The Handmaids Tale Plot Analysis Essay - 1913 Words

The Handmaids Tale is written by Margaret Atwood and was originally published by McClelland and Stewart in 1985. The novel is set in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Handmaids Tale explores themes of a new totalitarian theocratic state society that is terrifying and horrific. Its main concentration is on the subjugation of women in Gilead, and it also explores the plethora of means by which the state and agencies gain control and domination against every aspect of these womens lives. Restrictive dress codes also play an important factor as a means of social order and control in this new society. Offred, not her real name but the name given to her by her occupation, is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. The Republic of Gilead is a†¦show more content†¦She had a former husband named Luke, and they had a little daughter together before the new regime took over. Offreds purpose is to serve the Commander and his wife, Serena Joy. When Offred is at the crucial point in her menstrual cycle when she is most fertile, the Commander must have passionless sex with Offred in order to accomplish the objective of impregnating her. This is Offreds third attempt; she was not successful with the two Commanders before this one. If Offred fails again she will be declared an Unwoman and sent to the colonies for hard labor. Offreds freedom is completely restricted. She can not have the door to her room totally shut, and she can leave the house only on specific purposeful trips such as to visit the wall or for purchasing grocery items. All the while, Gileads secret police forces, known only as ‘Eyes, are scrutinizing every move she makes. As the female narrators reads the story to the audience we realize that she often has flashbacks to former times, when the United States was still a nation. She recalls the happier times she had with her mother, her close friends, and her lover and husband Luck. In the Pre-Gilead period, she also had a little daughter, June, with Luck. Offreds mother was a single mother and feminist activist. Her best friend was Moira, who was also fiercely independent. Using the military, the founders ofShow MoreRelatedTheme Of Women In The Handmaids Tale1784 Words   |  8 PagesThroughout history, women have been shamed and oppressed in different aspects of life. In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the oppression of women continues into the dystopian future. One cannot read The Handmaid’s Tale without seeing the problems of gender separation among roles and treatment in society. Although a feminist story, The Handmaid’s Tale gives some surprisingly sympathetic portrayals of men while those of women can be critical. Men are the most mysterious characters; theyRead More`` The Road `` By Cormac Mccarthy2000 Words   |  8 PagesLiterature has always been a medium to express writer’s concerns; in her award winning book The Handmaids Tale Margaret Atwood warns of the instability in our patriarchal society, likewise Cormac McCarthy in his acclaimed book The Road also gives a warning; that of the fragility of hum an nature. Using the setting of hostile, post-apocalyptic America these authors explore what happens to both individuals and the wider society when rights and basic human necessities are taken away. Atwood createsRead MoreEssay on Silent Spring - Rachel Carson30092 Words   |  121 Pagescom/studyguide-silentspring/ Copyright Information  ©2000-2007 BookRags, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The following sections of this BookRags Premium Study Guide is offprint from Gales For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further

Fahrenheit 451 Technology Essay - 1611 Words

As Montag sets a single book into flames, a meaningful conversation dies, dragging intelligent thoughts into the ground with it. From â€Å"Seashell Radio† sets and Spotify on Bluetooth to the story-telling power that television strips away from literature, Bradbury looks more than 64 years into the future in Fahrenheit 451 to predict the fatal outcome of the technology-infested intelligence, or the lack thereof. The invention of TV, Radio, headphones, iPods, and much more, along with a rapidly increasing gain of access to technology has created a civilization that is dependent on a battery as they are on their own heart. This dependency has sculpted a 1984-sort of society that Bradbury can explain just as well as Orwell. Ranging from†¦show more content†¦Most people would rather look on the internet instead of read a book. This is similar in the book because they rely on technology more than books. Many of today’s technologies were predicted by Ray Bradbury. F or example, Montag owns a television that takes up three walls. people do have these, and even average people sometimes have very large TV’s. Some other examples are voice activated commands, all types of communication devices, and earbuds or as he called them, â€Å"seashells†. â€Å"And in her ears the little Seashells, the thimble radios tamped tight, and an electronic ocean of sound, of music and talk and music and talk coming in, coming in on the shore of her unsleeping mind† (Bradbury 10). In Fahrenheit 451, America is at war and no one even cares. This is true to a measure in today’s society as well. The book has much in common with real life evidenced by the fact that TVs are available in each home, and everyone uses them. That may have appeared to be outrageous at that time, but it is not that entirely different from the world today. Most homes have no less than one TV screen in full color. In today’s society, we are always wanting more in advanced technology. Not only do we want more advanced technology we also what them to work faster. We want things done faster without any effort. Higher speed internet, faster cars, and better cell phone connections. Fahrenheit 451 society is very similar to our own. Other than having advanced technologyShow MoreRelatedFahrenheit 451 Technology Essay1263 Words   |  6 Pagesthe ubiquitous presence of technology, it would be difficult to believe that is wasn t always around. Today, everything is incorporated with technology, from entertainment to communication, from travel to skin care, and newly, from surveillance to control. In his science fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, published