4 tips for talking work-life balance with your boss

4 hints for talking work-life offset with your chief Now and again, pretty much every working grown-up will battle with work-life balance. Be that as it may, what accomplishes work-life balance even mean? Basically, work-life balance is the means by which your commitments at work and home are organized. It comes down to how long seven days you spend concentrating on your profession  ­Ã¢â‚¬ finishing ventures, turning in assignments, reacting to messages †versus the time in seven days you spend taking part in exercises in your own life, such as investing energy with loved ones, getting individual things done, working out, or even just relaxing.Americans work a ton. Indeed, a 2015 Gallup survey found that Americans who are utilized all day work 47 hours every week all things considered, or what could be compared to almost six days per week. Furthermore, about four of every 10 specialists detailed logging over 50 hours per week working.With this measure of time being dedicated to our expert lives, when the scales tip in work-life b alance, it’s typically towards more work and less play. That can be fine for brief periods yet long haul it tends to be problematic.When the fragile harmony between your vocation and individual life are messed up †and avoid whack †it can leave you feeling messed up, disappointed, and angry. Yet, since a requesting work life regularly originates from a requesting chief, it tends to be hard to tell how to propose the topic.We’ve ordered 4 hints for having a beneficial discussion with your chief or director about work-life balance. Peruse on to figure out how to discover the equalization you seek.Do some spirit searchingBefore you examine the issue with your supervisor, give a valiant effort to get to the foundation of the issue. Is your own life experiencing as a result of ridiculous desires your bosses at work, or is it conceivable that these desires are deliberate and that you are â€Å"overworking† your job?How do you judge? One approach to check whet her the issue lies with you or whether it lies with your supervisor is to work an ordinary 40-hour week and see what occurs. Skip remaining late for multi week. Prohibit yourself from logging work time throughout the ends of the week and afterward just wait.If your manager doesn’t notice that you haven’t worked longer hours or finished additional work, the interest may act naturally perpetrated. On the off chance that your supervisor does notice and notices it, make a note. This will get significant in later discussions.Identify the problemIf you’ve established that the weight you feel at work is, indeed, originating from your director, next you should distinguish the specific problem.Ask yourself: Is your work-life awkwardness coming from a nonsensical remaining task at hand that is difficult to finish inside the bounds of a 40-hour work week? Provided that this is true, you aren’t alone. As indicated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 33% of utilized in dividuals in the U.S. go through some piece of their ends of the week doing work.For others, the issue of adjusting life and vocation lies in an inflexible calendar that doesn’t offer the adaptability to dodge work for, state, a yearly doctor’s arrangement or significant task. The two situations can be baffling and confining.Identify the wellspring of the issue before you meet with your chief. This will permit you to go to the gathering furnished with proposals on the most proficient method to deal with the circumstance at hand.Arrange a gathering and come arranged with ideasOnce you have distinguished the issue, request a gathering and come outfitted with arrangements. This will appear to be unique for everybody except here are some possibilities:Suggest approaches to designate undertakings to spread the remaining task at hand all the more equally over your group to help your workload.Request adaptable hours that work better with your timetable. For instance, in the e vent that you are a parent and need additional time with your kids, you may propose a timetable that permits you to work from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. rather than the typical 9-to-5.Suggest a changed calendar. Rather than working five days every week, request to work four 10-hour shifts. This will empower you to have three days off every week rather than the ordinary two-day weekend.Request a more extended mid-day break. This will permit you to get things done or go to arrangements without going on vacation work.Suggest one work-from-home day every week. Removing your drive of your day even one day seven days can let loose extra hours.While not perfect, requesting unpaid time off can be an answer in a pinch.Know when to move onA serious work-life parity can unleash devastation on your prosperity. In the event that you’ve depleted every one of these conceivable outcomes and still can’t make progress in accomplishing a sensible work-life balance, it might be an ideal opportunity to proceed onward. This implies you’ll need to clean off your employment form aptitudes, and prepare to construct a resume and introductory letter for each new open door you find. Set aside some time every week to start searching for a new position. Discovering this time will probably be intense, given that your work-life balance is as of now messed up, yet it’s basic that you discover it. You’ll never proceed onward to a superior work-life balance circumstance on the off chance that you don’t.The most ideal approach to guarantee a sound work-life balance next time around? Get some information about it during the meeting procedure, or do some exploration on the organization you land a meeting with to perceive what its representatives (or past workers) need to state about work-life balance.

How the Write the UC School Application Essays 2015-2016

The University of California (UC) framework involves huge numbers of America’s best state funded colleges. Without a doubt, schools from the UC framework are six of Admissions Hero’s top 20 open universities. The entirety of the major UC schools have solid projects in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields, and the lead schools (UCLA and UC Berkeley) additionally have very serious aesthetic sciences, business, and expressions majors. Fortunately for secondary school seniors who as of now have ludicrous measures of work on their plates, understudies can apply to each UC school with a solitary application comprising of just two paper questions (note that UCs don’t utilize the Common App). Since the application takes into account 1000 shared words aggregate between two prompts, there is a touch of methodology required with respect to the length of each paper. In the event that you have a more grounded or increasingly point by point answer for one of the prompts, it is alright to compose more for that paper yet preferably, you ought to commit about 550 words to that article and 450 to the next one. By no means should you have one paper longer than 600 words and the other one shorter than 400 wordsâ€balance is vital. In spite of the way that UC schools place a solid accentuation on students’ crude scores and nature of extracurricular exercises, the articles are as yet significant for understudies hoping to concentrate in the Golden State. Affirmations Hero is here to help †let’s investigate each brief. Note: this year’s UC application is basically indistinguishable from last year’s. We’ve refreshed this year’s present just somewhat on reflect new patterns in affirmations. Peruse last year’s post here . Portray the world you originate from †for instance, your family, network or school †and disclose to us how your reality has molded your fantasies and desires. (1000 words for the two prompts consolidated) This article tends to a large number of the subjects that the prompts for the Common App do, and since the UC schools don't utilize the Common App, you don’t need to stress over any cover with those expositions. This brief is truly getting some information about a portion of your significant impacts and your cooperations inside a gathering. You can positively utilize your family as the base for your article, however you ought to be mindful so as to truly plunge where it counts into your own sentiments and inspirations (rather than getting made up for lost time speaking for the most part about your relatives). Numerous candidates decide to expound on their family, however, which implies that your article should be amazingly elegantly composed or dive profoundly into your exceptional character so as to isolate from the entirety of different candidates covering comparative topics. Expounding on your school can be a decent technique in the event that you go to a school that has a financially and racially various understudy body. In any case, in the event that you go to a serious school with for the most part well-off understudies, it may be hard to compose a paper that will play well with confirmations advisors. Expounding on a more nuanced and specific network, maybe identified with a type of side interest or extracurricular enthusiasm, offers you a chance to truly flaunt one of a kind and unmistakable components of your character. For instance, you could compose an article about how your investment in the Model United Nations official corps motivated you to seek after an instruction and vocation in global relations. On the other hand, you could talk about how your interest in a few online discussions for World of Warcraft propelled you to consider PC programming with the goal that you can construct a â€Å"crowdsourced† computer game later on. Inasmuch as you can compose a nitty gritty and unmistakable exposition, basically any kind of â€Å"world† that you originate from is reasonable game. The main special cases are networks that are characterized essentially by close to home attributes (and not collaboration, for example, race or sexual direction. Since these are close to home characteristics, a paper on these themes is best put something aside for the subsequent brief. Inform us concerning an individual quality, ability, achievement, commitment or experience that is critical to you. Shouldn't something be said about this quality or achievement does right by you, and how can it identify with the individual you are? (1000 words for the two prompts joined) In contrast to the principal brief, this exposition can be unmistakably increasingly close to home, and you truly shouldn’t detail your investment or participation in a gathering or network except if it you have accomplished something considerable in it (spare such subjects for the primary article). As we referenced previously, this brief could be a spot to address inborn characteristics, for example, challenges managing your race or sexual direction. You have some breathing space with regards to how you need to move toward the conversation of the quality, yet make certain to talk about why it does right by you. That pride can result straightforwardly from the quality itself, or in a roundabout way from moves that you have made or encounters you have had because of an individual attribute, (for example, managing prejudice or encountering sex segregation). You can likewise examine an accomplishment in an extracurricular action, anyway in a perfect world you ought to expound on an alternate one in the event that you utilized an extracurricular movement for the primary brief. The â€Å"achievement† doesn’t be a type of grant or high accomplishment; it simply must be something that gives a convincing stage to talk about yourself. Indeed, the most customized clear stories regularly can emerge from apparently commonplace accomplishments. For instance, a paper expounded on your triumph at the state tennis titles can clearly be amazing, yet an exposition talking about your pride at laboring for a long time to ascend from fifth to fourth singles on the tennis crew and how the work you put into that made you esteem perseverance can be similarly as acceptable. The key is to ensure that you can highlight explicit character advancements that emerged from your accomplishment, regardless of how little. With these tips, you ought to be well en route to composing the ideal UC Supplement. Good luck from the Admissions Hero group! For more assistance, don't hesitate to look at keep going year’s present on How on Tackle the UC Essays or connect with work 1-on-1 with one of Admissions Hero’s prepared school article masters .

