Rethinking Design Education for the 21st Century - Theoretical, Essay

Rethinking Design Education for the 21st Century - Theoretical, Methodological, and Ethical Discussion - Alain Findeli - Essay Example Findeli states that the subject of design was previously being viewed as applied esthetics but now the philosophy that leads design and knowledge related to is that design if a form of application of social sciences (7).3 Findeli argues that instead of seeing design as a particular element that is applied in nature, it should be considered as a form of involved science and this will help in ensuring that both the people who design things as well as those people for who the designs are being made are united together and considered as a part of the design problem and are not left out while the problem is being defined (11).4 He even states that there are ethical issues connected with designing and states that the main task of any designer should be to understand the purpose for which he/she is designing (13).5 He states that purpose for which a particular design is being made should guide all the elements of

Using Perceptual Maps in Marketing Simulation Essay Example for Free

Using Perceptual Maps in Marketing Simulation Essay Throughout this paper the situation of Cruisers Thorr Motorcycles will be discussed along with suggestions and recommended solutions, and finally the results. Isolation and positioning of products or services will show in this paper. Additionally, it will debate how the product was affected in the simulation because of the product life cycle in marketing. The business of Thorr Motorcycles assembles about 200,000 bikes a year. The company is a five billion dollar very accomplished business. The company also manufactures leather goods, T-shirts, toys, and shoes. The high end of the company is the Cruiser Thorr. Although the industry in thriving, the Thorr Motorcycle sales are diminishing (University of Phoenix, 2011). One issue steaming from the decline in sales has to do with the targeted audience. Thorr Motorcycles have become an expensive and classic bike appealing more to the older 35 to 50 year-old age groups. Though the younger generations are interested it becomes less appealing because of the price. The younger generations do not have the income to purchase a Cruiser Thorr Motorcycle. Furthermore, it is important that the company carries on and is successful, so the market strategy must be altered. The company decides to implement a perpetual map in marketing to come to a decision whether or not they should reposition Cruiser Thorr or introduce RRoth motorcycle. RRoth is more affordable and a lower quality to attract the younger generation (Kotler P, n.d). At times in is not always necessary that the product fit the exact desires of the audiences that was targeted, but rather consumers perceives that it does. To be successful in this tactic the correct amount of advertising and putting out the right message are both essential to the marketing plan. When looking at different segments a product can tend to target just one segment specifically, or it can be planned to meet the attributes of several segments to an extent. When using the latter approach, it gives the opportunity to touch on different segments at the same time (University of Phoenix, 2011). This, of course, depends on the life cycle of the product and to decide the value of research and development and what the competition segments are doing. The first step in the simulation is to determine the market position of the Cruiser Thorr. The restrictions include creating the Perceptual Map in Marketing lifestyle image, price, service offerings, engine capacity, safety, product design and styling, quality engineering, and product uniqueness. In the motorcycle business the lifestyle imaging is of high importance for the older generations that are interested in the Thorr (Kotler P, n.d). This industry is based on how others perceive your style and imagining. Of course the consumers desire play and important part as well as the price. The appearance and the style of the product is what attract the potential consumer to the product. The build and functionality of the motor or engine capacity is of high importance to buyer also. The four essentials that were chosen to develop the perceptual map as product design and styling, services offering, quality engineering, and price. The second part of the simulation presented the option of repositioning the Cruiser Thorr or introducing a new product. The new product is different from Thorr in the aspect of attracting the younger generation with style and a low price to compete with the competition. The decision was made to introduce the RRoth motorcycle to target a new audience and increase sales. Next the marketing plan by splitting a budget into price, product, promotions, and services provided (Kotler P, n.d). Finally, analyzing and reviewing the results of the marketing strategy. This part was enjoyable because you get to see cause and effect and get feedback on the decisions that were made (University of Phoenix, 2011). The simulation was an effective and educational tool. It allowed the options of making a personal decision based on facts and background of a company. Than developing a marketing plan by choosing what you think would be most effective for the future of the company. The simulation demonstrated how to use the essential parameters needed to underline the position of a product in the market. References Kotler P, (n.d.). Developing a Positioning Strategy. Retrieved from: http://www.learningmarketing.net/positioning.htm The Product Lifecycle (2011). Net MBA. Retrieved from: http://www.netma.com/marketing/product/lifecycle/ University of Phoenix. (2013). SIMULATION: â€Å"Using Perceptual Maps in Marketing† Simulation. Retrieved from: University of Phoenix, MKT/421