just as technology was beginning to make its appearance in people s everyday lives, author Ray Bradbury describes a distant future and the omnipotence of technology in it. Ray Bradbury was anRead MoreFahrenheit 451 Technology Essay1585 Words   |  7 PagesThe Detriments of a Digitized Era Set in a futuristic society, Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 revolves around Guy Montag, a fireman who is employed to burn books and arrest those who have books in their possession. Montag starts off as the average fireman, one who does not question societal norms, especially those relating to books and other sources of knowledge. However, as the story goes on, Montag begins to reevaluate his stance on this topic, especially after he witnesses a woman die duringRead MoreFahrenheit 451 Technology Essay1291 Words   |  6 PagesIn Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the society’s technology driven world leads the people to lose their own sense of curiosity. Without the ability to think, the people living in this society live in a mindless state, as a person with curiosity is able to start asking questions. Furthermore, the people’s minds are only focused on technology, which leads them to isolation from a real conversation that does not include senseless mea ning. The people’s isolation withholds them from outside contact, leavingRead MoreFarenheit451/Gattaca, Relationship Between Man and Machine1243 Words   |  5 PagesENGLISH ESSAY Science fiction is a genre of fiction revolving around science and technology, usually conveying the dystopian alternative future context, the pessimistic resultant of society. Ray Bradbury s Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and Andrew Niccols Gattaca (1997) both explore the values and concerns of human existence. Despite the difference in context, Gattaca and Fahrenheit 451 both extrapolate the relationship between man and machine in a metaphorical sense. Both pose similar dystopian conceptsRead MoreAnalysis Of Ray Bradbury s Fahrenheit 451 875 Words   |  4 PagesBatra Ross-1 Aug 29. 2014 Fahrenheit 451 Essay The Role of Technology as a Theme in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 The average person in our society spends 7-8 hours a day(The Washington Post) using technology; that is stuff like television, video games, surfing the web, etc. Let that set in; that’s a long time. Our society procrastinates also is constantly distracted by technology like no other. We are practically glued to technology; before we become slaves of technology we must change that. TheRead MoreAnnotated Bibliography : Ray Bradbury1077 Words   |  5 PagesFahrenheit 451: Ray Bradbury An Annotated Bibliography Johnston, Amy E. Boyle. â€Å"Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451 Misinterpreted.† L.A. Weekly, 4 Apr. 2016, Http://Www.laweekly.com/News/Ray-Bradbury-Fahrenheit-451-Misinterpreted-2149125. This article is about the author having an interview with Ray Bradbury about how people are mistreated because they was been kept uninformed and ignorant about censorship when its really about technology destroying the use ofRead MoreEssay about Fahrenheit 451 as a Criticism of Censorship943 Words   |  4 PagesFahrenheit 451 as a Criticism of Censorship      Ã‚  Ã‚   Ray Bradbury criticizes the censorship of the early 1950s by displaying these same themes in a futuristic dystopia novel called Fahrenheit 451. In the early 1950s Ray Bradbury writes this novel as an extended version of The Fireman, a short story which first appears in Galaxy magazine. He tries to show the readers how terrible censorship and mindless conformity is by writing about this in his novel.    In Fahrenheit 451, BradburyRead MoreRay Bradbury s Fahrenheit 4511360 Words   |  6 Pages Ray Bradbury and his Fahrenheit 451 Future Technology has had many great contributions, but is it destroying America as author Ray Bradbury foreseen back in the 1950’s. The intent of this paper is to explain how Fahrenheit 451, which was written over 65 years ago, has begun to come true in some aspects of American society today. The intended audience for this paper is fellow students who have not read this novel, and the professor. Ray Bradbury’s role in Fahrenheit 451 is to help readers understandRead MoreFahrenheit 451 Critical Essay1607 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Lintang Syuhada 13150024 Book Report 1 Fahrenheit 451 Critical Essay Human beings are naturally curious. We are always in search of better ideas, and new solutions to problems. One of a basic idea of Indonesia has been freedom of thinking and a free flow of ideas. But in some societies, governments try to keep their people ignorant. Usually, this is so governments can keep people under control and hold on to their power. In trying to keep people from the realities of the world, these oppressiveRead MoreInsider in Fahrenheit 451 and Extra, a Thousand Years of Good Prayers1646 Words   |  7 Pagesperson in part of the society. They obey and converge in the social value which set up by the government. In both Fahrenheit 451 and A thousand years of good prayers, we see that there is several of characters absorb the knowledge and social value. These characters are under controlled and they find it is a right way in obeying the structure of the society. ‘Outsider’ in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury represents to the main character Montag an d other characters such as Clarisse, Faber, the woman burnt

Creative Photography Module Free Essays