The Baroque and Romantic Art Movements Sample Essay

The Baroque and Romantic Art Movements Sample Essay Every style that is known from the history of art describes a certain state of society. The baroque and the romanticism are the styles that determine the look of the European cities that are clearly visible and noticeable in big cities nowadays. The Baroque movement was the leading one in the 16th and 17th centuries. Jonah Heising describes the major elements that reflect the culture and philosophy of the baroque style as “Magnificence and dignity, strict observance of standards” in the book “The Dutch culture of the seventeenth century.” A German historian Richard Alevin described the spirit of the baroque movement as the connection between the motion and space. Space should correspond to the movement and there’s no much space in the exterior and interior details. This style has a kind of excessive enthusiasm because of a big number of architectural elements. In the decoration of the facades, there are complex undulating shapes that create the feeling of motion and flow. The major principle of Barocco lies in achieving a strong expression that is possible thanks to curved lines of the cornice at the top of the buildings. The baroque style is characterised by the formation of the so-called fear of emptiness. The space on the facade of the buildings is fully filled with a lot of details that hide the true design. There was a popular principle of no boundaries in the decor. The columns and walls don’t look like pillars but as unstable mass. The romantic movement is the cultural revolution of the personality that was crushed by a baroque cult of decency. This is a revenge of the Renaissance. This got out from under the piles of form and at the top of its voice announced its rights. This tree, which is tired of the fact that its crown is constantly cut, giving the most pretentious shape, and on the roots are constantly hurt. A romantic person is similar to a baroque person that turns out to be eye-to-eye with chaos. And there is a fundamental difference between the baroque and romantic worldview: the baroque person seeks to build up and regulate this chaos as far as he or she can, and the romanticist person simply lives in it. If he/she does not live in it, its only for a short time. The romanticist deliberately refuses to try to tear himself a corner among the chaos and comfortably equip it. He does not oppose himself to active protoplasm, he wants to be even more active. We cannot find this in the architectural designs and we can observe clearly in the literature and arts. The inner soul of Romanticism, all its pain and passion are precisely the desire to live in a perfect world with a full awareness of the fact of its unattainability. With the recognition of this fact, deep inner pessimism is inherent in romance as a worldview system. The comparison of the two movements leads to the understanding of the two different cultural styles that left a lot of legacy for us that we observe today.

Click Beetles, Family Elateridae

Click beetles, as you might suspect, are named for the clicking sound they produce. These entertaining beetles belong to the family Elateridae. Description: Click beetles are usually black or brown, with some species bearing red or yellow markings. Most fall within the 12-30 mm range in length, though a few species can be considerably longer. Theyre easiest to recognize by shape: elongate, parallel-sided, with rounded front and hind ends. A click beetles pronotum has pointed or spiny extensions at the posterior corners, which fit snugly around the elytra. The antennae are almost always serrate in form, though some may be filiform or pectinate. Click beetle larvae are often called wireworms. Theyre slender and long, with shiny, tough segmented bodies. Wireworms can be differentiated from mealworms (darkling beetle larvae) by examining the mouthparts. In the Elateridae, the larval mouthparts face forward. The eyed click beetle, Alaus oculatus, bears two enormous false eyespots on its pronotum, most likely to deter predators. Classification: Kingdom – AnimaliaPhylum – ArthropodaClass – InsectaOrder – ColeopteraFamily - Elateridae Diet: Adult click beetles feed on plants. Most larvae also feed on plants, but they tend to prefer newly planted seeds or plant roots, making them a pest of agricultural crops. Some click beetle larvae inhabit decomposing logs, where they hunt other insects. Life Cycle: Like all beetles, members of the family Elateridae undergo complete metamorphosis with four stages of development: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Females usually deposit eggs in the soil around the base of host plants. Pupation occurs in the soil or under bark, or in some species in rotting wood. Overwintering occurs in the larval and adult stages. Special Adaptations and Defenses: When stranded on its back, a click beetle has an unusual way of righting itself to flee from danger. The juncture between the prothorax and mesothorax is flexible, enabling the click beetle to do a backbend of sorts. This movement allows a special peg, called the prosternal spine, to fit into a catch or hold between the middle pair of legs. Once the peg is secured in the hold, the click beetle suddenly straightens out its body, and the peg slips into a mesosternal groove with a loud click. This motion hurls the beetle into the air at a speed of roughly 8 feet per second! Some species in the tropics have a special light organ which they use to communicate with potential mates. The click beetles light burns much brighter than that of its cousin, the firefly. Range and Distribution: Click beetles live throughout the world, in nearly every terrestrial habitat except for the most extreme montane and arctic environments. Scientists have described over 10,000 species, including almost 1,000 in North America. Sources: Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity, by Stephen A. MarshallBorror and Delongs Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th Edition, by Charles A. Triplehorn and Norman F. JohnsonFamily Elateridae - Click Beetles, Bugguide.net. Accessed online June 4, 2012.Elateridae, South Dakota State University. Accessed online June 4, 2012.BioKIDS - Kids Inquiry of Diverse Species, Critter Catalog, Elateridae, click beetles. Accessed online June 4, 2012.

What You Don t Know Might Kill You - 1745 Words

What You Don’t Know Might Kill You Millions of Americans wake up every morning and make a decision about what they will eat for breakfast to jump-start their day. Some may reach for a bowl of Cheerios or multigrain cereal, while others may opt for yogurt, toast, or a pastry. Some people choose to wash down their breakfast with pulp-free orange juice, while some may drink a protein drink or an invigorating coffee to get them going. For lunch, many people will consume sandwiches piled high with meats and cheeses or perhaps a cheap meal from the nearest fast food restaurant. When it comes to dinner, this meal may vary from family to family, but most dinners consist of a starch or two, a kind of meat, some variation of a vegetable on a good day, and a dessert to finish out the day. People who regularly eat this way have more than just food in common. In fact, most people who constantly eat the previously mentioned American diet, suffer from some sort of physical, mental, or emotional illness, whether it be chronic headaches, poor gut health, obesity, diabetes, asthma, chronic fatigue, ADHD, anxiety, or any of the other thousands of health problems. Many people suffering from these illnesses are led to believe that there is no direct cure and that they will just have to cope with their illness. However, what most of those people do not realize is that many of the diseases they are plagued with are often caused by the chemicals that make up their food. Even if the chemicals doShow MoreRelatedPray, Ayanda! I Need Ma. Please Pray.. Only A Prayer Will1539 Words   |  7 Pageshas been shot. He s dead. Do you know that moving... or disposing of the body is a serious offence?#10; - I left him lying there. - You should really consider getting a lawyer. - Mxo! - Zweli. Bra. Mxo! Mxolisi! Doctor, how s it looking? Doctor, I m talking to you! 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Marijuana’S Historic Misrepresentation Defines The Reasons

Marijuana’s historic misrepresentation defines the reasons behind its classification of this drug and why most Americans stand where they do on this issue. However, marijuana being released from the classification of a level 1 drug could definitely have a positive effect on our country. Lowering where it stands on the DEA’s drug classification schedule, would give marijuana the opportunity to become federally legal and have an impact throughout our entire country, rather than only those few open minded states. If marijuana wasn’t misclassified its medicinal properties would finally be fully explored, the people would be allowed to gain factual knowledge, prison and crime rate would drop, and the taxation of marijuana would benefit our†¦show more content†¦Flyers and posters were placed everywhere reading â€Å"Marijuana a puff- a party- a tragedy! Assassin of Youth(marijuana).† All sharing one common goal: convincing the public of the abominable drug that marijuana was being presumed to be. Then came the grand slam, the Reefer Madness film. The film’s main focus was how badly the teenage marijuana users were affected by the drug. These adolescents became unexplainably violent and deranged. The film even showed an extremely irrational behaviors, like suicide, because of how â€Å"potent† the high was. The movie was successfully advertised and pushed to be seen. Quickly after, this falsified idea of marijuana spread across the US like wildfire and its information was absorbed. Generation after generation carried on these false interpretations on cannabis. All medical miracles and its obvious economical benefits were lost due to blind ignorance and lack of knowledge. Marijuana has falsely been said to be highly addictive. Tobacco and alcohol have proven to be far more addictive than we are told. A comparative risk assessment using the margin of exposure(MOE) approach was taken to demonstrate the risk factor of many different drugs. MOE tested a wide range of substances: heroin, cocaine, cannabis, tobacco, and alcohol. In short, MOE: â€Å"Specifically, the results confirm that the risk of cannabis may have been overestimated in the past.† The four main substances that were

