Kant’s view of freedom Essay Example for Free

Kant’s view of freedom Essay According to The Philosophers lighthouse, Immanuel Kant challenges the idea of freedom generally, saying that it cannot be proven that freedom is inherent in human nature. According to him freedom is a basic concept that must be presupposed for a being to be thought of as rational. He also says that there is a close knit relationship between our thinking on freedom and morality, he says that freedom is present because we have placed upon ourselves moral laws and are confident in their compliance, and that moral laws are present because we have placed upon ourselves the privilege of free will. Therefore, one exists precisely because of the other.   Kant also questions the extent of individual freedom in the presence of a superior power. He was alluding to the argument that complete freedom is to be found within the mental faculty, as one cannot be stopped from thinking within his mind. However Kant challenges this perceived ability of man think for himself, questioning how much and how well man would think, without communicating their thoughts with others. Am much as one might hold an opinion about something, the state might restrict him from expressing this opinion which will negate the purpose of having the opinion in the first place. Therefore as one might argue that their freedom to think cannot be curtailed by a superior power, Kant draws to attention the possibility of the power restricting the individual’s freedom to communicate, which he portrays as having central influence on their thinking. (Cline, 2006) Kant seems to stress here that complete autonomy or freedom is to an extent unattainable, as the one form of personal will that is clearly out of reach of which ever power there might be, freedom of thought, is still under the influence of the same state, albeit indirectly, and concludes with the remark, Freedom is, therefore, only an idea of reason whose objective reality is in itself questionable.   Hegel’s view on freedom Hegel’s take on freedom is that it is the destination of historical human progression, starting with bondage and which is based on rational consciousness. It is where the individuals’ subjective desires are integrated with the desires of the state, where individual will is inferior to that of the state. Hegel demonstrated this theory of freedom by dividing history into three phases, starting with the orient phase wherein only the ruler was free and all other subjects were inferior to him. The people in this period according to him are not aware of the freedom of their spirit, and because of this ignorance, they are not free. Hegel might have been alluding to the emperors of ancient China The second stage, an example of the Greek and Roman civilizations, is where some members of the community, besides the ruler, were free. However in this phase there are certain exceptions to this freedom, citizens are free, slaves are not. The slaves understood this accepted it, as did the Romans. Thus, as in the orient phase, freedom was limited for these people not only because of not having information, but also having the wrong information. The third phase started with the early Christians, who recognized that all humans are free by virtue of being simply human, and through their evangelism spread the knowledge of this ‘freedom for all concept’. This is stage is evident today in contemporary societies, especially democracies which have fundamental freedoms within their constitutions. (Urmson and Jonathan RÃÆ' ©e, 1991) Marx’s view on freedom Marx’s thoughts are predominantly in an economic context, wherein he examines social systems that curtail or encourage personal freedoms. Marx laid out his thoughts in two scenarios.   First, he examines the capitalist society, and its effect on the freedom of the people. According to him, capitalism is a social system that involves workers who ca supply labour and capital owners who employ the workers. These capital owners, due to their economic status also influence the power structure of the state, ensuring that they get the best labour at the cheapest cost from the workers, which in turn means that the workers are completely dependent on the capital owners, as they cannot raise enough to obtain capital of their own. This position taken by Marx portrays capitalism as a social system that is counterproductive as far as propagating human freedom is concerned. He stresses that the workers cannot enjoy any freedom as long as their economic well being is not within their control. The worst evil according to Marx is the illusion that one is actually benefiting oneself when working whereas in reality he is just enriching his employer. Marx then contrasts capitalism with communism, in which the people collectively own the means of production and resources required. He pointed that in this setting one could go about work without the fear of being exploited. Communism, also overcame the problem of monotony characteristic of the capitalist system. (Hallas, 2002) Obstacles to be overcomeKant As mentioned earlier, Kant placed significant importance in the relationship between morality and freedom. Therefore to ensure freedom for all, emphasis is should be placed on the content of our moral codes, its uniformity and objectivity. This is best illustrated when the morals of one community differ significantly with that of another in which there might arise conflict when the more powerful community, either economically or otherwise tries to impose it morals on the other. This would be an infringement of the latter’s freedom. Checks also have to put on the state to guard against its involvement in the private freedoms of its citizens, as Kant acknowledged that the state is in a position of absolute power and can deny its subjects their freedoms. Hegel Hegel’s biggest obstacle to freedom as can be seen in his theory of history is information. True freedom keightwill always prove to be elusive for as long as the person concerned does not understand and appreciate his right to freedom. In most cases that individual’s freedom is being abused there is a lot of ignorance on the part of the abused. This ignorance may be voluntary or induced, is which the superior power will deliberately keep the subjects in the dark to ensure that they never harbor any thoughts of autonomy. Any effort to liberate those suffering oppression should specifically target their education on their right to freedom, as this will ensure that they have the capacity to demand for their freedom.   Marx Kamala Sarup in her article Capitalism Vs Communism: Lessons From History, expresses Marxs case as more complicated as both of his insights have negative and positive elements. On the one hand, capitalism is known to increase the entire community’s wellbeing through the incentive of competition, and one receives benefits proportional to their contribution. When one is working exclusively for one’s sake, he is bound to work harder. To remove the risk of contradiction, even when employed one still enjoys the his entire effort by himself however meager the pay may be. This is in contrast to communism, wherein the production is shared equally among all the people irrespective of their contribution to production, a situation which might lead to some people living off the effort of others. On the other hand capitalism often results in the majority of the resources being distributed amongst a few individuals, a situation that is effectively taken care of in a communist arrangement. The best policy is therefore a mixed society, where all or most of the advantages of both systems can be inculcated.   