...Applying Sociological Perspectives Stephanie Ann Tombline SOC/100 May 30, 2016 Jennifer Hudgins Applying Sociological Perspectives Social networking sites - such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and, Pinterest, just to name a few - provide individuals with an online web of global networking that allows maintaining social ties with one another. Sociologists often ponder, "How do these social websites impact society?" Above all, this is the question that is the central focus shared by all three of the primary sociological perspectives (Structural Functionalism, Conflict Theory, and, Symbolic Interactionism) when studying and performing research on the topic. Otherwise, the three paradigms of sociological theories are differentiating interpretations of how they perceive social networking sites. Namely, I find this subject intriguing because humans are perpetually seeking innovations intended to ameliorate the quality of life, and diverse opinions pertinent to the effect on the gamut of society and individuals within a community, is inevitable. Albeit, each perspective's view generated as a result of these social milestones, equally hold valid points. Therefore, while social networking sites provide a multitude of beneficial improvements to the world, there are just as many issues that arise, and all three sociological perspectives serve to complement one another in the comprehension of social media networks and the sway they bring to societies. As Viewed Through...
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...Calculators, lemmings or frame-makers? The intermediary role of securities analysts Daniel Beunza and Raghu Garud Introduction As Wall Street specialists in valuation, sell-side securities analysts constitute a particularly important class of market actor.1 Analysts produce the reports, recommendations and price targets that professional investors utilize to inform their buy and sell decisions, which means that understanding analysts’ work can provide crucial insights on the determinants of value in the capital markets. Yet our knowledge of analysts is limited by insufficient attention to Knightian uncertainty. Analysts estimate the value of stocks by calculating their net present value or by folding the future back into the present. In so doing, they are faced with the fundamental challenge identified by Frank Knight, that is, with the difficulty of making decisions that entail a future that is unknown. These decisions, as Knight wrote, are characterized by ‘neither entire ignorance nor complete . . . information, but partial knowledge’ of the world (Knight, [1921] 1971: 199). The finance literature has not examined the Knightian challenge faced by analysts. Indeed, existing treatments circumvent the problem by adopting one of two extreme positions. In the first, put forward by orthodox economists, it is assumed that Knightian uncertainty is non-existent and that calculative decision-making is straightforward. Analysts are presented as mere calculators in a probabilistic world...
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...Chapter 1 Production and Operations Management (POM): An Introduction 0 Overview • • • • • Introduction Historical Milestones in POM Factors Affecting POM Today Different Ways of Studying POM Wrap-Up: What World-Class Producers Do 1 Introduction • Production and operations management (POM) is the management of an organization’s production system. • A production system takes inputs and converts them into outputs. • The conversion process is the predominant activity of a production system. • The primary concern of an operations manager is the activities of the conversion process. 2 Organizational Model Finance Sales HRM POM Marketing QA Engineering MIS Accounting 3 Organization Chart-Major Elements Manufacturing Organization Operations Finance/Accounting Disbursements & Credits Funds Management Capital Requirements Marketing Sales Promotion Advertising Sales Market Research Facilities Production & Inventory ontrol Quality Assurance & Control Procurement Engineering Design Industrial Engineering Process Engineering Entry-Level Jobs in POM • Purchasing planner/buyer • Production (or operations) supervisor • Production (or operations) scheduler/controller • Production (or operations) analyst • Inventory analyst • Quality specialist 5 Historical Milestones in POM • • • • • • The Industrial Revolution Post-Civil War Period Scientific Management Human Relations and Behaviorism Operations Research The Service Revolution 6 The...
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...Besides that, the co-founders of this form of the settlement were Jane Adams and Ellen Gates Starr. Various forms of analysis reveal that this form of settlement is based in the Near West Side of Chicago in Illinois [1]. This form of settlement opened its doors to the various forms of newly arriving Europeans immigrants. Over numerous years, Hull House had the capabilities of attracting some of the brightest women in the nation. However, the residents were able to form the network of reformers who use to operate at the state, national and local levels. Besides that Adams a, Starr, Julia Lathrop, Alice Hamilton and Sophonisba Breckenridge used to reside in that form of settlement scheme[2]. In their stay at the Hull, House women began carrying out various forms of activities such as sociological studies of the nearby conditions with an aim of developing sociology as a field. However, various forms of reformers were able to set out various forms of programs that were used to address the poor working environments, low wages, poor sanitations, malnutrition among other problems. This led to the emergence of a class of reformers who began to agitate for the passing of reform legislations[3]. By doing this, the women were in a good condition to convince the Illinois federal government to pass various forms of legislations that supported child labor laws, compulsory education legislations and also those laws that were used to protect children and women. In this settlement, women played...
