questions or any similar topic only for you Order Now 2. In 1991, the population of Russia was estimated at ________________________. 3. In the ninth century, Scandinavian chieftains established the first Russian state, centering it on ___________________ and Kiev. 4. When did Lenin die? _____________ How did he die? _____________________ 5. The ‘900-day siege’ of Leningrad lasted from June 1941 until January ___________. 6. When did Stalin die? ________ How old was he? _______ 7. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, massive Soviet military aid to __________________ helped assure communist victories throughout Southeast Asia. 8. Russia comprises over ________% of the total area of the former USSR and has ____________________ square miles, making it the largest country in the world. 9. What is the current life expectancy for Russian males? 10. The Russian monetary unit is the _________________. 11. The breed of cat known as the Russian blue is distinguished for its vivid ___________ colored eyes and the _____________ quality of its blue-gray coat. 12. Who is the author of War and Peace? 13. Who is the author of The Brothers Karamazov? 14. Which Russian author was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature for Doctor Zhivago but declined the prize? 5. Leningrad’s St. Isaac’s Cathedral on Decembrists’ Square was designed by French architect ______________________ and built between 1819 and 1858. 16. The _______________, or Russian wolfhound, was first imported into the United States in 1889. 17. In 1854, British poet Alfred Lord Tennyson made Balaklava famous in his poem _______________________ ________. 18. On January 22, 1904, George Melitonovich Balanchivadze was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He gained a reputation for the foremost representative of neoclassicism ballet. His professional name was __________________________. 9. Russian physiologist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov is best known for what experiment? ____________________________________________________________ _________ 20. In 1910, Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova made her American debut with Russian dancer ______________________ at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. 21. Which Russian chemist compiled the ‘periodic table of elements? ’ ______________________________________ 22. On what date was the Russian Sputnik I put into orbit? ______________________ 23. On what date was the Russian Sputnik II put into orbit? ______________________ 24. September 17, 1957, was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Russian rocket pioneer Konstantin E. _________________________. 25. On January 2, 1959, unmanned interplanetary flight was proved feasible when the Soviet Union’s Mechta entered into orbit around the sun. 26. The Volga River is ________ miles, or ________ kilometers long. 27. What was the name of the imperial family that ruled Russia from 1613 until 1917? _______________________________ 28. The age of romanticism in Russian literature is from the late _________ until the early 1840s. 29. Who wrote The Twelve (1918)? __________________ 0. During World War II, the Soviet Union and Finland fought each other in two wars. The ‘Winter War’ was from 1939 to __________________. The ‘Continuation War’ was from 1941 until ______________. Who lost both wars? 31. When did the Russo-Japanese War begin? ____________ 32. When did the Russo-Japanese War end? ___________ 33. Catherine the Great (1729-96) ru led Russia for _________ years. 34. In what year did construction of St. Basil’s Cathedral begin? 35. The breed of dog known as the borzoi originated in Russia in the 1600s. Its average weight is __________ to ___________ pounds. 36. When World War I broke out, Russian-born composer Igor Stravinsky settled in what country? _______________________ 37. In which direction would you travel if you drove from Tula to Moscow? __________ 38. The island Great Lyakhov is in the _____________ Sea. 39. Who wrote Boris? _____________________________ 40. The ‘900-day siege’ of Leningrad during World War II caused ____________ deaths. 41. Russia is ____________ times the size of the United States but has a population of less than _______% percent of the people in the United States as of 2000. 42. What is the per capita Russian income? _____________________ 43. What is the life expectancy for Russian females? _____________ 44. In 1967, the Soviet government produced a film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace in commemoration of 50th anniversary of the Revolution. The Russian language version of the film ____ hours and _____. 45. ____________________ delivers gifts to Russian children on New Year’ s Eve. 46. In which direction would you travel if you drove from Moscow to St. Petersburg? __________________________ 47. The ________________ Mountains form a dividing line between Asia and Europe. 48. The _____________________ Strait separates Russia and Alaska. 49. Tsar Nicholas II was married to the granddaughter of Queen _____________ of England. 50. Name the son of Tsar Nicholas who suffered from hemophilia. _______________ 51. Twenty-three of the _________________ volcanoes on Kamchatka Peninsula are active. 52. The Caucasus Mountains are composed of limestone and ______________ rocks with some volcanic formations. 53. The Caspian Sea has a surface area of about ________________ square miles. 54. In December, Moscow averages _______________ days with overcast skies. 5. St. Isaac’s Cathedral is located on ______________ Prospect, a famous thoroughfare in Leningrad. 56. In the late 1980s, the population density of the USSR was _______ persons per square mile. 57. In the mid-1980s, the population density of the USSR was _______ persons per square mile. 58. The State _______________ Museum in Leningrad is considered to be one of the world’s great museums. 59. Valent ina V. ___________ was the first woman to orbit the earth. 60. The ___________________ Railroad runs north of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. USS How to cite Russian History Questions, Papers