What makes a photographer influential? Photographers capture emotion, represent stories, and convey history. If you look at portraits of modern celebrities, you are likely to come across the name Annie Leibniz. She has taken portraits of everyone from John Lennox and Queen Elizabeth II to Michael Jackson and Bill Gates. We will write a custom essay sample on Creative Photography Module or any similar topic only for you Order Now Her photographs have appeared in a number of different fashion and music magazines over the course of her career. Leibniz was born in Waterbury, Connecticut in 1949. Her father was a member of the United States Air Force, and the family moved frequently around the world. It was in the Philippines that Leibniz took some of her first photographs, and her interest in art and music flourished in high school. Returning to the United States after living in Israel, Leibniz took a Job with Rolling Stone magazine. Her first cover image appeared on January 12, 1971, and she became the chief photographer for the magazine in 1973. For the next ten years, her style of photographing celebrities helped to define not only the magazine that she worked for, but also the style of portraits that appeared in other magazines and mediums. In the sass, Leibniz left Rolling Stone and went to work for Vanity Fair, continuing to photograph celebrities for the magazine. Leibniz continues to photograph celebrities, producing often- talked-about portraits. 1 1. 2 Ansell Adams Ansell Adams is credited with moving photography into the realm of fine art. Known for his black and white photographs of the western United States, Adams took landscape photographs that brought remote places to people long before travel was possible and highlighted environmental concerns. Ansell Adams, born in February 1902 in San Francisco, California, was an only child. Drawn to nature at an early age, e explored the sea coast and collected insects. He was also trained as a concert pianist. During a family trip to Yosemite National Park, Adams’ father gave him a Kodak Brownie camera, beginning his love for photography. Adams returned to the park the following year to do more photography. He learned darkroom techniques by working part time for a photo finisher. At seventeen, Adams Joined the Sierra Club, a group dedicated to preserving natural spaces, and spent several summers as the caretaker for its lodge in the Yosemite Valley. In 1921, Adams sold his first photographs. Despite experimenting with different photograph techniques, Adams referred realism. In 1927, he completed his first portfolio and earned about $3,900, which led to commercial assignments for portraits. By 1931, Adams had his first solo museum exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution that featured sixty photographs he had taken of the Sierra Mountains. With Edward Weston, M. H. De Young Museum, and Imagine Cunningham, Adams formed Group f/64, with a commitment to â€Å"straight† photography instead of artistic interpretation. The name came from the small aperture setting (f/64) which gave the greatest depth of field for a photograph. Adams also opened his own photography gallery in San Francisco. One of Adams’ contributions to photography was the development of his Zone System. The Zone System was a way of adjusting the exposure in a photograph to maximize shadows and highlights. It separated the tones between white and black into eleven different zones that corresponded to an f/stop, with middle gray at the center. The system helped to correctly expose a photograph to avoid being under- or overexposed. A photographer would choose an area of the photograph, meter the area, and then adjust the exposure using the system to put the area of the photograph into the exposure that best measures the area. For example, if you are photographing a mountain scene, bright snow might be metered at a zone V (5), but you want it at a zone IX (9). Using the system, you would know to increase the f/stop by four f/stops to get the exposure that you want for the photograph. The Zone System was later applied to color film and with digital images. 1 1. Edward Weston Edward Weston emphasized the beauty of natural form. His photographs reveal and focus on the natural form of a single item, taken in sharp detail. His photographs are among the most expensive ever sold. Edward Weston was born in Highland Park, Illinois in 1886. He received his first camera, a Kodak Bulls-Eye No. 2, as a present for his sixteenth birthday. He took the camera on a family vacation in the Midwest before buying a 5 x 7 camera and beginning to learn darkroom techniques. Soon, he was photographing Chicago parks and the areas around his aunt’s farm. In 1906, he submitted a photograph to Camera and Darkroom, which published the photograph in a full-page reproduction. In 1906, Weston moved to California, but moved back to Illinois a year later to attend the Illinois School of Photography. After finishing the coursework, Weston again moved to California and began work in several hoteliers’ studios, learning the business. In 1911, he opened â€Å"The Little Studio† and took photographs of children and friends, gaining recognition for his work. In the sass, Weston attention shifted to the everyday objects such as seashells, fruits, and vegetables. Weston began the â€Å"Edward Weston Print of the Month† to create income. For five dollars a month, subscribers received a limited edition print from his work. Success was minimal with only about eleven subscribers to the program. In 1937, Weston received the first ever Guggenheim Foundation grant for a photographer, which allowed Weston to travel and photograph. The following year, he received another grant and published Seeing California with Edward Weston, another publication of his travels, in 1939. The following year, California and the West was published. In 1945, Weston began to exhibit signs of Parkinson disease. By 1948, he was no longer physically able to use a camera but continued to exhibit his work and publish some of the photographs that he had taken earlier in his life. He died in 1958. One of his favorite beaches, and the subject of many photographs in Point Lobos, California, was later renamed Weston Beach in his honor. 1 1. 