Effects of Global Warming on us and on our planet
Introduction
Global warming is the most hotly debated subject in the world today. Most developed nations such as America, Germany, Japan and etc. are being blamed for not strictly adhering to the Kyoto protocol which was signed by most countries and accepted as the only way to control climate change. However, the biggest challenge is to eliminate very important economic contributors such as fuels from coal, sewerage and power plants that contribute to the increase in global warming. Because of its usefulness, the United Nations has been currently working with member countries to address the issue through all its organs. Environmental protection is something that will be important in the future and that is why the current generation would like to become of the generations to come. Global warming is the increase in the average temperate of the air near the surface of the water bodies which in turn result in climate changes.
Causes of global warming
There have been heated political, religious, social and scientific arguments about what could be the causes of global warming. Scientifically, burning of fossil fuels such as petrol, coal, electricity, garbage disposal, and methane from reared animals’ e.g. dairy cattle, goats and sheep the atmosphere of the earth is everywhere and it includes the air we breathe. The earth’s surface, water, land, and the whole biosphere absorb the heat from the sun after which it sends it back to the atmosphere. However, some of the sunlight energy passes back to the space while a good percentage is trapped by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere thus causing the earth to heat up. Research has shown that global temperatures in the seas and on land have increased by 0.75 °C in the last century. The most significant changes were seen in the 1990s due to the increased greenhouse effects and increased human activity. Going by estimates of the Gorrard Institute of Space Studies the year 2005 was the warmest in history and scientists provide an explanation that the main cause could be increased levels of greenhouse gases which are as a result of industrial activities.
The atmosphere
The atmosphere literally covers the whole earth and it consists of a thin layer of mixed gases that make up the air we enjoy today. Specific weather systems that normally develop at the lower and upper part of the atmosphere may cause the air to be too hot or too cold depending on the rotations of the earth, sun rays and any variations that take place on the earth’s surface.
Oceans and seas
More than 70% of the earth’s surface is covered by the oceans and sea. Since it is a large mass of water, its thermal storage capacity enables it to store heat easily. Most oceans regulate the temperature through evaporation.
Ice
Ice covers about 3% of the earth’s surface and it supplies it with fresh water. Ice is known by its capacity to insulate the surface it covers and therefore this plays an important role in regulating the climate especially in the Antarctica and the Greenland. In some countries melting ice has caused a significant increase in the sea levels and this has contributed to global warming.
Greenhouse effect
Greenhouse effect was first discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and it is defined as the warming of a planet’s atmosphere and surface through the adsorption and emission of the infrared radiations by its atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is that negative as it is said because without it the earth could be very cool such that it cannot be inhabited by a living thing including all the humans. The problem is that with increased human activity and industrialization, the greenhouse gases that trap the heat from the sun are affected resulting in varied variations on the composition of gases such as the carbon dioxide.
Increased temperatures
Countries on the islands will be greatly affected by the rise in temperature which is approximated to be 1.2 °C. These high temperatures are detrimental to the human health and are related to some illnesses such as cancer. In fact countries such as Alaska have experienced melting of permafrost in its initial stage signaling more serious environmental effects in the future. Most oceans have become warmer since the 1940s. Oceans get warmer from the top to the bottom which has caused anxiety among the scientist who had not previously considered measuring the depth of the water while analyzing ocean temperatures. The increase in water temperatures in the ocean has caused stronger ocean waves which directly translate to stronger; Typhoons, Hurricanes and Tsunamis. It is even worrying that most countries are recording higher temperatures to up to 50°C.
Sea level rise
Scientists believe that the sea level has shot up drastically to about 120 meters since 18,000 years ago- the last ice age. The most immediate consequence of high temperatures is an increase in the sea level at our oceans and seas. Precipitation is usually increased when the local temperatures rise triggering an increase in the evaporation rate. Also, when the high temperatures heat the water, it expands making it to occupy more volume. A glacier is a large sheet of ice that moves slowly. Most of the glaciers since 100 years ago have continued to melt. Melting of glaciers result in an increase in the sea level. The United Nations Environmental Program have approximated that the sea level has risen to 6-8 inches in the last 100 years and it is projected to continue to rise as long as greenhouse gases continue to be emitted into the atmosphere.
Extreme weather effects
With local and global temperatures going up due to global warming, there are evidences of increased occurrences of extreme weather patterns particularly rainfall , precipitation, evaporation rate and humidity. The most recent of this is the Hurricane that hit Brazil in 2004 and it measured about 40 m/s. This was the first time a Hurricane hit a country south of the Equator. Another phenomenon was the Tsunami that struck countries along the coast line of the Indian oceans damaging property and killing millions of people. (U.S Environment Protection Agency, 2007)
Economic effects
The economic implications of global warming are worse since these weather phenomenon occur unpredictably. Economic implications are considered to be harsh for third world countries as compared to developed countries because they lack the capacity to counter such disasters of big magnitudes. The other sector of the economy affected by global warming is the transport sector. Most of the infrastructure in Indonesia and India has collapsed as an outcome of these disasters thus making it very expensive for the countries to repair and maintain them. Agricultural production being dependant on weather conditions of a particular place is under threat from global warming. Countries in the Islands such as Madagascar produce very little agricultural produce not because they lack the water but because the conditions there are very uncertain and also harsh such that only greenhouses can produce well.
Environmental effects
Global warming as seen above results in increased amounts of rainfall which in turn causes an increase in erosion levels in arid and semi-arid areas of island nations which does not have adequate protective vegetation cover loss of soil implicates that the quality of soil cannot support the desired agricultural production and consequently low economic value for the country. With strong waves and wind speeds, some weather phenomenon can uproot trees in some areas resulting deforestation and in the future deserts can be created.
Conclusion
We can therefore deduce that global warming is a global concern that draws much attention from everyone and it also demands solutions from them since every person would like to live a brighter future. Global warming is not clear to the scientist trying to come up with a solution to it and therefore it is difficult to answer the question on how to manage global warming. Although many environmental activists have been trying to convince the current world leaders to adopt a common law that will see the elimination of fossil fuels in our countries, stiff criticism have been focused that suggests that alternative sources of fuel be developed to automatically weed out what is now available in the market. Climate change is already affecting our lives and the places we live and has a potential to dramatically impact the life of future generations. If we don’t act now, we will leave a much larger problem to our childrens. The good news is that, if we all join in to stop climate change, we can reduce its impact on our lives, on our environment and on future generations.
References
Global Warming International Center, (2005): Greenhouse gases are air pollutants under the Clean Air Act: U.S. policy on global warming today, Retrieved From, http://www.globalwarming.net/, on May, 24, 2008
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2007): Global Warming, Retrieved from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalwarming.html, on May, 24, 2008
U.S Environment Protection Agency (2007): Climate Change, Retrieved From, http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/, on March, 16, 2008
Wetherald, R.T. and Manabe, S. (2002): Simulation of hydrologic changes associated with global warming: Journal of Geophysical Research
Saturday, May 24, 2008
MINI PROJECT 3A: Big Fish, Small Fish: makes good business.
When we consider the hard realities we have to face when doing business today, we may wonder how we can stay ahead of the game in the future. We have experienced a rapid expansion of globalization and an unprecedented scale of competitiveness through the 21st century, as new markets and customers seemingly appear and disappear overnight. The advent of technology has enabled smaller companies to compete very effectively with larger businesses. Technology has facilitated communication, allowed for products to be manufactured and delivered more rapidly, and lowered barriers of entry for smaller companies, which has resulted in increased competition. Customers have become more cost conscious and demanding than ever. The customer of the future will be better educated, more discriminating, and even better informed due to the Internet. As businesses in developing countries progress, the playing field will only become more competitive. Companies will have to have the right kind of support if they are to survive. There are several forms of business ownerships: Sole proprietorship (small businesses), partnerships, corporations, and corporations. Sole proprietorship |sōl p(r)əˈprīətər sh ip| A business owned by a single individual. Small businesses are the easiest and least expensive form of business to start. Owners have the satisfaction of being their own boss, they get to keep all profits after taxes, and retain privacy as they do not have to disclose performance or plans to anyone. Disadvantages of sole proprietorship include unlimited liability for the owner, limited skills and experience, and the difficulties to raise large sums of capital. Partnership |pärtnər sh ip| An unincorporated business owned and operated by two or more people. Partnerships are superior to sole proprietorships, largely because there’s strength in numbers. Partnerships benefit from having more people investing money, diverse skill sets, and the company experiences a longer life since partners can be replaced when required. Similar to sole proprietorships, partners also carry the weight of unlimited liability. Other disadvantages include potential personality clashes, sharing of profits, and having to deal with unproductive partners. Cooperative |kōäp(ə)rətiv| (also co-operative) A business that is owned and run jointly by its members. Cooperatives benefit from the bulk buying power, democratic structure, and the protection of limited liability. The disadvantages of being a member of a cooperative, the sharing of profits, deal with longer decision-making processes, and the potential conflict among members. Corporation |kôrpərā sh ən| A company or group of people authorized to act as a single entity (legally a person) and recognized as such in law. No other form of business ownership matches the success corporations enjoy in terms of raising capital, resources, and talent. Interestingly, the relationships and interactions between the various forms of businesses can be found in the ocean. Aquatic creatures have survived for billions of years in such by conducting businesses in the ocean. Corporations – Small businesses The relationship between suppliers and distributors exists in a value chain. It is a string of companies working together to satisfy their needs for a particular product. Similarly, sharks and pilot fish also satisfy their needs by serving one another. Their relationship is one of mutualism; pilot fish are fed and gain protection from predators, while the shark gains freedom from parasites. Small businesses, like the pilot fish, can find profitable niches that fulfill the needs of larger companies. Many small businesses act as distributors, servicing agents, and suppliers to large corporations. These small businesses are able to survive by supplying a narrow customer base (in this case, only a particular big fish; the shark). Cooperatives The Japanese have a proverb; “By doing it together, you conquer all fears.” Thousands of miles below the ocean, small fish form shoals or schools to defend against predators. Every time I see the school of fish, it reminds me of a children’s book “Swimmy.” These fish get together and make a big fish shape to scare off enemies. Similar to those small aquatic creatures, small businesses form cooperatives to benefit from the synergies between members, increase purchasing power, create support systems, and share success and profits. Partnerships Symbiosis is the special relationship where two beings come together in perfect harmony. They become one, living together, changing together, staying together for all time. For instance, the shrimp and goby share this type of relationship. While the goby uses the shrimp’s burrow for protection from predators, it also acts as the pistol shrimp “eyes”. During the day, the goby hovers above the burrow, feeding and interacting with other gobies. Meanwhile, the shrimp uses its antennae to stay in constant contact with the goby’s tail while searching for food and maintaining the burrow opening. If a predator comes within striking distance, the goby will dart headfirst into the burrow. At night, the two simply rest together in the burrow. The partnership between the shrimp and goby enables them to utilize their strengths to support one another. Their ability to co-exist allows them to extend their life span. For millions of years, aquatic creatures have survived by forming prosperous relationships. Business practices share similar survival tactics, but has evolved over the years to a point where the big fish (big companies) just keep eating the small fish (small companies) through mergers and acquisitions. It’s now a “eat, or be-eaten” mentality that has fueled the level of competition to another level. Perhaps businesses should look to nature for lessons on how to co-exist in harmony? Megumi Wada
The Evolution of Flintknapping: Emerging Skills Needed for the 21st Century
Tools and weapons have been made from stone, wood, and bone since the beginning of mankind. Wood and bone do not preserve in the archaeological record, but modern experimental archaeology proves that they are easier to manipulate to create tools. Stone tools alone have endured the test of time, with evidence dating to as far back as 2.6 million years ago. Though stone tools are mainly associated with the prehistoric period, they continue to be used today. A Flintknapper is defined as “One who forms stone implements by controlling the fracture of the material. An artificer. A stoneworker using material exhibiting a conchoidal fracture” (Crabtree 65).
