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Assignment 2 Integrating Culture Diversity in Decision Making
Assignment 2: Integrating Culture Diversity in Decision Making
BUS 520 – Leadership and Organization Behavior
The culture of an organization is the heart of a company. This is the way that a company is able to separate from their competition no matter what market they are in. There is an article in Business Insider that says “Corporate culture is the personality of a company and it is something that cannot be faked” (Schawbel, 2013, Cultural research section, para 1). This paper will examine the culture of the Google Corporation. Larry Page and Serey Brin met at Stanford University in 1995 and they founded Google in 1998 (Google Company Website).
What is the organizations culture at Google? The organization culture at Google is represented many different ways such as the structure of management, general transparency, and the way they treat their employees, etc.
The overall management is a flat structure. Employees are offered food in the cafeteria that is fee. The core values of the company have been made public. The founders of the company still do work which includes keeping fresh cereal in the cafeteria.
Feedback is ongoing at Google from employees by the use of a tool which is called the Google-O-Meter. There are also culture clubs and these are a group of employees that come together and they talk about issues with the culture in their office and country or how they are able to improve things. Google is a place that is very special to work. The way spaces in the offices and groups are designed it is to make you feel like you are working in a company that is just starting however within a major company.
DuBin (2011) states that “an organization that has a flat structure has the ability to be less bureaucratic”. There are less managers to review the decisions that workers make. The chain of command is short which means that both workers and managers are at levels that are low and this allows both to make decisions independently (p274). Google’s culture is progression and openness which ensures the employees are always at the centers of the progress of the company.
The culture of Google shows that their main focus is to continuously make progress by making sure employees are satisfied and comfortable. The founders in a company like Google where they ensure that the cereal is fresh and continuously get feedback from all employees, this shows that the effort is vested and shows how the employees are valued. When that is coupled with an organizational structure that is flat this empowers that employees are on low levels the ability to make decisions that qualifies the culture of the organization. The people of Google make this the kind of company that it is (Google Company Website).
The culture Google represented shows they decided early that they are focused on their employees which caused them to choose a culture that is employee-friendly. Google wanted to be different with their approach by surrounding themselves with individuals that were able to do just that.
The leader at an organization such as Google has an inspiration that is bountiful. The structure of the organization has positions that are vertical and the individuals in those positions are able to inspire many individuals about decisions while doing their work. The environment at Google is changing continuously and improving the things they are doing by helping people find the things they are looking for. The leader at Google has the ability to see the picture that is big and they look forward to a future that is improved and new which remains in a position that is leading.
Google has to find a way to adjust to any demands that are new, if web searching was to ever decline. This is the main reason people are hired the way they are hired. Curious thinkers and people that are smart are the individuals that Google struggles vigorously to hire. Google has employees and resources, as well as employees that are the smartest and most thoughtful (Bulygo, 2013) to adjust to any decline in web search which is their primary service.
References:
Bulygo, Z. (2013, Feb 11). Inside Google’s culture of success and employee happiness. [Web Log Post]. Retrieved from http://blog.kissmetrics.com/googles-culture-of-success/DuBrin, A. J. (2011). Essentials of management. Stamford, CN: Cengage Learning.Google company website. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2014, from http://www.google.com/about/company/facts/culture/Google company website. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2014, from https://www.google.com/intl/en/about/company/Schawbel, D. (2013, May 8). It is becoming increasingly difficult to fake a great corporate culture. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/its-difficult-to-fake-corporate-culture-2013-5
US CONSTITUTION AND EXPANSION OF POWER
US CONSTITUTION AND EXPANSION OF POWER
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INSTITUION
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The United States constitutional law clearly defines the scope and application of the terms of the constitution of the state. After the civil war, certain clauses in the US constitution to a greater extent contributed to the expansion of federal power in the country. These clauses are: the federal commerce power, the spending power and the war, treaty and foreign affairs powers.
The federal commerce power
The commerce law in the Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 of the United States constitution gives the congress the power and authority to regulate and take control of power of commercial activities with foreign nations, among the several stated and with the Indian tribes. The clause has been a great milestone in granting a congressional authority and power thud boosting on the federal power in the states (Kilman & Costello 2000, 150) it also provides a restriction on the power of the state to regulate commercial activities.
The commerce law has given the congress legislative powers to fully exercise authorities over the activities and operations of states and their citizens. Overtime, this has brought controversial opposing stands with regard to the balance of power between the state government and the federal governments. The commerce clause has been used in the justification of the use of federal laws in issues which on their side do not implicate activities of trade or exchange.