Ã‚  Conclusion The best strategy according to me appears to be Hegel’s approach. This is because Kant’s method appears to be too vague and technical for common people to grasp whereas Marx’s is filled with contradictions that could potentially complicate efforts to establish freedom for all. In addition, Hegel’s solution seems to answer the questions raised about by the other two theorists or example, informed communities are better placed to evaluate reform and formulate their moral codes, which according to Kant are interdependent with freedom. Informed people can also identify instances when the state infringes in their right to freedom and take the necessary steps to rectify the situation. An informed society will also be able to decide on relative benefits and costs of each of the systems discussed by Marx to come up with one that is comprehensive and takes into consideration the needs of all parties concerned. References Cline, Austin. Your Guide to Agnosticism/Atheism.  Ã‚   http://atheism.about.com/od/weeklyquotes/a/kant01.htm Hallas, Duncan. The legacy of Karl Marx Viewed on 15th March, 2008 http://www.socialistworker.org/2002-2/423/423_08_HallasOnMarx.shtm The philosophers’ lighthouse. Hegel’s thoughts on freedom. Viewed on 15th March, 2008 : http://library.thinkquest.org/18775/hegel/freeh.htm The philosophers’ lighthouse. Kant’s thoughts on freedom. Viewed on 15th March, 2008 : http://library.thinkquest.org/18775/kant/freek.htm Urmson, J. O. and Jonathan RÃÆ' ©e, (1991) ed. The Concise Encyclopedia of Western Philosophy and Philosophers.   London: Unman Hyman. Capitalism Vs Communism: Lessons From History. Viewed on 15th March, 2008   http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0504/S00007.htm

Library system Essay Example for Free

Library system Essay Chapter I Introduction The world of Information Technology transformed and made the life of human beings easier through the innovation of different machines and software applications. Faster and reliable sources have been offered by search engines which are all over the web. But even though this is the case, many schools and universities are still requiring their students to use library materials in their researches and school works. From the statement of purpose, the compute’rized library system: meeting information needs of the people of Saint Michael College of Caraga, Nasipit, Agusan del Norte. Our proposed system, the Saint Michael College of Caraga Library Management System, is a system wherein there is no need of manual library transactions. This will carry out different processes such as searching books, keep records of the books, borrowing of books and return of books. Hence, at present, Saint Michael College of Caraga is maintaining the School Library in a manual basis. Handling bulky records in a manual method is very difficult. And the process of updating could not be done easily and  accurately. Likewise, a manual procedure of handling bulky record is very slow and is prone to manual errors. Consequently, it is proposed that Saint Michael College of Caraga shall maintain an electronic data base management system (DBMS) for the purpose of maintaining the records of the School Library for easy, fast and accurate processing and maintenance of these records that will enhance management decisions and for the improvement of its services to all the stakeholders of Saint Michael College of Caraga. Library is regarded as the brain of any institute; many institutes understand the importance of the library to the growth of the institute and their esteem users (students). Library Management System of Saint Michael College of Caraga supports the general requirement of the library like acquisition, cataloguing, circulation that offers many flexible and convenient features, allowing librarians and library users to maximize time and efficiency. Library System gives the all detailed information about students, staff and books. It will track on the how many books available in library and books issued to the students. It shows popular book among the students. It will provide book lost in library. It keeps the record of the suppliers and book binders. It generates MIS reports for management. Our software is customizable for any library requirement. In this chapter we take opportunity to consider changes in the library services, not in terms of minor, short term change in equilibrium of the sort just noted above, but in longer term. There has been continuing concern about the future of the libraries. Given the extent to which the provision used and the libraries are influenced by the social environment, and given possibilities by the use of new information technology; it would be unreasonable to expect libraries to remain static. But if not, what would be the nature of the change? The issue is not whether there is a change but what will be the change. If we are to make a claim to understand the nature of library services, the surely we ought to have notions, some forecasts, about how library system might change. Purpose and Description In setting up a library, one aspect that should be considered, what are the resources the library has and what are the ways to provide a better service to the students? Well, one of the easiest ways is having a system to  organize all the transactions in the library. A library system is software that will handle basic and systematic organization of function in the library. The system would provide basic set of features to add/update student’s information, add/update books information, search for books and manage check-in/check-out processes. In this application we can maintain the records of students and books and enable to determine how many books are issued and likewise determine the available books in the library. The proposed library system will greatly improve the efficiency of the school library. This study has the following hypothesis: The profiles of the respondents taken are their names, Student ID Number, Year and Course, and Title and Author of the Book Borrowed. The manual system is very time consuming, inconvenient when it comes to recording, organizing and retrieving borrower’s record in the log book. There are few solutions but many a times, we making them works by finding ways to work around system inadequacies. Moreover we have limited staff resources, these work around waste time, effort, and skills that should be spent on user services. solutions do not keep up with the technological changes and hence prove to be time wasters. Library Management system is a small footprint software suitable for personal /individual Libraries. You can store the information about the books and other material and control the movement of the same. Silent Features †¢ Control the movement of books and other material and avoid losing the same. †¢ Search if you have a specific book in your collection based on t he title, author etc. †¢ Print the spine labels for the book. †¢ Find what a specific person has borrowed from you. Objectives The main objective of the application is to automate the existing system of manually maintain the records of the Book Issue, Book Return from the student, Stock Maintenance, and Book Search to be computerized. And to develop a database which stores user details and book details, give reliable search facility for the user, create an easy to understand user friendly environment. So the Book Issue, Return, Searching will be faster. This  application can be used by any Library to automate the process of manually maintaining the records related to the subject of maintaining the stock and Book Issues. The general objective