As we move forward in the 21st century, it is easy to forget our seemingly simply origins. However, flintknapping is a difficult skill to master, it requires much hard work and careful planning.
Lithic technology is comprised of two factors, method and technique. Like a business, a method is in our mind. If prehistoric man had haphazardly bashed rocks with other rocks, I believe we would still be scavengers from larger carnivores. To make a stone tool, a flintknapper must first decide what type of tool they want (such as a handaxe, or a pick), what material they will use, and based upon these decisions, devise a preconceived systematic plan of action based on rules, mechanics, order and procedure. (good) This is our prehistoric business plan. Without it, it is nearly impossible to implement a stone tool. In the 21st century, business plans are important to create a driving force in a team, which contributes to success.
The technique is the execution of your method, using suitable fabricators. Raw rock used to make stone tools must fracture in a predictable manner and be homogeneous. From this raw rock, one can take off flakes by percussion or pressure.
The earliest stone industry dates from 1.8 to 1.2 million years ago, where the same tool consistently was made with very little variation. This is the chopper, shaped by hitting one stone against another to create a sharpened edge, used for cutting or sawing. It is theorized that stone tools allowed for the expansion and complexity of the human brain by increasing our hunting capabilities. Like a good idea or innovation in the modern day workplace, the manufacture of stone tools spread. Though it is very crude, it shows how simple changes can make monumental differences in terms of our abilities.
The Acheulian period dates from as early as 1.4 million years ago, and marks the transition to a more technologically advanced tool industry. By advancing the original technique, our ancestors standardized the tool-making tradition by limiting the type of rocks they used. They started to make different types of tools, like burins and borers, and handaxes. As time progressed, instead of using the closest rock source, they transported rocks from farther distances because of their better qualities. This would require trade and co-operation with other groups for access to these rocks. In the corporate world it is easy to see that it is necessary to branch out, to use technology and outside sources to maximize success. Careful managers create ties to those that offer the best solutions.
During the Olduwan and earlier Acheulian, only the core of the rock was used for tools. While this was workable, it was wasteful of the flakes that fall off to be left on the ground, only to be discovered millions of years later. Thus in the later Acheulian, we see an economical shift towards using flake technologies, which exploited the flakes. Not only did this conserve materials, it led to an explosion of possibilities of new tool designs. With today’s environmental concerns, conservation is a key issue for leaders and managers. Not only do we want to help the earth, but we want to make our businesses more effective, like the specialized stone tools that emerged in the later periods. Eighteen different types of stone tools have been discovered from the Acheulian Industry – evidence that our ancestors were developing technologies to adapt to local conditions. In a period of changing environmental conditions, adaptability was essential. Similarly, the modern corporate environment is a dynamic system. To survive within this system, managers and employees must find ways to adapt.
In this period, new methods to remove flakes were discovered. Instead of only using stone against stone (hard-hammer percussion), early man started to use punches. The punch is either semi-pointed or a blunt rod-like object made of bone, antler or stone. For this technique, the worker can take off flakes with more precision and control by placing the bunch at a constant angle in a specific place and then hitting the punch with something else. In this alternative, the abstraction of an earlier idea permitted flintknappers to create stone tools previous impossible due to lack of precision. Abstraction and creativity in the workplace lead to new possibilities and areas for expansion.
New technologies also emerged after the Acheulian. Thus, one can see how flintknapping advanced over time, building on the foundations of older techniques. It was an open enterprise, which allowed for experimentation. We can see how the basic skills of our ancestors - sharing ideas and collaboration – are very applicable in today’s world to allow for the production of better products and services.
NATURAL SELECTION 2.0
Proposed by the great English naturalist Charles Darwin, “natural selection is the process by which favorable heritable traits become more common in successive generations of a population of organisms that reproduce, and unfavorable heritable traits become less common. Natural selection is the mechanism by which evolution may take place in a population of a specific organism.”
According to natural selection, in nature, it is the organisms that are the strongest, the fittest, the fiercest, the biggest, that tend to survive, as they are more capable of getting their food because of their own characteristics that make them more suitable to keep themselves alive, to feed themselves, to survive and to reproduce. This is true, but only to certain organisms. This doesn’t apply to the key organism of the 21st century: the manager.
The 21st century is so competitive that it is not enough to be the strongest and the fittest. It takes the more prepared, the more capable, the more spiritual, the more positive, the more innovative and creative, the more soft skills, the smarter, the more technologically savvy, the more visionary, the more inspiring, the more dedicated, the more conscientious, the more passionate, to “survive” in today’s world of challenge. All these “21st century survival traits” or characteristics must be gained through training and hard work because “Natural selection does not grant organisms what they ‘need.’”
The following describe the steps of the Natural Selection 2.0 approach to Evolution.
Reproductive Abilities and Environmental Restrictions: Picture this world. Limited resources, where organisms have to fight against each other a deadly and savage battle over water, land and food in other to survive. Now, close your eyes and I’ll repaint the picture for you. There are still limited resources in it and organisms have to fight each other for the same resources. But the key difference is how you fight over them. It’s not about who’s got the strongest teeth or the sharpest claws, it’s about who is the more prepared and the more capable, the ones showing more of the 21st century survival traits the ones who will win over these limited resources.
Struggle for existence and Heritable variations: The 21st century is a world of competition, where if you don’t have your survival traits, you definitely won’t survive. That’s the harsh reality of today’s world. To survive you need resources, but resources are limited, so in order to get your resources you have to fight for them, but, what if you can’t? Of course you can! There’s where variations take place! You have to learn and adapt new skills; train hard in order to get some survival traits! It is really the only way to stay alive in midst of this competitive environment.
Natural Selection and Environmental changes: Here’s where natural selection comes and “selects” the most suitable or better adaptive traits. In our case, nature “selects” the organisms with the survival traits. The rest of the organisms don’t make it to the next step. Be prepared and go to the next step. Don’t fall behind!
Evolution: Survival traits are refined in this step. It’s the ultimate set of skills and competencies that will help today’s managers and individuals survive in the middle of the competitive 21st century. This last step is evolution. Getting to this step means that you are one the few distinguished individuals, the top few who are the most capable, the ones who “evolutes” and will be ready for the next century’s challenges.
An analogy can also be made from the following picture, where the top of the “tree” begins with mutation which creates variation. So there are all these different organisms, managers, individuals in general. Each one of them is different, each one of them has their own personal traits that defines then and differentiates them others. Unfavorable mutations are selected against which means that these individuals are left out, or are knocked out of the way along their path to the next century. On the other hand, favorable mutations are more likely to survive, to get their resources, to feed themselves and to finally reproduce and change the society into a even more competitive one. Where individuals, professionals and managers are continuously improving themselves, adapting to the exponentially increasing competitive society in where all its members, all its organisms try to survive based on their capabilities and skills rather than on mere brute force.
So it’s the competitive market who decides or “selects” who will be the most qualified and prepared to adapt and to stay and who will be left behind in it. It’s each individual’s skill, capabilities, competencies and survival traits what will get you through the new century. It’s not about physical strength and brute force, it’s about the strength in your mind, heart and soul: it is about NATURAL SELECTION 2.0.
by Jimmy Chan
Sources:
http://wiki.cotch.net/upload/thumb/8/86/Mutation_and_selection_diagram.png/322px-Mutation_and_selection_diagram.png
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/misconceps/images/misconceptions_beavers.gif
http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectures/selection/boxes.gif
http://anthro.palomar.edu/evolve/evolve_2.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_selection
Bacteria and Management!?
The basic units of all life are cells. Specialized cells have different functions and different specialized cells are able to work together and form a bigger unit. However, some cells such as bacteria have it all in them already and are able to survive as a unit on their own. Bacterial cells are similar to management and the organizations that are formed through management in many ways.
What is management?
Management is the idea where a group of people get together to form an organization and accomplish certain goals. In order to achieve those goals, many characteristics must be present in these organizations. Bacteria, being one of the organisms that have the longest history on our planet, surviving almost all the harsh conditions early has gone through exhibits many of the different characteristics needed for organizations to achieve their goals.