The Collin’s ATM System Capabilities Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Collins ATM System Capabilities. Answer: System vision document: Problem statement Considering the havoc that people are required to face in order to carry out their bank proceedings adequate number of ATM booths which are simpler to operate is of the utmost requirement. In the present date the number and varieties of cyber attacks have only increased, thus posing threats to the assets of millions of people (Gluchshenko Foerster, 2013). Keeping such problems in mind it can be said that the existing ATM system available in the markets are needed to upgraded as soon as possible. Other banking related issues such as limited number of transactions, limited amount of transactions are also required to be solved on the earliest basis. A much simpler, organized and modernized ATM system is essential in order to cope up with the present date scenario. Simpler operation of the ATM must also be considered while installation of the ATMs because it is observed that the number of customers finds difficulty in understanding the functioning or operations of the ATMs (Prasanthi et al., 2014). The Collin ATM system intends to bring such changes by providing customers easier access, simpler mode of operation and strict security surveillance inside the ATM premises. System capabilities In context of the case study of the Collins ATM system it can be said that the installed system of the Collins ATM comprises of a card reader where the customers would insert their card so that the system could access the bank details of the customer, a keypad with the help of which the customers would insert their security PIN, in the process the system would verify the card number and the card details. After card recognition the system will display a list of menu option from where the customer could choose the required option. A cash dispenser for dispensing the amount a printer for providing the customers with the transaction receipt and slot in case the customer wishes to deposit the cash are also included in the Collins ATM system. In order to maintain strict security measures the, the Collins ATM system will allow only one customer at a time within the ATM premises. The ATM system could be accessed by only one user at a time. The system at first performs card recognition in order to verify the bank details. This also enhances the security system of the Collins ATM system. In case the card is not identified an error message will be displayed to the user. In such cases, the customer is required to re-insert the card. After the card recognition the system will verify the PIN so that the system could get authorization from the concerned bank. The user is given three chances to re-enter the correct PIN code. This ensures that an unauthorized person could not withdraw money without the consent of the card holder (Padmapriya Prakasam, 2013). After successful PIN verification the user would be displayed with the possible options. The user is required to choose his/her account type which means weather the account is a current, savings or super saver account (Wilson, Suzic Van der Stricht, 2014). In the next step, the system will drop the list of the options from where the user could choose. The displayed options are- banking, mini statement, withdrawal, balance enquiry, cash deposit, change password. System benefits Then following are the system benefits of the Collins ATM system: There is no limit on the number of transactions in a day in the Collins ATM system; this means that the customers could withdraw the required amount of money if he/she possesses the required account balance (Sabatini et al., 2015).. No limit on the number of transactions in a day. Offers number of operations such as cash withdrawal, cash deposit, cash transfer, balance enquiry, printing mini statement. Strict security services. The system regularly generates the reports from the respective banks in order to keep a track on the inflow as well as outflow of the cash. This is done in regular basis (Kampichler, Steiner Eier, 2013). Resources required for the Collins ATM business A number of resources are required for setting up the Collins ATM business. The following are list of some of the required resources: Infrastructure Management team Software developers Hardware developers Sufficient land plots for setting up the ATM booths. Software maintenance team Network operator Security monitoring system Stakeholder map Figure: Stakeholder map Source: Author Feasibility of the Collins ATM business Considering the case study of the Collins ATM system it can be said that although strict surveillance is incorporated in the system but there lies a potential theft of the accounts of the user getting hacked. The hackers with the help of Malware programs could hack the necessary information regarding the credentials of the users (Ghodke et al., 2014). The Collins ATM system do not provides the users with any limitations considering the number and amount of transaction. Therefore, in certain instances, the ATMs may run out of cash. Apart from this adverse climatic condition can lead to system failure thus creating chaos within the users (Onah Ani, 2014). References Ghodke, A. P. S. S., Kolhe, H., Chaudhari, S., Deshpande, K., Athavle, S. (2014). ATM transaction security system using biometric palm print recognition and transaction confirmation system.International Journal Of Engineering And Computer Science,3(04). Gluchshenko, O., Foerster, P. (2013, June). Performance based approach to investigate resilience and robustness of an ATM System. In10th USA/Europe Air Traffic Management Research and Development Seminar(pp. 10-13). Kampichler, W., Steiner, W., Eier, D. (2013, April). Distributed mils: A novel approach to advanced atm communication services. InIntegrated Communications, Navigation and Surveillance Conference (ICNS), 2013(pp. 1-8). IEEE. Onah, F. I., Ani, C. I. (2014). Application of integrated modeling technique for data services resource allocation in atm based private wan.Nigerian Journal of Technology,33(1), 72-77. Padmapriya, V., Prakasam, S. (2013). Enhancing ATM security using fingerprint and GSM technology.International Journal of Computer Applications,80(16). Prasanthi, B. V., Jyothi, U. P., Sridevi, B., Krishna, T. V. (2014). Security Enhancement of ATM System with Fingerprint and DNA Data.International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science and Software Engineering. Sabatini, R., Gardi, A., Ramasamy, S., Kistan, T., Marino, M. (2015). Modern avionics and ATM systems for green operations.Encyclopedia of Aerospace Engineering. Wilson, S., Suzic, R., Van der Stricht, S. (2014, April). The SESAR ATM information reference model within the new ATM system. InIntegrated Communications, Navigation and Surveillance Conference (ICNS), 2014(pp. L3-1). IEEE.

Animal Farm, Great Expectations, and an Outpost of Progress Essay Example

Animal Farm, Great Expectations, and an Outpost of Progress Essay Example Animal Farm, Great Expectations, and an Outpost of Progress Paper Animal Farm, Great Expectations, and an Outpost of Progress Paper Essay Topic: Animal Dreams Animal Farm Great Expectations The answer is simple, the use of satire. From the moment Pip is introduced, to the point in which him and Estella supposedly fall in love, Dickens has placed his sense of satire to please the readers sense of feelings for the characters. This young boy named Pip was not raised in the richest family in the world, so he is elated that his uncle has set him on a meeting with one of the wealthiest old woman In England. Upon arrival a beautiful little girl about his age welcomes him. The old woman, Ms. Having, tells this little girl, Estella, to play with Pip and show him the ropes of being In a high-class society. More Importantly Ms. Having tells Estella to somewhat fall for Pip, and It works. As the reader you see the Irony that this Is all a ploy to destroy a little boys state of mind, and to break his heart which Is stated In this passage, Well, I thought I overheard Miss Having answer- only it seemed so unlikely- Well, you can break his heart. (Dickens 61 ) But Dickens wants Pip to feel the irony, so what better way to do it than having the girl of is dreams tell him, You must know, said Estella, condescending to me as a beautiful woman might, that I have no heart. (Dickens 235) It is a perfect way to leave the reader double-checking all that they read, and it is an even better way of introducing a little chaos in the story. Animal Farm, In short, Is about the time and events of World War II and the Russian Revolution. If a reader doesnt know this then they might not have gotten the irony and chaos presented by George Orwell. For example, after Mr.. Jones was over heron from his own far m, the animals took over; more specifically the pigs took charge. The pigs, including Snowball and others, decided they where smarter and Tanat teen snouts run ten Tara. Nine animals as a wangle Ana agreed, ten Irony, ten pigs sat around and encouraged the animals to work while they reaped the benefits. These leaders had become dictators. Orwell was able to take some of the worst stories and people of the time and turned them into animals. By saturating his story, people could distance themselves from the horrors of war. It was almost as if he wrote a fairy tale for adults. Animal Farm is a story full of saturating from point A to point B and is used in what seems to be every last sentence. A simple quote from the book showing satire, All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. (Orwell) The saturating in Outpost of Progress is very easily seen, Just read the title. Even more ironic than the title is that the two main characters, Asserts and Carrier, are probably the laziest people ever put into a story. And of course these lazy men set the stage for a tale meant to be about progression, which, there seems to be none of. When the story takes place, it is during the time of colonialism in Africa, which is where the story is taking place. Through out the book these men are supposed to sell things to the tribesmen and people around their outpost. But due to the lack of people in the area things Just tend to sit in the shop and the two men Just sit. So what happens when there is only one cube of sugar left for their daily cup of coffee? Simple, the lazy men actually have to fight for it. Had this happened at the beginning of the story these men would have stuck to their morals and not have even thought of sighting over something so stupid. But being in this heat, without friends or loved ones tears them down limb by limb. The only progress in the entire story is the death of both of the men, over a cube of sugar. It is like Conrad meant for this story to be written based purely on saturating stating this in the book, The courage, the composure, the confidence; the emotions and principles; every great and every insignificant thought belongs not to the individual but to the crowd: to the crowd that believes blindly in the irresistible force of its institutions and of its morals, in the rower of its police and of its opinion. (Conrad, page 193) It is easy to conclude that satire is something that is placed in many books for the enjoyment of the reader. Without it many story lines would be dull and not worth reading. So for the sake of expressing their inner humor, authors insert satire where they can. As stated, Great Expectations, Animal Farm, and An Outpost of Progress are clear reminders of great and timeless stories that without some of the corruption and irony wouldnt be the classics they are today.

Free Essays on Deforestation In Brazils Amozon Rainforest

Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest The Amazon rainforest is an ecosystem that holds an extremely diverse array of plants and animals. It is located in the northern and central portion of South America, mainly in Brazil. It took thousands of years for it to become the way it is, and it stood peacefully up until last century. People began cutting it down for the economical advancement of their country, many people are still unaware of the impact this will cause. Some of the reasons deforestation occurs are population growth and logging. These reasons benefit Brazil’s economy, unfortunately they are in turn devastating the earth’s environment. We must stop deforestation; the rainforest is home to millions of creatures and it acts like a filter for the entire planet. The biggest issue concerning deforestation in Brazil and the Amazon is an economic one. When an economically struggling country has a choice between logging a forest to sell timber for high profits and leaving the forest intact without monetary compensation, the nation usually chooses the profitable alternative. This is because immediate economic gains are more important than future environmental costs (Miller, 1987, 59). Brazilians believe that it is in their best interest to cut into the forest to provide economic support for Brazil. However, rapid deforestation is rarely in the economic interest of the country concerned. When environmentalists show their concern over the loss of the rainforest, Brazilians get annoyed. They believe the arguments for preserving the forests are a â€Å"rich man’s luxury.† They are mainly concerned with the country’s need to improve its people’s living standards and accommodate the growing population. The combination of bad policies, population growth, and poverty makes the rainforest issue a difficult problem to solve. Poor people use mainly wood as fuel, and no one really seems to care about the government re... Free Essays on Deforestation In Brazil's Amozon Rainforest Free Essays on Deforestation In Brazil's Amozon Rainforest Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest The Amazon rainforest is an ecosystem that holds an extremely diverse array of plants and animals. It is located in the northern and central portion of South America, mainly in Brazil. It took thousands of years for it to become the way it is, and it stood peacefully up until last century. People began cutting it down for the economical advancement of their country, many people are still unaware of the impact this will cause. Some of the reasons deforestation occurs are population growth and logging. These reasons benefit Brazil’s economy, unfortunately they are in turn devastating the earth’s environment. We must stop deforestation; the rainforest is home to millions of creatures and it acts like a filter for the entire planet. The biggest issue concerning deforestation in Brazil and the Amazon is an economic one. When an economically struggling country has a choice between logging a forest to sell timber for high profits and leaving the forest intact without monetary compensation, the nation usually chooses the profitable alternative. This is because immediate economic gains are more important than future environmental costs (Miller, 1987, 59). Brazilians believe that it is in their best interest to cut into the forest to provide economic support for Brazil. However, rapid deforestation is rarely in the economic interest of the country concerned. When environmentalists show their concern over the loss of the rainforest, Brazilians get annoyed. They believe the arguments for preserving the forests are a â€Å"rich man’s luxury.† They are mainly concerned with the country’s need to improve its people’s living standards and accommodate the growing population. The combination of bad policies, population growth, and poverty makes the rainforest issue a difficult problem to solve. Poor people use mainly wood as fuel, and no one really seems to care about the government re...