History, Literature, Anthropology: Contextualizing Human Meaning :: Essays Papers

History, Literature, Anthropology: Contextualizing Human Meaning As culture is â€Å"the product of human thought† (217), Cohn advocates â€Å"seeing how meanings are contextualized† to better interpret history and produce good scholarship (221). In keeping with this awareness of human thought, Anderson contextualizes â€Å"the cultural roots of nationalism† through the evolution of early American literature and print-language (7), relying heavily on the historical development of European literacy in developing a ‘national imagination.’ In doing so, Anderson’s analysis of nationalism reflects Cohn’s maxim, that â€Å"anthropology can became [sic] more anthropological in becoming more historical† (216). Through Anderson’s contextualizing of nationalism through historical literary trends, his anthropological scholarship is, by Cohn’s estimation, more true unto itself. Unearthing origins of national consciousness, Anderson examines the development of national memory through literacy and vernacularisms. Believing nationalism to be a cultural construct of political revolutions, merging social ideologies and a new emphasis on â€Å"national print-languages† (Anderson 46), Anderson declares that men challenged the sacredness of existing societies with new conceptions of land and nation through the circulation and spread of shared languages (Anderson 36). Driving a â€Å"wedge between cosmology and history† through Enlightenment discoveries, divinely ordained realities lost clout and â€Å"cultural artefacts of the eighteenth century† like individual human rights and personal sovereignty, translated from old world to new (Anderson 36). With new â€Å"languages-of-power† in fixating systems of speech, nations built self-identity, and men began to see themselves in â€Å"profoundly new ways† (Anderson 36). Cohn reasserts history and anthropology as dovetailing disciplines, whose scholarship exists outside of this time and yet rooted in common reality. Floating in imaginary lands of epistemology and printed research, good scholarship relies on a historian with â€Å"fewer sources and stouter boots† (Tawney, qted in Cohn, 221). Historians intrinsically

Discuss the warrior rule in the Kamakura and Ashikaga Shogunates with specific examples Essay

Most of Japan’s political history revolved around the warrior rule or political rule of warring clans. Throughout the twelve until the nineteenth century, the governance of Japan depended on the outcomes of the continuous struggle between warring groups to take control. At the center of the warrior rule are two concepts, the bushi translated as ‘fighting men’ and the samurai meaning ‘those who serve’. Warriors practiced a code centered on loyalty and no tolerance for defeat. (Jansen, 1995) This made the warrior rule and the change in political leadership very dynamic. Kamakura Shogunate The Kamakura Shogunate exemplifies the warrior rule in Japan, with a warrior clan controlling governance and the warrior clan descending from the noble families. On one hand, the noble families maintain and secure political dominance by engaging the strongest warriors since the right to lead depended on the ability to wield the sword and defeat the ruling power and defend one’s rule from other warrior groups. On the other hand, the warriors with familial or non-familial ties with the noble families developed loyalty to these families and defended the leadership that they helped establish. This implied the overlap between the noble families and warrior groups. Noble families with strong warrior leaders often win the battle and those families without strong leaders in war became subservient to those with the ability to lead wars and defend governance. The Kamakura Shogunate is one period of warrior rule preceded by the Genpei war fought by two clans the Minamoto and Taira with both having prominent samurai capabilities. These two clans had similar military strength that the battle lasted for five years, from 1180 to 1185. The success of the Minamoto warrior clan brought about the Kamakura Shogunate. Minamoto no Yoritomo, the leader of the Minamoto warrior clan is himself of noble birth. His leadership reflected the manner that noble families gained warriors through the ability to lead. Throughout Minamoto no Yoritomo’s rule, he faced countless