The ability to work together as a unit towards one goal
Bacteria are able to survive on its own as a unit because it contains many different parts. For instance, a bacterium has a plasma membrane which acts as a boundary for the cell, ribosomes which are factories for protein synthesis and plasmids which contain the genetic information of the bacterial cell. All these different components in the cell have different roles and these different roles work together to allow the cell to function as a unit and achieve the same goal, to allow the bacterial cell to survive and reproduce. These different parts of a bacterial cell also communicate with each other through protein signals to make sure the process is smooth and there are no confusion involved while working as a team. Similarly, organizations also contain different elements. There are different people who specialize in different things and are responsible for different tasks. For instance, in a company there must be someone responsible for human resource, while there is someone else will be responsible for financial affairs, technological affairs and marketing. In order for an organization of operate properly, the people responsible for the different roles must work together so the organization can operate. The different people should also make sure they understand each other just like the different parts of a bacterial cell communicates so there is no misunderstandings.
The ability to adapt to the environment that is constantly changing
Bacteria are one of the fastest evolving organisms in the world. They are constantly changing themselves to adapt to the environment around them. For instance, after one gets sick they often treat themselves with antibiotics. However, after using the same antibiotic for a long period of time, the bacteria will start to evolve and become resistance making the antibiotics no long effective. The ability for bacteria to evolve and adapt to the different changes in the environment is the main reason why bacteria are able to survive for so long. Similarly, companies need to be able to adapt and change to their environment accordingly. If an old company is stubborn and refuses to change or adapt and come up with new ideas pretty soon the company will lose all its business and its competitors will take over!
Different forms in management
Bacteria come in different shapes and sizes. They can be as big as the coma on this page or as small as 0.3 micrometers which is only visible under the microscope! They can be circular, rod shaped or spiral shaped. Different species can also be different in color and live in different conditions. Bacteria can survive in almost any condition, from the hot springs in Yellow stone National park to the top of the majestic Rocky Mountain. They are everywhere! Organizations also come in different forms. There are small companies where all the workers in the company are from the same family. There are also very big companies like Google where the employees are completely unrelated. Organizations can be found everywhere and depending on the environment they can also have different forms.
Strategies to survive
Bacteria use different strategies to survive. Some have flagella that allow them to move towards nutrients or away from waste products. Companies and firms also have different strategies that help them survive. For instance they increase the amount of funds spent on advertisement in order to promote their products. They can also increase the salary of certain positions in order to attract more creative individuals to come and join their companies. Companies may also try and adapt to different changing markets by coming up with different innovative ideas that consumers are interested in.
Different organizations working together
Bacteria can survive as a unit by itself but they can also form colonies that are in different forms. Some bacteria form pairs while others form clusters that look like grapes or straights chains. These different bacteria can use signals to communicate with each other to ensure the can work cooperatively as a team. Organizations can work independently or they can team up with other companies. The same company can also have branches and all these branches of the company can work together as a team towards one direction trying to achieve the same goal. While working together, the different companies need to make sure they communicate well with each other the way bacteria communicate with each other so there are no misunderstandings.
Management can be good or bad.
Bacterial cells can be used to make cheese, bread, wine, or even yogurt. Most bacteria are harmless and some can even be beneficial. However, we usually only know the ones that our bad for our health. Most companies are beneficial to our everyday life. Every day, companies such as Google are trying to come with better and better technology for us. However, some organizations in order to make more profit may use some unethical methods. Unfortunately, we usually have a greater impression on those companies just like the way we know more infectious bacteria than beneficial ones. Thus we should remember the bad but never forget the good.
Even though bacteria may seem like small organisms that do not really play a role in our everyday life except for causing us to get sick there is actually a lot to be learned from them. Bacteria, without any special training understand the idea of working together as a unit in order to achieve their goals. They also know that in order to survive, they must always adapt to their environment which is constantly changing. The different organizational units can also work together as long as there is appropriate communication. Bacteria and management both have their benefits and drawbacks. As long as we are able to appreciate their benefits and be aware of their drawbacks we can make use of both bacteria and management in our lives.
What is management?
Management is the idea where a group of people get together to form an organization and accomplish certain goals. In order to achieve those goals, many characteristics must be present in these organizations. Bacteria, being one of the organisms that have the longest history on our planet, surviving almost all the harsh conditions early has gone through exhibits many of the different characteristics needed for organizations to achieve their goals.
The ability to work together as a unit towards one goal
Bacteria are able to survive on its own as a unit because it contains many different parts. For instance, a bacterium has a plasma membrane which acts as a boundary for the cell, ribosomes which are factories for protein synthesis and plasmids which contain the genetic information of the bacterial cell. All these different components in the cell have different roles and these different roles work together to allow the cell to function as a unit and achieve the same goal, to allow the bacterial cell to survive and reproduce. These different parts of a bacterial cell also communicate with each other through protein signals to make sure the process is smooth and there are no confusion involved while working as a team. Similarly, organizations also contain different elements. There are different people who specialize in different things and are responsible for different tasks. For instance, in a company there must be someone responsible for human resource, while there is someone else will be responsible for financial affairs, technological affairs and marketing. In order for an organization of operate properly, the people responsible for the different roles must work together so the organization can operate. The different people should also make sure they understand each other just like the different parts of a bacterial cell communicates so there is no misunderstandings.
The ability to adapt to the environment that is constantly changing
Bacteria are one of the fastest evolving organisms in the world. They are constantly changing themselves to adapt to the environment around them. For instance, after one gets sick they often treat themselves with antibiotics. However, after using the same antibiotic for a long period of time, the bacteria will start to evolve and become resistance making the antibiotics no long effective. The ability for bacteria to evolve and adapt to the different changes in the environment is the main reason why bacteria are able to survive for so long. Similarly, companies need to be able to adapt and change to their environment accordingly. If an old company is stubborn and refuses to change or adapt and come up with new ideas pretty soon the company will lose all its business and its competitors will take over!
Different forms in management
Bacteria come in different shapes and sizes. They can be as big as the coma on this page or as small as 0.3 micrometers which is only visible under the microscope! They can be circular, rod shaped or spiral shaped. Different species can also be different in color and live in different conditions. Bacteria can survive in almost any condition, from the hot springs in Yellow stone National park to the top of the majestic Rocky Mountain. They are everywhere! Organizations also come in different forms. There are small companies where all the workers in the company are from the same family. There are also very big companies like Google where the employees are completely unrelated. Organizations can be found everywhere and depending on the environment they can also have different forms.
Strategies to survive
Bacteria use different strategies to survive. Some have flagella that allow them to move towards nutrients or away from waste products. Companies and firms also have different strategies that help them survive. For instance they increase the amount of funds spent on advertisement in order to promote their products. They can also increase the salary of certain positions in order to attract more creative individuals to come and join their companies. Companies may also try and adapt to different changing markets by coming up with different innovative ideas that consumers are interested in.
Different organizations working together
Bacteria can survive as a unit by itself but they can also form colonies that are in different forms. Some bacteria form pairs while others form clusters that look like grapes or straights chains. These different bacteria can use signals to communicate with each other to ensure the can work cooperatively as a team. Organizations can work independently or they can team up with other companies. The same company can also have branches and all these branches of the company can work together as a team towards one direction trying to achieve the same goal. While working together, the different companies need to make sure they communicate well with each other the way bacteria communicate with each other so there are no misunderstandings.
Management can be good or bad.
Bacterial cells can be used to make cheese, bread, wine, or even yogurt. Most bacteria are harmless and some can even be beneficial. However, we usually only know the ones that our bad for our health. Most companies are beneficial to our everyday life. Every day, companies such as Google are trying to come with better and better technology for us. However, some organizations in order to make more profit may use some unethical methods. Unfortunately, we usually have a greater impression on those companies just like the way we know more infectious bacteria than beneficial ones. Thus we should remember the bad but never forget the good.
Even though bacteria may seem like small organisms that do not really play a role in our everyday life except for causing us to get sick there is actually a lot to be learned from them. Bacteria, without any special training understand the idea of working together as a unit in order to achieve their goals. They also know that in order to survive, they must always adapt to their environment which is constantly changing. The different organizational units can also work together as long as there is appropriate communication. Bacteria and management both have their benefits and drawbacks. As long as we are able to appreciate their benefits and be aware of their drawbacks we can make use of both bacteria and management in our lives.
Interdisciplinary Businees Education
Rethinking Business Education for the 21st Century: A Call for a More Interdisciplinary Approach
“They know the price of everything and the value of nothing”
-Oscar Wilde
Corporate recruiters and headhunters alike often undermine the value of a liberal arts education for potential employees. In fact, many companies see this education as meaningless or not applicable to their agendas. Yet, as we near the end of the first decade of the 21st century it has become apparent that this background is needed now more than ever. Organizations and their leaders must be armed with several tools to navigate responsibly through our complex global environment. Consequently, a call for a shift in the way business education is delivered is necessary. My claim is that humanities and social sciences courses are just as important as functional business courses as a means of educating today’s business leaders.
An interdisciplinary approach to business education provides graduates with the ability to see and understand our world from multiple perspectives. The 21st century is a time characterized by chaos, uncertainty, complexity, interdependency, globalization and accelerating change, (Karakas 44). The ability for leaders to tackle this globe requires several tools, none more important than a multidimensional outlook on our world. Today’s business leaders need to think not only about the wealth of their shareholders, but more importantly about their social impact and affect on our planet. We are witnessing a transformation in traditional capitalism, as companies “are increasingly being held accountable for their humanistic as well as economic performance,” (Sisodia 4). Surely functional business courses, although quite important, are not nearly enough to provide leaders with a multidimensional view on human nature; to be able to recognize our global environment’s social and environmental concerns along with their shareholder’s concerns. As Nancy McGraw explains, “business executives have been well-schooled in using tools to meet financial objectives, but they need additional strategies and more information to seek outcomes that more fully take social and environmental impacts into account, (33). Globalization has made our world’s complex problems, from poverty and hunger to pollution and global warming, more visible and evident to everyone. Pressure on businesses to increase social accountability has followed from this increased awareness. Thus, our business graduates and leaders of tomorrow need the ability to think from multiple perspectives. A liberal arts base, comprised of wide range of humanity and social science courses, is the perfect ingredient along with traditional business courses to prepare our corporate leaders for the 21st century.