4 Throated Lange Best remembered for her images of the Southern poor and those starting over in the West, Throated Lange documented the hard times of the Depression era and revealed social difficulties. Her iconic images have come to be the face of the Depression. Lange was born in 1895 in Hoboken, New Jersey. After a childhood marked by polio, Lange became an informal apprentice in several New York photography studios. She moved to San Francisco in 1918 and opened her own studio. When the Great Depression hit the United States in the late sass, Lange was moved to document the people hardest hit by the financial crisis. She was hired by the Resettlement Administration, later renamed the Farm Security Administration. Lane’s photographic focus was the unemployed and homeless. In 1941, Lange worked for the War Relocation Authority to document the forced evacuation of Japanese Americans on the West Coast to relocation camps. She photographed the relocation process and the lives of the Japanese Americans in the camps, focusing most of her attention on Manager, one of the first permanent relocation camps in California. The government considered the photographs too critical of the relocation and impounded them; they are now available for viewing through the National Archives. After WI, Lange continued her work in photography with a slightly different position than her earlier social commentary work. Ansell Adams offered Lange a faculty position at the California School of Fine Arts, which had the first fine arts photography department. Lange also helped to co-found the photography magazine Aperture. In 1965, at the age of 70, Throated Lange died of esophageal cancer. As a woman, Lange also served as an inspiration for other female photographers working in a field that was at that time dominated by men. 11. 5 Alfred Assassinated Called the â€Å"father of photojournalism,† Alfred Assassinated is known for his candid hotplates and spontaneous moments. Essentialist’s most famous image is of a United States sailor in uniform kissing a woman in a white dress, taken on the day that World War II ended. Assassinated was born in Germany in 1898. His interest in photography began when he was given a Kodak camera at the age of fourteen. After serving in the German army during World War l, Assassinated began working as a freelance photographer. He sold his first photograph in the sass and began taking photographs for the agency that would become the Associated Press in 1928. In 1935, Assassinated immigrated to the United States, as Germany became more oppressive awards Jews. He would reside in New York for the rest of his life and work for Life magazine for more than thirty-five years. During his career, Assassinated photographed musicians, politicians, writers, and royalty. But his candid photographs, often of unknown people, became his legacy and illustrated the need to be ready to capture spontaneous moments. Assassinated said, â€Å"l still use, most of the time, existing light and try not to push people around. I have to be as much a diplomat as a photographer. People often don’t take me seriously because I carry so little equipment and make so little fuss. † How to cite Creative Photography Module, Papers

Creative Photography Module Free Essays

What makes a photographer influential? Photographers capture emotion, represent stories, and convey history. If you look at portraits of modern celebrities, you are likely to come across the name Annie Leibniz. She has taken portraits of everyone from John Lennox and Queen Elizabeth II to Michael Jackson and Bill Gates. We will write a custom essay sample on Creative Photography Module or any similar topic only for you Order Now Her photographs have appeared in a number of different fashion and music magazines over the course of her career. Leibniz was born in Waterbury, Connecticut in 1949. Her father was a member of the United States Air Force, and the family moved frequently around the world. It was in the Philippines that Leibniz took some of her first photographs, and her interest in art and music flourished in high school. Returning to the United States after living in Israel, Leibniz took a Job with Rolling Stone magazine. Her first cover image appeared on January 12, 1971, and she became the chief photographer for the magazine in 1973. For the next ten years, her style of photographing celebrities helped to define not only the magazine that she worked for, but also the style of portraits that appeared in other magazines and mediums. In the sass, Leibniz left Rolling Stone and went to work for Vanity Fair, continuing to photograph celebrities for the magazine. Leibniz continues to photograph celebrities, producing often- talked-about portraits. 1 1. 2 Ansell Adams Ansell Adams is credited with moving photography into the realm of fine art. Known for his black and white photographs of the western United States, Adams took landscape photographs that brought remote places to people long before travel was possible and highlighted environmental concerns. Ansell Adams, born in February 1902 in San Francisco, California, was an only child. Drawn to nature at an early age, e explored the sea coast and collected insects. He was also trained as a concert pianist. During a family trip to Yosemite National Park, Adams’ father gave him a Kodak Brownie camera, beginning his love for photography. Adams returned to the park the following year to do more photography. He learned darkroom techniques by working part time for a photo finisher. At seventeen, Adams Joined the Sierra Club, a group dedicated to preserving natural spaces, and spent several summers as the caretaker for its lodge in the Yosemite Valley. In 1921, Adams sold his first photographs. Despite experimenting with different photograph techniques, Adams referred realism. In 1927, he completed his first portfolio and earned about $3,900, which led to commercial assignments for portraits. By 1931, Adams had his first solo museum exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution that featured sixty photographs he had taken of the Sierra Mountains. With Edward Weston, M. H. De Young Museum, and Imagine Cunningham, Adams formed Group f/64, with a commitment to â€Å"straight† photography instead of artistic interpretation. The name came from the small aperture setting (f/64) which gave the greatest depth of field for a photograph. Adams also opened his own photography gallery in San Francisco. One of Adams’ contributions to photography was the development of his Zone System. The Zone System was a way of adjusting the exposure in a photograph to maximize shadows and highlights. It separated the tones between white and black into eleven different zones that corresponded to an f/stop, with middle gray at the center. The system helped to correctly expose a photograph to avoid being under- or overexposed. A photographer would choose an area of the photograph, meter the area, and then adjust the exposure using the system to put the area of the photograph into the exposure that best measures the area. For example, if you are photographing a mountain scene, bright snow might be metered at a zone V (5), but you want it at a zone IX (9). Using the system, you would know to increase the f/stop by four f/stops to get the exposure that you want for the photograph. The Zone System was later applied to color film and with digital images. 