Benjamin Franklin Essay -- Biography Biographies Bio

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin was an American printer and publisher, author, inventor, scientist, and who was a diplomat born on January 17th 1706 and died in Philadelphia on April 17th 1790. Franklin was one of ten sons of seventeen children of a man by the name of Josiah who was a soap and candle maker and mother by the name of Abiah, a discrete and virtuous woman (Van Doren 7). Ben was raised in a Puritan heritage household which they had left to avoid England's Restoration Era of 1683. Franklin had a blend of Puritan heritage, Enlightenment philosophy, and New World environment ideals. Ben Franklin had a fascination public and interpersonal life. Franklin's life consisted of his reflections of his own behaviors and embracing curiosities of the whole moral and physical world around him (Ford 60-64). Ben married in September 1st 1730 to a woman by the name of Deborah Read. Franklin was an apprentice under his brother and a printer of a Boston newspaper called the Pennsylvania Gazette, the Almanac of Poor Richard and a good share of printing in that era (Van Doren 69). Ben also a philosopher, who followed the secular world view of Sir Isaac Newton, John Locke and favorite author named Joseph Addison. Franklin was a civic leader starting in 1727 who helped in putting together the Organization of Junto, a club of tradesmen in Pennsylvania who helped with civic improvements of that city which were: a library, fire company, college, insurance company and hospital (Van Doren 63). Ben was also an inventor who discovered bifocals and the ability to harness electricity through a lightening bolt in 1746 (Phelps 485). These achievements were just a small fraction of what Franklin was capable of doing. Ben was also a politician... ...on of a new government. Benjamin Franklin would not have been best known today as one of the Great Founding Fathers of The New World known as North America. Along side with him were Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Hancock. Without all seven of these true Americans, there would not be a free and independent nation called the United States of America. Bibliography Ford and Grillparzer. Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Issaacson, Walter. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003. Phelps, Shirelle and Jeffrey Lehman, eds. West Encylopedia. New York: Gale, 2005. Rakove, Jack. The Beginnings of National Politics. Baltimore and London: John Hopkins U Press, 1979. Van Doren, Carl. Benjamin Franklin. New York: Garden City Publishing, 1941.

Integration Discussions to Include in Learning Portfolio Essay

The term communication was derived from the Latin ‘communis’ meaning â€Å"to share† that is, sharing of concepts and ideas, feelings and emotion. In a literal sense however, communication means to inform to tell, to show, or to spread information (Singh, Amrik, Yadav, & Seema 2003, p. 1). Communication is vital to any organization as it constitute the life of the entire organization while culture is the essence of an organization. When the management becomes concern on results and outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes, the management becomes concern only on employees’ productivity but not with their welfare. Business organization should be people oriented and its written communication or its policies must be clearly and rightly enforce and should not hinder employees from enhancing their full productivity potential. Maydan (2003) pointed out that organizations, as entities, â€Å"are also embedded in cultures, and organizing is a communication process† (p. 1). In a sense, organizational culture and policies it self are both part of communication. Thus, poor policies and policies that are poorly enforced both affects the organizational performance as well as the organizational life of business organization. It means that the employees’ effectiveness is affected by poor implementation of policies such as limiting employee’s communication with other employees in other departments and also employees’ access to management because it effectively isolate them from people they perceive as source of moral strength and information. It also effectively weakens their productivity. It is widely accepted that team work provides a better working relationship in any business organization. Here the degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than individuals enhances the employees’ effectiveness and productivity. This is clearly illustrated in the game of basketball. Teams that play as a team have higher chances of winning. Team work also creates fun as working together for a common cause â€Å"creates group spirit, lightens up the atmosphere, and reduces tensions and conflicts (Dinsmore & Cabanis-Brewin, 2006). Team work is an example of effective communication. How the problem of communication could be avoided There are perhaps a number ways to avoid the problem of communication. Management should allow employees some freedom to communicate freely with other employees on matters relating to their jobs. Having a delivery person to convey messages to other department in the same business organization delays important communications that are may be vital for the company’s growth. Business companies should be people oriented than profit oriented by focusing more on their employees welfare. It is true that even losers can turn into winners when they properly motivated. Employees gain more confidence and satisfaction through increased self-esteem and pride in their organization. In this way, employees can enjoy their work and they will become more productive in return. Aside from allowing employees some freedom to communicate, the management should also encourage its employees to innovate and take risk rather control them forced them to do more work. Gryskiewicz (1993) aptly stated that risk taking does not mean â€Å"taking a blind chance† rather it is a decision to implement â€Å"a well-reasoned idea where benefits would far outweigh the loss, should that occur† (p. 119). The problem of communication can be avoided if the management would be more people oriented. That is, if the management allows their employees to make some mistakes but at low cost, and to let them try their ideas. Attention to detail and aggressiveness When companies pay attention to details and become more demanding to their employees to come up with better results, the more pressures they imposed on their employees to exhibit precision, analytical skills, and attention to details. However, this is counter productive because this does not encourage employees to be innovative or risk takers. The company should not create an organizational climate of fear rather; it should strive to create a climate of trust. That means, allowing employees to even commit mistakes and to let them acknowledge such mistakes. Paying attention to details however is not bad; indeed it is important that company management should pay attention to details though this does not guarantee success. Details of transactions, of goals and objectives, and of business strategy to be implemented are important for the management to aware of. But when it comes to committing mistakes and risk taking, the management should display trust and confidence in their employees. Aggressiveness on the other hand is an important character of any employee. People who are aggressive are competitive and achieved more. It is far desirable than easy going attitude. Being aggressive is a positive quality as it will get one ahead of others who are not aggressive. Going back to a game of basketball, a team who is more aggressive is likely to win the game. But aggressiveness is not always viewed as positive and beneficial quality. Many people tend to view aggressiveness as the tendency to actively oppose someone else’s position or viewpoint. But viewed in the context of competitiveness, aggressiveness is positive quality that can help employees achieved more. Reference Dinsmore, P. C. & Cabanis-Brewin, J. (2006) The AMA Handbook of Project Management USA: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn Gryskiewicz, S. S. (1993) Discovering Creativity USA: Center for Creative Leadership Maydan, A. (2003) Understanding Organizations Through Culture and Structure USA: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Sing, Amrik, Yadav & Seema (2003) Business Communication India: Anmol Publication PVT. LTD