To reflect a concern for social and environmental issues, the majority of business schools do offer ethics courses to their students. However, the exposure is limited. Many times a topic such as social responsibility is left to the end of courses, and often as a result of time it is left out. Ethics, social responsibility, and global citizenship are issues that have taken front row in today’s corporate landscape. Yet still we see not nearly enough emphasis on these topics being placed in educating our future leaders. Ethics should be the foundation of each and every business school. Although many preach that this is so, often it is more of an advertisement than it is an actuality.
An increase in ethics courses, although necessary, will still not be sufficient enough for tomorrow’s leaders. Education must be more interdisciplinary, to produce global citizens that see and care about the world from multiple perspectives. We must have leaders that “think beyond the boundaries of a single discipline to see the big picture. They integrate knowledge from seemingly disparate areas to make sense of the world around them,” (Karakas 8). A general arts base provides the component to tackle complex global issues effectively, to “see the firm in a larger context, considering social and environmental issues beyond the corporations gates.” (McGraw 32). An example of a school that has taken a stride in this direction is the Notre Dame, Mendoza School of Business. Their graduate program is an integral leadership program that focuses on multiple facets of human development: cognitive, emotional, interpersonal, physical, ethical, moral and spiritual (McGraw 34). Another school that has taken this approach is McGill Desautels Faculty of Management. Their undergraduate program requires students to take a general first year comprised of mandatory humanities and social science courses and an option of minor in another faculty before taking your typical functional business courses. This interdisciplinary style of program tries to ensure that tomorrow’s leaders not only understand the economic implications of globalization, but also understand the cultural, legal, and political ramifications. Leaders in every arena will need to see themselves as citizens of the world with a greatly expanded field of vision and values, (Goldsmith 22). Combining traditional functional business courses with a liberal arts base best satisfies this need for an interdisciplinary, multidimensional education for our 21st century business leaders.
“They know the price of everything and the value of nothing”
-Oscar Wilde
Corporate recruiters and headhunters alike often undermine the value of a liberal arts education for potential employees. In fact, many companies see this education as meaningless or not applicable to their agendas. Yet, as we near the end of the first decade of the 21st century it has become apparent that this background is needed now more than ever. Organizations and their leaders must be armed with several tools to navigate responsibly through our complex global environment. Consequently, a call for a shift in the way business education is delivered is necessary. My claim is that humanities and social sciences courses are just as important as functional business courses as a means of educating today’s business leaders.
An interdisciplinary approach to business education provides graduates with the ability to see and understand our world from multiple perspectives. The 21st century is a time characterized by chaos, uncertainty, complexity, interdependency, globalization and accelerating change, (Karakas 44). The ability for leaders to tackle this globe requires several tools, none more important than a multidimensional outlook on our world. Today’s business leaders need to think not only about the wealth of their shareholders, but more importantly about their social impact and affect on our planet. We are witnessing a transformation in traditional capitalism, as companies “are increasingly being held accountable for their humanistic as well as economic performance,” (Sisodia 4). Surely functional business courses, although quite important, are not nearly enough to provide leaders with a multidimensional view on human nature; to be able to recognize our global environment’s social and environmental concerns along with their shareholder’s concerns. As Nancy McGraw explains, “business executives have been well-schooled in using tools to meet financial objectives, but they need additional strategies and more information to seek outcomes that more fully take social and environmental impacts into account, (33). Globalization has made our world’s complex problems, from poverty and hunger to pollution and global warming, more visible and evident to everyone. Pressure on businesses to increase social accountability has followed from this increased awareness. Thus, our business graduates and leaders of tomorrow need the ability to think from multiple perspectives. A liberal arts base, comprised of wide range of humanity and social science courses, is the perfect ingredient along with traditional business courses to prepare our corporate leaders for the 21st century.
To reflect a concern for social and environmental issues, the majority of business schools do offer ethics courses to their students. However, the exposure is limited. Many times a topic such as social responsibility is left to the end of courses, and often as a result of time it is left out. Ethics, social responsibility, and global citizenship are issues that have taken front row in today’s corporate landscape. Yet still we see not nearly enough emphasis on these topics being placed in educating our future leaders. Ethics should be the foundation of each and every business school. Although many preach that this is so, often it is more of an advertisement than it is an actuality.
An increase in ethics courses, although necessary, will still not be sufficient enough for tomorrow’s leaders. Education must be more interdisciplinary, to produce global citizens that see and care about the world from multiple perspectives. We must have leaders that “think beyond the boundaries of a single discipline to see the big picture. They integrate knowledge from seemingly disparate areas to make sense of the world around them,” (Karakas 8). A general arts base provides the component to tackle complex global issues effectively, to “see the firm in a larger context, considering social and environmental issues beyond the corporations gates.” (McGraw 32). An example of a school that has taken a stride in this direction is the Notre Dame, Mendoza School of Business. Their graduate program is an integral leadership program that focuses on multiple facets of human development: cognitive, emotional, interpersonal, physical, ethical, moral and spiritual (McGraw 34). Another school that has taken this approach is McGill Desautels Faculty of Management. Their undergraduate program requires students to take a general first year comprised of mandatory humanities and social science courses and an option of minor in another faculty before taking your typical functional business courses. This interdisciplinary style of program tries to ensure that tomorrow’s leaders not only understand the economic implications of globalization, but also understand the cultural, legal, and political ramifications. Leaders in every arena will need to see themselves as citizens of the world with a greatly expanded field of vision and values, (Goldsmith 22). Combining traditional functional business courses with a liberal arts base best satisfies this need for an interdisciplinary, multidimensional education for our 21st century business leaders.
How Japan Saved the World
Globe & Mail, Business Section
By Emil Nicolov,
In the next ten years, as the World awakens at last to the most formidable challenge it has ever faced, it will pleasantly discover that a solution is already there. Throughout history, man has struggled with his external environment to ensure survival; the 21st century will be a vastly different place because we will have to face a problem that is fundamentally man-made, this is the exhaustion of our natural endowments in clean air, clean water and readily available energy and materials. Fortunately,
In the land where the sun rises, the fight to preserve the environment is a matter of national concern, and solutions have been achieved by a mix of central policy and voluntary commitments to emissions and energy intensity targets (most notably through the Keidanren Voluntary Action Plan on the Environment, a non-binding framework adopted across all key industries). Most importantly, change was made possible in
There is an entrenched belief amongst economists that
The all-powerful Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, or METI, unveiled in March of this year the “Cool Earth 50” initiative, an ambitious plan to cut down global carbon emissions in half by 2050. It is not the first time that the Japanese government is attempting to coordinate the economy towards a seemingly unattainable goal. In fact,
Two technologies that are less commonly discussed in the press but hold the promise for revolutionary change are Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS). Let us look in a little more depth at how Japanese companies have adopted these innovations.
Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS)
ITS is the application of Information Technology to connect people, roads and vehicles in an integrated network in order to facilitate traffic flows, improve safety, reduce transportation times, and increase fuel efficiency. Current applications of ITS in
ITS technology is interesting partly because it increases fuel efficiency and reduces emissions, but more importantly because it saves time, a far more valuable commodity.
Asia is the most densely populated continent in the world (
The company that designed the VICS system is Nippon Signal, which is also involved in nanotechnology and in particular with designing Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS).
Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS)
BEMS employs IT to optimize energy consumption inside buildings through intelligent control of air conditioning, lighting and natural ventilation, assisted by real-time monitoring of weather conditions and sensors that detect the presence and spatial position of individuals. Some particularly interesting innovations native to Japan include the personalized “floor-flow” air conditioning that blows localized air currents from underfoot, as well as adjustable blinds systems which optimize the use of external lighting. Buildings equipped with a BEMS system typically reduce energy consumption by 25%-40%, with proportional reductions of carbon emissions. And this is just the beginning. Future innovations may include the use of “amorphous silicon” on rooftops in order to capture solar energy for power generation. Considering that buildings produce over one third of global carbon gas emissions, the widespread adoption of this technology may have revolutionary consequences. Two of the most active Japanese companies on this front are Yamatake and Shimizu Corp.
BEMS and ITS technology are interesting case studies because they are both very likely to become in high demand across the World, in particular in
Mini Project 3: Quantum Leap, Creative Heap
ManageCraft
Chan Sung(Jason) Kang
260213389
StarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game created by Blizzard Entertainment. In the world of StarCraft, which has attracted nine million of people, there are three main species: the Terrans, humans exiled from Earth; the Zerg, a race of insectoids obsessed with assimilating other races in pursuit of genetic perfection; and the Protoss, a humanoid species with advanced technology and psionic abilities attempting to preserve their civilization from the Zerg. Each of species is fighting for its own dominance in a distant part of the Milky Way galaxy.
However, the game is not just about crashing, demolition, and destruction of enemies, but rather how to win against others with creative strategy. The game actually requires one’s organizational strategy, operational strategy, better understanding of each individual unit’s capability, and skill for collecting information about competitors.
The player of Terrans, who will be the role of CEO in the world of StarCraft, will begin with Command Center and few Space Construction Vehicles, which is often called SCV. In order to launch a business, first of all, he has to collect resources, minerals and gas, with the support of SVC. Without resources, he cannot recruit battle units to protect your area, cannot expand your area to the farthest, or cannot invest on assets later.