1 1. Edward Weston Edward Weston emphasized the beauty of natural form. His photographs reveal and focus on the natural form of a single item, taken in sharp detail. His photographs are among the most expensive ever sold. Edward Weston was born in Highland Park, Illinois in 1886. He received his first camera, a Kodak Bulls-Eye No. 2, as a present for his sixteenth birthday. He took the camera on a family vacation in the Midwest before buying a 5 x 7 camera and beginning to learn darkroom techniques. Soon, he was photographing Chicago parks and the areas around his aunt’s farm. In 1906, he submitted a photograph to Camera and Darkroom, which published the photograph in a full-page reproduction. In 1906, Weston moved to California, but moved back to Illinois a year later to attend the Illinois School of Photography. After finishing the coursework, Weston again moved to California and began work in several hoteliers’ studios, learning the business. In 1911, he opened â€Å"The Little Studio† and took photographs of children and friends, gaining recognition for his work. In the sass, Weston attention shifted to the everyday objects such as seashells, fruits, and vegetables. Weston began the â€Å"Edward Weston Print of the Month† to create income. For five dollars a month, subscribers received a limited edition print from his work. Success was minimal with only about eleven subscribers to the program. In 1937, Weston received the first ever Guggenheim Foundation grant for a photographer, which allowed Weston to travel and photograph. The following year, he received another grant and published Seeing California with Edward Weston, another publication of his travels, in 1939. The following year, California and the West was published. In 1945, Weston began to exhibit signs of Parkinson disease. By 1948, he was no longer physically able to use a camera but continued to exhibit his work and publish some of the photographs that he had taken earlier in his life. He died in 1958. One of his favorite beaches, and the subject of many photographs in Point Lobos, California, was later renamed Weston Beach in his honor. 1 1. 4 Throated Lange Best remembered for her images of the Southern poor and those starting over in the West, Throated Lange documented the hard times of the Depression era and revealed social difficulties. Her iconic images have come to be the face of the Depression. Lange was born in 1895 in Hoboken, New Jersey. After a childhood marked by polio, Lange became an informal apprentice in several New York photography studios. She moved to San Francisco in 1918 and opened her own studio. When the Great Depression hit the United States in the late sass, Lange was moved to document the people hardest hit by the financial crisis. She was hired by the Resettlement Administration, later renamed the Farm Security Administration. Lane’s photographic focus was the unemployed and homeless. In 1941, Lange worked for the War Relocation Authority to document the forced evacuation of Japanese Americans on the West Coast to relocation camps. She photographed the relocation process and the lives of the Japanese Americans in the camps, focusing most of her attention on Manager, one of the first permanent relocation camps in California. The government considered the photographs too critical of the relocation and impounded them; they are now available for viewing through the National Archives. After WI, Lange continued her work in photography with a slightly different position than her earlier social commentary work. Ansell Adams offered Lange a faculty position at the California School of Fine Arts, which had the first fine arts photography department. Lange also helped to co-found the photography magazine Aperture. In 1965, at the age of 70, Throated Lange died of esophageal cancer. As a woman, Lange also served as an inspiration for other female photographers working in a field that was at that time dominated by men. 11. 5 Alfred Assassinated Called the â€Å"father of photojournalism,† Alfred Assassinated is known for his candid hotplates and spontaneous moments. Essentialist’s most famous image is of a United States sailor in uniform kissing a woman in a white dress, taken on the day that World War II ended. Assassinated was born in Germany in 1898. His interest in photography began when he was given a Kodak camera at the age of fourteen. After serving in the German army during World War l, Assassinated began working as a freelance photographer. He sold his first photograph in the sass and began taking photographs for the agency that would become the Associated Press in 1928. In 1935, Assassinated immigrated to the United States, as Germany became more oppressive awards Jews. He would reside in New York for the rest of his life and work for Life magazine for more than thirty-five years. During his career, Assassinated photographed musicians, politicians, writers, and royalty. But his candid photographs, often of unknown people, became his legacy and illustrated the need to be ready to capture spontaneous moments. Assassinated said, â€Å"l still use, most of the time, existing light and try not to push people around. I have to be as much a diplomat as a photographer. People often don’t take me seriously because I carry so little equipment and make so little fuss. † How to cite Creative Photography Module, Papers

Modern Organisations by Amitai Etzioni free essay sample