Strategic Management Journal of Business Strategy - Finance Management

Question: Describe about the Strategic Management for Journal of Finance. Answer: Introduction Strategic Management refers to the strategy that the business or the corporate adopts in the organizations or business firms. Strategic management is often concerned to the senior management who are responsible for the success as well failure of the organization (Gaughan 2013). Moreover, different firms have different choices to restructure the strategic choices in the organization. Although, strategic management is grounded is grounded in practice and provides strategic direction to the organizations. However, strategic management is only achieved in well organized organizations (Hill, Jones and Schilling 2014). An organization which has diversified itself globally acquires the need to get restructured in various dimensions. However, restructuring itself can be based on corporate actions like refocusing, repurchasing, alliances, consolidations as well as leveraged capitalizations (Eckbo and Thornburn 2013). On the other hand, restructuring provides opportunities that can help an organization to restore its value through diffusing excess diversification. Restructuring even possess some issues that needs to be well accepted in propositions while adopting any control and effect measure. In other words, according to Soni (2016), restructuring is the process of redesigning aspects in the organization that are implemented due to number of factors like adverse economic climate, competitive nature and new direction for the corporation. It is basically done to attain new markets as well as greater efficiency. However, the three broad types of restructuring are organization and management restructuring, financial restructuring and portfolio and asset restructuring. Figure: Broad Types of Restructuring Source: (Hallinger, Murphy and Hausman 2013) Conversely, the three broad types of restructuring are provided based on the expansion, contraction, corporate control and change in ownership. Forms of Restructuring 1. Merger or Amalgamation The merger or amalgamation is the restructuring two organizations/ business in the form acquiring a new company such that asset6s and liabilities of the merging companies becomes one (Bena ad Li 2014). Moreover, mergers can be further divided in the two forms of mergers that can be done either done by absorption or consolidation to enhance the long term profitability by expanding the operations. By Absorption Absorption can be explained when two or more companies merges with one existing company. This can be explained by Billabong International Limited, one of the Australian Listed Company that acquired other small firms like Von Zipper and Element (Mules 2014). By Consolidation On the other hand, consolidation is the form of merger that combine on or two companies to become one new company. Here, the assets and liabilities of two companies are exchanges in the forms of cash or shares. One example that can define such companies is from India that is merger of Hindustan Computers Limited, Hindustan Instruments Limited, Reprographics Limited and Indian Software Company Limited into a new company named by HCL Limited (Hellstrm, Liu and Sjgren, 2016). Furthermore, mergers can be of three types namely that is vertical merger, horizontal merger, concentric merger and conglomerate merger. Figure: Types of Mergers Source: (Brueller, Carmeli and Drori 2014) 2. Acquisition and Takeover On the other hand, acquisition is buying controlling such that 100% interest is developed in another firm with the intention of acquiring the other firm within its desired portfolio whereas takeover is a particular type of strategy that does not ask for the buying firms proposal. However, Takeovers hold half of the nominal value of the equity such that they are only able to retain their legal entities and maintain separate books of accounts (Gaughan 2013). Conversely, takeovers are considered hostile even when it is undesired and unexpected by the target firm. All the more, tender offers are the formal offers that are used in takeovers for direct approach with and without negotiations. Moreover, with negotiations is done when the acquiring company directly approaches the target company through means of shareholders by means of tender offer whereas tender offer without negotiations is used for hostile takeovers (Carline, Linn and Yadav 2014). This can be further elaborated by the merger of TATA Tea of CLL (Consolidated Coffee Limited) where 50% of shareholders sold the shareholding to TATA Tea at the offered price is the example of tender offer. The basic reasons for acquisitions are to overcome the entry barriers to speed up the cost of new product. The other reasons could be increased diversification, reshaping of competitive advantage as well as developing new capabilities. The following figure explains the reason as well as the problems in achieving success : (Vazirani 2015). Figure: Acquisitions Source: (Vazirani 2015) 3. Divestiture (Asset Acquisition) The asset acquisition or divestiture is the form of selling of the assets or acquiring effective control over assets, cash for securities by another company without any piecemeal manner. However, it is done to mobilize resources, unlocking value, selling cash cows and for a strategic change without any combination of businesses or companies. Moreover, both kinds of assets can be acquired tangible assets like manufacturing units as well as intangible assets like brands, etc (Jung, Aguilera and Goyer, 2015). Example can be of HLL that buys the brands of Lakme in India. 4. Strategic Alliance The strategic alliance of the corporations can be acquired through Joint ventures and Demergers Joint Ventures are the agreement between the two companies to develop new assets that can contribute to equity followed by enterprise and consequent assets and revenues for a finite time. The famous joint venture example in Australia is combination of Yahoo Channel with Channel 7 (Attruia, 2015). On the other hand, demergers are further divided into three types namely Spin Offs, Sell Offs and Split Offs Sell off is the usual practice of selling out a part of the business that is unprofitable part that could drain resources to a third party. Secondly, Spin Offs are new companies created that are created from single entities. Moreover, spin offs leads to no change in ownership and shareholders holds shares in two different companies. Thirdly, split offs involves the divisions in the parent company itself such that two companies are formed that exists even after the company goes for mergers and acquisitions (Bergh and Sharp 2015). 5. Restructuring Strategies The restructuring strategies are applied when the organization even changes its business or finance structure which can be broadly divided into three types namely downsizing, downscoping and leveraged buyouts (LBO). Restructuring efforts is either by reducing diversification (downscoping) or reducing the size of the workforce (downsizing) which is performed in the acquisition of new businesses (Hitt et al. 2012). Downsizing As per the research in Fortune, it is said that downsizing strategy has been applied by 85% of the firms from 1000 firms in 2002-2003. Downsizing is the paramount activity downsizes itself to remain in business during the session of loss of revenue. Hence, most companies will either close product lines and close departments or sell activities and lay off managers to still be in business. That may or may not change the companys portfolio Change Incentives Changing Incentives is possibly done to create longer managerial time horizons for division managers. This risk is adopted to diminish the managerial risk aversion by reducing business portfolio in a set of stable as well as mature business in which financial controls are appropriate and involve less innovation. However, this business scenario does not solve the competitiveness problem but it diminishes information processing of executives by focusing in set of unrelated rather mature activities. However, to reduce this problem, incentives should be derived in a way that motivates the executives in taking risks by operating on their own interest as incentive system is linked to performance evaluation of strategic actions (Milidonis and Stathopoulos 2014). Downscoping On the other hand, with help of downscoping businesses can make narrow span of control to reassert the strategic control and emphasize resources as well as strengths. However, downscoping allows more of incentives as well as governance. He financial risk in such strategic strategies reduces the financial risk and leads to debt deduction with the willingness to accept the risk of innovation strategies. Downscoping can be used as a strict sense of term where reduced bureaucratic control may result in market retreat and may involve the rehain its strategic control. Nevertheless, it leads to loss of critical employees because now the retention has been through voluntary programs (Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson 2012). On the contrary, downscoping is considered to be more beneficial than downsizing as its emphasis on restructuring. Moreover, Marriotts disinvestments of restaurants, exit from foods from American Brands, General Mills withdrawal from retailing as well as Allegis sale of car rental and hotel business are the examples that had lead to downscoping strategy being more successful (Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson 2012). Leveraged Buy Outs It is a form of acquisition in the company that is majorly financed through debt such that when the managers of the companies buys the company from the owners that is shareholders of the company then it known as management buy-out. It is then evaluated by the discounted cash flow method and the firms who target LBOs are high market share and growth firms. High debt capacity and liquidity firm, low operating risk firms and high profit potential firms (Hitt et al. 2012). Errors to Avoid while Restructuring The following errors need to be avoided while restructuring strategies or organization structure. Firstly the company should avoid integration difficulties, larger or extraordinary debts should be avoided. The problems even lead to problems of synergies that exceeds the value of units working independently. The private synergy of combining and integrating the assets with the other company may cause the acquisition to downsize. Too much diversification will lower the incentive level. Although, acquisition leads to change of attitude towards the firms that increases their expectations by leading to following: Additional costs increases the benefits of economies of scale that leads to additional market power but may eventually lead to drop in profits later, once the costs are only increasing. The innovation and diversification may be hampered The large market power firms will lead to bureaucratic controls. However, the formalized controls adopted may lead to rigid and standardized managerial attitude and behaviour (Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson 2012). Conclusion Corporate restructuring based on ownership and strategy can lead to elements that not only lead to positive but as well as negative changes that can hamper effectiveness and performance of the organization. The basic aim lies in the amalgamation of strategy as well as structure that introduces changes in the performance as well as structural parameters of the company so the entity can drive to be enlisted in the profit making companies. References Attruia, R.M., 2015. The creation of shareholder value through spin-offs: the xase of Yahoo. Bena, J. and Li, K., 2014. Corporate innovations and mergers and acquisitions.The Journal of Finance,69(5), pp.1923-1960. Bergh, D.D. and Sharp, B.M., 2015. How far do owners reach into the divestiture process? Blockholders and the choice between spin-off and sell-off.Journal of Management,41(4), pp.1155-1183. Brueller, N.N., Carmeli, A. and Drori, I., 2014. How do different types of mergers and acquisitions facilitate strategic agility?.California Management Review,56(3), pp.39-57. Carline, N.F., Linn, S.C. and Yadav, P.K., 2014, March. Corporate governance and the nature of takeover resistance. InAmerican Finance Association Meetings Working Paper. Eckbo, B.E. and Thorburn, K.S., 2013. Corporate restructuring.Foundations and Trends in Finance, Forthcoming. Gaughan, P.A., 2013.Maximizing Corporate Value Through Mergers and Acquisitions: A Strategic Growth Guide. John Wiley Sons. Hallinger, P., Murphy, J. and Hausman, C., 2013. Conceptualizing school restructuring.School-based management and school effectiveness, p.22. Hellstrm, J., Liu, Y. and Sjgren, T., 2016. Stock exchange mergers and weak-form information efficiency: Evidence from the OMX Nordic and Baltic consolidation. Hill, C., Jones, G. and Schilling, M., 2014.Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning. Hitt, M., Ireland, R.D. and Hoskisson, R., 2012.Strategic management cases: competitiveness and globalization. Cengage Learning. Hitt, M.A., King, D., Krishnan, H., Makri, M., SCHIIVEN, M., Shimizu, K. and Zhu, H., 2012. Creating value through mergers and acquisitions.The Handbook of Mergers and Acquisitions, p.71. Jung, D.K., Aguilera, R. and Goyer, M., 2015. Institutions and preferences in settings of causal complexity: foreign institutional investors and corporate restructuring practices in France.The International Journal of Human Resource Management,26(16), pp.2062-2086. Milidonis, A. and Stathopoulos, K., 2014. Managerial Incentives, Risk Aversion, and Debt.Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis,49(02), pp.453-481. Mules, R., 2014. Exporting for success: How small and large businesses negotiate the task. Soni, Y.P., 2016.Organizational Restructuring. Xlibris Corporation. Vazirani, N., 2015. A Literature Review on Mergers and Acquisitions Waves and Theories.SIES Journal of Management,11(1).