The next prior thing to do is to build basic buildings required for approaching war like Supply Depot, Barracks, or Academy. Like business, without sufficient working space, facilities, supplies, and equipment, one wouldn’t be able to hire any of employees or initiate business. When the player is set with adequate working facilities and supplies, it’s time for recruiting employees for his business: marines, Firebats, Vultures, and Siege Tanks. While recruiting units for your battle, the player must consider how many he will need. It might sound the more is, the better. However, one has to take account of how many resources he possesses. Furthermore, he has to take into consideration of each individual unit’s unique strength before hiring. Marine takes less cost to recruit, but their power is the weakest. Battle tanks, like Vulture or Siege Tank, will cost a lot, but they are pretty invulnerable for any attacks from enemy. Each individual has merits and demerits to be taken into account. In the business of the reality, the CEOs must also undergo proper consideration before hiring anyone. What is his major? In which faculty would he be suitable to work? Without enough information about its employees, the company won’t operate properly. Thus, under the best consideration of resources and what kind of units is needed for battle, the player has to recruit only pertinent needed ones after acquiring better understanding of individuals.
After complete setting of resources, buildings, working spaces, supplies, and employees, the third step to take action will be to collect information about the competitors. The player begins the game with not only Command Center and few Space Construction Vehicles, but also a mini map which only reveals the player’s area. The almost all parts of the map are covered by black fog; the player won’t be able to know who is playing out there or how many competitors he has. Thus, the player can collect the information about enemies by sending a spy unit to the black foggy area. In reality, the most of companies need to know about their competitors. It doesn’t mean that they have to send an industrial spy, which will be an illegal action; instead, they can perform market search and customer surveys to check the competitors’ product’s quality and service’s excellence. Without knowing about your enemies, you won’t be able to design and construct an effective organizational strategy for your company, ending up with wasting resources the company owns or losing the battle.
After the inspection about your competitors, the player needs to re-design his armies. Dose he need more soldiers or more supplies? Is it time for an expansion of the working area or build a completely new one in new area like chain stores? Again, one has to take a deep account of the resources he possesses before constructing new organizational strategy to apply.
The final step of winning the battle is, of course, to take a step to the field, the market, and face with your competitors, but not only that, you have to invest your excessive resources for the future. The player won’t be certain whether he will take the sweet victory or face the bitter failure in the first engage since there is no experience of battling. In prevention of losing further engage, the player has to invest his resources into more soldiers or more equipment. However, the most invest-worthy is technology. In the world of StarCraft, the player can strengthen his team by upgrade; Machine Shops will support the team by developing weapons for tanks, and Control Tower will provide the player with the technology of Cloaking Field, which will allow the team members hidden in the dark. In reality business, without continuous development of technology, companies cannot keep up the face with the ceaselessly growing community. Today’s companies have to continuously upgrade their technology otherwise they will lose customers to their competitors who are seeking for better quality, better service, and convenience.
However, the story doesn’t end here. The player shouldn’t ignore the importance of Medic. Whenever the team units are wounded, she would be able to cure them. Whenever a group is sent for a mission, a Medic is marching in the centre of team, making the group compact and unbeatable. In reality, the companies need Medics; instead, Tom Kelley, in his book “The Ten Faces of Innovation,” names them as the Collaborator and the Caregiver. For 21st century, we need people with the role of collaborator or caregiver, who can bring eclectic groups together, create new combinations and multidisciplinary solutions, and look after customers and their colleagues. Working individually would only cost more money and more time with only satisfactory result; however, when you gather each individuals together and blend them into a multidisciplinary team, it will bring not only boost in effectiveness, but also further innovative thinking and ideas. Thus, in 21st century, the role of collaborators and caregivers, who is responsible for assemble each member compact, will be crucial.
For near future, business is not just making profits. It is about satisfying customers and satisfying each employee in the company. It should boost everyone’s life standard better than any other competitors. In order to do that, knowledge about company itself, employees in it, and competitors is essential. You cannot win the battle if you are just recruiting more units, by doubling number of employees or products, than other competitors. Right investment, sufficient supplies and equipment, better understanding of enemies, and adequate organizational strategy will offer you the taste of victory, which is impossible without information.
Mini Project 3: Ants
The Simply Complexity of Ant Organization: What Corporations Can Learn
By: Anastasia Pokholok
In today’s ever changing world, the old industrial system of organization is starting to fail. It prevents companies from reaching their full potential in a world of ingenuity and innovation. To help solve this problem, I suggest to look at what may seem as primal, but indeed is an ingenious system of organization that some of the smallest beings on this planet have come up with.
Ants might seem a negligent part of the eco-system of our world, but indeed they are pivotal. The species of ants have lived on this earth for thousands of millions of years, procreated and now inhabit almost every part of our planet. That said, it seems almost natural that we, humans, who think we own the world, can learn something from these tiny workers.
Ants live in colonies that are formed by a queen ant after the mating season. All colonies send out virgin queens during a certain part of the year—these queens mate and then go off, dig a whole and start their own colony. The queens keep producing offspring and populating the colony until they die—usually 15-20 years. When the colony reaches a stable size of about 10,000 ants it sends out new virgin queens to found their own colonies and subsequently dies out when the queen (or queens) stop producing offspring. There is a strong parallel between the behaviour of companies and ants on this level—the ants will only send out more virgin queens when their colony has been stabilized. Much in the same way, a corporation will only look to expand its control only when it has reached a satisfactory level of economic wellbeing.
The organizational system within the ant colony is really quite miraculous. There are several jobs that worker ants perform. There are foragers (ants that go out to collect food), patrollers (ants that patrol the area in which the foragers are going to be collecting food), nest maintenance workers (ants that work in the nest feeding the larvae and cleaning) and midden workers (ants that mark the territory of the colony). These ants that work outside of the colony, however, make up only one fourth of all of the ants that live in the colony. About half of the ants in the colony are full grown ants, but do not work and simply sit inside of the colony and act as the reserves in case of an emergency.
The question then arises of how do these ants know what to do and who directs them. This is the question that will come up in any manager’s mind and this is also the area from which managers of companies should take away some advice. There is no central control in the colony. The queens, despite their elevated position, do nothing but produce offspring their whole lives and do not direct any of the activity of the colony. The ants self organize and that is the greatest secret to their success on this planet.
The workers of the colonies themselves decide what job they do and when to go out. They do this by interacting with each other. Each category of ants has a specific smell based on their job allocation. Each ant also knows roughly how many ants there should be doing each job; the ants interact with each other smell each other and by doing this decide where they are needed most. For example, if an ant encounters less forager ants than it expects it will switch to foraging to help out the colony. Therefore, ants change their jobs within the colony several times in their lives based on where the colony needs them to work. The ants do, however have a system of deciding the pattern in which ants switch positions. The reserves in the colony act as a source of all labour, from the reserves the ants become maintenance workers. If the need arises, the maintenance workers can switch to any other position, but when they do, they can never again be a maintenance worker. In the end, all ants end up being foragers, which is the ultimate position, after which the ants usually die.
In this system, the ants run themselves and decide collectively, but with their independent actions, what is better for the colony. In this way their organizational system is created. The system is not perfect and it is very messy and chaotic; but as the chaos theory suggests: in nature, left to its own devices, order will emerge out of disorder. There is not perfection in the system, but it functions and is very successful. The reason for this is that the ants, that live in this system, can decide and implement more readily the changes that need to be made in order for the colony to be successful than an overseer could.
Humans can really learn much from ants. Ant hills are systems in which all individuals put the collective goals before their own and work selflessly to achieve one common goal—the survival of the colony. When thinking about it, this is once again very much like a company or corporation. The ultimate goal of all the individuals in the company is to see the company do well and prosper. So why is it that they so often do not? Much of it is due to the very strong hierarchical structure of these companies. Managers should take example from the ants in letting the employees run their own affairs more. The employees, just like the worker ants, are more amerced in the immediate surroundings and face the problems that need to be solved so it only seems natural that they should be trusted to make the right decisions and find the right solutions. This way of functioning is more effective, because the workers can more readily implement the changes and problems can be fixed faster when they do not have to go through the long process of requests, approvals and orders that characterize the structure of today’s corporations.
Employees, based on the model of the ants should also be allowed to readily interact and switch roles and tasks within the organization. Working on projects should be done the same way as ants build their homes. When ants collect materials to build the nest, each ant acts as an engineer and a worker at the same time and this way they are able to be more productive. Employees should not be asked to specialize in only one thing, but instead given the option to partake in several operations. This way, workers have a more general outlook and focus on the bigger picture rather than the problems that solely apply to their field. By having this outlook the workers can come together and form a ‘global brain,’ put all their knowledge together and come up with more innovative solutions. An individual ant does not have much of an impact, but when they come together they can achieve remarkable things—the same can be said for the employees of a company.
These rules for success that are set out by ants are already starting to find their way into the human work field and indeed have proven to be very effective and allow companies to grow and prosper at unbelievable rates. One such company is Google. Google gives their employees an unbelievable amount of freedom to operate and work on their own projects. The employees are given a task to complete, but they are not forced to do it by a set of strict guidelines and therefore they are able to self organize and find the way in which they are able to perform most efficiently and get the task done.
The organizational behaviour of ants can teach us much about more efficient ways to organize our companies. The characteristics of self organization, collective thinking and cooperation are more important in today’s interconnected world than ever before. From the behaviour of these small insects we can learn how to build something bigger than even ourselves and collectively progress into the future.
By: Anastasia Pokholok
In today’s ever changing world, the old industrial system of organization is starting to fail. It prevents companies from reaching their full potential in a world of ingenuity and innovation. To help solve this problem, I suggest to look at what may seem as primal, but indeed is an ingenious system of organization that some of the smallest beings on this planet have come up with.
Ants might seem a negligent part of the eco-system of our world, but indeed they are pivotal. The species of ants have lived on this earth for thousands of millions of years, procreated and now inhabit almost every part of our planet. That said, it seems almost natural that we, humans, who think we own the world, can learn something from these tiny workers.
