Analysis of Iron and Silk by Mark Salzman Essay -- Iron and Silk China

Analysis of Iron and Silk by Mark Salzman This book was given to me by a good friend who knew that I had an interest in Asia. I chose to read it because it was a true story and was told that it was a good read.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The author travels to China as an English teacher for the Hunan Medical School. There he stayed for two years picking up many anecdotes along the way. The author already had spent a large amount of his life studying Chinese language and the martial arts. However, when he arrives in China he meets teachers who have dedicated their entire lives to perfecting a particular art or skill, whether it be martial arts or calligraphy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mark Salzman was perfecting his calligraphy skills and as weeks had passed he began to make progress. He was getting tired of the models and wanted to try something new. When he told Hai Bin,(his teacher), he frowned and said,†Some people spend their entire lives researching a single model. You should be willing to spend a year on this one.† This is an example of the dedication and perseverance these men have towards their chosen artform or skill. Another example of this theme, was Mark’s Wushu teacher, Pan, who punched a fifty pound plate of steel up to ten thousand times a day. Mark’s relentless practicing of the many forms of Wushu was influenced by Pan.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Salzman also showed that there was great oppression. The people of China were under constant surveillance and control. Rarely were they able to make important decisions f...

Original Beauty Company’s Motivational Practices and Reward Systems: Theories of Motivation

Motivation is a word used to refer to the reason or reasons for engaging in a particular behaviour especially human behaviour. These reasons may include a drive, a need, a desire to achieve a goal, a state of being, or an ideal. In human beings, motivation involves both conscious and subconscious drives. http://www. internet-of-the-mind. com/define_motivation. html Following the Original Beauty Company’s detail, I would pick up some methods of motivations which have been used ‘The factory employs 10 people who work a 40 hours week and are currently paid either ?250 per week or ?275 per week if they have been with the company for three years. Herzberg’s hygiene needs is salary and status such as the factory paid 40 hours for ?250 per week and ?275 per week if they work about 3 years. Herzberg addressed money particularly referring specifically to salary. Herzberg acknowledged the complexity of the salary issue money, earnings†¦.. and concluded that money is no t a primary motivators but achievement and recognition. The method of its motivation is Herzberg, the theory of Herzberg believed that pay was not the only motivator and came up with his theory, which had two elements to it such as hygiene factors and motivators. For an employee to be motivated, all the hygiene (maintenance) factors have to be met first and then the motivators can be used to make them work harder. ‘There have been no pay increases for the last three years and labour turnover is 80% a year. ’ The company paid wages for staffs about 80% labour turnover, it is really bad because it is very high. This will affect to the company’s profits. ‘There is no training and newcomers are expected to learn the jobs by doing them. ’ Following Herzberg’s theory, the company have not trained staff to lead on staff to unable to know new methods or technology. These also will lead on de-motivation. ‘The filling and packing lines employ 8 people who are paid ?222 per week for a 37 hours week†¦.. Sometimes, at quite time of the year, they are laid off but receive a retainer of ?75 per week to ensure they do not take permanent work elsewhere†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. This group is well established with some employees having worked at the company for 20 years or more. They enjoy each others’ company and socialise as well as work together. ’ Herzberg’s theory in the hygiene factors relate on salary such as the factory would pay ?75 per week even through the factory are laid off, his helps the factory to retain staff. However, Herzberg said that offering pay rewards or increasing salary may not motivate employees but inadequate pay will de-motivate them. Moreover, the theory also relate on Mayo theory such as ‘†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ they enjoy each others’ company and socialise as well as wor k together. ’ Mayo said that social needs are the most important motivation e. g. working in small groups and social activities. The warehouse staff work 37. 5 hours per week and are paid ?280 per week. They have been told that they should pack and despatch 40 cases per day each. Unsurprisingly, this target is never exceeded and has usually been met just after lunchtime each day. The reason which the target never exceeded and usually been met just after lunchtime each day, maybe the company have not got policies such as have to obtain the target and create rewards and threaten punishment them if not obtain the target. Following Taylor theory, he put forward the case that workers were only motivated by money, so work must be linked to payment. A manager should motivate a worker by using pay as an incentive and threaten them with less money or the sack if they did not work to the best of their ability. There are four office staffs that work a 35 hours week and are paid an average annual salary of ?22,500. They have the most pleasant working conditions of all staff in the company. They realise that they have to ensure a continuing flow of order and work hard in obtaining and processing orders and solving customer problems. They are the public face of the company and feel rewarded by the constant position feedback they receive from suppliers and customers. ’ The staffs are the most pleasant working condition, looking back Herzberg’s theory, he also mentions work condition. He stated that there are certain satisfiers and dissatisfies for employees at work. Intrinsic factors are related to job satisfaction, while extrinsic factors are associated with dissatisfaction. He devised his theory on the question: â€Å"What do people want from their jobs? † He asked people to describe in detail, such situations when they felt exceptionally good or exceptionally bad. From the responses that he received, he concluded that opposite of satisfaction is not dissatisfaction. Removing dissatisfying characteristics from a job does not necessarily make the job satisfying. So, the office staffs are motivated and Herzberg said that Herzberg’s motivation theory involves what people actually do on the job and should be engineered into the job employees do in other to develop intrinsic motivation with the workforce such as feedback and recognition. Both these approaches such as hygiene and motivation must be done simultaneously. Treat people as best you can so they have a minimum of dissatisfaction. Use people so they get achievement, recognition fro achievement and responsibility they can grow and advance in their work. There is one factory manager who is paid ?26,000 per annum. The three section managers who run the different parts of the factory receive an annual salary of round ?19,000. Non of them are qualified beyond level three. The managers are expected to work for as long as is needed to solve any problem that arise when the factory. ‘There is no training and newcomers are expected to learn the jobs by doing them. ’ Although the managers have lots of experiences but they have not got enough qualifications to manage their role. However, the company also do not give an opportunity to improve their knowledge. Self-actualization is the summit of Maslow's motivation theory. It is about the quest of reaching one's full potential as a person. Unlike lower level needs, this need is never fully satisfied; as one grows psychologically there are always new opportunities to continue to grow. Self-actualized persons have frequent occurrences of peak experiences, which are energized moments of profound happiness and harmony. The way to motive workers is to offer the opportunity of satisfying higher needs. Staffs only work within their own sections. So, example, when the warehouses staffs have meet their daily output quote, they are not required to help out on the packing lines if they are busy. There is little willingness to take responsibility when difficulties arise with each department seeking to blame other departments. The company is not unionised†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Following Maslow theory about esteem needs such as responsibility, strategies such as increasing responsibility may be used to motivate workers. Fringe benefits are limited to discounted company products and a subsidised canteen. Meetings of staff are only called if there are problems and communication is top down†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Limiting to discount company products and a subsidised canteen also are not staff satisfaction, in Maslow theory, if basic needs such as safe working conditions or essential facility such as a restaurant which do not met or basic benefits which staff needs but it does not meet, workers will remain de-motivated. According to this theory, if these needs are not satisfied, then an individual will surely be motivated to satisfy them. Higher order needs will not be recognized not unless one satisfies the needs that are basic to existence. These mean that Maslow said the lower ranking needs such as the need of food and water were more basic. He outlined the basic needs have to be met first before employees can be motivated. His theory is known as the Hierarchy of Needs.