Network Expansion free essay sample

Kathy Kudler has operated between each store, and there has been no one location to call home for a main or corporate office. A central server location will enhance her operation by pulling not only all her store locations, employees outside the store environment. A new IT department and a new management office will also open as Kathy Kudler’s new home base. This also means connecting those departments to other services or locations that will not be at the main location but remain at the store level. Each stores local office will remain open. Kudler Fine Foods will be expanding and so the ground work must be prepared. Communication protocols and standards are required for any business or company in need of order in their network. Standards and protocols work hand-in-hand and provide a set of rules at communication end-points and specify interactions between communications points. As each part of the network process has their own standards and protocols, specific descriptions will be detailed with each process or hardware depiction. We will write a custom essay sample on Network Expansion or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page A larger upgradable network with a separate location to house servers, and includes an IT department and a management operations department, will be located behind the La Jolla store. This existing structure is owned by Kudler Fine Foods and all the current tenants have moved and no leases were renewed. Now this space will serve as the new main or corporate office and Kathy Kudler’s new home base. Kathy chose La Jolla for its central location and office space behind this store. There are many types of networks for different types of industry. PSTN would not be a good choice for Kudler Fine Foods because this business is too large and PSTN along with ISDN would not be viable choices. ISDN is a type of PSTN currently only used in Europe. A WAN Cloud with specific specifications has the perfect list of ingredients for a reliable network. Current Network Detail La Jolla Store POS Server (X1-Novell 4. 11) POS PII Win9x (X4 PC Work Stations) UPS Standalone (X1) PII 64mg RAM Win 9x w/Office 97 (Server) XLS Inventory Spreadsheet, External CD Bruner (X1 PC) Bubble JET Printer. PII w NT Server, IIS4 Winfax Pro Built in modem and CD ROM reader (X1 PC) 56k Modem (X1) Internet – Connected Del Mar Store POS Server (X1-Novell 4. 11) POS PII Win9x (X4 POS Work Stations) UPS Standalone (X1) PII 64mg RAM Win 9x w/Office 97 (Server) XLS Inventory Spreadsheet, External CD Bruner (X1 PC), bubble JET Printer. PII w NT Server, IIS4 Winfax Pro Built in modem and CD ROM reader (X1 PC) 56k Modem (X1) Internet – Connected Encinitas Store POS Server (X1-Novell 4. 11) POS PII Win9x (X4 PC Work Stations) UPS Standalone (X1) 56k Modem (X1) Internet – Connected The current specifications above are an inventory of what Kudler Fine Foods is using today. The first area we looked at was a weak Internet connection. Once this feature is brought to Standard, the possibilities are actually endless. Encinitas store has not been upgraded to support its growing need. This will also be a part of the network upgrades and system renovations. Proposed Network Elements The hardware and software are needed to secure an easily developable network and be protected against electronic threats. Juniper Developer Networks was chosen to be the new network hardware supplier. I will be proposing the use of frame relay for dedicated connections between each store and the new main office, behind and attached to the La Jolla store. All three stores will have one connection each to this main hub. The company inventory server located at the Del Mar store will be online and accessible to every store location along with every POS terminals in every store so that inventory is live. All store locations will have password security so that every employee transactions are recorded no matter if they are in the store or the corporate office. Product Description Juniper Networks SSG, ISG appliances will supply Kudler Fine Foods with the new Juniper Network is open and set apart by original functions. Juniper Networks ® Junos ® Software Development Kit (SDK) is used to develop all the applications within the new Juniper Network. This will operate on the network device layer in the Junos OS platform [1]. The Junos OS will enhance any applications by running them on the services planes directly in the system is connected to the network. The APIs exposed in Junos SDK let applications use the network and its traffic in exciting and original ways. This OS can be unified across the entire Juniper routing, switching, and security portfolio [1]. JDK further evolves Junos network operating system into a platform whose popularity can be used by application developers. A trusted platform is crucial. The Junos SDK enhances the strength and protection and network programmability and smarter functions for the networks users. Also included are the Routing Engine SDK APIs and tools to build the applications that handle the control plane software in the routing engines. These engines are internal and ready to deploy and therefore do not need to be added separately. User applications are already included as this network was built for small and medium size companies and Kudler Fine Foods qualifies as the perfect company in need of this organized and efficient network [1]. [pic] Current Network Topology Kudler Fine Foods has a network in need of a broader connectivity and upgraded to a smarter way of doing business. All departments will be interconnected and have direct access as pertains to their need. This will help the employees operate with more automation and ease. Store location managers do their own ordering directly with local supply companies and Kathy Kudler takes care of unique, capital or repair items. Kudler Fine Foods Database, Accounting, Human Resources, Operations, Sales and Marketing, Finance and Accounting, Administration, including each store location, are not interconnected to each other. Making Kudler Fine Foods a comprehensively connected company will be simpler as future growth has been forecast so that future needs will be clear and the beginnings of a good start in that direction. Designating a â€Å"Home Base† for new servers is important in the beginning during research. Any other spaces or room that will be a need with any network growth is always scouted out in the beginning phases of any new project. The design will accommodate any possible future expansion. Kudler Fine Foods’ specific request to be ready for growth is always in the forefront of this project. Each store is run and operated within their own locations and has five departments. Those consist of Bakery, Meats, Produce, Cheese and Diary, and Wine. The POS system in place for all three stores helps track inventory, purchasing and sales. Smith Systems Consulting, who is contracted by Kudler Fine Foods, chose, installed and maintains the Retail Enterprise Management System. More research will to be done to determine the needs within the company network for this contractor. Applicable Standards. Security standards are addressed specifically under Network Security but also under the Applicable Standards section of this project and where ever else security is, to clarify any needs or restrictions that should be addressed for that section. When a network grows it is imperative that customer information is protected. Employees will also have security guidelines to operate by and adhere to secure measures in place. Ongoing updates are distributed and learned. A complete section on all types of security precautions for in-company data, protection, and log-ins will be addressed. Decision-making protocols will also be created for any new and current procedures to ensure that all locations go by the same company practices. Most important, it is necessary to make certain the fortification, veracity, and dependability of all company information, including research, monetary, private, operational, confidential data, or anything belonging to Kudler Fine Foods. IT is responsible for the care of all equipment handling and ensures no misuse. Standards related to networks are basic rules that commissions govern. This is so in the case of computer hardware and software of any kind. No matter the brand or type, standards help ensure that most hardware and computers operate the same so they can effectively communicate with one another. Kudler Fine Foods IT department will be a part of the changes requested for better optimization. An external WAN will be set up to bring all three store locations together. Then a WLAN connection will be set up within each store location. A VOIP will also be incorporated into the multi-store network. The network will also be expandable for future locations and growth. Network standards are also ground rules set by commissions so that hardware is compatible among similar computers and assures interoperability. This is done so that there is compatibility between vendors. It is necessary to have network standards and protocols as they are what allow any brand to communicate with each other. Network Architecture Junosphere does not support the Serial or POS interfaces. In order for this to work all of the links have to be migrated to Gigabit Ethernet and a point-to-point GE link between all of the stores and the main server location. Next is the layer configuration with core interfaces and loopback with IS-IS-related and will have multiple routing instances for each routing protocol. The merging of routes from multiple routing instances will have proper import and export policies. Any configurations needed, can be done with protocols ISIS configuration block. For all of this to function, the Family ISO must be enabled on the interfaces on which you want IS-IS to run. This is data-plane configuration and is a must for this to work correctly. After this is done, L1, L2, L3 and L4 will work and connection can be established between all routers in this network. [pic] [pic] Traffic Analysis Traffic analysis is for any inbound messages as it tracks abnormalities. Deflects bad things from getting into the network and is a type of security for the network. Even if a message is encrypted, this type of analysis sees abnormality patterns. Patterns tell what behaviors are happening. This type of analysis tells what times are the busiest or if someone is trying to get into the network for whatever reason. The translation of latency, response time or packet loss and jitter are all pertinent value meters that understand and determine the value of a network. Then any future determinations can be used for future network growth. Performance is key and so this type of analysis is valuable. A company has to determine how they will interact with vendors outside the company, what employees in the corporate office have access to and POS access for store employees. There are many questions and investigative research that has to occur for proper set up of any network changes. All systems need to be monitored to prevent any security disasters. Volume versus Reliability Measuring traffic flows is another marker looked at so that not only will traffic is moving at a â€Å"normal† speed and calculates high traffic times and low traffic times. Downtimes are caught and error data is gathered. There are two important types of traffic analysis that should be done, one is specific security assaults on the network and next is customer traffic and accessibility. Firewalls are also inside the modems for extra protection. This protects from attacks from viruses and hacking. Human resources, accounting, and the customer database are all important reasons to have all the best security in place. The customer database is the most important in keep customers coming back because they know when a purchase is made at any store location that all security protection is used. Data Rates I have included a diagram showing the highest data rates in Mbps for Ethernet and WiFi equipment values. For these values, no one ever achieves that rate and will only get up to 50% of that value. This is due to network, software and hardware costs [1]. [pic] Network Availability Network up time is key for all the store locations POS systems. This system can work when offline and stores data for any down time. The main WAN cloud has more than a few options to keep connected for each connection type. Proposed WAN Cloud with ATM and FRAME capabilities with MPLS and SONNET/SDH. This will cover all of this business connection requirements. This secures that data will be held until a line of communication is done. This ensures there is almost no data loss. Centralized computer systems are acceptable for a company that has one or more office centrally located. Distributed systems are good and can be connected to a centralized system. Not only is need considered but physical anomalies are abundant. Compatibility Junosphere does not support the Serial or POS interfaces. In order for this to work all of the links have to be migrated to Gigabit Ethernet and a point-to-point GE link between all of the stores and the main server location. Next is the layer configuration with core interfaces and loopback with IS-IS-related and will have multiple routing instances for each routing protocol. The merging of routes from multiple routing instances will have proper import and export policies. Any configurations needed can be done with protocols is-is configuration block. For all of this to function, the Family ISO must be enabled on the interfaces on which you want IS-IS to run. This is data-plane configuration and is a must for this to work correctly. After this is done, L1, L2, L3 and L4 will work and connection can be established between all routers in this network. Wide Area Networks LAN is a local area network that can be set up within a company. This type of connection connects all employees can communicate quickly and easily with each other. Although Kudler Fine Foods operated with this type of connection internally within each store and, the speed was very fast, a more elaborate network set up was needed. There were only bits and pieces that need to be brought together to make a more secure network with the ability to grow and optimize its network performance communications and therefore the business will be able to grow without any hindrances [1,3]. WAN is a wide area network that will be set up for KFF. This is a better set up to use with the size network that will be installed at the KFF La Jolla store. There is a small two story building behind the La Jolla location of Kudler Fine Foods that will serve as the main location for Central Services where the new IT department will be housed. Office will be built out to accommodate an IT department and regular office area for the corporate/main office employees. This wide area network will connect the La Jolla, Del Mar, and Encinitas offices to the main hub at the La Jolla corporate/main office [1,3]. WLAN is a wide local area network that each KFF store location. This connection will be used to conned to the main WAN for any kind of communication needed [1,3]. [pic] Concepts and Building Blocks Today’s data communication networks, such as switches, routers, and cabling. Switches LAN switches are low cost and have amplified bandwidth for all end users. There are several ports that can be utilized and since this is a dedicated channel, every user has a larger bandwidth to operate with. All of the new connections with in KFF will have internal bandwidth protocols set for each stores particular need [2]. Router Routers are used to make smaller networks into bigger networks. Routers are also used to route data such as packets toward multi-output trails. This device operates on layer 3 as it reads network addresses and detects the connection point at the other end. This intern, cuts down on broadcasting squall and does not proliferate them. Routers also act as firewalls in LANS and thus are associated with traffic filtering and isolation. This means that routers make forwarding decisions and also decides what paths it wants to disable in the process. Routers may select the path but not the speed. Outbound and inbound hardware will dictate the speed and use the quickest speed between the two. Routers and modem routers support protocols but modem routers can support multiple and some just one and each one has its own internal routing table [2]. Cabling The subsequent cable types listed are what is available and is noted in ANSI/TIA/EIA 568-A: Category 1 Cat 1 cable is intended for tone of voice only but with new technologies, extended array Ethernet and DSL can move at 10MPps and quicker. Category 2 Cat 2 cable houses up to 4Mbps and is related with token-ring LANs. Category 3

This essay outlines several classic greek and roman inventions that have influenced our lives today. It clearly shows the invention and then explains how it has affected daily life.

This essay outlines several classic greek and roman inventions that have influenced our lives today. It clearly shows the invention and then explains how it has affected daily life. Both Greek and Roman influences have had a major impact on the world today. For instance, the Olympics have survived to this day and even retain much of its former meaning of peace. Another important invention is the calendar; the modern calendar is based upon the Roman version. Even our military uses inventions from Greek times. Greek fire has inspired the creation of petroleum bombs and napalm weaponry, and spurred the terrorist favorite of psychological warfare.The Olympics represent the height of sports competition in which athletes train for their entire lives in order to win. While the competitive drive of today's athletes is no less than that of the Greeks, today's Olympics are much less violent. In ancient Greece, instead of using boxing gloves, leather was strapped to the opponents' hands, leaving the fingers free and adding a sting to the punch. These sports represent the constant training people underwent to hone their bodies to physical perfection and pit their abilities in a man vs.Olympics 242man competition where only the best would win. Today's Olympics are more team oriented, and the success of the team depends on everyone's physical conditioning and skill as opposed to ancient Greece, where the games were more individualized. Despite the physical violence involved in ancient Greek Olympics, the games promoted peace. In Greek times the entire old world would cease war to participate in the Olympics. Today, while the games are less violent, the meaning of peace is not as strong. For example, the Olympics were cancelled for World War II. However, the meaning of peace is not totally lost, as is apparent in North and South Korea's unification for the games.Romans concocted one extremely important invention that is still in use today, the calendar. The Roman calendar was almost completely accurate,