of this study is to design and develop a library system that will serve as a proposal to help librarians save time with the automation of its daily operation. Specific Objectives: To computerize records keeping of books; To allow librarians to retrieve complete information of the book and its borrowers. To check the availability of the books and penalties. To search, issue and return of books. It can only be utilized by the librarian Scope and Limitation The study only focuses on the Information Technology Library Management System of Saint Michael College of Caraga. Without computers, as some libraries are, all of them are dependent on paper work. When compared to computerized systems, data backup and data retrieval systems are inefficient and labor intensive. Users of a paper based system become almost wholly reliant on the librarians, for all levels of service, whether they are enquiries about existing books, inter-library loans, or the availability of books. There is additionally no real involvement of a user in the entire process. The transactions that the system accommodates are the attendance of every student that enter the library, book registration and deletion, updating book information and searching thesis references, Borrowing of books, and keeping the record of transaction. Review of Related Literature This chapter contains the relevant outline of literatures related to the study of Library system. This study composed of programming languages, Database and Graphical User Interface (GUI) that is used in the system. This system would be used by members who may be students or professors of that University to check the availability of the books and borrow the books using automated device, and by the librarian to update the databases. The purpose of this document is to analyze and elaborate on the high-level needs and  features of the Library Management System. It focuses on the capabilities and facilities provided by a Library. The details of what all are the needs of the Library Management System and if it fulfils these needs are detailed in the use-case and supplementary specifications. Automated book monitoring system helps to reduce the effect of entering the wrong quantity and the amount of staff time devoted to repetitive activities. Related Studies According to ACRL (1994) suggested that institution should be prepared to utilized new technologies for accessing information as they are developed. This is why operating the library operations is quite a welcome idea. According to Jeff Kaplan (05/08/2007 A new generation of automated network management software and services is helping in-house staff address this challenge. These let network professionals establish regular patch-management procedures to safeguard against escalating security threats; and create system monitoring routines to identify load imbalances, which could cause service disruptions or performance problems. They also discover, inventory and track assets to make sure that hardware and software licenses are up-to-date and that problems can be resolved faster. According to Voustin Sweere (Aug.2001) Nowadays every book keeping system used in practice is automated. Most book keeping software an integrated information system are based on database. In this paper, we develop a conceptual book keeping model which is not based on manual techniques, but which is applicable in database environment. Technical Background In this chapter, it provides an overview of all the overall system design, features and functionalities. The system is design to implement a computerize library management system in Saint Michael College of Caraga. This system consists of one user, the administrator. The administrator can  access the system by having first the login security which they have to input his/her user name and password. Once the inputted username and password did not match, the required/registered information it displays â€Å"Invalid Username and Password†. If the username and password match the registered information, the next form will display depending on the role of the administrator.

Knowledge management and policy working document celltech

Knowledge management and policy working document celltech This report discusses a number of knowledge management frameworks and techniques which are more relevant for CellTechs business and operations. We begin with analyzing the knowledge environment in CellTech case study over various stages of the organizational change and mapping that knowledge toward the KM models and frameworks to understand the practical use of the techniques in real time. The famous techniques or frameworks which are discussed in this report are Exploration and exploitation, cultural web, SECI, Garvins 5 block of learning organization, I-Space and emotional intelligence. Using these techniques or framework we will understand the potential contribution and importance of knowledge management in organizational growth. Finally the review will evaluate the possible issues surrounding the creation and transfer of knowledge in CellTechs knowledge management policy. Understanding of CellTech case study Celltech Europes one of the oldest biotechnology organization into Biologics and Therapeutics development of drugs. The firm had different management approach from 1980 1996 with its conversional business of contract manufacturing and biologics research to creation of innovative drugs and then toward the collaboration with leading large pharmaceutical companies. From the understanding of the case study I classified the CellTech to three periods, During 1980s Two business, contract manufacturing and in-research. Contract manufacturing is the prime revenue generating business and the costs involved in researches are cover by the contract manufacturing. More number of employee were working on biologics research and contract manufacturing Therapeutics research was done in-house and Biologics was with contractors. Shareholders were not happy with CellTech revenue and cash burn for 2 years seems to be an overall concern. Early 1990s New CEO was appointed to bring new ideas to change CellTechs progress (Dr. Peter Fellner). Want to focus on new drug development and seen the potential of innovative drugs manufacturing (Therapeutic). Flat organization structure was created and business was divided into two divisions (Biologic and therapeutic), and Fellners vision to expand therapeutic division RD. Interdisciplinary teams were formed in research to build new capabilities among scientists. Market penetration through clinical trials Bayer collaboration and gain marketing knowledge. To change the cash burn situation through Bayers collaboration Milestone payment. New skills on therapeutics were required so scientists were recruited to replace the clubs of old. Late 1990s Biologics division of the company was sold since profit margin was going down. Change in focus to develop new innovative drugs to advance the human health. CellTech created strong partnership with world leading pharmaceutical companies for the therapeutic drugs discovery and development. Senior management gained experience in both pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector. To monitor the progress on various functions different review systems were setup. By the end of 1996 CellTech had a good market position in UK biotech sector. Balancing between Exploitation and Exploration CellTech Exploitation is defined as the use of already exiting things like exiting product information, organization structure or other word its the firms core competencies. Exploration means pursue of new things which might come to be