Preventing Genetic Disorders With Gene-therapy Essay

Ten years ago researchers from the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Japan and China sat down and began developing the most important map ever made. Instead of roads and landmarks, this was a map of letters. It was â€Å"a rough map of the 3 billion letters of genetic instructions that make us who [we] are† (â€Å"First†). On Monday, 26 June 2000, the researchers announced that the map of the human genome was complete.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;On 26 June 2000 the news of the completion of the human genome was on all the major news wires, televisions and newspapers. What does it mean though? How will this help mankind? One area to which this knowledge can be applied is in the area of gene-therapy. Gene-therapy is†¦show more content†¦When a blood vessel is cut or ruptured, a dozen or more proteins will go to work causing the blood to clot. If any one of these proteins fails to do its part, the clotting process will be slow or non-existent. This can cause an individual with a small cut to bleed to death. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Another more common genetic disorder is Sickle-Cell Anemia. This is a recessive disorder in which afflicted individuals have defective molecules of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a protein within red blood cells used for carrying oxygen. The mutation causes the hemoglobin molecules to stick together forming a sickle-shaped cell. These cells have trouble moving through the smallest blood vessels and tend to build up, blocking the vessel. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;As stated earlier, most diseases are caused by recessive alleles. This means that both parents would have to carry the recessive allele in order for it to be passed on to their offspring. There are, however, a few genetic diseases that are caused by dominate alleles. One such disease is Huntington’s. Approximately 1 in 24,000 individuals develop this disease. This disease causes progressive deterioration of brain cells. Unlike recessive genetic disorders, all individuals carrying this allele will display the disorder. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;While researchers are still working on a cure for genetic disorders, there are a number of ways the physicians are able toShow MoreRelatedGene Therapy And Its Effects On The Body895 Words   |  4 PagesGene therapy is a relatively new practice in genetics that aims to correct mutations at a molecular level instead of using drugs or surgical approaches. Different approaches to gene therapy include gene augmentation therapy, gene inhibition therapy, the killing of specific cells, somatic gene therapy, and germ line gene therapy. 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