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...expansion. According to Hesmondhalgh, ‘the cultural industries have moved closer to the centre of the economic action’ (2007:1). Western governments expect that the cultural industries can become a solution of deindustrialization, in order to deal with the systemic crises (Smith, 1998; Seltzer and Bentley, 1999; DCMS 2001; DCITA, 2005). As a consequence, cultural industries arouse concerns from the academic world. However, the definition of cultural industries was still fuzzy until 2007, Mark Banks defined it as: ‘those involved in the production of ‘aesthetic’ or ‘symbolic’ goods and services; that is, commodities whose core value is derived from their function as carriers of meaning in the form of images, symbols, signs and sounds. (2007: 2)’ Along with the profits in the area of ‘cultural economy’ has rapid expanded, the discussions about the cultural work has been widely debated by an increasingly number of scholars. The enthusiasts of cultural economy insist...
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...Unfair Incarceration: Minorities’ Plight in the U.S. Judicial System DeVry University Cultural Diversity in the Professions SOCS 350N Spring 2013 Abstract The United States is well known as the Land of Opportunity, but if you’re a minority that opportunity maybe a greater chance of being incarcerated in the state and federal penal systems. Civil rights battles have raged for the greater part of the last century in this country. With milestone victories in the early and mid 1960’s equality under the law seemed to be a foregone conclusion. There are numerous laws, policies and even a Constitutional Amendment that address the matter that race should never be a factor. With this is all in play and in mind, you would think that statistics of the U.S. penal systems racial analysis has to be completed with a huge margin in error because it is not near equality. In a cursory search of this topic one can find a deluge of graphs, tables, and statistical analysis. The one thing you cannot find is a quantitative or qualitative consensus of why this has occurred or why it is still occurring. A preponderance of the evidence is anecdotal and offers suggestions of policies and attitudes that have led to this epidemic in contemporary American society. In this review, an endeavor to gather the gist of the issue and attempt to answer why or how this came about and the numerical extent. Followed by the consequences to the affected groups and the whole of society. Finally...
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...success factors in alliance-making in SMEs. The results show that “soft” facts such as trust are important for alliance success, but not on their own sufficient. Also “hard” facts such as strategic compatibility and appropriate governance mechanisms have an important influence on alliance success. Careful strategic planning and good partnership preparation are essential for alliance success, but the full value of an alliance has to be developed as it evolves. k 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights c reserved. Introduction Interfirm collaborations, such as strategic alliances and joint ventures,1 have become important business management instruments to improve the competitiveness of companies, especially in complex and turbulent environments.2 Alliances help to bridge the gap between the firm’s present resources and its expected future requirements.3 In this time of globalisation and radical technological change, alliances have become important strategic manoeuvres in industries such as telecoms, electronics, biotech and automobiles.4 Alliances reportedly improve the competi0024-6301/01/$ - see front matter k 2001 Elsevier...
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...Abstract Experts play a number of important roles in society (e.g., doctors, lawyers, scientists). Much of their social function is communicative, and as a public we rely in various ways on these communications. Access to experts and expert information is largely a function of media. As our information and communication media have evolved in recent years, so too must our methods for assessing the accuracy, truthfulness and usefulness of information. The current study examines how modern media, particularly television and the internet, have affected communication both between experts and the public, and among communities of experts. This is demonstrated by the analysis various forms of expert communications: a scientific journal article, news coverage of a political event, and televised advertisements for law firms. It is argued that the greater the premium a society places on specialized knowledge and skills, the more we are obligated to trust experts, and this entails a greater responsibility of “the media” to connect the public to experts in transparent and useful ways. Trust the Experts: The Importance of Media in Connecting Experts to the Public Contemporary “first world” society relies heavily on specialization and the distribution of labour. The complexity of our collective activities is beyond the capacity of any individual, and thus social responsibilities are divided largely on the basis of profession (Mieg, 2006). We entrust doctors with our health...