resistance from the other samurai clans but his decision to establish the center of government at Kamakura and refrain from extending his control over the northernmost and westernmost regions led to a longer rule. (Jansen, 1995) Warrior rule depends on territorial control and gaining the territory of one group meant extending one’s territory but adding another opponent likely to make a challenge in the future. By not expanding the territory too much, this became easier to defend and enemies minimized. Ashikaga Shogunate The Mongols became the strongest opponent of the Kamakura Shogunate so that even if storms dissipated the number of the invaders, the battle weakened the Shogunate. The exiled Emperor Go-Daigo took advantage of the situation to regain his lost power by restoring the Kemmu rule. However, this only lasted three years because of the weak military backing of the emperor. Warrior rule again emerged with the Ashikaga Shogunate led by Takauji. Nevertheless, even the Ashikaga Shogunate was weak in military leadership resulting to the assertion of independent power by the daimyo or regional warrior leaders. The strength of a warrior rule lies not only in the number of forces and degree of cohesiveness of loyalty of the forces but also in the strength of the top leadership. With a weak power at the top, warrior rule is bound to fall apart. The daimyos not only made decisions independently but also meddled in governance such as in influencing succession. With only backing from one or a limited number of regions, conflict was inevitable with other regions pushing for the shogun they preferred. All the aspiring shoguns backed-up by the regional military forces had claims over the shogunate based on either or both nobility and known samurai clan lineage. With the inability of the present Shogun to take control, this led to the Onin War, a ten-year war for leadership of the Shogunate by the different daimyos. (Jansen, 1995) The war destroyed Kyoto, claimed thousands of lives, and led to the greater overlap between leadership nobility claims and samurai lineage. Reference Jansen, M. B. (1995) (ed. ). Warrior rule in Japan. New York: Cambridge University Press.

JetBlue Airways & Organizational Development: Partners for Change Essay

This is a case of an effective partnership of Jet Blue Airways and Organizational Development. In the airline business with an unpredictable environment, Jet blue forged a partnership with the Organizational Development (OD) team and JetBlue University (the airlines centralized learning group). From this berthed the Systems Operations Center (SOC) which is the heart of the airline – the epicenter where effective decision making, communication, teamwork, and leadership are critical to ensure crewmembers are able to meet and exceed customer needs (Dennnison, 2007). This case study covers the four general models of planned change which are entering and contracting; diagnosis; planning and implementing; and evaluating and institutionalizing change (Cummings & Worley, 2009). All interventions applied were carefully developed as they interpret the diagnosis of the operations of JetBlue. And as it progress you will see that the key element on making this a successful and effective OD is the  involvement of all the employees and their buy in from the top down management. As you will see that not only that they have implemented the interventions which greatly enhanced the company’s success, it has also institutionalized the changes they have adapted and on On June 8, 2011, JetBlue ranked ‘Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Low Cost Carriers in North America’ by J.D. Power and Associates, a customer satisfaction recognition received for the seventh year in a row.they were awarded they are the number one (Article, 2011). Introduction JetBlue has an impressive and effective partnership with the Organizational Development Team. This is one of the success stories on how to effectively apply and OD Intervention within a company. They have established and institutionalized the process of OD within their business system. The four processes namely: Entering and contacting; diagnosis; planning and implementing; and evaluating and institutionalizing were properly managed and executed. The foundation was set correctly and the shifting of the change concept was embedded in the JetBlue culture. All JetBlue employees are involved and are aware on how OD interventions are applied and how it works. The foundation of the OD intervention is solid and any new interventions that are applied as long as it is carefully reviewed and agreed is flawless. My approach for this case study as an OD practitioner is to review, diagnose, and analyze what the OD practitioner have accomplished and make any changes and recommendations that I beli eve will further enhance the effectiveness of the OD intervention. I will apply the four model of planned change as I review and/or come up with any additional intervention for the company. Stage 1 – Entering and Contracting The OD team did not have a hard time entering into this business contract with JetBlue. All