Drugs and War on Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Drugs and War on Drugs - Essay Example Introduction:   In the United States, drugs first came into use reportedly during the 1800s.  During the time of the American Civil War, opium as well as cocaine started gaining popularity. In the post-war era, Coca was commonly used as a constituent element in several health drinks. In1906, Morphine was discovered and it was basically used for medical purposes. Doctors made use of Heroin for treating respiratory diseases, and these treatments proved to be successful in most cases. Moreover, they prescribed Morphine as a common pain reliever. The demand for Cocaine increased as the era of junk food and soft drinks was rolling by, especially so in case of Coca-Cola, which used Cocaine as one of its main ingredients. However, these drugs were being misused and the local governments started to prohibit opium dens and opium imports. Additionally, the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 required all physicians to precisely label their medicines and drugs were not considered as harmless rem edies for pains and aches. In 1914, The Harrison Narcotics Act was passed, which is the first federal drug policy of the United States. The act was strictly enforced and it controlled the manufacture and trade of cocaine, marijuana, morphine and heroin. Moreover, physicians who prescribed drugs to addicts, were severely punished by being thrown in jails or paying high fines, especially in the period between 1915 and 1938. So, it can be discerned that through this federal drug policy, the government basically targeted pharmacists and physicians. Furthermore, in 1930, the Treasury Department formulated the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, which would later on shape the American view of drug policies. Various records and data show that drugs were gradually viewed as more offensive in the following years.  In 1951, The Boggs Act radically increased the severity of punishment awarded against the use of marijuana.  In 1956, Narcotics Control Act was passed, which proved to be one of the m ost strongly enforced acts during the time.  In order to make the punishment system more effective, discretion of probation and suspended sentences was removed.  Parole was rendered to those who were only convicted for the possession of drugs, however for those who were caught selling heroin and other drugs to minors, the only option was death penalty. A slinger criticized the judges for being easy on drug dealers and suggested longer minimum sentences.  He established a penalizing drug policy with a spotlight on drug law enforcement.   The Federal Bureau of Narcotics used propaganda also as a preventative measure.  They brought awareness to the people through facts such as  marijuana being responsible for bizarre cases of madness, sex crimes and murder.  There occurred a lot of horrifying incidents as a result of drug abuse and several people suffered in its wake.  During the 1940s and 1950s, people simply did not believe in these incidents and thought them to be ma ke-believe. This resulted in the former failing to heed to the government’s caution about drugs and falling victim to drug abuse on a larger scale.  However, the 1960s gave rise to a rebellious movement, which aimed at popularizing the use of drugs.  The demand for drugs in America reached its peak during this period. The Johnson

IS theories, are they emerged in IS disciplines or adopted from other Article - 1

IS theories, are they emerged in IS disciplines or adopted from other disciplines - Article Example 66). These roles include: Information systems have also had a significant impact on productivity of service and manufacturing operations. Recent studies have led to factory automation, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, etc. Such advances have improved the productivity and quality of organizations (Gurbaxani & Seungjin, 1991, p. 66). Various theories within the information systems discipline have contributed to the development of application systems. For example, knowledge sharing between different organizations and groups has been enabled by conducting both psychological and social studies. By applying borrowed theories from these disciplines it has been possible to identify what factors affect knowledge sharing behavior in humans (Hall, 2003, p.11). Literature from such studies sheds light into the factors motivating knowledge and information sharing within organizations. Ultimately, this will enable the development of systems and policies that are of great benefit to an organization. Theories within the discipline of information systems have enabled system developers to justify the costs associated with development of application systems for organization. It is now possible to justify the strategic advantage of information systems to the managers of an organization. The theory of competitive strategy has enabled firms to change the way they serve their customers all in an effort to earn profits. Research into human behavior has enabled the development of customer centered application systems. Information system as a discipline is concerned with the development of information systems that model real world artifacts. It is vital that these real world artifacts be modeled in a proper manner. For this to be possible, fine theories are required. These theories enable developers and researchers to describe the facts and events that are being modeled. Theories are used in design projects to trigger the specifics of