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...Executive Strategic Plan STR/581 Strategic Planning and Implementation Causley Edwards, Instructor April 9, 2013 Table of Contents I. Executive Summary…………………………………………………………3 II. Company background and Mission, Vision, and Values Statement........3-4 III. Environmental Scan…………………………………………………….....4-6 a. External Analysis…………………………………………………………4 b. Internal Analysis………………………………………………………….5 c. Competitive Position and Possibilities…………………………………...5-6 IV. Strategies used for the Company………………………………………….6-8 V. Implementation Plan……………………………………………………….8-13 VI. Risk Management Plan…………………………………………………….13-14 I. Executive Summary Target prides itself on its charitable contributions and being an environmentally friendly corporation. This is one of Target Corporation’s many strong characteristics. Their strengths include innovative techniques, branding, and design. With strengths, there come weaknesses for companies. Target’s weaknesses include the lack of geographic locations and numerous litigation cases. Competitor competition, along with a recovering economy, serves as threats to the retail industry. There are many opportunities for Target, such as expansion into the global market, continued growth in private label, and broadening their target demographic to increase the market share. II. Company Background and Mission, Vision, and Values Statement In 1962, the first Target store was opened by the Dayton Dry Goods Company...
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...A Process for Changing Organizational Culture Kim Cameron University of Michigan Business School 701 Tappan Street Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 734-615-5247 kim_cameron@umich.edu To be published in Michael Driver (Ed.) The Handbook of Organizational Development 2004 2 A Process for Changing Organizational Culture Kim Cameron University of Michigan Much of the current scholarly literature argues that successful companies--those with sustained profitability and above-normal financial returns--are characterized by certain well-defined external conditions. These conditions include having (1) high barriers to entry (e.g., the difficulty of other firms entering the market, so few, if any, competitors exist), (2) nonsubstitutable products (e.g., others cannot duplicate the firm’s product, and no alternatives exist), (3) a large market share (e.g., the firm can capitalize of economies of scale and efficiencies by dominating the market), (4) buyers with low bargaining power (e.g., purchasers of the firm’s products become dependent on the firm because they have no other alternative sources) (5) suppliers with low bargaining power (e.g., suppliers to the firm become dependent because they have no other alternative customers), (6) rivalry among competitors (e.g., incentives to improve are a product of rigorous competition), and (7) rare products or services (e.g., offering something that no other company provides) (Porter, 1980; Barney, 1995). Unquestionably, these are desirable...
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...Historical Figure Portfolio History and Systems of Psychology Fall 2014 Karen Horney (1885-1952) [pic] Introduction This historical figure portfolio gives a short overview on the life of Karen Horney who was a psychoanalyst and pioneer in feminine psychology. Throughout this portfolio, Karen Horney’s life will be described with the help of a life timeline, a timeline of historical events during her lifetime, a short biography, an image of her, along with a reference page are included to give an synopsis of her life and works. Table of Contents Timeline of Life and Historical Events………………………………………………………4 Brief Biography………………………………………………………………………………6 Image 1………………………………………………………………………………………10 References……………………………………………………………………………………11 Life and World Timeline: September 16, 1885: Karen Horney was born near Hamburg, Germany (previously known as Blankenese, Schleswig-Holstein, Prussia, German Empire). 1886: Statue of Liberty was dedicated to, and placed in, the United States. 1888: Jack the Ripper began his gruesome serial killing in London. 1892: Ellis Island opens as a main east coast immigration center. 1906: Karen Horney entered medical school. 1909: She married Oscar Horney, a man she met in medical school. 1911: Karen Horney’s mother died this year, which then instilled a desire in her to explore psychoanalysis because of the difficulties this...