the factors I read in this case study are all in their side. The key concept that is very positive for this intervention is that JetBlue’s organizational culture is that they embrace change. This resulted the decision to help the SOC continuously improve was supported by all within the department and the whole organization. They have implemented an  ideal and perfect approach for entering and contracting. Their realization that tomorrow’s operating environment will look very different. They are treating each flight as a different case and they do not base their assumption on old data but always plan for the latest information for each flight. A comprehensive contract was developed by JetBlue and OD team. Both internal and external SOC stakeholders are engaged for this contracting. Their process is flawless and what they call a progressive company that embraces intervention as p ositive. They have developed a comprehensive contract that outlined the scope of work and established clear roles and expectations. Both sides have agreed on the contract, they will then proceed to the planning process. Recommended change/addition Upon reviewing Exhibit A, my recommended change is that the SVP of the SOC should be less involved on with the SOC operations. All the key elements are already identified and they have developed a process on how to enter and develop a contract. The stakeholders are already onboard with the OD program and in fact embraced the concept of OD so they should empower the OD team on changes and directly apply to the SOC with stakeholders getting an updated interventions being implemented. They should decentralize this tasking with the SOC, OD team and the crewmembers. By doing this, SVP and stakeholders can focus more on their bigger tasking and responsibilities by projecting and planning for the future of the company. The effectiveness of the Entering and Contracting stage is also apparent in eliminating or planning a course of action on taking out most of the â€Å"red flags† such as insufficient level of commitment, resistance or opposition by major stockholders, lack of power or influence and client’s desire to manipulate the consultant. These potential â€Å"red flags† were all addressed and resolved (Mitchell, 2006). It will also be cost effective if they will establish their internal OD team. By having a dedicated team, they will be more focus on the progress of the company. OD is already developed and more than likely, only minor interventions will be implemented to adapt in the ever growing and changing innovation of the global environment. During contracting, there were no specific goals identified by JetBlue but only to look â€Å"under the hood†. I believe the OD approached this as an Organizational process for their plans. Although the contract covered the scope of work, established their respective roles and responsibilities, they have not covered the estimated time needed that is devoted solely for the OD process. They might have missed this step because of the total buy in of JetBlue with change. But the issue might rise if the cost will start escalating or even the timeframe gets extended. Stage 2 – Diagnosis This is one of the pivotal areas that OD practitioners should be keen in identifying the relevant issues gathered on all data. Obtaining an updated and current data is needed in this ever changing global market. They also have covered this stage as you will read on the case study that they are branded as progressive company which means that they constantly strive for change. Exhibit A if you notice that they added a planning stage on how the intervention will be approached. A thorough data collection will be created as one of the tools to diagnose and approach an intervention. Exhibit B is the Denison Leadership Development Survey that was used and you can see the positive quantitative results that they have increased their scores in four key areas within eight months of implementation. Summarizing the information captured from the Denison Organizational Culture survey, focus groups and interviews, the OD team came up with five key themes for the company’s strategy development and culture change. The OD consultant also stresses to the leadership team that focusing on a few relevant areas was much more effective which I also totally agree. Recommended change/addition This case study mentioned that 40 interviews and focus groups were done to gain insight. I would increase the interviews to at least 50% of each division of the company to have a better data analysis on where the top strengths and weaknesses are. I will also make a two to three day session to interpret the data to come up with a more viable and acceptable hypothesis on identifying the themes for the company. The Denison Model gave a quantitative measure of the organizations status. It addressed and  identified the two strengths and two weaknesses of the company. And from that diagnosis, coupled with the 40 interviews and focus groups, they have come up with viable goals. Goals that are derived and interpreted from the data they have gathered. Recommended change/addition