Literature of Cyber Security Strategies

Literature of Cyber Security Strategies Natora Shepherd Abstract Staying Safe: Cyber Security for people and Organizations lucidly iterates the imperativeness of cyber security. The journal focuses considerably on how the lack of knowledge of both professional and personal environments has caused a surging level of threats due to security ignorance. The key topics covered by this paper is- The 8 Most Infamous Data Attacks, The Map of Breaching, Whats a PoS Attack, How Consumers View Hacked Business and The Rippling Effect, Heed The Waring Signs Well Provide A Solution. For the reason that 80% or more businesses process significant amounts of data or use PoS systems. Learning The Ins and Outs of Data Breaching May Save Your Company We live in a digital era, where computers are a part of everyday operations. As our technology advances, society has seen how much our nation struggles to secure government, personal, business, and financial data. Currently, the country suffers from a half-million cyber-attacks every minute, making it merely impossible to issue a patch promptly to seal exploited vulnerability and isolate the attack. Unfortunately, computers are not the only electronic devices subjected to cyber-attacks, for this purpose, its imperative that business, government agencies, and organizations construct a systematic approach to safeguarding their computers. Reading this document will provide a clear understanding of- Why are Business Attacked,The 8 Most Infamous Data Attacks, The Blueprint for Breaching, Whats a PoS Attack, How Consumers View Hacked Business and The Rippling Effect, Heed The Waring Signs Well Provide A Solution. Ultimately, as we progress into the future, the level of cultivation breaches upsurges throughout the cyber world. A data breach occurs when hackers exploit a weakness in the targets system. As a result, hackers can extract and access confidential information without the consent or knowledge of the user. Importantly, knowing why hackers mark government agencies, department stores, online stores, and healthcare organization is equally beneficial. Hackers fabricate attacks, where enormous amounts of confidential data are accommodated. Why are Business Attacked. Attacks against companies are increasing at an astounding rate. Yet, in still they continue to ignore incident until its too late. Understanding the motives behind the many attacks discussed enables corporations to concentrate on areas within the business infrastructure a hacker should possibly attack. For one large company, government agencies, and organizations process massive amounts of data on a daily basis. The amount of data acquired through these attacks is the driving force. Needless to say, knowledge holds power and information pertaining to any business is the biggest source of knowledge for a company. For instance, organized crime groups specifically use cyber exploits to commit identity theft, online fraud, and computer extortion. In many cases hacker prey on the knowledge that many businesses has lower defenses which are easy to penetrate. Once the information is in the criminals possession, their free to upload the content on Black Markets sites, underground trading sites. Meanwhile, admittance users navigate through the site scanning immense amounts of debit cards, bank account numbers, credit cards, social security numbers, and so forth (Wright, Sean). In this section, we take a look at five well-known companies that fell victim to data breaches. Data breaches continue to take our nation by storm, with business and organizations being the primary target. The reason why many companies become targets is that more and more businesses have become more contingent on digital data. Companies store the majority of sensitive data on local machines, cloud servers, and enterprise databases, because of this hacking, a companys data is simpler than ever. Lets take a look at some of the largest and most hindering breaches on records dating as far back as 2009. In 2012 Experian was indirectly involved with one of the largest data breaches after acquiring a company called Court Ventures. Court Ventures had a contract with the company U.S. Info Search that enabled clients of U.S Info Search to locate individuals addresses in order to determine which court registers to assess. The data retrieved was then sold to a number of third parties resulting in the data falling into the hands of a Vietnamese fraud service. The Vietnamese fraud service gave its own customers the opportunity to view Americans social security numbers and financial information. 2009 marked a major turning point for the company Heartland Payment Systems suffered a massive data breach resulting in 130 million records being compromised. The system was penetrated by malware planted on their network. Heartland obtained data from more than 250,000 businesses along. Sony PlayStation Network- experienced an outage back in 2011 from an external intrusion resulting in all network users losing access to their system. It was stated that approximately 77 million accounts were compromised. Living Social- is a local marketplace where consumers can buy and share the best things to do in their area. More than 50 million users accessed this site on a daily basis. In 2013 hackers attacked their servers and made off with more than 70 million members personal data worldwide. Evernote- runs a cloud base storage which allows its users to access notes from multiple devices. In 2015 tens of millions of their note-takers found themselves worrying about their security. No, customers, financial information was extracted. However, the hackers were able to gather customers user names, encrypted passwords, and email addresses(Andromeda botnet). The Blueprint for Data Breaching As with anything else, theres more than one type of attack that could put a business in a compromising situation. In this section well talk about the five most popular attacks, leaving any business in devastation. Brute force attack is a very sophisticated algorithm or software written to perform any actions necessary to attack a companies infrastructure. The software does this by searching for vulnerabilities- and several cases targets password protect mechanism. This attack is designed to go through hundreds of thousands of different words, combinations of words combined with numbers in efforts to crack passwords; it does this by evaluating each word in the dictionary seeing if they can access somewhat like a password. DDoS also known as distributed denial of service attacks happens when servers are overloaded with connections, the goal is shutting down the targets network system or website. An example of this particular attack is covered under The 5 Largest Data Breaches section. Next on the list is Phishing attacks which are perhaps among the most frequently reported method of cyber attacks. Theres numerous types of phishing attacks but the one used depends upon the industry. With this approach, hackers send out hundreds of thousands of emails with attachments or link hoping someone will click on them, given hackers system access. Coming in last is ransomware. Ransomware prohibits the use of the infected computer. In other words, it holds files or the PC for ransom. Now, there are various types of ransomware; however, all of the prevents the victim from using the PC. Point-of-Sale (PoS) Malware Point-of-sale malware is a malicious software expressly written to detect, aggregate and exfiltrate payment data. This malware was first exposed in October of 2008 when Visa issued an alert on a new type of exploit. Point-of-sale malware is a memory scraper that searches for data in its true format for track two credit card data. Chewbacca, BlackPOS, Kaptoxa, and Backoff are all types of POS malware. Orchestrating a POS attack is much simpler and a less risky way to obtain customers data without physically visiting the premises. So, what makes POS systems an easy target, well the systems are proprietary set up either by third-party consultants or vendors and may not be well comprehended by clients IT staff. The anatomy of a POS attack on a corporate network involves multiple stages. Ultimately, the hacker must acquire access to the victims network. This access is usually gained through an associated network not directly linked to a common desktop environment. Secondly, they can scan for vulnerabilities in external-facing systems, such as utilizing SQL injection on a web server or pinpointing a periphery device still using the default manufacturer password. Once inside the network, the attacker directs their attention toward the ultimate prize the POS system. They may achieve their objective in various ways, although, the simplest method is collecting user credentials, through password hash extraction, cracking, keylogging Trojans, or brute force. The third step entails the use of data-stealing tools-like RAM-scraping malware and network-sniffing(Colasoft Capsa,/Wireshark). All data gathered during this process is then stored locally in a file until exfiltration. Because POS attacks often take time to carry out the primary goal, hackers need their code to remain persistent on the compromised terminal. Lastly, the hacker may attempt to hijack the internal system acting as the companies primary server. During this process their trying to identify a server that regularly communicated with the POS system, while piggybacking on normal communications to avoid detection (Andromeda botnet). How Consumers View Hacked Business and The Rippling Effect First and foremost just in case, the company you work for has forgotten all business are in the market to make money. However, not possess customer rapport makes it merely impossible to do so. By this token, it is necessary to view this situation through the clients eyes. How exactly does a breach on a company affect consumers or customers perspective of them? Take a moment to rewind back to a time where you felt betrayed by either a business or person. Surely the memory resonates clearly in everyones mind because the human psyche holds a great capacity for feelings of abuse or betrayal. Clearly, it should not come as a surprise that consumers harbor those same negative emotions against business that allow their personal information to be stolen. If it where you would the level of trust remain the same? According to recent statistics75% of consumers say they would cease to do business with a company who had been hacked. Moreover, hacking has a tremendous impact on a business future. So, why are many businesses willing to take the chances of subjecting themselves to these types of threats. Perhaps, saving money now is worth losing loyal customers and withstanding the devastation and setback a breach would have on any companies future. Afterward, depending on the type of corporation or business it could leave them paying out millions of dollars to every customer compromised. Ironically, then and only then companies wish to ponder on the repercussions.(Last Name, Year) Heed The Waring Signs Well Provide A Solution. Most organizations and business are coming to terms with why hacker breaching techniques are becoming more sophisticated. Even with this being the case some companies place all their trust in their antivirus software not recognizing the need to take other precautionary measures. All businesses whether big or small struggles to allocate security resources. In some case its not that IT dont have the required tools to improve their risk of exposures- its more about not having the time. So, here are some early warning signs. Improperly trained employees Solution: Cybersecurity awareness is critical to the operation of any business. All users need appropriate training on how to safeguard all devices on the company network, spot fraudulent e-mails, and when to contact IT personnel. Unclear security policies Solution: Reinforces policies for accessing data, sharing data, granting user permission, and how employees use mobile devices on company network Unforeseen file activity or uncommon log-in patterns from team members Solution: track relationships among users and activities. Keep an eye out for various security product in the ecosystem. Unsupported or None-patched operating systems Solution: All workstations connect to network servers must be continuously patched and up-to-date as a preventive measure against criminals exploiting vulnerabilities. Joint user accounts Solution: one of the most insecure actions, even though it creates conveniences. Oftentimes using shared accounts results in a lack of accountability for access confidential data. Reframing from creating shared accounts prevents these types of data leaks. Unsubstantial Passwords Solution: reframe from the use of short password. A strong password is said to consist of longer words (15 characters at minimum) mixture of numbers, capital letters, lower-case letters, and symbols. Not managing file syncing Solution:make sure all company files remain under company controls at all times. The employees should never use personal accounts for work. In addition, invest in business-ready versions of products like Box, given executive granular authority over company Unsupported or None-patched operating systems Solution: All workstations connect to network servers must be continuously patched and up-to-date as a preventive measure against criminals exploiting vulnerabilities (Warning Signs Of A Breach, n.1-7). Time-consuming account lockouts (security professional encounter 10,000 or more alerts per month). Solution: make sure the SOC team can distinguish between real security incidents which take hours to investigate and heavy fingers. Some many SOC teams proceed to unlock accounts prematurely as a means to save time. Distractions like DDoS attacks used to steer a security operations center(SOC) attention towards isolated the breach, while allowing hackers to move in undetected. Solution: the companies SOC team should have a mitigation solution in place for possible violations. The key is being prepared for what might come, and constantly monitor for suspicious activity across the network(Shteiman, B n.8-9). Conclusion To conclude for years, our nation has felt the crippling effects of cyber attacks targeting business and government sectors. Many of these attacks have brought agencies and corporations to an abrupt halt, as they attempted to veil the devastating effects. Yet, they still choose to ignore the risk by rejecting adequate security and failure to educate themselves. Weve approached the modern day area of cyber attacks; this is why organizations must heed the warnings by taking action. Our nation must move forward by learning how to recognize warning signs and guard against various data breaches and pos attacks. The information from this document was designed to stress the importance of knowing all the threats that lurk around in the cyber world by offering insight on two prominent threats of Data Breaches, PoS devices, and avoidance methods. References 5 types of cyber attacks and how they can affect your business. (n.d.). Retrieved February 02, 2017, from http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2016/06/22/5-types-of-cyber-attacks-and-how-they-can-affect-y?slreturn=1487565444page=6 Mid-Year Review: 6 of the Biggest Cyber Threats of 2016. (2016, September 28). Retrieved January 03, 2017, from https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/2016-biggest-cyber-threats/ New point-of-sale malware distributed by Andromeda botnet. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2016, from http://www.csoonline.com/article/2948966/cyber-attacks-espionage/new-pointofsale-malware-distributed-by-andromeda-botnet.html (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2017, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/10-warning-signs-your-business-may-risk-data-breach-sean-wright (n.d.). 3 Warning Signs Of A Breach What Security Teams Should Be Looking For. Retrieved December 30, 2016, from https://techcrunch.com/gallery/3-warning-signs-of-a-breach-what-security-teams-should-be-looking-for/ Types of Phishing Attacks. (2007, August 24). Retrieved November 15, 2016, from http://pcworld.about.com/od/emailsecurity/Types-of-Phishing-Attacks.htm

Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart - How Things Fall Apart :: Things Fall Apart essays

How Things Fall Apart      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There was a man who dreamed as a child of being well known and respected throughout his village and neighboring villages. This man, Okonko, worked hard at his goal, and he achieved it. Okonko, a man with great strength and personality, had achieved his goal to become rich and famous, a privilege that was unseen before in his family. Although Okonko reached his goal at an early age, his life began to Fall Apart when tragic episodes took place.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One can see that Okonko's life first began to fall apart when Ikemefuna, a captive who stayed at Okonko's home, was killed. Okonko had thought of Ikemefuna as one of his own sons. He was deeply saddened when he was killed. One can see the effects on Okonko from that event. First Okonko was unable to sleep for the following three days. He also kept on getting drunk, and that was a sign that he was depressed. This incident also had a long-term effect on Okonko. From then on his family would look at him as if it were his fault that Ikemefuna is dead. This episode can be seen as an event where Okonko looses some faith from his family. This corresponds to Okonko loosing faith in his father.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another important occurrence where one can see that Okonko's life falls apart was when he was thrown out of the clan for a few years. From this episode one can see that Okonko's hopes dreams have begun to fall apart. His hopes of being a rich and popular individual had drifted away with this upsetting incident. Okonko had no longer had his farm or animals. Also Okonko lost faith with most of his friends. This goes to show that Okonko lost faith with his friends, like his father lost faith with his.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another episode that showed the downfall in Okonko's life was when Nwoye, his oldest and favorite son, converted to the white mans religion, Christianity. To Okonko this was very upsetting because Nwoye was his eldest son, and Okonko had the greatest expectations for him. When news came to him that Nwoye was among the white men, one could have foreseen that only no good was coming to Okonko after that.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By glancing at Okonko's life, one could see that the title Things Fall