Ants live in colonies that are formed by a queen ant after the mating season. All colonies send out virgin queens during a certain part of the year—these queens mate and then go off, dig a whole and start their own colony. The queens keep producing offspring and populating the colony until they die—usually 15-20 years. When the colony reaches a stable size of about 10,000 ants it sends out new virgin queens to found their own colonies and subsequently dies out when the queen (or queens) stop producing offspring. There is a strong parallel between the behaviour of companies and ants on this level—the ants will only send out more virgin queens when their colony has been stabilized. Much in the same way, a corporation will only look to expand its control only when it has reached a satisfactory level of economic wellbeing.
The organizational system within the ant colony is really quite miraculous. There are several jobs that worker ants perform. There are foragers (ants that go out to collect food), patrollers (ants that patrol the area in which the foragers are going to be collecting food), nest maintenance workers (ants that work in the nest feeding the larvae and cleaning) and midden workers (ants that mark the territory of the colony). These ants that work outside of the colony, however, make up only one fourth of all of the ants that live in the colony. About half of the ants in the colony are full grown ants, but do not work and simply sit inside of the colony and act as the reserves in case of an emergency.
The question then arises of how do these ants know what to do and who directs them. This is the question that will come up in any manager’s mind and this is also the area from which managers of companies should take away some advice. There is no central control in the colony. The queens, despite their elevated position, do nothing but produce offspring their whole lives and do not direct any of the activity of the colony. The ants self organize and that is the greatest secret to their success on this planet.
The workers of the colonies themselves decide what job they do and when to go out. They do this by interacting with each other. Each category of ants has a specific smell based on their job allocation. Each ant also knows roughly how many ants there should be doing each job; the ants interact with each other smell each other and by doing this decide where they are needed most. For example, if an ant encounters less forager ants than it expects it will switch to foraging to help out the colony. Therefore, ants change their jobs within the colony several times in their lives based on where the colony needs them to work. The ants do, however have a system of deciding the pattern in which ants switch positions. The reserves in the colony act as a source of all labour, from the reserves the ants become maintenance workers. If the need arises, the maintenance workers can switch to any other position, but when they do, they can never again be a maintenance worker. In the end, all ants end up being foragers, which is the ultimate position, after which the ants usually die.
In this system, the ants run themselves and decide collectively, but with their independent actions, what is better for the colony. In this way their organizational system is created. The system is not perfect and it is very messy and chaotic; but as the chaos theory suggests: in nature, left to its own devices, order will emerge out of disorder. There is not perfection in the system, but it functions and is very successful. The reason for this is that the ants, that live in this system, can decide and implement more readily the changes that need to be made in order for the colony to be successful than an overseer could.
Humans can really learn much from ants. Ant hills are systems in which all individuals put the collective goals before their own and work selflessly to achieve one common goal—the survival of the colony. When thinking about it, this is once again very much like a company or corporation. The ultimate goal of all the individuals in the company is to see the company do well and prosper. So why is it that they so often do not? Much of it is due to the very strong hierarchical structure of these companies. Managers should take example from the ants in letting the employees run their own affairs more. The employees, just like the worker ants, are more amerced in the immediate surroundings and face the problems that need to be solved so it only seems natural that they should be trusted to make the right decisions and find the right solutions. This way of functioning is more effective, because the workers can more readily implement the changes and problems can be fixed faster when they do not have to go through the long process of requests, approvals and orders that characterize the structure of today’s corporations.
Employees, based on the model of the ants should also be allowed to readily interact and switch roles and tasks within the organization. Working on projects should be done the same way as ants build their homes. When ants collect materials to build the nest, each ant acts as an engineer and a worker at the same time and this way they are able to be more productive. Employees should not be asked to specialize in only one thing, but instead given the option to partake in several operations. This way, workers have a more general outlook and focus on the bigger picture rather than the problems that solely apply to their field. By having this outlook the workers can come together and form a ‘global brain,’ put all their knowledge together and come up with more innovative solutions. An individual ant does not have much of an impact, but when they come together they can achieve remarkable things—the same can be said for the employees of a company.
These rules for success that are set out by ants are already starting to find their way into the human work field and indeed have proven to be very effective and allow companies to grow and prosper at unbelievable rates. One such company is Google. Google gives their employees an unbelievable amount of freedom to operate and work on their own projects. The employees are given a task to complete, but they are not forced to do it by a set of strict guidelines and therefore they are able to self organize and find the way in which they are able to perform most efficiently and get the task done.
The organizational behaviour of ants can teach us much about more efficient ways to organize our companies. The characteristics of self organization, collective thinking and cooperation are more important in today’s interconnected world than ever before. From the behaviour of these small insects we can learn how to build something bigger than even ourselves and collectively progress into the future.
Human System and Corporation Struction
Human system and corporation structure
--Mini project 3 Creative Mind works
Human is a complex structure; the human body consists different biological systems, Each organ system has its own task individually, each carries out a different function; in the human body, every organ system has to work collaboratively to maintain the body homeostasis. No single system can do the job alone, any malfunction or delay in one system is likely to affect the whole system. Human has a well-adapted organizational model internally, where it requires collaborative and continuous individual and teamwork to sustain life. Human body can be used as a model to look at business and organization.
The major biological systems in the body are circulatory system, digestive system, endocrine system, immune system, nervous system, respiratory system, skeletal system and urinary system. Each system represents a team, just like a company or a corporation is consist of many departments; each team has many players that take on different roles to work together to serve the same mission.
In the human anatomy, both nervous system and circulatory system are equally important. The circulatory system is composed of the heart and blood vessels. The heart is the key organ not only to the circulatory system, but also to the entire human body. If the heart stops pumping blood to the body, it is lethal to the person. However the central nervous system plays a parallel role as well where it consists of the brain and the spinal cord. Brain is an extremely complex structure, and plays a fundamental role in behavior. It receives information from all parts of body through nervous system, relays the information and tells the body how to act. On the other hand, a severe brain injury will lead to vegetative state where there is completely loss in cognitive function. Although breathing and circulation remain relatively intact, the patient lost the higher brain functions.
In the company, shareholders and CEO have the same tasks as heart and brain in the human body respectively. The shareholder are the ones make investment to the company, are the financial support. It is like the heart of the company, where their initial investments are the foundation of the company in the early development. As the essential role of heart is to sustain life, the investors are there to help to establish the company, to aid the company to cope with financial problem, and provide funding for research and development.
When the company has been established, a leader—the CEO needs to be chosen to manage the company. The CEO with his/her management team is the brain in the company, where they are in charge of the entire management of a company. The CEO will oversee the company, he/she has to replay all the information from different departments, collect feedbacks, integrate them and make decisions based on the overall performance of the company. As well the management team has to command each department to do its task by the most effective way. Without the heart, life cannot be sustained, even with a brilliant brain; company cannot be operated with a financial deficit. At the same time, even with a functional heart, if the CEO is not willing to adapt new skills, new concepts, there is no effective leadership, the company will go into the vegetative state, where the company will still run, but with no further progress compared to previous period. Eventually competitors will grow faster and take over the market, there will result in a major brain damage; the company will collapse eventually.
Reproductive system is a system of organs that work together to serve the function of reproduction. During reproductive cycle in human, males are continuously contributing mature sperms throughout their life, however even female are going through menstrual cycle every month, a mature egg is only released and fertilized with the sperm when there is a perfect environment. If there is no successful reproduction, there is no more generation; the family line will be ceased. This process is linked to the research and development in the company. In the fast growing industry, the company has to work continuously on the product or on a project, to do market research in order to revise their design and make new products by seeking what customers need. Only when it is the right time, the management team will introduce the new product into the market, or make a change of the existing one. This team needs to closely cooperate with investors, to convince that the product has a potential to make a profit. This team requires creative thinking and innovative ideas to improve the current operation and enhance the future performance and returns.
An immune system is also an essential system in the human body, where it is a defense organization that protects against disease. It can be passive or active. The legal department in the company works in a way similar to this system. In human, immunization is often required shortly after birth to prevent disease. Whereas in company, prior to establishment of company, a set of regulations and contracts need to be made in order to let the company run under control, prevent major riot and chaos. When the company has encountered with legal matters, the legal department will act as active immunity to fight with the invading bacteria or virus, using their legal rights to protect their patents and the benefits of the company.
Overall, human system is a great analogy to represent each important contributor to the company, the shareholder is the heart, the CEO is the brain, the R&D management is the reproductive system, and the legal department is the immune system that fights with the legal matter in the company. Among all the system, all the parts are important, and they are interconnected with each other. They work both independently and collaboratively to improve the performance of the cooperation, to make the company run smoothly and effectively. The good management will increase the efficiency and profitability of cooperation; as a result, it will make a big contribution to the economy.
--Mini project 3 Creative Mind works
Human is a complex structure; the human body consists different biological systems, Each organ system has its own task individually, each carries out a different function; in the human body, every organ system has to work collaboratively to maintain the body homeostasis. No single system can do the job alone, any malfunction or delay in one system is likely to affect the whole system. Human has a well-adapted organizational model internally, where it requires collaborative and continuous individual and teamwork to sustain life. Human body can be used as a model to look at business and organization.
The major biological systems in the body are circulatory system, digestive system, endocrine system, immune system, nervous system, respiratory system, skeletal system and urinary system. Each system represents a team, just like a company or a corporation is consist of many departments; each team has many players that take on different roles to work together to serve the same mission.
In the human anatomy, both nervous system and circulatory system are equally important. The circulatory system is composed of the heart and blood vessels. The heart is the key organ not only to the circulatory system, but also to the entire human body. If the heart stops pumping blood to the body, it is lethal to the person. However the central nervous system plays a parallel role as well where it consists of the brain and the spinal cord. Brain is an extremely complex structure, and plays a fundamental role in behavior. It receives information from all parts of body through nervous system, relays the information and tells the body how to act. On the other hand, a severe brain injury will lead to vegetative state where there is completely loss in cognitive function. Although breathing and circulation remain relatively intact, the patient lost the higher brain functions.
In the company, shareholders and CEO have the same tasks as heart and brain in the human body respectively. The shareholder are the ones make investment to the company, are the financial support. It is like the heart of the company, where their initial investments are the foundation of the company in the early development. As the essential role of heart is to sustain life, the investors are there to help to establish the company, to aid the company to cope with financial problem, and provide funding for research and development.