If I was the OD practitioner, I would also add questionnaires for the customers, observation and unobtrusive measures. My questionnaires will be designed solely for the customer satisfaction. This is your main business for the company. This is a key factor in increasing your market shares. I would design the questionnaire to draw out what can be improved and any innovative ideas that they want to see what JetBlue can offer. I will focus it on differentiation which will make JetBlue unique from other airlines. This will be a very strong intervention once applied because it directly affects the customers (Kabra, 2006). On my observations, I will be staging some observation sites at the tarmac, ticket counter, customer service, and other key areas of the business. We will observe the people on how they work, how long they work and the conditions on where they work will be some of the factors we will observe. By performing observations, you will witness the actual things that are happeni ng during the operations of the company. There are a lot of different divisions that makes up an airline business. The crewmembers each have different area of expertise such as stewardess, baggers, pilots, etc. It is very diverse and you need to collect data on all areas. I will also perform unobtrusive measures and study the current structure of the company’s organization and see if we are utilizing and maximizing all the skills, knowledge and abilities of all our crewmembers. From here I will define a benchmark and see what is our competitive edge compared to other airlines. I will also apply unobtrusive measure and establish a benchmark for both internal and external part of the company. This will give me a better approach and measure on what is the real status of the company and you can project stretch goals since this company embraces changes. A challenging and achievable goal for them will be ideal. By applying more measures on Data gathering, you will come up with a better conclusive strengths and weaknesses o f the company. You will diagnose and compare your data analysis and strategize a pattern and conclusive evidence that supports each type of data analysis you collected. Stage 3 – Planning  and Implementing This is the crucial stage of the OD process intervention. The critical analysis of the date gathered was thoroughly researched on this project. The planning stage was very effective as they have come up with a strategic approach to achieve their goals. As they OD practitioner finished the strategy, they were able to communicate the strategy to key leaders of the company (Lunenberg, 2010). I agree with the OD team on what happened after the data collection and goal setting. Meetings on each member of the SOC team were held and they were educated on what will be their roles during the intervention. They have minimized the people’s natural reaction on resistance to change. All five themes they came up were communicated effectively throughout the organization. An extensive weekly meeting for the first month was implemented. This is a carefully planned and well executed plan and implantation stage of the OD practitioner. This is a well thought of process that the OD team have cover ed all the interventions and each goal were further identified with a detailed plan of action of what are the steps needed for the achievement of their goal. And the key for this step by step procedure is the constant meetings and progress check to see how the intervention needs any adjustments or they are within their target goals. The OD practitioner is very well educated and approached this stage strategically. Recommended change/addition The two things I would add for the implementation change is the award system and stretch goals. They have instilled the intrinsic rewards for the crewmembers as the OD practitioner came up with an intervention that each crewmember are part of the changes that is happening as they have the quantitative measure of their goal they are achieving. The empowerment was placed with the crewmembers. Adding an extrinsic award system such a Employee of the month, cash bonus, etc., will only reinforce and encouraged each crewmembers for the success of the business. I believe with the buy in of all JetBlue employees, stretch goals for the directors and make it a competitive but friendly approach of stretching the goals for each department/division will not hurt since the culture of the company embraces  change. Stage 4 – Evaluating and Institutionalizing This is a success OD intervention from start to end. The evaluation process was impressive as you can see the success rate of the company. I believe that they have institutionalized the change and they made the OD a part of the company’s culture. They have achieved the OD intervention and as you can see, it has been decentralized and it is now at the lowest level of management. The success of the JetBlue and OD practitioner is evident because of the foundation it has set. You will see that they have accepted this intervention as a new way of doing business. And they even avoided the sense of complacency by having