PR Research Final Project Essay

CHAPTER 1 Introduction There is a widespread belief in the professional world that in today’s society the future of any one company depends critically on how it is viewed by key stakeholders such as shareholders and investors, customers and consumers, employees, and members of the community in which the company resides. Public activism, globalization and recent accounting scandals have further strengthened this belief; and have also brought the importance of strategic communications management into closer orbit. Not surprisingly, therefore, both the academic and professional worlds have been suggesting frameworks and models that prescribe steps towards the ‘strategic’ use of communications including such ideas as ‘integrated marketing communications’ (Kitchen and Schultz, 1999), ‘corporate identity management’ (Van Riel and Balmer, 1997), ‘reputation management’ (Fombrun, 1996), ‘stakeholder communications’ (Christensen and Cheney, 1994) and ‘excellent public relations’ (Grunig and Grunig, 1998). Much of this work has been prescriptive in suggesting frameworks for managing communications and for managing firm-stakeholder interactions, as opposed to a more grounded and detailed understanding of the practices of branding and communications professionals and how these may make a difference in the management of firm-stakeholder relationships. Such an understanding is, we suggest, particularly important given the rift between the importance placed by CEO’s and senior executives upon strategic corporate communications, that is, linking communications activities with the overall corporate strategy and objectives of the firm, and their views that there is a huge under-performance in the communications profession in the US, the UK and continental Europe because of a lack of qualified personnel and a limited understanding of what communication practices actually make a difference (Argenti et al. , 2005; Murray and White, 2004; Van der Jagt, 2005). Against this background, I conducted primary research into practices (responsibilities, roles and activities) of communications professionals in four corporations (Siemens, Nokia, Shell and Philips) that have had consistently strong and glowing reputations over the past years, despite market setbacks and negative coverage in the media. The overall aim here was to elicit and conceptualize in more detail the activities and issues that define CC as a public relation function in practice. This extended conceptualization is based upon a view of CC as a ‘practice’, which focuses upon how practitioners engage in the doing the ‘real work’ (Cook and Brown, 1999, p. 387) – a view that, I hope, will stimulate conceptual debate and empirical research and offer a more informed basis for practitioners to make sense of their professional realities and act upon it. CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND CRITIQUE According to writers Ewen (1996) and Cutlip (1995) the professional discipline of public relations (PR) – communication activities undertaken by an organization to inform, persuade or otherwise relate to individuals and groups in its outside environment – developed itself, expanding in its scope and activities, because of public skepticism, political reform, turmoil and activism throughout the 20th century. In PR’s early days as a discipline, at the height of the Industrial Revolution, power was largely concentrated with big businesses, although the balance has since then shifted towards powerful groups in society including governments, trade unions, investors and stockholders (Broom et al. , 1991). In response to the increased saliency and power of such groups, new areas of expertise such as investor relations, public affairs, issues management and employee communications were added to the existing specialties of media relations and publicity, and PR gradually developed into a full-fledged ‘managerial discipline’ in the early 1970s (Olasky, 1987). The ‘managerial discipline’ of PR has since then, as writers Van Riel (1995) and Cornelissen (2004) have documented, evolved into the ‘managerial function’ of CC. The fundamental contrast being that under CC communications activities and specialties (eg media relations, government relations, employee communications, community relations, advertising, investor relations, corporate design and issues management) have been increasingly taken together and consolidated into one or a few units or departments and, importantly, these activities are increasingly given shape and coordinated from the strategi c interests of the organization as a whole. Van Riel (1995: 26) for example suggests in this regard that CC as a managerial function is ‘an instrument of management by means of which all consciously used forms of internal and external communication are harmonized as effectively and efficiently as possible’, with the overall objective of creating ‘a favorable basis for relationships with groups upon which the company is dependent’. The evolution of PR into CC and its recognition as a managerial function is furthermore documented in the relatively high position of communications managers and departments (e.g. ‘Corporate communications’, ‘Public Affairs’ or ‘Corporate affairs’) within organizations’ hierarchical structures (Cornelissen, 2004), the rise of a new ‘style’ more business savvy ‘corporate communications’ manager (Freeman, 1984; Harris and Bryant, 1986; Marion, 1998), and the widespread adoption of the CC vocabulary of ‘stakeholders’, ‘identity’ and ‘reputation’ (Argenti, 1996; Van Riel, 1997). For example, a recent survey of Fortune 500 companies found that rather than using PR terminology around publics (ie people who mobilize themselves against an organization on the basis of some common issue or concern to them), managing ‘reputations’ with stakeholders is nowadays considered the lead philosophy among communication departments (Hutton et al. , 2001). In reviewing these literatures that have dealt with the function and process of communications between firms and groups in their respective environments, we observed two key points about the current conceptualization of CC and its embodiment as a managerial function in firms around the globe. First, theories and theoretical frameworks in these literatures implicate the importance of communications in firm-stakeholder interactions – and in that sense are coming together (cf Schultz et al. , 2000: 3) – but only focus on the process of communicating between a firm and stakeholders in its environment. These theories have been particularly focused on stakeholder effects and outcomes (e.g. images, reputations, relationships) established, but have paid very little attention to the managerial activities, professional issues and organizational contexts that characterize CC as a managerial function (cf Vercic and Grunig, 2000). Some work to this effect has emerged in recent years (Cornelissen, 2004; Scholes and Clutterbuck, 1998, 1997), but is still a long way off from fully conceptualizing and describing CC as a management function and practice – at least in comparison with other management functions and practices as for instance strategy (Whittington, 2003) and accounting (Hopwood and Miller, 1994). Second, there has been little actual empirical research into CC as a management function, despite the recognized importance of the function and a proliferating stream of literatures that directly or indirectly refer to it. Thus, there is a gap between theoretical deliberations on the relevance and importance of CC, and descriptive accounts of its actual use and embodiment in practice. We argue that a practice-based conceptualization of CC accounts for these limitations and provides not only a framework for extended theorizing and empirical research but also a means for practitioners to attain a fuller and richer understanding of this critical management function. The Organization of Communication Work The way in which communication practitioners and functional areas are organized is important as it not only determines to a large extent whether the communications function is enabled to provide strategic input into decision-making at the corporate level, but also whether the communication activities that are carried out at various places within the organization are streamlined and coordinated. In other words, the way in which communications is organized carries important strategic and political dimensions and is also crucial for the effective support and integration of communication activities. Ever since the 1970s, academic and practitioner writings have emphasized that firms should consolidate rather than fragment their communications by bringing practitioners and functional areas together into central organizational departments, with the purpose of pooling and enhancing communication expertise and increasing the organizational autonomy and visibility of communications within the organization (e.g. Cook, 1973; Dozier and Grunig, 1992; Grunig and Grunig, 1998; Schultz et al. , 1993; Van Riel, 1995). Siemens, for example, has consolidated all of its communications staff and their responsibilities into a ‘corporate brand and design’ department responsible for the strategic development and policing of the Siemens umbrella brand values, brand design and brand portfolio management, a ‘corporate communications’ department which includes advertising, internal communications and media relations, and a central ‘corporate messages’ unit encompassing both senior communications professionals responsible for developing and guarding the overall corporate story of Siemens and copy writers for speeches of senior managers. Such consolidation is according to a number of research surveys (eg Cornelissen and Thorpe, 2001) now commonplace, with the exception of a few large corporations like General Motors which rather than bringing functional areas together into a few central communications departments have devolved them as stand-alone units (eg a governmental affairs unit) or subordinated to other functions such as human resources or finance. Generally, then, there app-ears to be a greater consolidation of communications into a few departments, yet still in separate ‘corporate communications’ and ‘marketing’ or ‘corporate branding’ departments. Within large firms, such as multidivisional firms and multinational corporations like Siemens, Nokia, Philips and Shell, the relationship between the corporate center or group headquarters and the various business-units is usually a major strategic issue. One key structural consideration here, is as Argenti (1998: 5) suggests, to have ‘all communications focused by centralizing the activity under one senior officer at a corporation’s headquarters or to decentralize activities and allow individual business units to decide how best to handle communications’. Most large multinationals like Siemens, Shell, Nokia and Philips have a combination of centralized ‘global’ departments at the corporate center and decentralized ‘local’ departments, teams and professionals in business-units around the world. Within both Philips and Siemens, the ‘corporate branding’ and ‘corporate communications’ departments have defined a brand charter and a number of work processes to assist professionals within the business with their specific communication programs. The obvious reasoning behind these examples is that although bringing communications specialists together vertically into one or a few departments may lead to enhanced efficiency, to the ability to develop specialized, distinctive capabilities, and to ease of management through the centralization and consolidation of communication activities, it may not lead to coordination between communication-related departments and with other functional areas (eg human resources) outside those departments, and it risks ‘turf wars’, functional myopia, and over specialization. A horizontal structure overlaying the vertical structure, therefore, is often seen as necessary for coordinating disparate communications tasks and activities, which also recognizes that communications with key stakeholders might emerge from various places within the organization and that the process of developing and executing communication programs is therefore essentially cross-functional or cross-disciplinary (Heath, 1994). Horizontal structure can take various forms including multidisciplinary task or project teams, formal lines of communication, standardized work processes (Philips), council meetings (Shell, Siemens), communication guidelines (Siemens, Philips) a corporative vision and communications strategy (Nokia) or the use of ‘czars’ (senior practitioners working as integrators between departments). Large organizations in both the private and public sectors generally need at least some of these horizontal structures. Particularly in multidivisional firms operating across geographical borders, horizontal structures do not appear to be a luxury but an absolute necessity. In recent years there has been a lot of discussion around the departmental arrangement of communications and the reporting relationship of the central corporate affairs department (see Cornelissen, 2004). Ultimately, the stakes of this discussion are about the professional status of corporate communications (vis-à  -vis other established functions as human resources and finance) and its strategic involvement in decision-making at the highest corporate level. Claims that have been made to this effect include the arguments that different communications disciplines should be consolidated in a single department, and that the head of this department should report directly to the CEO or the senior management team (or be a member of this team) to bolster and secure the functional expertise as well as the strategic involvement of corporate communications in decision-making. Broom and Dozier (1986) and Grunig and Grunig (1998) characterized this involvement in organizational decision-making as perhaps most important to the communications practitioner than any other measure of professional growth. The guiding