The same problem attends measuring efficiency and such related concepts as output, productivity and costs. The distortion of goals that arises from over – measurement of some aspects of the organizations output to the detriment of others is a larger category of distortion that arise in the relations of organizations to their goals. Distortions due to over measurement are comparatively mild, since the main goals of the organization remain intact, though certain aspects of these goals become over – emphasized at the expense of other sometimes more important ones. Goals – displacement is much more detrimental. Â © www. hrfolks. com All Rights Reserved GOAL MODELS AND SYSTEM MODELS The goal model approach defies success as a complete or at least a substantial realization of the organizational goal. It is not the only means of evaluating success. Rather than comparing existing organizations to ideals of what they might be, we may assess their performances relative to one another. We will write a custom essay sample on Modern Organisations by Amitai Etzioni or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Using a system model we are able to see a basic distortion in the analysis of organizations that is not visible or explicable from the perspective of goal – model evaluation. The latter approach expects organizational effectiveness to increase with the assignment of more means to the organizations goals. The system model is not free from drawbacks; it is more exacting and expensive when used for research. The goal model requires that the researcher determine the goals the organization is pursuing – and no more. A well – developed organizational theory will include statements on the functional requirements various organizational types must meet. An awareness of the needs of the organization to operate successfully will guide the researcher who is constructing a system model for study of a specific organization. At present, organizational theory is generally constructed on a high level of abstraction, dealing mainly with general propositions, which apply equally well but also equally badly to all organizations. The differences among various organizational types are considerable; therefore any theory of organizations in general must be highly abstract.

Project Management Sydney Water Company

Introduction The essay is a case study analysis for project management of Sydney Water Company. The company decided to develop a project that would improve its customer services.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Project Management: Sydney Water Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The first section entails the pre-contract planning, business and functional requirements. The second part highlights the tracking of the project against the business case. The third part is on project planning and key milestones. The final part is a table on PMBOK knowledge areas. Pre-contract Planning, Business Requirements and Functional Requirements With regard to pre-contract planning. Sydney Water unveiled the importance of the Customer Information Billing System (CIBS) project to its operations. The project would make the customer services better, supplement the existing information systems and provide efficiency in business. This is how important the CIBS project would have been to the organization. The company did not carry out sufficient planning and specifications regarding the project. This later on resulted to numerous requests for changes and eventually led to colossus extra costs and delays. Prior to getting into the contract with Price Water Coopers, a competent project team should have been set up to do the work. This should have comprised of one member with intimate knowledge in the subject of the project. However, the selected team lacked competencies in handling the work meaning there were no proper mechanisms put in place to select a capable team to do the work. Although Sydney Water realized the significance of a business improvement process, it resorted to the utilization of a computer system during the project. The project was not implemented via a company information technology.Advertising Looking for essay on project management? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper w ith 15% OFF Learn More After coming up with the project, they realized that the computer architecture of the CIBS project was incompatible. Consequently, a functional requirement was not met. It was a business requirement for the company to continue with a project requirement that was integrated. However, this did not materialize. Although testing was a functional requirement, it really delayed and was not done adequately. Relevant documentation was not provided by Sydney Water which made it difficult to have a full access to the selection of a contractor. Nonetheless, apparently, Sydney Water was able to select and evaluate the contractor in a thorough manner. The administration of the contract was inadequate resulting to single variation to the contract leading to a transfer or roles and risks to Sydney Water from Price Water Coopers. Some business requirements were not available for the project. These include important contingencies, hard ware and soft ware that were not included in the initial budget. Besides, from the start of the project, there were unclear procedures on how the project was to be reported to the board of directors. The information given was not clear enough to make the board of directors make a decision or assess the position of the project. Such insufficiency made the board not to be fully informed regarding important aspects and risks pertaining to the project. Management of risks is a very important aspect in any business venture, and more so, in a business project. It is a critical business requirement prior to beginning any project. This is because every project or business is always susceptible to risks. It was therefore a requirement for the project team to identify main risks to the project and come up with sufficient mechanisms of managing the risks.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Project Management: Sydney Water Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn M ore Nonetheless, it did not happen by both the company and the project team. The culture of this organization reveals that all project risks have to be transferred to the contractor when outsourcing of the organization’s key projects. The Tracking of the project against the Business Case A business case is a document whose purpose is to provide the project’s baseline by elaborating the benefits of the business as a result of the project (Gregory, 2009, p. 138). Apparently, there was no support of the CIBS project from a strong business case. The company did not provide a version of the business case that had been endorsed by the board of directors. Even though it was an obvious fact that costs were escalating and benefits were reducing in the course of the project duration, the board never asked for the preparation of a revised business case. The board had the mandate of overseeing the project including making some directions for the business case to be revised. Howe ver, the board did not direct the GM-Finance to do a review on the business case of the project and to be responsive on the project’s fiscal matters. The evidence of choosing CIBS project over other alternatives was not adequate. For instance, there was a discrepancy between the cost of upgrading the existing system in comparison to the budgeted cost of the CIBS project. There are changes that were made on the contingency cost by both the DMR and the board. The business case was not revised accordingly to reflect these changes. This was in spite of prompts from several parties alluding to the revision. For example, in 2001, after the DMR findings, the GM – customer services realized the necessity to make some revision on the business case.Advertising Looking for essay on project management? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The director of Sydney Water project made inquiries with respect to the duration required to complete the project and a budget that the board could accept. Within the same year (2002), the internal audit suggested a formal revision of the business case. This was a reflection of the project management’s belief that what really mattered was the successful implementation of the remedy and that costs were flexible. For example, the recommendations to access the business case from the internal audit to the Sydney Water management were embraced and addressed after six months. This did not materialize and the management reported that it was more concerned with the positive results from the project. An increase in costs seems to have been accompanied by a reduction in benefits during the time the project has been in progress. At almost the close of the project, there were ninety people from the CSD performing several duties on CIBS. This required adoption of several strategies for ma intaining business services. These would include outsourcing functions, hiring staff temporarily and beginning business improvements. The extent at which staff reduced due to CIBS was less in comparison to the benefit outlined in the business case. After a multiple revisions on the R3 benefits realization, still the stakeholders failed to approve it. There were some areas of benefit that varied from the initial business case. These include for instance, e-commerce, closure of some offices and ownership changes. One of the views held by the Sydney Water people was that in the public sector, it was possible for projects of this nature and size to not only go over budget, but to also delay. This could be one of the reasons behind not updating the business case. Project planning This is a task that should be done by the steering committee. Their role should be to assess the feasibility of the project, develop the project’s business plan and take responsibility regarding the proje ct outcomes. The steering committee also ensures that there is an alignment between the scope of the project and what the stakeholders require. The scope of the project is supposed to be defined by the business plan of the project which should be owned by the steering committee. In the project undertaken by the Sydney Waters, this was not adequately captured. This is due to the absence of the steering committee to devise a business plan which should outline the project scope. Second, the CIBS project manager did not come up with a specific Project Execution Plan which should have outlined the responsibilities of the project team. The project manager should plan for the project effectively by forming sub-projects to help in the delivery of the project. This took place since the CIBS project was sub-divided into three: release 1 release 2 and release 3. Third, effective project planning requires the presence of a competent project team. The team should work according to what has been laid down in the Project Execution Plan. Representatives from different units affected by said the project should be part of the project team. The team should also comprise of members with requisite skills. The project team for the CIBS project did not have all the required skills to handle the job meaning that there was no plan in place regarding the selection of the members of the team and their specific qualifications. These skills should be part of the process of project planning. The Sydney Water project fell under the customer services division. However, this division did not have a clear channel of communication with the project team. Also, during the project planning in 2000, input was not sought from Sydney Water by PWC. Moreover, due to the dissatisfaction by PWC’s general project plan, Sydney Waters insisted on improvements. This negatively affected the project success. Thus, there was inadequate project planning in this respect. Key Milestones A milestone is a mar k of progress that indicates when important points in a project have been attained. Milestones are embedded within the project’s time frame and show the important path towards the ultimate output. It is the end of a certain stage that shows a work package or phase has been completed. It is often marked by a high profile review meeting, endorsing of some documents and a completion event. There are several aspects in the CIBS project that point to the way in which the management of the project milestones was conducted. The CIBS project was mainly subdivided into three phases: release 1 (R1), release 2 (R2) and release 3 (R3). R1 and R2 were fully implemented even though R2 was not fully functional. R1 had been scheduled to be completed in August 2000 but it took longer than this. The implementation date for R2 was also changed due to technical issues and phased roll out. Implementation of R3 was also delayed from March – September 2002. This was due to requests for chang e in closure of price negotiations. All these delays were due to inadequate project planning and specifications Another key milestone in the CIBS project was the testing of the solution. It ended up taking a longer time than was anticipated. This made the project to take longer than was planned. Testing also produced numerous errors. Correction of errors took longer than expected because changes were to be sent to the STS in the UK and the feedback was not immediate. The management ought to have known