Advance Paper 2

The CSSA accepts no liability for any reliance use or purpose related to these ‘Trial’ question papers. Advice on HSC examination issues is only to be obtained from the NSW Board of Studies. 5400-1 Section I – Module A: Comparative Study of Texts and Context 20 marks Attempt either Question 1 or Question 2 Allow about 40 minutes for this section Answer the question in a SEPARATE writing booklet. In your answer you will be assessed on how well you: †¢ demonstrate understanding of the meanings of a pair of texts when considered together †¢ evaluate the relationships between texts and contexts †¢ organise, develop and express ideas using language appropriate to audience, purpose and form Question 1 – Elective 1: Exploring Connections (20 marks) To what extent are texts enriched through their connection with other texts? Respond to this question in relation to the pair of prescribed texts that you have studied. The prescribed texts are: †¢ Shakespearean Drama and Film – William Shakespeare, King Richard III AND – Al Pacino, Lookingfor Richard †¢ Prose Fiction and Poetry – Patrick White, The Aunt’s Story AND – Rosemary Dobson, Selected Poems * Young Girl at a Window * Chance Met * Landscape in Italy * Azay-Le-Rideau * The Rape of Europa * Romantic * Primitive Painters Question 1 continues on page 3 Question 1 (continued) †¢ Prose Fiction and Nonfiction * Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice AND * Fay Weldon, Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen †¢ Poetry and Drama * * * * * * * * * * John Donne, Selected Poetry Death be not proud This is my playes last scene At the round earths imagin ‘d corners blow If poisonous minerals Hymne to God my God, in my sicknesse A Valediction: forbidding mourning The Apparition TheRelique The Sunne Rising AND * Margaret Edson, W;t End of Question 1 In your answer you will be assessed on how well you: †¢ demonstrate understanding of the meanings of a pair of texts when considered together †¢ evaluate the relationships between texts and contexts †¢ organise, develop and express ideas using language appropriate to audience, purpose and form Question 2 – Elective 2: Texts in Time (20 marks) Compare the ways in which texts offer insights into the human experience. Respond to this statement in relation to the pair of prescribed texts that you have studied. The prescribed texts are: †¢ Prose Fiction and Film – Mary Shelley, Frankenstein AND – Ridley Scott, Blade Runner (Director’s Cut) †¢ Prose Fiction and Poetry – F Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby AND – Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh and Other Poems – Sonnets I, XIII, XIV, XXI, XXII, XXVIII, XXXII, XLIII †¢ Drama and Nonfiction – Edward Albee, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf AND – Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own Section II – Module B: Critical Study of Texts 0 marks Attempt ONE question from Questions 3-7 Allow about 40 minutes for this section Answer the question in a SEPARATE writing booklet. In your answer you will be assessed on how well you: †¢ demonstrate an informed understanding of the ideas expressed in the text †¢ evaluate the text’s language, content and construction †¢ organise, develop and express ideas using language appropriate to audience, pu rpose and form Question 3 – Shakespearean Drama (20 marks) How is your personal response to Hamlet shaped by the interaction of characters in the play? William Shakespeare, Hamlet Question 4 – Prose Fiction (20 marks) (a) How is your personal response to In the Skin of a Lion shaped by the interaction of characters in the novel? Michael Ondaatje, In the Skin of a Lion OR (b) How is your personal response to Cloudstreet shaped by the interaction of characters in the novel? — Tim Winton, Cloudstreet OR (c) How is your personal response to Sixty Lights shaped by the interaction of characters in the novel? Gail Jones, Sixty Lights OR (d) How is your personal response to Jane Eyre shaped by the interaction of characters in the novel? Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre Please turn over In your answer you will be assessed on how well you: †¢ demonstrate an informed understanding of the ideas expressed in the text †¢ evaluate the text’s language, content and construction †¢ organise, develop and express ideas using language appropriate to audience, purpose and form Question 5 – Drama or Film (20 marks) (a) How is your personal response to A Doll’s House shaped by the interaction of characters in the play? Henrik Ibsen, A Doll’s House OR b) How is your personal response to Citizen Kane shaped by the interaction of characters in the film? Orson Welles, Citizen Kane Question 6 – Poetry (20 marks) (a) How is your personal response to the poetry of Yeats shaped by a perception of voice in the poems? In your answer, refer to THREE of the poems set for study. The prescribed poems are: William Butler Yeats, WB Yeats: Poems selected by Seamus Heaney * An Irish Airman * When You Are Old * Among School Children * The Wild Swans at Coole * Leda and the Swan * The Second Coming * Easter 1916 OR Question 6 continues on page 7 6 Question 6 (continued) (b) How is your personal response to the poetry of Harwood shaped by a perception of voice in the poems? In your answer, refer to THREE of the poems set for study. The prescribed poems are: Gwen Harwood, Selected Poems * Father and Child (Parts I II) * The Violets * At Mornington * A Valediction * Triste Triste * The Sharpness of Death * Mother Who Gave me Life OR (c) How is your personal response to the poetry of Slessor shaped by a perception of voice in the poems? In your answer, refer to THREE of the poems set for study. The prescribed poems are: Kenneth Slessor, Selected Poems * Out of Time * Five Bells * Sleep * Five Visions of Captain Cook * Sensuality * Elegy in a Botanical Garden * Beach Burial End of Question 6 In your answer you will be assessed on how well you: †¢ demonstrate an informed understanding of the ideas expressed in the text †¢ evaluate the text’s language, content and construction †¢ organise, develop and express ideas using language appropriate to audience, purpose and form Question 7 – Nonfiction (20 marks) (a) How is your personal response to Orwell’s essays shaped by a perception of voice in these texts? In your answer, refer to THREE of the essays set for study. * George Orwell, George Orwell: Essays The prescribed essays are: * Why I Write * Notes on Nationalism * Good Bad Books * The Sporting Spirit * Politics and the English Language * Writers and Leviathan OR (b) How is your personal response to speeches shaped by a perception of the passion of the speaker? In your answer, refer to THREE of the speeches set for study * Speeches The prescribed speeches are: * Margaret Atwood – Spotty-Handed Villainesses, 1994 * Paul Keating – Funeral Service of the Unknown Australian Soldier, 1993 * Noel Pearson -An Australian History for Us All, 1996 * Aung San Suu Kyi – Keynote Address at the Beijing World Conference on Women, 1995 * Faith Bandler -Faith, Hope and Reconciliation, 1999 * Deane, William – It is Still Winter at Home, 1999 * Anwar Sadat – Speech to the Israeli Knesset, 1977 BLANK PAGE Please turn over Section III – Module C: Representation and Text 20 marks Attempt ONE question from Questions 8-9 Allow about 40 minutes for this section Answer the question in a SEPARATE writing booklet. In your answer you will be assessed on how well you: †¢ demonstrate understanding of and evaluate the relationship between representation and meaning †¢ organise, develop and express ideas using language appropriate to audience, purpose and form Question 8 – Elective 1: Conflicting Perspectives (20 marks) You are speaking to an audience of your peers. Compose a speech in which you demonstrate how your understanding of conflicting perspectives is shaped by the construction of the texts. In your response, refer to your prescribed text and TWO texts of your own choosing. The prescribed texts are: †¢ †¢ †¢ Shakespearean Drama Prose Fiction Drama or Film – William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar – David Guterson, Snow Falling on Cedars – Peter Whelan, The Herbal Bed OR — Barry Levinson, Wag the Dog †¢ Poetry – Ted Hughes, Birthday Letters * Fulbright Scholars * The Shot * The Minotaur * Sam * Your Paris * Red — Geoffrey Robertson, The Justice Game * The Trials ofOz * Michael X on Death Row * ‘The Romans in Britain’ * The Prisoner of Venda Nonfiction * Show Trials * Diana in the Dock: Does Privacy Matter? * Afterword: The Justice Game 10 Question 9 – Elective 2: History and Memory (20 marks) You are speaking to an audience of your peers. Compose a speech in which you demonstrate how your understanding of the interplay between history and memory is shaped by the construction of the texts. In your response, refer to your prescribed text and TWO texts of your own choosing. The prescribed texts are: †¢ Prose Fiction – Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior: Memoirs, of a Girlhood Among Ghosts OR – Peter Carey, The True History of the Kelly Gang †¢ †¢ Film Poetry – Stephen Frears, The Queen – Denise Levertov, Selected Poems * Ways of Conquest * Don’t You Hear That Whistle Blowin’†¦ * In Thai Binh (Peace) Province * A Time Past * Libation * A Letter to Marek About a Photograph * The Pilots †¢ Nonfiction or Multimedia – Mark Raphael Baker, The Fiftieth Gate OR Smithsonian National Museum of American History September 11 website End of paper 11 EXAMINERS Pamela Nutt (Convenor) Catherine Anderson Tanya Appleby Nicole Archard Darren Barker Lorna Ciesiolka Marian Henry Katherina Lathouras Alistair Symons PLC Sydney, Croydon St Patrick’s College, Strathfield Tara Anglican School for Girls, Nth Parramatta Kincoppal-Rose Bay, School of the Sacred Heart OLMC, Parramatta Educational C onsultant Marist College, Pagewood Knox Grammar School, Wahroonga Mount St Joseph, Milperra 12

Data Collection for Subprime Mortgages for a dissertation Essay

Data Collection for Subprime Mortgages for a dissertation - Essay Example nal Bureau of Economic Research, describing the large scale impact caused by the financial market crisis in the year 2007, which was by far the largest financial shock since the Great Depression. The magnitude of the crisis could be comprehended by the widespread damage caused on the markets as well as other financial institutions which were the core of the financial system. Information about various aspects of subprime mortgage such as meaning & definition, the developments in sub prime financing for understanding various factors behind sudden substantial deterioration in subprime markets and its extensive impact on the broader financial markets, effect of widespread distribution of exposure to subprime debt on the financial markets, behavior of subprime borrowers in relation to loans with high default rates, etc could be found in the annual report published by The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (2007). This report could be accessed from (http://www.frbsf.org/publications/federalreserve/annual/2007/subprime.pdf) The report on â€Å"Analysis of Subprime Mortgage Servicing Performance† (Feb, 2008) by the State Foreclosure Prevention Group also contains vital information on servicers of subprime mortgage loans, description on the State Working Group, as well as key findings on issues such as loss mitigation option in case of delinquent borrowers, increase in use of loan modifications and other home retention options by servicers, payment resets on hybrid ARMs, state of the refinance options etc. This report could be accessed from: Primary sources of data collection or interviews would not be a feasible option in this case since the sheer magnitude and quantity of the data required for this type of research would make data collection from primary sources extremely time consuming and expensive. Moreover, primary sources of data collection would not be able to capture the essential outcomes required in this type of research. The type of data collection should