idea in this regard is that a direct reporting relationship to the CEO may be seen as an indication that there is indeed a broad, growing recognition among corporate executives and corporate boards that the ability to succeed will depend upon the firm’s ability to effectively communicate with its stakeholders; and that therefore the communications function is recognized as an absolute, integral part of the top management function. White and Mazur (1995) have added that such a direct reporting relationship is also important as it leads to excellent communications management as senior management is counseled on issues, and stakeholder and identity considerations may more easily get factored into the process of organizational decision-making. The results from a number of studies indicate that in the large majority of cases, there is indeed such a direct reporting relationship from the staff communications department to the CEO and/or executive team (e.g. Argenti and Forman, 2000; Cornelissen and Thorpe, 2001; Grunig and Grunig, 1998; Grunig et al. , 2002; Van Ruler and De Lange, 2003). In most large firms, such a direct reporting relationships consist of counseling and advising the CEO and senior executive team on stakeholder and reputation issues, rather than having a direct involvement (through a seat on the executive team) in corporate decision-making. In a recent study in the UK, Moss et al. (2000) found that within the sample of companies studied communications directors report directly to the CEO or chairperson of the senior management team, but were not formal members of the senior management team responsible for determining corporate strategy and strategic decision-making. In other words, all of the directors in the study indicated that ‘they were often consulted on important issues likely to affect their organizations, [but] their involvement in key operational decision-making was often limited to advising on how best to present policies to the outside world or to internal stakeholders’ (Moss et al. , 2000: 299). Similarly, within companies such as Shell, Siemens and Nokia, the senior vice-president in the area of CC sits on the second-tier management team (one level below the senior executive team), and in that capacity advises and counsels the CEO and senior executive team regarding corporate decision-making. Political and Cultural Issues This is not to say, of course, that the communications director should not have a seat on the executive board and should remain in this advisory capacity, but the UK study did show the current impediments to such a move. On the one hand, there is still a considerable lack of understanding and a lack of commitment to communications among senior managers. On the other hand, many senior communication practitioners often do not meet the needs of senior managers to provide communications advice and an input into corporate strategy in ways that contribute to the accomplishment of organizational objectives and that affect the bottom line. In other words, strategic corporate communications stands or falls with highly qualified input from the communication practitioner at the decision-making table; and only then will there be such a receptive environment for that contribution. The practitioner therefore needs to produce strategically focused recommendations for strategic corporate action; bringing to the attention of top managers a broad understanding of the strategic management process and of those issues that may affect and impact upon a company’s reputation (Cornelissen, 2004; Cropp and Pincus, 2001). Otherwise, communications will be seen as a largely tactical or ‘functionary’ activity; in which practitioners are considered ‘communications technicians’. Grunig et al. (2002) have argued that for many firms, the strategic potential of CC in its boundary-spanning role appears to go largely unrealized. This is the case, Grunig et al. (2002) argue, as senior management equally tends to treat communications largely as a tactical function, concerned primarily with the technical gathering of information and with carrying out publicity and promotion campaigns to external audiences. Contribution of Work and Activities The contribution and consumption of work and activities carried out by communication practitioners takes place at three levels within large firms: the corporate, market (or business-unit), and operational levels. Strategies and activities at the corporate level are concerned with the overall purpose (mission and vision) and scope of the firm to meet its various stakeholder expectations and needs. Strategies and activities at the market level are concerned with determining how the firm will compete successfully in particular markets. Strategies and activities at the operational level concern the way in which CC manages its own resources, processes and people to help deliver corporate and market-level strategic goals. Central to the question of what type of contribution CC makes and whether this is located at the corporate, business-unit or strictly operational level, is the definition and enactment of the function as either strategic or tactical. As a strategic function, there is likely to be strategic involvement of communications practitioners in managerial decision-making at the corporate and business-unit levels. Such a strategic view of communications, which in part has already been realized within the business world but in part is also still aspirational (Cornelissen, 2004), means that communications strategy is not just seen as a set of goals and tactics at the operational level – at the level of the CC function – but that its scope and involvement in fact stretches to corporate and business-unit-wide decisions and activities. At the corporate level, where strategy and activities are concerned with the corporate mission and vision as well as corporate positioning, communication practitioners can aid managers in developing strategies for interaction with the environment. In this sense, communication practitioners are directly involved or support strategic decision-making through their ‘environmental scanning’ activities which may assist corporate strategy-makers in analyzing the organization’s position and identifying emerging issues which may have significant implications for the firm and for future strategy development. Communication practitioners can at this corporate level also bring identity questions and a stakeholder perspective into the strategic management process, representing the likely reaction of stakeholders to alternative strategy options, and thereby giving senior management a more balanced consideration to the attractiveness and feasibility of the strategic options open to them. This happened in each of the four firms (Shell, Nokia, Philips, Siemens) in our case studies. In addition, communications practitioners in these four companies also implemented the corporate strategy by helping to communicate the firm’s strategic intentions to both internal and external stakeholders, which may help avoid misunderstandings that might otherwise get in the way of the smooth implementation of the firm’s strategy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   METHODOLOGY This research uses a case study approach to assess to asses the improved internal corporate communications in four firms.   Gerald R. Adams and Jay D. Schvaneveldt (1997) define the case study approach as â€Å"an in-depth study of one or a limited number of cases in which each case is treated as a whole†. The authors further added, â€Å"The case study approach is particularly helpful when deeper understanding is needed and when there is little concern about generalizing to a large population† (Adams & Schvaneveldt, 1997). These case studies were conducted with four European corporations with strong reputations with their stakeholders and the marketplace: Nokia, Shell, Phillips and Siemens. These four corporations were selected chiefly for two reasons. Firstly, each of these four corporations is a multi-divisional firm operating under the same corporate umbrella. As such, they are typical of other large firms with a corporate communications (CC) presence – as opposed to small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), where communications responsibilities and activities may not have evolved into one or more full-fl edged functional areas, let alone into a managerial function (cf Kotler and Mindak, 1978 ). Secondly, each of the four corporations has an excellent reputation in the eyes of their stakeholders and the general public according to ToMAC (Top of Mind Awareness of Corporate Brands) scores and reputation rankings published in recent years. The inclusion of these corporations therefore allows us to examine not only the range and kind of activities carried out within CC, but also to what extent these make a difference (given the strong reputations enjoyed by these four corporations). An analytical case-study approach was chosen as most appropriate for our theory-building purposes (Yin, 2003). It allowed us to examine CC holistically and address each of the ‘practice’ dimensions mentioned above. Interviews were conducted with up to four senior managers of each organization, for example, president of corporate communication and marketing communication, communication managers within divisions, and if possible, a board member who is responsible for (corporate) brand communication. Here, a topic guide was used with topics that are relevant in the context of the practice of CC. However, the guide left enough room for the respondent to communicate his or her particular views on in what way activities and dimensions (structure, political and cultural issues, professionals) are linked and it prevented us from pre-structuring the concept of ‘ practice ’ in any way. The topic guide consisted of the following themes: communication organization (How are communications activities and the staff responsible for them departmentalized and structured within the corporation? What organizational processes and facilities exist to support communications? What is the professional ethos and culture of communications staff and of people in other departments of the corporation?), communications work (What is the general view of people within the corporation (ie the CEO and senior managers, marketing staff, communications staff, and others) of communications and its role and contribution to the corporation? How is decision-making concerning communications strategy organized? What does the process of communications strategy formation look like, in both corporate and market-led communications? What general activities does your job involve?) and communications professionals (What is the general profile of communications practitioners working in the corporation? How are communications staff recruited and selected? What training and development initiatives and trajectories exist for communications staff?). We analyzed the data by looking for common themes across the interviewees and four corporations and by identifying links between the dimensions of CC practice. MAIN ARGUMENT The practice of CC was conceptualized   by circumscribing in very broad terms four dimensions: (1) the roles, skills and activities of practitioners, (2) the organization of these practitioners and their work, (3) political and cultural issues that contextualize and mediate these activities, and (4) the communication and consumption of the process and products of activities performed. Throughout discussion, and in the course of the primary research with Shell, Phillips, Siemens and Nokia, I identified two central processes in the practice of CC that cut across these four dimensions, and appear to be central to the field. The first process labeled as strategic positioning describes the ongoing efforts of communication practitioners to position themselves as credible communications managers to senior executives within the executive team and in other functions by developing staff, by finding appropriate mechanisms for coordinating work, by developing value-added activities and by communicating the contribution of CC. Underlying this process is perhaps the realization that communication practitioners need to enact managerial roles through management activities like environmental scanning, counseling and strategic planning that demonstrably add value to the corporation, and that they need to vie for an organizational arrangement that gives them a central, recognizable place in the firm from where to counsel and support senior management as well as managers in other functional areas. To illustrate, within Siemens the emphasis on corporate branding and the development of a corporate brand architecture was presented as central to the corporate strategy of the firm: We have to influence decisions about what businesses do we invest in and brand as Siemens and what businesses we do not want to be in †¦ We have a clear business strategy ‘ go for profit and growth ’ , which sounds really general but behind this is an intensive and very detailed program, the Siemens management system, which our branding architecture and systems tie into. The overall corporate target is to attain worldwide leadership in each of the businesses that we are active in. Business success is the most important thing and that is driving the brand values and the brand strategy’ (Director of Brand Architecture). There is a constant concern with the strategic positioning of corporate branding and corporate communications, not just to increase and communicate the current performance but also to secure a receptive environment at the senior management table. The head of corporate communication worldwide is a close advisor of our CEO. In fact, the incoming CEO, Kleinfeld, has a doctorate on the topic of corporate identity, and has a deep understanding of branding and communications’ (Vice President Corporate Brand and Design). A second process that we identified involves what we term cultural accommodation which describes how CC, its practitioners, its organization and the general way in which it is practiced is embedded in the cultural context of the firm. Effectively, the choices made by Philips, Nokia, Shell and Siemens regarding staffing, training and development, structuring and the model of communication strategy development are all highly varied, yet linked to the core of their business, history and culture. Such variety and cultural adaptation may point to what Gratton and Ghoshal (2005) call signature practices; practices and processes that embody a company ’ s character and are therefore somewhat unique and idiosyncratic, rather than general and universal for the entire industry. Signature practices are linked with the core values of the organization and evolve from a company-specific history and are embedded in its culture and core values. Within Philips, as mentioned, corporate communications is seen as a part of an Organization-wide technocratic engineering culture where every function and the work processes involved are documented and standardized, so that these can be constantly monitored, updated and optimized. Work processes (e.g. media inquiries) within corporate communications have equally been documented and standardized in flow-charts and worksheets (following ISO quality specifications). This kind of signature process may not work in other companies in the consumer electronics industry (or indeed other industries) as it is tied to Philips ’ core cultural values and company history. Within Nokia, in contrast, the corporate vision of ‘connecting people’ together with the fact that members of the company have a strong bond between them ( ‘ having embarked on the technological journey together ’ ) has led to an ‘ informal ’ , ‘ innovative ’ and ‘ can-do ’ culture of knowledge sharing and of coordinating work processes. There are little formalized work patterns or lines of communication between communication professionals within Nokia; they rather liaise frequently and informally with one another. CONCLUSIONS The preceding section is the conclusion on the ‘practice’ perspective on CC and conceptualized the important dimensions of this perspective.   