known otherwise exploring opportunities for building something new (Levinthal and March, 1993). Exploitation and exploration mainly focus and revolve on the Core competency of the organization i.e. exploitation is the use currently known core competency and exploration is to pursue new core competency. Core competences are ability by which organization deploy resources for their activities and process to get competitive advantage over the others so that it cant be imitate or obtained. According to Cohen and levinthal (1990), for the success a firm has to maintain balance between exploitation and exploration and March (1991) believe that the primary factor for the survival and success in long run would be balance between these two. In the case of CellTech, they wanted move out of cash burn and to be a financial successful organization through exploration such as collaboration. CellTech core competences during 1980 were contract manufacturing and they developed world class antibodies with contract companies. This can be viewed as the Levinthal and Marchs (1993) exploitation the use of development of things already known. Exploration Dilemma When the organization wanted for new management, to bring new thoughts and culture through appointment Dr. Fellner as CEO and when Fellner came into the organization, he brought new idea to change the current organization style. Following are the some changes came through new CEO and this give the view of Levinthal and Marchs (1993) exploration, Restructuring the organization with more flat structure (two division Biologic and therapeutic to have control and monitoring). Investment on Therapeutics new drugs development and also to bring more interdisciplinary team approach to build multi-skilled scientist. Recruitment of new scientists in Therapeutic to bring new skills on the drug development. Collaboration with Bayer on the clinical trials The First balancing factors from the CellTech was, When Dr.Fellner seen more business opportunities in therapeutic RD, he divided the organization with exiting competency (Biologic, exploitation) and new competency (Therapeutic, exploration). In the initial stage therapeutic business was like a cost centre, more depending on the revenue from contract manufacturing and later emerged as profit centre new employees were recruited on therapeutic side while club of old from biologic moved out. In the late 1990s when the Therapeutic side was doing well with more clinical trial on pipe line and new collaborations with market leading and selling out the Biologic company see to be the second balancing factor. CellTech initial collaboration with Bayer helped them to establish better relationship with other later. The Bayer collaboration actually bailed them out from cash burn and to invest on therapeutic research. According to March (1991), balancing factor between exploitation and exploration is difficult and complicated, learning can contribute to imbalance. Levinthal and March (1991) believes competency trap will be the outcome of inappropriate learning i.e. excess exploitation or exploration can lead to imbalance. I do agree that imbalance can rise but in this case study the application toward balancing the horses (Exploitation and Exploration) were well managed like bringing interdisciplinary team, flat organizational structure, slow increase of employee in therapeutic research and utilizing the learns learned from Bayer collaboration to other collaborations. Culture Knowledge Sharing in Organization Culture can described as how thing are done and it is the combination of values, behavior, belief and paradigm (taken for granted assumptions). Organizational culture is the value and beliefs which forms an integral part of organization what is chosen to see and absorb (Davenport Prusak 2000). It includes opinion on the shared reality, regarding how things are acting now and how it should be in future. In a growing organization, knowledge and knowledge sharing are the inseparable culture. Following are three levels of culture which exist in an organization (Schein 1992), Artifacts mean the visible elements in the organization such as processes, organization structure, and fixed assets. These elements can only understood inside the organization and from the outside it not understood why things are done in such ways. Espoused values are beneath the artifacts to support the organizations functions such as strategies and goals. These values are created by the leaders or the management in the organization and if these values are not framed correctly then the management is in big trouble. Assumptions are the actual core value of the culture which largely present at unconscious level of the organizations human resource like thought and feelings. Davenport Prusak (2000) believes that knowledge sharing culture plays an important role to enable the transfer and creation of knowledge within the organization. In order to make knowledge management as practice, the employees of the organization much cooperate to share their knowledge with others (Interdisciplinary learning). The leader of the organization also should understand the culture from the overall organization and community level to share knowledge. New CEOs approach towards organizational culture change The first change Dr. Fellner brought to the organization is to separate the company into two divisions and to bring more focus on the therapeutic in-house research. Then he changed the organization to a flat structure with more focus towards new drug development. Interdisciplinary teams to focus on cross sectional learning within the organization to develop multi skilled scientists. The collaboration with Bayer was the major milestone for the CellTech from the financial side but when we see the knowledge perspective it was the clinical trial phase II knowledge transmission to Bayer. Mapping to Cultural Web Johnson and Scholes (2002) explains cultural web as the indentifying factor to describe various factors influencing organizational cultural both for current and future. The below figure 1 shows the culture web mapping towards the CellTech(after Dr. Fellners change), Figure 1: Cultural Web Paradigm: The assumptions set by the organization on the whole for the long run. Rituals and Routines: These represent the way the things are do around here. The ways that organizations member behave each others. Stories and myths: The different stakeholders of the organization pass on common beliefs of the past events and reinforcing the peoples behavior by telling the importance of the organization. Symbols: The elements of the organizations, including titles, language and dress codes. Control Systems: The various review set by the organization to measure the outcome of polices and to reward people based on the performance. Organizational Structures: It is the formal structure of the firm, how the chain of command flows from the top to bottom. Power structures: It is the key element tells about how the power is distributed in the organization, the paradigm is more shaped by the people or the group has more power. The knowledge sharing for CellTech is considered more important since the companys focus not only on the drug development but also on the collaboration. For instance we take the Bayer initial collaboration where CellTech was responsible for developing the drug up to phase II and then pass it on to Bayer for further development. Here passing it to Bayer means a huge amount of knowledge in terms of test results and the experiences of the scientists at various stages are documented and shared. As mentioned by Dr.Bloxham lessons were learned which were