Real estate economics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Real estate economics - Assignment Example This layout perceives a city as a pattern of settlement, which can be described using concentric regions. In this case, the epicentre represents the Central Business District (CBD). Here, any economic activity is highly regarded since the market is accessible to all. In order to understand the monocentric models, four primary factors are considered. They include; the fact that, the CBD acts as the core area of activities, where transport lines are connected to (Lin, 2014). Secondly, the people living in the CBD live in other cities, which surround the CBD, thus have to commute on a daily basis to the CBD. The third characteristic is the intercity transportation, where the goods obtained from the CBD are ferried to other cities, through common means of transport, such as rail and roads. Since the people here are in constant business, they exchange ideas and participate in a given trend of activities. As a result, they develop a culture, which further stratifies the layout of the monoc entric city. Here, the forms of settlement are stratified and distinctively isolated to a given economic class. The land rates are expected to be highest in the CBD and reduce outwards. Here, the main occupants of the CBD include businesses and offices. These groups of tenants are willing to pay high rent, since they seek to position themselves strategically, in order to access the customers’ strategic locations (Hanushek, 2014). In this research, the area selected is Manchester city, with all the cities around it. They include Oldham, Rockdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan. The choice was based on the economic significance of the cities. In addition, the density of settlements and the accessibility of the areas. Then, the researcher opted to concentrate on the rateable values and area of the rented space (Madariaga, 2014). The combination of the two parameters

Drivers License for Illegal Immigrants Essay Example for Free

Drivers License for Illegal Immigrants Essay Should illegal immigrants be given a driver`s license in California? In the Sacramento Bee article â€Å"License battle resurfaces† by Jim Sanders on February 26, 2012, the author informs that Assemblyman Gil Cedillo tried again to grant driver`s licenses to undocumented immigrants which were vetoed by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger years ago, but now Gil Cedillo wants to work with Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown on this issue that can â€Å"pass muster† because Latinos played a key role to help Brown get elected in 2010. In 2011, Brown signed the dream act to expand college financial aid for undocumented immigrants who have lived in California for years, so many Latinos cheered him. As a voter and California resident, I am strongly against this legislation. I have a question. Do you know the meaning of undocumented immigrants? I think it means illegal. I am in favor of Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber`s points that â€Å"You should not legitimize a fundamentally illegal act. † America is an immigrant country. We welcome all immigrants, and we are expecting them to abide by immigrants` laws and enter the country legally. I am opposed to Gil Cedillo`s issue that California allows undocumented immigrants to be licensed, tested, and insured. What if potential terrorists take advantage of this issue to obtain driver`s licenses easily? Because in years past, the issue has caused fierce debate over what security measures should be required if current law is changed. Another thought is what if other immigrants know this issue, then they just enter the country with no documents, no worry. Simply use this issue. Besides the above, if this issue could help the government make more money on driver`s licenses, car insurance and taxes, etc, why couldn`t the government figure out the proper way to make money instead? As American citizens, everybody knows what a driver`s license means—to them it means they are legal in America since that moment they got their driver licenses. They can apply for bank cards, social security cards and passports, and they can travel in and out of America freely. They have all the rights that American citizens should have. Giving someone here illegally a driver`s license is much more than giving them the privilege of driving. It`s giving them the key to the kingdom. According to the article, the veteran GOP lawmaker said â€Å"Bad ideas seem to die slowly in the Capital. † I agree that the issue â€Å"Granting driver`s licenses to undocumented immigrants† is a bad idea. However, the issue supporters agree that California should allow undocumented immigrants to be licensed, tested, and insured. According to the article â€Å"Supporters say undocumented immigrants should be able to drive to work or take their children to school without fear of having their vehicles confiscated if they are stopped by police. A lot of undocumented immigrants have lived in California for years. Their kids were born in America. They need a job to make a living, feed their family, and educate their kids. In America, no matter where you go, you need a car, so you have to drive every day. â€Å"Many undocumented immigrants drive now, but without licenses, insurance or state testing to ensure competence. † Therefore, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck told Los Angeles Times on last Wednesday that he is in favor of granting driver`s licenses to illegal immigrants. If this issue passes, all the illegal immigrants will need to get their driver`s licenses, buy their own cars, buy car insurance etc, so then that will not only help the American economy but also make our highways safer. All of the legal American citizens will worry less when they are involved in a car accident on the road. Then all undocumented immigrants are becoming documented immigrants. They will live in America happily forever. Therefore, granting driver`s licenses to undocumented immigrants is a win-win-win issue. At last, granting driver`s licenses to undocumented immigrants is not a key issue for the illegal immigrants. If the government can figure out a better way to legitimize an illegal act, especially for the illegal immigrants who have lived in California for years and their children were born and raised here, that is going to be a fundamentally key issue to solve the illegal immigrants’ problem. It is not about the safety issue on the road or making more money for the state. For a better America, a safer security system, and a peaceful country, every American citizen should use their judgments wisely. Legitimizing a fundamentally illegal act should not ever be allowed! Let good ideas live strongly in the Capital!

The Holocaust Essay -- essays research papers

The Holocaust Experience   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The world that people lived in during the Holocaust is described by the personal experiences of the oppressed throughout the story Jack and Rochelle, written by Jack and Rochelle Sutin, and the memoir by Alexander Donat titled The Holocaust Kingdom. The horrifying mindset of the oppressors, particularly the Nazi`s, is illustrated in both books. The vicious and relentless emotional, physical, and psychological abuse the Nazi`s targeted at their victims is depicted in detail. The unspeakable cruelty received by the Jews dramatically altered their state of mind and how they lived their lives. The emotions of despair, distress, depression, hopelessness, helplessness felt by the Jews eventually turn to hate, anger, hopefulness, faith, and ultimately revenge against all oppressors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Holocaust was a traumatic and tragic time in history to say the least. Those who were victims of the mistreatment were forced to respond. In Jack and Rochelle, both families were used to some form of oppression. Growing up in Poland, Rochelle and her family were used to feeling hated. Here is an example through dialogue of how some of the Poles felt about the Jews and the Germans: â€Å"Just wait! Hitler is coming and he`ll off the heads of all you Jews.† Rochelle: â€Å"What are you so happy about? The Germans might cut off my head, but your independence will be gone. Poland won`t be Poland anymore!† â€Å"They would tell me that it was worth losing their independence just to get rid of the Jews (page 8, Jack and Rochelle).†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Jack also experienced mistreatment even before the Germans came. In the town of Mir, he attended a grade school where he was singled out by the teachers: â€Å"As for school work, if we failed to complete an assignment or to pass a test, we were singled out for special criticism, well beyond what a Polish student would receive. â€Å"What`s the matter Jew?† the teacher would ask us. â€Å"Can`t keep up? (page 14, Jack and Rochelle).† They knew that they could not stay in Poland: â€Å"†¦there was no freedom, no future for us in Poland (page 16, Jack and Rochelle).† The Jews in Poland knew that they were not welcome. Here is an example of how Jack felt from early childhood growing up in Poland: â€Å"Did I have a sense that Jews were hated in Poland? You didn`t need to have a ... ...l, educated people. Finally, in April of 1945 the camps were liberated. After the liberation of the Jews, many of the Jewish inmates of the camps were too weak to move. Many of the Jews being liberated were so delusional from the continuous negligence, torture, unspeakable acts, mass killings, (basically an unrealistic experience), that they were not aware of what was happening. The Jewish prisoners were not restored to health simply by liberation. More painful than their captivity was the awakening from nightmares. When the prisoners began to improve physically, they were then able to feel and think and realize what had really happened to them. Many of the Jewish survivors described themselves as incapable of living their lives to the fullest. They often caught themselves unable to perform tasks that are considered very basic. Some felt that the war and the imprisonment had such a dramatic affect on their life that they had their spark to life that they once had. The traumatic experience of these camps has deeply scarred many of the unfortunate prisoners during the Holocaust. Let us all pray that a time like the Holocaust never comes about again.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Managing Organisational Change