Enron Stakeholders - 1700 Words

BA 215 Spring 2007 Enron Stakeholder Assignment Enron was a dream come true for a lot of people, but it was also a nightmare waiting to happen for many more. I am going to examine the collapse of Enron from the management perspective. The three examples of Enron behaving badly that I am going to study are the incidents in Valhalla, the electricity trading in California and the conflict of interest between Andy Fastow and his special purpose entities (SPE). These are just a few cases that led to the failure of the Worlds Leading Company. In 1985 Houston Natural Gas merged with InterNorth, of Omaha, Neb., to form Enron and Ken Lay was named chief executive officer. The company was basically a producer of natural gas and had†¦show more content†¦The theory of deregulation of electricity in California was a model one, but the truth was California was being robbed. Enron electricity traders were manipulating the market strategies to extract more money from the state. These strategies, most were technically legal, were given catchy names and encouraged new ideas throughout the traders. Enron traders were creating, and then relieving, phantom congestion on Californias electricity grid. They were also involved in megawatt laundering, in which Enron bought power in California, resold the power out of the state and then bought the power back and resold it back into California, allowing Enron to avoid price caps meant to secure down costs (4). The electricity traders are also guilty of limiting the supply of energy by asking power plants that provide electricity to California to shut done for a specified period of time so they could take advantage of the shortages. All the while President Bush is refusing to step in to do anything stating the energy crisis will work itself out. Finally, in the summer of 2001 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) stepped in to try and alleviate the energy crisis. FERC imposed soft price caps, and the entire power market collapsed. Electricity prices dec reased and sanity returned to the market because the federal government showed they were willing to intervene, and that was what the market had been waiting for. AndyShow MoreRelatedEnron Stakeholders Essay1634 Words   |  7 PagesEnron Stakeholder Assignment Enron was a dream come true for a lot of people, but it was also a nightmare waiting to happen for many more. I am going to examine the collapse of Enron from the management perspective. The three examples of Enron behaving badly that I am going to study are the incidents in Valhalla, the electricity trading in California and the conflict of interest between Andy Fastow and his special purpose entities (SPE). These are just a few cases that led to the failure ofRead MoreKey Stakeholders Affected By The Collapse Of Enron1065 Words   |  5 PagesList 5 key stakeholders affected by the collapse of Enron? 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