applied to the late, post 1992 collaboration, here knowledge is not only shared but being gained. CellTech not only wanted to share knowledge with other competitor as collaborator but also wanted the own scientists to share knowledge by having an interdisciplinary team approach in the drug development team. Building Biochemist would be a good example of CellTechs initiative on the interdisciplinary skill development on it scientists. According to Knight and Howes (2003) there are behaviors which are heavily inbuilt in each and every workplace to restrict the effectiveness of the knowledge sharing. To initiate knowledge management it is important to know which of the behaviors can and cannot be changed and Cultural Web model categorize the influencing factors on the peoples behavior. Knight and Howes (2003) believes cultural web can be used an auditing tool to analysis what is currently valued in the organization and to define the how best future culture is required for the organization. To keep competitive advantage in the market to changing circumstances, culture and structures have to be altered by increasing the efficiency and effectiveness (Bali, Wickramasinghe, Lehaney (2009). The cultural changes are required when a new strategy is to be implemented and in this changing world its going to be a cyclic process. Knowledge generation and transfer SECI Social interaction is the means by which the Knowledge generation and transfer happens and it is the generation and transfer of tacit and explicit knowledge between individual and group. Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) come up with a model called SECI to understand process involved in the nature of knowledge creation and effective management of knowledge in the dynamic environment. The idea of the model to highlight importances of the knowledge possessed by individual is shared with other individual or group. Explicit Knowledge CellTech Explicit knowledge is the knowledge which can be expressed in a systematic formal language and shared in form of specifications, policies and form of data. The knowledge here is captured and documented in a physical form and it is very direct to understand and easy source to be obtained through papers (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). ). From CellTech case study we can see explicit knowledge right from the begin and following are some of them, Financial status of the CellTech especially the cash burn was known by everyone in the organization and should have been know by the balance sheet report. Restructuring the organization to a flat structure Contract manufacturing to research and development redefining the focus of the company by new CEO The trail phases handed over to collaboration companies here the CellTech transfers the intellectual knowledge to other company to further development and it should have been done with more documentation and knowledge transfer sessions. All the review systems setup to monitor the progress of the organization Tacit knowledge CellTech Tacit knowledge is the knowledge which is very hard to formalize or documented and it is more deeply rooted on the action and emotion. The most part of the tacit knowledge is acquired by previous experience and more internal and this knowledge can be transferred in a verbal formal to another (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). From CellTech case study we can see tacit knowledge right from the begin and following are some of them, Scientists gaining knowledge in the Biologic and therapeutic research Interdisciplinary leaning from scientists in therapeutic research The skills of the new employees in therapeutic research The lessons learnt from the Bayer collaboration for the management to explore more collaboration later with other pharmaceutical companies SECI Spiral According to Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), creation of knowledge is a spiral process involving explicit and tacit knowledge interactions and this will lead to new knowledge creation. The explicit and tacit knowledge combination in SECI model is been conceptualized into four stages and the figure 2 shows the four stages, Figure 2: SECI Knowledge Spiral Socialization in SECI believes that knowledge creation begins with the tacit acquisition of knowledge by people i.e. from people who know to people who dont know (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995: 62-4). From CellTech point of view it can be the new skills from the new scientists to the clubs of old and from the clubs of old the organizational process like research and development focus can be shared to the new employee. CellTech also created opportunity for the employee to socialize by having breakout area near the drug development labs. Externalization is the second stage in knowledge conversion where tacit knowledge is converted to explicit. Here individual tacit knowledge comes out and become explicit group knowledge (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995: 66). From the CellTech point of view the interdisciplinary learning will give opportunity to the team to learn the skills which they dont possess like chemist helping biologist team. Combination is the next stage where the knowledge is systematized and it happened when group of people synthesis various explicit source of knowledge into plans, documents or reports (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995: 67). From the CellTech point of all the review systems setup to monitor all the functions of the organizations will be the systemizing process for the knowledge management. Internalization is the fourth stage in the SECI and described as a process of personifying the explicit to tacit knowledge. Internalization can also be mention as learning explicit knowledge and doing thing through tacit knowledge (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995: 69). In CellTech case study we can see internalization when clinical trials move from one phase to another scientist pass on the experience drugs development and when CellTech used the Bayer collaboration experience to make more successful future collaboration also can be considered internalization. The knowledge conversion is considered to be a social process where from individual to group at different organizational levels the knowledge is amplified and crystallized as part of the organization knowledge network (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995: 73). This model assists the organization to manage the knowledge creation at various levels. The understanding of tacit and explicit knowledge in an organization is important before considering the knowledge capturing and creation and good understanding of both will help to identify what part of knowledge is important and to be shared. The controlled way of managing knowledge will help the organization to achieve the strategic goal easily. Coming to CellTech like organization where there is plenty of tacit knowledge, has to be formalized to a process to make it explicit. Hereby make it explicit help the organization to develop and create awareness of the knowledge i.e. clinical drug development experience from individual can be formally docum ents from the individual team and circulated to the other development teams so everyone will be aware of the particular situation or incident. Other Frameworks Learning Organization Garvins 5 Blocks As commonly said, to be ahead of competition, organization constantly must enhance the way the business is done. To enhance the business, organization must learn things much faster than their competitors. But more such enhancements in