International Journal of Public Sector Management Emerald Article: Managing organisational change in the public sector Lessons from the privatisation of the Property Service Agency Ron Coram, Bernard Burnes Article information: To cite this document: Ron Coram, Bernard Burnes, (2001),†Managing organisational change in the public sector – Lessons from the privatisation of the Property Service Agency†, International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 14 Iss: 2 pp. 94 – 110 Permanent link to this document: http://dx. doi. org/10. 108/09513550110387381 Downloaded on: 17-01-2013 References: This document contains references to 56 other documents Citations: This document has been cited by 14 other documents To copy this document: [email  protected] com This document has been downloaded 4884 times since 2005. * Users who downloaded this Article also downloaded: * Ron Coram, Bernard Burnes, (2001),†Managing organisational change in the public sector à ¢â‚¬â€œ Lessons from the privatisation of the Property Service Agency†, International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 4 Iss: 2 pp. 94 – 110 http://dx. doi. org/10. 1108/09513550110387381 Ron Coram, Bernard Burnes, (2001),†Managing organisational change in the public sector – Lessons from the privatisation of the Property Service Agency†, International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 14 Iss: 2 pp. 94 – 110 http://dx. doi. org/10. 1108/09513550110387381 Ron Coram, Bernard Burnes, (2001),†Managing organisational change in the public sector – Lessons from the privatisation of the Property Service Agency†, International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 4 Iss: 2 pp. 94 – 110 http://dx. doi. org/10. 1108/09513550110387381 Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by Edinburgh Napier University For Authors: If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service. Information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www. emeraldinsight. com/authors for more information. About Emerald www. emeraldinsight. om With over forty years' experience, Emerald Group Publishing is a leading independent publisher of global research with impact in business, society, public policy and education. In total, Emerald publishes over 275 journals and more than 130 book series, as well as an extensive range of online products and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 3 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. *Related content and download information correct at time of download.The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at http://www. emerald-library. com/ft IJPSM 1 4,2 94 Lessons from the privatisation of the Property Service Agency Manchester School of Management, UMIST, Manchester, UK Keywords Organizational change, Public sector management, Privatization, Government agencies, Public authority assets Abstract Whilst organisational change appears to be happening with increasing frequency and magnitude in both the public and private sectors, most of the major studies of change focus on the private sector and tend to derive their approaches to change from that sector.From a review of the literature, it is argued that there is no â€Å"one best way† to manage organisational change but that public sector organisations need to adopt an approach to change which matches their needs and situation. The article examines the privatisation of the Property Services Agency (PSA) in order to draw lessons as to how the public sector can and should manage change. It is shown that the privatisation was characterised by a lack of clarity, an over-emphasi s on changes to structures and procedures, and staff resistance.However, underpinning this was an inappropriate approach to change. The article concludes that the main lessons of the PSA's privatisation are that, in such circumstances, it is necessary to adopt an approach to change which incorporates both the structural and cultural aspects of change, and which recognises the need to appreciate and respond to staff fears and concerns. Managing organisational change in the public sector Ron Coram and Bernard Burnes The International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 14 No. 2, 2001, pp. 94-110. MCB University Press, 0951-3558 Introduction From Kurt Lewin's work in the 1940s to the present day, organisational change, as a systematic process, has moved from being a topic of interest to only a few academics and practitioners to one that is seen as lying at the core of organisational life (Senior, 1997; Stickland, 1998). However, whilst organisational change appears to be happenin g with increasing frequency and magnitude in both the public and private sectors, most of the major studies of and approaches to change  ± with some notable exceptions (e. g.Pettigrew et al. , 1992)  ± focus on the private sector and tend to derive their approaches to change from that sector (e. g. Kanter et al. , 1992; Kotter, 1996; Mabey and Mayon-White, 1993; Pettigrew, 1985; Smith, 1997). Not only does this underplay the enormous changes which have taken place and are continuing to take place in the public sector, but it also ignores the need to develop approaches to change which are in tune with the circumstances in which public service organisations now find themselves (Flynn and Williams, 1997; Salauroo and Burnes, 1998).Though there have been some well-publicised examples of public sector change projects which have gone badly wrong (Brindle, 1999), there is no evidence to show that public sector managers are, inherently, any less capable of managing change than their pri vate sector counterparts (Ferlie et al. , 1996). However, the challenges they face are different from those of their private sector counterparts, especially in terms of public accountability, demonstrating value for money, and in meeting the increasing expectations, regarding service levels and quality, of both the general public and politicians.Over the last 20 years, one of the most significant challenges that public sector managers have had to cope with, and one which has taken them into unknown territory, has been that the boundary between the public and private sector has become increasingly hazy (Crouch and Streeck, 1997; Flynn, 1993). In the UK, which has tended to be at the forefront of these developments, some public services, or parts of them, have been and are being put out to private tender (e. g. he management of some schools and local education authorities); in other cases, public bodies have been turned into quasi-independent organisations (e. g. the Benefits Agency); and, in other instances, some organisations have been and are being privatised in their entirety (e. g. public utilities). All these forms of organisational change throw up their own dilemmas and challenges, and they all require an approach to change which is appropriate to the circumstances involved. However, as Dunphy and Stace (1993) argued, there is no one approach which is suitable for all circumstances and objectives.This article examines one particular and major form of organisational change which continues to have a large impact on the public sector: privatisation. It focuses upon the Property Services Agency (PSA) which, until its privatisation in the early 1990s, was responsible for the construction, maintenance and management of all the UK government's buildings and property. By presenting a case study of the privatisation of the PSA, the article seeks to draws lessons as to how the public sector can and should manage change.The article begins by reviewing the literature on change management. In particular, it draws attention to the need to recognise that there is no â€Å"one best way† to manage organisational change. This is followed by a description of the background to our research on the PSA, and the presentation of the case study itself. As the subsequent discussion section shows, the privatisation of the PSA was characterised by a lack of clarity, an over-emphasis on changes to structures and procedures, and staff resistance.Underpinning this was an inappropriate approach to change. In conclusion, the article argues that the main lessons of the PSA's privatisation are that, in such circumstances, there is a need to adopt an approach to change which balances the structural and cultural aspects of change, especially the need to appreciate and respond to staff fears and concerns. Approaches to change management As Stickland (1998, p. 14) remarks: F F Fthe problem with studying change is that it parades across many subject domains under u merous guises, such as transformation, development, metamorphosis, transmutation, evolution, regeneration, innovation, revolution and transition to name but a few. Organisational change in the public sector 95 IJPSM 14,2 96 Especially over the last 20 years or so, as the pace and magnitude of organisational change appears to have accelerated, there has been a significant increase in the number of approaches to change management on offer (see Buchanan and Boddy, 1992; Buchanan and Storey, 1997; Burnes, 2000; Cummings and Worley, 1997; Dawson, 1994; Kanter et al. 1992; Pettigrew et al. , 1992; Senior, 1997; Stace and Dunphy, 1994; Stickland, 1998; Wilson, 1992). Nevertheless, most writers tend to fall into one of two broad camps: those who support the Planned approach to change and those who espouse the Emergent approach. The Planned approach originated in the 1940s from the work of Kurt Lewin (Lewin, 1947). Subsequently, it was adopted by, and became the central focus of, the Organiz ation Development (OD) movement (French and Bell, 1995).However, in the 1980s, as a result of increasing criticism of the Planned approach, the Emergent approach to change came to the fore. Its proponents argued that the Emergent approach was more suitable for the dynamic and unpredictable conditions faced by organisations in the late twentieth century. The following briefly examines, and attempts to put into perspective, both these approaches to change in order to prepare the ground for presenting and discussing the privatisation of the PSA.Planned change: summary and criticisms Planned change is an iterative, cyclical, process involving diagnosis, action and evaluation, and further action and evaluation. It is an approach which maintains that once change has taken place, it must be self-sustaining (i. e. safe from regression). The purpose of Planned change is to improve the effectiveness of the human side of the organisation by focusing on the performance of groups and teams. Cent ral to Planned change is the stress placed on the collaborative nature of the hange effort: the organisation, managers, recipients of change and change agents jointly diagnose the organisation's problem and jointly plan and design the specific changes. Underpinning Planned change, and indeed the origins of the OD movement as a whole, is a strong humanist and democratic orientation and an emphasis on improving organisational effectiveness. The main criticisms levelled against the Planned approach to change are, as Burnes and Salauroo (1995) point out, as follows.First, Planned change was developed specifically for, and in response to, topdown, autocratic, rigid, rule-based organisations operating in a somewhat predictable and controlled environment. However, an increasing number of writers argue that, in the turbulent and chaotic world in which we live, such assumptions are increasingly tenuous and that organisational change is more a continuous and open-ended process than a set of d iscrete and self-contained events (Garvin, 1993; Hatch, 1997; Nonaka, 1988; Peters, 1989; Stacey, 1993; Wooten and White, 1999).Second, and on a similar note, a number of writers have criticised the Planned approach for its emphasis on incremental and isolated change, and its inability to incorporate radical, transformational change (Dunphy and Stace, 1993; Harris, 1985; Miller and Friesen, 1984; Schein, 1985). Third, Planned change is based on the assumption that common agreement can be reached, and that all the parties involved in a particular change project have a willingness and interest in doing so.This assumption appears to ignore organisational conflict and politics, or at least assumes that problem issues can be easily identified and resolved. However, as Pfeffer (1981; 1992) showed, conflict and personal and group self-interest do play an important role in what changes take place and who benefits from them. Fourth, it assumes that one type of approach to change is suitable for all organisations, all situations and all times. Dunphy and Stace (1993, p. 905), on the other hand, argue that: Turbulent times demand different responses in varied circumstances.So managers and consultants need a model of change that is essentially a â€Å"situational† or â€Å"contingency model†, one that indicates how to vary change strategies to achieve â€Å"optimum fit† with the changing environment. Organisational change in the public sector 97 Leading OD advocates, as might be expected, dispute these criticisms and point to the way that Planned change has tried to incorporate issues such as power and politics and the need for organisational transformation (Cummings and Worley, 1997; French and Bell, 1995).Nevertheless, as criticisms of the Planned approach mounted, supporters of the Emergent approach gained ground. Emergent change: summary and criticisms There are many writers who have contributed to the development of the Emergent approach, notably Dawson (1994), Kanter et al. (1992), Kotter (1996), Pettigrew (1985) and Wilson (1992). Unlike the supporters of the Planned approach, the main proponents of the Emergent approach are a much more diverse group who are separated by both geographic and disciplinary divides. Nevertheless, they would, more or less, agree that the main tenets of Emergent change are as follows: .Organisational change is a continuous process of experiment and adaptation aimed at matching an organisation's capabilities to the needs and dictates of a dynamic and uncertain environment. . Though this is best achieved through a multitude of (mainly) small- to medium-scale incremental changes, over time these can lead to a major re-configuration and transformation of an organisation. . Change is a multi-level, cross-organisation process that unfolds in an iterative and messy fashion over a period of years and comprises a series of interlocking projects. . Change is a political-social process and not an analytic al-rational one. The role of managers is not to plan or implement change per se, but to create or foster an organisational structure and climate which encourages and sustains experimentation, learning and risk-taking, and IJPSM 14,2 . 