When the company has been established, a leader—the CEO needs to be chosen to manage the company. The CEO with his/her management team is the brain in the company, where they are in charge of the entire management of a company. The CEO will oversee the company, he/she has to replay all the information from different departments, collect feedbacks, integrate them and make decisions based on the overall performance of the company. As well the management team has to command each department to do its task by the most effective way. Without the heart, life cannot be sustained, even with a brilliant brain; company cannot be operated with a financial deficit. At the same time, even with a functional heart, if the CEO is not willing to adapt new skills, new concepts, there is no effective leadership, the company will go into the vegetative state, where the company will still run, but with no further progress compared to previous period. Eventually competitors will grow faster and take over the market, there will result in a major brain damage; the company will collapse eventually.
Reproductive system is a system of organs that work together to serve the function of reproduction. During reproductive cycle in human, males are continuously contributing mature sperms throughout their life, however even female are going through menstrual cycle every month, a mature egg is only released and fertilized with the sperm when there is a perfect environment. If there is no successful reproduction, there is no more generation; the family line will be ceased. This process is linked to the research and development in the company. In the fast growing industry, the company has to work continuously on the product or on a project, to do market research in order to revise their design and make new products by seeking what customers need. Only when it is the right time, the management team will introduce the new product into the market, or make a change of the existing one. This team needs to closely cooperate with investors, to convince that the product has a potential to make a profit. This team requires creative thinking and innovative ideas to improve the current operation and enhance the future performance and returns.
An immune system is also an essential system in the human body, where it is a defense organization that protects against disease. It can be passive or active. The legal department in the company works in a way similar to this system. In human, immunization is often required shortly after birth to prevent disease. Whereas in company, prior to establishment of company, a set of regulations and contracts need to be made in order to let the company run under control, prevent major riot and chaos. When the company has encountered with legal matters, the legal department will act as active immunity to fight with the invading bacteria or virus, using their legal rights to protect their patents and the benefits of the company.
Overall, human system is a great analogy to represent each important contributor to the company, the shareholder is the heart, the CEO is the brain, the R&D management is the reproductive system, and the legal department is the immune system that fights with the legal matter in the company. Among all the system, all the parts are important, and they are interconnected with each other. They work both independently and collaboratively to improve the performance of the cooperation, to make the company run smoothly and effectively. The good management will increase the efficiency and profitability of cooperation; as a result, it will make a big contribution to the economy.
mini project 3
The Hands of the Clock as the Control Hierarchy of Accounting System
What has hands but no feet, a face but no eyes, tells but does not talk? Yes, the answer is a clock. The clock is an instrument for measuring, indicating, and maintaining the time. The clock face displays the time through the use of a fixed number dials and moving hands. The dial is numbered one to twelve indicating the hours in a 12-hour cycle, and the shortest hour hand makes two revolutions in a day. The longer minute hand shows minutes and makes one revolution every hour. The longest second hand makes one revolution per minute and it tells seconds. The functions of the three hands can be paralleled in the management control hierarchy: strategy control, management control, and performance control.
Firstly, the hour hand represents the strategy control. The hour hand performs the plan action designed to guide the movement of the minute hand. At the same tine, it indicates hours, which is the most important unit of time. Comparing with strategy control, which is the vital part of control hierarchy and the highest level of managerial actives. It specifies how an organization accomplishes its objectives by matching its own capabilities with the opportunities in the marketplaces. Thus, Strategic management provides overall direction to the organizations, and it is formulated by the Board of directors and performed by the organization's Chief Executive Officer (CEO). It is a long term plan, which extensively premeditates and practically rehearses the management control and performances control. For the skills of management graduates in the 21st century, strategy control should be more emphasize on how a company will compete and the opportunities its employees should seek and pursue. Strategy is about the choices, which directly affects the outcomes. A better strategy may lead organizations to operate well, stabilize in difficult conditions, and lower competitions. Therefore, Company works in formulating strategy should provide comprehensive information about the structure of organizations and the sources of competitive advantage. On the other hand, strategy control is an ongoing process. It has to adapt to new technology, new competitors, and changed environments (economic, financial, social, and political).
Furthermore, the minute hand represents the management control. It moves depend on the hour hand and controls the movement of the second hand. It is a connecting link between the preceding level (hour hand) and the following level (second hand). Similar like the management control of 21st century, it coordinates and controls the activities of different departments in order to achieve the strategy. Its functions include setting standards, measuring actual performances, and correcting errors. On the standard aspect, managers need feedback information, such as production feedback and customer feedback, which helps to set norms and standards. The standards need not to be provide complete information, it just be a sample which suggests the operations. The next step is managers compare actual performances with the standards. By comparison, company is able to get frequency distribution about their products. Finally, if there are some differences between the actual outputs and the norms, this means that the business operation is not feasible, and managers have to check and correct the deviation from the standard.
Most importantly, the second hand represents the performance control, and its movement follows the guidance of both the hour and the minute hands. Just like performance control, this includes activities of the organization to ensure that the strategy and the management are consistently being met in an effective manner. It is the basic step of managerial activities. For the 21st century skills of management graduates, it does not only focus on performance of the organization, but also activities of each department. These activities such as improving quality and reducing cost for production department, advertising products for market department, and providing guarantee for customer department. Overall, achieving maximum performance is the method to get the organizational effectiveness.
What has hands but no feet, a face but no eyes, tells but does not talk? Yes, the answer is a clock. The clock is an instrument for measuring, indicating, and maintaining the time. The clock face displays the time through the use of a fixed number dials and moving hands. The dial is numbered one to twelve indicating the hours in a 12-hour cycle, and the shortest hour hand makes two revolutions in a day. The longer minute hand shows minutes and makes one revolution every hour. The longest second hand makes one revolution per minute and it tells seconds. The functions of the three hands can be paralleled in the management control hierarchy: strategy control, management control, and performance control.
Firstly, the hour hand represents the strategy control. The hour hand performs the plan action designed to guide the movement of the minute hand. At the same tine, it indicates hours, which is the most important unit of time. Comparing with strategy control, which is the vital part of control hierarchy and the highest level of managerial actives. It specifies how an organization accomplishes its objectives by matching its own capabilities with the opportunities in the marketplaces. Thus, Strategic management provides overall direction to the organizations, and it is formulated by the Board of directors and performed by the organization's Chief Executive Officer (CEO). It is a long term plan, which extensively premeditates and practically rehearses the management control and performances control. For the skills of management graduates in the 21st century, strategy control should be more emphasize on how a company will compete and the opportunities its employees should seek and pursue. Strategy is about the choices, which directly affects the outcomes. A better strategy may lead organizations to operate well, stabilize in difficult conditions, and lower competitions. Therefore, Company works in formulating strategy should provide comprehensive information about the structure of organizations and the sources of competitive advantage. On the other hand, strategy control is an ongoing process. It has to adapt to new technology, new competitors, and changed environments (economic, financial, social, and political).
Furthermore, the minute hand represents the management control. It moves depend on the hour hand and controls the movement of the second hand. It is a connecting link between the preceding level (hour hand) and the following level (second hand). Similar like the management control of 21st century, it coordinates and controls the activities of different departments in order to achieve the strategy. Its functions include setting standards, measuring actual performances, and correcting errors. On the standard aspect, managers need feedback information, such as production feedback and customer feedback, which helps to set norms and standards. The standards need not to be provide complete information, it just be a sample which suggests the operations. The next step is managers compare actual performances with the standards. By comparison, company is able to get frequency distribution about their products. Finally, if there are some differences between the actual outputs and the norms, this means that the business operation is not feasible, and managers have to check and correct the deviation from the standard.
Most importantly, the second hand represents the performance control, and its movement follows the guidance of both the hour and the minute hands. Just like performance control, this includes activities of the organization to ensure that the strategy and the management are consistently being met in an effective manner. It is the basic step of managerial activities. For the 21st century skills of management graduates, it does not only focus on performance of the organization, but also activities of each department. These activities such as improving quality and reducing cost for production department, advertising products for market department, and providing guarantee for customer department. Overall, achieving maximum performance is the method to get the organizational effectiveness.
miniproject 3, from Ou
A tree structure as a model of corporation development
Ou Zhang
From a tiny seed, the tree takes a long journey to grow.
How does a tree grow?
It is generally known that, in humans and other animals growth can occur in most parts of the body. As we mature, our bones, skin and muscle all increase in size. Whereas, trees do not grow like this. Trees grow by producing new cells in a very limited number of places. These places of cell division are called meristems. Meristems are zones of intense activity. They are where all new cells are formed and where they expand.
As a result, trees always grow in height at their branch tips. At the same time, roots also expand through the soil by growing at their tips as a result of meristems. All buds that you see on a tree contain meristems. Trunk diameter growth occurs as a result of another kind of meristem called the “vascular cambium”. The vascular cambium produces new xylem and phloem each year and as a result the trunk, branches and roots continue to increase in diameter.
In business, there also exists a kind of meristem called “Mission”. A mission statement is a brief statement of the purpose of a company or organization. The intention of a mission statement is to keep the members of a company, including employers and employees, aware of the organization’s purpose. By having the company’s mission in mind, members, no matter which level or which department they are in, share the same belief and make effort towards the same goal. Thus, we can say that the mission leads a company or organization grow in different dimension, and expand.
Roots:
The root development is the basis for the tree development. The two major functions of roots are 1) to absorb of water and nutrients and 2) to physically support the plant body to the ground. They also often function in storage of food. Most of the root system is made of lateral roots. Lateral root development is controlled by different factors including nutrient concentration in the plant and the soil. The plasticity of the root system allows it to adapt to different kinds of soil environment, and eventually is very important for the survival of the plant.