this in advance and use another system that would be in line with the project’s time frame. PMBOK Knowledge Areas Process Group Section Evident Not Evident Comments Initiating Develop Project Charter Develop Preliminary Project Scope Statement X Not comprehensive Planning Develop Project Plan/Execution Plan X Reported to be included in 101 page report Scope Planning X Evident though not comprehensive Scope Definition X Unclear Activity Definition X Project was consumer oriented Activity Sequencing X R1, R2, R3 and testing of solution Activity Duration Estimating X 2 years though aims not achieved Schedule Development X Not comprehensive leading to delays Cost Estimating X Changed (increased) Cost Budgeting X Was increased Quality Planning X Incompetent project team Human Resource Planning X Inadequate due to selection of inadequate project team Communication planning X Poor communication between customer services project team Risk Management Planning X Many changes delays leading to project termination Risk Identification X Ineffective at all levels Qualitative/ Quantitative Analysis X Not adequate due to many changes that occurred Risk Response planning X Ineffective at corporate project levels Purchases and Acquisitions planning X Shown by differences in original and final budget Contracting planning X Evaluation selection without relevant documentation Executing Direct a nd Manage Project Plan/Execution Plan Execution X Sub-projects unveiled: R1, R2 R3 Quality Assurance X Presence of review reports Project Team development X Not skilled in the first place Information Distribution X Very poor Solicitation X Not evident Source Selection X Not clear Contract Administration X ineffective Controlling Integrated Change Control X lacking Scope Verification X Not evident Scope Change Control X lacking Cost Control X Lacking due to budgetary variations Quality Control X Not evident Performance Reporting X Evident Risk monitoring Control X Not done Closing Administrative Closure X inadequate Contract Closeout X At termination Reference Gregory, P.H., 2009. CISA Certified Information Systems Auditor All-in-One Exam Guide. NY: McGraw-Hill Professional. This essay on Project Management: Sydney Water Company was written and submitted by user Delaney U. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on Tawas Michigan

I chose the city of Tawas/East Tawas for my Michigan history project. Tawas has a personal touch to it because it is my summer home. My family owns two cottages in Tawas right on Lake Huron. Tawas is about and hour and fifteen minutes from Saginaw. Tawas is a part of Iosco County. Between the Huron National Forest and the blue-green waters of Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay lie the peaceful twin cities of Tawas City/East Tawas. For the most part Tawas is a very touristy city. There are hiking, skiing, and snowmobile trials throughout the town that attract tourists. Also there are many other hot fishing spots located along the towns waterside edge on Lake Huron. There are many in land lakes located in the city of Tawas that offer great fishing. Perchville is their annual event to celebrate ice fishing; this year will be their 52nd. There are always festivals and craft and antique shows going on as well. The origin of Tawas’s name comes from a Native American word meaning â€Å"water of light.† Tawas is also known as â€Å"The sunrise side.† There is an Indian museum located in Tawas that tells the history of the Native Americans that lived in the area. Prior to the arrival of the European trappers and settlers, this area of Michigan was sparsely populated by Native Americans. The Chippewa tribe had been living here since around 1525, but their main settlements were not in this area of the state. The land was covered with rich pine and hardwood forests and populated with an abundance of wildlife. The rivers and lakes were teeming with fish. White fish, grayling, sturgeon, and herring were so plentiful that the local Native Americans easily maintained large stocks of dried fish for food and for use as trade goods. Although some aspects of their life might have seemed rather idyllic, it must also be remembered that other tribes (notably the Iroquois) often made ra ids into this part of the Great Lakes and warred with the Chippewa and H... Free Essays on Tawas Michigan Free Essays on Tawas Michigan I chose the city of Tawas/East Tawas for my Michigan history project. Tawas has a personal touch to it because it is my summer home. My family owns two cottages in Tawas right on Lake Huron. Tawas is about and hour and fifteen minutes from Saginaw. Tawas is a part of Iosco County. Between the Huron National Forest and the blue-green waters of Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay lie the peaceful twin cities of Tawas City/East Tawas. For the most part Tawas is a very touristy city. There are hiking, skiing, and snowmobile trials throughout the town that attract tourists. Also there are many other hot fishing spots located along the towns waterside edge on Lake Huron. There are many in land lakes located in the city of Tawas that offer great fishing. Perchville is their annual event to celebrate ice fishing; this year will be their 52nd. There are always festivals and craft and antique shows going on as well. The origin of Tawas’s name comes from a Native American word meaning â€Å"water of light.† Tawas is also known as â€Å"The sunrise side.† There is an Indian museum located in Tawas that tells the history of the Native Americans that lived in the area. Prior to the arrival of the European trappers and settlers, this area of Michigan was sparsely populated by Native Americans. The Chippewa tribe had been living here since around 1525, but their main settlements were not in this area of the state. The land was covered with rich pine and hardwood forests and populated with an abundance of wildlife. The rivers and lakes were teeming with fish. White fish, grayling, sturgeon, and herring were so plentiful that the local Native Americans easily maintained large stocks of dried fish for food and for use as trade goods. Although some aspects of their life might have seemed rather idyllic, it must also be remembered that other tribes (notably the Iroquois) often made ra ids into this part of the Great Lakes and warred with the Chippewa and H...