98 . to develop a workforce that will take responsibility for identifying the need for change and implementing it. Although managers are expected to become facilitators rather than doers, they also have the prime responsibility for developing a collective vision or common purpose which gives direction to their organisation, and within which the appropriateness of any proposed change can be judged.The key organisational activities which allow these elements to operate successfully are: information-gathering  ± about the external environment and internal objectives and capabilities; communication  ± the transmission, analysis and discussion of information; and learning  ± the ability to develop new skills, identify appropriate responses and draw kn owledge from their own and others' past and present actions. Though not always stated explicitly, the case for an Emergent approach to change is based on the assumption that all organisations operate in a turbulent, dynamic and unpredictable environment.Therefore, if the external world is changing in a rapid and uncertain way, organisations need to be continuously scanning their environment in order to identify developments and respond appropriately. Though ultimately leading to organisational transformation, to be successful, it is argued, change needs to emerge locally and incrementally in order to respond to threats and opportunities thrown up by environmental instability. Because this is a continuous, open-ended and bottom-up process, the Planned approach to change is inappropriate.This leads to the first of three major criticisms of the Emergent approach: it is specifically founded on the assumption that all organisations operate in a dynamic environment which requires continuo us transformation. It is, by its own definition, not applicable to organisations operating in stable environments where fine-tuning is the order of the day, or those whose circumstances require major changes through the use of rapid and coercive measures.The second criticism relates to the difference between these two approaches. The Planned approach is attacked because of its advocacy of â€Å"Refreezing† organisations after they have been changed (Kanter et al. , 1992). However, if one examines the process of change advocated by, for example, Dawson (1994), Kotter (1996) and Pettigrew et al. (1992), though they argue to the contrary, they do speak of change as a â€Å"transition† process which does have a beginning, middle and end. Indeed, as Hendry (1996, p. 24) comments: Scratch any account of creating and managing change and the idea that change is a threestage process which necessarily begins with a process of unfreezing will not be far below the surface. The fin al criticism concerns the emphasis that advocates of the Emergent approach place on the political and cultural aspects of change. Though undoubtedly politics and culture do play a role in the change process, a number of writers have begun to criticise what they regard as the overemphasis placed on these aspects of change. Hendry (1996, p. 21), for example, argues that: â€Å"The management of change has become F F F overfocused on the political aspects of change†, whilst Collins (1998, p. 100), voicing concerns of his own and of other researchers, argues that: F F F in reacting to the problems and critiques of [the Planned approach], managers and practitioners have swung from a dependence on under-socialized models and explanations of change and instead have become committed to the arguments of, what might be called, oversocialized models of change. Organisational change in the public sector 99Therefore, though it has apparent advantages over the Planned approach, or rather i t is applicable to situations for which Planned change is not suitable, an examination of the Emergent approach reveals that it not free from serious criticism. Putting change into perspective In examining the Planned and Emergent approaches to change, what we can see is that they focus on different aspects of organisations and are applicable to different situations. The Planned approach is primarily aimed at improving group effectiveness, tends to have a top-down orientation and is most suitable for stable environments.The Emergent approach, on the other hand, tends to focus on organisational transformation through continuous change and seems more suited to turbulent environments. This means that, despite their other strengths and weaknesses, both are essentially situational approaches: suitable only for particular situations. In addition, it is also clear that, even taken together, the two approaches do not cover all the broad spectrum of change events which organisations encounte r. Senior (1997), for example, rawing on the work of Grundy (1993), identifies three categories of change: â€Å"smooth incremental†  ± covering slow, systematic, evolutionary change; â€Å"bumpy incremental†  ± pertaining to periods where the smooth flow of change accelerates; and â€Å"discontinuous change†. Cummings and Worley (1997) identify a continuum running from incremental change to quantum change. Dunphy and Stace (1992), in a similar but more detailed way, identify a four-stage change continuum that comprises: fine-tuning, incremental adjustment, modular transformation and corporate transformation.Storey (1992) offers a four-fold typology of change: (1) Top-down systemic change. This is aimed at transforming the organisation. (2) Piecemeal initiatives. These are devised and implemented by departments or sections in an unconnected fashion. (3) Bargaining for change. This is where a series of targets are jointly agreed between managers and workers, but are pursued in a piecemeal fashion. (4) Systemic jointism. This is where managers and workers agree a total package of changes designed to achieve organisational transformation.IJPSM 14,2 100 Kanter et al. (1992), addressing the issue of transformational change, have noted that it can be achieved either by a Bold Stroke approach (rapid overall change) or a Long March approach (incremental change leading to transformation over an extended period of time). In a similar vein, Beer and Nohria (2000) make an interesting contribution to the change debate. Based on over 40 years of studying the nature of corporate change, they identify two basic archetypes, or theories of change: Theory E and Theory O.The main objective of Theory E change is to maximise shareholder value. It is applied in situations where an organisation's performance has diminished to such an extent that its main shareholders demand major and rapid change to improve the organisation's financial performance. Typically this is a â€Å"hard† approach based on downsizing, divestment of non-core or low-performing businesses, and the heavy use of financial incentives. Theory O, on the other hand, is also aimed at improving an organisation's performance but his is more a â€Å"soft† approach which is based on developing the organisation's culture and its human capabilities, and promoting organisational learning. Beer and Nohria (2000) believe that both of these are valid models of change but that both have their flaws. Theory E can achieve short-term financial gains but at the cost of denuding an organisation of the human capabilities and organisational culture necessary for long-term survival. Theory O, whilst focusing on these, falls into the trap of not restructuring to concentrate on core activities, thus failing to deliver shareholder value.To achieve the gains of both these approaches, whilst avoiding the pitfalls, Beer and Nohria advocate using these in tandem by focusing on the ra pid restructuring elements of Theory E but following this with the human capability development offered by Theory O. Although similar to Kanter et al. ‘s (1992) â€Å"Bold Strokes† and â€Å"Long March†, this idea goes beyond most other writers by pointing out that it is possible and sometimes necessary to combine approaches to change, rather than arguing for some sort of universal approach.In concluding this review of the literature on organisational change, three issues need to be emphasised, which are as follows: (1) There are a wide variety of approaches to change, though some tend to be more popular than others. (2) As Burnes (1996) argues, there is no â€Å"one best way† to manage change. All the approaches on offer appear to be situational, i. e. limited in terms of the circumstances in which they are effective. Therefore, managers need to choose an approach which is suitable for their situation rather than assuming that what worked in the past will also work in the future. 3) In some situations, it may be necessary to combine, either concurrently or sequentially, different approaches to change. Having identified the main issues with regard to the literature on change, we can now proceed to examine how the PSA managed change in practice. This will commence with a brief description of the background to our research, and the methods employed. Background and methods This article is based on research carried out between 1995 and 1998 by the authors into the process and consequences of the privatisation of the Property Services Agency.The research had two main objectives: (1) To identify the reasons for, and the process of, the privatisation of the PSA. (2) Post-privatisation, to examine the impact of the new arrangements on relations between government departments and the newly-privatised PSA. As mentioned in the Introduction, this article is concerned with the first objective, the process of privatisation. For a review of the imp act of privatisation on relations between government departments and the privatised PSA, see Burnes and Coram (1999).Looking at the design of the research and the methods used to study the changes at the PSA, the aim of the research was to construct a mainly qualitative case study of what took place. This was based on principles and methods of research advocated by writers such as Denzin and Lincoln (1998), Robson (1993) and Yin (1994). Though documentary evidence was collected, such as press reports, extracts from parliamentary debates, internal PSA documents and the National Audit Office reports into the sale of the PSA (NAO, 1995; 1996), the main source of data came from interviews with those most closely involved with the process.These fell into five groups: (1) Senior civil servants within the responsible for managing and privatising the PSA. (2) Senior civil servants responsible for managing and procuring property and property services for government departments. (3) Senior ci vil servants in the bodies responsible for advising departments on purchasing policy. (4) Directors and operational staff in the privatised companies, the majority of whom were former PSA employees. (5) The Civil Service trade unions involved in the privatisation negotiations.In total, some 50 individuals were interviewed. The interviews were taperecorded and transcripts sent to the interviewees for checking and correction. In addition, a draft of the final report of the research was sent to the interviewees for comment. These data formed the basis of the following description of the privatisation process. Organisational change in the public sector 101 IJPSM 14,2 102 The privatisation of the Property Services Agency (PSA) Background The origins of the PSA can be traced to 1962 when the Ministry of PublicBuildings and Works was made responsible for maintaining all the UK government's civil buildings. A year later, the Ministry was merged with the Works Directorates of the Admiralty, War Office and Air Ministry. The merger increased the Ministry's workforce to over 60,000. With the creation of the Department of the Environment (DoE) in 1970, it was decided that the responsibility for construction and maintenance services should become the responsibility of a separate agency and thus the Property Services Agency was born.Its role was to: F F F provide, manage, maintain, and furnish the property used by the government, including defence establishments, offices, courts, research laboratories, training centres and land (PSA, 1988, inside cover). In the 1960s and 1970s, few questioned whether or not such activities were best carried out by the public sector, but in the 1980s the tide of opinion began to turn (Crouch and Streeck, 1997). Claims of bureaucratic inefficiency and waste in the UK public services were nothing new (Chapman, 1978; Fulton, 1968; Plowden, 1961).However, what was new, with the election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister in 1979, was that tac kling â€Å"bloated, wasteful, overbureaucratic, and underperforming† public services became the centrepiece of government policy (Ferlie et al. , 1996, p. 11). Subsequently, successive Conservative governments attempted to deliver better value for money in public services through measures such as privatisation, outsourcing and compulsory competitive tendering (Flynn, 1993; Horton, 1996).Not surprisingly, given its size and importance, but most of all given the fact that it seemed to be carrying out a role that in other sectors of the economy was carried out by the private sector, the PSA became a prime target for reform. The process of privatisation In retrospect, it is possible to see that the process of privatising the PSA went through six key stages and began well in advance of the actual announcement that it was to be privatised: . Stage 1.In order to increase the commercial efficiency of the PSA, in 1986 the government appointed the consultancy firm Deloitte to develop and introduce new accounting and management information systems. These new systems were designed to allow the PSA to operate along private sector lines and to abandon public sector practices which were seen as uncommercial. . Stage 2. In 1987, it was announced that, from April 1988, civilian departments of government could take responsibility for commissioning their own construction projects with a value of over ? 