business fail because many mangers do not realize the importance of learning (Garvin, 1993). Garvin (1993) say if an organization wants to become a learning organization then it is recommended to master these five activities, Systematic problem solving Dont solve problem on gut instinct but rather used data. Experimentation with new approaches Bring small experiments to existing process and gain knowledge. Learning from their own experience and past history Review and use of learns learnt from the past Learning from the experiences and best practices of others Use of knowledge from the macro environment like competitor. Transferring knowledge effectively throughout the organization Initiating interdisciplinary and cross disciplinary learning environment to exchange and share knowledge. Social Learning I Space I-Space is a social learning conceptual model that relates to data structuring to data sharing within the organization (Boisot, 1995). This framework helps to analysis the dynamic flow of knowledge in two aspects i.e. structure and sharing of information, more you structure information more faster and extensively used. I-Space is otherwise represented as three dimensional model (figure 3) codification, abstraction and diffusion. Structuring of information will be presented by the codification and abstraction dimension and sharing of information will diffusion dimension (Boisot, 1995). Dalkir (2007) feels Boisot model is the integration of theoretical foundation of social learning and provides the link between information and knowledge management in a best way. He also suggest through this I-Space social cycle organization can manage their knowledge assets well we compare to other KM models. Figure 3: The Social Learning Cycle [Boisot 1998:60] Emotional Intelligence and Knowledge Transfer Emotional intelligence is being well aware of own feelings and of others in an organization, managing emotions well within our self and in others relationship (Mortiboys, 2005:7). According to McKenna (2006) it is more concerned with emotional action and social skill of individual. Nonaka (1994) belief the success and failure of knowledge management in an organization depends how the individual employee create and transfer knowledge with others so employee is the ultimate responsible person deciding the success. Higgs and Dulewicz (2002) discuss about seven elements like self awareness, emotional motivation and management, managing relationship with others will help individual more intelligent on any situation and also contribute towards team working. Knowledge Management potential issues and overcome CellTech Excess of exploitation or exploration competency trap During the 1980s CellTech was more comfortable in doing contract manufacturing and this period refers to Exploitation. When new CEO shifted the focus of the company to product development through RD collaboration and this period can be referred exploration. So as of the case study CellTech seems to have managed a balance between exploitation and exploration but considering the period of 10 years in contract manufacturing with very little focus on exploration gives a picture that CellTech prefers to stay on the comfort zone with exploration. When CellTech got into the cash burn and lost the support of share holders, then only realized to do something different from the usual. According to March (1991) organization prefer to stay either on exploitation or exploration in long run so this competency trap lead the organization for an inappropriate learning. To avoid competency trap CellTech should constantly create core competencies in its business to stay ahead of the competition and since core competencies are the ones which are not easily copied by other competitor. Change Management During the organizational change culture regularly becomes the focus of attention. Culture has vast impact on output and working environment of an organization (Boonstra, 2004). In the CellTech case study when the organizational change was going on after the appointment of new CEO, organizational cultural elements were not be considered for the change but instead top management were pushed to talk short term improvement decision to change current situations. Davenport Prusak (2000) believes the leader of the organization should understand the culture from the overall organization and community level to share knowledge. The change management will bring changes in the working culture of the individual and can impact the social learning cycle. Johnson and Scholes (2002) cultural web will help the organization to identify the cultural impact using the paradigm. CellTech should definitely use Culture web when going for any change management to audit the current cultural element and define the future culture based on the paradigm. This will help to re-mould value and behavior of the individuals and make then to feel better place to work and share knowledge. Classification of Knowledge Goh (2002) says Effectiveness of knowledge transfer depends on Type of knowledge that s being shared so CellTech should always recognize the different type of knowledge available and created in the organization i.e. the tacit and explicit knowledge. CellTech should use SECI model to develop supportive structure that encourage the transfer of knowledge between tacit and explicit. This framework will help CellTech to bring the tacit individual knowledge out to the group and final make other individual to internalize it. Since the focus of CellTech is in RD, there will be more tacit knowledge created at the end of each new development like personal experience of certain drug symptoms during the research. Relationship between source and recipient For the knowledge transfer to be effective the recipient and source should be in an intention to share and receive knowledge and if the recipient lack interest to absorb and retain the knowledge then it become a barrier to the knowledge transfer (Szulanski, 1996). The Clubs of old versus new scientist would be the best instance to take from CellTech, creating emotion intelligence among individuals and teams to make them aware of organization value of sharing and transferring knowledge. By increasing the value through emotional intelligence will create awareness subconsciously to drive everyone to share knowledge without drawing any boundaries. Creating breakout areas near lab will help certain extend to socialize people but creating awareness emotional will drive them to create opportunities by themselves. This would be the more share of tacit to tacit knowledge. Conclusion From the CellTech we can see the knowledge evolution and existence during different growth stages and it draws the organization to manage the knowledge effectively. By see the end part of the case study, it is clear that CellTech wanted to learn and monitor the organization by setting-up various review systems. This working document also have reviewed few potential issues in implementing knowledge management policy and the workaround solution to overcome using frameworks also have been suggested to understand knowledge cycle. Gavins (2002) say that Learning organizations are not build overnight and it has to be cultivated, processed steadily over time. In this report we have discussed various models and frameworks as part of knowledge management which can bring CellTech a great advantage in managing its business and stay competitive in the market. To form a learning organization it is highly reliant on exchange of experience and knowledge with others and as a result implementation of knowledge management will lead to increase in competitiveness.