a Culture Change Monitor Survey and a bi-weekly working sessions to execute the plan. They applied the Denison Organizational Culture Survey to assess their strengths and weaknesses. You can see the evidence by having a good foundation and structure on the start of any OD intervention. It will follow a smooth transition from each phase. As you can see that the company was just transitioning from each phase of the OD process and as they evaluate the interventions, all the stakeholders are onboard and willing to improve the company as it is very evident as you read the case study. Institutionalizing it as you will read is also successful. From the start as the company embraces change, the company and the OD have transitioned change as a norm in their crewmembers view. They look all the changes as a philosophy in their culture that the success and development of their company can only be achieved through continuous improvement. Recommended change/addition The things I will add on this are annual get together, and recommend new survey system. By having an annual get together, I will implement a banquet type with key speaker to encourage the crewmember and have achievement awards with different categories. This will definitely encourage each crewmember to give their best every time they work. I would recommend another survey to replace the Denison Organizational Culture Survey in the next two years. Having the same survey yearly might create complacency and over familiarity of the survey. But if you give them a different survey, they will be able to look at it on a different perspective ad will pay more attention. I would review the current innovation, global market, benchmark the airline business, and their own. I will select and recommend an ideal survey based on the current data gathering I collected. Conclusion This is a success story of an OD intervention process. Ad JetBlue have embraced the changes, careful planning by the OD team as they enter the contracting was very effective. It is a very effective approach as they have identified almost all of the requirements to enter a contract. Data gathering and analysis have resulted in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the company. Goals were derived from the weaknesses and step by step approach designed to achieve each goal. Communication is evident as the key factor on the planning and implementation change. Each key leader are involved and updated on the planned intervention. All crewmembers that were involved were trained, educated, and made aware of what’s the plan and how will it be implemented. The empowerment were correctly applied which in my opinion is pivotal for their success. Evaluation and institutionalization is already evident as you read the case study that it was a continuous process that their company has embraced. They have the system set in place and monitoring was in place to ensure upward progress is tracked. I can find no other way to conclude the success of this OD intervention but to quote the case study verbatim â€Å"the case study states as follows â€Å"The SOC leadership team owns the process and the culture of the department, making the OD team’s involvement very low and leadership’s involvement very high. No longer is the kind of work that resulted from this project considered additional duties that leadership â€Å"must† perform. Because the OD consultant set the foundation from the beginning by delegating key tasks to stakeholders, having clear sponsorship and having responsible leaders, a mindset shift has occurred – the idea that creating a high performing culture is part of every leader’s job.à ¢â‚¬  As an OD, this should always be the ultimate goal on all your interventions. Exhibit A – Project Overview Exhibit B – Denison Leadership Development Survey Exhibit C – Changes over Time Exhibit D – JetBlue Airways & Organizational Development: Partners for Change Bibliography Cummings, G., Worley C.G., (2009). Organizational Development and Change. Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning. Dennison consulting, (2007, Jun). JetBlue Airways & Organizational Development: Partners for Change. Retrieved from http://www.denisonconsulting.com/Libraries/Resources/CS-2007-JetBlue-System-Operations.sflb.ashx JetBlue Airways, (2011, June). JetBlue Awarded Seventh Consecutive Customer Satisfaction J.D. Power and Associates Honor. Retrieved from http://blog.jetblue.com/index.php/2011/06/08/jetblue-awarded-seventh-consecutive-customer-satisfaction-j-d-power-and-associates-honor/ Mitchell, R.C., (2006, July). Model of the Organization Development Process. Retrieved from http://www.csun.edu/~hfmgt001/odmodel.htm Kabra, R., (2006, September). Virgin Atlantic – Gap Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/public-relations-management/6928-virgin-atlantic-gap-analysis.html Lunenberg, F. C., (2010, November). Organizational Development: Implementin g Planned Change. Retrieved from http://www.nationalforum.com/Electronic%20Journal%20Volumes/Lunenburg,%20Fred%20C.%20Organizational%20Development%20Implementing%20Planned%20Change%20IJMBA,%20V13%20N1%202010.pdf