150,000.The Ministry of Defence was allowed to follow suit in April 1990. In effect, . . . . this meant that the PSA was going to have to bid alongside private sector companies for government work. Stage 3. In 1988, the Secretary of State for the Environment announced that the PSA would in future operate on a commercial basis. This is to say that its income, and indeed its survival, would depend on gaining work from government departments in the face of private sector competition. To facilitate this, the PSA was restructured into a number of separate business functions.In addition, in order to promote a more commercial orientation, a Business Development Directorate was established within the PSA. The consultants Price Waterhouse were appointed to operate alongside the new Directorate to assist the PSA's commercial development by, among other things, training staff in business accounting, financial management, business planning, people management, customer care and marketing. Stage 4. In September 1989, the government announced that the PSA was to be privatised.In June 1990, the legislation necessary to enable this to take place was passed. Stage 5. In October 1990, in preparation for privatisation, the PSA was restructured into three main businesses: PSA Projects, PSA Building Management (which was eventually split into five separate companies), and PSA International (which, in the end, was closed down rather than sold). Stage 6. PSA Projects was privatised in 1992. This was followed in 1993 by the sale of the five companies which comprised PSA Buil ding Management. Organisational change in the public sector 103The above presents the privatisation of the PSA as a relatively straightforward and well-planned process. However, this is far from the reality of what happened. First, it must be recognised that most of the above actions were imposed on the PSA rather than arising from the decisions of its own management. Second, the six stages focused very much on changes to structures and procedures whilst paying little attention to the need for attitudinal, behavioural and cultural changes or, indeed, the reaction of the PSA's staff to the notion of privatisation.Finally, as the following will explain, the move to privatise the PSA was far slower and much messier than either the government or the PSA's management had allowed for. The pace of privatisation As the following quotation from a director of one of the privatised companies indicates, the privatisation of the PSA took longer, and was more difficult, than expected: The privati sation process was a very lengthy process.It was much longer than it was originally intended to be and meant that the natural unease and nervousness that occurs during such periods was prolonged. IJPSM 14,2 104 The main reasons for this slowness were twofold. Lack of strategic direction. At first, the PSA's Board appeared to treat privatisation as a standard public sector change programme which could be planned in advance, executed in a straightforward way with few unforeseen problems, and which staff would accept, even if they did not like it. However, this proved to be far from the case.The PSA's Board brought in a firm of consultants to help them to clarify the PSA's strategic direction but, as this remark by PSA's then Deputy Chief Executive demonstrates, the result seemed somewhat unfocused: For example, we did a lot of work on objectives. I don't think I can remember what we boiled it down to in the end, F F F something like: to preserve the maximum number of viable longterm j obs. Whatever the merits or not of the work the Board did, the middle and lower reaches of the PSA seemed more alarmed than consoled by developments.It was also the case that even where positive decisions were taken by the top, such as a commitment to provide retraining and outplacement support for staff, they found it difficult to put them into practice. One former PSA Director stated that: There were a few things like that [the training] where I think the best intentions at the top were weakened by people underneath, and I didn't know why. The difficulties faced by top management in developing a new strategy for the PSA and in pushing forward the pace of privatisation were threefold.The first was that though, as civil servants, they had been brought up in a stable environment which operated by well-understood rules, they found themselves having to transform the organisation into a commercial entity that could be successful whilst not understanding the nature of competition nor eve r feeling in control of the pace of change. The second was that, having been used to running a bureaucratic organisation with compliant staff, they found themselves attempting to construct a more flexible and entrepreneurial body with an increasingly disgruntled and worried workforce.The last was that, their actions were being dictated and judged by their political masters, whose sole concern appeared to be to privatise the PSA as quickly as possible, no matter what it cost or who was offended. Therefore, senior managers found themselves caught between the politicians' desire for speed and their staff's desire for job security, both of which clashed with their own cautious and ruledriven approach to change. Resistance by PSA employees. This was the second main reason for the slowness of the privatisation process.The majority of PSA employees did not want their organisation privatised. Not only did they value the stability and certainty that working for a government body gave them, b ut also most believed that the PSA had little chance of survival in the private sector. As one of their trade union officials put it: The implications of privatisation for staff, in respect of pensions, severance terms, general pay and conditions, were enormous. What happens if the organisation who took them over went bust at some later date?The result of this uncertainty and fear for their future was that staff sought to resist and delay privatisation. On an individual basis, many staff resisted by withholding information and slowing down the process wherever possible. For example, some staff basically gave up work and devoted all their time to searching for another job, whilst others fabricated rumours. There was also a general increase in union militancy. On a collective basis, the PSA staff trade union decided to oppose the privatisation.As one union official commented: F F F we felt and still feel that if you are providing a service for the public sector and using taxpayers' mo ney, that it's quite inappropriate to have this work carried out by organisations making a profit. Organisational change in the public sector 105 The official also went on to state that it was union policy to delay the privatisation: F F F the idea was that the longer it took, the longer people were in the public sector.There were issues about information, about negotiation over what the implications of the sale would be for staff, and obviously, from that point of view, the idea of slowing the process down wasn't one that we were objecting to. Eventually this resistance became overt and staff took industrial action, including working to rule and strikes. In a belated attempt to defuse staff opposition to privatisation, the government devised a staff choice scheme whereby PSA staff could choose to transfer fully to the privatised companies, to be seconded to them for a limited period, or to take early retirement.The staff choice scheme also protected employees' pension entitlements. Though this defused some of the opposition, it was not until after the 1992 General Election, when many people  ± mistakenly as it turned out  ± expected a change of government, that staff finally accepted the inevitability of privatisation. As can be seen, the PSA's privatisation was characterised overall by uncertainty, delay and a lack of any clear strategic direction (other than to privatise it). The entire process was driven by one unquestionable aim: privatisation.The process, cost and consequences of privatisation were all subordinate, and, in some senses, irrelevant to achieving that one aim. Though clear in itself, the aim provided no guidance as to how it was to be achieved nor, importantly, did it offer any direction for what was to take place afterwards. As for the PSA's strategy, instead of clarity and purpose, what developed was a stream of unplanned, ad hoc and muddled decisions made in reaction to events, rather than in anticipation of them.Discussion Though it is not the purpose of this article to evaluate the merits or otherwise of the decision to privatise the PSA, it is important to recognise that the wave of privatisation seen in the UK in the 1980s and 1990s was essentially based on a IJPSM 14,2 106 political belief that the private sector, driven by competitive pressures, was far better at delivering value-for-money services than the public sector (Crouch and Streeck, 1997; Ferlie et al. , 1996; Flynn, 1993).Consequently, the privatisation of the PSA, like other privatisations, was not driven by some form of rationaleconomic decision-making process, but by a political agenda aimed at transferring parts of the public sector to the private sector. Consequently, successive governments were less concerned with the process of change, or indeed its cost, than with ensuring that the transfer took place. It is not surprising, then, that the PSA's staff should have felt resentment and a sense of betrayal that, after many years of public serv ice, their careers and livelihoods were threatened by what appeared to them to be ideological dogma.This put the senior managers of the PSA in a situation for which they were ill-prepared and had little experience. They had to plan for, and get staff to comply with, a proposition for which they themselves seemed to have little sympathy and over which, in the final analysis, they felt they had little control. To achieve privatisation, they attempted to apply the sort of rational-planned approach to change which had worked for them when undertaking change in the past. But past changes had been undertaken within a relatively stable public sector environment, with a compliant workforce and with few potential losers.Unfortunately, the government's policy in this instance was driven by mainly ideology rather than rationality. It was designed to remove the PSA from the public sector, the workforce were afraid and hostile, rather than compliant, and there were a great number of potential lo sers. It was also the case that the senior echelons of the PSA appeared themselves to be apprehensive and lacking in support for the privatisation. Therefore, not surprisingly, senior managers found it difficult to devise and put their plans into practice when faced with an uncertain environment and a hostile staff.As time passed, three factors came to the fore which ensured that privatisation was completed: (1) In order to achieve its objective of privatising the PSA, the government eventually recognised it would need to be pragmatic as to how this was achieved and its cost. (2) The PSA management abandoned its planned approach to change and, basically, adopted a reactive and ad hoc approach to overcoming the barriers to privatisation  ± dealing with them as they arose and being prepared to be flexible in most aspects of the process. 3) After the 1992 General Election produced no change of government or policy, it became clear to staff that the privatisation of the PSA was inevit able. As can be seen, in terms of strategic change, this was an instance where there was a clear, though limited, objective, but no clear or consistent strategy for achieving it. It is highly debatable whether or not the privatisation of the PSA has produced any measurable benefits to the UK taxpayer. Certainly the government's own National Audit Commission (NAO, 1995; 1996) was critical of the cost and process of the PSA's privatisation.Also, whilst most organisations in the private sector appear convinced that closer, less hostile and longer-term working relationships between customers and suppliers are the way to achieve best value for money, this does not seem to be the case in terms of the public sector's relations with the privatised PSA or other companies in the construction industry (Burnes and Coram, 1999). As far as change management was concerned, what we can see is that the PSA's managers attempted to apply the sort of quick, top-down, mechanistic approach to change whic h had previously worked well in the relatively stable world of the public sector.However, the PSA was moving into unknown territory, the private sector, which was far more dynamic and unpredictable than it was used to. Also, it needed to achieve two forms of change at the same time: changes to structures, practices and procedures; and changes to attitudes, behaviour and culture. Whilst the traditional top-down public sector approach might be suitable to the former, provided the environment was relatively stable, it was not suitable to the latter, regardless of the nature of the environment.This meant that the PSA's leaders were attempting to take their staff into unknown territory, using an inappropriate approach and in a direction with which even they were apparently ill at ease. Conclusions As the literature review argued, there is no â€Å"one best way† to manage change. Just because an approach was deemed appropriate and worked over a period of time does not mean it will work in all situations or for all time (Burnes, 1996). A top-down, planned approach may well be suitable for a stable, public sector bureaucracy, but if a need arises to move the same bureaucracy into the private sector, the same approach is unlikely to work.As Dunphy and Stace (1993, p. 905) remarked: â€Å"Turbulent times demand different responses F F F† Although the privatisation of the PSA is now a past event, the nature of the public sector and whether further elements of it should be privatised, or required to become more market-orientated, still form part of the current political agenda in most countries. Consequently, the lessons of the PSA's privatisation are still very relevant to those who make public policy and to those charged with carrying out the changes which such policies require of them. The main lessons are as follows.First, to prepare services for privatisation, or to operate on a more commercial basis, requires both structural and cultural change. As All aire and Firsirotu (1984) showed, to achieve both requires different approaches with different timescales. A similar point was made by Beer and Nohria (2000), cited earlier, who call for a combination of Theory E and Theory O approaches to achieve such transformations. To focus on only one of these, as was the case with the PSA, is unlikely to achieve the benefits which policy makers expect, and taxpayers increasingly demand. Organisational change in the public sector 107IJPSM 14,2 108 Second, there is a need to win over staff, or at the very least to address their concerns and fears. A key element in this is the need for policy makers to move beyond basing their decisions mainly on dogma or political creed, and instead, as O'Toole and Jordan (1995, p. 190) recommend, to base them upon â€Å"a rigorous identification of weaknesses and a considered plan to remedy those defects†. As far as the PSA case was concerned, there was never really any attempt to win over staff or, unti l quite late in the process, to address their fears and concerns.The main reason for this was that the PSA's senior managers did not know how to promote a decision based on dogma, one which they had played no part in developing, and over whose consequences they had significant reservations. Third, it should also be noted that the PSA's management themselves did not possess the skills or experience to manage such a change process. 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