The U.S gets comprehensive powers from the commerce clause over the navigable powers. The commerce clause further gives a special position to the government in connection with navigable waters. The navigable waters are thus a public property of the nation. This means that the property is liable to all legislative acts of the congress. The main purpose of the commerce clause was meant to eliminate trade barriers as a result of the United States giving a chance to the unfettered movement of commerce within the boundaries of the nation. The clause was also meant to give the federal government a position to be able to negotiate a free trade which is beneficial consistent and well enforced agreements between the state and other foreign nations.
The spending power clause
The spending power clause of the US constitution is also referred to as the Taxing and Spending Clause and is contained in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1 of the US constitution. This clause gives the power of taxation to the federal government of the United States. The spending power clause puts into inclusion the General Welfare Clause and the Uniformity Clause.
The power to tax given to the Congress by the constitution gives the mandate to have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises. With relation to the administration of government, the power is thus an essential clause in existence. The government is thuds rendered ineffectual in a situation where it is not able to administer the taxation process. This power provides a channel through which revenue is raised aimed at supporting the activities of the government.
The Congress is given the mandate to impose regulatory taxation, prohibitive taxation and tariffs. Regulatory taxation is aimed at taxing to regulate commercial activities. Prohibitive taxation is taxation meant to discourage, limit and suppress commerce while the tariffs are levied for purposes of protectionism. The clause gives the congress a lot of powers to tax and expand revenue collection within its discretion.
The power to tax also comes with the power to spend the revenues which is raised through taxation. This helps to cater for the objectives and goals of the government. The congress can use the power to tax to punish disfavored conduct. It can also use the power to spend to encourage favored conduct. (Jensen & Henry 2005, 230)
The General Welfare Clause gives a provision to pay debts and provide for the common defiance and general welfare of the United States. The clause promotes the general welfare of the people of the nation also referred to as the public welfare. The general welfare clause is not a grant of the power of legislation but a qualification on the basis of the power to tax.
Alexander Hamilton argued that the spending and tax clause gives the congress a separate and distinct power. In such a scenario, the congress has substantive power aimed to levy taxes and spend the revenue generated for the general welfare. The power of the congress to tax and spend also facilitates enumeration of other powers.
Owen Roberts also argued that the power to taxation and appropriation was made for national matters. This was opposed to issues emanating from within local welfare. This gives the Supreme Court the power to make a decision on what constitutes the welfare of the nation. Apart from just being constitutionally required, the general welfare issue has promoted good policies in the United States. Fiscal priorities have been distorted out by the expansion of the spending power. This has given the local governments encouragement to participate in well formulated spending projects. Such projects would not meet the approval based on the political will in a situation where the local taxpayers’ foot the bill.
The war, treaty and foreign affairs powers
The war power is contained in Article 1section 8. In this clause, the congress is given the power to declare war, raise and give full support to the armies. The clause also provides that the congress should provide for, and maintain a navy, and tax and spend for the national defense of the United States. Article 2 of the same section gives a provision that the commander in chief of the armed forces is the president of the nation.
The treaty and foreign affairs power is contained in Article II, Section 2 of the constitution of the United States. The clause gives power to make treaties calls aimed to give a united effort between the senate and the president of the nation. The clause stipulates that the president of the state shall have powers to make treaties. This will be possible by and with the advice of the senate with a provision that two thirds of the members of the senate agree for such a treaty to be amended. With such a provision, the president is able to chiefly negotiate for agreements between the United States and other countries. Such agreements become treaties between the United States and other nations. This is after the advice and reaching of a consensus of majority of the senate of the states.
In the same clause the president is mandate a unilateral power to appoint ambassadors and other top public ministers and consuls and other top government official of the United States. External effects of a treaty focus on the international relations of the United States and other foreign countries. The internal effects of a treaty on the other hand majorly focus on the domestic law implications of a treaty.
With respect to international effects, most treaties are self executing. Hence they require an implementation by the legislation in order to have an internal effect. The treaties require having procedural and substantive validity. For a treaty to be procedurally valid it should conform to Article II, Section 2, part 2 which gives the president the power to make treaties provided two thirds of the senate approves it. In the case of substantiality validity, a treaty cannot exhibit prohibitory language in the constitution of the United States.
REFERENCES
J.Kilman & Costello, G. The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation, 2000.
Jensen, Erick & Henry Monaghan. The Taxing Power: a Reference Guide to the United States Constitution. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005.