The Bermuda Triangle Essay -- Bermuda Triangle Phenomenon Essays

The Bermuda Triangle Off the southern tip of Florida lies a phenomenon called the Bermuda Triangle. Ships, planes, and over one thousand lives were lost in the Triangle without a trace. Theories have been put forth, but still no universally accepted explanation exists for the mystery that surrounds the Bermuda Triangle. The Bermuda Triangle covers almost 440,000 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean. An imaginary line that begins near Melbourne, Florida, extends south to Bermuda, and west to Puerto Rico before turning north to Florida, forms the Triangle. From 1972-1999, more than one hundred planes and ships have vanished into thin air. More than one thousand lives have been lost as well. One frightening aspect of this entire saga is that disappearances continue to occur at an alarming rate. A small part of the Bermuda Triangle lies in the Sargasso Sea. This sea is best known for its tall, thick, floating seaweed called Sargassum. The seaweed is thought to be a forest that once rested on an island in the Atlantic Ocean. According to legend, the island sank at a very quick pace, taking with it the forest and vegetation. One of the most notable disappearances is that of Flight 19. This was basically what started the craze. The flight consisted of five Navy TBM Avenger torpedo bomber planes. Mechanics had certified the planes fit for flight. Flight planes were checked thoroughly and appropriately filed with the proper authorities. There were no indications that this mission would be anything other than a routine experience for the crews of these aircraft. Even the weather was cooperation. The forecast predicted clear skies and calm winds. Flight 19 left the Fort Lauderdale Airport at 2:10 p.m. on December 5, 1945. At 3:40 p.m. Lieutenant Robert Cox noticed his radio begin to crackle. The transmission seemed to be directed to 'Powers.' The person identified himself as FT-28, the call sign for Flight 19. FT-28 radioed that both of his compasses were out, and he was trying to find land.(Kusch) At 4:26 p.m. Fort Everglades Rescue intercepted a transmission from FT-28. Immediately, the rescue team called several stations along the coast and asked them to turn on their radar and attempt to locate the lost flight. At 6:04 p.m. Lieutenant Taylor radioed his flight crew to tell them they were off course and needed to adjust their course to a more ea... ...d have been set up by flying saucer. Dr. Stanley Krippner believed a black hole in space, called a vortex, existed where planes and ships that entered the Triangle did not come out. (Kusch) In spite of today?s advanced technology, scientists are no closer to solving the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. Only the stories exist to explain the loss of over one hundred planes and more than one thousand live to this ?Triangle of Terror.? The discovery of Flight 19 raised more questions than it answered. No matter how it?s looked at something does happen whether it has a scientific explanation or not in ?The Bermuda Triangle?. It can?t be denied that nothing happens there with all of the recorded tragedies on this area. The way to look at it is documentation is proof so it does exist. Works Cited Baumann, Elwood D. The Devil?s Triangle. Franklin Watts: New York, 1976 Berlitz, Charles. The Bermuda Triangle: An Incredible Saga of Unexplained Disappearances. Doubleday and Company, Inc.: New York, 1974 Burnvand, Jan Herold. ?Bermuda Triangle.? Encarta Encyclopedia. 1999 ed. Jeffrey, Kent Thomas. Triangle of Terror and Other Eerie Areas. Warner Books: New York, 1975

Mystery Surrounding the Phoenix Lights: Evidence of UFO Sighting? :: Expository Essays Research Papers

Mystery Surrounding the Phoenix Lights: Evidence of UFO Sighting? Abstract    The events that occurred in Phoenix on March 13, 1997 still have the world at a loss. A triangle (boomerang) shaped craft with seven lights on the main body and one trailing behind the rest appeared over Phoenix. Some believe that they were just flares used by the military, but others think that it was definitely extraterrestrial. Much evidence has been found, but the mystery remains.    On March 13, 1997, an inexplicable phenomenon took place in the sky over Phoenix, Arizona. Thousands of people witnessed the occurrence, and a few dozen even caught it on camera. The event was so astonishing that the most world-renowned news source, CNN, broadcast it on national television. Disappearing, the mind-boggling event left thousands, or even millions, in disbelief at what they had just witnessed. What was it? The world may never know. The V-shaped object that appeared in the sky that night over Phoenix has left every UFO fanatic and scientist in awe. There is no real explanation for the bright lights that took the shape of a huge boomerang from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Many have tried to explain what no one can, but for every scenario, there is an equally crazy explanation that proves it to be false. To this day, there is still no explanation that is completely rock-solid and can explain this extremely odd occurrence. Have the inhabitants of Phoenix been the victim of a huge hoax, or have the people been witness to one of the most conclusive UFO sightings in history?    Witnesses There are many people throughout Arizona that say that they saw what is being called the Phoenix lights. Officials received calls and reports of the sighting from as far south as Tucson to the Northwestern reaches of Kingman. Dozens of people videotaped the action that was taking place, and a few even said that they saw the boomerang shaped UFO fly overhead before the sightings. News crews covered as many witnesses as they could find, trying to reveal some sort of clarity or explanation to what was seen to set every mind at ease. The most conclusive evidence of a UFO sighting came from a family that CNN interviewed and made their cover story. The Ley family says they saw the object fly overhead before any of the occurrences later that night. Tim Ley and his son said, "When it finally got here and we realized this thing was coming right over us, we really started getting antsy.