These are (1) the roles, skills and activities of practitioners, (2) the organization of these practitioners and their work, (3) political and cultural issues that contextualize and mediate these activities, and (4) the communication and consumption of the process and products of activities performed. Together, these dimensions (see Table 1) provide a framework for considering the practice of CC in its entirety and in a much more comprehensive manner than previous work has done. Table 1 : Summary of the practice conceptualization of corporate communications Dimension   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Themes Roles and activities of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   — Manager vs technician practitioners   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   — Generalist vs specialist — Professional development, status and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   contribution Organization of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   — Departmental arrangement communication work   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   — Reporting relationship and/or seat on executive   Ã‚     Ã‚  team — Centralization vs decentralization Political and cultural issues Status of communication practitioners and their   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   work — Added value of communication activities — Cultural accommodation Contribution of work and activities   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   — Strategic or tactical contribution Input into corporate strategy and decision-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   making Interface between communication and other Functional areas (e.g. Finance, Human Resources, etc)   I also articulated two processes (strategic positioning and cultural accommodation) that appear to be central to the practice of CC. In all, the practice-based conceptualization of CC makes the following contributions. First, it has started to open up the ‘black box’ of the organization in which CC activities take place. CC is conceptualized as an organizational phenomenon rather than a macro strategy problem detached from the internal dynamics of the organization. Internal politics, structure and cultural issues are introduced into the field of managing CC, not as inevitable failings or difficulties within firms, but as significant for communications strategy outcomes, perhaps even as attributes to be exploited positively for the status and contribution of CC. Second, the ‘practice’ conceptualization of CC has started to ‘humanize’ the field (cf Pettigrew et al., 2002: 12). Unlike much prior work that has focused on the strategic outcomes of CC activities (e.g. strong reputations and relationships with stakeholders), a ‘practice’ perspective populates the field of CC with human beings. In effect, all forces and activities are seen to emerge from human action – from the actions and contributions of communications practitioners, as well as the reactions by senior managers and managers in other functional areas (human resources, finance, etc.) of the firm. Third, and related to the previous points, the view of CC as ‘practice’ has started to explore the agency of communications practitioners to bring about changes in corporate strategy and in the interaction between the firm and its environment, amidst general professional as well as situational constraints (Whittington, 1988 ). Practitioners can be captured in wider professional belief systems about their roles and work – that is, the aforementioned distinction between ‘manager’ and ‘technician’ roles (Pieczka and L’ Etang, 2000) – that effect and constrain their possibilities for action. Similarly, the political and structural aspects of the work situation in their firms – that is, whether there is a receptive environment among senior managers for an input from CC, and whether communications practitioners are located in departments with access (through a reporting relationship or seat on the management team) to senior management at the corporate level of the firm – effects the micro activities and agency of communication practitioners. Fourth, a practice perspective and our case studies suggest that there are clear interrelations between the roles and backgrounds of practitioners, their activities, the political and cultural situation surrounding their work, the way in which they are organized, and their input and contribution to the firm at the corporate and market levels of the firm. As such, it connects macro phenomena with micro explanations. It does not deny the importance of research that has raised the awareness of key macro issues and challenges; the challenge of achieving and sustaining strong corporate reputations with stakeholders, of identifying and building on unique organizational assets or the ‘ corporate identity ’ of the firm, of managing international communications for multinational firms. Instead, it extends such macro level accounts with descriptions and explanations of the practices and activities that underpin and constitute such phenomena. In addition, as our case studies demonstrated, the practice of CC consists of interrelated dimensions, and as such we extend prior perspectives that have narrowly focused on either dimension or only on the strategic outcomes of CC activities. Any change in strategic outcomes (i.e. stronger corporate reputations with stakeholders) is not simply a case of a creative campaign or of improving one dimension (e.g. reputation measurement to demonstrate accountability) but ultimately depends on a whole range of factors, including the professional roles and competencies of practitioners and the way in which they are organized. Table 2 summarizes the main differences between a ‘practice’ perspective on CC and the more traditional perspectives on CC that have primarily focused on macro strategic outcomes. Table 2: A practice perspective versus traditional perspectives on corporate communications Traditional perspectives on CC   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A practice perspective on CC Primary focus   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Macro: strategic outcomes   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Micro: practitioners, processes and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (reputations and reputation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  structures within the organization measurement) Explanations of  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Deductive: infer best practices from  Ã‚     Ã‚   Inductive: grounded in the actual Performance  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   reputation scores across firms  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚   activities of professionals and how   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   these add value and make a   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   contribution to a firm Key strategic  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ‘Alignment’ between the reputation     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Strategic positioning and cultural processes  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  and the identity or positioning  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   accommodation within the firm   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   communicated A fifth contribution concerns its practical implications. A practice perspective on CC extends macro level explanations of CC as outcomes of what goes on in organizations to the activities that constitute them. This perspective is concerned with the same strategic issues of importance to senior managers and communication practitioners (i.e. how to build and maintain strong corporate reputations with stakeholders of the firm?), but in terms of the organizational activities and practices, which are their fabric. As such, it provides a more comprehensive and detailed picture of how communications is and indeed can be managed. The relationships between the practice dimensions (i.e. the backgrounds of practitioners, their activities, the political and cultural situation surrounding their work, the way in which they are organized, and their input and contribution to the firm at the corporate and market levels of the firm) in particular provide managers and communication practitioners with concrete factors or attributes that can be understood and, if needed, challenged or manipulated. To communications practitioners, the profound implication is not only a greater understanding of their work but also suggestions and prescriptions for how their work can be changed or improved. More specifically, if practitioners aspire a developmental shift from a ‘tactical’ or ‘craft ’orientation to communications, characterized by technician role enactment and communications service departments or units carrying out low-level communication mechanics, to a strategic management function, they know that they need to enact managerial roles through management activities like environmental scanning, counseling and strategic planning that demonstrably add value to the corporation, and that they need to vie for an organizational arrangement that gives them a central, recognizable place in the firm from where to counsel and support senior management as well as managers in other functional areas. The two processes of ‘ strategic positioning ’ and ‘ cultural accommodation ’ that we observed in our four case studies may also be taken to hand by practitioners to bring about changes in their firms in such a way that these changes are in line with their firms ’ culture and improve the performance and standing of CC. Recommendations for Research In sum, the practice conceptualization of CC suggests a need to put the micro into macro in order to both uncover plausible linkages to performance (with stakeholder groups) and to offer tangible guides to managerial action. Some important insights, albeit preliminary and illustrative, on micro issues in CC are offered through our four case studies. However, beyond these preliminary case studies, we make two main recommendations in line with this research agenda. First, we recommend further small sample in-depth studies of CC within firms, to develop the contextual and holistic understanding of the practice dimensions of CC that is essential to unpacking the complex driving forces of the management of CC and its strategic outcomes with stakeholders of the firm. In-depth studies, particularly at this early stage of theoretical development on CC, are a necessary feature of furthering the conceptualization and understanding of CC as an area of practice. Second, we recommend process research as a methodology for capturing and explaining how the practice of CC evolves within fi rms. Process research is concerned with understanding how things evolve over time and why they evolve in this way (see Langley, 1999; Van de Ven and Huber, 1990), and process data therefore consist largely of stories about what happened and who did what when – that is, events, activities, and choices ordered over time. In his classic work on organization theory, Mohr (1982) makes a distinction between what he calls ‘variance theory’ and   Ã¢â‚¬Ëœprocess theory’. Whereas variance theories provide explanations for phenomena in terms of relationships among dependent and independent variables (eg more of X and more of Y produce more of Z ), process theories provide explanations in terms of the sequence of events leading to an outcome (eg do A and then B to get C). Temporal ordering and probabilistic interaction between entities are important here (Mohr, 1982). Within the context of CC, the emphasis is with process research on understanding patterns in events (eg the link between activities and tools of communication practitioners and changes in stakeholder reputations), either as a narrative pattern or analytical sequence of events. 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