Natural disasters and The Federal Response Structure
Abstract:
Natural disasters occur without any prior knowledge. They occur when people least expect it to happen. How prepared a country is all depends on the policies that have been made and how they will be implemented and executed in case such disasters occur. Thus, the nation should prepare a framework within which effective responses will be implemented. This framework should be based upon well-trained leaders and responders, who are able to achieve the shared objectives, develop partnerships and invest in preparedness response (DHS, 2008). These policies should be made from all governments present. The key players will include organizations and entities that may offer or require assistance at one time or the other. The local and state governments have to be included in this due to their proximity to the people and the need to decentralize the relief efforts. Disaster management has also grown to include terrorism management after the 9/11 attack. This has widened the scope of disaster management to include terrorism as part of the disaster.
Natural disasters and The Federal Response Structure:
This is a guide on how to the nation will conduct hazard response once they occur. It outlines the responsibilities of all the authorities that in one way or another are in line with offering help to those affected by these disasters. It outlines the key roles and responsibilities of each organization and the best practices for managing incidents that range from serious but purely local to large-scale catastrophic natural disasters or terrorist attack (DHS, 2008). It further outlines the key lessons learnt form previous disasters like the Hurricane Katrina, and Rita. It focuses on how the federal government organizes it self to help communities and states that are in catastrophic incidents. It encompasses all the emergency support function annexes that group the federal resources and capabilities into functional areas. These areas are supposed to serve as the primary mechanisms that will provide assistance at the operational level. There is a part that discusses incident annexes that address specific categories of hazards requiring specialized application of framework mechanisms.
The key players here include the tribal governments, local governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, federal governments, and state governments. Local governments respond to emergencies on a daily basis using their own resources. They may however at one time or the other depend on mutual aid and assistance agreements from other neighboring jurisdictions incase there is a need for additional resources (DHS, 2008). State governments on the hand help local governments if they so require. They have resources of their own with which they can use to handle disasters. However, should the need arise and they require assistance from other states, they can use the interstate mutual aid and assistance agreements such as the EMAC (emergency management assistance compact). The governor of the state could request for help from the federal government should the disaster get out of hand. This is as was observed during hurricane Katrina which occurred in Louisiana.
Challenges:
As may be noted, there are various challenges faced by these local and state governments whenever a disaster occurs. The magnitude of the catastrophe will be the first determinant. If a disaster of Katrina’s magnitude occurred and the state or local government was still lax, then the responses would be delayed (Wesson, et al 2007). This would not lead to loss of lives and destruction of property which is what the national framework tries to avoid. Inadequate resources offer a major impediment in the fight against disasters. This limits the speed within which they can respond to emergency cases. If the need for a presidential declaration arises, then the time taken to issue on is long enough to provide disastrous results. The process taken before one can be issued is very long and emergencies cannot withstand such delays (Wesson, et al 2007).
Terrorism in relation to emergency and disaster management programs:
The 9/11 attacks changed the way disaster management foundations were laid. This is due to the change in tactics after two planes succeeded in attacking a country that was believed to have been the most secure due to the military and technological superiority. When these attacks took place, the whole disaster management program was in disarray. The people could not tell what will happen where due to the panic caused in the affected areas. Of importance is how the planning will take place (Comfort, 2002).
The programs should aim at providing a united effort for emergency operations so as to coordinate a purposeful operation aimed at accomplishing the same objectives. This way, the federal state can not be caught unawares. The decentralization of activities from the Homeland Security Department to the local scenario since this will increase the rate at which people and properties are saved and less damage witnessed (Pape, 2003). The response took time before there could be any coordinated efforts to achieve the desired results before the repercussions could be enormous. From a local or a state level, the operations will be quicker with the Federal Emergency Management Agency coming to assist after re-organizing all the required resources after having the knowledge of what is required. This will contribute to unity efforts by providing a blueprint for actions carried out incase an emergency occurs. These conceited efforts should be adhered to strictly to avoid mass deaths and help build secure environments to live in. The federal government should implement the recommendations of the framework to the letter.
References:
Comfort, Lousie K. (2002). Managing intergovernmental responses to terrorism and extreme events, Publius, Philadelphia: Fall
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (2008). National Response Framework. DHS. Retrieved 18th November, 2010. HYPERLINK “http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/nrf-core.pdf” t “_blank” http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/nrf-core.pdf.
Pape, Robert A. (2003) “The Strategic rational on Suicide Terrorism,” American Political Science Review, 97 (3): pp. 1–19.
Wesson, Robert L., et al (2007), Revision of Independent probabilistic seismic dangers for Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1043.