Bengal Tiger Essay -- essays research papers

The Bengal Tiger   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Bengal tiger is a carnivorous, mammal primarily from India. It lives in habitats such as the coniferous Himalayan Forest, the mangroves of the Sunderbans, the hills of the Indian Peninsula, or the forests of Rajasthan and Northern India. At one time Bengal tigers were scattered throughout Asia. Now they are generally found in India and some regions of Bangledesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Myanmar. There is approximately 4,000 alive in the wild now, and about 300 are in captivity in zoos around the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bengal tiger’s are one of the largest and most feared cats in the cat family. An adult tiger can weigh any where from 350 to 550 pounds. The adult males weigh an average of 480 pounds, while the females weigh about 300. Their body lengths are between 6 and 9 feet long! A Bengal tiger hunts primarily deer, wild pigs, water buffalo, birds and other small mammals. When driven from hunger a this tiger will eat almost anything. Crocodiles, lizards, fish, and even humans are eaten by a frustrated Bengal tiger. They eat meat and only meat. Their style of attack is differant from the cheetah’s and the lion’s; who hunt in open habitats. Although it is a heavier predator than that of the lion and cheetah, it averages about 50 deer a year. Bengal tigers need a wide forest-like areas to hunt their prey. They are known to hunt alone, but have been found to hunt in packs. These tigers are semi-nocturnal, bec...

Psychotherapy Techniques

Psychotherapy involves a number of techniques used to improve mental health or emotional and behavioral issues. Three common techniques are psychoanalysis, cognitive therapy and behavior therapy. Although these may have some fundamental similarities, especially in their objectives, there are some ways in which these approaches are different. Psychoanalysis began with Freud. Trained as a neurologist, Freud began seeing neurological problems that had no biological basis in his clients. He therefore looked towards the mind for answers. Psychoanalysis is based on the belief that change will take place when an individual becomes more self- aware by bringing unconscious thoughts and feelings into the conscious. Behavior must be based more on reality than instinct. The basic method of psychoanalysis is the free association method, where the client is directed to say whatever comes to mind on hearing a particular word. The analyst listens well and interprets the patterns and inhibitions in the patient's speech and behavior the analyst's main job is to help the patient to free his mind from unconscious barriers or past patterns of thought relatedness that are no longer helpful to the client. Recent psychoanalysis techniques try to help clients gain better trust in themselves, self -esteem and overcome the fear of death. Psychoanalysts believe that a more insight-oriented approach is to be used with healthier clients and a more supportive approach with more disturbed clients. This type of analysis is thought to be useful in clients with personality problems and neuroses, problems of intimacy and relationships. Psychoanalysis may include the client examining his relationship with the therapist. This is not included in cognitive or behavioral therapy. Cognitive therapy which also has its foundation in the concept of distorted thoughts and how they influence behavior uses a different technique for helping the client. The emphasis here is more on distorted thoughts interfering with the reality than on patterns of the client's personality as in the psychoanalytical model. The central premise is that our thoughts mediate between the stimuli in the environment and our emotions. Therefore a stimulus elicits a thought which in turn might stimulate a particular emotion, especially if that thought is an evaluative judgment. Cognitive therapists suggest that psychological distress is caused by distorted thoughts about stimuli giving rise to distressed emotions. In short, faulty thoughts cause psychological problems and therefore changing our thought patterns will lead to mental healing and changes in behavior. The analyst therefore attempts to help the client become aware of these distorted thoughts and the behavioral patterns which are re-enforcing these distorted thoughts and then to help the client correct them. The analyst has to understand the experiences from the client's point of view, unlike in psychoanalysis where the analyst only listens and points out insights to the client. The cognitive analyst then helps the client explore these distressed thoughts and put them against reality. The distorted thoughts are replaced by more accurate thoughts about the client and his life. Since this therapy is geared towards modifying people's core beliefs, it has been found to be more effective in treating conditions such as depression, substance abuse, anxiety disorders, eating disorders and phobias. A major difference observed with behavioral therapy is that it is focused on behaviors that are observable and measurable rather than on cognitions as in the two previous therapies. Behavioral therapy relies on principles of operant conditioning, classical conditioning and social learning theory. Generally behavior therapy works by changing the client's behavior through use of rewards, reinforcements and desensitization. There are many different techniques that are used by behavior therapists, including self-management, biofeedback, role-playing, modelling,etc. Unlike psychoanalysis and cognitive therapy, the client practices a particular behavior, accompanied by a reward or reinforcement of that positive behavior until change in behavior has taken place. Similar to cognitive therapy, behavior therapy is not generally used in dealing with issues of relationships. In some instances cognitive and behavior therapy are combined in one technique- cognitive-behavioral – where the analysts helps the client to understand the thinking behind his behavior while practicing alternative behaviors.