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... Kim Cameron Ross School of Business University of Michigan 701 Tappan Street Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 734-615-5247 kim_cameron@umich.edu In Thomas G. Cummings (Ed.) Handbook of Organizational Development, (pages 429-445) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing. A Process for Changing Organizational Culture Kim Cameron University of Michigan Much of the current scholarly literature argues that successful companies--those with sustained profitability and above-normal financial returns--are characterized by certain well-defined external conditions. These conditions include having (1) high barriers to entry (e.g., the difficulty of other firms entering the market, so few, if any, competitors exist), (2) non-substitutable products (e.g., others cannot duplicate the firm’s product, and few, if any, alternatives exist), (3) a large market share (e.g., the firm can capitalize on economies of scale and efficiencies by dominating the market), (4) buyers with low bargaining power (e.g., purchasers of the firm’s products become dependent on the firm because they have no other alternative sources) (5) suppliers with low bargaining power (e.g., suppliers to the firm become dependent because they have no other alternative customers), (6) rivalry among competitors (e.g., incentives to improve are a product of rigorous competition), and (7) rare products or services (e.g., offering something that no other company provides) (Porter, 1980; Barney, 1991)...
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... Kim Cameron Ross School of Business University of Michigan 701 Tappan Street Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 734-615-5247 kim_cameron@umich.edu In Thomas G. Cummings (Ed.) Handbook of Organizational Development, (pages 429-445) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing. A Process for Changing Organizational Culture Kim Cameron University of Michigan Much of the current scholarly literature argues that successful companies--those with sustained profitability and above-normal financial returns--are characterized by certain well-defined external conditions. These conditions include having (1) high barriers to entry (e.g., the difficulty of other firms entering the market, so few, if any, competitors exist), (2) non-substitutable products (e.g., others cannot duplicate the firm’s product, and few, if any, alternatives exist), (3) a large market share (e.g., the firm can capitalize on economies of scale and efficiencies by dominating the market), (4) buyers with low bargaining power (e.g., purchasers of the firm’s products become dependent on the firm because they have no other alternative sources) (5) suppliers with low bargaining power (e.g., suppliers to the firm become dependent because they have no other alternative customers), (6) rivalry among competitors (e.g., incentives to improve are a product of rigorous competition), and (7) rare products or services (e.g., offering something that no other company provides) (Porter, 1980; Barney, 1991)...
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...Computer ethics Computer ethics is a branch of practical philosophy which deals with how computing professionals should make decisions regarding professional and social conduct. The term "computer ethics" was first coined by Walter Maner in the mid-1970s, but only since the 1990s has it started being integrated into professional development programs in academic settings. The conceptual foundations of computer ethics are investigated by information ethics, a branch of philosophical ethics established by Luciano Floridi. Computer ethics is a very important topic in computer applications. The importance of computer ethics increased through the 1990s. With the growth of the Internet, privacy issues as well as concerns regarding computing technologies such as spyware and web browser cookies have called into question ethical behavior in technology. Identifying issues Identifying ethical issues as they arise, as well as defining how to deal with them, has traditionally been problematic in computer ethics. Some have argued against the idea of computer ethics as a whole. However, Collins and Miller proposed a method of identifying issues in computer ethics in their Paramedic Ethics model. The model is a data-centered view of judging ethical issues, involving the gathering, analysis, negotiation, and judging of data about the issue. In solving problems relating to ethical issues, Davis proposed a unique problem-solving method. In Davis's model, the ethical problem is stated, facts...
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...Personal Development: Introduction This article needs attention from an expert in Psychology or Personal life explain the issue with the article Personal life (or their Portals) may be able to help recruit an expert. An individual's personality is an aggregate conglomeration of the decisions they have made throughout their life and the memory of the experiences to which these decisions led. There are inherent natural, genetic, and environmental factors that contribute to the development of our personality. According to process of socialization, "personality also colors our values, beliefs, and expectations. Hereditary factors that contribute to personality development do so as a result of interactions with the particular social environment in which people live." There are several personality types as Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers illustrated in several personalities typology tests, which are based on Carl Jung's school of Analytical psychology. However, these tests only provide enlightenment based on the preliminary insight scored according to the answers judged by the parameters of the test. Other theories on personality development include Jean Piaget's stages of development, Erik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, and personality development in Sigmund Freud's theory being formed through the interaction of id, ego, and super-ego. Speak to almost any volunteer and they will tell you that they get at least as much out of giving time as they...
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