The root of a business lies in the top level of the company or organization, usually the CEO and the broad of shareholders. The top level’s major functions are to take macro-control of and lead the whole company towards their goals. Their strategy and decision makings are just like the water and nutrition for the company. And they make investments and set rules to support their company. The broad of shareholders consists of all shareholders or investors. They have the right to vote and make decisions. Just like the lateral root system, those people are from different directions and hold different perspective. Yet, they all contribute themselves to the development of the company, and make the company survive.
A Tree and Its Trunk
Understanding the trunk of a tree is the key to understanding how a tree works. The trunk is the part of a tree that support and connects the “leafy crown” with its roots. Water and nutrients that are absorbed from the soil by the root are then transported up the tree trunk in some kind of pipes called vascular tissue. This allows the leaves to obtain water and nutrients that are necessary for the manufacture of food from light energy (photosynthesis). Food made in the leaves is then transported down to the roots and to other parts of the tree for growth.
Chief executives or managers function more or less like the trunk of a tree. They transfer the main strategy from the CEO to the lower level employee, and then report the feedback back to the top management level. They break the top strategy down into different aspect, and make subsidiary decisions. Thus the lower management level, or the employees, can obtain the detailed information and have a better understanding of the company’s mission.
Leaves;
Some people may wonder why most leaves are green. Then chlorophyll may be the answer. Chlorophyll is the pigment that makes leaves green. Some scientists say that it is one of the most important molecules on earth because it traps energy needed to make food for all beings. Chlorophyll traps energy from the sunlight and convert it to nutrition for the plant, including the fruit of the plant, which then become the food for people and animals.
Leaves of a company are its employees. A tree can not have fruits without leaves. Similarly, a company can never get its achievement with the employees. Employees are the ones gather the water and nutrition from inside and trap the energy from the outside, and then make the fruit firm and sweet.
A company with its CEO, broad of shareholders, managers, as well as the employees together, forms a complete picture of a business tree. Every element of the tree is essential. They function together and form a harmony.
Variables that Affect Tree Growth
Tree growth can be influenced by many different variables. Whether in a laboratory or in a forest, all trees need certain variables to grow.
Those variables could include sunlight, rainfall, soil nutrients, and location. Competition among trees could also be considered a kind of variable. Environmental disturbances such as construction, fire, insects, weather patterns, and storms can also greatly influence tree growth.
A business can also be affected by various factors. Controllable variables include location, market position, strategy, products, services etc. Uncontrollable variables include weather, culture, rules & regulations, government, economy and so on. In order to ensure the healthy growth of a business, the top management must analyze all the uncontrollable variables, and then set the controllable variables. Moreover, they have to be able to forecast and be willing to adapt any change. Employees for a company must handle various high technical skills, essential customer communication skills, and teamwork skills.
Fruits
When spring comes, trees are covered with blossoms when flower buds open. At this time, leaf buds are also open and developing. While bees and other insects are collecting honey from the flowers, they transfer pollen from one flower to another, which indeed fertilize the flowers. The pollen is the male cell from the flower and it grows tubes down into the female ovaries, the base of the flower petals. When the petals fall off the flower, the tiny ovaries begin to grow into a fruit.
As business grows mature, they also need some external elements to fertilize the flower and make the ovaries grow into a fruit. Advertising through all kinds of media as well as the networking are examples of such external elements. Without letting the public known about the business, a company has no way to success. Furthermore, remember that only colorful and fragrant flowers can attract the bees. Business has to be creative, innovative and open to attract public’s attention. Some business may feel that the advertising cost are huge, yet when customers are attracted to buy your products, you will find all you paid is worthy.
Dormant bud
The other thing to look for in this time lapse is the dormant bud. Not all buds grow out. This does not mean that the bud is dead, it is just dormant. As the tree grows, this bud remains but gets buried in the bark. When a branch gets cut off a tree or the tree gets cut down, it will still sprout back. These sprouts then come from dormant buds.
Business sometimes collapse and go bankruptcy. Some owners just give it up and cry at home. However, some can still survive after the “death” of the business and reborn with another opportunity. That is the same thing as a dormant bud. Failure differs from death. Therefore we do not have to be afraid of failures. One mistake may lead to a success. For a 21st century business, we should never miss out any potential opportunity, and be brave and confident.
References:
how does a tree grow? –by Brent Cook
Suzy’s world – how do apples grow?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root wikipedia
Ou Zhang
From a tiny seed, the tree takes a long journey to grow.
How does a tree grow?
It is generally known that, in humans and other animals growth can occur in most parts of the body. As we mature, our bones, skin and muscle all increase in size. Whereas, trees do not grow like this. Trees grow by producing new cells in a very limited number of places. These places of cell division are called meristems. Meristems are zones of intense activity. They are where all new cells are formed and where they expand.
As a result, trees always grow in height at their branch tips. At the same time, roots also expand through the soil by growing at their tips as a result of meristems. All buds that you see on a tree contain meristems. Trunk diameter growth occurs as a result of another kind of meristem called the “vascular cambium”. The vascular cambium produces new xylem and phloem each year and as a result the trunk, branches and roots continue to increase in diameter.
In business, there also exists a kind of meristem called “Mission”. A mission statement is a brief statement of the purpose of a company or organization. The intention of a mission statement is to keep the members of a company, including employers and employees, aware of the organization’s purpose. By having the company’s mission in mind, members, no matter which level or which department they are in, share the same belief and make effort towards the same goal. Thus, we can say that the mission leads a company or organization grow in different dimension, and expand.
Roots:
The root development is the basis for the tree development. The two major functions of roots are 1) to absorb of water and nutrients and 2) to physically support the plant body to the ground. They also often function in storage of food. Most of the root system is made of lateral roots. Lateral root development is controlled by different factors including nutrient concentration in the plant and the soil. The plasticity of the root system allows it to adapt to different kinds of soil environment, and eventually is very important for the survival of the plant.
The root of a business lies in the top level of the company or organization, usually the CEO and the broad of shareholders. The top level’s major functions are to take macro-control of and lead the whole company towards their goals. Their strategy and decision makings are just like the water and nutrition for the company. And they make investments and set rules to support their company. The broad of shareholders consists of all shareholders or investors. They have the right to vote and make decisions. Just like the lateral root system, those people are from different directions and hold different perspective. Yet, they all contribute themselves to the development of the company, and make the company survive.
A Tree and Its Trunk
Understanding the trunk of a tree is the key to understanding how a tree works. The trunk is the part of a tree that support and connects the “leafy crown” with its roots. Water and nutrients that are absorbed from the soil by the root are then transported up the tree trunk in some kind of pipes called vascular tissue. This allows the leaves to obtain water and nutrients that are necessary for the manufacture of food from light energy (photosynthesis). Food made in the leaves is then transported down to the roots and to other parts of the tree for growth.
Chief executives or managers function more or less like the trunk of a tree. They transfer the main strategy from the CEO to the lower level employee, and then report the feedback back to the top management level. They break the top strategy down into different aspect, and make subsidiary decisions. Thus the lower management level, or the employees, can obtain the detailed information and have a better understanding of the company’s mission.
Leaves;
Some people may wonder why most leaves are green. Then chlorophyll may be the answer. Chlorophyll is the pigment that makes leaves green. Some scientists say that it is one of the most important molecules on earth because it traps energy needed to make food for all beings. Chlorophyll traps energy from the sunlight and convert it to nutrition for the plant, including the fruit of the plant, which then become the food for people and animals.
Leaves of a company are its employees. A tree can not have fruits without leaves. Similarly, a company can never get its achievement with the employees. Employees are the ones gather the water and nutrition from inside and trap the energy from the outside, and then make the fruit firm and sweet.
A company with its CEO, broad of shareholders, managers, as well as the employees together, forms a complete picture of a business tree. Every element of the tree is essential. They function together and form a harmony.
Variables that Affect Tree Growth
Tree growth can be influenced by many different variables. Whether in a laboratory or in a forest, all trees need certain variables to grow.
Those variables could include sunlight, rainfall, soil nutrients, and location. Competition among trees could also be considered a kind of variable. Environmental disturbances such as construction, fire, insects, weather patterns, and storms can also greatly influence tree growth.
A business can also be affected by various factors. Controllable variables include location, market position, strategy, products, services etc. Uncontrollable variables include weather, culture, rules & regulations, government, economy and so on. In order to ensure the healthy growth of a business, the top management must analyze all the uncontrollable variables, and then set the controllable variables. Moreover, they have to be able to forecast and be willing to adapt any change. Employees for a company must handle various high technical skills, essential customer communication skills, and teamwork skills.
Fruits
When spring comes, trees are covered with blossoms when flower buds open. At this time, leaf buds are also open and developing. While bees and other insects are collecting honey from the flowers, they transfer pollen from one flower to another, which indeed fertilize the flowers. The pollen is the male cell from the flower and it grows tubes down into the female ovaries, the base of the flower petals. When the petals fall off the flower, the tiny ovaries begin to grow into a fruit.
As business grows mature, they also need some external elements to fertilize the flower and make the ovaries grow into a fruit. Advertising through all kinds of media as well as the networking are examples of such external elements. Without letting the public known about the business, a company has no way to success. Furthermore, remember that only colorful and fragrant flowers can attract the bees. Business has to be creative, innovative and open to attract public’s attention. Some business may feel that the advertising cost are huge, yet when customers are attracted to buy your products, you will find all you paid is worthy.
Dormant bud
The other thing to look for in this time lapse is the dormant bud. Not all buds grow out. This does not mean that the bud is dead, it is just dormant. As the tree grows, this bud remains but gets buried in the bark. When a branch gets cut off a tree or the tree gets cut down, it will still sprout back. These sprouts then come from dormant buds.
Business sometimes collapse and go bankruptcy. Some owners just give it up and cry at home. However, some can still survive after the “death” of the business and reborn with another opportunity. That is the same thing as a dormant bud. Failure differs from death. Therefore we do not have to be afraid of failures. One mistake may lead to a success. For a 21st century business, we should never miss out any potential opportunity, and be brave and confident.
References:
how does a tree grow? –by Brent Cook
Suzy’s world – how do apples grow?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root wikipedia
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